What Are Good Methods And Exercises When Practicing Alone

[Nihabz]

So starting in 2016 I'm planning on attending weekly tournaments in my local area as much as possible. I've been trying to find ways to improve on my own since I learn better that way without feeling like I'm wasting my time. Are there any things players can practice by themselves to help them get better against human players? I've tried using For Glory for the longest time but the majority of players are absolute **** and don't take it seriously.

 

[ligersandtigons]

probably just trying to get certain techs to be a part of your muscle memory, as well as going over your combos

 

[Jaketto]

probably just trying to get certain techs to be a part of your muscle memory, as well as going over your combos

Exactly this! Muscle memory is so important. Regarding combos, I would start in training mode using the combos on stationary bots then followed by trying them on moving bots. If anyone is in your local area ask them to play Smash with you. That way you can both learn.

YouTube is also a big help for tips on your main.

 

[Big-Cat]

probably just trying to get certain techs to be a part of your muscle memory, as well as going over your combos

Pretty much this. I'd work on the following.

1. Pivot grabs. If you're Fox or Bowser this makes a hell of a difference.
2. B-Reversal. Pro tip: If you're doing a Down B-Reversal, do a QCF motion in the direction you want to face.
3. Rising aerials.
4. OOS moves.

In addition, it honestly wouldn't hurt to EXPERIMENT using For Glory. Unfortunately, you can't really practice perfect shielding. You have to screw up several times before you start getting it down.

 

[san.]

Try to learn something new every other session, no matter how small, and take some time practicing it by yourself or against others. Eventually, you'll have a ton of things you know how to do.

Think about what you have trouble with or common strategies that you see in higher level play that you don't use.

 

[Zapp Branniglenn]

Blocking projectiles. Too often do I see passionate players who can only use online matches for practice get beaten by projectile spam during real tournaments. It's frustrating for them because they weren't expecting such degenerate play in a real life setting, and they don't have latency issues to blame for their poor use of shield.

So, go into training mode, pick Mario as a CPU and set him to control, then start blocking Fireballs. You can do this with one hand on your character's controller, and another hand on a second controller for the CPU. Or, keep both hands on your controller and use a toe to press B on the second which sits on the ground. This all sounds too silly to actually try, but there's a lot to learn here. Every projectile in this game has a set projectile speed and startup. Repeated blocking of these gets the timing engrained into muscle memory. Once you're satisfied with one block scenario, try some new ones. Block Fireballs at close or maximum range, try walking into it and shielding, or even running shield. Put Mario on a platform while you stay on the ground to get used to the move's gravity as it falls and bounces. Once you're tired of Fireball, move on to a different character and their projectile. This is also how you can practice perfect shielding of these moves, but I think Perfect shielding some puny 4% projectile isn't terribly valuable. Since the difference in block advantage would be just a few frames as you advance to your target. But you may find yourself perfect shielding in no time anyway, which is never bad.

 

[Raven the Obsidian]

There are some great tips in here. For the longest time I've wondered if CPUs are even a viable way to practice, since unfortunately I don't know many people who play Smash, and the few I do know I only get to meet with very occasionally.

 

[ForteX]

For Glory is trash and makes me sad, frustrated, and sleepy, but every now and again the latency is barely an issue and you meet someone outstanding. Stay with them as long as you can. Add them to your friends list - if the latency was good in for glory, it'll be better when you're using With Friends.

Never feel like you're wasting your time, by the way. I used to live in an area that had free friendlies once a week, and that was some of the most fun I've ever had. It doesn't matter how badly you get beaten, or how inferior to your competition you feel, go out and have fun. If you go to tournaments, stick around the venue after you're knocked out, watch other people play. If it's a local venue, those people are probably local to you, so ask them about getting together sometime to play, it can't hurt, right?

A big thing I do when I'm not able to have any meaningful in person interaction is watch streams/recorded matches from tournaments all over the country, as well as tech videos and other useful stuff. It keeps my mind focused on what I could do to improve, and teaches me about the strengths and weaknesses of characters - just try not to listen to anything the commentators say about a character's strengths and weaknesses, I've heard a lot of commentators who are just clueless. Evaluate that for yourself, put yourself in the shoes of both players and analyze what they've done, how they answered, what you may have done differently if you were in their position. It's not the same as really being there, but it keeps you thinking, and a lot of Smash is mental, I think.

 

[DunnoBro]

For glory is fine for testing/familiarizing yourself. It's just raw grinding if you stay focused and don't let their lag or salt get to you.

But the main practice method I tried which helped was training mode + a turbo controller.

You set it to DI + Air dodge a certain way after a throw, mash nair/jab, jump away, or recreate other interactive scenarios as best you can with different characters to familiarize yourself with the inputs. Find what's optimal in those situations and then theorize if it'd be optimal vs a real person. How safe it is in relation to reward, how many options it covers, etc.

Similar with ledge get-ups/trumping. Just be sure to pick CPU Ganon or similar as most tend to overshoot the ledge at all costs instead of just grabbing it like a person would. I also made a custom stage with barrels surrounding the stage to ensure they always grabbed the ledge and kept them from dying to make practice go by quicker. (if your character has little reason to ledge trump, don't bother)