PopeOfChiliTown
Smash Ace
Here's the deal.
As a Lucario main, I'm kind of disappointed that nearly all of the talk that goes on here revolves around loose and highly situational attack strings quite unlikely to work consistently on good opponents. I mean, no offense, although I care extremely little if anyone does take offense, but some of the ones people here have heralded as legit seem more like petty attempts to gain some e-fame rather than statements of facts.
It's way more productive to talk about all attributes of Lucario's arsenal that enable him to control opponents and set himself in a position to perhaps pull off an attack string. I see very little talk of things like Lucario's main pressure-applying tool, which is SH fair to retreating nair or fair (followed by ftilt, dtilt, jab, AS, fsmash on landing), which is a GREAT maneuver that allows you the ability to basically create a wall of hitboxes with which to push an enemy back or otherwise force them to action. Basically, a tool that will actually help Lucario players develop a safe, effective play style, unlike systematic memorization of "combos". I've played too many people that completely omit the fact that they actually have to put you in a position to be combo'd before they can actually combo you. These instances are hilarious because I've played a couple of T. Links that try to go for some bair strings, who keep doing bairs at the air after I DI'd the first one! It's this focus on futile flashiness that keeps people from getting better, since practicing combo strings on motionless opponents in training mode is admittedly more entertaining to most than figuring out how to deal with character matchups and stage aspects with the tools possessed by any given character.
Look, I know Lucario can pull off long attack strings, with probably the fastest fair and utilt in the game and plenty of follow up options, that is hell of easy to see. I have pulled off some 8 or more hit strings and looked like a **** Mongol army pimp while at it. I know they're possible, but they're just attack strings, they don't really need 20 threads' worth of discussion. Instead, why not focus discussion on aspects of his gameplay not so easily seen? Everyone talks about how good Lucario is at zoning, with long-ranged disjointed (and lingering) hitboxes that have amazing priority and relatively great speed, but no one talks about actual applications. It's much more than just keeping an optimal distance between you and the opponent; it's about that and keeping options available for as many outcomes as possible, and covering as much space as you can so the opponent feels pressured, thus increasing the likelihood of rash decisions. Yet, I digress.
This thread will probably not change anyone's mind on the subject, and if my prediction in the thread title is accurate, it will incur some ire. What I'm saying is true though, and I believe that less discussion of so-called combos will lead to more productive assessments of Lucario's true worth as a competitive character, as well as much more interesting topics of discussion. Waka waka.
As a Lucario main, I'm kind of disappointed that nearly all of the talk that goes on here revolves around loose and highly situational attack strings quite unlikely to work consistently on good opponents. I mean, no offense, although I care extremely little if anyone does take offense, but some of the ones people here have heralded as legit seem more like petty attempts to gain some e-fame rather than statements of facts.
It's way more productive to talk about all attributes of Lucario's arsenal that enable him to control opponents and set himself in a position to perhaps pull off an attack string. I see very little talk of things like Lucario's main pressure-applying tool, which is SH fair to retreating nair or fair (followed by ftilt, dtilt, jab, AS, fsmash on landing), which is a GREAT maneuver that allows you the ability to basically create a wall of hitboxes with which to push an enemy back or otherwise force them to action. Basically, a tool that will actually help Lucario players develop a safe, effective play style, unlike systematic memorization of "combos". I've played too many people that completely omit the fact that they actually have to put you in a position to be combo'd before they can actually combo you. These instances are hilarious because I've played a couple of T. Links that try to go for some bair strings, who keep doing bairs at the air after I DI'd the first one! It's this focus on futile flashiness that keeps people from getting better, since practicing combo strings on motionless opponents in training mode is admittedly more entertaining to most than figuring out how to deal with character matchups and stage aspects with the tools possessed by any given character.
Look, I know Lucario can pull off long attack strings, with probably the fastest fair and utilt in the game and plenty of follow up options, that is hell of easy to see. I have pulled off some 8 or more hit strings and looked like a **** Mongol army pimp while at it. I know they're possible, but they're just attack strings, they don't really need 20 threads' worth of discussion. Instead, why not focus discussion on aspects of his gameplay not so easily seen? Everyone talks about how good Lucario is at zoning, with long-ranged disjointed (and lingering) hitboxes that have amazing priority and relatively great speed, but no one talks about actual applications. It's much more than just keeping an optimal distance between you and the opponent; it's about that and keeping options available for as many outcomes as possible, and covering as much space as you can so the opponent feels pressured, thus increasing the likelihood of rash decisions. Yet, I digress.
This thread will probably not change anyone's mind on the subject, and if my prediction in the thread title is accurate, it will incur some ire. What I'm saying is true though, and I believe that less discussion of so-called combos will lead to more productive assessments of Lucario's true worth as a competitive character, as well as much more interesting topics of discussion. Waka waka.
