With the power suit ON - A Samus guide 25/5/08: *Not getting further updates*

[Doomgaze]

With the power suit ON
A Samus guide by Doomgaze

Index [You are here!]
Version history and coming updates
[II] About me and the making of this guide
[III] A Samus introduction
[IV] Terminology
[V] Changes from Melee to Brawl

[VI] Show your moves! (uhh.. no wait?)
[VIa] Ground moves
[VIb] Smashes
[VIc] The air
[VId] Throws
[VIe] Specials

[VII] How Samus plays
[VIII] Approaching
[IX] Combos
[X] Survivability and Directional Influence
[XI] Mindgames and movement
[XII] Edgeguarding
[XIII] Stages
[XIV] Matchups
[XV] Tricks and treats

[XVI] Outro


Version history and coming updates

25/5/08: It's now definite. I haven't been playing Brawl for 1½ month or so and I simply don't feel motivated. This is why I didn't include many of the updates (mainly the matchup section which I had already worked out) in this guide, like I promised 2 months ago. Alot of things can happen to the metagame in 2 months which is why in the end I chose to let it be.​

25/3/08: Yay, guide is up. It still lacks some of it's departments but I'll get into that in a few days or so.
Upcoming: Stages, character matchups and stale move negation.​

About me and the making of this guide [II]

Greetings fellow Smashers. I don't like long speeches so I'll keep this short ^_^

I made this guide because there was none, and I figured that since even G&W has one, I thought we might as well.

I've been playing Samus for a while now. In fact, it's the only character that I've been playing seriously with since the release of the japanese version of Brawl, and I think I've become quite good. I don't claim to be as good as many of the top Samus players, but I do think at this point, I'm experienced enough to dig a little bit deeper into the character specifics that define how Samus plays.

The purpose of this guide is to give new players a slight idea of what playing Samus is like, as well as inspiring other, perhaps more experienced players, to play her.

If you have any comments, suggestions or corrections, please post, mail or PM me those and I will gladly add them into this guide.

I also know at this point, there are things to be done, data to be processed and added into this guide, but don't worry, I'll get to that soon : )​

A Samus introduction [III]

I could start by saying she's a bounty hunter (a sexy one might I add) from space named Samus Aran, but these kind of things I'm sure most of you already know at this point, so let's get straight to business.

In Brawl, Samus is more or less a control-based character with amazing air game, which is set up by spamming lots of missiles and air grapples.
Make no mistake, though, you can't just spam randomly and expect a good result. Samus must be played with very exact calculations and precision, to achieve optimal results.

I'm going to tell you this right now: Samus is not one of the absolute best characters, at this point I think she's far from being it. However, she is one of the better ones, and I personally believe she holds a lot of potential.

Let me give you a rundown of her character in Brawl.

Strengths:

- Good approaches
- Powerful projectiles
- Good combo ability
- Strong tilts and airials
- One of the best, if not the best, jabs
- Pretty good edgeguarder

Weaknesses:

- Difficult to get that kill
- Her movement is a tad bit slow
- Not so good weight or height
- A bit lacking in the smashes-department
- Has a hard time dealing with projectiles at extremely long range
- Dealing with swords at very close range is hard too

Does this sound like something for you? Good, keep reading!​

Terminology [IV]

Hereunder is a list of common abbrevations and slang which have been used on the smashboards for quite a while. I thought I'd be sticking a list to this guide so that newer players can get an idea what I am refering to in this guide.

Frame(s) : The game plays the information displayed on your TV screen in frames. One frame is 1/60 of a second. In other words, 60 frames per second.
This is useful because certain moves and/or other actions is usually refered to in frames.

Lag : Lag is when, normally, before or after an attack you are unable to do anything else. Consider it as "cooldown".

Short hop (SH) : Every character in the game has start up lag on their initial jumps. If, during these frames, you release the jump button you will perform a significantly shorter jump. Because the buttons are not analog, the only factor to successfully short hopping is how fast you let go of the button. For this reason, there are only two heights of a jump, the full height of a jump is therefore called just "full jump".

Fast fall (FF) : If, after or precisely at the peak of your jump, you press down, you will fall notably faster.

Missile Cancelling (MC) : If the animation of launchin a missile is started while you are airborne, the landing will cancel the after-lag. If you master this you can fire a missile on your way down in a jump and immediately follow it, making it one of Samus best ways to approach the opponent.

Ledge hop : When hanging on an edge you can either roll, jump or attack directly from it. However you can also let go of the edge by pressing down or away (from the stage) and then use your second jump to get back on. During this jump you can either attack, MC a missile or airdodge.

Teching aka ukemi : After an attack that sends you to any obstacle, you can press L or R slightly before impacting, to "tech" on it. What happens is your character will perform a quick rising animation if you tech on the floor, or he/she will immediately stop bouncing if you tech on a wall. You can tech on floors, walls, edges and platforms.

Jab reset : If you press down on the analog stick after performing your initial Jab, you can jab again without going to the second jab in the jab series. Jab-crouch-jab-crouch-jab et.c. which can sometimes be useful, considering Samus initial jab is really good.

KO zones : Every stage is surrounded by KO zones, which if you cross, you lose a stock. Simple as that.

Directional influence : By holding the stick prior to an attack that sends you away, you can alter the trajectory to which you are being sent. The greatest effect to this is if you hold the stick perpendicular to the original trajectory. There are several things to know about DI, and I'm sure you can find other guides around here to tell you more. Proper DI is mandatory if you want to live for higher %.

Shield stun : The time after which an attack hits your shield, you can not do anything.

Hit stun : The time after which an attack hits you directly, you can not do anything.

Edgeguard(ing) : The whole process of preventing someone to return to the stage, either by attacking from the ledge or jumping out to attack.

Mindgames : A broad term which basically means playing or mixing up your play so that your opponent can't read you as easily. What this accomplishes is that your opponent will do things he wouldn't have done normally.​

Changes from Melee to Brawl [V]

The very first thing the apprentice Samus player should know is that Brawl Samus is played differently than Melee Samus. The modern Samus is not blessed by the same mobility because of lacking wave dash; she does no longer have the same godly recovery because of auto sweet spot grappling and nerfed bombs; and she can no longer counter attack by crouch cancelling.

The missiles and charge shot has lost a lot of ther crunch, but they are still very useful. More on that later.

Samus air game is still strong, but also a bit different. The most obvious difference is that some are now harder to hit with, but in return they come with zero or next to zero landing lag. In this remark, Samus is one of the fastest characters.

Here's a short list of buffs/nerfs.

Buffs:

- Air grapple (zair)
- Homing missiles
- Fair, Dair and Uair
- Jab
- Uncharged charge shot
- Up+B (better and worse)
- Dtilt (better and worse)

Nerfs:

- Grapple recovery
- Bomb jumping
- Nair and bair
- Fully charged charge shot
- Power missiles
- Utilt
- Up+B (better and worse)
- Dtilt (better and worse)​

Show your moves! (uuh.. no wait?) [VI]

I'm going to list every one of Samus available moves along with their official name and my opinion on their range, knockback and usefulness. I will also list the intial damage, which is based on observations made in training mode, in which stale move negation is not taken into account.​

Ground moves [VIa]

Jab

A(A)
Range: High
Knockback: Sufficient
Priority: Extremely high
Damage: 3% (initial), 7%(second)

- All I have to say is "Wow". Samus jab is easily one of the best. Especially the first jab has very high priority and range. It can hit slightly behind Samus, as well as clanking with more powerful moves from heavier characters. A life saver, excellent get-off-me-move and can be chained to other moves as well. Should be abused a lot in your play.


Forward tilt

Ftilt
Range: Above average
Knockback: Mid-low
Priority: Above average
Damage: 7% at the foot, 8% at the thigh

- Another fantastic move. Comes out fast, with not much after lag, has good range, good priorty and keeps your opponents off. A key move to poke your opponent with from a safe distance. Ideal to follow up long ranged zairs with. On a side note: you can angle this to alter the hitbox and trajectory.


Down tilt

Dtilt
Range: Well above average
Knockback: Pretty high
Priority: High
Damage: 14%

- It's beginning to sound tedious but this move is also a very important tilt.Comes out very fast, although it has a bit of after lag. Hits below shields and sends the opponent up high enogh to combo him at mid %, and possibly kill him at high % (130+ or so). Since it launches them up in the air it's a good combo starter.


Up tilt

Utilt
Range: Decent
Knockback: Varying, lethal at high percents
Priority: More than decent
Damage: 13% at the front, 12% above

- Ok this breaks the trend of awesome tilts. Not that this one isn't good, as a matter of fact, it is. It's just pretty tricky to land because it has quite a bit of starting lag. Sends at various trajectories but on grounded opponents they are usually popped right up which is pretty good, because you can combo from there. At extremely high percents you can even star KO with this one. I find it useful especially when he's on a platform directly above me, or near the ledges.
But generally, this move isn't as useful as previously.



Dash attack

Range: Good
Knockback: Very low
Priority: Decent enough
Damage: 10% if started close to opponent, 6% if not.

- Samus dash attack is good despite the statistics. It has more than decent range and doesn't get outprioritized so easily. The best thing about it is you will end up behind the opponent, meaning you won't get shield grabbed. Usually you can go from jab to UP+B from there too, which is highly recommended.​

Smashes [VIb]

Forward smash

Fsmash
Range: Short
Knockback: Mid-high
Priority: Mid
Damage: 13% (uncharged)

- I don't like this smash. The range is shorter than it appears to be and it's also pretty laggy. The knockback doesn't compensate for this, so it's a smash you will likely not use unless your opponent makes a mistake or something. On a side note, you can angle this to alter the trajectory and damage somewhat.


Up smash

Usmash
Range: Short but wide
Knockback: Very low (except the last hit has some power)
Priority: Nothing special
Damage: Multiple hits, usually 10-23% assuming most hits connect.

- Another "not so useful" smash. I use this below low platforms occasionally, but it can't be followed up by anything because it lags too much. The last hit has some knockback to hit, and it radiates behind Samus head.


Down smash

Dsmash
Range: Less than average
Knockback: Mid-high
Priority: More than decent
Damage: 15% at the front, 14% at the back

- Useful smash because it's so low. Especially useful against people who like to roll a lot, or versus smaller characters. Hitting low also means hitting below the shield. It's a bit slow though, especially at the back, and it doesn't hold very much of a range, but it's a good smash nonetheless. I sometimes feel I don't use this smash as much as I should.​

The air [VIc]

Neutral air

Nair
Range: Above average, see desription
Knockback: Very low
Priority: -
Damage: 9% at the tip of the foot precisely when it comes out, otherwise 6%

- One of the most nerfed moves. It has like no knockback and doesn't stay out long either. I is not advisable against opponents who are more below than in front of you, because the thigh doesn't seem to be a hitbox. Strangely though I still use Nair a lot to keep opponents away from me in the air, or knocking them off the stage near the edges. Oh, and it has zero landing lag, which is nice I guess.


Down air

Dair
Range: Low
Knockback: Varies, meteor spike
Priority: Not really
Damage: 15%

- Doesn't have much range or priority, but it seemingly has a better hitbox than the melee counter part, as it seems to be easier to hit with. Since it's still a meteor, it's a nice way to get gimp kills. On the stage I advise to not use it when coming down from the air to intercept an opponent. At extremely low percents this move doesn't knockback a standing opponent at all; at mid % he pops them right up which sets them up for combos; and at extremely high percents it has star KO potential. Can be used as an approach (although sparingly) because you can maneuver behind their shield, or away from shield grab range.


Back air

Bair
Range: Above average
Knockback: high
Priority: Above average
Damage: 14% at the foot, otherwise 10%

- Hard as hell to connect with. The hitbox doesn't stay out for long. Normally you need some kind of setup to connect with this sucker, which by the way is one of Samus best killer moves. Do not even attempt to try to hit standing opponents with it. Instead try to set them up on a platform and Bair from below, it usually does the trick. Don't expect it to kill before 100% though, even if you're near the edges.


Forward air

Fair
Range: Pretty high
Knockback: Very low
Priority: Seems to eat most things up
Damage: Multiple hits, max 18%, normally 10-15% against airborne opponents, less on standing.

- Seems like it's been buffed a lot which is probably because the new engine promotes multiple hits to actually connect. The nice thing about it is that it chains into pretty much anything, the low knockback makes sure the opponents sticks around for more (although it can probably be DI:ed out of kinda).


Up air

Uair
Range: High
Knockback: Low, tends to send horizontally and away at higher percents
Priority: High
Damage: Multiple hits, normally about 9-11%

- Perfect juggler! Comes out fast, has no landing lag, and can come out several times in one jump. Wonderful through platforms. As the percents start to rack up, it will send slightly horizontally which sometimes sets them up for other moves.


Air grapple

Zair
Range: Extremely high
Knockback: Low
Priority: Extremely high
Damage: 4-7%

- Ah, finally the infamous zair. I saved the best air move for last. Since melee, this sucker has been buffed tremendeously, and the reason to that is, when you land anytime during this move, it will cancel all lag. The sweet spot which you must connect with is at the tip of the grapple, and it usually makes them tumble which sets them up for other attacks. If you miss with the tipper but with the middle part of the grapple, it doesn't do anything though, so learn to aim this!

It's the longest attack, that isn't a projectile, in the game. Since it's disjointed it outprioritzes anything. The amount of uses for this move is infinite: Push him around on the stage, correct your spacing, push him out of the edge, edge guard with it, use it above platforms, use it through platforms to keep him at bay.

It can be used multiple times in a full jump, you can use it retreatingly, or when approaching. Depending on the distance you use this, you can set him up for other moves, like grab, charge shot or dash attack. Simply one of Samus most important means of approach.​

Throws [VId]

Samus is one of the characters in the game with a tether grab. This has both pros and cons. The grapple grab can not be used effectively out of a shield because it comes out like a snail. Most characters benefit from performing running shield grabs. Samus, however, doesn't. Her running grab is significantly faster than her standing grab (there might be a range difference but it's marginal at most) which is why I recommend to always dash grab, if possible.


Jab while grabbing

Damage: 1%

- Nice way racking up some extra damage before a throw. Samus has one of the fastest grab jab animations so you can expect to jab quite a few times without worry. There seems to be a bug when jabbing certain characters, most noticebly Bowser, against whom you deal no damage when jabbing (w00t!). Anyways, the damage is small but every percent counts...


Up throw

Knockback: Pretty high, not to the point of KO-high though
Damage: 9%

- I don't like this throw because it doesn't set up for anything. The opponent can maneuever safely away, which is why I usually only use this throw only when I want to charge a charge shot or something.


Down throw

Knockback: so-so
Damage: 6%

- Not much better than Uthrow. If he doesn't DI it you can follow it up at low-mid % because he pops up in front and above of you. Still, not a very good throw.

Forward throw

Knockback: Mid-low
Damage: 9%

- In my opinion, Samus best throw because you get the spacing you want after it. You can follow up with zair or missiles or wahtever you want.

Back throw

Knockback: Mid-low
Damage: 8%

- Pretty much like Fthrow. Used to throw the opponents in a direction he doesn't suspect, like the platform on Yoshi's Island and attack him from there, or throw him out of the stage.​

Specials[VIe]

Charge shot

B neutral
Range: High
Knockback: Very low to high
Damage: 3-25%

- Fully charged charged shot has undoubtedly been nerfed. Hardly kills anymore until higher percents (130), at which point it actually is still one of Samus more reliable KO moves. It does charge faster though so you can use it less sparingly during lower percents.

- Uncharged charged shots seems buffed overall on the other hand. Opponents get stunned by the bursts, which sometimes is enough to follow it up, or just throw him off. This pretty much owns Sonic because 9 times out of 10 it stops him in his tracks, setting him up for a grab. It's not shabby to ledge hop a charge shot either. Oh, on a further note, they cancel out some projectiles.


Super Missile

B-smash forward
Range: High
Knockback: Low-mid
Damage: 10%

- Super missiles have been nerfed generally. They have more pre-lag, which also makes them harder to MC, which results in shooting them above some characters heads. Super Missiles have been stripped of their knockback too.

However, Super missiles are still useful because it travels fast and at great length. I see primarily two reasons to still use them: 1) Edgeguarding purposes, there are times when you want these instead of homing missiles, like when they have 100%+ and are near the edge of the stage and 2) For shield pressure.. Super missiles eat shields for breakfast, lunch and dinner. On top of that it can be useful to occasionally fire one of these to throw his rhytm off.


Homing Missile

B-tilt forward
Range: Mid-high
Knockback: Insignificant
Damage: 5%

- Homing missiles are the replacements of the good ol' supers. OK the damage is low, the knockback is less than crap, but it fires a lot faster. You can MC a homing just above ground level, or full jump two of these, or triple fire by double jumping.. Homing missiles stay out in the air longer which makes them even more useful. They travel pretty slow but that's also a good thing because you can fire a wall of missiles and approach behind them.

I still see Wolves, Pits and other characters with reflectors trying to reflect these, but to no avail. Thing is they deccelerate after being reflected which makes it perfectly safe for you to approach them while they are busy doing this.

Another use for them is when edge guarding. Try MC a missile at the edge and then jump out and zair or dair him.


Screw Attack

Up+B
Range: -
Knockback: Low
Priority: Semi-high
Damage: Multiple hits, normally 12% at most in the air, and 10% grounded.

- I believe this is called the Screw attack, because it seriously screws your opponents up! This is your shield grab. Up+B his airials which hit your shield. Up+B when you're close and want him to get off you. Up+B after a dash to rack up damage. It's very useful. It's perhaps less defensive compared to earlier, but it's got some more offensive power to it now.

BUT, it doesn't have the same priority as it did in melee. It clanks more nu, and it doesn't win over other strong Up+Bs (like Marth's). The Screw attack occasionally let opponents out, but in the end usually catches them again. If you miss an Up+B you can expect heavy punishment, so try to steer towards the ledge if possible.

Despite the flaws, a wonderful move.


Bombs

Down+B
Range: -
Knockback: Extremely low
Priority: -
Damage: 4-9% depending how much of the explosion covers the character.

- These have been nerfed by a whole lot. They don't explode upon impact anymore, so they are time-based only. If Samus gets caught in the explosion she will ball morph, unabled to do any airial out of it. Double bomb recovery is pretty much gone although single bomb recoveries are somewhat useful.

I occasionally use bombs to space myself and put up some barrier between me and my opponent. A detail which may or may not be useful is that if you perform any attack slightly before the bombs go off, you won't enter ball mode.
​

How Samus plays [VII]

Like I said earlier, Samus is a character about control, control (you must learn control!). Learn to control your opponent and the stage. Put him in awkward positions with missiles and zairs and punish him for it. Samus has a few good moves at point blank range but isn't exactly an in-fighter. Once you find an opening, abuse it with your lagless airials and combos, and respace yourself to mid-range. Repeat. Mid-range is our game. Long range we tend to get whopped by characters with better projectiles (Pit, Falco), Short range we get eaten alive by Marth, Ike, Snake, Wolf and the like.

Samus has a mentally easy time chaining moves into one another, so in that remark we can rack up damage easily. Like jab -> Dtilt -> Uair -> Up+B is easy 35-40% which works on a wide array of characters on many percent ranges. But it's possible chaining many other moves which is one of the things I like with Samus. She rewards being innovative. Be careful with overusing smashes though. They are not particularly useful unless you know for sure they will connect and push the opponent out of the stage.

Having an eye for behaviour patterns is also a skill that befalls Samus players I think. I think it's important to learn early in a match how your opponent prefers to handle missiles. Try to get a feel of what moves he likes to perform in different situations. Does he like to roll, if so, in what direction? You need to find his weak spot to be successful with Samus.

Samus has primarily two weaknesses in general matches. One concerns her inability to effectively finnish the opponent off. Her killer moves are primarily Charge shot, Dtilt and Bair. Secondary is Fsmash followed by Utilt, Dair and Dsmash. If you're not particularly good at gimping your opponent, you can expect to see him live to 130% or so, which is kinda weak.

Samus other weakness is she's very vulnerable from below. She is pretty floaty which makes her a sitting duck for juggle friendly Marths and the like. I usually try to move a lot horizontally by laying a few bombs combined with air dodging. It's usually a good strategy aiming to get hold of the ledge and ledge hop a missile or zair from there. Trying to force your way back with Dair is deemed to fail.

For this reason, the modern Samus is not particularly hard to kill, despite her relatively good recovery. Learning to play tricky and dodge at the right times are essential skills to survive until high percents.​

Approaching [VIII]

Basically what it sounds like. How to approach your opponent and start your sexy combos from there.

MCed Homing missiles : You need a bit of time and space to pull these off, but generally it's the safest way to approach the opponent.
Like I said earlier, it's important to get a feel as to how the opponent likes to handle the missiles, and punish him accordingly. Remember that the missiles in themselves are not there to rack up damage, they are merely a distraction, enabling you to pull your more vital moves off. You can MC one or several missiles, or full jumping 2 of them and depending on what the opponent does: dash, grab or zair him.

Zair : Generally alot faster than homing missiles but it's a tad bit more unsafe and doesn't always yield the same possibilities. Also zairing is mainly for the closer approaches, preferably by retreating it. It's very good to mix MCed homings and zair because when he's busy dealing with missiles, you will pull out a zair in his face all of a sudden. Zair also has the advantage that it eats through projectiles and reflectors, making it a viable approach against projectile spammers.

Dash attack : For significantly closer encounters. Samus is not particularly fast so this must come as a surprise. I think the dash is ok as an approach because you will many times end up behind the opponent, thus not being shield grabbed. Be cautious against characters with strong get-off-me-moves like Marth and his Up+B though, but other than that it's relatively safe.

Dashing shield : Perfect to mix with the above mentioned approaches. You simply run toward your opponent and put up your shield, and immediately put it down. You will cancel your dash and can perform a well spaced Ftilt or Dair from there.​

Combos [IX]

I want to emphasize some strong yet easy to perform string of attacks. I am fully aware that real combos in Brawl is a rare treat, but for now I'm going to ignore that fact. There are many applications and versions but these are some of the more obvious and elementary ones.

- Jab -> Up+B
- Jab -> Dtilt -> Uair -> Zair/Nair/Fair/Up+B (depending on their DI and %)
- Fair -> Dtilt (see above)
- Dash attack -> Up+B
- Zair -> Grab (requires you to zair near the opponent)
- Zair -> Ftilt (see above)
- Utilt -> Uair (Works on mid-high %s only)​

Finish the job!

Zair -> Charge shot
Utilt -> Bair
Fthrow/Bthrow unto a platform -> Bair​

Survivability and Directional influence [X]

A key to playing a competetive game is to be able to stay alive even after receiving a hard blow.

As I'm sure most of you know, each stage is surrounded by borders, KO zones, which if you cross: you die.
The longest distance from the middle is to the corner, which is where you will aim to be sent at.

How is this done, you ask? by using Directional Influence (DI)!

You will need fast reflexes for sure, as well as a general knowledge of the characters you play against.

By holding the stick after an attack connects, but before you are sent flying, you will be able to alter your trajectory to a more favourable one, which is usually towards the upper corners. The most noticeable effect is to hold the stick perpendicular to the trajectory which you would have been originally sent. In most cases this means holding up and slightly towards the stage when you get knocked off at the sides, or in case you get knocked straight up, you need to DI left or right.

This greatly favours Samus because from the corner we can bomb recover / missile spam our way back to the ledge. Usually I recommend approaching the ledge from below, because it's harder to edgeguard someone coming from below (and Samus UP+B rocks) than from the side.​

Living on the edge

Say you got safely back to the ledge, but now you opponent is on top of you, edgeguarding you.

You now have several options:

- You can jump back up by pressing jump
- You can roll back up by pressing shield
- You can crawl up with an attack by pressing A
- You can ledgehop your way back

A ledgehop is when you let go of the ledge by either pressing down or away (from the stage), followed by using your second jump. During the jump you can perform any air attack, air dodge, zair or MC a homing missile or fire an uncharged (or charged) shot. The timing is slightly different for each of these moves, but they are equally important to get down to not get predictabel.

If he's close to the edge I like to ledgehop a Fair -> Up+B, alternatively try to roll past him.
If he's a bit away I like to come up with a missile or zair.
On stages with platforms, simply jumping up with an air dodge, trying to reach one of the platforms, is usually ok too.

What works best depends on the situation, and the character you are facing.​

Mindgames and movement [XI]

Samus is one of the slower characters, movement wise. Her jumps are slow and floaty, her dash isn't one of the faster ones either, but let's take a look how we can speed her game up!

Samus has a really short SH, which is a good thing. This means we can SH around a lot. After all, our most preminent attacks are performed slightly before landing.
She is also rather easy to control while airborne, and by that I mean you can maneuver around a lot. Do this! When zairing, move yourself forward and backward. This will make you more unpredictable during a match.

You can also dash forward, SH while moving backward and zair.

Do you find your opponent to be successfully blocking your zair all the time? Switch it up by coming down with a super missile. That will punish his shield a bit. Or a Homing missile followed by a grab.

An important application to the zair is you can fire it out of an air dodge by pressing A. This means you can air dodge towards your opponents projectiles, and fire your zair whenever you want. Or you can empty short hop and follow up with something else. Air dodge -> Zair is VERY useful in Samus dittos, because it usually guarantees you connect with your Zair.

The key is to try and stay mobile and mix up your movement. It will make you harder to read and easier for you to find weaknesses in your opponent's play.

Something else which must be simply placed in this category are bombs. You can use the bombs to maneuver around a lot. Use them in the air while coming down to bounce back and forth, making the opponent guess a lot. You can use bombs on the ground to create an obstacle between you and your opponent. You can place a bomb in place, and then Ftilt through it. Bombs have many uses and I think people need to use them a lot more. I sometimes use bombs to get away from my opponent if he isn't already too near me.

I'm sure you can come up with many other things to mix up your play!​

Edgeguarding [XII]

So, your opponent is the one who is now out of the stage, and you are on the ledge? Good! This is a situation Samus likes.

Opponents basically try to get back to the stage from one of three directions: Above the stage (Snake being a prime example), from the side (tether recoveries), or from below.

Ok the first category you can't successfully deal with, other than shoot homings if he isn't already too far up. You will just need to play a waiting game and punish him when he comes down (Samus is pretty good at that). Especially Snake is vulnerable to Bair at this point. In the meantime, you can charge up your cannon.

Approaches from the side, covering slightly above and slightly below ground level, are easier to edgeguard because it leaves you with more options. You can MC a homing or a Super missile and jump at them, either Dairing them if they eat the missile, or Zairing them if they manage to escape it. It's very effective to just run off the ledge and zair, and then use your other jump and zair again, and then safely Up+B back to the ledge.

Should the opponent approach from below, a sneaky old tactic is to drop a bomb off the ledge, which if timed well will explode in their face and pull them down.
If you stand near the tip of the edge, you can sometimes catch them with a Dtilt, popping them up for more action. Dtilt is nice because of it's huge range. If your opponent hesitates at the ledge, thus losing his invincibility, don't hesitate to Dtilt him.​

Stages [XIII]

Final Destination

I guess this stage doesn't need much introduction. The cookie cutter flat stage. The lack of platforms work against Samus juggles and finishers (namely Bair), but on the other hand there's lots of room for missile spam. I tend to pick this stage against Marth alot, so he will have a bit harder using his Up+bs and attacking from platforms. Normally though, I think platform stages benefit Samus more, especially against low characters. Oh and beware of the edges here, they can trap your recovery :/


Lylat Cruise

Yes baby. The low platforms opens up lots of combo or finishing options for Samus. SH Zair, Bair, Uair or Utilt him through the platforms. However it's a double edged sword against sword users like Marth and Ike, since they can attack effectively through the platforms as well :/ It's a pretty good stage against characters with good Down+Bs like ZSS, Kirby and Link because you can sort of wait under the platforms, out of harms way.

Another attribute to this map is it's tilting. It can occasionally be in an awkward position to MC or Zair from. Also, like FD, beware of the edges so you don't get trapped under them.


Frigate Orpheon

Ah, this map is very unorthodox. When the warning sound goes off, make sure you jump or you may end up elsewhere.

The first phase of the stage, there's a moving platform on the right side. I like to camp that platform and spam missiles / zair from there. Beware though, you can not grapple or grab the platform or the stage that is adjacent to it. The left side has a platform above the edge, which makes it pretty easy to edgeguard under/from.

The second phase of the map leaves a slope in the middle. I find this spot to be a very good spot to camp. You can do rising zairs from there with little risk of punishment. Also there's a platform above you, preventing the opponent coming from above. There are two sliding platforms near the far left and right sides of the stage during this phase too.

This is my favourite stage because of how tricky you can be.
​

Matchups [XIV]

Coming soon...​

Tricks and treats [XV]

Coming soon as well...​

Outro [XVI]

This is where the credits are supposed to be at. Since right now this guide is under construction and thus hasn't recived much feed back yet, I feel it's enough to just thank smashboards in general, and all the people I play with (you know who you are), without whom I wouldn't have made this guide.​

 

[Yorenec]

Honestly, I applaud your enthusiasm and trying to help a community that could use the help/morale.

But it's WAY WAY too early for character guides of any kind. Six months at the very least.

 

[D4RK_HUNT3R]

Really nice and detailed guide :O Props to you.

 

[The_Woebegone_Jackal]

I think it was a well thought out guide, many new or less skilled Samus users should get a real good use of it.

The U-tilt is pretty good for edgeguarding without actually leaving the stage though. Its seems especially effective against characters that recover above the stage.

 

[jonfled]

Dtilt, utilt, and ^b, not nerfed in any way. You can now easily ^b out of shield. Utilt has more killing potential when not stale, dtilt is situational and I rarely use it, but I'm daring to say it was even buffed a tad bit.

And although fsmash is nerfed, it's still a very decently put out move imho.

Of course this isn't a finished guide, and it's yours. Just having an opinion. Good job on writing the whole thing, as I don't even have half of the patience or time to do so.

 

[Rohins]

Dtilt, utilt, and ^b, not nerfed in any way. You can now easily ^b out of shield. Utilt has more killing potential when not stale, dtilt is situational and I rarely use it, but I'm daring to say it was even buffed a tad bit.

And although fsmash is nerfed, it's still a very decently put out move imho.

Of course this isn't a finished guide, and it's yours. Just having an opinion. Good job on writing the whole thing, as I don't even have half of the patience or time to do so.

up B got nerfed, it clanks now instead of out prioritizing moves.

Good job on the guide, very well laid out and it shows you put a lot of effort into it. I'd say I disagree about the jab being one of the best. If you land a jab on someone at low % they will most likely hit you before you can do anything. Say Ike, you land a jab at low % he can (and should) do a complete jab combo on you before you are able to do anything else.

 

[HugS]

Dtilt, utilt, and ^b, not nerfed in any way. You can now easily ^b out of shield. Utilt has more killing potential when not stale, dtilt is situational and I rarely use it, but I'm daring to say it was even buffed a tad bit.

And although fsmash is nerfed, it's still a very decently put out move imho.

Of course this isn't a finished guide, and it's yours. Just having an opinion. Good job on writing the whole thing, as I don't even have half of the patience or time to do so.

Uptilt has more afterlag than it did in melee. Half it's usability was, at least for me, to outrange an opponent with a powerful attack and not half to worry about retaliation afterwards. There was no afterlag on the Utilt; as opposed to her other "power" moves (fsmash, dtilt, dsmash). In brawl, there is plenty of afterlag on it. And it seems to have less range.

Good guide to the topic creator.

 

[Doomgaze]

Thanks for the input, guys I really appreciate it.

Dtilt, utilt, and ^b, not nerfed in any way. You can now easily ^b out of shield. Utilt has more killing potential when not stale, dtilt is situational and I rarely use it, but I'm daring to say it was even buffed a tad bit.

And although fsmash is nerfed, it's still a very decently put out move imho.

Of course this isn't a finished guide, and it's yours. Just having an opinion. Good job on writing the whole thing, as I don't even have half of the patience or time to do so.

Like I said in the guide, Dtilt can be considered nerfed only because crouch cancelling is removed in Brawl. As a move, it is of course better.

Utilt is still a viable move but comes out later and lags more which means it's not AS viable in some situations as previously.

Up+B is still a great, great move, BUT like Rohins say, it clanks a lot more now than it did in melee.

Also about the jab, I'm fully aware that Samus gets destroyed real close by Snake & Ike. However there are just so many properties that makes Samus jab stand out, that's what I think. Perhaps saying it's the best in the game is exaggerating a bit, but I do think it's one of the better ones.

 

[W.Jr]

really tight *** guide

 

[FartKnocker]

Nice guide. Thx for the info.

 

[Nocturnal~Dragon]

Good Guide, nice job

 

[Boolossus]

*Thumbs Up*

 

[The Bino]

I gotta agree with HugS, the utilt was really a good spacer move in Melee, i used it a good amount of times to do the exact same as HugS, but the thing is, i still use it in Brawl, i find that it is pretty good against ppl coming from above me while im charging my shot up, i should do a Uair, but i just do this and it seems to pay off for me

But def a good guide for those who aren't familiar with Samus from Melee or for ppl who are picking up Samus for the 1st time

 

[0RLY]

Pretty much what everyone else said.

Utilt & Dtilt: In melee these attacks were perfect together. Utilt has more startup lag but less ending lag than Dtilt. Dtilt has almost no startup lag but more ending lag than Utilt. They also both had vertical knockback on the ground. Dtilt could be used out of a crouch cancel, but Utilt has more range.

With brawl's changes both these attacks have lost all their usefulness in unison.

Utilt now has high lag on both ends of the attack, while gaining knockback. It's ability to edgeguard has been taken away due to auto-sweetspot. I can only find the time to use this when my opponent is above me but I want the chance to KO and not the ability to combo, vs. Uair.

Dtilt has less opportunities to be used from the removal of crouch canceling. It's properties has not been changed much. It can be only be used somewhat effectively after dropping a shield, when you would rather the chance to KO instead of the ability to combo, vs. B-up.

Bair is easier to sweetspot in brawl than melee. It's knock back is a bit weaker, but I blame the physics.

Dair is harder to land due to slow fastfalls and higher startup lag.

Nair is "alright". It seems to be similar to Fox's nair now. Low kb and no lag. It would have combo potential if SAMUS WOULD FALL FASTER!

Super Missles: WHY CANT THEY KILL IN SUDDEN DEATH!?!?! asdhfkalsbfnsjdatbgljdghadr;

Great guide btw ^^b

 

[Subach]

Just why in tarnation isn't this stickied?

Anyhow, I recommend that you add Yorenec's d-tilt finishing chart to the guide somewhere. It's a VERY useful bit of info for Samus players.

 

[Doomgaze]

Thanks again for the positive comments.

I was hoping to update this guide before this weekend but stuff just interfered, so you will have to wait a few more days unless I do it tonight (which is unlikely).

Anyways I'll definitely link to Yorenec's post covering dtilt if he allows it.

 

[DTKPch]

A small note on your "longest distance from center to edge is to the corner" statement.

Doesn't Brawl now have an octagonal death-zone, as opposed to Melee's square one?

 

[Doomgaze]

If that's true, then I didn't know about it, and I'll have to update it as well. Care to link me?

 

[Subach]

I'm pretty sure the KO zone is shown as a square in the "How to Play" video, if that counts for anything.

 

[Yorenec]

Sure you can put it in here or link to him.

I know I said it's too early for real character guides, and I kind of stand by that. I wouldn't really like to see anything until most of this is pretty definitive and I just don't want people going by stuff that might be wrong, and that even applies to my Dtilt chart which probably needs some more thorough testing.

That being said. Despite all of Samus' stupid nerfs and overall gimpiness, one thing she really has going for her is that she's very adapt with the rest of the cast.. While she does have her bad matchups (Ness and TL especially), she seemingly can handle by far the majority of the cast pretty well. I can't really say that for many other characters cept maybe TL and DDD.

Maybe I'm just getting better, but there's no matchup that's a super massive pain in the *** except for Ness, TL, Marth, and a good Pikachu. I'm tempted to add Pit to that list also, but Pit is a big pest for anybody, so he doesn't really count.

 

[Doomgaze]

I see nothing wrong summing up Samus facts and opinions into a well structured essay. Sure the game is pretty new and the metagame is subject to change, but thats why editing is such a nice tool. Besides, this guide isn't even stickied which further confirms to the reader that what I have written isn't carved in stone, which should be pretty obvious in the first place.

Speaking of matchups I agree with above mentioned characters and I want to add wolf on my "hard-nut-to-crack"-list because his ground game is so strong, and because Samus jump is so slow it's hard to set up reliable approaches on him.

 

[Subach]

Sure you can put it in here or link to him.

I know I said it's too early for real character guides, and I kind of stand by that. I wouldn't really like to see anything until most of this is pretty definitive and I just don't want people going by stuff that might be wrong, and that even applies to my Dtilt chart which probably needs some more thorough testing.

That being said. Despite all of Samus' stupid nerfs and overall gimpiness, one thing she really has going for her is that she's very adapt with the rest of the cast.. While she does have her bad matchups (Ness and TL especially), she seemingly can handle by far the majority of the cast pretty well. I can't really say that for many other characters cept maybe TL and DDD.

Personally, I don't see Brawl Samus as a modification of Melee Samus, but as a brand new character with brand new attributes and the same moveset.
Sure, she was nerfed in many ways, but she got enough good buffs that I don't think she is improved or worsened, just different.

Now that you mention it, it seems that Samus is a poor match-up for Dedede.

Dedede is big, and is thus easy to combo, spike and otherwise gimp, and he is a very easy target for z-air, all of which plays to Samus's strengths.

 

[Yorenec]

Personally, I don't see Brawl Samus as a modification of Melee Samus, but as a brand new character with brand new attributes and the same moveset.
Sure, she was nerfed in many ways, but she got enough good buffs that I don't think she is improved or worsened, just different.

Now that you mention it, it seems that Samus is a poor match-up for Dedede.

Dedede is big, and is thus easy to combo, spike and otherwise gimp, and he is a very easy target for z-air, all of which plays to Samus's strengths.

DDD is REALLY annoying on Delfino, it's probably his best stage. On any other stage he's not that bad and most of my regular DDD matches don't even try to chaingrab me that much anymore cause her upb has priority over it.

 

[Drazon]

I've only read half and I've picked up on a couple bottom lines.

Samus only has homing missiles and zair.
Samus dominates the midrange battles.

Makes me sad, but I'll stick with the bounty hunter till the very end.

 

[Subach]

I've only read half and I've picked up on a couple bottom lines.

Samus only has homing missiles and zair.
Samus dominates the midrange battles.

Makes me sad, but I'll stick with the bounty hunter till the very end.

You forgot about having perhaps the best combo ability in Brawl, D-tilt, jab, and a great edge game whether recovering or guarding.

She's got quite a bit going for her, but I will admit that Samus isn't the quick and dirty road to victory, but she never has been.

 

[Doomgaze]

Ok samus best moves are performed in the air before landing. The problem is that Samus jump is one of the worst in the game, not because of the height; it's actually quite short, but because how slow she falls. She's like 2nd or 3rd slowest in the game? This makes her somewhat predictable and punishable, as you need the space to move backwards in order to compensate for your opponent's approach (and start your own).

 

[FuLLBLeeD]

Chargeshot is still pretty **** good...in fact with Samus's ability to combo, I'd say its even easier to get off chargeshots then it was previously in Melee.

 

[Subach]

Chargeshot is still pretty **** good...in fact with Samus's ability to combo, I'd say its even easier to get off chargeshots then it was previously in Melee.

It also comes out quite a bit faster. Nonetheless, you can't expect a clean kill like you could in Melee.

 

[Illussionary]

Whoa, absolutely great guide, loved the pics, liked how you conveyed your thoughs, a couple typos but who cares.

12/10 Great Guide and I'm reporting your guide to get stuck!

 

[Norm]

everything here is good you did leave out one nerf though her running shoulder in melee that was a KO move i have use to get one with it in brawl.

 

[Subach]

everything here is good you did leave out one nerf though her running shoulder in melee that was a KO move i have use to get one with it in brawl.

Heh, I guess that's true.

Although, one can argue that the dash attack has been buffed somewhat as well as now you can one can easily dash attack into a Screw Attack.

 

[JettythatSamus]

finish this already please ^^

 

[MrNaruhodou]

nice guide so far

 

[D4RK_HUNT3R]

There's one thing I don't get: using back throw or front throw to start up combos. I start up combos much more easily with down throw than the other ones. Also, I've never seen any of the good Samus players on YouTube combo outta a front/back throw, only down.

Err, help?

 

[Jing)]

DDD is REALLY annoying on Delfino, it's probably his best stage. On any other stage he's not that bad and most of my regular DDD matches don't even try to chaingrab me that much anymore cause her upb has priority over it.

Could you explain how this works? I have no idea how chain grabbing works or anything but it seems deadly if you dont know a counter..

 

[Gum]

Heh, I guess that's true.

Although, one can argue that the dash attack has been buffed somewhat as well as now you can one can easily dash attack into a Screw Attack.

And also the fact that dash attack mostly puts you behind a sheilded opponent so you dont get grabbed.

 

[D4RK_HUNT3R]

That's not entirely true about the dash attack. As shown by level 9s, with enough reflexes, a player can easily shield grab the second the dash attack touches them. Go ahead and repeatedly try it on level 9s; they're gods at shield grabbing >_>

 

[Gum]

Well hence why I said 'mostly'. yeah i mean, Iv'e been grabbed out of it as well, but sometimes you can get away with it. You shouldn't really be dash attacking much anyway though.

 

[ICEDTEA1325]

mega nice can't wait till you get match ups on this!

 

[J4pu]

does anyone else see samus being super mega low tier?
got a worse nerfing than CF, and that's saying something

can't wait to see the inevitable good combo video that somebody will manage with her though