So im going to preface this by saying that i havent kept up with whats been said on these boards the last couple weeks. Maybe you all have discussed this already, but judging from most of the other discussions ive seen and heard, people haven't been very optimistic about falcos lasers lately.
This isnt surprising since everyone loves to complain about their character, but recently hax said something along the lines that falco's lasers are a "gimmick". Hax has said some pretty controversial stuff before so im sure there are a lot of people that will just dismiss it, but when a top player says something about why a character sucks, the scrubs usually like to cling to it like gospel and completely overreact to it. With top falcos seemingly dropping like flies (hello zhu with 25th at pound, our highest placing falco) people dont need any more ammunition to complain about one of the best characters in the game. Im writing this post right now to tell you why what he said is dumb, why his reasoning for why lasers are a gimmick is even dumber and just flat out surprising to hear from one of the most technical players on the planet.
To paraphrase hax, his reasoning for why lasers are gimmicky is that falco cannot react to his own laser coming back at him at close range. This would make closing the gap at close range with lasers impossible, and falco would essentially have to play laserless and very defensive (mostly in the context of the fox matchup).
Advents like trigger tricking and the 20XX hack pack have made powershielding far more common and easier than ever. But that is why it is also easier than ever for falco to powershield the powershielded laser back at his opponent. In fact, it may very well be easier for falco than his opponent.
Hax's biggest mistake is assuming that falco has no time to react to his own lasers. In truth, falco does NOT NEED to react. The falco controls the range, height, and timing of the laser being shot, he has more information on how to powershield the laser in advance than his opponent does. With the consistency that players can now powershield lasers, it can be assumed that close range, high lasers will be powershielded against competent opponents. The falco can assume that there will be a powershield, powershield his laser back.
This sounds very 20XX on the surface, but in reality, it is infact as easy (maybe easier) to practice than powershielding itself. Like it was said earlier, falco controls the range, height and timing of the laser. That means he can practice a specific timing to powershield that is universal. Level 9 bots with full handicap can provide all the powershielded lasers you need, it is just then the falcos job to grind the telegraphed situation from the range that is desired. It would take an excellent awareness of your own range that you need to be in to do it, but like all fighters, that is a massive part of the game, and a skill that you should be using for everything else you do. After you become familiar with the range u want to laser from and the height of the laser you want to shoot, it is simply a matter of timing.
The most difficult part of this is confirming that your own laser has been powershielded. Since everything else is a practiced motion, this is the only reaction necessary on the falco's end. The falco would always shield in an attempt to powershield his laser back as this part is too fast to react too. The sound of the powershield from your opponent should be the cue to how u should move after you shield.
As an example though (this would be both character and range dependant), if the laser is powershielded, you would be primed to react with a wavedash or jump in after you shield to continue the attack. If your opponent fails to powershield the laser, you could be primed to react with a wavedash back. No matter what two options you decide are appropriate depending on successful/failed powershield by your opponent, they are possible because they are predetermined. This entire situation is very fast, and so it has to be planned before falco is in it. Because falco controls all the variables however, i see no reason why it is not possible.
This decision may not even be entirely necessary, as you could decide to jump in regardless of whether your opponent powershields, as depending on the range you are at, you may have time to capitalize on the unpowershielded laser by your opponent. Or you could stay in place and hold the stage you have just taken from your opponent, forcing them to retreat. By being capable of powershielding the laser back at your opponent at close range, falco gains the ability to be very aggressive in his approach once again.
This has gotten to be a fairly long post so i will end it here. I figured I should share these ideas out somewhere. For anyone still doubting this is possible, i would like you to consider Yoshi's parry. I play with a very technically competent yoshi in Ottawa who is able to parry almost any aerial he can get the timing for with amazing consistency. He is also phenomenal at powershielding because of this. The way he parries is based almost solely on timing. His options out of parry are predetermined as there is no time to react after a parry, but because he knows what the situation will be, he can select the appropriate actions out of parry before it begins. This is the same as what falco can do when he powershields a laser back at an opponent, only falco is not even relying on reading his opponents timing. He sets the timing himself when he shoots the laser.
TL;DR: Falcos lasers are still the best projectile in the game. He does not need to react to a laser powershielded back at him to powershield the laser yet again. He can anticipate the situation. Since he controls the timing, range and height of the laser being shot, it is conceivably easier to powershield a returning laser than the initial laser itself. Since falco controls all the variables of the laser being shot, it can be practiced outside of matches to a very high degree.
This isnt surprising since everyone loves to complain about their character, but recently hax said something along the lines that falco's lasers are a "gimmick". Hax has said some pretty controversial stuff before so im sure there are a lot of people that will just dismiss it, but when a top player says something about why a character sucks, the scrubs usually like to cling to it like gospel and completely overreact to it. With top falcos seemingly dropping like flies (hello zhu with 25th at pound, our highest placing falco) people dont need any more ammunition to complain about one of the best characters in the game. Im writing this post right now to tell you why what he said is dumb, why his reasoning for why lasers are a gimmick is even dumber and just flat out surprising to hear from one of the most technical players on the planet.
To paraphrase hax, his reasoning for why lasers are gimmicky is that falco cannot react to his own laser coming back at him at close range. This would make closing the gap at close range with lasers impossible, and falco would essentially have to play laserless and very defensive (mostly in the context of the fox matchup).
Advents like trigger tricking and the 20XX hack pack have made powershielding far more common and easier than ever. But that is why it is also easier than ever for falco to powershield the powershielded laser back at his opponent. In fact, it may very well be easier for falco than his opponent.
Hax's biggest mistake is assuming that falco has no time to react to his own lasers. In truth, falco does NOT NEED to react. The falco controls the range, height, and timing of the laser being shot, he has more information on how to powershield the laser in advance than his opponent does. With the consistency that players can now powershield lasers, it can be assumed that close range, high lasers will be powershielded against competent opponents. The falco can assume that there will be a powershield, powershield his laser back.
This sounds very 20XX on the surface, but in reality, it is infact as easy (maybe easier) to practice than powershielding itself. Like it was said earlier, falco controls the range, height and timing of the laser. That means he can practice a specific timing to powershield that is universal. Level 9 bots with full handicap can provide all the powershielded lasers you need, it is just then the falcos job to grind the telegraphed situation from the range that is desired. It would take an excellent awareness of your own range that you need to be in to do it, but like all fighters, that is a massive part of the game, and a skill that you should be using for everything else you do. After you become familiar with the range u want to laser from and the height of the laser you want to shoot, it is simply a matter of timing.
The most difficult part of this is confirming that your own laser has been powershielded. Since everything else is a practiced motion, this is the only reaction necessary on the falco's end. The falco would always shield in an attempt to powershield his laser back as this part is too fast to react too. The sound of the powershield from your opponent should be the cue to how u should move after you shield.
As an example though (this would be both character and range dependant), if the laser is powershielded, you would be primed to react with a wavedash or jump in after you shield to continue the attack. If your opponent fails to powershield the laser, you could be primed to react with a wavedash back. No matter what two options you decide are appropriate depending on successful/failed powershield by your opponent, they are possible because they are predetermined. This entire situation is very fast, and so it has to be planned before falco is in it. Because falco controls all the variables however, i see no reason why it is not possible.
This decision may not even be entirely necessary, as you could decide to jump in regardless of whether your opponent powershields, as depending on the range you are at, you may have time to capitalize on the unpowershielded laser by your opponent. Or you could stay in place and hold the stage you have just taken from your opponent, forcing them to retreat. By being capable of powershielding the laser back at your opponent at close range, falco gains the ability to be very aggressive in his approach once again.
This has gotten to be a fairly long post so i will end it here. I figured I should share these ideas out somewhere. For anyone still doubting this is possible, i would like you to consider Yoshi's parry. I play with a very technically competent yoshi in Ottawa who is able to parry almost any aerial he can get the timing for with amazing consistency. He is also phenomenal at powershielding because of this. The way he parries is based almost solely on timing. His options out of parry are predetermined as there is no time to react after a parry, but because he knows what the situation will be, he can select the appropriate actions out of parry before it begins. This is the same as what falco can do when he powershields a laser back at an opponent, only falco is not even relying on reading his opponents timing. He sets the timing himself when he shoots the laser.
TL;DR: Falcos lasers are still the best projectile in the game. He does not need to react to a laser powershielded back at him to powershield the laser yet again. He can anticipate the situation. Since he controls the timing, range and height of the laser being shot, it is conceivably easier to powershield a returning laser than the initial laser itself. Since falco controls all the variables of the laser being shot, it can be practiced outside of matches to a very high degree.
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