Aiming to Miss - A Winning Strategy

SCOTU · 03-06-2009, 03:28 AM

A common misconception of the lower end of the smash community is that you should always aim your attacks to hit your opponent. This misconception comes from the basis that the goal of the game is to KO your opponent enough times until they lose. This, however, is a bit of a misnomer. While, yes, that's the goal, it's only part of the goal. The whole goal is to KO your opponent enough times before they KO you enough times. When you realize this difference, you can see where this misconception of aiming to always hit comes from, and why it's a misconception.

If you're only aiming to hit your opponent, you're limiting yourself, and your opponent is likely to win simply by not allowing you the opportunity to hit them enough. You have to just do more than only attack when you're going to hit. You have to do a couple things: 1) you need to ensure that you do get opportunities to hit your opponent, and 2) you limit your opponent's opportunities to hit you. These two things are two keys to running a successful on stage game.

How to remedy this? Aim to miss. If you're only trying to hit, then another option you can try adding is aiming to miss. What's the point in this? That's dumb, it just makes openings to kill you with. Not entirely. When done properly, aiming to miss can be extremely safe, and do exactly the opposite of making openings to kill you with.

Ok. So, what exactly is the point of aiming to miss then? It does two things: 1) give you opportunities to hit your opponent and 2) makes it so your opponent can't hit you. Do these seem familiar? There the two keys to a good onstage game i listed earlier. But how does aiming to miss accomplish this?

1) opportunities to hit: When you're aiming to miss, your opponent has a couple of choices, they can jump into the attack, or they can try to punish. Well, if they jump into the attack, there's your opportunity. You instantly gain match control. Who jumps into attacks? Well, they weren't trying to jump into it, they were trying to beat it out w/ another attack, but you did your attack in such a way as to not allow them to hit you with anything that could beat your attack. If they attempt to punish you, here's another opportunity to hit them. It's possible that they attempted to punish with something a bit too heavy, and you, since you avoided their punishment by properly spacing your attack, have the classic setup for punishment. And the feeling for punishing someone for YOU MISSING AN ATTACK sure is amazing.

2) limits opponents ability to hit you: This one's a bit easier to understand. If you've got a hitbox out between you and your opponent, you opponent can only hit through it w/ a larger hitbox (or one w/ more priority). Since you're aware of what attacks your opponent has that can beat which attacks of yours when you do them, you're making sure that basically, your opponent cannot hit you through your attack. Moreover, you're spacing in a way that makes it extremely difficult to hit you when your attack is over. After a while, your opponent may start to not jump in at you as much, meaning they're limiting their approaches, which is your win.

Ok, this is all good and stuff, but how do you go about aiming to miss properly? As you've been reading, I've been dropping some pretty obvious hints as to how to go about doing this. You need to do the following:

a) Make sure that you do your attack in such a way that your opponent cannot out prioritize your attack. Do this by knowing the angles that your opponent could attack from w/ a higher priority attack, and make sure you're not allowing them to use that angle.

b) Make sure you're safe when you're done w/ your attack. Use platforms, fast attacks, retreating attacks, etc...

Every character matchup is different for aiming to miss. It's also different for every stage, and every situation. Basically you just have to get a feel for what's safe to do, and how to do it.

***Hylian*** · 03-06-2009, 03:41 AM

Basically, stop just trying to hit your opponent just for the sake of hitting them and doing damage. Give meaning to your attacks and understand the concept of baiting. Creating options for yourself through zoning and stage position is something far to many players lose sight of.

This doesn't have too much to do with what Scotu said, just wanted to throw it out there.

**:mad:** · 03-06-2009, 03:45 AM

I don't think you mentioned anything about abusing bad attacks to refresh any potential kill moves.
I've been getting into that habit a little more often, nice read, SCOTU.

sasukebowser · 03-06-2009, 03:46 AM

This is especially important with characters who use projectiles. Setting up openings and trying to take control of important open space is their main goal imo.
Limiting approaches and setting traps is something everyone should be doing. @_@

lain · 03-06-2009, 04:24 AM

Aiming to Miss - Something we've all known forever?

Uffe · 03-06-2009, 04:30 AM

I'd have to say that this won't work as effectively against opponents with projectile as all they have to do is just fire without trying in hopes you get hit, which you will eventually. That's when you need to close in. And so when they do this, they'll try to avoid you whenever you close in on them. Ever fight a very evasive opponent with projectile? Not very easy unless you too also have projectile.

SCOTU · 03-06-2009, 04:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lain

Aiming to Miss - Something we've all known forever?

Yes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uffe

I'd have to say that this won't work as effectively against opponents with projectile as all they have to do is just fire without trying in hopes you get hit, which you will eventually. That's when you need to close in. And so when they do this, they'll try to avoid you whenever you close in on them. Ever fight a very evasive opponent with projectile? Not very easy unless you too also have projectile.

This strategy can be easily implemented by the projectiler, in addition to the person being shot at. You don't necessarily have to be across the stage doing your attack, but you can definitely be right up in their face putting on some pressure. The concept still applies.

OmegaXF · 03-06-2009, 04:51 AM

Reminds me of Melee Falco. FSmash to Random Full hoped lazers

Villi · 03-06-2009, 05:00 AM

Aiming to hit where they might roll or jump is also effective. I've played matches where either of us missed for like 7 minutes. How enjoyable.

knuxrouge · 03-06-2009, 05:36 AM

In a deeper insight, it becomes a roundabout of reading your opponent right, sometimes they can get past your whiff and deliver something hard. You can't be up front about it, this is the sort of thing that is easier if you have more stage control, because against an aggressive opponent, the might not fare so well.
But with pressure, you can pull it off easier, like Ganon's Up Smash with his IASA frams, or empty jab cancels from Ike, two characters who have an unusual, but surprisingly effective pressure game.

Then variety comes into play, a good player will catch on to empty attacks, and get around it, so as always more than one approach to it is advised, not to mention a double fake out--making your opponent think you're going to hit for a miss, and it turns out you don't and smack 'em one.

In the end it's psyching your opponent out to gain a slight upper hand which is more than enough to grasp control of a match for a good player. A decent mind game, high risk, high return.
Again, it becomes a game of reading your opponent better.

Dantarion · 03-06-2009, 12:22 PM

Good post. I agree.

One thing one of my friends does (JunkInTheTrunk) is use shorthop fair with Marth reguardless of if he is gonna hit me or not. I cant punish it, and it makes approching him MUCH harder.

I don't wanna walk into the fair, so I have to change my whole approach to even attempt to hit him.