Official Link Question and Answer Thread

[Hue]

So I was experimenting today with the falling up+B off of an edge, and found a much easier way to do it than just dashing and hoping you get the timing right. If you have tap jump on, it'll be much easier. If you stand about a Link's width or a bit less away from an edge (platform or stage) and smash the stick towards the edge to initiate a dash, then jump (either hit up or X or Y if you don't use tap jump, which makes it trickier) then use up+B. Your momentum should carry you off the stage so you can edgeguard. If you don't use tap jump, you have to jump to cancel the dash animation, as you can't up+B during it (you'll end up doing a gale boomerang most likely).

Things to look for:
If you stop at the stage edge, you're doing it too early
If you do a rising up+B, you're doing it too late
If you see a spark and slide off the edge, you charged it a bit. Make sure you release B immediately.
If you bounce back a bit when you do the up+B and stay on the stage, you did a B-reversal. Keep moving forward as you do your up+B.

Just hold up and diagonally towards the stage as you fall and you'll grab the ledge. I can do this fairly consistently now, and occasionally I slide a bit farther out and don't grab the ledge and die. I'm not entirely sure what causes this, I think it's just dependent on how far from the ledge you stand.

I understand this technique isn't all that useful, but it's fun to play around with. Btw, if you do it off the central platform of Battlefield, the final strong hit comes out at ground level and KOs at around 170% (lol). It could be an interesting mindgame, and it just looks cool.

 

[Ich Bin Awesome]

I remember someone mentioning this before, but you could also do this back in melee. But yeah, it's not useful in Brawl, however I will give anyone a dollar if they put a vid up of them using it effectively.

Anyway, the reason you fall is because you're holding the directional stick away from the edge. Just hold towards the stage as soon as you can and you won't fall.

 

[Hue]

I remember someone mentioning this before, but you could also do this back in melee. But yeah, it's not useful in Brawl, however I will give anyone a dollar if they put a vid up of them using it effectively.

Anyway, the reason you fall is because you're holding the directional stick away from the edge. Just hold towards the stage as soon as you can and you won't fall.

Yeah I knew you could do the falling up+B, just I didn't know that you could cancel the dash animation into it. It's much more similar to a wavedash if you try it. The weird thing is that the couple times I fell I'm pretty sure I was DI'ing towards the ledge.

Trying to do it just running up to the edge is pretty ridiculous, but this is a lot more manageable, because of how close you can be.

 

[illinialex24]

Hey guys, I'm kinda lazy but essentially this is my situation:

I am going all Link next time on a wifi ladder. Until like 2 days ago Link was by far my worst character, now he's my worst by a meh amount. I am not a great camper but I am working on it.

I am normally a Jigglypuff and am an aggressive baiter, so I play moderately defensive but aggressively. What should be my playstyle?

Also, what useful AT's should I know for link. I don't need them all, just a few useful ones for him since I heard he's an AT king.

 

[Hue]

Hey guys, I'm kinda lazy but essentially this is my situation:

I am going all Link next time on a wifi ladder. Until like 2 days ago Link was by far my worst character, now he's my worst by a meh amount. I am not a great camper but I am working on it.

I am normally a Jigglypuff and am an aggressive baiter, so I play moderately defensive but aggressively. What should be my playstyle?

Also, what useful AT's should I know for link. I don't need them all, just a few useful ones for him since I heard he's an AT king.

You really can use a wide range of playstyles with Link. Which is best depends a lot on what you're up against, and what you're comfortable with. Honestly I don't think anyone can give you a playstyle with Link, you have to develop it yourself for it to be effective. Just try to know what moves are effective for comboing and killing, and what you can get away with without getting punished. Link has a good number of low-to-zero lag moves, and a good number of moves with huge lag. Using them at the wrong time will result in getting punished.

As for AT's, I would suggest learning to jab lock if it wasn't an online tournament, however, lag makes it almost unusable, so don't bother spending time practicing it for online play. Link's DACUS is situationally useful, it's good to know, just don't spam it. Learning to use Link's Zair effectively is really helpful, and slightly difficult when you start. Just practice with it. Bombsliding is helpful too, but not really necessary. Pivot boosting isn't really affected by lag, and is a useful mindgame and spacing tool. You don't really need to use ATs much to be good with Link, but if you want to know what he can do, watch Izaw's video The Art of Link, and some videos of really good Links like Legan, Deva, Arkive Zero and Izaw. Kyuuber recently posted some videos that are really good, he has an interesting playstyle that I like a lot.

Basically, do some research and then practice. Just try to become comfortable with Link, so you're familiar with what he can do.

 

[illinialex24]

Yeah I know DACUS pretty well (Jigglypuff is another proud user of it). Pivot boosting sounds cool. Gonna try these things out. Thanks

 

[Kief]

Yeah I know DACUS pretty well (Jigglypuff is another proud user of it). Pivot boosting sounds cool. Gonna try these things out. Thanks

i wouldnt bother learning new AT's 2 days before a tourney if i were you. especially since it doesnt sound like you got the basics down pat yet. you dont NEED AT's to be good, just look at deva. if anything, i'd just worry about the quickdraw and maybe the zair edgeguard for now.

btw i like your sig.

 

[illinialex24]

i wouldnt bother learning new AT's 2 days before a tourney if i were you. especially since it doesnt sound like you got the basics down pat yet. you dont NEED AT's to be good, just look at deva. if anything, i'd just worry about the quickdraw and maybe the zair edgeguard for now.

btw i like your sig.

TY. I know but I'm getting better and the thing isn't gonna be for a while. Its not a few days. The next Brawl ladder (I got banned from this one for giving away 173 free wins, read my blog here about it: http://allisbrawl.com/blogpost.aspx?id=9490 trust me, its worth a read) starts on April 1st so I got time. Thanks though and right now I'm working on hookshotting, shielding well to punishing them well, bairing well, and projectile camping.

Then I'm gonna go for those 2 AT's. Anything else I'm forgetting? I'll have a video of me losing to an Ike on wifi later as well lol. I picked him up like 2 days ago so I don't feel bad lol.

 

[M-WUZ-H3R3]

Lol you do great will jiggs, why use link in the ladder?

Whatever. Be careful off stage, his recovery sucks. Use N-air as a spacer after a double jab, and you can end it with a QDA or a DACUS. Use ledge hopped F-airs as well. Spin attack is an amazing spacer OoS at moderate damages.

For camping, Use arrow cancels (helpful), down tilted boomarangs, and mindgamed bombs.

Projectiles are great to gt stale with.

 

[sasook]

TY. I know but I'm getting better and the thing isn't gonna be for a while. Its not a few days. The next Brawl ladder (I got banned from this one for giving away 173 free wins, read my blog here about it: http://allisbrawl.com/blogpost.aspx?id=9490 trust me, its worth a read) starts on April 1st so I got time. Thanks though and right now I'm working on hookshotting, shielding well to punishing them well, bairing well, and projectile camping.

Then I'm gonna go for those 2 AT's. Anything else I'm forgetting? I'll have a video of me losing to an Ike on wifi later as well lol. I picked him up like 2 days ago so I don't feel bad lol.

You seem like a total beginner to Link. Read my guide, and then read NintenJoe's.

lol, you came at a good time, I just finished rewriting my guide completely so it's up-to-date.

 

[illinialex24]

You seem like a total beginner to Link. Read my guide, and then read NintenJoe's.

lol, you came at a good time, I just finished rewriting my guide completely so it's up-to-date.

Ok cool I will. I am btw lol. He was my worst 2 days ago so I intentionally picked him up. Mainly for jokes but he's become fun to play with cause I never use heavies like this.

And if anyone wants to pick up Jigglypuff lol (Jigglypuff main....), check out my guide on the puff boards lol.

 

[Aurashade]

one of the rules should be to listen to my every word

 

[Twilght Link]

one of the rules should be to listen to my every word

But aurashade, we already do =O

Anyways, what are some good uses for reverse bomsliding? I have finished learning it and have implemented it into my game but i was wondering if i was missing any tactic for it that pros use.

 

[SuSa]

A (relatively) safe retreat tactic is what I use it for.

 

[Deleted member]

i use it as a taunt in between stocks because its not useful anywhere else. seriously just RJCT bombs, its faster and takes half a brain to perform.

 

[SuSa]

It also goes less distance to RJCT then to reverse bombslide.

You get further away, can be useful for going back to camping. <_<

 

[sasook]

i use it as a taunt in between stocks because its not useful anywhere else

I disagree, but you and I have had this bombslide/JCT argument for months now lol

Anyways, to answer your question Twilight, like Havokk said, it's good for a "get away from me" move. It's also good for spacing and mindgames. Even more mindgames if you use it for offense, like me.

 

[Onomanic]

I disagree, but you and I have had this bombslide/JCT argument for months now lol

Anyways, to answer your question Twilight, like Havokk said, it's good for a "get away from me" move. It's also good for spacing and mindgames. Even more mindgames if you use it for offense, like me.

RBC Fakeouts are an extremely good mindgame. I remember when sasook and I played a couple of dittos and he did a reverse fake out and I'm like "Where's that bomb?" So I shielded and got punished :< Idk, they're both pretty good, but the learning curve on RBC is pretty tough. I can't do it too much. However, RJCT are much easier to learn. They both have their ups and downs. I guess it's all personal preference.

 

[Kief]

TY. I know but I'm getting better and the thing isn't gonna be for a while. Its not a few days. The next Brawl ladder (I got banned from this one for giving away 173 free wins, read my blog here about it: http://allisbrawl.com/blogpost.aspx?id=9490 trust me, its worth a read) starts on April 1st so I got time. Thanks though and right now I'm working on hookshotting, shielding well to punishing them well, bairing well, and projectile camping.

Then I'm gonna go for those 2 AT's. Anything else I'm forgetting? I'll have a video of me losing to an Ike on wifi later as well lol. I picked him up like 2 days ago so I don't feel bad lol.

HAHAHAHAHAHA i read the blog thats hilarious lol.

anyway it sounds like you're off to a good start.

 

[ArdeS]

I'm happy to say I can now perform a real reverse-bombslide around 80% of the time. Apparently me tapping the C-stick down with my lower thumb instead of the tip makes me much more successful. haha... ;D

 

[illinialex24]

HAHAHAHAHAHA i read the blog thats hilarious lol.

anyway it sounds like you're off to a good start.

Thanks, I'm gonna practice him out more. I like him

 

[Kief]

Thanks, I'm gonna practice him out more. I like him

thats good. he's an incredibly fun character to play even while losing

 

[illinialex24]

Ok, how do I avoid getting grabbed. I got grabbed 50 times in a match because I for some reason could not avoid getting regrabbed after his down throw. I still won somehow.

 

[Deleted member]

this is why the advice "Don't get grabbed" is the dumbest ****ing thing i've ever heard in my life

if you're fighting a grab happy person always hold a bomb and space all of your moves or else you'll just get screwed

 

[illinialex24]

this is why the advice "Don't get grabbed" is the dumbest ****ing thing i've ever heard in my life

if you're fighting a grab happy person always hold a bomb and space all of your moves or else you'll just get screwed

Ok, I'll star holding more bombs. It was kinda funny because I beat him after (seriously) 50 grabs, and each did like 6 damage so he racked up around a total of 350 damage on me. But I still won lol.

 

[Twilght Link]

use zair so u dont get grabbed, retreating zairs are beastly btw and are easier to space with imo. As previously stated, bombs are excellent against grabbers and since zair can be used with a bomb, USE IT!

 

[sasook]

Yeah, Twilight and his stupid retreating zairs. >.<

 

[KgN_7]

Hey, I have a question. Does Link have a grab release combo on any character? Also I have trouble implementing arrows into my game effectively.

 

[Anonano]

Hey, I have a question. Does Link have a grab release combo on any character? Also I have trouble implementing arrows into my game effectively.

On pretty much any character (except Luigi, because he slides too far away) you can get in a dsmash right after you release them. If they air release, you can get in any aerial for free if you jump quick enough. Doing a dair requires perfect timing though.
Getting them to jump out of the grab is the problem though.

 

[illinialex24]

My video tomorrow will either be a Jigglypuff combo teaser or it will be a video for you to critique my link. If not tomorrow, I'll have one up soon.

 

[illinialex24]

Hey can someone critique this?:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dqVf_WSHAE&fmt=6

Keep in mind I've used him for 3 days lol, I need strategy help.

 

[Twilght Link]

Yeah, Sasook and his stupid reverse bombsliding >.<

Fixed for convenience

 

[sasook]

^lol, I guess I deserve that one

 

[Ich Bin Awesome]

Hey can someone critique this?:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dqVf_WSHAE&fmt=6

Keep in mind I've used him for 3 days lol, I need strategy help.

Look, anyone who is just starting with any character should do the same thing:
1. Practice against real people
2. Read stickies and see vids
3. THEN post vids for critique once you feel you've improved enough.

You make several mistakes and you won't realize it till you are consistently punished for them by other people.

PRACTICE.

 

[Oddler]

Nvm, not the board to be asking.

 

[Kief]

i got a quick question for arkive (or anybody).

i know bairs are the best for momentum cancelling because they're quicker but lately i've seen some videos of i think it was legan or deva, when then got sent upwards, then daired.

so im just wondering would it be best when sent upwards to bair or to dair?

 

[sasook]

Bair, because it's faster.

Dair is easier to FF with, but bair is faster. I think Legan and Deva use those is just out of habit - remember, they've known about DI a lot longer than the rest of us have. We learned after Arkive's vid....they just knew from tourney experience and such.

I think it's just engraved in their muscle memories. For instance, Deva still uses fair for horizontal hits, rather than bair.

 

[Kief]

ok thanks for the help.

 

[galekill]

On pretty much any character (except Luigi, because he slides too far away) you can get in a dsmash right after you release them. If they air release, you can get in any aerial for free if you jump quick enough. Doing a dair requires perfect timing though.
Getting them to jump out of the grab is the problem though.

not really true, link is equally fast out of ground release as the one he grabbed EXCEPT lucas and ness which are slower and DK who is faster. for air release some characters(floaty ones in general) recovers quicker from their air release animation.

 

[Twilght Link]

not really true, link is equally fast out of ground release as the one he grabbed EXCEPT lucas and ness which are slower and DK who is faster. for air release some characters(floaty ones in general) recovers quicker from their air release animation.

ud be suprised by how many grab release to jab attacks u can get tho