JFox
Smash Hero
I've wanted to make this topic for so long, cuz its sooo important. I find that one of the biggest things that held me back was bad habits, some of which were because of how I use my controller.
Note that these are just the BEST way to do things, not the only way. I highly recommend them for people that are looking to get into the competitive scene. By using these recommendations, you will be doing things faster, more accurately, and with less errors than you would if you did them any other way. Also note that many pros/past pro players have done things differently, but most will agree that they were doing them that way because it was just a bad habit. They were still talented and smart enough to be at that level, but they could have played better had they used the controller differently, even if it would only make a small difference. Anyways, lets begin.
Lets start with the jump button. Many will tell you "use whichever you feel most comfortable with" and I will tell you now to ignore that advice. I recommend always using Y ONLY. I can tell you that as a person who uses X to jump, that I wish someone told me this long ago. Y is closer to the B button, allowing your finger to press it without having to slide over the A button, causing you to put in an improper move at times. Using X makes it virtually impossible to do multishines, makes many other techniques very difficult (like fox's SHDL), and most importantly CAUSES MORE ERRORS.
Next, the L and R buttons. You can use either one you feel most comfortable with, so long as you use the OPPOSITE one for wavedashing. Trust me, its important. Yes, you CAN wavedash out of shield with the same trigger, but it takes almost no effort if you are using two different triggers. The goal is to make things easiest on your fingers so that you have less technical errors, which limits your abilities.
Next: This on is very important. The C stick. Use it for everything you can, basically. All smash attacks (even charged ones) should be done with the C stick. The fastest way to do it is with the cstick, otherwise you get a small charge on your smashes using A. To charge smashes with the C stick you use the Z button.
Also use C sticks for ALMOST all aerial attacks. This may take some getting used to, but its important. It allows for more control over your DI while giving you the ability to attack. It is also easier to do many SH aerials such as SH Uair by using the C stick. The only time you don't use it is if you are doing an aerial immediately from your jump which you must perform quickly (such as marth's double fairs perhaps) because the a button is closer to jump. Not using the C stick for aerials is a VERY bad decision, and everyone I know including myself has forced themselves to make the switch. Its annoying, but worth it.
Another use of the C stick- All rolls and sidesteps. This is important, and often overlooked. By using the C stick, you can do something called "buffer rolls" which allows you to just hold shield, plus a direction, and the game will immediately do the roll the very first frame it is possible. This technique is useful for things like getting out of IC's chaingrab, and just executing commands as frame perfect as possible. You can also buffer spot dodge, and buffer jumps, using up or down + R/L.
It is important that you use the C stick for ALL rolls or sidesteps. (Courtesy of Forward) - Using the control stick to roll moves your shield, which exposes your characters body, leaving you open for a short period of time before the roll. If you've ever been hit while you were trying to roll away, this is why. The C stick eliminates this problem.
Lastly- Grabs. Most characters, excluding some (like Peach and Sheik), benefit from JC grabs. I recommend always using JC grabs while you are running. Use Y to jump, and then Z to grab. Now while standing is different. Have you ever put up a light shield instead of grabbing, even though you hit Z to grab? This is because you pressed Z too early (before the end of some for of stun or lag) causing the Z (which is a stupid macro button for many other moves) to think you wanted to shield. Now you are stuck in a light shield that you can't grab out of. Instead use L/R + A. Just hold L/R, and press A. If you hit A too soon, its ok. Just press it again. This is very helpful for standing chaingrabs.
Thats all I can think of for now. If anyone has any comments, or wants to add any input, please feel free to post.
Note that these are just the BEST way to do things, not the only way. I highly recommend them for people that are looking to get into the competitive scene. By using these recommendations, you will be doing things faster, more accurately, and with less errors than you would if you did them any other way. Also note that many pros/past pro players have done things differently, but most will agree that they were doing them that way because it was just a bad habit. They were still talented and smart enough to be at that level, but they could have played better had they used the controller differently, even if it would only make a small difference. Anyways, lets begin.
Lets start with the jump button. Many will tell you "use whichever you feel most comfortable with" and I will tell you now to ignore that advice. I recommend always using Y ONLY. I can tell you that as a person who uses X to jump, that I wish someone told me this long ago. Y is closer to the B button, allowing your finger to press it without having to slide over the A button, causing you to put in an improper move at times. Using X makes it virtually impossible to do multishines, makes many other techniques very difficult (like fox's SHDL), and most importantly CAUSES MORE ERRORS.
Next, the L and R buttons. You can use either one you feel most comfortable with, so long as you use the OPPOSITE one for wavedashing. Trust me, its important. Yes, you CAN wavedash out of shield with the same trigger, but it takes almost no effort if you are using two different triggers. The goal is to make things easiest on your fingers so that you have less technical errors, which limits your abilities.
Next: This on is very important. The C stick. Use it for everything you can, basically. All smash attacks (even charged ones) should be done with the C stick. The fastest way to do it is with the cstick, otherwise you get a small charge on your smashes using A. To charge smashes with the C stick you use the Z button.
Also use C sticks for ALMOST all aerial attacks. This may take some getting used to, but its important. It allows for more control over your DI while giving you the ability to attack. It is also easier to do many SH aerials such as SH Uair by using the C stick. The only time you don't use it is if you are doing an aerial immediately from your jump which you must perform quickly (such as marth's double fairs perhaps) because the a button is closer to jump. Not using the C stick for aerials is a VERY bad decision, and everyone I know including myself has forced themselves to make the switch. Its annoying, but worth it.
Another use of the C stick- All rolls and sidesteps. This is important, and often overlooked. By using the C stick, you can do something called "buffer rolls" which allows you to just hold shield, plus a direction, and the game will immediately do the roll the very first frame it is possible. This technique is useful for things like getting out of IC's chaingrab, and just executing commands as frame perfect as possible. You can also buffer spot dodge, and buffer jumps, using up or down + R/L.
It is important that you use the C stick for ALL rolls or sidesteps. (Courtesy of Forward) - Using the control stick to roll moves your shield, which exposes your characters body, leaving you open for a short period of time before the roll. If you've ever been hit while you were trying to roll away, this is why. The C stick eliminates this problem.
Lastly- Grabs. Most characters, excluding some (like Peach and Sheik), benefit from JC grabs. I recommend always using JC grabs while you are running. Use Y to jump, and then Z to grab. Now while standing is different. Have you ever put up a light shield instead of grabbing, even though you hit Z to grab? This is because you pressed Z too early (before the end of some for of stun or lag) causing the Z (which is a stupid macro button for many other moves) to think you wanted to shield. Now you are stuck in a light shield that you can't grab out of. Instead use L/R + A. Just hold L/R, and press A. If you hit A too soon, its ok. Just press it again. This is very helpful for standing chaingrabs.
Thats all I can think of for now. If anyone has any comments, or wants to add any input, please feel free to post.