Wanting to become a pro

[Igoos]

Hello folks. how are you doing? I don't know if this is the right place for posting this message, but I looked and didn't fit anywhere else.

I was reading the rules for tournaments and got stuck with some terms that I don't know what means or didn't understand how they are applied. Those are:

1) Starter Stages

The participant that choose first can only pick one of these?

2) Counter-pick

Didn't get it at all.

2.1) Counter-Pick Stages
Didnt get either.

3)Double-Blind pick characters

I do understand what means but didn't get it how is applied.

Appreciated the help

 

[Life]

Welcome to the boards! As with all newcomers I recommend hanging out at your character's board(s). To business:

1. Starters. The deal with a starter stage (sometimes called a neutral stage, though that's a misnomer) is that a tournament has a list of them (usually 5-9). When two players go to play their matches, they strike off stages from the list in a specific pattern--usually that will be outlined in the individual tournament's rules.

2. Counterpick. Whoever loses the first game gets to pick the stage the second game is played on. Whoever loses the second game decides the stage the third game is played on if applicable, and so forth if it's more than a best-of-three set (ie. finals matches).

3. Counterpick stages are stages that can be selected when you counterpick, but aren't included in the starter list.

4. The point of a double-blind pick is that neither player knows the other's character until they've both committed to the character. Without it, we'd have to decide who picks first, which screws up characters like DK who has to deal with Dedede if he picks first.

 

[Igoos]

Thanks dude. And I already have picked my characters and searched a little for their strategies. None of them are MK. I don't like him. He is too easy to master. Takes all the fun from the learning process

Edit

Reading the topic of a character. What is SHAD, tipped and sourspot??

 

[Bones0]

Thanks dude. And I already have picked my characters and searched a little for their strategies. None of them are MK. I don't like him. He is too easy to master. Takes all the fun from the learning process

Edit

Reading the topic of a character. What is SHAD, tipped and sourspot??

There are many threads that define any terms you may have confusion with. I recommend just using Google (put "site:smashboards.com" before your search term to limit results on these forums) as well as Smash Wiki.

SHAD = Short Hop Air Dodge

Tippers

Sour Spot

 

[zinadinpeterson]

Pro, it takes up to 15 years if you just want a professional like a really good, if you will be well enough after 1:00 15 if you ride once a week, skating rink or even a workout and jump on manual road.

 

[zinadinpeterson]

Nice Topic.

 

[TP]

Thanks dude. And I already have picked my characters and searched a little for their strategies. None of them are MK. I don't like him. He is too easy to master. Takes all the fun from the learning process

Edit

Reading the topic of a character. What is SHAD, tipped and sourspot??

If he was that easy to master, there wouldn't only be one MK master in the world, if that.

 

[Fizzle_Boy]

Maybe he means that he doesn't want to be one of those bad players who wins just because he went mk. I know that assumption might be a bit of a stretch, but isn't that how most of us feel deep down?

 

[Claire Diviner]

@Igoos: If you want to be a pro, the only thing you have to do is play, and practice. As the saying goes, "practice makes perfect". It will also help if you play every day. If you find that you're still having trouble, there are plenty of Youtube videos showcasing character "combos" and techniques you can use and implement them into your playstyle. Do whatever it takes to get better. Don't have anyone to play with? If you must, play against CPUs - not the best substitute by any means, but it's better than nothing. There's also the option of wi-fi as well.

On the topic of Meta Knight, he's easy to pick up, but he isn't easy to master. His techniques and movement, especially with his recovery options and gliding takes time to get used to, so yeah, he may be "cheap", but one has to really know what the hell they're doing to be as "cheap" as he's made out to be.

 

[Gamegenie222]

This also varies on your region and where you live at. I live in a crap shack for competitive gaming and the only scenes we got here in Nebraska is Smash and Street Fighter but only monthly tourneys we have here so try to play alot with people and get alot of practice as well.

 

[Igoos]

@Twilight Prince - I'm still a noob. I posted this topic in the very day a earned my SSBB and decided to play on tournaments. Before that, I was already searching in the Smash Community for informations and when my SSBB came, the first character I tried was MK 'cuz I saw him on the S tier. When I played with him, the first impression I had is the remained until I read your message, and even that I will search for this lonely master of MK, in my opinion, he still are a easy fighter to learn until a decent level.

@Sol Diviner - I always do that :D. Everyday, 1 hour training, and more 30 minutes of "brawling" in the VS. mode in tournaments conditions. Summer vacations isn't great :D??(I live in the southern hemisphere. Here is summer) . When I don't have anyone to play with, I let on random and in difficulty 9(Nasty).

 

[Blissard]

master of MK

M2K

difficulty 9(Nasty).

NEVER play Lv. 9 for practice. For fun, sure, but if you want to become better, Lv. 9 CPU's will get you into horrible habits. Practice on Lv. 3 and under. Try to get all of you AT's right, practice not getting hit, and practice being conscious of every one of the opponent's moves, then react accordingly. Don't waste your moves. Lv. 3 and under CPU's have random DI, so you'll get to know the different situations you'll be in according to how the opponent DI's.

If you're REALLY bored, then practice on a Lv. 7. They're more realistic (aka not psychic and don't spam rolls), but still, Lv. 3 is much better.

 

[Igoos]

What do you meant by "get all of you AT's right"?? I didn't understand.

 

[BSP]

M2K


NEVER play Lv. 9 for practice. For fun, sure, but if you want to become better, Lv. 9 CPU's will get you into horrible habits. Practice on Lv. 3 and under. Try to get all of you AT's right, practice not getting hit, and practice being conscious of every one of the opponent's moves, then react accordingly. Don't waste your moves. Lv. 3 and under CPU's have random DI, so you'll get to know the different situations you'll be in according to how the opponent DI's.

If you're REALLY bored, then practice on a Lv. 7. They're more realistic (aka not psychic and don't spam rolls), but still, Lv. 3 is much better.

And to add to that, make sure you have a reason for doing each move. If you start throwing moves out randomly, you will get punished, trust me.

 

[Igoos]

Tough stuff BSP. You have to be unpredictable without making any unnecessary moves though. What, exactly, are classified as a "unnecessary move"?? And I still don't know what Bissard meant by "get all my AT right". AT=Assist Trophy??

 

[Blissard]

Oh, AT stands for Advanced Technique, lol. There's some general ones, like DACUS and SJR, then there are character specific ones (but assuming that you play Ganon...uh...idk if he has any, lol).

 

[Igoos]

XD, I searched for AT in the SmashWiki and turned as Assist Trophy, which was odd since items are baned in tournaments conditons. And I'm really into it. I have MU thread of Ganon in my fav pages, strategies and all that. Everyday I train a part or parts of the guide and sometimes I save the replay when the CPU kick my *** in such a spectacular way XD

 

[M-Wolf]

XD, I searched for AT in the SmashWiki and turned as Assist Trophy, which was odd since items are baned in tournaments conditons. And I'm really into it. I have MU thread of Ganon in my fav pages, strategies and all that. Everyday I train a part or parts of the guide and sometimes I save the replay when the CPU kick my *** in such a spectacular way XD

AT stands for Advanced Technique, like Falco's SHDL (short hop double lazar) for example. Wiki sucks... Anyways, real players are always better than CPUs so play them if you can.

 

[Fizzle_Boy]

XD, I searched for AT in the SmashWiki and turned as Assist Trophy, which was odd since items are baned in tournaments conditons. And I'm really into it. I have MU thread of Ganon in my fav pages, strategies and all that. Everyday I train a part or parts of the guide and sometimes I save the replay when the CPU kick my *** in such a spectacular way XD

I see where the problem is.

 

[Igoos]

what's the problem XD?? I love Ganon

 

[Life]

He's probably the worst character in Brawl. Too slow, no way to safely approach an opponent, a programming error or two, and a pretty poor recovery.

 

[Blissard]

He's probably the worst character in Brawl. Too slow, no way to safely approach an opponent, a programming error or two, and a pretty poor recovery.

All of the red highlights are over estimates of the dorf XP

Ganon's main purpose in competitive Brawl is trolling. I think Verm beat a MK with Ganon in one of the MLG tourneys, but that's the best a Ganon has ever done.

 

[Fizzle_Boy]

^adding to above list^
If you hit metaknight with your up-b, he can Nair/Maybe Shuttle Loop you.
If you have to fight DDD, Olimar, or Metaknight, you just lost.

But if you really want to get good with Ganon, message FonZ. He's the best Ganon in Ohio, probably the Midwest (he doesn't use him in tournament obv.).

Here's an old game of his. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Lgfa_cDTeQ

 

[TP]

All of the red highlights are over estimates of the dorf XP

Ganon's main purpose in competitive Brawl is trolling. I think Verm beat a MK with Ganon in one of the MLG tourneys, but that's the best a Ganon has ever done.

^adding to above list^
If you hit metaknight with your up-b, he can Nair/Maybe Shuttle Loop you.
If you have to fight DDD, Olimar, or Metaknight, you just lost.

But if you really want to get good with Ganon, message FonZ. He's the best Ganon in Ohio, probably the Midwest (he doesn't use him in tournament obv.).

Here's an old game of his. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Lgfa_cDTeQ

Come on guys, Ganon's not THAT bad. I've put up some real result for him in the past, so have DLA, Verm, and Kosk (back in the day).

His Up-B really is that bad though. MK can Dair you if you hit him with it. Yeah.

 

[Igoos]

I always hear that. My answer remains : no offenses but I do't give a **** about people says. I rather lost with a character who a have fun to play with instead wining without any pleasure.

 

[EpixAura]

Yeah. Ganon is just terrible. Even the Ganon mains admit he has no MUs. Of course, with Ganoncide and his epic spike, it's really easy for him to wreak havoc on those who underestimate him. Just my opinion, I don't pretend to be an expert, particularly not on Ganon.

As for MK being the easiest to master... to master a character would be to be able to use all techniques consistently and with perfect efficiency. Therefore no one has mastered any character. Personally, I find that MK is the easiest character to use competitively, and probably the easiest to use professionally (which is probably what you meant) as well. It's probably easier to play like M2K's MK than it is to play like DEHF's Falco.
Nado Spam(x) = Competitive Level
Planking(y) = Competitive Level
Dair Camping(z) = Competitive Level
Therefore, x=y=z
x+y = Semi-pro Level
x+y+z = Pro level

You do the math.
(In case you couldn't tell, I spent a lot of time doing math-related homework today. I also did a good bit of English homework, although I'm not sure if that is readily apparent.)

 

[Igoos]

About MK, this was what I meant. And for me, master something in fighting game is to know how to play with deadly efficiency.

 

[TurnOneWrath]

I always hear that. My answer remains : no offenses but I do't give a **** about people says. I rather lost with a character who a have fun to play with instead wining without any pleasure.

The name of this thread is "Wanting to become a pro", started by you. Now if you are in any way serious about becoming a "pro", you should get any thoughts such as this one out of your head. It is a travesty that you actually posted it, here, in this very thread.
While pro players do play to win, they still have fun. They don't pick characters just to play the game and win, but pick characters that not only they like and have fun playing with, but also have a realizable way of winning.
Relegating yourself to certain rules or restrictions ("I have fun with Ganon so he's my guy!") is being a scrub. Especially in the face of people here, who have extensive experience with playing the game, playing in tournaments, and the game's data and code telling you that Ganand is NOT good, and can't possibly be good due to the reasons they listed above.
Ganand having no reasonable approach is due to how the game is coded. This cannot be changed (I'm ignoring hacks here). To play well enough to go pro, you need to be able to approach on occasion, or you will lose.

Losing and then saying, "Gee, at least I had fun losing every single match," isn't what pros do, and it isn't the mindset of someone wanting to break onto the pro scene.

 

[Igoos]

I didn't said that I don't want to loose. You assumed tha. I want to win, I will do every thing I can to accomplish that. What I was saying, is that I want to get better by my own way, not by the means of others, e.g. not playing with Ganon. I want to win playing with characters that I like, i.e. Ganon, Diddy Kong and DDD.

About me going to tournaments, I don't see that in a near future. Brasil don't have a strong championship scene of anything unrelated to soccer and I will not go to USA just to play SSBB, that would be incredibly stupid.

Another thing. When I created this topic, was for ask about a few terms that i didn't understand and with a will to ask about other things (that's why the vague title), not to discuss the inefficiency of Ganon in tournaments or anything like that. I didn't even got the chance. When I learn how to put my fav character to appear to others, all this foolish discussion begun. Before that, and even during that, though, I actually could extract some real good informations and stuff through InferiorityComplex, Sol Diviner, Blissard and EpixAura posts.

 

[Blarg I'm Dead]

He never said that you said you wanted to lose, nor did he assume it.

His point is Ganon is a horrible character who cannot win tournaments for multiple reasons. Pick a character you like to play as who can win tourneys.

Look for tournaments in Brazil. You can't go pro without playing tournaments.

 

[Zodiac]

SHAD = Short Hop Air Dodge

Oh you brawl kids, back in my day we would just say, short hop and then airdodge. But then brawl came out and everyone had to make up new terms for things we already did, like planking >.>.

But really, you have to main a character that is good. otherwise your playing for fun and nothing more, if your not playing one of the top four then you will be hard pressed to beat a master meta knight...even if you ARE playing one of the top four characters that isnt meta knight you'll have a hell of a time.

 

[Igoos]

Ganon isn't my main actually . My main is DDD. I fell in love when I saw his chain grab. Ganon is the 3rd, behind Diddy Kong. Ganon is just one that I play with fiends. Was so fun discussing and arguing that I even forgeted about that.

 

[Ghostbone]

I'd recommend playing Diddy Kong for tournaments then, he's been shown to be really good at high level, due to banana mind games and combos, and has one of the best match-ups with MK.
You can always keep D3 as a secondary to bring out on bad matchups as well. (Snake for example)

 

[Igoos]

My problem with him is the same with Sonic. They're too fast! Really. I barely can think (in a match I just have a couple of strategies, the rest it's purely improvisation)!

 

[Blissard]

Ganon has at least some potential at low-tier tourneys. Lets keep it at that.

D3 players have been going extinct lately, along with Pit, lol. D3 has some horrid mu's and his attacks are extremely predictable. Plus, there's been a discovery about breaking out of grabs nearly instantaneously lately, so he might not be terrific as a main. He's a rather decent secondary to Diddy though.

Sonic is annoying, mainly because he's not actually fast: his attacks are slow, and his primary method of winning is to stall out the 8 minute tourney timer each match. Diddy is ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING in proper hands. He has terrific smashes, aerials, throws, approach methods, and even a rushdown with his bananas. What's really fun about Diddy is that there are so many ways to play him (aggressive, defensive, more/less reliant on bananas). He requires a lot of practice to get right though, especially all of his banana tricks.

 

[Igoos]

Sooooo, you guys are making me revise all my team XD. And about Snake?? He seems to be good and his DACUS (in the ways I have managed to use so far) are very useful.

EDIT

What hell is "shenanigans"

 

[Fatmanonice]

Sooooo, you guys are making me revise all my team XD. And about Snake?? He seems to be good and his DACUS (in the ways I have managed to use so far) are very useful.

EDIT

What hell is "shenanigans"

Shenanigans are a wonderful thing that will make up at least 1/4% of your college experience if you go to the right campus. When it comes to different kinds of shenanigans, cheeky shenanigans are the best kind.

In regard to the topic at hand, it's too late to be a pro at Brawl. If you wanted to be a pro at Brawl, you should have started in 2008 when Brawl first came out at the latest. A good portion of the top Brawl players were/still are top Melee players which helped them become pros in Brawl that much faster. If your goal is to become a pro, then I would be focused on becoming a pro for SSB4 as the top players for Brawl are already well established.

How can you practice for a game that hasn't even come out yet? Learn the matchups, higher level strategies and techniques of Brawl and this will give you a good starting base for when SSB4 comes out. I also advise that you try to learn a decent amount about Melee too to further expand your competitive knowledge of Smash in general. Of course, you'll also have to practice a lot (get a good circle of friends who are about your skill level or better to help with this) and attend tournaments at least twice a month. The pros also have a decent knowledge of every character and are competitively competent (meaning they could rank with them) with at least 2 characters so keep this in mind too.

 

[DAS]

Just practice who you're comfortable with and learn them inside and out. Know strengths and weaknesses know your limits and how to surpass them. Fight players because they have different styles and skill level unlike the CPUs. A pro is smarter than regular good player too so yeah. That's what I think.

 

[Igoos]

Hey, I wanted to know a thing. I use a VERY cheap trick against my brother and friends. When I knock them hard, far, far away from the stage, I hang on the border to prevent them from grabbing. This have specific name?? This awful thing is illegal in tourneys??

 

[JesiahTEG]

You have a journey ahead of you my friend