Wind Dancing (?)

[Obligatoryfinalboss]

The boomerang pushed people back a bit if it hits them from the front, right? So couldn't you use it to stop people from returning to the stage, I know it doesn't give 'em their jump back...

 

[Turbowombat]

I love the name and I'd like to toss out a new question to add to the GB's application. One big nerf to link is the change to the bounce physics of the boomerang. Some of you may have noticed that if you throw it down into an angled surface in Melee it will hop over your head and behind you. Young Link could do this on flat ground and since the backstroke goes through walls you could hit almost any part of any level. With the Gale boomerang I've found that this can be a great way to ledge camp enemies who are in the process of using their up-B but in practice there are very few stages which allow you to do this since you have to hit a viable target (say the pillars on castle seige or the tendrils on zebes).

My question is; is there a consistent way to toss the GB at midrange so that when you hop over/under it it continues for a while pushing opponents away from you (potentially whiffing their incoming attacks and setting them up for a Fair or Nair)? It's something I'm toying around with, not sure if it's applicable or not.

 

[Eten]

The boomerang pushed people back a bit if it hits them from the front, right? So couldn't you use it to stop people from returning to the stage, I know it doesn't give 'em their jump back...

True. It depends on how far out you've thrown it. Close up, the actual boomerang seems to hit with knockback for damage. Near the end of it's outwards throw, it simply just pushes the person, and an inwards push on the way in. It's also possible for an opponent to hop in the top and "ride" the boomerang as far as the boomerang goes at any stage(which leads to some weird things happening when people aren't paying attention, like the boomerang goes out, link gets hit way up, the boomerang comes back, he jumps into the top without realizing it and it pulls him all the up to link in the air). That "push" part is actually much more effective than I initially gave credit for, myself. Anybody who is in the "unable to move" position, like after an up-B while recovering, won't have that reset when they just get pushed by the boomerang, and so it is very easy to push someone just outside of grabbing a hold of the ledge that way. Look at Mario and Squirtle threads on their water spray, it basically can do what those do, except without charging and for only only part of the outwards throw.

I play Zelda and I find myself exceptionally vulnerable when I do a short hopped Din's Fire, which is common because it allows me to float over the stage while casting it a bit, so I can move forward or retreat while doing it. However, after using Din's Fire, your in the same unable to move state as you are after her Up-B Farore's Wind. Usually this isn't a problem, I'm not far from the ground and can just land quickly afterwards. However, I've gotten pushed by the boomerang on it's way out at the end just enough to push me off over the stage, which is basically a gimp KO, more than once. I learned not to do jumped Din's Fire near the edge against Link.

In addition, since the whole return path of the gale boomerang is all push, and no hit at all, you can actually use this to screw up a lot of recoveries! There are three ways you can do this. The first is basic, throw the boomerang in towards the stage(hard, a smash throw is needed, because anything less than that the boomerang doesn't spend nearly as much time traveling behind you after you don't catch it), and then jump over it as it comes to you. When you do it this way, the gale boomerang travels slightly up and a bit away behind you, so it's could be useful for people recovering from that direction, especially if they are in the "unable to take action" state from an up-B or the like. Although usually there are much better things to do to people come back to the stage from that angle, tbqh.

The second, throw the boomerang diagonally upward and towards the stage, and then jump over the boomerang on it's way back. This boomerang travels out and somewhat downwards, which is the perfect direction for messing up people's recoveries from that way. This is actually pretty good, and part of it goes through the area right around the ledge itself. This covers more distance than the first.

The last way of aiming the boomerang to mess up recoveries is just like the second in that you throw it diagonally upward and towards the stage. Then, on the way back, you jump so the boomerang returns to you high, but then you fast fall and duck beneath the boomerang's return. This sends the boomerang on a much steeper and maybe even faster path outwards and down than the second, typically going straight through the ledge area and right through a low recovery zone. This one appears to cover the most distance of the three.

And of course, I wouldn't bother mentioning all of this if it didn't have a use. This does take a bit of thinking and a little setup, however this IS usable since 1- Even if it pushes them just a tiny bit, it doesn't help them recover any jumps or give them any distance, and 2- you're doing it at a time where the actions are not punishable, IE. your opponent is recovering.

 

[FartKnocker]

I was fighting my friend's Pit with Link and he kept throwing in Pit's mirror shield to disrupt my projectile combos. I started throwing the boomerang behind Pit and charging an FSmash, then laughing as Pit got pulled into it and I'd smack him through his shield (sometimes the first swipe would bounce off but the second swipe always connected).

I think a strong part of Link's game will be understanding how the force from the boomerang will re-position his opponents to set them up for combos. Unfortunately I haven't seen the differences in force of pull (nor direction) between above bRANG/below bRANG/hit with bRANG yet because I haven't sat down with it to test all of its possible applications (I play random so I'm maining someone else every night until I learn them all). I'll probably try doing this tonight since I've been meaning to mess with Link more since everybody's learning TL. !@#$. Maybe I should post a write-up for my findings since there's so little community support for Link (no tech/combo/faq stickies for LINK?!?!?!)

 

[Cronos_1]

Think about it, how are you going to get the boomerang to catch someone on the way back, if they're paying attention? seriously, people aren't going to just stand inbetween you and the boomerang, and let it catch them. if they do get caught that's great, but it's not going to work if the guy knows how to jump. If you can time it so he lands on it on the way back that's fantastic, but it wont be that easy to pull off.

I agree with Killbeast but to be honest doesn't that just make the effect of the gale boomerang better? you're not only controlling the pull of the boomerang but if your opponent doesn't want to get caught in it you're limiting their ability to space. forcing them to jump. Taking advantage of the boomerang and your bombs in this way could play for a very interesting control game. To me the TP Link of Brawl plays better when he controls the battlefield (When me and my friends first started and Link's boomerang and bombs where controlling the field it was hard to counter) Starting to think TP Link is all about control less so than he was about Projectile prowess...Spacing and control...not to say projectiles still don't work.