Why do I suck? [RANT]

[kenniky]

First of all, let me give you some background info. I'm in high school, been playing Smash Bros. for basically my entire life. Around mid-late Brawl period I found out about competitive Smash by browsing around on SmashWiki. It seemed really cool, it was fun learning about all the neat tricks and tips about each character and it really appealed to me. However I never really got around to trying anything out because of time constraints and parents and whatnot.

Then Smash 4 gets announced, and I think to myself, 'This is when it gets serious. I'm going to complete all the challenges and become a professional at the 3DS version.' I wasn't as interested in the Wii U version due to the fact that 3DS is a lot more portable.

So that's what I did. I slogged through countless hours of single-player, taking the time and effort to attempting to beat each mode with every character and collect all the customs. In addition, I picked up Shulk, the representative from my newly-found favorite game of all time. I found Smashboards pretty quickly and relentlessly stalked the Shulk boards hoping for some tips at becoming a professional, as well as lurking around other parts of the boards that interested me. Pretty soon I began to see myself as one of the members of this community.

In real life, things also seemed to be taking a turn for the better. Because of Smash's popularity, a bunch of my friends got the game, and we began to play together during lunch and free periods and whatnot. I was actually near the top of my group of friends for a while, and this made me pretty happy - it seemed like all my lurking had paid off.

However, things began to take a turn for the worse. Even though I had gotten a ton better it just seemed like everyone else was a step ahead of me. Playing For Glory I got absolutely trashed 90% of the time, and the other 10% were basically pushovers. Anther's Ladder was even worse: I got absolutely demolished there, and didn't get any feedback on what I could do to improve. One of my friends started getting better exponentially until he started destroying me in 1v1s. Instead of getting better, I felt like I was getting worse. I took to the boards to find strategies on getting better. I started saving replays and watching professional videos. I practiced techs like SHFF and spacing in Training Mode, instead of facing CPUs. But none of it seemed to help. In addition, the goal of completing the game seemed farther and farther away as I continued to grind Trophy Rush and failed to find new headgear.

In summary, it all really seems like everything I've done has just been useless. I'm at that weird middle ground where you easily beat casuals but lose miserably to anyone who actually spends a lot of time practicing. The RNG nature of custom drops seems to be working against me. Every time I play For Glory, I can't help but rage quit 10 matches in due to messing up or making stupid decisions or just getting steamrolled. I'm actually considering just stopping Smash Bros. and moving on.

Any advice would help.

 

[Shin Chie]

Don't worry, you can get better at Smash by practice. Just keep doing For Glory and try to learn new things about Shulk and learn from previous mistakes you made in your matches. Overtime you will improve. If you have a local Smash Scene, it would be even better than For Glory. You just have to keep practicing and practicing you can get good. If you have any questions you can ask on the Gameplay Advice and general discussion thread. http://smashboards.com/threads/game-play-advice-and-general-discussion.382927/page-7#post-18410602
Also if you want a practice partner, I can play a couple of games with you and I can help you a bit. I am quite new to the Smash Community as well lol.

 

[GhostUrsa]

Since your main is Shulk, I'd recommend looking up Match-up info for him against other characters. If my understanding of Shulk's fundamentals is correct, then similar to my main Ike spacing and reads become really important. Improvement will come dueto knowing what options are available to your opponent and covering what you can on those options. I'm in a similar rut, so to speak with Ike. The improvement from this middle ground is much slower than get up to this point because you'll start seeing what you need to do but not have the muscle memory and experience to capitalize on it when ideal. It can be demoralizing when you believe you should be doing better, but getting mad at yourself for not being inhuman with your learning curve will only lead to hopelessness.

Best thing I can recommend is too try to keep calm, mix up your style (if you like to play beat down and rush, try slow and methodical.) and get a good rest. (I notice I slip up more if I'm sleep deprived.) And as Shin Chie mentioned, practice.

 

[MapleWooD]

Practice against a sparring partner, smashing CPUs is pointless since nothing compares to an actual player.

 

[Poppy100]

As someone with over 6000 for glory matches, I can safely tell you that Shulk is NOT an easy character to use, (assuming he's even good at all) his slightly below average grab makes him very hard to use effectively, since most of his other attacks can be shielded with no real penalty, of course I gave up on Shulk somewhat quickly, and I personally am more comfortable with projectile characters evidently.

Looking up match up info... does that even largely exist yet?

The few Shulk users I see tend to not put up much a fight...then again, I wrote palutena off as useless, and I've been seeing some surprisingly formidable Palutena users once in a rare while now. (But yet AGAIN, Dr. Mario hasn't really gone anywhere...though Shulk doesn't have those problems)

 

[GhostUrsa]

Some character specific forums have more than others. The Ike forum has quite a bit about what people are discovering about different match ups already. I haven't looked at the Shulk forum to see if the MU info is getting compiled yet. Things are going to be in flux now, which means MU info could change, but since the MU forum posts are getting updated quite often I've been able to get a good amount of info on how to handle certain situations.

It's not as concrete as with Melee or Brawl, but that is mostly due to the nature of the info still being new and investigated.

 

[SatoshiM]

If good players are destroying you, there's some basic fundamental of the game you're not using properly.

Do you often get shieldgrabbed for attacking unsafely?
Do you grab to punish people who sit in shield?
Do you recover in ways that are not easily predictable/edgeguardable?
Do you vary your approach?

I know a lot of Shulks I face in For Glory just run up and nair, which leads to really easy shield grabs and punishes.

Oh yeah, if you want to practice with me some that'd be cool. I'm also in HS atm. Message me. ^.^

 

[Tantei]

"Then Smash 4 gets announced, and I think to myself, 'This is when it gets serious. I'm going to complete all the challenges and become a professional at the 3DS version.' I wasn't as interested in the Wii U version due to the fact that 3DS is a lot more portable. "

This is what went on in my head. Really, I suck at this game. However, just because I suck doesn't mean I keep doing what I do that makes me suck. I have friends who give me tips and I notice my own mistakes.
Some include:
* Not punishing correctly
* Not Shorthopping and getting punished with an uair or nair.
* Rolling INTO attacks.
* Not predicting correctly.
Many of these things that make me bad are what I am trying to improve. I suggest you look at what specifically gets you each time, and think of a way that can fix that. Hope this helped you my good man. Stay strong in self confidence

 

[HakuryuVision]

There's alway a time where you feel like you've hit a wall, and compare yourself with others doing better than you. Of course you're going to feel like you got worse compared to them.

Don't give up so fast.
You actually learn more from loosing fights.
With every battle you lost, with every bad decision you made, you'll slowly adapt.

Do you know what Shulk is capable of? Do you properly make use of his buffs at the right time?
Can you perform combos?

I know this is the most generic advice ever, but keep practising.
What i did back in my Melee days ways actually sparring against people 100 x times better than me.
I didn't let loosing get to my head, and instead simply kept fighting. It took a long time, but at some point i could beat almost all of my friends ( most of them played Fox competitive) with Mewtwo, who at that time was considered one of the worst character. (that was before everyone started wave-dashing though XD)

Sure, the goal of course is to get good and win battles, but learn not to get angry over lost battles first, and you made the first step to getting really good.

edit: ...i hope that didn't sound too preachy.

 

[GhostUrsa]

Another thing that could help is to save your fights using the replay function, and then after a couple days come back with a fresh frame of mind and watch the fight as a spectator. You may see things you did that from an outside frame could be problematic.

I know quite a few people who can watch something, fighting game or not, and when they aren't feeling the pressure know what needs to be done. Being able to identify it outside of combat may help you see tells that you may not have been focusing on when you were too busy not getting your butt kicked. Once you've seen it, you may find yourself looking for it next time and start thinking of ways out of those situations.

If that makes any sense.

 

[SwoodGrommet]

I got absolutely demolished there, and didn't get any feedback on what I could do to improve.

Honestly, you need to ask for advice. I don't tell people how they could have done better unless they ask me for tips. Maybe they know what their problems are and they don't want to listen to an unwanted lecture. I swear by Anther's Ladder, but just make sure you take advice seriously and iron out the issues.

 

[_Magus_]

The most important thing I can tell you is to know your enemy. Your strategy should not be to run in and attack without a plan, but to feel out your opponent and learn their habits, especially at the start of a match. One thing that can really help is to ALWAYS WATCH YOUR OPPONENT'S CHARACTER. Watch them, figure out their habits, and what you can and can't punish. Do they roll a lot? If so, do they roll towards you or away from you? Do they throw out smashes too much, or dash attack against your shield? All of these can be easily punished.

Basically, learn habits and play more safely, particularly towards the start of the match. Punishing bad habits is a lot more effective than being mindlessly aggressive. And, once you get a feel for your opponent, you can be aggressive, and your info you've gathered will help you predict them for even more punishes.

 

[Kikaioh]

When I'm playing against a difficult opponent, I start analyzing the patterns of the fight. More specifically, I try to figure out what moves I'm doing that are getting repeatedly punished, and also what moves the opponent is doing that are racking up my damage. This can be helpful if you look at replays and track what's going on in your harder matches. Anyways, once I've figured that out, it becomes a matter of breaking the habits that get me punished, while also experimenting with ways to throw off my opponent's attack strategy. It can be frustrating and difficult to adapt when you're used to playing a certain way, but in my experience it works as far as improving.

 

[ImReallyFeelingIt]

As someone who played Shulk in For Glory about 10 times. I find him to be really bad competitively. No offense. His moves are so slow, most of them have lag (This might not mean much to someone who's playing a Fast character like Sonic but you know what I mean...), making Shulk highly punishable, and has either 1 or no combos... Not to be harsh, but I think Shulk is a bad character compared to others unless you're using your Manado like a ace. Don't main a character because they're from your favorite game, sure I love Sonic but I refuse to use him in Brawl. Check out other characters if Shulk isn't treating you good. Mario would be good for starters since he's fairly easy to combo with and has a decent meteor smash.

And like many others' said above, keep practicing, especially with Human players. Look carefully at your mistakes, Look into Match-Ups and good luck!

 

[Virum]

As someone who played Shulk in For Glory about 10 times. I find him to be really bad competitively. No offense. His moves are so slow, most of them have lag (This might not mean much to someone who's playing a Fast character like Sonic but you know what I mean...), making Shulk highly punishable, and has either 1 or no combos... Not to be harsh, but I think Shulk is a bad character compared to others unless you're using your Manado like a ace. Don't main a character because they're from your favorite game, sure I love Sonic but I refuse to use him in Brawl. Check out other characters if Shulk isn't treating you good. Mario would be good for starters since he's fairly easy to combo with and has a decent meteor smash.

And like many others' said above, keep practicing, especially with Human players. Look carefully at your mistakes, Look into Match-Ups and good luck!

Lol you can't actually expect someone to take you seriously when you have barely touched the character? Shulk is more than capable of performing well. He just requires patience, good spacing and knowledge of the character of which you have very little therefore making your assertion near worthless. I say this as a Shulk main who has actually invested probably around 200 or so hours into the character. Into exploring what he's capable of, understanding when and how to use his moves and mastering the Monado Arts. Don't try to say Shulk is a bad character when you know nothing about him.

 

[Uffe]

Learn to read...your opponents. I'm not sure how great For Glory is, but if the people you play don't give you a challenge, then maybe those in FG will. Fight better players to get better.

 

[2Fat]

I've always struggled with predicting moves. I'm not the best smasher but I'm I'm pretty decent. I always just rely on skill and never focus on the other player. I also find myself being overly offensive and I always get punished.

So in my friend group we are all about the same skill level but I have 2 friends who are so much better than us. And my one was pretty on part with me and now he just destoroys me. And I know what I do wrong I'm overly offensive and I'm pretty bad at predicting moves. Are there any tips that you guys could give me to help my predicting game?

 

[GhostUrsa]

So in my friend group we are all about the same skill level but I have 2 friends who are so much better than us. And my one was pretty on part with me and now he just destoroys me. And I know what I do wrong I'm overly offensive and I'm pretty bad at predicting moves. Are there any tips that you guys could give me to help my predicting game?

Best thing to do is start haunting your favorite character's forum threads, as that's the best way to start getting specific advice beyond the basics. Post some videos of your fights in the Video Criticism threads found there for laser focused advice, or look at the many scenario specific threads there to get some specifics.

Take a look into these options, and I'm sure you'll get yourself up and ready in no time. The only other advice I can give from following your thread is to follow up on the 'reading your opponent' advice that Uffe brings up. You must be doing attack patterns that are easily recognized if you're getting clobbered. Recognizing what's getting you choked up will be the first step in getting better. Watch some of your fights as a spectator using the replay function to see things from a different angle. Since you are spending so much time focusing on yourself in the fight, this is a stress free way to watch what your opponent was doing.

You'll want to get comfortable with your character enough so you aren't always watching him, and are instead mostly watching your opponent. It's the only way to really see what he's planning ahead of time. Look into the options given in the thread, improve your confidence and this part should come to blossom in time.

 

[Uffe]

I've always struggled with predicting moves. I'm not the best smasher but I'm I'm pretty decent. I always just rely on skill and never focus on the other player. I also find myself being overly offensive and I always get punished.

So in my friend group we are all about the same skill level but I have 2 friends who are so much better than us. And my one was pretty on part with me and now he just destoroys me. And I know what I do wrong I'm overly offensive and I'm pretty bad at predicting moves. Are there any tips that you guys could give me to help my predicting game?

The tougher the opponent, the harder it will be to read them. But everybody has a certain playstyle, even if they don't think it. And it's a good idea not to play the same against every character you fight. There are key points to really pay attention to:

Q. How often does your opponent block and dodge?
A. If your opponent blocks a lot, you can punish them with a grab. If they dodge a lot, you'll want to delay your attack(s) and/or use an attack that has a lingering hitbox. I want to say that when Link's bombs explode, the explosion will stay around for a bit. I don't use Link, so I might be wrong about that.

Q. How does the opponent recover off the ledge?
A. If they constantly roll up onto the stage, you can punish them by chasing their roll and doing an attack. If they constantly jump up off the ledge, you can do an aerial attack. If they constantly stand up off the ledge, then grab or attack them. If they constantly attack up off the ledge, block and counter. Of course if they mix things up as they recover from the ledge, that's for you to determine what they'll do next.

Q. Does the opponent roll a lot or a little? If so, do they roll around you or away from you?
A. If they roll around you, generally the answer to that is to use your down smash because it hits both sides. Of course, some characters with good aerials can punish rollers by chasing their roll with an attack. If they roll away, you can do a dash attack if it has good range. Typically, someone who rolls will block after, so if you run along with them as they roll away from you, you can just grab.

These are just some things to look out for. So really, predicting is just recognizing what your opponent does the most and then punishing them for constantly doing the same thing.

 

[2Fat]

The tougher the opponent, the harder it will be to read them. But everybody has a certain playstyle, even if they don't think it. And it's a good idea not to play the same against every character you fight. There are key points to really pay attention to:

Q. How often does your opponent block and dodge?
A. If your opponent blocks a lot, you can punish them with a grab. If they dodge a lot, you'll want to delay your attack(s) and/or use an attack that has a lingering hitbox. I want to say that when Link's bombs explode, the explosion will stay around for a bit. I don't use Link, so I might be wrong about that.

Q. How does the opponent recover off the ledge?
A. If they constantly roll up onto the stage, you can punish them by chasing their roll and doing an attack. If they constantly jump up off the ledge, you can do an aerial attack. If they constantly stand up off the ledge, then grab or attack them. If they constantly attack up off the ledge, block and counter. Of course if they mix things up as they recover from the ledge, that's for you to determine what they'll do next.

Q. Does the opponent roll a lot or a little? If so, do they roll around you or away from you?
A. If they roll around you, generally the answer to that is to use your down smash because it hits both sides. Of course, some characters with good aerials can punish rollers by chasing their roll with an attack. If they roll away, you can do a dash attack if it has good range. Typically, someone who rolls will block after, so if you run along with them as they roll away from you, you can just grab.

These are just some things to look out for. So really, predicting is just recognizing what your opponent does the most and then punishing them for constantly doing the same thing.

Thanks I'll try to look out for those things next time I play them

 

[Uffe]

Thanks I'll try to look out for those things next time I play them

No problem. Same applies with the most attacks your opponent does, as in, which ones they rely mostly on. You can kind of look at your own character for these things. Say you're fighting against a Link yourself and he uses the boomerang, fires two arrows afterwards, then throws a bomb and repeats this in the same pattern. He'll be making a wall for you to get through, but you see what he's doing, thus, he's being predictable.

 

[Captain Chrom]

As most people have said, becoming competent at something takes practice and practice. You and I and other people will get there eventually. Stay strong my friend.