• Welcome to Smashboards, the world's largest Super Smash Brothers community! Over 250,000 Smash Bros. fans from around the world have come to discuss these great games in over 19 million posts!

    You are currently viewing our boards as a visitor. Click here to sign up right now and start on your path in the Smash community!

Forward Tilt: The Summary of Playing Sheik

Zankoku

Never Knows Best
Administrator
BRoomer
Joined
Nov 8, 2006
Messages
22,906
Location
Milpitas, CA
NNID
SSBM_PLAYER
I haven't really been active here, and I don't feel like posting anyway. So I'll leave you with this. It's a collection of my personal experience and the advice given to me by none other than Super Moderator Amazing RyokoYaksa.

Forward Tilt
Sheik's forward tilt is, overall, the best move she's got. It's the second fastest attack (slower than jab by two frames), and it's got weak damage (5% undecayed) and knockback (KO at around 300%), but that's not what makes it so amazing.

Well, ok, the speed and knockback have a hand in it. Sheik's forward tilt hits on frame 4. It's got good reach. This makes it a very effective tool for out-of-shield punishment, trumping the grab in reach and overall usefulness and the jab in area of range. And its knockback is so weak that at low-to-mid %, the opponent barely goes anywhere.

This leads into setups for true combos, which are quite rare in Brawl. Most notably, the ftilt lock, which is equivalent to a chaingrab for 30-40% damage with a practically guaranteed ender.

Ftilt Lock
This is the defining "broken" ability of Sheik. Use it. It will take out half a stock, or even a full stock. It destroys lives. It ravages souls. It leads into Sheik's strongest finisher.

Controversies
But it's cheap!
Get out of my thread.

But, Gimpyfish doesn't use it!
Gimpyfish is one person. He also is not particularly concerned with winning for the sake of winning in a friendly game. Forgoing your single best option in favor of "style points" in a tournament match is not recommended.

Usage
The ftilt lock has a couple of characteristics that are important to keep in mind for keeping things effective. First of all, make sure not to use it before 30%. Second of all, don't end with usmash unless you intend to KO with it or Transform.

Options
Away DI
This is actually the wrong direction to DI. Continue ftilting.

Towards DI
DIing in this direction will pull the character into and behind Sheik.

Reverse Ftilt
If you can see the moment the character moves to the other side of you, this is the best option. It will continue the ftilt lock.

Utilt
This ends the ftilt lock with upwards-away knockback and 13% damage. It's pretty much the standard ftilt lock ender.

Dsmash
If you can't consistently reverse ftilt, this deals 13% and has a more favorable knockback power and direction than the utilt.

Down DI
The logic here is to use any possible moment of non-hitstun to fastfall into the ground and powershield the next ftilt. To avoid giving this option to the opponent, make sure not to ftilt before 30%.

Grab
This is the only thing that gets past a shield.

Dsmash
If you notice that you're at too low of a % before the opponent does, this is your quickest option to avoid repercussion for your mistake.

Up-Away DI
DIing up and away will make the ftilt connect later and possibly allow the opponent to jump out. It stilll keeps them in hitstun, though, so if you can see them about to escape then just lead into an ender.

Nair
Serves about the same use as utilt, except that if they DI only upward, this has more chance of hitting.

Utilt
The standard ender.

Fair
Weak and low-angled knockback. If caught off-guard, this can be used to lead into another ftilt lock setup.

Uair
Harder to hit with, but with straight upward knockback this can give Sheik a better juggling opportunity.

Up/Up-Towards DI
I'm not entirely sure why people choose this direction, as it gives Sheik the greatest number of ender options.

Utilt
Of course.

Nair
Also good.

Uair
Yep.

Usmash
The scariest ender yet. Since ftilt will lead into a tipper hit, this will deal 17% damage and have a very strong upward knockback. However, this is also Sheik's strongest KO move, so don't bother ending with this unless at a % that usmash would KO, or going Zelda would KO.

Dsmash
If they're moving more towards than up, this will cover the most area and thus have the greatest margin of error.

Bair
You could do this if you're standing at a ledge but facing away, I guess.

Ftilt Usmash KO
This may sound impossible, but thanks to the miracles of attack decay, this can happen to any character, from Snake to Jigglypuff. Use your ftilt lock and continue to keep it decayed with liberal usage of small ftilt combos like ftilt nair and ftilt utilt. Eventually they'll reach the right % to die from an usmash and you can go ahead and set it up.

If you got them up to over 70% and then they KO'd you, resetting your attack decay, it might not be worth bothering with this setup, but you can still use ftilt to set up into aerials.
 

-Mars-

Smash Hero
Joined
Jul 26, 2007
Messages
6,515
Location
UTAH
Good read............you forgot to mention that the ftilt can lead into some jab setups as well depending on the opponents DI.

edit: Does this mean you won't be handling your matchup listing thread anymore?
 

Wildfire393

Smash Journeyman
Joined
May 12, 2007
Messages
335
I'm a fan of grabbing when the opponent DI's towards. It's not quite as good a combo as continuing the Ftilt backwards, but it's guaranteed (while the reverse FTilt is not due to the turn-around frames) and a Fthrow/Bthrow can lead to futher combos. It also gets less complaining in friendlies.
 

Mith_

Smash Champion
Joined
Jul 30, 2008
Messages
2,376
Location
Augusta, GA
If they DI towards you or up would it be possible to end with a Vanish? I know its one of the worst follow-ups, but I only use Sheik in friendlies, and it would be great for "style points" :D.
 

ss118

Smash Master
Joined
Jan 30, 2006
Messages
3,127
Location
Savannah, Georgia
Upsmash can actually kill a lot earlier and can do 30% if you fully sweetspot it where you hit the opponent with both hits.
...
...IIRC

anyway good read. maybe I fail at the ftilt lock because I don't wait long enough till 30%. thanks for pointing that out.
 

Tristan_win

Not dead.
Joined
Aug 7, 2006
Messages
3,845
Location
Currently Japan
why would you think that?
Same question, Ankoku been here since the beginning of time he's older then even me when it comes to maining Sheik in Brawl just because he's not as active as he use to be isn't necessary a bad thing after all we are whining down to knowing everything about sheik.
 

-Mars-

Smash Hero
Joined
Jul 26, 2007
Messages
6,515
Location
UTAH
Same question, Ankoku been here since the beginning of time he's older then even me when it comes to maining Sheik in Brawl just because he's not as active as he use to be isn't necessary a bad thing after all we are whining down to knowing everything about sheik.
I agree, chances are Sheik won't have any AT's in the future, she's a pretty simple character.
 

Tristan_win

Not dead.
Joined
Aug 7, 2006
Messages
3,845
Location
Currently Japan
I agree, chances are Sheik won't have any new AT's in the future, she's a pretty simple character.
edited for truth

and yeah, although I still got like 15 things I still need to test and find out with sheik not to mention all the crazy little combos we can still find...most of which are most likely related to using the dtilt in the higher percents or are purely character related.

I can see myself saying busy with sheik for at least for another year or so now before I'll start to get bored but hey melee sheik took about what ...a month before you started to get good with her on a competitive level and many people still used her as their main.
 

JackieRabbit5

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Jun 17, 2008
Messages
419
Location
Texas
ftilt-lock...its a blessing and a curse

i guess ur right if u wanna be competitive with Sheik u pretty much have to use it and use it well
 

slickmasterizzy

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Mar 28, 2008
Messages
140
Location
Ohio, northeast
meh i still dont buy into this ftilt stuff. against good players (or me playing against good shiek players)

i can get out of it and they can get out of mine.

maybe theres no good players in ohio =p
 

-Mars-

Smash Hero
Joined
Jul 26, 2007
Messages
6,515
Location
UTAH
Ftilt is the new Dthrow. With guaranteed tipper Usmash setups included. Against everyone.
So your saying as long as the ftilt is decayed to a certain degree...........not only is the tipper guaranteed against the space animals, it's guaranteed on everyone?
 

Tristan_win

Not dead.
Joined
Aug 7, 2006
Messages
3,845
Location
Currently Japan
So your saying as long as the ftilt is decayed to a certain degree...........not only is the tipper guaranteed against the space animals, it's guaranteed on everyone?
Ryoko has spoken! ~nods without questioning a word he says~

edit: Oh by the way marsuals I tried contacting you after I was done watching that show but you did respond ;_;

Do you have a aim account
 

-Mars-

Smash Hero
Joined
Jul 26, 2007
Messages
6,515
Location
UTAH
The fact that most of her aerials can lead to this just makes this move so easy to land.
 

Wildfire393

Smash Journeyman
Joined
May 12, 2007
Messages
335
The Ftilt does not set up to the Usmash Tipper on everyone. Marth, in particular, can counter before the Usmash comes out, ruining it.
 

-Mars-

Smash Hero
Joined
Jul 26, 2007
Messages
6,515
Location
UTAH
I repeat for the technically stupid- no, he can't. You're doing it wrong.
Please explain for the "technically stupid" then. Every Marth i've played has been able to do it and i've watched vids of Gimpy and Ankoku and the same thing has happened to them.

Instead of just saying "your doing it wrong" explain why some of us are doing it wrong.

Obviously if it's happening to Gimpy and Ankoku, then they are "doing it wrong" as well.
 

RyokoYaksa

BRoomer
BRoomer
Joined
Oct 25, 2001
Messages
5,056
Location
Philadelphia, USA
If one ftilt isn't sending the floaties the approximate distance from the floor to right above Sheik's head, that means you're doing it wrong.

I'm not here to send you every answer on a silver platter. You ****s need to learn/do something for yourself, now. Or at least try to follow through with what the topic post is saying.
 

-Mars-

Smash Hero
Joined
Jul 26, 2007
Messages
6,515
Location
UTAH
If one ftilt isn't sending the floaties the approximate distance from the floor to right above Sheik's head, that means you're doing it wrong.

I'm not here to send you every answer on a silver platter. You ****s need to learn/do something for yourself, now. Or at least try to follow through with what the topic post is saying.
Fair enough, i'll look into my problem then.
 
Top Bottom