Why don't people play Zamus?

[Ice9]

What the hell is wrong with people? I just started using Zamus on Friday and my god, When you get in the groove with Zamus, **** gets brutal! She is probably going to be my second main now just because of the crazy **** you can do with Dthrow. I mean, Fsmash, B, Forward B, Up B, Down B, Usmash, Utilt, Fair, Bair, Uair, I could go on and on, But Zamus has very few moves that are useless. Also, the armor is great! What other character gives you 3 11%+ projectiles at the start of the match... Sure, they don't make you trip or randomly kill you like D3 and Diddy, But they have significant knockback. Ive KOed off the side of Bridge of Eldin with only the armor!

I might even switch mains to Zamus, If I can only figure out a way to approach.

If anyone can give me some quick hints on ways of approaching and possibly reducing the height of the short hop so I can Fair closer to the ground, that would be great!

 

[GimmeAnFSharp]

I don't prefer playing Zamus as my main, as quite frankly there's other characters who can do a lot of what she can simply better, BUT her major benefit is used sparingly enough, not a lot of people know how to play against her. I have her as one of my "secondaries".

 

[Ice9]

I don't prefer playing Zamus as my main, as quite frankly there's other characters who can do a lot of what she can simply better, BUT her major benefit is used sparingly enough, not a lot of people know how to play against her. I have her as one of my "secondaries".

Also, If you look at tourney results, She is almost unused, So It would kinda be a "WTF? ZAMUS?" thing if you goto a tourney and bust out the blonde bombshell.

 

[Orichalcum]

I havent really noticed that people never play ZSS as you said. Its about preference i think?

 

[DarkShadowRage]

I play her almost exclusivly...she IS my main after all..

 

[GimmeAnFSharp]

Also, If you look at tourney results, She is almost unused, So It would kinda be a "WTF? ZAMUS?" thing if you goto a tourney and bust out the blonde bombshell.

From what I understand, she's not TERRIBLY underused; but her niche is more of a surprise element rather than a leading force in a tourney, so I'd imagine a lot more people would use her as a secondary rather than a main which is what I believe tourneys go off of.

 

[James Sparrow]

her niche is more of a surprise element rather than a leading force in a tourney,

I've gotten 3rd 2nd and 1st at the last 3 tournies i went to using only ZSS

 

[ph00tbag]

I think Zamus is just a discouraging character to play. You can start out thinking she's got these excellent moves, but then you realize that you have to use them in ways you're not accustomed to, which can be frustrating. For instance, approach with Zamus' fair is generally not a great idea, but using Plasma Whip to pace and space your approach has proven very effective for many people. It's slight changes in the way a ZSS main thinks about the game that can make her somewhat confusing for someone new to her to use.

 

[James Sparrow]

that sounds very accurate phootbag. i think that's true. but for those who have always played her it is fine.

 

[SabinFigaro24]

I'd have to agree as well - her FAir looks like it would function just like CFalcon's in Melee, or even Marth's in Brawl, as an approach, but it just isn't up to the task. I think ZSS is the most difficult character I play in terms of approaching, I feel myself relying very heavily on mixing up how I use the Plasma Whip out of short hops.

 

[turbogilman]

i stopped using her(as a secondary) when i realized her killing potential and general tactics weren't the best for my playstyle.

which means they are completely outweighed by the cons of her recovery, but @ james sparrow kudos for placing in tournaments, just wanna hear about zamus at a large tourney, whenever they happen

 

[Ulevo]

I am quite frankly very, very surprised no one plays with Zamus. She, to me, is the Melee Sheik of Brawl, and has one of the best combo potentials in Brawl, which says something. As long as you know how to use her KO moves appropriately, she is a fast and deadly force. All her Smashes are meant for accumulating damage, so some players may find it odd to have to use other moves for knock outs.

 

[Naybewon]

I'm glad people don't tend to play ZSS. It's a horrible shock to them, once you begin to destroy them and they aren't used to fighting someone with her moveset!

 

[-Aether]

It's a mystery why people don't play Zamus. I have heard in person from ChillinDude and Azen's mouth that they think Zamus has loads of potential. I've seen good players, using snake and metaknight, get trashed by Chillin's Zamus.

Zamus might be one of the best characters to play on Battlefield. Zamus will control matches where she can keep an opponent close or above her. No had has fast, ridiculously disjointed hitboxes like Zamus does...not even marths compare in length.

 

[Doval]

Why SHOULD they play ZS Samus? There's 37 characters in the game.

 

[samper]

I don't really play as ZSS because she's badass bounty hunter Samus Aran as eye candy, and I just have a problem with that apparently.

I also main Sonic, so I've already got a speed/finesse/agility character to work with, though I will use her instead of normal Samus sometimes just because me and my friends don't always play with items off, and it pays to be able to use them both. No sense in avoiding the smash ball just because it forces a character switch after all.

 

[Doval]

I don't really play as ZSS because she's badass bounty hunter Samus Aran as eye candy, and I just have a problem with that apparently.

Spoiler: Samus Aran has been eye candy since Metroid 1.

though I will use her instead of normal Samus sometimes just because me and my friends don't always play with items off, and it pays to be able to use them both. No sense in avoiding the smash ball just because it forces a character switch after all.

You can also grab the Smash Ball, switch, and use the Smash Ball to transform back.

 

[Sundown]

James Sparrow, are there videos up for those tournaments? Id like to see them

 

[Rune_Ocarina]

I've actually been able to catch my friends off guard when I used Zamus, and they've openly stated that they've never fought someone who uses Zamus before giving me an advantage in addition to the extant that I can play her.

I couldn't get into Sheik in Melee, but the moment I tried Zamus everything flowed so perfectly. I guess not having a picture of her in the character selection screen can be blamed for the small amount of Zamus around.

 

[James Sparrow]

James Sparrow, are there videos up for those tournaments? Id like to see them

The one from yesterday where i got 2nd recorded the losers finals and winners finals, so those sets will be up eventually. I didn't record them so I can't promise they'll be up anytime soon.

 

[samper]

@doval
Yes, I'm aware that beating Metroid's at certain percentages/speeds reveals Samus without her armor and I didn't care for eye candy Samus when that happened either. I've just always preferred Samus while in the suit is all I'm saying. And I had never thought to switch to ZSS before using a final smash before, though that wouldn't help me that much as my friends tend to be pretty aggressive and they'll take the ball from me if they get the chance (especially since I'm usually in the air when I get the ball and I don't think you can switch while not grounded), good idea though.

Back on topic:
I am surprised to hear that people apparently don't use ZSS though. For one, she's eye candy, and most people that aren't me are really into that, two, out of the few people I know that play ssbb about 1/3 of them main ZSS and they do really well as her too, and three, she's got a lot going for her. Speed, good tilts, two methods of stunning which can set up easy throws, pretty good reach, what may well be the longest tether recovery in the game, and three spikes although trying to use them might be somewhat suicidal at times. Maybe all the tournament goers are afraid of not playing as the current god tiers or something.

 

[Kitamerby]

Honestly, I believe the only thing that's really halting new players from choosing Samus is simply the lack of an idea on where to start. She has a very high learning curve, as most of her moves simply cannot be used like other characters. Maybe a guide or something would help to attract new Zamus users.

 

[Pubik Vengeance]

i stopped using her(as a secondary) when i realized her killing potential and general tactics weren't the best for my playstyle.

People always seem to say this, but my old main was Sonic so she feels like a KO machine to me.

 

[fkacyan]

STeep learning curve, countered by a lot of already-top-tier characters (Meaning there are a lot of them). Mostly the learning curve.

It's very difficult to play her well, which is probably why I'm only semi-good, if that.

 

[James Sparrow]

James Sparrow, are there videos up for those tournaments? Id like to see them

I posted them in the video sticky

http://www.smashboards.com/showpost.php?p=4518893&postcount=60