How to deal with Link?

[Tactician Lan]

At some point over the weekend , one of my friends became much better at playing Link , and now I'm having even more trouble trying to deal with it than before.

Namely, I can't set up on Link as often and his Nair and Fair are hard to deal with OoS. In addition, the projectiles cover a lot of space which limits my options in neutral even more than they already are.

I'm about to check things out in debug, but I thought it'd be a good idea to ask here as well: How do you deal with Link?

 

[4tlas]

Welcome to the forums! I do believe there are other threads on here about Zelda vs Link. Its a hard MU. Go find those. I might post again later when I have time if you can't find anything or nobody else comes to help.

 

[Kaeldiar]

I wrote up a "quick-start" guide to the MU back in 3.02, which consists of advice from @Heero Yuy (a Link player with plenty of Zelda experience) and @Zerudahime (THE Zelda, who also has lots of Link experience). This has served me very well against all Link playersMost of this will still be applicable, but there are a few changes, since all the Hyrule characters got some pretty big changes from 3.02 to 3.5

Against Link, in no particular order (the stuff in blue is the super important stuff, anything in parentheses is new):
1. Approach with f-air and LC Nayru's. It's weird, but f-air is actually a REALLY good approach against him. (LC Nayru's is slightly worse now, with the loss of invincibility, but it's still a pretty good option)
2. DI his d-throw behind him.
3. If you want to reflect the boomerang, do so with an LC Nayru's or do it as it comes BACK to Link. It won't change the trajectory (will seem to just pass through Nayru's), but it will change ownership of the projectile
3. Don't reflect the bombs, not worth it
4. Use Din's appropriately. Link barrels through them without much problem (including even his n-air), so one stray mine won't do a lot. (Due to Din's changes...yeah, idk, you can probably ignore this point)
5. Overall, Nayru is an effective tool against him. Love Jump helps escape combos very well. (Not sure how well the new Nayru's glide does...haven't tinkered with it enough, and not at all in this MU)
6. Shield-grab if he starts n-airplaning
7. Remember that your u-air beats his d-air
8. Do NOT use din's during recovery, you'll get arrowed (not that this is a very good option anymore)

 

[Tactician Lan]

Kaeldiar said:

Against Link, in no particular order:
1. Approach with f-air and LC Nayru's. It's weird, but f-air is actually a REALLY good approach against him.
2. DI his d-throw behind him.
3. If you want to reflect the boomerang, do so with an LC Nayru's or do it as it comes BACK to Link. It won't change the trajectory, but it will change ownership of the projectile
3. Don't reflect the bombs, not worth it
4. Use Din's appropriately. Link barrels through them without much problem (including even his n-air), so one stray mine won't do a lot.
5. Overall, Nayru is an effective tool against him
6. Shield-grab if he starts n-airplaning
7. Remember that your u-air beats his d-air
8. Do NOT use din's during recovery, you'll get arrowed

1. Is Fair really a good approach against Link? I feel like his Nair and Fair collectively bop it, but I'll try it tomorrow. I never really thought about using LC Nayru's as an approach. How far away should it cancel from link to be effective?

2. Will test throw DI tomorrow.

3. Ok.

3. Is catching and throwing bombs ever worth learning?

4. pre-3.5, but I see the point.

5. kk

6. Is there a way to buffer shield grab, or do I just have to time it correctly?

7. I did not know this. I will apply it and see if it is 3.5 applicable.

8. I only use Dins during recovery if I feel safe above him to slow descent and put out a hitbox that can cover me.

 

[Kaeldiar]

1. Is Fair really a good approach against Link? I feel like his Nair and Fair collectively bop it, but I'll try it tomorrow. I never really thought about using LC Nayru's as an approach. How far away should it cancel from link to be effective?

2. Will test throw DI tomorrow.

3. Ok.

3. Is catching and throwing bombs ever worth learning?

4. pre-3.5, but I see the point.

5. kk

6. Is there a way to buffer shield grab, or do I just have to time it correctly?

7. I did not know this. I will apply it and see if it is 3.5 applicable.

8. I only use Dins during recovery if I feel safe above him to slow descent and put out a hitbox that can cover me.

1. Yep! f-air is a good approach against him! You should not cancel it BEFORE you get to him, you should use it to start combos and such. You should be hitting him with LC Nayru's. LC Nayru's was one of Zelda's better approach options in general. With the nerfs to it, it's not quite as good, but still effective.

3. Risky, but if you can do it consistently, go for it! Also know that Zelda's AGT is godlike. I love catching bananas/peanuts from Diddy and immediately AGT'ing them to boost my recovery.

6. I don't believe so. I think you just have to time it. Not 100% certain on that

7. It's definitely still applicable. Those hitboxes haven't changed in ways that would effect the viability

8. Yeah, that was a common thing to do in 3.02, but don't use it at all against Link. If you get below or at Link's level, he can hit you with an arrow, which will certainly kill you.