*Note* if you have any questions about any of the techniques, want to know something specific about a character, think there is something wrong on here, have something you want to add (links/vids), or something you want to see, POST IT and I will edit it a.s.a.p.
Updates:8/2/09 Thread created, smashboards.com links added, ATs added
8/3/09 DI and Momentum Canceling added
8/4/09 Hugging & Speed Hugging
Lets face it, none of us in TDKC are uber pro yet, we all need to up our game a lot, so I am making a forum for us to do just that! If we want to be a clan to be feared, this is where its gonna start!
The first step, if you haven't done so already, is to spend some time in the character specific boards a smashboards.com
here's the link:
http://www.smashboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=118Work with you're respective mains and secondaries, learn the Advanced Techniques with them and practice
Check out the character specific boards and the brawl tactical descussion they are INCREDIBLY helpful!!!
You can post anything you feel important here, ask questions, post a vid and have it critiqued, post links, give advice, etc. Do it Dark Knights, start upping your game so we may smite all who oppose us
-RT
Advanced TechniquesBrawl is home to a lot of advanced techniques, while some are situational and others are specific to only certain characters, they can make or break a match and separate a n00b from a pro. Unfortunately, there are too many for me to go over in this thread, but I have some good links to make up for it.
The first if from smashboards.com under the tactical descussion, "The Comprehensive Guide to AT's, Descoveries, and Glitches". It covers "true" AT's (techniques usable by all characters), AT's usable by only a couple characters, and character specific ATs (however to find all the character specific ATs you will need to look at the character specific boards). Use it, learn it, master it.
here it is
http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=187873The second link is to a youtube vid that shows a good amount of AT's and gives written descriptions of how to do them in said video. WATCH IT! you might learn something (please don't post just to say you already knew something, no one cares Mr. Smartypants, show me don't tell me)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAcIXPJoGToWork hard on these Dark Knights, these will help make us a clan to be feared!!
DI and Momentum CancelingDI and momentum canceling are extremely important as doing them properly will ensure you LIVE LONGER!! A move that would kill you at 130% without DI and momentum canceling won't kill you till maybe 150%! Get more out of a stock, earlier in the game and stave off game ending KO moves for a second chance!!!
Dynamics of a Hit Before we go over DI, let's look at the several phases of a hit. When the enemies hitbox enters your hurtbox, you enter a stage called
hitlag. During this phase the attacker and the victum are locked in place and don't move (though you may jiggle a bit). The hitbox of an attack stays out during hitlag and when the hitlag ends, you are sent flying and enter a phase called
hitstun. During hitstun, you cannot change you're momentum, but you can imput certain moves to break out of the hitstun (more detail to come in the momentum canceling section). After you break out of hitstun you can begin controlling your momentum as you normally would.
Directional InfluenceDirectional Influence, or DI, is a mechanic in brawl that allows you to control the direction you a sent flying after being hit. DI is imput during the hitlag phase of the attack and there are multiple ways to do it properly.
First is
regular DI. This is where you hold a direction with the controll stick as you are bing hit, which will affect you're momentum. This is the simplest form of DI.
The second way is called
Smash DI, in which you tap the c-stick in a direction when you are hit.
Finally there is
Tap DI which is tapping the control stick in a direction when you are hit.
Any of these methods will work for single hit attacks. For multi-hit attacks, rapidly tapping the control stick and the c-stick will force you in a direction (which rules). For you guys a perfect example is Pika's dsmash, without any DI, the move grabs you and tosses you back and forth before the final hit sends you straight up. However, with good DI it is possible to break out of it early. You can simply hold up (regular DI) and you will get out of the move near the end, but by rapidly tapping both sticks up, you will pop out after 1-3 hits!!
*Note* you can DI out of EVERY multi-hit move! The really hard ones, especially for faster fallers, are mk's nado and Zelda's usmash. For these, you need to get the initial hit DI's straight up, if you do, you have a good chance of getting out of them. Once you're stuck though, it is very hard to DI out.
Now that we know how to DI, let's talk about
where to DI. The ideal way to DI is perpendicular to the way you are flying (perpendicular makes a T).
This means when you are HIT HORIZONTALLY, you should DI UP and when you are HIT UP, you should DI TO THE SIDE. The goal of this is to angle your path to the upper corners of the stage where you have more room to travel before dying. This increases you're path length which gives you more time to momentum cancel or just plain survive! Which rocks!
Momentum CancelingMomentum Canceling is when you use a move to regain control when you are sent flying, then use another to slow/halt momentum. First off, when you're sent flying, you can use an A attack or airdodge during the time after hitstun but before you can control your momentum. B moves won't register, and no control stick inputs will affect your momentum. After you finish your airdodge or A move, you will regain the use of your B moves, and you can start to change your momentum.
Obviously, your priority is to get the first part done as fast as possible. For all characters in the game, even though you can airdodge earlier then you can do an attack, there is an attack that will end sooner. There is also the side benefit of being able to fast-fall an aerial (which slightly slows horizontal and really slows vertical momentum), which you cannot do with an air dodge. For Pikachu (who I main, you can look up the best MC method for your character or ask me and I'll post it), the best thing to do at this point is to fast-fall a uair, because that is Pika's fastest aerial in terms of duration.
Once you've done your A move, you can then slow your momentum, jump, or use a B move. Jumping or using a momentum-changing B move has a penalty in Brawl's programming that pushes you away, often referred to as an "unfriendly momentum" penalty. (Some characters have a B move which breaks this rule, ex: G&W's bucket.) For all characters, you should always use you're quickest aerial, what you do after that varies from character to character.
Pikachu doesn't have a perfect momentum-stopper, but we have one that is a lot better than any other option: uncharged Skull Bash, which will stop all horizontal momentum after it is fired, i.e., when he says "KA!" The unfriendly momentum penalty for Skull Bash has a vertical component and a horizontal component, but it is unlikely that it will ever kill you. In any case, it's the best option Pikachu has and will save you when doing nothing would have led to death.
After you come out of Skull Bash, you can come down to the ground however you like. Keep in mind that you should only fully momentum cancel if you're close to dying off the sides of the screen. If the attack that hit you was of only moderate knockback or if you were sent vertically, you should perform the uair to get out of hitstun, but you should not use Skull Bash. In the first case, you will end up too close to the stage, and the opponent will be able to punish Skull Bash's massive cooldown lag; in the second, Skull Bashing after a vertical hit is unnecessary and may kill you. Again this is just pika, but such things may apply to other characters.
As a quick overview, this is what you should do when you get hit with a possible KO move:
Horizontally
1) DI upward
2) FF your quickest aerial (uair for pika)
3) use you're momentum canceling move (uncharged skullbash for pika*)
*Skip step #3 if you are nowhere near the side blastlines if you're move would leave you venerable like pika's SB
Vertically
1) DI sideways
2) FF you're quickest ariel as soon as you can
(uair for pika, though I've seen Anthr, the best pika player do dairs instead I will look into this as I think there is an important property to this, will update if this is the case)
Here is an awesome vid of momentum canceling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=CA&hl=en&v=UuXBIYnMuTEMomentum Canceling combined with DI will help make you heavies a b**** to kill and really save your rear for the feather weights. Practice this Dark Knights, make it muscle memory whenever you get hit.
Credit goes to KayLo from "Generating a Win, an Electrifying guide to Pickachu" thanks KayLo!
Edge Hugging lolWhat's that Lassie? Timmy fell down the well? Quick! Grab the edge so he can't recover!
Oh hugging, one of the funniest ways to gimp someone. Simply time their feeble attempt to recover to the edge, and grab it just before they do and let you're innvonerability frames do the rest. (like it matters, I'll kick you from here to Thursday if you dare get back on the stage).
Simply run off the edge and tilt the control stick towards the edge to grab it right away.
Speed Hugging (two methods)
How to Perform (method 1): Run toward the edge, then quarter-circle the joystick from Down to Back as soon as you walk off of the edge.
How to Perform: (method 2) Run/walk/roll to the very edge of the stage. Then, very quickly press diagonally down and away from the stage's center on the joystick. Easiest to do while facing into the stage's center, but can also be done easily while running if you press diagonally down-forward just as you reach the edge.
Effect: Character drops immediately off of the platform and sweet-spots the ledge.
Method 1 OP+Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsPU6nCm5iI (2:26)
*Next Update* Chain Grabs
Subject: Up Your Game 
Sun Aug 02, 2009 4:58 pm
