Wanting to become a Competitive Smash Player!

[Fusee]

(Hopefully I put this in the right place)

Well Uh Hello Everyone! I'm new to Smash Boards but also new to becoming a Competitive player in Smash! (Mainly Smash 4) So lately I've been playing Smash 4 a lot on Wii U (I also have played Brawl and Project M) and I've noticed that I seem to enjoy being a Competitive players and that I love trying a challenge against other people and discovering great tactics and greater skill in the game.

But my question is...Where do I start?
What I mean is...what does it take to become really good and even start to do tournaments and start to get as good as really good players? I know people say "practice practice practice" and I have been but I want to go even more into the game and become really good and get some tactics that can make me win even more.

I've also noticed lately that I've been winning a lot more games online and I've been getting better with strategies of my own and better with different characters, but I don't really know any "pro" tactics (if there is any). I also have trouble at times getting good combos and I miss a lot of my hits at times. I'm also planning on getting a GameCube Controller (I use Classic Controller atm).

Is there maybe any good Smash players who could give me tips n tricks on how to win games more easily and also maybe possibly wanting to be friends so we could play smash together and practice? Sadly I don't really have anyone to really help give me advice and tips n tricks or even practice with me...It would be nice to meet a phew Smash Players

So far these are my top characters:
1 - Yoshi
2 - Robin
3 - Diddy Kong
4 - Dr.Mario
5 - Kirby

One of the major things I've been wanting to do recently is a tournament, and the reason being is because I want to learn things from better players and also see where my weakness spots are and also meet some new friends who also play Smash. But I'm also wondering if I should even do one for the state of my skill? I know if I join a tournament I'm obviously gonna get destroyed but that doesn't bother me, I'm just wanting to do a tournament to learn from other players and maybe have them help find my weaknesses and even get noticed in the community. Could maybe any Tournament players give me some info on what to do during a Tournament and what not to do? I really don't know much on Tournaments on how they work but I've been looking around and I notice that my city does have actually quiet active Smash Tournaments.

Thanks for reading and helping me out!

 

[DavemanCozy]

I find playing online is pretty good, there's always someone online ready to play against you. Just keep in mind that the opponents you find may not always be good enough; if you find this, leave and try finding someone else. Also, there's connection problems, which always hurt the quality of the match.

I'm not good at this game (I consider myself mid-level) but I can share with you my experience starting to play: it was back before this game was released when Melee was the bomb and Brawl was very quickly falling in popularity. I met someone on my University campus who asked me if I wanted to go to an Electronic Gaming Association meeting. From there I was referred to a Facebook page where this group regularly posted updates about events, and then I was led to a Smash Bros specific Facebook page. This one was the more serious one, and it was clear that the best players in the city were here; they talked about tournaments constantly, asked if they wanted to play every week, and organized car pools and trips to close tournaments ranging from monthlies in Toronto to the Big House. The first tournament I attended was MacSmashter 2014 (the precedent to Summit 2016); I got bodied but I had fun regardless, met lots of players (Mew2King himself attended) and made some great memories.

I eventually stopped playing Melee myself for personal reasons; broke my wrist in a biking accident, Melee became too straining and not enjoyable. However, when Smash4 came out, I used the gaming club's page to promote events, then when my scene grew I later created a competitive page for my city. I connected with a local gaming event organizer and won the very first two tournaments, then proceeded to see other players get better and better as the tournaments grew and attracted new players. It was a blast to see, and even though I stopped winning I was happy to find players that pushed me to get better. This is why I prefer playing against them over looking for them in For Glory; it's easier to schedule meetups to play against players you know will challenge you and train with you, whether this is online or in person.

So I guess my advice from this little story is just have fun, don't be afraid to talk to people, watch over your matches on stream (if any) and watch how other players do. I can't tell if you meant to say "a quiet Smash Tournament scene" or "quite the Smash tournament scene," so I told you both the Melee story from the existing active scene perspective and the Smash Wii U story from the starting a scene perspective.

 

[v3ga]

Go to tournaments ASAP. Don't worry about your personal level of play. You won't know how well your play is, or what you should even be changing about your play without experiencing competitive play in a tournament setting. Online play is much different than tournament play, and you will never improve until you put yourself out there. There aren't really any 'tips and tricks' to win games more easily. The only thing I can tell you is to never autopilot. Focus on your enemy's character model at all times during a match and play reactively. Whichever option your enemy picks during a given situation, assess which option your character has to shut down that option, and eventually you will catch on to your opponent's tendencies.

Practice your powershielding, pivot grabs, ledge get up options, edge gaurding options, teching, and know which of your combos will be successful against certain characters at certain percents.