The SFBR Megaguide! General Strategies!

Welcome to the second chapter of the SFBR's Super Smash Flash 2 megaguide! This chapter aims to teach you about the various techniques that are used regularly, as well as some strategies for winning.

A Chain Of Inescapable Attacks
In any fighting game in general you will hear the word "combo" quite a lot. In SSF2 this is also the same. In the context of Smash, a combo can have many definitions. However, our main focus is on a true combo. A true combo is a series of attacks performed while in "hitstun", which is the period of time after being hit where your opponent cannot do anything except maneuver himself in the air. Due to this, true combos are inescapable and thus a major part of damage-racking in Smash. There are no definite true combos as opponents can move to a different location to avoid your attacks.

Two Techniques of Movement
There are two different techniques in SSF2 that helps with the extension of combos: the short hop and the fastfall. Short Hopping is performed by quickly tapping the jump button or holding down when jumping, so that your character jumps about half the height of his normal jump. This is really useful for landing an aerial on a grounded opponent. Short Hopping also ensures you reach the ground faster than a normal jump, refreshing your jumps for another SH'd aerial.
The other technique is the Fastfall. It is performed by pressing downwards while falling, making your character fall faster. FFing is useful if you landed a weak meteor smash and wishes to follow up, or to get back to the ground to refresh your jumps.

Surviving Longer
Two other techniques that will be useful to you are Smash Directional Influence and Momentum Canceling. When being hit by any attack, you and your opponent are stuck in the same state known as hitlag. During hit lag, pressing any direction shifts your location slightly. This is known as SDIing and is supposed to shift you from the blastline, so that you will have a better chance at surviving. SDI also helps you escape multihit moves. SDI is only really useful if you tap a direction a lot of times. As for MCing, it is performed by simply using a move that cancels your momentum as soon as you are out of hitstun. Some notable Momentum Canceling moves are Mario's Star Spin and Tails Spin Dash.

Spacing/Zoning
A vital skill to learn. Spacing and zoning has slightly different definitions, but they will be used here interexchangely (not sure it's spelled like that). Spacing is the action of locating yourself so that you're close enough to hit the opponent and far enough so that your opponent can't hit you. For long-ranged characters, it can be just using their disjointed range to keep themselves at a safe distance from you. For projectile users, it can be constantly spamming projectiles to stop your approach while dealing damage. For mid to poor range characters, it's a hit-and-run strategy or solely punishing their opponents during their move's endlag. There is no definite way to space, and most strategies are character specific. Learn your character, and learn how he/she can space. Good spacing is what seperates a good player from an average one. Learn it, or you cannot win.

You can also short hop by holding down then pressing jump.

**Star Spin. Aka Mario Tornado.

I'm too lazy to go through the whole thing, but you know that DI currently doesn't exist in SSF2 right? And "further blastline" is a bit vague; the purpose of DI is to draw yourself to the diagonals since it doesn't change knockback, only trajectory. The diagonals are the longest lengths, so the blastzones at the ends of them are always the furthest away from where you're hit (so basically you should always aim for one of the diagonals).

It does exist, but it's effect is not big enough.

Are you sure? TSON told me it doesn't. Apparently Smash DI exists and regular DI doesn't.

OH...I'll change it right now.

Should juggling get its own bullet point, or is it considered just a specific type of combo?

Also, the word is "interchangeably." Just to make it look a little more "official."

Kirbyoshi wrote:Should juggling get its own bullet point, or is it considered just a specific type of combo?

Juggling isn't a combo, nor is it really viable with most characters right now.

Is shielding going to be made faster? It may not seem real apparent, but after playing Brawl for a while, it seems really slow in SSF2. You test out air dodging in Smash Flash and then compare that with putting your shield up, and I notice that the shield isn't coming up frame 1 (if SSF2 even uses frames). For instance with Lloyd he puts up his arm before the shield even comes up, whereas in the Smash Bros. games the shield comes up instantly.

However, shielding is a really strong defense in SSF2 due to little to no endlag or shieldstun meaning that you can attack straight out of shield and whiffing on shield is almost always unsafe.

Shields need to be nerfed, not buffed.

We need way more shield stun. Also, poking (but tilting your shield would suck)

Okay, I'm not familiar with whiffing or shield stun. I do notice that you don't get nudged back as far if an opponent attacks you in shield.

But I still think that shielding needs to come up instantly. What you guys are saying may be very true, but in all three Smash Bros. games, the shield does come up frame 1. Go ahead and nerf shielding in the ways mentioned--give it ending lag--, but don't let it have any startup lag. Quick reflexes don't mean much otherwise. There've been so many times in SSF2 where I'll shield an attack and my character will start to shield but get hit anyway because the shield didn't come up the instant I pressed the key.

We never said shielding shouldn't be made faster. Creating more shieldstun and more shield end lag is higher on the priority list though, shielding is already very fast.

Guys, should we have a glossary of terms in this megaguide? 'Cause I was writing the Tails guide and I was using a lot of terms which I suspected people wouldn't be able to understand.

I don't think that's necessary. If they have specific questions they can just ask; that's what we're here for after all.

I like the idea of a glossary. That way we don't have to get those questions in the first place. Also, it's the Mega guide. it should be able to stand on its own without much further explanation

About Smash terms, I'd say refer people to the Smash Bros. wiki (or the Smash Flash one), unless the term can't be found there

How0rigi wrote:About Smash terms, I'd say refer people to the Smash Bros. wiki (or the Smash Flash one), unless the term can't be found there

With the exception of a few terms that are important for certain characters, just about everything in the glossary right now is SSF2 specific.