Why you suck at Falco

[Grendel]

First of all don't argue that u don't suck. Unless you are Mango Ppmd or even Westballz u suck at Falco. It feels disappointing that there are so few players who really tap into the potential of this amazing character and I am here to talk about why very few people tap into the potential of the bird.

It is easy to find guides about the technicalities of characters. For those who really want to get good at this game I am going to tackle a less talked about issue which holds countless players back. This issue is personal struggle. There are billions of people in this world but there is only one person who can make you master Falco.

You're too narrow minded
"X option is best in Y situation"

Those who give or take this advice too seriously are too narrow minded. Advice like this can often be used as guidelines. The problem lies in where friendly and good intended advice can be misused and even end up being harmful to the receiver and giver of the advice. Not only is this advice given in this form so basic it can often be misleading or even wrong, but this type of advice leaves little to the imagination. The greatest Falco's have a far superior understanding of a character. This limited information on the situation will often be insufficient in dealing with the situation reliably and will especially be useless in micro-situations that branch off of said "Y situation." Players who really have a strong understanding of the game can abuse the lack of knowledge newer players have. Melee has a vast amount of depth and it is necessary to dive into this depth to become a good player.

You lack an ego
"I need to improve my neutral game because Ppmd has a good neutral game and he is good at Falco"

One major issue that I feel as though players have but is an issue that receives very little acknowledgment is a lack of ego. When I say a lack of ego I do not imply that players should blindly believe that they are the best and have unrealistic expectations for themselves. When I say a lack of ego I mean that people don't feel as personally connected to the game and to the character. To be good at a game you have to play to your own strengths. To be great at melee you must be passionate enough about it to express yourself through melee. There is no optimal play style and there is no right way to learn the game.

You are disconnected from reality
"I lost because I was tired"

You didn't lose because you were tired you lost because your opponent has a better understand of the game than you or your opponent outplayed you. If you cannot take the time to understand why you are losing you will never win.

Your are not competitive

This does not mean that you have to have an obsessive drive to be the best but it does mean that you must get engaged in competitions.

 

[FEOwain]

This is really good stuff. I feel you tried too hard to downplay the reader, but otherwise a great improving guide which overviews key mistakes that lower level players like I have.

 

[FE_Hector]

I'm not saying that what you said was without some legitimacy, but your title for the thread sounded really rude. I've known even Saiblade to admit that he sucks, and it's important to know that so you don't get lazy in your practice and everything, but a jab like that might actually keep a lot of people from reading it. Pretty true stuff, though.

 

[Pikashockz]

Those are some good words right there, got straight to the point. The title makes the post seem like a toxic troll post though.

 

[Klemes]

Nah title is perfect IMO. Wouldn't anyone wanna know if/why they suck at anything ? And even more so why they suck at Falco.
Otherwise I liked what I saw. Especially the ego part. Basically I suck when I think I suck. And the more I suck, the more I think I suck... You know wha' I'm sayin' ?

 

[NitroSSBM]

Those are some good words right there, got straight to the point. The title makes the post seem like a toxic troll post though.

nice profile picture

but you gotta take out that 1px outline for it to work

 

[Pikashockz]

nice profile picture

but you gotta take out that 1px outline for it to work

haha, you caught me.

 

[MewtwoForce]

The situation as I see it is most players have not answered a crucial question in their smash career. The real question I see is, what is the MINIMUM standard of practice you need to do in order to stay ahead of the people you need to beat to win tournaments? And what exactly is that standard you need to hit? If your level of practice is under this standard or doesn't understand what that standard is then it becomes a wild goose chase. They practice better so even if you put in 1 hour a day if thats not good enough too bad. You're not putting in enough time and are basically training for an hour to lose.

Think about that. Training for an hour just to lose.

So the next question is this. If your standard of practice is not good enough, when will you make the big decision to make it good enough? When will training at this game for 3 hours a day become your reality? When will winning the tournament matter enough for you to say "Whatever it takes"? If you don't know then you should probably wake up and realize you have no chance of winning until this happens.

With that said about training I don't want to ever see the game as mind numbing work and I don't think others should either. In fact i'm even a little hesitant to commit to saying you should have winning as your only goal. Winning is not my main goal in smash. My main goal in smash is to ENJOY how it feels to have more and more control and ability with the character than I already have. Choosing to make the training a tournament winning standard will give me/ you a more capable character that you have more fun with and make the game and tournament experience more fun to you.

And yes I do understand this post looks cute coming from a mewtwo main

 

[FE_Hector]

The situation as I see it is most players have not answered a crucial question in their smash career. The real question I see is, what is the MINIMUM standard of practice you need to do in order to stay ahead of the people you need to beat to win tournaments? And what exactly is that standard you need to hit? If your level of practice is under this standard or doesn't understand what that standard is then it becomes a wild goose chase. They practice better so even if you put in 1 hour a day if thats not good enough too bad. You're not putting in enough time and are basically training for an hour to lose.

Think about that. Training for an hour just to lose.

So the next question is this. If your standard of practice is not good enough, when will you make the big decision to make it good enough? When will training at this game for 3 hours a day become your reality? When will winning the tournament matter enough for you to say "Whatever it takes"? If you don't know then you should probably wake up and realize you have no chance of winning until this happens.

With that said about training I don't want to ever see the game as mind numbing work and I don't think others should either. In fact i'm even a little hesitant to commit to saying you should have winning as your only goal. Winning is not my main goal in smash. My main goal in smash is to ENJOY how it feels to have more and more control and ability with the character than I already have. Choosing to make the training a tournament winning standard will give me/ you a more capable character that you have more fun with and make the game and tournament experience more fun to you.

And yes I do understand this post looks cute coming from a mewtwo main

Some really legit stuff in this post. Personally, I can't play Monday through Friday save Friday after school or days we don't have school, but I also have a weekly smash fest Friday after school that I get a lot of practice during and devote most of Saturday to Melee. You've gotta figure out a solid training regimen for yourself. If that involves regular practice against players that are definitely better than you, excellent. If not, turn into a lab monster.

 

[Eorlingas]

You are disconnected from reality
"I lost because I was tired"

You didn't lose because you were tired you lost because your opponent has a better understand of the game than you or your opponent outplayed you. If you cannot take the time to understand why you are losing you will never win.

I mean, you do play worse if you are tired. It's a fact that there is an inverse relationship with your reflexes/hand eye coordination and sleep. I'm not saying this is not your fault, though. I think you should objectively look at why you lost. This is a reason, not an excuse. The whole "no johns" thing has been blown way out of proportion. I've been told no johns when I say I should have done x instead of y there or something. That makes no sense, I'm basically just analyzing my gameplay.

Anyways, back to the point, you should look at tiredness as a part of preparation. You should be hydrated, dressed properly for the temperature, well-slept, and not hungry. You should look at these things just like you look at your gameplay. So you can say "I should stop shieldgrabbing." AND "I should have gotten more sleep last night."[/QUOTE]

 

[FE_Hector]

I mean, you do play worse if you are tired. It's a fact that there is an inverse relationship with your reflexes/hand eye coordination and sleep. I'm not saying this is not your fault, though. I think you should objectively look at why you lost. This is a reason, not an excuse. The whole "no johns" thing has been blown way out of proportion. I've been told no johns when I say I should have done x instead of y there or something. That makes no sense, I'm basically just analyzing my gameplay.

Anyways, back to the point, you should look at tiredness as a part of preparation. You should be hydrated, dressed properly for the temperature, well-slept, and not hungry. You should look at these things just like you look at your gameplay. So you can say "I should stop shieldgrabbing." AND "I should have gotten more sleep last night."

[/QUOTE]
Even here in NC, we see stuff like that sometimes. I took a few stocks off of NCSUs #4 player when I had no business doing so because he'd been up the previous night studying for a test. Being tired is a legitimate excuse for losing, but using it consistently is bull.

 

[Eorlingas]

Ayyyyy no way, you at NCSU? Will you be at the fest this Friday?

It depends on how you phrase it. If you say "Oh damn, I lost cause I was tired." that's just you pointing out your fault in preparation. If you say "I only lost because I was tired, I could have definitely beaten you if I got enough sleep last night." then you are just blaming something else, and making an unjustified statement about how you could beat them when there is 0 proof for that, quite the opposite actually. The first one shows that you know why you lost, and you accept that you've been beaten. If you consistently lose because you're tired, then that is a problem that you are not addressing, much like consistently losing because you don't L cancel.

 

[FE_Hector]

Ayyyyy no way, you at NCSU? Will you be at the fest this Friday?

It depends on how you phrase it. If you say "Oh damn, I lost cause I was tired." that's just you pointing out your fault in preparation. If you say "I only lost because I was tired, I could have definitely beaten you if I got enough sleep last night." then you are just blaming something else, and making an unjustified statement about how you could beat them when there is 0 proof for that, quite the opposite actually. The first one shows that you know why you lost, and you accept that you've been beaten. If you consistently lose because you're tired, then that is a problem that you are not addressing, much like consistently losing because you don't L cancel.

You raised such an amazing point right there. And hellz yeah I'll be at the fest Friday. I've been at every fest thus far. Message me for more details if you wanna.

 

[Grendel]

Ayyyyy no way, you at NCSU? Will you be at the fest this Friday?

It depends on how you phrase it. If you say "Oh damn, I lost cause I was tired." that's just you pointing out your fault in preparation. If you say "I only lost because I was tired, I could have definitely beaten you if I got enough sleep last night." then you are just blaming something else, and making an unjustified statement about how you could beat them when there is 0 proof for that, quite the opposite actually. The first one shows that you know why you lost, and you accept that you've been beaten. If you consistently lose because you're tired, then that is a problem that you are not addressing, much like consistently losing because you don't L cancel.

My mistake I think I rushed through that section too much, I find ur interpretation to be quite insightful and interesting but what you got out of it was not my original intention although I am quite content that my post was able to get you thinking. When I was writing about that section I originally was thinking about a book called "6 pillars of self esteem" which stated an example that many people who are overweight blame their weight issues on health conditions but in reality only a tiny portion of those who claim they suffer from health conditions actually suffer from health conditions. I was trying to apply this example to smash but I did not clarify it enough.

 

[FE_Hector]

Nah, it makes sense. I was just rounding out your statement a little bit to make it easier to understand.