Got a question! Sheik Q&A & FAQ

[Dcold]

To approach, press the control stick forward.
Nair is a decent panic button, good OoS option, and has great knockback, kills at decently high percents rather reliably (from the edge or middle).
Fair is good for getting ftilts at early percents, and is decent to zone/bait.
Punish landings with needles if you're far away, dash attack if mid range, or grab if close and low percent, otherwise I just use whatever seems necessary (ftilt, uptilt, down smash, up smash, etc.)
Her pivot grab range is nice, sometimes I use it with moves like fair/uair to bait, for instance short hop fair/uair since they auto cancel, and if the opponent rushes in I quickly do a retreating boost pivot grab, covers a decent amount of the stage, and it's good when your back is to the middle of the stage.

 

[Deleted member 189823]

Thanks. I'll work on them and see if I can find different use to them. For now, I just really use Jab-Cancelling for everything, but I know it most likely won't work against characters like Fox/Falco and Peach because of their 2-frame Jabs and the fact Peach is a floaty.
Should I not Jab Cancel? I like Jab-Jab and then some follow-up (can be a tilt, preferably an F-Tilt or a Grab), or I can be greedy and do a second string of Jab-Jab.

Also, what players do you recommend me to watch?

 

[Dcold]

jab jab grab/ftilt/nair is good, but it's not guaranteed iirc. Second string of jabs would be greedy imo and would only cause you to get punished since someone would probably expect it to happen again the second time.

 

[Deleted member 189823]

Who do we have GR U-Smash/DACUS garanteed on (you know, besides MK)?

 

[smashkng]

Oh wrong thread

 

[Dcold]

I believe there's an entire thread for that already, http://smashboards.com/threads/complete-grab-release-list.249620/

 

[Tristan_win]

Um, hey, I just started using Sheik (like, a few hours ago), and I was wondering what Sheik mostly does to approach (if she even can).
I work alot with Jab Cancelling (Jab, Jab to Grab, to F-Tilt, F-Tilt to D-Tilt, combinations like that), and when they're in the air, I juggle with B-Air and U-Air. I don't know what N-Air and F-Air do very well, other than the fact F-Air seems to work nicely to gimp people like Falco and possibly Marth.
What are good options to punish landings?
Is Sheik's Grab range good? I found that Jab to Pivot Grab actually works, so her Pivot Grab range could just be great.

Sorry for these many questions. I tend to theorize alot before actually getting my character to practice. ): As for watching videos, I used to watch Izaw before even liking Sheik, and I just recently started watching Cross and Judo. I don't want to rely too much on emulating them because they might just be using situational approaches.

The basic idea with all characters in this game is to have your opponent approach you but if you have to approach properly spaced bair isn't shield grabbable, fair is also safe on shield but it can be very difficult to space correctly. Spaced Ftilt and dtilt are also safe of shield but you might want to mix up your timing if your trying to pressure someone. The dtilt though is especially good against the taller characters like Snake as their grab will sometimes miss your leg so you can pressure them pretty well with it. Beyond that if you really want to be aggressive you have to abuse sheik quick initial dash, going roughly the same distance as her dash attack you want to keep yourself fast and your opponents guessing if your going to dash in for a grab. The trick is when you start a dash with Sheik until the animation completely ends you can begin a dash attack or dash grab, because of this your striking range for dashing in to attack/grab your opponent can be extended pretty far and hard for them to predict.

Here's the thing,
1. Grab beats shield
2. Dash attack is for surprise your opponent with your speed or landings
3. Up B beats sidestep and can beat grab if they are slow (about 1/2 a second)

If your running toward your opponent while they are shielding or you decide to attack on the ground you have a Rock/Paper/Scissors option that most characters don't have. In my opinion up B is the safest of the three as you can decide where you will reappear so punishment for missing isn't 100% guaranteed while dash attack and grab for the most part is. Mixing up these three options is very legit when you want to approach but it isn't limited to just this.

Another decent "approach" is running toward someone until you just barely enter nair range and then do a full hop raising Nair, its fairly safe on shield and is a good way to get some kills. Bair can kinda work this way but you have a much higher chance of being grabbed by doing so.

The other thing you have to keep in mind is you don't have to approach if you can get your opponent in your striking zones. Dashing/walking up into roughly Dtilt range(ftilt range is faintly longer btw) is the perfect distance for Sheik in a lot of match ups and will force your opponent to either attack or retreat because of this.

edit: Just mix up these options, be aggressive with you dash into shield play and chunk lots of needles when you can and approaching shouldn't be that much of a issue for your Sheik.

 

[Deleted member 189823]

That stuff is really useful guys, thanks.
If I manage to get ARs on the people that it's apparently garanteed on, suddenly Sheik's killing problems are gone.

Sheik is a character I've never been interested on, but the potential aggresively, awesome jab cancels and overall speed caught me.

 

[Dcold]

I get that too sometimes, I can play flashy and I get caught up in it sometimes and end up picking really dumb, unnecessary options.

 

[Deleted member 189823]

Also, if it isn't too much asking. I have a simple question...
What kind of rhythm does the F-Tilt lock require? I've heard you don't really have to do it fast, but in some kind of rhythm so it actually locks. Marth's Side B requires you to press B slowly continously, so it could be similiar?

 

[Dcold]

Say boom after every ftilt and you'll be in rhythm I believe. Maybe it's just the speed I say boom at, lmao.


On another note to everyone else, does utilting the other way after 2 ftilts guarantee it hitting without being hit by a dolphin slash or something of that nature that gets characters out of the lock? I've been using it recently and have not been punished, not sure if everyone else is bad, or I'm gdlk. This is mostly directed to Tristan, the ftilt god.

 

[Tristan_win]

Also, if it isn't too much asking. I have a simple question...
What kind of rhythm does the F-Tilt lock require? I've heard you don't really have to do it fast, but in some kind of rhythm so it actually locks. Marth's Side B requires you to press B slowly continously, so it could be similiar?

It does require rhythm but its more demanding then Marth side B. You can actually tell if you timed your Ftilt correctly by the distance Sheik moved between them, if Sheik doesn't move forward at all you did it correctly. A decent way to practice the Ftilt lock is training mode actually. Set Fox to 30% on control and Ftilt him 3 times. You should be able to get all three to appear on the combo meter. It's very possible to go beyond those 3 but because training mode has no decay it really wont teach you the correct timing if you want to be frame perfect. (it gets easier the higher % Fox is due to no decay)

Say boom after every ftilt and you'll be in rhythm I believe. Maybe it's just the speed I say boom at, lmao.


On another note to everyone else, does utilting the other way after 2 ftilts guarantee it hitting without being hit by a dolphin slash or something of that nature that gets characters out of the lock? I've been using it recently and have not been punished, not sure if everyone else is bad, or I'm gdlk. This is mostly directed to Tristan, the ftilt god.

:3 I do know a lot about the Ftilt. Basically if your asking if you can do Ftilts into Utilts at the correct % the answer is yes because all of Sheik tilts come out at the same speed(5frames) but sadly the Utilt doesn't true combo into its 2nd hit. Who ever your fighting most likely isn't inputting the command fast enough OR maybe there is so magical % where the Utilt will combo into it's self which Ankoku, myself and maybe savior never notice. I mean it's possible, I know I double check when he first told me it didn't with training mode which has since then proven(for the most part) to be useless for testing combos.

I can't see how doing it the other way would make it suddenly unpublishable though, its not like the hit boxes are larger behind Sheik or any faster.
http://i350.photobucket.com/albums/q436/saviorslegacy/ff62b80ef76dd925.jpg 1st hit
http://i350.photobucket.com/albums/q436/saviorslegacy/7eab61ddcfdff26e.jpg start of 2nd hit

edit: lol @ response.

 

[Dcold]

Sad and mad cuz bad.

 

[Sailor Princess Twenty-Two.]

Dcold it isn't you.





































It's your character

 

[Tristan_win]

Dcold it isn't you.

It's your character

I don't appreciate trolling.

 

[Sailor Princess Twenty-Two.]

I ain't trolling nobody.

 

[Dcold]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqLmJ9zJWFA

Oo0ooo0oOo0oO I never realized how good Cross was at walling opponents out, when he gets Shu's back to the boundary he walls him off from getting back on stage while getting some good %

 

[Sailor Princess Twenty-Two.]

that's really hype and all, but he took nearly triple the damage he was doing to snake every-time he got offstage.

That no options lyfe is too strong

and every match he lost was on SV. I've been preaching it for years, sheik blows on SV

 

[Dcold]

Yeah I realized, SV is a terrible stage. I can't just agree to SV anymore.

 

[Angiance]

SV is cool guuuuuys...

 

[Dcold]

You're wrong and we dislike you because of it.

 

[#HBC | Scary]

I dunno, I'm cool with SV still.

 

[Tesh]

Seems like Sheik would function better on FD/BF/PS/LC, I think its just silly and lazy when people just go to SV instead of trying to make the best of the rules available to them.

 

[Sailor Princess Twenty-Two.]

I've been saying that for so long.

But when i was saying it people were calling me radical.

Whats next Mk vs Sheik being -3???

 

[Tristan_win]

I have a question, how does Sheik deal with opponents aggressive pressure/zoning. I don't have any problems with range attacks walling as Sheik is ninja enough to get pass them and get in there but when I fighting players better then myself they **** me. Logically this make sense but I feel its a bit too one sided.... Am I missing something?

 

[#HBC | Scary]

It's hard to deal with aggression since we lack efficient range to keep people out against characters that break spacing well. Reason is that when we try to counter punch, we can easily get grabbed or hit if we aren't precise with spacing and counters.

You aren't missing too much, our options have dwindled a bit as other characters options have expanded in my opinion. Sad part is, is I haven't come up with something about it or any ideas except getting better at powershielding. Powershielding is essentially the answer to everything, but I don't have much else. Just an honest opinion.

 

[Tristan_win]

Hmmm, I guess that's a strong possibility. Although it's also true that there still some untap potential for Sheik as the chain continue to work effectively even against superior opponents, although some of these people also think the dacus is hard to punish OoS(lolz) but the real question is how much ground has Sheik lost since 2010?

 

[#HBC | Scary]

It depends on who you ask. I just think other characters have gotten better. It's been somewhat stagnant as no new discoveries have arisen. I suppose, incorporating needle locks similarly to falco laser locks is a thing but otherwise, nothing game changing.

That and it seems like characters have been getting "hero" players that maximize the character while Sheik has lost some to inactivity and other stuff. Judo has been rather inactive as of late. I'm still chugging along in FL. Tutu, as cynical as he is, is still going. We also have other players such as Dcold, and others coming from wifi finally hitting the offline scene. As far as internationally, Sheik is nearly extinct in Europe, and Cross is the last one standing in Japan since Earth is more Pit-heavy, and Daiki is essentially a "random select".

Essentially, the landscape has changed and Sheik has not changed too much. I think this sounds about right.

 

[Dcold]

I think the thing that brings us down is the lack of discussion that goes on in this forum, really. We're all really spread out and finding another Sheik in a tournament to talk to about things is pretty rare. So I find myself just keeping to myself as asking other players what I could do "better" doesn't help much because they don't know Sheik, like, at all. If we all would just be able to talk more, get more sets online, critique, and get better as a whole, we can at least make a dent in results.

I just think a couple of us are on different wave lengths, that's fine, but if we could communicate and understand eachother's wave lengths better we could more easily pick, mix and match some things we get from others.

When I get my new computer for school I'll definitely be uploading every tourney set/seriously set I can save.

 

[#HBC | Scary]

^^^ This is also true.

School/Work have kept me weighed down so I don't ge to do much of anything as far as contributions.

 

[Sailor Princess Twenty-Two.]

Our character also isn't very good, so there isn't much to talk about except that our options kind of blow and the only way to beat people is to just be straight up a lot better than they are(won't guarantee you any wins though)

 

[Judo777]

Yea I have been slightly less active recently, I still play in locals around KY but its hard to travel. I graduate in 2 weeks so hopefully I can play a little more after that.

 

[#HBC | Scary]

Judo, you're alive!!!!! Lol

I'm graduating in two weeks as well. You should try to go to sktar, I'm gonna try.

 

[Dcold]

As am I ( lolitslikeacoupletrainsawayfrommebutimonashortleash )

 

[PawnStar]

I've been playing Smash Bros for a little under a year now and while I'd like to think I have improved since I started, I still have a lot I could improve on. I really like the way Shiek feels while playing, so I've mostly played her when with friends and in our local tournament. I've recently been focusing on breaking my nasty habit of rolling, and I've started practicing short-hops and DACUS.

While this is all going well, I really wonder if there is anything else I should keep in mind while playing. Can you guys think of any additional strategies or techniques I could be working on?

 

[Dcold]

I never realized it until I started playing another character, but the first thing you should get down is the basics, DACUS and other AT's should be one of the last things you integrate into your game because if you learn it early (like I did) you start to overuse it and it's a hard habit to break. If you read what we've said recently in this thread and the social thread, work on ground game really, and the only "AT" is B-reversing. Make your game solid, worry about playing as tightly as you can, and not getting hit. Everything else just comes with experience.

 

[PawnStar]

Okay, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the advice.

 

[saviorslegacy]

So some people asked me if I ever played Brawl the other day and I showed them this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LytR9UBrgBA
Look at 3:26. Notice how long my Uair was active before I executed a Fair. Wonder if we could use that at all.

 

[Sailor Princess Twenty-Two.]

Do you mean when you were momentum cancelling with up-air, then hit a platform auto cancelling it, slid off and did fair?

 

[saviorslegacy]

Yes, but if I remember correctly it took longer to auto cancel. I think I slid off of the platform and thus avoided the landing frames. I dunno, maybe if you positioned yourself right you could catch people off guard with this.