Zero Suit Samus Questions & Answers

[infiniteV115]

Juggle the **** out of him. You have to space yourself vertically and time your jumps when juggling with uairs so that jumping at him to uair won't result in you being inside him (cause he can nair to defend and if you airdodge that then you can't uair him afterwards). You should be using falling uairs a lot of the time.
If you're trying to juggle and you're falling with him and you do a landing uair but he airdodges it and lands into you, followup with usmash/utilt to eat through his airdodge and reset the situation.

Take him to a stage like BF or YI:B and juggle the **** out of him, and if he lands on a platform then pressure with usmash. Usmash is godlike in this MU. If you're juggling properly ROB will have to resort to using upB to land somewhere.

Keep your eyes on ROB when the two of you are far apart horizontally so you can react to gyros/lasers.

If you're running at ROB and he's charging a gyro on the ground, don't finish the dash with a neutralB/sideB (not even spaced). Stop at midrange, and be ready to react to gyro shot/ftilt.

If you're standing still and ROB approaches you with a SH autocancelled nair, don't challenge it (actually usmash might work against this but I haven't tried it yet so idk). Run away --> spaced pivot nB/sideB will keep you safe and will either hit ROB or clash with his nair, resetting the situation.

If you dtilt him, he's probably gonna land with nair, so don't go for the airdodge read --> dsmash. Do an immediate uair or usmash, or shield the nair and then punish.

If you utilt him, followup with usmash.

Learn the infinite. Practice it in training mode. Practice it until you can 0-death with it.

If you're sideB tethering from low, be attentive and watch out for ROB's run off --> fair. I suggest shooting a fully charged laser while falling towards the stage to defend yourself (aim it so it goes just above the edge)

If you're good at instatossing, then instatoss gyros that he tries to edgeguard you with back at him. I pissed off Holynightmare with this so much

 

[[FBC] Papa Mink]

I'm very good at instant tossing.
When i get my matches uploaded i'll let ya'll see them.

 

[infiniteV115]

k so I watched them
Simply put, your offense is terribly executed and you have no defense at all. You get hit by unnecessary lasers, gyros and dsmashes, you sit in shield way too long whenever you think you're going to get hit, and you rely on sh approaching sideB way too much. And when you're not doing this, you're bairing. You didn't get him above you nearly enough, and you barely landed any tilts/uairs.

You also seem to have no idea how ROB's hitboxes work and don't know what angles he can attack from, so you really have no idea what moves to expect him to use.

 

[Attila the Hun]

V goes hard in the paint, lol.

 

[Supermodel From Paris]

To be fair, I used to play Dil in NYC and my first few games against him were really, really bad. Actually, the later games weren't so good either because Dil is ****ing amazing, but yeah. Anyway, ROB isn't a match-up you'll win just because you're playing ZSS. She has an advantage but you have to have experience.

 

[[FBC] Papa Mink]

I'm under the impression V thinks I'm awful haha.

 

[tru0067]

Thinking of picking up ZSS

What are some tips

 

[infiniteV115]

Play well.

If you want tips that aren't ridiculously vague (like the one I just gave you), play her first and then tell us what your problems are

 

[C.J.]

Tips?

Go Marth.

 

[tru0067]

I hate Marth

And I dont think ill pick up ZSS ín the end

I already have way too many secondaries

 

[Oninova]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Npe6AaVSlyA&list=UL

How the HELL does he do the thing at 1:12?

 

[infiniteV115]

Yeah we talked about this already. You have to do a jumping upB right into the corner of the stage. If you time it right you go through the stage.

If you time it wrong you'll either slide up the slope and land on stage, or go beneath the stage. If your tether actually snaps to the ledge then your timing is way off.

 

[JPenJr71121]

Sorry if this is considered bumping, but I have a few questions:

A few times while practicing with zss just now, something weird happened with her flip jump. I did down b --> and she flip kicked to the left. This also happened the other way around and I ended up dying. Any idea why this happened?

Also, I am kind of afraid to go offstage because of all of the times I got killed trying to finish off an edgeguard. Is there any way to get past this mental block? It seems to be holding my play back.

Any tips on the suit piece game? If I can start with my pieces flying right away, I'm good, and I get an early K.O., but sometimes I get pulled away from my pieces and take a lot of damage trying to get back to them. What should I do?

Thanks

 

[JakeOfAllTrades]

Sorry if this is considered bumping, but I have a few questions:

A few times while practicing with zss just now, something weird happened with her flip jump. I did down b --> and she flip kicked to the left. This also happened the other way around and I ended up dying. Any idea why this happened?

Also, I am kind of afraid to go offstage because of all of the times I got killed trying to finish off an edgeguard. Is there any way to get past this mental block? It seems to be holding my play back.

Any tips on the suit piece game? If I can start with my pieces flying right away, I'm good, and I get an early K.O., but sometimes I get pulled away from my pieces and take a lot of damage trying to get back to them. What should I do?

Thanks

You can control the direction the DownB goes by either tilting the analog stick down-left or down-right. You are probably just tilting the stick the wrong way.

 

[infiniteV115]

Or not tilting the stick at all. If you don't tilt the stick when pressing A, ZSS kicks backwards by default. But yeah, tilt the stick for both the downB itself and for the kick so that you choose the right direction for each.

Don't let your opponent get your pieces. You should rarely be throwing your pieces horizontally; keep pieces bouncing close to one another. Defend your bouncing pieces and in return they will defend you.

 

[JakeOfAllTrades]

What is the opinion of using the C-stick as set to "special" under the controller settings? Seeing the Apex videos of Salem it seems that wavebouncing can add tricks that can be ultilized.

In short, is it worthwhile to learn B-sticking for the little tricks that can be done with Zss or just stay with smashes?

Is there any other way to wavebounce other than putting C-Stick to special?

 

[Tesh]

You can just press B and the cstick at the same time. Takes a bit of practice, but its alot better than what you would miss out on without a smash cstick.

 

[infiniteV115]

Or you can just stop being a lil ***** and do it manually like Salem and I do.
(Incidentally we both set Y to special and use X to jump, maybe that's why)

Yes you can do it all without B-sticking. No I'm not going to explain it here because I've posted it like 1000 times already and I hate typing it up so much. Go to the thread Smash Lab Standard Terms List and look up turnaround Bs, B-reverses and wavebounces.

 

[C.J.]

LOOLLL @ Above

V- just make a thread like I did in the Marth boards.

Things that are asked ALL THE TIME and you're tired of answering.

Then, if people ask something answered in that thread, I yell at them and call them morons.

=D

 

[BlueXenon]

Sometimes when I get hit by zss' side b, I barely have any knockback. How does that happen?

 

[Tesh]

Sometimes when I get hit by zss' side b, I barely have any knockback. How does that happen?

there are 2 hits, the 1st one is supposed to knock you into the 2nd one but most of the time it doesnt link properly so people just aim to hit with the 2nd one.

 

[BlueXenon]

I am looking for a new main and I have questions about ZSS.

1. When I watched Salem at apex, I saw that he rolled a lot. Did he roll to avoid being in a bad position?
2. Is uair to uair a real combo?
3. When are the best times to use usmash?
4. I am having a hard time doing dsmash to bair. What is the best way to practice it?
5. What is the best way for ZSS to get off the ledge?
6. Does she have any easy combo's that I can learn to do in 5 minutes (im not patient)?
7. Is her uair better than mk's uair?

 

[Jon Farron]

I can answer a few.

"3. When are the best times to use usmash?"

I found the best time to use this is when an attack is incoming from above, it has multiple hitboxes so one hitbox will cancel out the opponent's attack, while he gets hit by the rest. You can also run up to them and do it to get them in the air.

"5. What is the best way for ZSS to get off the ledge?"

She con roll onto the stage, but I never use it because people always punish me. You can let go and Uair, downB onto the stage from the ledge, jump higher than the ledge and sideB (doesn't always work because it might grab the ledge instead) or jump and press B to stun opponent for a sec.

"6. Does she have any easy combo's that I can learn to do in 5 minutes (im not patient)"

Dsmash+Dsmash+Sidesmash.
Dsmash+Dmash+sideB (must have good spacing, or the first hitbox of sideB won't throw them into the second, people usually try to aim for the second anyway)
She has a fthrow chain at lower %s
B or dsmashx2+grab+downthrow+fair
dmash+dsmash+downB to spike them back on the ground after the dmash "releases" them.
Uair+uair at lower %s

That's all the combos off the top of my head atm.

"4. I am having a hard time doing dsmash to bair. What is the best way to practice it?"
If you're using GC or CC, you could dsmash, and use the C stick to do bair (I've found that easier than holding back+A) You just do a small hop over the person and immediately flick the Cstick back once you're behind them, aim for their head.

"1. When I watched Salem at apex, I saw that he rolled a lot. Did he roll to avoid being in a bad position?"

Most likely, generally rolling gets really predictable.

 

[Tesh]

uair-uair will combo at alot or percents, often just because it beats other aerials and frame traps airdodges

her uair is not better than MK's in any way except range. uair is the fastest aerial in the game and the shortest move with a hitbox.

 

[infiniteV115]

I am looking for a new main and I have questions about ZSS.

1. When I watched Salem at apex, I saw that he rolled a lot. Did he roll to avoid being in a bad position?

Pretty much, but he didn't always roll wisely.

2. Is uair to uair a real combo?

I believe only landing uair --> rising uair is a real combo.

3. When are the best times to use usmash?

What White Mage said, and also when the opponent is on a platform above you.
Be careful though, cause certain characters on low platforms can punish you for using a full usmash on their shield, even if they're above you. eg MK can do a grounded SL after your usmash hits his shield on the lower Battlefield platforms (and probably on Lylat too), cause ZSS' arm is extended upwards and MK is stupid. Maybe Snake utilt as well.

4. I am having a hard time doing dsmash to bair. What is the best way to practice it?

If you mean waiting for them to pop out of the dsmash and bairing them, that'll just take experience for you to get the timings down, cause the amount of time the opponent is stuck in dsmash increases as their damage goes up. Maybe fool around with it in training mode a bit.
If you don't mean that, then...you shouldn't be screwing it up.

5. What is the best way for ZSS to get off the ledge?

There isn't really a 'best way', she just has a bunch of different options that are useful for different situations.
Both of her getup attacks from the ledge are good, but neither are completely safe on block, so don't be predictable with them.
Her ledge jump is good because of how fast she is in the air, but it's also punishable when predicted.

6. Does she have any easy combo's that I can learn to do in 5 minutes (im not patient)?

Dsmash --> bair

Dsmash x2 --> rising sh fair at like...50% and below. Rising fh fair from like 70% and higher.
Dsmash x2 --> dash attack --> utilt at about 20% and below.
Dsmash x2 --> sh falling nair at like 50 and above.
Dsmash x3 --> uair at high/kill percents

7. Is her uair better than mk's uair?

It does more damage, has more knockback and is bigger, but it's slower (both startup and cooldown) and doesn't string into things as well.
Our uair is actually punishable on hit at low %s if it's a rising uair

Overall, no. MK's is better.

 

[BlueXenon]

Thankyou everyone. I started using ZSS a lot and she is more fun than metaknight. and I love that she can stop peach's turnips with her jab.

Edit:

Dsmash --> bair

Dsmash x2 --> rising sh fair at like...50% and below. Rising fh fair from like 70% and higher.
Dsmash x2 --> dash attack --> utilt at about 20% and below.
Dsmash x2 --> sh falling nair at like 50 and above.
Dsmash x3 --> uair at high/kill percents

When I try doing the combo's in red on cpu's, they only get hit by the first hit of fair.

 

[Jon Farron]

Kind of hard to explain, but you have to 'fly with them" as in, when they're released from the dsmash with perfect timing, sh fair towards them in the direction they're going... it requires good timing, and is hard to do on wifi D:

 

[BlueXenon]

I am having a difficult time when im forced to play ZSS at a fast pace in the air. Is this normal for people who are new to her?

 

[Ralph Cecil]

What should I be doing as Snake against ZSS? D:

 

[infiniteV115]

Never airdodge after a dtilt. You'll have to mixup your landings in general and you'll have to be really wise with your bairs
Don't be obvious with your jumps offstage
Punish landings with dash attack
If we get the full jab combo on you at the edge, jump towards the stage, or jump away and cypher (ie don't just jump straight up and cypher). If you just fall you're gonna get dsmashed and then spiked
Ftilt well.
Our dsmash is transcendent so if we don't use it safely you can throw a nade into it or shield it while holding a nade; the nade will explode and hit us.

Gonna sleep now, maybe Nick will help out some more

 

[Heero Yuy]

Hi! I'm now maining ZSS, originally my secondary since Link won't get me far in competitive play.

My first question... I've seen Nick Riddle and Salem do it a lot, but in fact I've seen plenty of characters do it with their projectiles - most notably with Link's bombs and Peach's turnips. Somehow she slides across the stage while throwing a piece of armor in any direction she desires. I assume this is some kind of DACUS, because I can't perform it by just running an C-sticking alone. Care to help me figure it out? :o

 

[infiniteV115]

It's a glide toss.
aka a roll-cancelled-item-toss.

You roll while holding an item, and press A/C-stick during the roll. Time it right and you'll do it. Almost every char can do it.
Only works with ZSS' forward roll.

 

[Supermodel From Paris]

V I think you mean a toss-cancelled roll

 

[[FBC] Papa Mink]

My mind hurts fromr trying to figure that out.

If a dash attack cancelled upsmash uses the trajectory of the dash attack and upsmashes...
wouldn't using the trajectory of the roll and tossing be a roll cancelled toss?

 

[infiniteV115]

The wording actually works either way now that I think about it.

I guess it's because a phrase like 'roll-cancelled' can imply either that the roll is cancelled, or that you're cancelling something else with a roll.

@Heero, it's a forward roll, but then you cancel the roll by item tossing in the middle of the roll. That should be clear enough.

 

[Supermodel From Paris]

No, it can't, because it is a roll cancelled by a toss. So a "toss-cancelled" (hyphen implies that that the cancel comes about by way of the toss action) roll (which is the initial action taken, or the action that was cancelled).

English is weird; we have a lot of phrasal verbs and adjectives that we make up on the fly with hyphens and long phrases. For example, a person can be "blue-eyed" or "pigeon-toed," whereas in most languages (that don't have their own similar mechanics or descriptive words) you might say it is a "person with/of blue eyes" or might not try to describe them using their eye color at all, but instead place their eye color in another part of speech.

In this case, think of "toss-cancelled" as functioning mostly as an adjective and you're on the right track.

DACUS is actually a bit of a "misnomer" as well because it isn't a dash attack-cancelled up smash, but rather an up smash-cancelled dash attack (or USCDA, which is far uglier, so I usually let this one go).

I'm a bit of a linguistics and language nerd, please forgive this largely irrelevant derail.

 

[space23]

What's the best/easiest control setup for performing the ROB infinite? I'm able to perform dsmash about 3-4 times in a row using the standard setup but there must be an easier way

 

[DeLux]

Roll-cancelling toss*

Dash attack-cancelling up smash*

I win

 

[Heero Yuy]

I just figured it out how to do it, V. Thanks! Now to do it a bit more consistently...

 

[infiniteV115]

@space23

Dsmash --> turn around --> jump backwards into ROB --> footstool --> immediate dair/downB --> uncharged laser --> buffered uncharged laser --> buffered dsmash to start the next loop.

At lower percents the dsmash doesn't stun them long enough to get everything from the turnaround into the footstool, so you may need to do a running footstool into a b-reversed laser.