Using u-air

[Subach]

I having great difficulty landing u-air, and this bothers me because it's definitely one of her most damaging moves.

What is the technique to using u-air effectively? On a somewhat related note, what are some good tactics for Samus to start a combo and keep it going?

 

[Paradigm]

Those are some rather open-ended questions.

Lets see...

If the opponent is coming down back to the stage (eg after a dtilt hit him at high percent but didn't KO) and you believe you can rush or out prioritize their defense (dair, usually) and could punish an airdodge. Depending on which way it knocks them I usually follow this up with another uair (especially if I still have my second jump), a fair, a bair, or a zair.

The uair works especially well on opponents who are above you on platforms. You may even be able to uair upwards into them and again on the way back down.

If your opponent is directly below you the uair can be used like Fox's dair to hold your opponent in place. Once you land immediately attack to follow up on it. I usually either dsmash, dtilt, jump and uair again or screw attack. Screw attack works great on stages like battlefield if you're under the middle platform - you may land in time to follow it up even further against your opponent.

In general to string a number of attacks against an opponent you want to hit them in such a manner that they'll lag long enough for you to hit them again (so your move can't be to laggy) but not get knocked too far away. Good moves for these things are the uair, fair, dash attack (into screw attack), jab, canceled missiles, charge shot (especially at full charge where they just float in the air before getting knocked away) possibly the dtilt or dsmash, often the using the dair to po 'em up and of course the zair. End with a move that knocks your opponent far enough away that they can't just start a combo back. These moves include smashes and the bair.

Its best to just watch videos, honestly, to get a better idea, and then to try them out to get a feel for them.

 

[Jing)]

Any good ways to use uair out of dthrow? I usually just wait till theyre just above me then fullhop uair.. but sometimes they airdodge.. anyway to punish airdodge/thoughts on the way i uair?

 

[LaserBust]

As for landing Uair in general, I use it for rising through platforms alot. I believe U can FullHop a rising Uair into a double jumped Dair through platforms. Its a really nice shield pressure tactic.

The other way I land meh Uairs is 2 follow behind missles and RAR it. I find it neccasary 2 follow behind Homings and Super MC'ed Missiles because of its lack of range. I RAR it because Its awesome 2 land behind the shield with it and follow up with Jabs. Its even kooler cuz Samus jabs Clashes with alot of Dsmashes, which iz like, the 1st thing that comes 2 mind when some1 land behinds yur shield.

All in all tho, Its not the safest approach, and should be used with caution.

 

[Crystanium]

Any good ways to use uair out of dthrow? I usually just wait till theyre just above me then fullhop uair.. but sometimes they airdodge.. anyway to punish airdodge/thoughts on the way i uair?

If you're using d-throw to combine u-air, it's probably best if your opponent is a bit higher in percentage, since he/she will bounce higher up. If I were you, I'd select Samus' f-air if your opponent tries to air-dodge. I fought my friend yesterday. I was Samus and he was Lucas. (I won.) When he was in the air, I used my f-air about three times on him. Even if he were to try air-dodging, the flame frames would still hit him, since they last longer.

With the f-air, you can move forward or backwards. I believe you can perform the same thing with the u-air. If your opponent tries to air-dodge, move with him/her in the same direction. You'll likely connect the hit, even if it doesn't do much. As noted in the aforementioned post, you can use the u-air more than once while in the air. Use level 3 CPUs and try these out. Make every hit count.

 

[0RLY]

Personally, Samus really shouldn't be using any of her throws other than forward and backwards. It's much easier to combo out of them, especially with zair. Dthrow doesn't combo, so if your opponent gets hit by the follow up, get a better opponent. Uair is a great move because of its surprisingly good priority during its startup. I use it when they're out of screw attack range or if screw attack moves too fast to hit them.

 

[Paradigm]

Dthrow doesn't combo

Sure it does. And yes my opponents DI/airdodge/throw-out-disjointed-hitboxes/etc fine. Not on everyone all the time, but on some opponents at some damage ranges you can follow it up. Unless I'm near an edge or am doing something in teams I almost always prefer the dthrow.