"Perfect Shielding" In Brawl (w/Video Demo)

[LeeHarris]

Hey guys, I have been studying fairly basic things in Brawl to see if they are more viable with the new engine. I have come upon the opinion that "perfect shielding" will eventually become a significant tactic just like parrying in SFIII:3S.

The perfect shielding tactic has changed since Smash's previous incarnation. In Melee it was nearly impossible to ever "perfect shield" an enemy's physical attack due to the small window of opportunity. In Brawl, the window is larger and it allows you to basically parry your opponent's attack and launch a counterattack of your own.

Video here: http://www.wifiwars.com/?q=node/232

 

[Aninymouse]

Awesome, thanks for the video. I really think it's important to show people what techniques like these actually look like so that you get a feel for the timing.

Really appreciated + faved.

 

[LinkSpecialist]

Good stuff!

 

[dmac]

great stuff, great video

 

[TK Wolf]

Very nice. Thanks for sharing the video! =)

 

[Mechageo]

Nice video.

This will take shield grabbing to a whole new level.

 

[Eaode]

I think Sakurai made all these defensive adjustments and improvements in Brawl because of Melee. There was no way he was oblivious of the SSBM tournament scene, and he probably saw what an offensively focussed game it was.

I'm really glad that Powershielding will actually be a masterable and viable technique.

 

[Gaddswell]

Thanks for the video!

This is bound to have a significant effect on how approaches are made. How easy would you say it is to do? Would it be possible to do all the time?

 

[NESSBOUNDER]

Wow...This is just incredibly cool. I just love to see this kind of thing in fighting games!

Honestly, A player who can do this reliably will be a force to be reckoned with.

 

[iron blade]

Great vid. I'm glad it's actually possible to perfect shield now.

 

[Zeyeth]

Excellent vid. Really shows the timing and whatnot. I'm looking forward to incorporating this technique into my play.

 

[Fizz-sama]

Haha, good stuff. I'm still curious though, isn't there an air dodge parry as well? I don't think I've seen anything on that.

Edit: Glad there's no Chun Li. :/

 

[NESSBOUNDER]

Anyone who gets good at powershielding will be great at using power characters like Ike or Ganon. I can see Lucario getting a lot of benifit from this as well.

 

[Deleted member]

Power shielding was still a really viable tactic in Melee.. I relied on it heavily facing Falcos. I could powershield at least 4/10 lasers in serious matches.

Really nice vid.

 

[IWANTHOTDOG]

That's great, its gonna be really helpful.

 

[Brentos4o8]

Man that seems hard to apply though.
Guess I'm just gonna have to practice.

 

[Eternal phoenix Fire]

I think Sakurai made all these defensive adjustments and improvements in Brawl because of Melee. There was no way he was oblivious of the SSBM tournament scene, and he probably saw what an offensively focussed game it was.

I'm really glad that Powershielding will actually be a masterable and viable technique.

I'm thinking that Sakurai made this game offensively and defensively balanced. You can block attacks and counter them with perfect timing, but alot of attacks aren't blockable, and perfect shielding still chips off alot of your shield. In addition to that, shields are way weaker in Brawl than they were in Melee.

Sakurai did a good job with the game engine.

 

[BentoBox]

Power shielding was still a really viable tactic in Melee.. I relied on it heavily facing Falcos. I could powershield at least 4/10 lasers in serious matches.

Really nice vid.

Did powershielding in Melee negate knockback though? And nobody really used PS against the rest of the cast.

 

[jdub03]

good stuff. I loved parrying in melee. Im going to be using this a lot. Lee harris if you could could you test the air block mechanique. No one really has explored this. I think it would be something critical for recovering off stage.

 

[billywill]

perfect shileding is going to be a big factor in Brawl

 

[Kirby M.D.]

Thanks for making this vid Lee, any basic Brawl tech information is good.

 

[Dark Sonic]

Did powershielding in Melee negate knockback though? And nobody really used PS against the rest of the cast.

Powershielding did not negate knockback, but it did reduce shield stun a little (yes, you still suffered some shield stun.) It also reflected projectiles. However, what most people don't know is that powershielding also allowed you to block the attack without still having your shield up (only for physical attacks.) You could actually do attacks directly out of powershields, and computers often did if you haven't noticed.

 

[super-7]

thanks for the vid!

 

[SirroMinus1]

This is great.
i cant wait to learn the timing behind this

 

[Blatherskite]

Well that settles it, the offensive game is officially dead.

 

[AznHalfCaucasian]

Sweet to Max.

Good vid

 

[Whiteface]

This is a cool mechanic....... Kudos, Ike is gonna love this

 

[Irow]

So I assume if you can do it in Melee, you'll be able to do it in Brawl?

It doesn't mean the offensive game is dead. It really just means that you have to be more careful about what attacks you choose to hit a opponent on the ground. You're also going to have to have amazing spacing as well.

Quick characters like Marth and Fox will still be pretty offensive, while having a great out-of-perfectshield game. Up-smash out of perfectshield with Fox seems like it'll be really gay. The heavy characters will be super defensive, and every perfectshield they do on you will hurt if you just blindly attack. Forward B out of perfect shield with Ganon? It'll be amazing.

 

[Blatherskite]

I dunno, looks like attacking someone on the ground will be gimped if they can perform this technique consistently, especially if they're using a character with huge range like ZSS and Ike. I think I'd opt to use a projectile fighter and tap them into an attack, then I'll just abuse sheild grab and this technique.

 

[Mambo]

It'll be interesting to see this mixed in with aerial approaches. If this tech catches on, I'll just use multi hit aerial moves more. I just wonder how far this tech will go.

 

[SuperDoodleMan]

In Melee, powershielding the first hit of a multihit attack counted for the rest of them. More testing needed.

Can you do tilts out of perfect shield? Dash? Any risk of accidentally rolling or spot dodging, with or without the C stick?

 

[Tatsujinken]

Daigo with a full parry!

 

[LeeHarris]

Thanks for the video!

This is bound to have a significant effect on how approaches are made. How easy would you say it is to do? Would it be possible to do all the time?

It is fairly easy, but it definitely took some getting used to. I practiced with it for a few hours straight and I couldn't use it as well as I could parrying in 3S.

I dunno, looks like attacking someone on the ground will be gimped if they can perform this technique consistently, especially if they're using a character with huge range like ZSS and Ike. I think I'd opt to use a projectile fighter and tap them into an attack, then I'll just abuse sheild grab and this technique.

That's true, but if you remember shield grabbing in Melee was just as effective because shield knockback was nothing except when playing against people like Ganon. During the beginning of Melee's competitive scene that's what people did ALL the time. Then as the scene progressed and everyone caught onto each character's style shield grabbing became a much smaller part of competitive play. I think right now players are still like "WTF DO I DO?!" every time they are approached by another character so their instinct is to shield and then grab. When I was approached by a Falcon nair in Melee I knew exactly when to shield/sidestep and when to either grab or bair. In Brawl I panic (even though it is slower) and I just sit there shielding. Don't worry, this technique won't break the game, but it might make it more annoying for a little bit.

In Melee, powershielding the first hit of a multihit attack counted for the rest of them. More testing needed.

Can you do tilts out of perfect shield? Dash? Any risk of accidentally rolling or spot dodging, with or without the C stick?

I was able to do tilts, grabs, and smashes. I didn't try dashes, but I'm sure you could. Right after you perfect shield if you are still holding R (or whatever you use) and you hit up on the C stick you grab. If you hit left or right you roll. If you hit down you sidestep (I think). You had to let go to do your attack but the recovery from it was so fast that you had enough time to do whatever.

 

[japtar10101]

I'm going to act like an idiot: What's the differences in the vid ???

Don't get me wrong. I know what perfect shield does, but I see no difference in the two cases displayed in the video.

 

[Chaosblade77]

I'm going to act like an idiot: What's the differences in the vid ???

Don't get me wrong. I know what perfect shield does, but I see no difference in the two cases displayed in the video.

You didn't notice the difference in the knockback (and lack thereof for perfect shielding)?

 

[Tristan_win]

Good to know I'll add that to my list of things I need to practice once I get brawl.

 

[Firestorm88]

So to perfect shield do you have to basically tap it and drop it before the frame window of opportunity goes away? Or can you hold it sort of like teching in Melee?

 

[japtar10101]

You didn't notice the difference in the knockback (and lack thereof for perfect shielding)?

Sort of. Is that the only benefit? I swear you could counter with perfect shield, but the speed of attack after shield and perfect shield looks exactly the same to me....unless I'm wrong

 

[LeeHarris]

So to perfect shield do you have to basically tap it and drop it before the frame window of opportunity goes away? Or can you hold it sort of like teching in Melee?

You can hold it if you want, but if you want to attack before their attack ends then you have to tap it.

Sort of. Is that the only benefit? I swear you could counter with perfect shield, but the speed of attack after shield and perfect shield looks exactly the same to me....unless I'm wrong

There is less knockback and less block stun. You are also invincible for the next few frames when you perfect shield. The one in the video that really displays this the most is when Pit does a fsmash on G&W and he perfect shields and does a fsmash back before Pit's attack animation is done. It is in slow motion so that you can see it better.

 

[TheCatPhysician]

And when I think about it, it seems to me the new way you can essentially parry by powershielding (which you can actually rely on doing now with practice) and countering with an attack was inspired by parrying in games like 3S. When you do it, it feels almost exactly like it does in 3S or Guilty Gear (those are the only other fighters I play so that's all I can talk about). And it's the same idea behind the move in both games: If you can anticipate someone's attack and time this right before it hits, you not only block but are given an opportunity to counterattack.

great minds think alike TEH HEH HEH