*IMPORTANT READ* Bucket Braking. Read it nubs.

(credit to TheStig for the name of this AT)

infzy's video guide to Bucket Braking

Add dis shiz to a stickied guide someone please.

Bucket Braking is a technique that will save your life one day in a serious match. This can make G&W on average live like 20-30% longer than he normally would and enable him to survive blows that would otherwise barely KO him. I have actually lived to like 180% with good DI and Bucket Braking, so yeah. Seriously. You must learn how to do this.

To do this technique, first DI properly. Then do an aerial attack. Use N-air preferably, because this is G&W's fastest aerial attack in terms of duration. After you N-air, immediately pull out the Bucket. If done correctly, you will immediately stop moving completely, and TADAA!!!! You just performed Bucket Braking!

It is VERY important that you do a N-air first, THEN Bucket. There is a phase in hitstun that can only be interrupted by an air dodge or an aerial attack, and if you simply try to mash downB against a kill move, it will just kill you before you get out of hitstun. N-airing first allows you to escape hitstun early.

To get maximum results from this technique, try to pressure your opponent into positions where you have more space to fly in case you get hit. It's possible to survive MK's D-smash at 170% on FD in the right position.

Learn to master this technique all the time and have fun. =)

It's not related to IASA frames. Hitstun prevents the use of specials and double jump for its whole duration, but only prevents the use of aerials and air dodge for a constant initial amount of hitstun. If you use an aerial, when it finishes, you won't be in hitstun anymore, so you can use specials and double jump. Using an aerial also gives you back aerial influence (as in the ability to drift through the air with the control stick); it doesn't actually reduce the knockback of the move. In order to survive a vertical hit, it's also important that you fast fall the aerial; the actual aerial itself isn't doing anything to make you live longer vertically.

Isn't u-air a ton faster than nair?

N-air ends 5 frames before U-air does.

You mean you actually get to DI back towards the stage from N-air to midair jump? Wow.

Personally I'd use the Bucket over that since you have more options from saving the midair jump, but that also sounds cool.

I'll add this to the directory this afternoon.
t(-_-t)

Are you sure the bucket is the move that most optimally kills momentum? Chef and Judgment Hammer seem pretty good at it too.

Bucket is less laggy, and protects you from ROB laser gimps and such lol.

In the guide on the BTD it shows that some momentum cancelling moves will fling you even further if you are still moving.. are you sure Bucket Canceling works?

Jumping and bucket both cancel your momentum, so you could do either one. I don't think the difference between those two methods is noticible (maybe 1 or 2%)

Does this work for vertical momentum as well as horizontal? ie. if you get hit up, will you be able to bucket cancel before you get ko'd off the top?

i did some testing and i was able to survive a marth tipper fsmash at 95%

TheStig said:

i did some testing and i was able to survive a marth tipper fsmash at 95%

Click to expand...

Where? What stage and where on the stage, and was it diminished?

Did you DI correctly also?

Gates said:

Does this work for vertical momentum as well as horizontal? ie. if you get hit up, will you be able to bucket cancel before you get ko'd off the top?

Click to expand...

Yes, Bucket canceling also saves you against vertical knockback that would barely KO you.

Yeah, that's the use for that over midair jump knockback canceling.

i used both controllers in training mode on final destination. i chose to play as marth and set control for the cpu (allowing me to DI as G&W). With G&W standing in the center of FD, i tipper fsmashed with marth and di'ed with the bucket. i can probably put a video up later.

i think i di'ed it correctly, without di g&w dies at 60%

TheStig said:

i used both controllers in training mode on final destination. i chose to play as marth and set control for the cpu (allowing me to DI as G&W). With G&W standing in the center of FD, i tipper fsmashed with marth and di'ed with the bucket. i can probably put a video up later.

i think i di'ed it correctly, without di g&w dies at 60%

Click to expand...

Thanks for the testing brah!

I asked you earlier, but I didn't see a response. Are you staying at the GaW boards/playing GaW? We need new (intelligent) players direly.

_Phloat_ said:

We need new (intelligent) players direly.

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^^^ seriously....

Hmmm, the DI while doing neutral air is a hassle for me since you have to have an instant where your analog is in a neutral position while you are pressing A, reducing your DI by a little bit (which could probrably determine whether you live or not).

Also, are you sure this works? I thought Specials can't be used if you are still in a state of hitstun...

could this work with air dodge instead of a nair?

No, air dodge lasts too long. Also, unlike aerials, air dodges do not let you cancel out that slight bit of knockback that will enable you to survive long enough to Bucket cancel. There is in fact NO REASON to air dodge out of hitstun UNLESS you are doing DI down -> tether save.

A2ZOMG said:

No, air dodge lasts too long. Also, unlike aerials, air dodges do not let you cancel out that slight bit of knockback that will enable you to survive long enough to Bucket cancel. There is in fact NO REASON to air dodge out of hitstun UNLESS you are doing DI down -> tether save.

Click to expand...

really... i always see people air dodge for DI. Ill have to train myself to nair... i usually fair

i use fair, because its faster for me

If you find it hard to N-air, try C sticking a U-air. It's G&W's 2nd fastest aerial.

TheStig said:

i use fair, because its faster for me

Click to expand...

Fair is slow. Quickly release the joystick, tap A, and re-press it towards the stage. If you really don't want to "neutralize" your joystick, use his uair with c-stick, it's the fastest apart from nair.

I'll be trying out bucket canceling from now on. Also seems like a good defense for ROB long-distance laser shots near the stage edges.

bah such a tough habit to break, i always dair to survive

Hylian said:

You can also nair to double jump. Which is what I usually do.

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Double jump doesn't remove all horizontal knockback. I've died once or twice from jumping after an aerial (easiest to see with MK).

Performing an air attack followed by a double-jump does not remove all momentum. I'm not sure if Down-B actually works as opposed to double-jumping, but I'll start testing it. Also I believe upB will stop all momentum as well, again not sure but seems like it would.

omegablackmage said:

bah such a tough habit to break, i always dair to survive

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yea, me too man.

would using upb also cancel momentum?

Yes, it DOES in fact. I tested that one, and said that it does work in the OP.

JOBOT said:

really... i always see people air dodge for DI. Ill have to train myself to nair... i usually fair

Click to expand...

Airdodging is the incorrect way to DI (except when your snake, I think). They are doing it wrong.

omegablackmage said:

bah such a tough habit to break, i always dair to survive

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Yeah...me too. I'm getting better at breaking that habit though.

Someone should make a video of this to show it in action. I would but I don't have the means to do so.

A2ZOMG said:

Yes, it DOES in fact. I tested that one, and said that it does work in the OP.

Click to expand...

lol, my bad...will stop skimming posts now :embarrass

Amazing discovery, A2ZOMG. I've tested the mechanics thoroughly, and made a video guide:
[Crazy Recovery Techniques: G&W Bucket-Cancelling + moar!]

I credit you with the discovery and link to this thread.... but if you weren't the one to discover it, let me know

This is an important exception to some of the claims I made in my previous videos about momentum-cancelling,
[How to Recover, after DI: momentum cancelling, etc.]
[Recovering in Brawl: Momentum-Cancelling examples]

For completion, I decided to test every Special move in the game, to see if the Bucket's amazing behaviour could be found anywhere else. It turns out there are two other moves that completely freeze momentum ignoring knockback:

1. Yoshi's side-B
2. DK's up-B

Although they're not nearly as useful as G&W's, since they're left useless and vulnerable afterwards.

Anyway, using the Bucket is not at all like using G&W's up-B to recover, as has been erroneously stated in this thread. Please allow me to clear up some things in the OP...

A2ZOMG said:

(using an aerial attack out of hitstun slightly reduces the knockback you incur from attacks).

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Not quite. Using an aerial doesn't modify any of your horizontal knockback. Even if it's a momentum-changing aerial, the usual momentum-changing properties have no effect during knockback (unless there are more exceptions I don't know about, lol). You can fastfall aerials during knockback, and this reduces the vertical component of your knockback.

But for horizontal knockback, the aerial just lets you do something else; a Jump or a Special; to counteract the remaining knockback.

A2ZOMG said:

It is VERY important that you do a N-air first, THEN Bucket. The IASA frames for aerial attacks start up way sooner than they do for special attacks, and if you simply try to mash downB against a kill move, it will just kill you before you get out of hitstun.

Click to expand...

As I think was mentioned, those aren't IASA frames. Hitstun has two phases, with no visual distinction between them; in the first phase you can't do anything, but in the second you can airdodge, aerial, Z-air, or throw an item if you have one. You can't use a Jump or a Special until hitstun is over, but using any of those other options during hitstun allows you to escape hitstun early, thus letting you Jump or Special while you're still flying away in knockback.

A2ZOMG said:

The only thing I have not tested yet is if this works when you have a full Bucket already, but what also seems to work is Up-Bing out of a N-air. I can't remember if other specials work for this technique, so if you have free time, fool around for me and test it out.

Click to expand...

Up-B is not nearly as effective as the Bucket. Up-B is typical of momentum-changing aerials; after you cancel hitstun with an aerial, the very act of using up-B gives an extra boost to your knockback; a penalty for trying to cheat your recovery. Despite that extra boost, it's still worth it for G&W to use his up-B, although I'm not sure it's better than simply jumping towards the stage at that point. Nevertheless, Bucket is a total oversight, and completely nullifies your knockback, as you discovered; it's strictly better than using up-B.

But a full bucket doesn't work, lol. You just keep flying away. So up-B (or jump?) is better in this case alone.

Sorry if I'm being pedantic, just hope that clears up some confusion. Anyway, thanks for discovering/posting this!!

infzy, you are absolutely AMAZING

I don't like the name bucket cancelling though.

Wow, thanks a ton for the vid. I don't do fancy video editing, so that was really nice of you.

*edits into OP*

Edit: wrong topic

Just when i was beginning to think that G&W was not that hard to fight...