Remzi
formerly VaBengal
Returning to the Fray
A Guide to Recovery
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As Marth users, we all suffer from the same character trait: Poor recovery. While Marth's recovery surely isn't the best, there are many things we can do to somewhat alleviate the daunting task of getting back to the stage. By learning and employing the following tactics, you will find yourself living to much higher percents and getting gimped far less often:
-Directional Influence
-Momentum Canceling
-DB Stalls
-Mixing high and low
-Fending off attacks
-Shield Breaker Boosts
-Other Notes
Section 1: Surviving the Hit
Marth, being a light character, is not able to withstand as many attacks as most characters before he finds himself knocked completely out of the stage's boundaries. Using the following techniques, you can survive significantly longer.
Directional Influence (DI):
Directional influence is basically altering the trajectory of your knockback to move your character further from the stage's blastzones. Most of you should be familiar with this, if not, take a look at this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hQIy7P7RWo&feature=channel_page
Now, allow me to make a quick note, since we are talking about recovering from offstage, for the most part you're going to be attempting to recover from a horizontal kill move. So let's assume you are fighting a Metaknight who hits you with a dsmash, rather than taking the normal trajectory (which is mainly to the side), you can DI up and expect to survive much longer and have a greater chance at recovering. Sometimes you are forced to DI to the side because you would otherwise be killed by a vertical killer such as MK's shuttle loop. If you survive, these are generally easier to recover from because chances are you won't be too far from the stage horizontally. Remember, you have to input this direction as you escape hitstun, so a lot of it has to do with prediction. Know when your opponent is going to use a horizontal or vertical kill move and DI accordingly.
Momentum Canceling:
Another concept shown in the video I linked to above. To momentum cancel, you have to quickly unleash your fastest aerial (Fair in Marth's case) and immediately fastfall. This significantly decreases your launch speed and allows you to recover from attacks that would normally kill you. Double jumping immediately after the fair (then fastfalling afterwards) will allow you to live to the highest percents, but only do this if completely necessary, because hanging on to that double jump is vital.
DI in combination with Momentum Canceling should allow you to live about 40% longer than normal, which is quite frankly amazing. Here is what you should be doing if hit by MK's dsmash: DI up, fair, fastfall, recover.
Section 2: Getting Back to the Stage
Just because you survived the blow, does not mean you will make it back onto the stage safely. Marth's primary recovery tool, his dolphin slash, provides good vertical distance but sub par horizontal distance. By using the following tactics, you can make your path back to the stage an easier one to travel.
Dancing Blade Stalls:
Using a Dancing Blade (DB) as you rise will give you a slight vertical boost, suspend you in air for a fraction of a second, and halt your horizontal momentum. By doing this, you can throw off an opponent's attempt to edge hog or attack you offstage. By occasionally using a DB stall, you can completely mess up the aggressor's timing and either force them to clear the area or eat a Dolphin Slash and either lose the ledge or be stage spiked.
Mixing High and Low:
Every character can recover either high or low, and Marth is no exception. While recovering low is good because you can grab the ledge rather than experiencing the heavy DS landing lag, it leaves you more susceptible to being gimped. The key is to mix it up and keep yourself unpredictable. If you continually recover in one way you'll get yourself *****. By utilizing DI to stay high, you can really limit your opponent's ability to guess how you are going to recover.
Fending Off Attacks:
As you are off stage attempting to recover, you can expect anyone to come off to attack you or at least launch some projectiles at you. Avoid airdodging if possible, airdodging will more than likely get you punished and possibly gimped. Swatting any projectiles away with fair is probably your best option. As for opponent's that jump down to edgeguard, DS to the ledge if you are in range or simply fair or try to maneuver around them if possible. Make use of your double jump if you still have it as long as it doesn't jeopardize your chances at recovering. You can occasionally counter if you are sure they will attack.
Shield Breaker Boosts:
A fully charged shield breaker will give you an airborne Marth a very large horizontal momentum boost. However, it is highly punishable and easy to read, avoid this if possible. The only time you should reallly be doing this is if you know you won't be able get enough horizontal distance without it. Using an uncharged shield breaker gives you a smaller boost but is a much more practical option.
Other Notes:
-When using DS to get back on stage, make sure you have enough distance to land ON the stage and not just enough to reach the ledge. This way, you can still be safe if your opponent attempts to edgehog you.
-Use a reverse DS if you want to throw off an opponent's timing or if you find yourself caught under FD or SV's lip.
-Whether or not recovering high/low is the better option depends on which character you are fighting, investigate the possibilities for each matchup to ensure you are recovering using the optimal method.
-Don't waste your double jump! Hanging onto your double jump can be extremely useful when you get closer to the stage, don't use it early on unless completely necessary.
_____________
Marth's recovery is one of his biggest weaknesses, so it is important to utilize whatever you have at your disposal to ensure you are safe and back on the battlefield.
Thanks for reading.
A Guide to Recovery
---
As Marth users, we all suffer from the same character trait: Poor recovery. While Marth's recovery surely isn't the best, there are many things we can do to somewhat alleviate the daunting task of getting back to the stage. By learning and employing the following tactics, you will find yourself living to much higher percents and getting gimped far less often:
-Directional Influence
-Momentum Canceling
-DB Stalls
-Mixing high and low
-Fending off attacks
-Shield Breaker Boosts
-Other Notes
Section 1: Surviving the Hit
Marth, being a light character, is not able to withstand as many attacks as most characters before he finds himself knocked completely out of the stage's boundaries. Using the following techniques, you can survive significantly longer.
Directional Influence (DI):
Directional influence is basically altering the trajectory of your knockback to move your character further from the stage's blastzones. Most of you should be familiar with this, if not, take a look at this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hQIy7P7RWo&feature=channel_page
Now, allow me to make a quick note, since we are talking about recovering from offstage, for the most part you're going to be attempting to recover from a horizontal kill move. So let's assume you are fighting a Metaknight who hits you with a dsmash, rather than taking the normal trajectory (which is mainly to the side), you can DI up and expect to survive much longer and have a greater chance at recovering. Sometimes you are forced to DI to the side because you would otherwise be killed by a vertical killer such as MK's shuttle loop. If you survive, these are generally easier to recover from because chances are you won't be too far from the stage horizontally. Remember, you have to input this direction as you escape hitstun, so a lot of it has to do with prediction. Know when your opponent is going to use a horizontal or vertical kill move and DI accordingly.
Momentum Canceling:
Another concept shown in the video I linked to above. To momentum cancel, you have to quickly unleash your fastest aerial (Fair in Marth's case) and immediately fastfall. This significantly decreases your launch speed and allows you to recover from attacks that would normally kill you. Double jumping immediately after the fair (then fastfalling afterwards) will allow you to live to the highest percents, but only do this if completely necessary, because hanging on to that double jump is vital.
DI in combination with Momentum Canceling should allow you to live about 40% longer than normal, which is quite frankly amazing. Here is what you should be doing if hit by MK's dsmash: DI up, fair, fastfall, recover.
Section 2: Getting Back to the Stage
Just because you survived the blow, does not mean you will make it back onto the stage safely. Marth's primary recovery tool, his dolphin slash, provides good vertical distance but sub par horizontal distance. By using the following tactics, you can make your path back to the stage an easier one to travel.
Dancing Blade Stalls:
Using a Dancing Blade (DB) as you rise will give you a slight vertical boost, suspend you in air for a fraction of a second, and halt your horizontal momentum. By doing this, you can throw off an opponent's attempt to edge hog or attack you offstage. By occasionally using a DB stall, you can completely mess up the aggressor's timing and either force them to clear the area or eat a Dolphin Slash and either lose the ledge or be stage spiked.
Mixing High and Low:
Every character can recover either high or low, and Marth is no exception. While recovering low is good because you can grab the ledge rather than experiencing the heavy DS landing lag, it leaves you more susceptible to being gimped. The key is to mix it up and keep yourself unpredictable. If you continually recover in one way you'll get yourself *****. By utilizing DI to stay high, you can really limit your opponent's ability to guess how you are going to recover.
Fending Off Attacks:
As you are off stage attempting to recover, you can expect anyone to come off to attack you or at least launch some projectiles at you. Avoid airdodging if possible, airdodging will more than likely get you punished and possibly gimped. Swatting any projectiles away with fair is probably your best option. As for opponent's that jump down to edgeguard, DS to the ledge if you are in range or simply fair or try to maneuver around them if possible. Make use of your double jump if you still have it as long as it doesn't jeopardize your chances at recovering. You can occasionally counter if you are sure they will attack.
Shield Breaker Boosts:
A fully charged shield breaker will give you an airborne Marth a very large horizontal momentum boost. However, it is highly punishable and easy to read, avoid this if possible. The only time you should reallly be doing this is if you know you won't be able get enough horizontal distance without it. Using an uncharged shield breaker gives you a smaller boost but is a much more practical option.
Other Notes:
-When using DS to get back on stage, make sure you have enough distance to land ON the stage and not just enough to reach the ledge. This way, you can still be safe if your opponent attempts to edgehog you.
-Use a reverse DS if you want to throw off an opponent's timing or if you find yourself caught under FD or SV's lip.
-Whether or not recovering high/low is the better option depends on which character you are fighting, investigate the possibilities for each matchup to ensure you are recovering using the optimal method.
-Don't waste your double jump! Hanging onto your double jump can be extremely useful when you get closer to the stage, don't use it early on unless completely necessary.
_____________
Marth's recovery is one of his biggest weaknesses, so it is important to utilize whatever you have at your disposal to ensure you are safe and back on the battlefield.
Thanks for reading.
