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Link to original post: [drupal=1648]Why wifi Shouldn't be your #1 Priority in Smash.[/drupal]
I initially posted this at AiB since wifi is a bigger issue there, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to bring it here. Without further adieu:
Hey there! For those of you that don't know me, I'm a Fox player from PA. Although I started on wifi, I quickly became an offline -exclusive player. Now I know a good bunch of you know this stuff already, so you really don't need to read this, but feel free to chime in.
When I got back from college, I was pretty happy. Home for a few months to relax. The only bad side? I wasn't able to practice with my crew anymore. It was great having a bunch of skilled players around you to help you improve. All I had at home is my best friend(who's not bad), and wifi. Ahhhh yes wifi. A way to play against others from around the world, including the best. So I decide to do the wifi ladder(Since I got nothing better to do), and after a shaky start, start rising up through the ranks until I get to the 1500s range. I was pretty satisfied; I was even beating some 1900 ranked people and keeping up with people like Samboner and Hyrulian. But at the same time, I would lose to random low ranked people, not because of skill, but due to some wifi related crap. Whether it was a SD because the lag made a button not register, or plain out not being able to tech right, it was agitating, especially when it happened in those really close sets when its anyone's game. These random losses kept dragging me back down after a lot of hard work. Then, once I got back to where I was, it would happen again, and my rating would plummet. I know its not just me either. I've seen my opponents in wifi matches succumb to the same Wifi induced-SD fate.
I wanted to give wifi a good solid chance, since some argue its legit and counts for something. After about a month of wifi, this mostly offline player disagrees fully. Wifi is something that should be used to learn matchups AT BEST, nothing more. It is in no way a measure of what you or your opponent is actually capable of. The amount of input lag on wifi makes many tactics that are near useless and almost never work offline work effectively online. Examples:
Abusing SpotDodge Dsmash: Characters like MK, Fox, Wolf, R.O.B, and others can seriously abuse this to no end. The input lag makes it super hard to powershield or smash DI these attacks. Offline, these moves can be punished very easily, and powershielding and proper smash DI arent very hard to do.
Spamming: Im going after wolf especially here. Wolf can laser spam and run on wifi, and almost no one can do anything to stop it. Others characters such as MK can spam without much consequence on wifi. Offline, Power shielding again come into play. If you play a spammy wolf offline, its a simple matter of spot dodging and power shielding at the right times, timing that gets thrown off on wifi.
MK's Dtilt: Ohhh boy do I see a lot of MKs do this online. spamming dtilt usually can lock people for good damage online, especially if they trip. Offline? If the Dtilt doesnt trip, its an easy shield grab. Mk offline should only use the dtilt in once case: To trip the opponent and follow up with a better quick move.
There are many other examples, but I don't want to make your eyes bleed from walls of text icon_smile.
The next major topic: Timing.
Timing that has been built up offline goes straight out the 100 story skyscraper window. To make matters worse, pending on the connection, the input lag is different for every game, making it sometimes impossible to time everything right, when it needs to be right. This leads to botched powershield, techs, cancels, and missed attacks that would be muscle memory otherwise. I think you can imagine(and know) the repercussions of this.
Next:Connectivity issues.
There is something people should know about, its called a de-sync. A de-sync is when both wiis see different things, so each player sees different results. This happened to me once against a falco. I killed him once, they he acted weird and SD'd twice. I thought it was weird, but I asked for the opponents CP. But he asked me for my CP, even though I had won. He claimed I SD'd twice and that he won. He also had film to prove it he said. I knew what I saw, so I thought this guy was trying to blackmail me into throwing a match. Well we brought it up to mods, and they explained the de-sync. Turns out we were both right.
Then we all know about error codes, but that has nothing to do with this.
Overall, wifi should be used for one thing(If you are a serious player), and that is matchup experience. Wifi lets you get the feel of how to fight certain characters, and allows you to learn basics when picking up new ones. AndyG is someone who does this.
Now I know there are people that want to take wifi seriously and all, but hear me out. If you want to make a name for yourself in the smash community, its not going to be on the AiB ladder. Its going to be at OFFLINE tournaments, getting your name out there by placings and videos, and knowing your stuff. Going to offline tourneys is one of my absolute favorite things to do. You get so much experience and you meet a lot of individuals, as well as getting yourself out there. Spend the time that you would trying to be in the Aib Playoffs by going and competing in tourneys. I know what is coming " I don't have a ride to tourneys!" "I cant afford to host tourneys!" I'll leave you with this:
"What is stopping you from hosting YOUR OWN Tourney?" I guarantee you if you can't travel, there will be others that will be.
I initially posted this at AiB since wifi is a bigger issue there, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to bring it here. Without further adieu:
Hey there! For those of you that don't know me, I'm a Fox player from PA. Although I started on wifi, I quickly became an offline -exclusive player. Now I know a good bunch of you know this stuff already, so you really don't need to read this, but feel free to chime in.
When I got back from college, I was pretty happy. Home for a few months to relax. The only bad side? I wasn't able to practice with my crew anymore. It was great having a bunch of skilled players around you to help you improve. All I had at home is my best friend(who's not bad), and wifi. Ahhhh yes wifi. A way to play against others from around the world, including the best. So I decide to do the wifi ladder(Since I got nothing better to do), and after a shaky start, start rising up through the ranks until I get to the 1500s range. I was pretty satisfied; I was even beating some 1900 ranked people and keeping up with people like Samboner and Hyrulian. But at the same time, I would lose to random low ranked people, not because of skill, but due to some wifi related crap. Whether it was a SD because the lag made a button not register, or plain out not being able to tech right, it was agitating, especially when it happened in those really close sets when its anyone's game. These random losses kept dragging me back down after a lot of hard work. Then, once I got back to where I was, it would happen again, and my rating would plummet. I know its not just me either. I've seen my opponents in wifi matches succumb to the same Wifi induced-SD fate.
I wanted to give wifi a good solid chance, since some argue its legit and counts for something. After about a month of wifi, this mostly offline player disagrees fully. Wifi is something that should be used to learn matchups AT BEST, nothing more. It is in no way a measure of what you or your opponent is actually capable of. The amount of input lag on wifi makes many tactics that are near useless and almost never work offline work effectively online. Examples:
Abusing SpotDodge Dsmash: Characters like MK, Fox, Wolf, R.O.B, and others can seriously abuse this to no end. The input lag makes it super hard to powershield or smash DI these attacks. Offline, these moves can be punished very easily, and powershielding and proper smash DI arent very hard to do.
Spamming: Im going after wolf especially here. Wolf can laser spam and run on wifi, and almost no one can do anything to stop it. Others characters such as MK can spam without much consequence on wifi. Offline, Power shielding again come into play. If you play a spammy wolf offline, its a simple matter of spot dodging and power shielding at the right times, timing that gets thrown off on wifi.
MK's Dtilt: Ohhh boy do I see a lot of MKs do this online. spamming dtilt usually can lock people for good damage online, especially if they trip. Offline? If the Dtilt doesnt trip, its an easy shield grab. Mk offline should only use the dtilt in once case: To trip the opponent and follow up with a better quick move.
There are many other examples, but I don't want to make your eyes bleed from walls of text icon_smile.
The next major topic: Timing.
Timing that has been built up offline goes straight out the 100 story skyscraper window. To make matters worse, pending on the connection, the input lag is different for every game, making it sometimes impossible to time everything right, when it needs to be right. This leads to botched powershield, techs, cancels, and missed attacks that would be muscle memory otherwise. I think you can imagine(and know) the repercussions of this.
Next:Connectivity issues.
There is something people should know about, its called a de-sync. A de-sync is when both wiis see different things, so each player sees different results. This happened to me once against a falco. I killed him once, they he acted weird and SD'd twice. I thought it was weird, but I asked for the opponents CP. But he asked me for my CP, even though I had won. He claimed I SD'd twice and that he won. He also had film to prove it he said. I knew what I saw, so I thought this guy was trying to blackmail me into throwing a match. Well we brought it up to mods, and they explained the de-sync. Turns out we were both right.
Then we all know about error codes, but that has nothing to do with this.
Overall, wifi should be used for one thing(If you are a serious player), and that is matchup experience. Wifi lets you get the feel of how to fight certain characters, and allows you to learn basics when picking up new ones. AndyG is someone who does this.
Now I know there are people that want to take wifi seriously and all, but hear me out. If you want to make a name for yourself in the smash community, its not going to be on the AiB ladder. Its going to be at OFFLINE tournaments, getting your name out there by placings and videos, and knowing your stuff. Going to offline tourneys is one of my absolute favorite things to do. You get so much experience and you meet a lot of individuals, as well as getting yourself out there. Spend the time that you would trying to be in the Aib Playoffs by going and competing in tourneys. I know what is coming " I don't have a ride to tourneys!" "I cant afford to host tourneys!" I'll leave you with this:
"What is stopping you from hosting YOUR OWN Tourney?" I guarantee you if you can't travel, there will be others that will be.
