The video Scott posted back on the 10th definitely doesn't hold up for Smash 4. It's 2 hours of Marth tutorial, and relies heavily on stuff like L-cancelling that is not in the new game.
I'm definitely on the lookout for some lessons from the pros, but waiting until some 3DS videos finally start popping up. If someone else finds them before me, please share! All the signals say this game is the real deal, but people are still in the "figuring it out" phase.
I never learned any of the advanced fast-hands mechanics in Melee because I was among the best at my school. Now that online Smash is a real thing that works, we can play outside of the baby pool. I win often in For Glory free-for-alls, but I'm by no means dominant. Time to learn how to really play this game.
I'm getting better, close to where I was before, but I still suck overall. Here are some issues and basic questions I have.
When I come out of a shield roll, I'm often facing the wrong direction. Then I just get destroyed from attacks to my behind. How do I control what direction I will face after rolling?
What attacks have priority over others? If I am doing a down-stab with Link and Mario is doing an uppercut, what happens? A lot of moves have invincibility frames. The in-game tips tell you as much. But what happens when such moves interact?
If I want to attack, what is a safe way to approach the other player? It seems like if I'm just standing still, it's pretty easy to counterattack who comes at me. Defense seems pretty strong. How do I approach and start hitting someone else who is just standing and waiting for me?
Once I do start getting hit, how do I escape?
It seems that the old rules of edge guarding are not really the same. What is the best way to guard the edge and make sure the other player falls to their doom?
How do you create openings for the big hits? There are a lot of moves that are very powerful, but very hard to hit with. Kirby's hammer is a great example. In the time it takes to swing, you leave a huge opening on yourself. Unless you are lucky enough to get someone dizzy, it's next to impossible to hit anyone good with it. It's even more impossible if you charge it up.
Knowing the priority of character's moves is just something that comes with time and experience, I assume. Reinforces the importance of learning one character really well. I can't answer most of your questions, but I can answer them for Pikachu.
How do you engage? In this version of Smash, Pikachu's dash+A attack is much faster, and causes a surprising amount of knockback. It's fast enough that it beats people's fallback defense attack for a charging opponent 9 times out of 10.
Getting out of combos? Pikachu's down+B lightning is much weaker in this game, but it only takes 1 frame to bust it out, and the lightning will still come even if you are getting the shit kicked out of you for every following frame.
I don't recall having trouble with facing out of rolls, but I'd need a 3DS in my hand to make sure. Consider a character with a good down-smash that quickly hits both sides if this is one of your big issues.
With the important of edge guarding diminished, the game seems to be much more about going off the stage and landing a solid hit to finish of the opponent, rather than waiting for them to come back. Mess around with the moves sets in training and figure out which ones are prone to down-spiking your opponent at high damage.
You can't risk going off stage to finish your opponent until they've already used their up+B move. Once the animation for that is over, they are super vulnerable. If you go for it before then, you might be hit by that move and be dead yourself. The only other hope is to bait them into using that move too early and then they just die.
If you have a decent recovery, this is not a big concern. I would rarely worry about getting taken out by someone's up+B. They should have more to lose than you do, as long as you are coming in at the right angle. I am still interested in what to do when someone does get ahold of the ledge, though. I feel like I haven't worked out the best move yet. As of now, I just start sending neutral+B electricity bolts at them.
Yeah, if they hold the ledge, you can't stand near it because they'll come in with the recovery smash. If you have a projectile you can stand back and wait for your easy shot. Otherwise?
There is also a new mechanic in this game. If someone is holding the ledge for a little bit, and then you jump at the ledge, you will grab the ledge and push them off. There is brief ledge invincibility when you grab it.
Also, there are a few moments after letting go of the ledge where you can no longer re-grab. This makes it harder to stay on the ledge and jump up and down to spam moves, unless you jump really high, making yourself more vulnerable.
Originally people used to edge hog to deny people grabbing edges. They tried to limit this with pushing people off ledges. I think like Axel said you can time it right to try and get the invincibility frames. Another strategy is to edge guard by trying to deny them getting to edge at all. This is a required strategy for Sheik.
Alright, I got it. I'll get back to my DS one of these nights and throw my friend code up on here. Looking forward to making you all not want to play this game anymore.
I had actually never played 1vs1 For Glory before, but gave it a spin when free-for-all was giving me an error message. I didn't realize it was stock battle! I am in love. I do prefer 4-player stock battles, and I was intimidated by the prospect of having to go direct, toe-to-toe versus another player. Wound up winning slightly more than losing, and having some amazing moments in matches regardless of their outcomes.
Holy cow, Rosalina is a thing of beauty. It's amazing how many people forget about the luma while she's downed. I've had no luck with her in 4 player brawl yet, but her 1v1 game is brutal.
I beat 3 people in a row in 1vs1, then lost to a Rosalina player 5 times in a row (some of these matches were sooooo clooooose), then beat another 3 people in a row. Rosalina is no fucking joke.
I am slowly working my way through the characters (I am on row 3) and she immediately made the short list of secondary mains I might learn. The others are Bowser, Bowser Jr, and Zero Suit Samus. Maybe Peach or Game & Watch too.
Makes me want to spend some time with Robin since I saw some potential there and had fun with him. Rosalina I'd gotten the impression was pretty good when I'd played the Wii U version at PAX. Bowser Jr. was about mid on the list but I played with him some yesterday and a few of his attack are phenomenal. He also has good B attacks for various situations. I think he'll gain some popularity after a while.
I was a bit surprised about Sonic because he was marginal in Brawl. I'm glad Sheik is back on top because she was nigh unplayable in Brawl. Greninja also is pretty high on the list and seems fairly decent. Little Mac has almost no recovery but really packs a punch (pun intended) and has the speed to back it up. He's a little short on range though too.
I beat 3 people in a row in 1vs1, then lost to a Rosalina player 5 times in a row (some of these matches were sooooo clooooose), then beat another 3 people in a row. Rosalina is no fucking joke.
I am slowly working my way through the characters (I am on row 3) and she immediately made the short list of secondary mains I might learn. The others are Bowser, Bowser Jr, and Zero Suit Samus. Maybe Peach or Game & Watch too.
There was a time when I was semi-competitive with Melee when I tried really hard to get good with G&W mostly because I thought it would be funny to do really well with him. I haven't actually unlocked him yet but he was pretty awful in previous games. He has great sending moves but hes incredibly light and could easily be KO'd around 60%.
G&W has a simple pattern of parachute, turtle, & key. He is alright.
Also, to easily beat the baseball challenge, Pick Olimar, Side smash > Grab bat > * Get in center of downed sand bag > Down smash > Repeat at * until 1-2 seconds > Hit with tip of bat. Now if only there was a way to easily share replays.
Comments
I'm definitely on the lookout for some lessons from the pros, but waiting until some 3DS videos finally start popping up. If someone else finds them before me, please share! All the signals say this game is the real deal, but people are still in the "figuring it out" phase.
I never learned any of the advanced fast-hands mechanics in Melee because I was among the best at my school. Now that online Smash is a real thing that works, we can play outside of the baby pool. I win often in For Glory free-for-alls, but I'm by no means dominant. Time to learn how to really play this game.
There's quite a few good 3DS videos, but nothing comprehensive yet. Mostly just some modern Melee/Brawl pros with their first discoveries of the game.
When I come out of a shield roll, I'm often facing the wrong direction. Then I just get destroyed from attacks to my behind. How do I control what direction I will face after rolling?
What attacks have priority over others? If I am doing a down-stab with Link and Mario is doing an uppercut, what happens? A lot of moves have invincibility frames. The in-game tips tell you as much. But what happens when such moves interact?
If I want to attack, what is a safe way to approach the other player? It seems like if I'm just standing still, it's pretty easy to counterattack who comes at me. Defense seems pretty strong. How do I approach and start hitting someone else who is just standing and waiting for me?
Once I do start getting hit, how do I escape?
It seems that the old rules of edge guarding are not really the same. What is the best way to guard the edge and make sure the other player falls to their doom?
How do you create openings for the big hits? There are a lot of moves that are very powerful, but very hard to hit with. Kirby's hammer is a great example. In the time it takes to swing, you leave a huge opening on yourself. Unless you are lucky enough to get someone dizzy, it's next to impossible to hit anyone good with it. It's even more impossible if you charge it up.
How do you engage? In this version of Smash, Pikachu's dash+A attack is much faster, and causes a surprising amount of knockback. It's fast enough that it beats people's fallback defense attack for a charging opponent 9 times out of 10.
Getting out of combos? Pikachu's down+B lightning is much weaker in this game, but it only takes 1 frame to bust it out, and the lightning will still come even if you are getting the shit kicked out of you for every following frame.
I don't recall having trouble with facing out of rolls, but I'd need a 3DS in my hand to make sure. Consider a character with a good down-smash that quickly hits both sides if this is one of your big issues.
With the important of edge guarding diminished, the game seems to be much more about going off the stage and landing a solid hit to finish of the opponent, rather than waiting for them to come back. Mess around with the moves sets in training and figure out which ones are prone to down-spiking your opponent at high damage.
Also, there are a few moments after letting go of the ledge where you can no longer re-grab. This makes it harder to stay on the ledge and jump up and down to spam moves, unless you jump really high, making yourself more vulnerable.
Explain to me how to jump a curb with your bicycle. What exact motions should you perform to make that exact thing happen?
What if the curb is not perpendicular to my wheels, but instead is parallel? Can I still jump it? How? How exactly do I move my body to do this?
What if the curb is at an angle? What if it's tall? Do I have to do it differently in those cases?
Do you see what I'm getting at?
I am slowly working my way through the characters (I am on row 3) and she immediately made the short list of secondary mains I might learn. The others are Bowser, Bowser Jr, and Zero Suit Samus. Maybe Peach or Game & Watch too.
- Rosalina
- Sheik
- Zero Suit Samus
- Sonic
- Robin
Makes me want to spend some time with Robin since I saw some potential there and had fun with him. Rosalina I'd gotten the impression was pretty good when I'd played the Wii U version at PAX. Bowser Jr. was about mid on the list but I played with him some yesterday and a few of his attack are phenomenal. He also has good B attacks for various situations. I think he'll gain some popularity after a while.I was a bit surprised about Sonic because he was marginal in Brawl. I'm glad Sheik is back on top because she was nigh unplayable in Brawl. Greninja also is pretty high on the list and seems fairly decent. Little Mac has almost no recovery but really packs a punch (pun intended) and has the speed to back it up. He's a little short on range though too.
Also, to easily beat the baseball challenge, Pick Olimar, Side smash > Grab bat > * Get in center of downed sand bag > Down smash > Repeat at * until 1-2 seconds > Hit with tip of bat.
Now if only there was a way to easily share replays.
Also how many dick levels are there going to be.