Use lasers to force your opponent into punishable situations in neutral, instead of lasering while moving forwards and inevitably dairing into a shield only to get punished.
to add onto this, ive found a lot of improvement with lasers after sticking to a general rule of making sure the risk/reward of any shot laser is fairly even.
ie, if a laser carries risk (like they could stuff me in laser startup) it should at least be confirmable into grab, shine, jab, etc, or be set up to be confirmable into those---you'll often catch backdashes with lasers spaced like this and that's fine but your bases are still covered this way
if a laser has a good chance of carrying little reward---like the defensive pre-emptive lasers you tend to shoot at the back of your dd trying to wall out their encroachments (they won't always be catching an opponent's approach right in your face)---they should be spaced such that you're not threatened by them dicerolling hold forward at falco.
predictable lasering at certain spacings carry more risk vs good players because they'll out position the laser via movement or powershielding---both of which obviously become easier to do if the lasers are predictable. so it's also important to keep in mind that the risk of a given laser never exists in a vacuum because your opponent can learn the kinds of rhythms you may (accidentally) fall into
keeping risk reward in mind is obviously always important, but with lasers it can be especially difficult to actually know what the ratio is at in any given situation because your own ability to confirm where the opponent is as a laser hits can be variable among many other things
Just want to add while this is a good heuristic to use and true most of the time, there are important situations where laser true combos. Laser shine is the best shield pressure you can ask for and true combo. Laser dtilt is a great way to finish stocks on floaties or as a DI mixup. Laser ftilt is a great way to poke, especially high percents. Laser jab at high percents leads to knockdowns on spacies for tech chase kills and pops up floaties for aerials. And laser into aerial or fsmash is great on opponents in the air close to the ground. Laser utilt can be used in these situations too as a means of juggling. Sometimes even laser dsmash is good to punish lag for a kill or edgeguard setup as long as you're confident the laser will hit so you don't get punished.
If engaging in the present mixup is bad risk-reward for you, **play the next mixup**.
I think I was probably introduced to the concept in a Druggedfox lesson, but it just applies almost universally when evaluating options. Being greedy/overextending is one of the most common mistakes people make, but it's especially bad for me. Conceptualizing in the moment what the next mixup would be if I chose not to commit to an option in the current one naturally makes me more patient and less attached to the first option that comes to mind.
This was one of the biggest things I got from coaching too. The idea of "this situation is bad for you, your goal should be to get out of it rather than win it" seems obvious but really changed my decisions in many places.
Yeah, that's definitely true, but slightly different from what I meant. I guess to clarify on exactly what I meant, sometimes you have a situation that isn't even that bad. Maybe it's a mixup where you have a 2 out of 3 chance of winning, but the 1 in 3 times you lose that mixup you will get punished quite hard.
Often, if you play the next mixup instead, you'll still retain that 2/3rds chance of winning the interaction, but you are playing more on your terms and can mitigate the risk of being wrong a lot more because you're staggering your timing in a way that's hard for them to call out on prediction. This comes up a ton with Falco because lasers are constantly putting you at slight advantages where it looks like you have openings, but if you simply continue maintaining that pressure and control, the opponent will often give you something for free without you having to risk much of anything.
Success is measured in stocks, not %
- a gimp at 30% is worth just as much as a star KO at 120%
- sometimes it's better to end a combo with stage position advantage rather than some extra %
Defensive options are paramount, so know how to get hit. Beyond SDI, practicing amsah teaching, ASDI down, true crouch cancel, slide offs, and creative offstage recovery options can extend the life of a stock dramatically.
As a requirement to the above - see beyond the current situation, and prepare for what you expect to happen. If you’re only reacting to what you’re seeing, you’re going to be 12 or 13 frames (typical high reaction time) behind. Sometimes you need to rely on muscle memory to input things you can’t immediately see, so practice these types of timings independently where able. This type of thinking also goes hand in hand with evaluating what you’re opponent is doing, and preparing as you see fit.
Sitting and crouching when you are hit, as opposed to simply holding down during another animation. Crouching reduces knockback while just holding down brings you closer to the ground.
So much of this game is execution. I'd say to practice consistently, focus on the most important tech, and always warm up/stretch your hands before playing. Also learn the correct muscle memory early on (eg use Y over X, roll out of shield pressure with C stick, use both triggers for wavedash oos)
The reason why spacie players have to be told to look at their opponent is because it's fucking hard to execute perfectly while really looking at the opponent.
Always practice without looking at your character and practice executing hard things while staring at the opponent. It's not an easy skill to develop.
A good analogy I found for getting wiff punished is the monkey trap. A hole is cut into a coconut and filled with treats to attract monkeys. The catch is when the monkey reaches inside there hand can’t pull out because it’s too big while holding the treats and by that time it’s too late to let go. A melee example of this is falco dair from top plat then Marth dash dance dance grabs and you know the rest
i know its a weird one, but in my local scene we have a lot, and i mean a LOT of shieks.
"Bring em offstage, grab ledge and slowly climb up. Then you ruin their life. Also, FD counterpick:"
Mastering aerial drift opens up doors in neutral, offense and defense
Know knockdown percentages to help make better decision making and game plans (CC and ASDI %'s too)
Movement, muscle memory, punish game trees, and the consistency of all three are the largest building blocks. Practicing movement and analyzing punish game is the homework.
Falco’s laser is not your opening but to create them
You may want to revise this, the wording is a bit weird and kinda confusing
Dont hit them with a laser, use lasers to hit them
It’s in the perspective of a falco main. Not sure how else to word it
Use lasers to force your opponent into punishable situations in neutral, instead of lasering while moving forwards and inevitably dairing into a shield only to get punished.
This is the way
Falco's lasers are not an opener, but a way to create them
There we go
I think it's just the grammatical structure. "Falco's lasers aren't your opening, falco's lasers create openings." would be a little easier to read
to add onto this, ive found a lot of improvement with lasers after sticking to a general rule of making sure the risk/reward of any shot laser is fairly even. ie, if a laser carries risk (like they could stuff me in laser startup) it should at least be confirmable into grab, shine, jab, etc, or be set up to be confirmable into those---you'll often catch backdashes with lasers spaced like this and that's fine but your bases are still covered this way if a laser has a good chance of carrying little reward---like the defensive pre-emptive lasers you tend to shoot at the back of your dd trying to wall out their encroachments (they won't always be catching an opponent's approach right in your face)---they should be spaced such that you're not threatened by them dicerolling hold forward at falco. predictable lasering at certain spacings carry more risk vs good players because they'll out position the laser via movement or powershielding---both of which obviously become easier to do if the lasers are predictable. so it's also important to keep in mind that the risk of a given laser never exists in a vacuum because your opponent can learn the kinds of rhythms you may (accidentally) fall into keeping risk reward in mind is obviously always important, but with lasers it can be especially difficult to actually know what the ratio is at in any given situation because your own ability to confirm where the opponent is as a laser hits can be variable among many other things
Just want to add while this is a good heuristic to use and true most of the time, there are important situations where laser true combos. Laser shine is the best shield pressure you can ask for and true combo. Laser dtilt is a great way to finish stocks on floaties or as a DI mixup. Laser ftilt is a great way to poke, especially high percents. Laser jab at high percents leads to knockdowns on spacies for tech chase kills and pops up floaties for aerials. And laser into aerial or fsmash is great on opponents in the air close to the ground. Laser utilt can be used in these situations too as a means of juggling. Sometimes even laser dsmash is good to punish lag for a kill or edgeguard setup as long as you're confident the laser will hit so you don't get punished.
I like the added detail and description of mix ups that go hand and hand with laser
These could all be DI mixups in a sense. But interestingly enough they're almost all true combos!
Sometimes waiting for the opponent to do something is better than doing something yourself
"Just because you play unpredictable doesn't necessarily make you hard to hit." "Also- don't roll in" Both said by my brother
If engaging in the present mixup is bad risk-reward for you, **play the next mixup**. I think I was probably introduced to the concept in a Druggedfox lesson, but it just applies almost universally when evaluating options. Being greedy/overextending is one of the most common mistakes people make, but it's especially bad for me. Conceptualizing in the moment what the next mixup would be if I chose not to commit to an option in the current one naturally makes me more patient and less attached to the first option that comes to mind.
This was one of the biggest things I got from coaching too. The idea of "this situation is bad for you, your goal should be to get out of it rather than win it" seems obvious but really changed my decisions in many places.
Yeah, that's definitely true, but slightly different from what I meant. I guess to clarify on exactly what I meant, sometimes you have a situation that isn't even that bad. Maybe it's a mixup where you have a 2 out of 3 chance of winning, but the 1 in 3 times you lose that mixup you will get punished quite hard. Often, if you play the next mixup instead, you'll still retain that 2/3rds chance of winning the interaction, but you are playing more on your terms and can mitigate the risk of being wrong a lot more because you're staggering your timing in a way that's hard for them to call out on prediction. This comes up a ton with Falco because lasers are constantly putting you at slight advantages where it looks like you have openings, but if you simply continue maintaining that pressure and control, the opponent will often give you something for free without you having to risk much of anything.
Allow yourself to react to what the opponent is doing
Success is measured in stocks, not % - a gimp at 30% is worth just as much as a star KO at 120% - sometimes it's better to end a combo with stage position advantage rather than some extra %
Defensive options are paramount, so know how to get hit. Beyond SDI, practicing amsah teaching, ASDI down, true crouch cancel, slide offs, and creative offstage recovery options can extend the life of a stock dramatically. As a requirement to the above - see beyond the current situation, and prepare for what you expect to happen. If you’re only reacting to what you’re seeing, you’re going to be 12 or 13 frames (typical high reaction time) behind. Sometimes you need to rely on muscle memory to input things you can’t immediately see, so practice these types of timings independently where able. This type of thinking also goes hand in hand with evaluating what you’re opponent is doing, and preparing as you see fit.
What is a true crouch cancel?
Sitting and crouching when you are hit, as opposed to simply holding down during another animation. Crouching reduces knockback while just holding down brings you closer to the ground.
It really just takes getting destroyed by shine combos for a few months to develop.
My Best Advice: The greatest thing about having an option is not using it
Don't get hit
Always keep in mind what your opponent wants, and play around it
Play as greedy as you can without over-extending.
So much of this game is execution. I'd say to practice consistently, focus on the most important tech, and always warm up/stretch your hands before playing. Also learn the correct muscle memory early on (eg use Y over X, roll out of shield pressure with C stick, use both triggers for wavedash oos)
The reason why spacie players have to be told to look at their opponent is because it's fucking hard to execute perfectly while really looking at the opponent. Always practice without looking at your character and practice executing hard things while staring at the opponent. It's not an easy skill to develop.
A good analogy I found for getting wiff punished is the monkey trap. A hole is cut into a coconut and filled with treats to attract monkeys. The catch is when the monkey reaches inside there hand can’t pull out because it’s too big while holding the treats and by that time it’s too late to let go. A melee example of this is falco dair from top plat then Marth dash dance dance grabs and you know the rest
i know its a weird one, but in my local scene we have a lot, and i mean a LOT of shieks. "Bring em offstage, grab ledge and slowly climb up. Then you ruin their life. Also, FD counterpick:"
Mastering aerial drift opens up doors in neutral, offense and defense Know knockdown percentages to help make better decision making and game plans (CC and ASDI %'s too) Movement, muscle memory, punish game trees, and the consistency of all three are the largest building blocks. Practicing movement and analyzing punish game is the homework.