Wolf ... good or bad in the air?

[~ Gheb ~]

After SSBB finally came to us europeans, I got the chance to main a new character. I decided to take Wolf as my main b/c he's simply awesome. It seems to me that he's pretty bad in the air, though...his nair and uair are pretty bad, imo and his dair woks only if you wanna spike someone (even then not very often).

So I got owne'd pretty often in aerial battles by a bunch of characters and I wondered if Wolf is bad in the air or if I'm not using him right (his bair and fair are great, after all but he seems much stronger on the ground...)

 

[dguy6789]

Wolf has effective aerials, they just aren't high priority.

 

[JCav]

i think wolf has a good air game. with the o lag fair, its a good move and 0 lag... wow! and his u air isnt the best move but i like it to ledgehop sometimes. his nair has some utility, but it is most effective against people who dont shield right after it so you cant follow up with a shine. and his dair is hard to land but a high risk high reward type deal

 

[Zeldasalsa]

he's good in the air, it just takes a lot of skills to use his aerial abilities

 

[Sesshomuronay]

Hes good in the air but it can take some practice to use his air game effectively.

 

[Sean²]

Hes good in the air but it can take some practice to use his air game effectively.

...and then when you fight Metaknight you'll feel like you did something wrong.

 

[**Havok**]

...and then when you fight Metaknight you'll feel like you did something wrong.

exactly, although wolf's u-air is pretty decent against MK. Bair sucks vs him, and so does Fair unless he's in the air.

 

[~ Gheb ~]

...and then when you fight Metaknight you'll feel like you did something wrong.

That's exactly what happened to me. I didn't have the time yet to see all the characters strengths and weaknesses so I didn't know that MK is so strong in the air. Guess Olimar's pretty strong in the air too.

I got used to Wolfs aerials now but I guess I prefer fighting on the ground since he's much stronger there

 

[chaos_Leader]

Wolf in the air is really tricky, but can be potentially very strong. What sets Wolf apart is his huge momentum in the air, when Wolf jumps, he doesn't slow down going to the side like many other characters. This opens several unorthodox possibilities for Wolf's air game. U air is not meant to be strong, it comes out very fast and is best used for juggling. Don't underestimate N air, although it has little priority, it comes out nigh instantaneously, if you catch your opponent off guard it can be used as a lead-in to any number of other possibilities. I'll admit that Wolf's air-game is one of the trickiest in Brawl, but it can also be very unpredictable for your opponent when done correctly.

 

[SmashBro99]

Pretty good.

Uair is for juggling NOT for killing.

Nair is pretty good.

Dair if you can hit it is good.

Bair and Fair are both strong kill moves.

I like Wolf's air game.

 

[DKKountry]

I like Wolf's air game but it's not his strongest point, nor is it the part of his style that is easiest to catch on to for beginning woof.

 

[~ Gheb ~]

Thanks for the infos.

 

[Tokerella]

wolf's arial came when combo'd with shines are delicious. lagless bairs/fairs, the only negative aspect about him is his priority as mentioned above. however if you can get the right angles with him and the right flow of momentum hes simply awesome.

 

[ArcPoint]

Wolf, is a freakin' BEAST in the air. Easily his strongest point in the game, the Bair's range is insane, and you can do ANYTHING afterwards, since it has so little lag. When they say Zero Lag Fair, they MEAN IT. You can do anything you could possibly imagine.

Even against a shielding opponent. Even one frame of shield stun is one frame of an advantage for you. You could easily spotdodge and punish for those shield grabbers. Good Lord, Wolf is AWESOME in the air. His horizontal movement is NEARLY ON PAR WITH WARIO. The only reason you don't notice it is because of Wolf's fast falling rate and Wario's much slower falling rate.

Proof: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=167952 It's on SamuraiPanda's list of helpful threads.

With Bair and Fair being nearly lagless, it's hard to punish Wolf, with a nearly lagless spike you can approach with and spike people... Dair is Wolf's laggiest aerial (assuming you can AutoCancel Fair)

Nair is freakin' awesome, granted not a very good approach in front of them, but if you get on top of them or behind him (With Wolf's absolute win horizontal DI) it makes a great approach, it has excellent priority assuming the hitbox can hit them. It cancels out almost ALL PROJECTILES. Including Snake's Mortar, TL's boomerang, Zelda's Din's Fire. Good Lord...

Also, Bair + Fsmash = To quote a good Wolf player... "A gold mine" You can throw out so many tricks with this. If you just stay out of range with your Bair, they let down their shield to punish... except, they get a face full of Wolf's FSMASH. So many tricks can be used with this combo. His Bair is an excellent move, he can use a Wall of Pain with the Bair...

Who said that his air game wasn't his strongpoint? It's definitely not the easiest to catch onto, but a really good Wolf player told me "The more you're in the air, you'll find the more you'll win."

To sum it all up: Wolf simply OWNS in the air, his only downside would probably be the range of his attacks (Though Bair has EXCELLENT range) and maybe priority. Not to sure about the priority part xP I'm assuming that the people that say Wolf lacks priority are comparing them to MK's aerials... not to sure though.

 

[homicidalrapist]

Wolf is ownage on air and ground. he just sucks when he's off the stage lol. honestly, mix it up with his ground and air cuz they go together seamlessly, like other space animals.

 

[MidnightAsaph]

Well, as pointed out, the air game is good. Once you get used to the tricks of using Wolf, his air game is where it's all at. Especially the bairs. I find that most of my game is in the air with Wolf. But once they're at high damage, I just use dsmashes to finish it.

 

[~ Gheb ~]

bair and fair are the only aerial techs I found really use for. dair depends too much on the situation to be used very often and nair is pretty pointless since either bair or fair hits anyways.

I'm not sure about the qalitly of Wolfs juggling but I never found a good use for uair despite being quite fast... I also watched a lot of pro vid's with Wolf and he never juggled his enemy around but abused jump bair djump bair bair (doesn't necessarily mean something). I also found his utilt and usmash not that good compared to his other smashes/tilts.v In fact all his u-attacks seem pretty weak, awkward or both to me.

 

[ArcPoint]

Utilt... is VERY situational, not very used. However UpSmash is an excellent move, I'm not really good at doing the retreating Fair... so I just charge right in and then after the 0 lag Fair usually do an Upsmash -- it has two long lasting hitboxes, and it starts really fast, and when it's fresh, 19 DAMAGE. It's great for catching people in the air, it's also a great punishing move, with a better than average horizontal hitbox. It's just an excellent move xP

Uair is also an excellent move, does 13 damage when fresh, great for move degration, and just helpful for when the opponent is above you, it's range is decent, but Bair or Fair don't really hit where Uair does... so it has it's uses. Just try and use it when the opponent is above you

Also Gheb, I assume you're referring to the GERM's videos? He's an aggressive player that focuses on Wolf's Bair, and he spaces them excellently, I envy his Bair spacing xP But, there's also a ton of other videos, see: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=171527

 

[~ Gheb ~]

You're right. I was reffering to GERM. I saw the other vids too but I think GERM has the best Wolf as far as I'm able to rate it.

I will try to use usmash and uair a little bit more often. Although I'm still not conviced by these moves I'll use them b/c my fighting got kinda predictable and more moves in the mix won't hurt. Especially sliding usmash seems a very useful addition in Wolfs great ranged game.

 

[ponchomanofdeath]

well i have been playing as wolf for a while now and whenever i have aerial battles with my bro and friends they always get mad at me for hitting them a lot

so as i use him his aerials are good i rarely use his dair which sucks but i use my upsmash then jump and use my uair and then double jump and do the samething and it works out well for me

i guess it depends on the player some are good on land and some good in the air

 

[soloSHADOWROB]

Dude to me Wolf has one of the best air games
If someone says he has no priority they can go jump off a building lol (knock on wood)
He has good priority, Im not gonna say great but its good with most characters the moves will clash and hit both of them, its better then not hitting, but they are quick too and they all ****, they have like no lag if used correctly
I just picked him up and Im rapping like ROB's, Snake, MK, D3, Wario, Falco and all that mess.
The only thing I have had trouble with is Luigi just because Luigis aerial game beats everyones and you cant combo Luigi all that well

 

[Patinator]

Wolf in the air is really tricky, but can be potentially very strong. What sets Wolf apart is his huge momentum in the air, when Wolf jumps, he doesn't slow down going to the side like many other characters. This opens several unorthodox possibilities for Wolf's air game. U air is not meant to be strong, it comes out very fast and is best used for juggling. Don't underestimate N air, although it has little priority, it comes out nigh instantaneously, if you catch your opponent off guard it can be used as a lead-in to any number of other possibilities. I'll admit that Wolf's air-game is one of the trickiest in Brawl, but it can also be very unpredictable for your opponent when done correctly.

Good stuff, Chaos. Good stuff. Everything here is pretty spot-on.

Wolf, is a freakin' BEAST in the air. Easily his strongest point in the game, the Bair's range is insane, and you can do ANYTHING afterwards, since it has so little lag. When they say Zero Lag Fair, they MEAN IT. You can do anything you could possibly imagine.

Even against a shielding opponent. Even one frame of shield stun is one frame of an advantage for you. You could easily spotdodge and punish for those shield grabbers. Good Lord, Wolf is AWESOME in the air. His horizontal movement is NEARLY ON PAR WITH WARIO. The only reason you don't notice it is because of Wolf's fast falling rate and Wario's much slower falling rate.

Proof: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=167952 It's on SamuraiPanda's list of helpful threads.

With Bair and Fair being nearly lagless, it's hard to punish Wolf, with a nearly lagless spike you can approach with and spike people... Dair is Wolf's laggiest aerial (assuming you can AutoCancel Fair)

Nair is freakin' awesome, granted not a very good approach in front of them, but if you get on top of them or behind him (With Wolf's absolute win horizontal DI) it makes a great approach, it has excellent priority assuming the hitbox can hit them. It cancels out almost ALL PROJECTILES. Including Snake's Mortar, TL's boomerang, Zelda's Din's Fire. Good Lord...

Also, Bair + Fsmash = To quote a good Wolf player... "A gold mine" You can throw out so many tricks with this. If you just stay out of range with your Bair, they let down their shield to punish... except, they get a face full of Wolf's FSMASH. So many tricks can be used with this combo. His Bair is an excellent move, he can use a Wall of Pain with the Bair...

Who said that his air game wasn't his strongpoint? It's definitely not the easiest to catch onto, but a really good Wolf player told me "The more you're in the air, you'll find the more you'll win."

To sum it all up: Wolf simply OWNS in the air, his only downside would probably be the range of his attacks (Though Bair has EXCELLENT range) and maybe priority. Not to sure about the priority part xP I'm assuming that the people that say Wolf lacks priority are comparing them to MK's aerials... not to sure though.

I like this person already.

Now for my own little spice in this discussion.

Wolf's air game is pretty good. I don't have much experience with priority, since usually I either attack before my opponent or "I'M TOO SLO-OW" and don't get the hit in. Two of his aerials, or four if you're an oddball, LOL, can be used to KO, being his B-Air and F-Air. For the oddballs out there, they would be an edge-guarding N-Air and D-Air.

His U-Air and B-Air can be used for air combos and, like the several paragraphs quoted above this and below chaos_Leader's post, also can be good for ground combos. And not just U-Air and B-Air.

So yeah. Wolf's air game is good. Definately helped by his fast falling speed AND the fact he has the fourth longest distance he can move in the air. That's up with Captain Falcon, Jigglypuff, and Wario, people.

 

[~ Gheb ~]

I still haven't found many opportunities to use uair and nair. Whenever I can use nair, I might as well use fair/bair, which is better anyways.

His bair...the more I use it, the more I love it. Thanks to auto-cancel, you can actually do almost a bair shuffle, but then again that's not really aerial battle.

Either way, the only great moves in the air still seem to be bair and 0 lag fair. The other moves aren't bad, they just depend a lot on the situation, right?

 

[ponchomanofdeath]

Gheb 01 try going in practice mode and standing next to the person then using up smash then quickly jumping up and using ur uair try practicing that for a while and when your good with it then use it in a battle

 

[ChaoticSamus]

Wolf's aerial game id pretty good especially if you auto-cancel his bair and fair

 

[Raito-kun]

Wolf air is good , i use it fairly. But i second homicidalrapist he sucks offstage lol

 

[AlAxe]

Wolf is ownage on air and ground. he just sucks when he's off the stage lol. honestly, mix it up with his ground and air cuz they go together seamlessly, like other space animals.

well said. Wolf can even be good off the stage, you just have to be careful not to get under the stage. Always try to mix it up though so you can stay unpredictable.

 

[KYAG]

"If someone says he has no priority they can go jump off a building lol (knock on wood)
He has good priority"

If the current theory about ariel attacks is correct, which I think it is, then there is no priority in the air, and it all depends apon range and speed. That makes wolf a god. Lol

All in all, I think wolf eats babies in the air, however, it's even better if you combine his air and ground games together.

 

[Xavi]

Wolf's aerial game is great, but it's best not to overuse it.

 

[BanKai029]

I find wolf is much more horizontal air game then vertical. Like i mean hes vert is fine for the most part but Fairs adn Bairs are where its at for wolf. Not to mention the Nair lock, and his Dair spike, All in all i would say for the most part properly spacing your vertical air attacks is a big part. Thats my take on it though

 

[BanKai029]

I still haven't found many opportunities to use uair and nair. Whenever I can use nair, I might as well use fair/bair, which is better anyways.

His bair...the more I use it, the more I love it. Thanks to auto-cancel, you can actually do almost a bair shuffle, but then again that's not really aerial battle.

Either way, the only great moves in the air still seem to be bair and 0 lag fair. The other moves aren't bad, they just depend a lot on the situation, right?

I have to disagree, His Dair, Nair and Uair all have there purpose, Example as i said earlier Nair lock and nair is grat for approaches

 

[Mario Moonshine]

Nair can combo nicely into dsmash too. The autocancels on wolf's aerials are just too nice, and ALL his aerials can combo, and only dair has lag.

 

[Revolce]

Bair... Fair... Dair... uair.... all fantastic airgame. I like nairs for shorthop approach too..

 

[~ Gheb ~]

After one month of maining him, I found good use of most of them by now. SHNair is a nice approach and has 0 lag, which is great to follow up with Shine. His uair is nice but risky b/c many dairs have higher priority. His dair...it's just occasional but that's alright.

I'm quite satisfied with his aerial game by now

 

[Ishiey]

Uair used to draw out the airdodge and then followed by a bair works pretty well, and wolf's aerial game overall is wonderful, I actually prefer it to his ground game.