Advanced Techniques

Super Smash Bros Brawl - Advanced Techniques and Tricks

Some of these techniques are very advanced, some not so much, but they all require some practice. Their uses and usefulness vary but you should try them and be familiar with them. Also be warned that some of these are generally frowned upon by some Smash players.

Isnt any real order here. Alphabetizing them wouldn't help as you likely don't know its name. Organizing in accordance with difficulty wouldn't work as that would depend on your skill and specialties.

Stale-Move Negation
Not a technique, but it is something you should be aware of and I cant think of anywhere else to put it. Unlike in Melee where you can spam the same move over and over to win, Brawl uses this to slowly lower the attack strength of an attack if you use said attack too much. Say I use my B-up move five times in a row, and each blow did 10% damage. After about the fifth attack, it will now only do 8% damage. As the battle wears on, it will continue to get weaker the more I use it.

Triple Jump

Wow...

Definitely worth mastering, though it can be hard since not all characters have one. Basically, you jump once off the stage, then again in mid-air (double jump) and finally use an attack (normally your up special move) that launches you even higher into the air (triple jump). This is imperative if you get knocked off the stage. The draw back is after you use your third jump (or any special attack or guard) in air, you are totally helpless until you reach the ground.

Guard grabbing
Guard grabbing another ability I recommend you master. Guard grabbing is done when you put up your shield to block an attack (a melee attack, it wont work with projectile attacks) and as soon as the attack makes contact, press the A button. This will cause you to grab the enemy. A perfect counter with almost no drawbacks if you miss your timing.

Ledge Hogging
Ledge hogging is an age-old, very cheap trick. It's actually quite easy and ingenuous. After you send an opponent off the stage, run over to the edge, quickly jump off turn around and grab onto the ledge. This way, you will block your opponent from grabbing onto the ledge in an attempt to recover. Hanging on the ledge will also make you invincible for the time you're hanging there.

Footstool Jump

Pardon me, coming though.

This is something you'll more likely do on accident rather then actually trying. It's not hard though. Just jump up onto an opponents head, then as soon as you land press the jump button again. You'll bounce off their head. Kind of boring, but if you do it to them in mid-air, you will send them flying.

Tether Recovery

You cant get rid of me that easy...

Tether Recovery is pretty hard to get the hang of and requires a bit of luck. It only works with certain characters that have a long reaching grab attack (like Link's clawshot and Samus's grapple beam). When you fall off the edge, turn around and press the grab button. If you're not too far away, your chain should latch on to the ledge and pull you back over.

Gliding

All fighter form on me!

Another ability I recommend you master. Gliding can only be done with certain characters as well (characters with wings like Pit, Meta-Knight, and Charazard). Jump into the air and hold down the jump button (you can also quickly tilt the control stick left and right, but the jump button is easier). You will start to glide. When gliding, you can control your ascent and descent by tilting the control stick up or down respectively. The trick here is that if you are attacked or if you attack someone or if you try to glide for too long you will stop gliding without any warning, so try to stay over land.

Moving and Shooting
This is something new to the game. It's simple in text, but hard in practice. Basically, whenever you pick up a ranged weapon (like the Super Scope), you can fire it while moving around. The problem with moving around is it can be hard to line up your targets.

Ukemi
If you are sent flying, tap the shield button just before hitting a wall, ceiling, or floor to rebound quickly and avoid bouncing around. (Very similar to the Dynasty Warriors games).

Perfect Shield
Shield just a an attack connects. If you do it right, you should hear a “clink” sound. Now is your chance for a counterattack, as perfect shielding negates your recovery time.

Glancing Blows
I you are just barely within the range of an attack, the attack wont hit you for full damage and probably wont knock you back. It will be symbolized by a “clink” sound and a smaller hit animation.

Swimming
Swimming is only really useful in the Sub-space Emissary. When you get in water over your head, your character will start to swim. You can only swim before so long before starting to thrash about and drowned. The more damage you have taken, the less time you can swim.

Small Jump
If you just tap the jump button, you wont jump as high as you normally would, but will jump faster. This is great if you are like me and use jumping to dodge and counter at the same time.

Pivot Grab
Pressing the grab button while dashing at your opponent will increase the range of your grab. Kind of neat, but I don't find grabs that useful overall anyway.

Eating While Lying Prone
If you're lying on the ground and you find some food next to you, press the A button to eat it. Not that complicated.

Breaking Reflectors
Reflectors have the ability to reflect projectile attacks. The attack is sent back at double the power. The attack can be reflected again from x4 damage, and so on until the attack dissipates. Careful though, if the attack is reflected back and fourth too much, it can break your reflecting device and cause a lot of damage.