First Attempt Recording Wolf Combos. Looking for Tips.

[JCOnyx]

I just started playing P:M about a year ago, and just picked up Wolf about a couple months ago. As soon as I did, I found myself learning how to SHFFL, wavedash and waveland out of laser, JCUS , all of these fun things, just because of how fun they are to do with Wolf. He is an absolute blast to play, and I've decided to main him.

I recorded some general combo strategies I've used while playing as him and I'm hoping you guys could help me iron out some kinks. Or, if you guys see any general strategies I'm not using, if you could key me in on some of those I would greatly appreciate it.

To be honest, I've never thought of playing smash competitively until I picked up P:M, and I'm thinking of going to GameClucks' next tourney on Dec. 7 (I hear there is an amazing Wolf there). I still can't DACUS worth a crap (I think I've pulled off Wolf's once...) and I still need to keep myself from rolling too often, but I'm hoping I can start reaching a new level.

Thanks in advance for anyone who helps me out, I still consider myself a complete noob.

 

[Xcite]

I can put in a few suggestions (also a fellow noob and generally newish Wolf player):

• At high % Nair->Usmash works wonders. I've tried this various times on friends and it seems almost inescapable. The higher the percent the better it combos. Pretty good staple kill move if you ask me.
• Also you should try exploring Shine->Uair combos. From my experience it can lead to some very interesting setups such as more shines, grabs and smash attacks. Basically explore the uses of Uair in Wolf's combos.
• Experiment with other characters. Spacies generally have a fast fall speed and thus are much more easily combo'd than other characters on the roster. I'd suggest trying combos on characters with slower fall speeds such as Mario, Marth, and Ness. (Pretty much anyone that's not spacie.

I do have one question though. Have you attempted these combos with your opponent DI'ing? It's one thing to combo a character that doesn't DI, it's another when they actually do. Otherwise great video man, I really enjoyed. If I do ever get to post vids of my Wolf you'll most likely see me doing some of these.

 

[JCOnyx]

Thanks for the tips. To be honest, I was planning on doing videos for a bunch of different weight classes and fall speeds, hence the title of the video being VS FF. My girlfriend almost always plays as Zelda so I have some experience comboing against different characters. I also pointed out in my video description about how I wanted to incorporate U.air into my combos, but I haven't quite gotten all of it's applications down just yet.

Nair is generally just a very useful tool, and I have used it to combo when at very high percents. My only issue with going to Usmash from it is that it's not very reliable as a kill move unless you sweet spot it or end up hitting them behind you, with the latter sometimes giving them enough time to escape because of how long it takes to reach around. I personally just like using it at lower percents as a reset option into grab or shine.

I LOVE reacting to DI, it's sort of like another form of tech chasing to me. I love exploring possible counters to certain DI and the good thing with Wolf is how he can manipulate his sideB to combo from almost anything. The one thing I haven't been able to experiment with much is dealing with CC, since my girlfriend doesn't use it often and CPUs aren't really reliable in terms of correctly DI-ing and CC-ing.

Also, I live in the middle of nowhere and our internet is crap, combined with SSBB crappy netcode, I'll never EVER play online. I really need to find a local play group or something because I'm never going to get that far if I don't start playing against others at a similar skill level and see how they handle DI and CC.

 

[RaynEX]

First off I want to say great stuff, there is some tech in this video I have never seen before. Notably the shine JC upB kill and the way you used fmash to end ground combos (I never do that, I always chase)

A few things that require clarification though:

- All instances of jab -> grab in your video are not true combos. Jab doesn't have enough hitstun to link the two together at low percents (minimum requirement is at least some kind of mini launch from the jab). Your opponent can buffer roll / spotdodge / jump or even attack in these situations. Basically none of that is guaranteed unless very specific requirements are met.

- When your dummy opponent d.i.ed away from your uthrow and you dsmashed, you effectively ended that combo and all pressure or techchase options you would have gotten. My guess is you're just showing all possible options from the uthrow. If you aren't, my advice would be to uthrow chaingrab (like you did in later clips) or my personal favourite: uthrow, mini step back, dash attack. The mini backstep allows you to place the dash attack perfectly for an easy juggle, whereas normally you would go too far and overshoot the dash attack.

- Most of these combos and their follow-ups are susceptible to proper / mixed D.I. If you're new to smash its important to note that going into matches with preset combos in your head is the wrong way to play imo. There are definitely some combos that are guaranteed, but linking hits consistently only requires mastery of combo theory. Know what works at different percents and what alternatives open up if they d.i. in an awkward manner, as that variable will always be present and ever-changing. Fact of the matter is, you might never land those same moves in that same order for the next two weeks, that's just how smash is. Though this video is one step closer to understanding Wolf combo theory so you have my gratitude!

Good stuff again!

 

[JCOnyx]

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the video. These were the kinds of tips I was looking for!

- I know that the jab - grab instances aren't really "combos" per say, I use them more as a mix up tool more than anything else and I just wanted to showcase them. I've found grab armor to be really powerful in this game (I took Ike's Fsmash with grab armor once) and it'll usually snuff out most attempts to jab out of a grab reset. I've been able to grab most people trying to jump out of this mix up option, but its major weakness seems to be rolls and spotdodges. At low percents I don't believe people can tech out of this but it is possible at higher percents. It seems pretty good as a mix up option, but it's just a theory since I haven't been able to attempt it on more capable players yet. Would it be too risky?

- Thanks for the pointers on Dsmash, didn't really think about that. I mostly use it as a more reliable horizontal kill option in place of Fsmash. It seems much more powerful and can send people at some pretty nasty angles if you use it at the edge. As you said, it's just another option you have out of Uthrow (as if it needed anymore).

- I do almost all of my combos on the fly to be honest, which I believe is how Smash should really be played. Reacting accordingly to a persons DI is definitely at the top of my priority list when I'm trying to combo someone, their percentiles follow next, and then I try pick the best option to follow up with. I found this process to become much easier over time, and it seems like the simplest way for me to tackle Smash's complex combo theory. It's one of the reason I put "potential" in the video title, because a lot of these definitely aren't the best options to use (I'm looking at you, Shine, JC Shine, JC upB).

And thanks for pointing out the Uthrow, Shine, JC upB. I encountered that while trying to react to a person DI-ing away from an Uthrow, it's more for style than anything else. Works pretty well at higher percentiles but is highly susceptible to stage placement (by all means, if your a stock up and It'll decide the match, go ahead and try it off the edge. People might get a kick out of it xD).

 

[ViewtifulHoe242]

that stage is amazing? did you make it? can i download it somehow?

 

[JCOnyx]

Someone had actually messaged me about that same exact question. But no, I did not make this stage. You can find it here if you like it.
http://forums.kc-mm.com/Gallery/Bra...=*&Credit=*&Info=*&Thumb1=*&Type=**&TypeAlt=*

I should really put a link to this in the video description. It seems to be pretty popular. It says some characters die upon start up but I've yet to encounter that.

 

[Uiblis]

Some nice stuff going on there, though most of the combos can get DI'd or teched out of. If you're playing against any decent opponent assume that every dash attack/throw will get teched.

B-air is a really good option if you're looking to KO horizontally. Actually scratch that, it's just a good move in general. You can use it twice in a single hop and it comes out on frame what 5 iirc? ridiculous

D-air is a really good damage option and sets up for a lot of kill potential. one of my favorite combos around mid-high percent is dash attack -> d-air (usually they miss the tech, or even if they tech in place you can still get them) -> shine jc -> side-b

A lot of stuff leads into side b, if you see an opportunity throw it out; don't forget you can angle it up or down or shorten to adjust for percent

D-throw is nice for tech-chasing

LEARN LEARN LEARN TO DACUS, its an amazing option, and the weird hitbox on the upsmash can send people at all sorts of angles.

B-throw is a good mix up, if they DI the wrong way you get a free F-smash

He has a lot of ways to set up for a jab reset into down smash for easy finish

N-air -> shine -> repeat works well on some people (ganondorf)

If you're feeling cocky you can edge guard by using up-b downward toward the ledge, if it hits anyone recovering it sends them straight down while u grab the ledge. ofc if u miss you die instantly but it's a cool way to show disrespect.

Post any other videos you make, interesting stuff!