This. I've also been maining her since 64. This vid is spot on with how i play her strategically, and I learned some things too. Best samus guide I've seen yet
To you it might seem hyper aggressive, like how one can make seemingly aggressive plays in chess, I too play Samus aggressively because I know I have tools that I can fallback on and and take others by surprise. Its like having a gun knowing the opponent wont expect a punch, and when they start expecting the punch you just step back and shoot them.
The threat of an attack is definitely a big part of Samus's game. But also baiting options as well. Conditioning reflectors can be big thing to consider as well, especially since her Super Missile has a delay which makes it easier for opponents to see it coming and react with a reflector and her fully charged beam can beat a reflected super missile if they are baited into a reflector. Catches a lot of opponents off guard, plus it saves wasting a charge shot for conditioning. Of course it won't work on characters who can hold their reflector like Fox and Wolf, but characters like KKR, Palutena, Falco, Ness and Lucas, etc can be baited effectively.
Or even better, characters who can't reflect might pull their shield up. A super missile plus an immediate fully charged beam will instantly break any shield.
Since joker came out.... I've had a blast baiting them to absorb my charge shots and just go in for a grab... Or throw out a homing missile, since it's slower, and go for a grab and just keep doing non stop until they give up on doing it at all or decide to use it after I gave it a 10% charge so that they don't "waste it"..... Ahahahahahaa.
Hey everyone! Tonight (around 9) and tomorrow I’ll be streaming on here labbing samus and going through each matchup more in depth. Tune in if you’re looking for more tips or have any questions!
Really liked this guide! I haven't found many guides on how to play Samus in Ultimate, so I'm happy to say this one was super helpful for me (just got Smash Ultimate, and I haven't played much Smash before at all). The comparison to Samus as the "chess-player's-character" and the Empty Fort Strategy description were really useful for explaining her playstyle. Long story short, I learned a lot from this guide. Thank you for making it!
I've always played Samus as a "come and get me, " kind of gal, and you summed it up with her defensive style. Threaten with charge shot, zone with missiles, up tilt into up special. Glad to hear I'm on the right track!
It doesn’t break full shield anymore. Because: 1. Projectiles do less shield damage as introduced in an earlier patch and 2. Everyone’s shield size/durability has been increased as of the 2nd to latest patch. Only works if opponent already used about 25%-30% of their shield already.
@@grandeur2800 really? I have a buddy who is a samus main and he gets me with missle -> charge shot quite a bit...I need to see this for myself. Off to training mode!
I really appreciate this video, it’s been difficult to find much Samus play or tips for Ultimate. Definitely agree with the chess analogy, you have to predict and plan where you want your opponent to be.
Just a few additions. When gone flying off stage fire a quick homing missile to help recover back on stage. Throw forward then F-air. Great mini combo Also F-air is a key defensive tool because it lasts so long. Thanks guys
Dair also has a spike but is a tad risky and morph ball bombs are also fantastic for opening up hard to approach characters. Especially rush downs that can't afford even a few frames of vulnerability and are easily fooled by them. Makes for fantastic grab openings charge blasts or zoning if needed
This is the best guide I've seen so far on samus. I've mained samus since 64 and already knew and did a lot you've explained in the vid while seeing some things I need to add to my playstyle. Definitely would recommend
I agree about her jumping up on the tier list. Samus has always been either my 3rd or 4th option since melee but now that she's able to kill with Up B and up tilt fairly easily, she's very dangerous
@Kevin Salinas I love melee samus, also my third in melee after doc and falco. Seeing more recent players like plup with samus makes a lot of people think samus was really good in melee, but I think her tools are stronger now. Aerial charging is such a huge buff, she’s a mix up monster now even if she doesn’t have the cc punishes or missile tech from melee, and I personally think zairing is still very useful (should have mentioned it more in the video but I was wrongly assuming I was talking to sm4sh players who already knew about it) but it’s not as good imo because it has to be perfectly spaced to hit short characters which are really prominent rn. I think missiles were her best tool in melee, zair in brawl, and charge shot and maybe zair in sm4sh. But her charge shot is so buffed that i think it’s the single most useful samus move in any smash game by far. Considering making a more advanced samus guide talking about zair tricks and specific combos but we’ll see
Huge credit to Dr. Jay for the analysis! I liked, subbed and I’m commenting for channel support to this guy! Couldn’t agree more with the mind games chess aspect of ‘Samus’ in particular. I honestly feel, when playing human opponents especially 1v1, this makes her a higher tier character. Even if facing a fox/falco with an extended reflect, a player can over and over set an expectation to the opponent for the sequence of charge.missile.attack.blast.shield.roll.dodge.attack.etc.repeat. The human brain has evolved and is conditioned to recognize patterns, so let them see one where there is not, invest time doing the same thing (maybe even let them take a stock on you) thinking you’re a repetitive idiot, then completely and constantly change up the order and timing on those input commands once you see them get used to and react to it in the way you want. Again, on the human mind, works like a charm even playing as other characters. Sometimes when I play online I do nothing for a while making the opponent think I’m “AFK” and when they least expect it I go full ass Kaioken! Then back to absolutely nothing. Confuses the shit outta people!😂
I love the nice pace of information in this video! Thank you for cutting out the fluff and getting to solid points! I'm hoping to claim more tournaments with our gal, Samus!
@Ruufihs Zorophox so apparently people in the samus discord recently found out that both of dark samus’ rolls are actually slightly better than samus’. I think that this may be patched out to make them more equal, but even just the difference in projectile height is enough to make dsamus better imo
@@AfroSnackey I feel like dark samus is too slow and floaty. A lot of my strategy revolves around her dash smash and it just doesn't feel as tight with her dark version.
I've been a Samus main since Melee. The funny thing is, I'm a super casual, and I never really learned to use the more complex game mechanics like grabs, dodges, and shields. I only ever jump and attack. But I play Samus so often that I can often beat my brother, who's objectively a much better player than me. You're right; playing Samus is very strategic. You gotta stay near/below them, keep a charge shot primed, and patiently wait for the opportunity to strike.
I'm a little late, but I really like your style. Maybe your reading could use a little help but the script of this video is top notch. I really enjoyed listening to what advice you had to give.
@Miau Lee thanks! One random thing I’ve been noticing is that smaller characters have a much easier time dodging stuff like her back air or zair, because you have to wait and time the attack to hit low to the ground. Tilts are the counterplay. Shielding is incredibly important in this game even without the parry mechanic, definitely practice punishing hits on your shield with aerials (I like nair on fast hits and dair against laggy moves but situational) oos. Juggling with uair is extremely good if the opponent isn’t yoshi or something (air speed) but it’s so easy it doesn’t take much practice. Peace bud!
Samus has been one of my strongest characters since day 1, and I'm always interested in more strategies and ideas. Great video! I also appreciate the lack of expletives.
One thing I'd like to throw in there is the value of dropping bombs before going for a grab as Samus doesn't get tossed around if she's doing an action on top of a bomb, with the added benefit of the bomb's damage hitting the enemy during your grab as well as simply making an extra hitbox for them to worry about if they want to run in or jump at you. This is something I've come to do fairly often, and I'd go as far as to say you can condition the enemy with it by making them think you're going for another grab because you put a bomb down, and will attempt to jump. Then, instead of going for the grab, just challenge their air attack with a aerial of your choice.
Another tip I saw was to jab once then shield then punish, as her 1 2 isnt very good, or jab 1 then down tilt. Also using tether mid air is good for spacing. Great video btw.
@Mitchell Bruce Very true, the full jab is pretty unreliable and you can’t jab grab now. I personally like jab 1 into shield grab for opponents that expect the second jab and try to interrupt itYeah I really should have talked more about her zair (tether) but I just don’t think it’s as important as the last two games. Still a very very good tool though, honestly regret not coming up with some tips for it totally slipped my mind lol
@@Dr.Jay. Sounds like you should do another one lol 😏 I wouldnt mind your voice being a bit louder tbh. I think another solid tip is to drop bombs over heavies trying to up B like DK or DDD, idk if you covered it might have missed it.
True true, honestly I’d like to redo all 4 of my current videos with better sound quality and a few more tips I’ve picked up. Probably will at some point, but I’ve been working on the next few videos i have planned for a long time so they take priority. Finally have some time the next few days to take my time making them, and now I sorta have some experience editing so hopefully they’ll sound much better lol
@Sparktier so I’ve been finding some weird samus tech, I think im gunna do a quick samus advanced tricks guide tomorrow and a metagaming (counterpick) kind of Guide the following few days. Thanks budddy!
What a scholar. You clearly know Samus as a fighter. She’s been my main since N64, and with as good as she seems to be in Ultimate, that’s not changing soon :)
Nice. I think I play like this most of the time. I agree a good fire emblem character like Lucina can go to town on me and pretty much get away with spamming nair and fair approaches, even dash grabbing through my bombs. I've beaten back some of those Lucinas for making a single mistake as you said and have been 3 stocking a couple of competent players who used their good moves and set ups on me. I even recently beat a DK who got me to my last stock at freaking 150% and cargo jump back throwed me to what would have been a kill if I hadn't DIed away, the counter to being sent up. I then finished him with a Fair (that awesome anti air flame thrower) that killed him at 200%. I'm glad her neutral B was buffed over 4 cause I already lived and died by how well and often I'd use it back in 4. Sometimes a match would come down to wether or not I could time a shot right as an enemy approaches. And I'm still jumping and shooting to heavily punish defensive aerial approaches. I even threw a Lucina upward and finished her by double jumping up and a decent distance to one side and firing where she'd fall into the shot, confused I'd throw it out up their as I hadn't done that yet over the matches we fought. And her fast falling back air to the backs of enemies heads has let me virtually instantly punish. I even got it to work on a little Mac who thought he'd just dash up and punch me only to die instantly instead. And let's not forget it feels like her grab had a frame data buff.
tips for play samus: -not necessary u need to play pasive, its depend of the match but is the recomended because the grand part of the people that use their main is a counter of samus(ex: ike, roy, link, marth, cloud,etc), thats why very people put it on low tier-mid tier -u can cancel your charge shot to confuse ur enemy for put him in a bad position, its recomended to do that for a few characters that have parry shields (fox, wolf, falco,palutena,rob,etc) --in another cases is better play with super missile or regular missile (charge shot in some cases) not to much , just because the lagging (more the super missile) and this could be some advantage for the oponnet that have so much chase on u, so play it with some space and carefully -dont use up smash if u arent sure to hit it on the opponent, (this is the most lagging move of samus) and can cost u a stock or a match, so use it carefully -one of the most advantage to play with samus is her recovery, she have a lot of option to recovery and a lot of resource to have more range, and this is a benefit because samus is tanky u can keep stay int the stage for 200% or longer (obviusly depend how good u are to recover or how good ur oponnet know about the matchup) have the grape beam, mophball situation can help u, up B, even the impulse of the charge shoot can help u just a little bit (in the most of the case u dont need it). -use constantly ur charge shoot (even isnt charge) because produce a little stun to ur oponnet, thats bring u the chance to go aggressive to do damage on melee range. is recommended to keep charge the beam just beacuse ur oponnet can allow u the space to do that again, so use it in situations, (for me is worth to use constantly, because i play aggressive with samus the most of the times) some tips for samus i hope that u can use it, i have more but need more time to explain samus is a funny character to use, try it to play as ur style u want :D Edit: some samus players to learn how to use it: YB, Kicker (there are more but i like their style)
Yay! I keep forgetting reverse b in the air... That will be of use. Thanks for the new and good Samus guide. I’m loving the new music in the video, too.
I've learned that bomb jumping to avoid hits or just laying them behind is a great tool for defense against alot of of aerials and decreases their options.
@Aatu Stoutamire hey thanks bud! Do you mean for Samus? Because I am actually doing that lol, I have a part two up already to this (not sure why it doesn’t show up for a lot of people) and I’m doing a series of one video for each of samus’ moves, starting with down b this weekend. I’m sure I’ll make guides on more characters, but seeing as most of my time has been spent labbing samus and I’m getting decent results with her I’ll mostly be focusing on her. Will probably do more “how to beat” character guides though for a lot of the top tiers and future dlc
@L-Y3T yes it did. Don’t worry I’m currently making a new updated/advanced guide where I talk about the cons/pros of recent patches. You can still get shield breaks pretty easily in certain matchups (but significantly less often) but now cs actually has 6 or 7 more frames of shield stun so it’s still good to land on shield, aka it still forces your opponent to jump, dodge, or parry or get punished
the missile height difference supposedly does not actually allow you to hit lower crouched opponents. The difference is slight enough to where those who would be hit by either, will be. Just something to note.
A little late but I found a 0 to death for samus but involves a screw attack item. With the screw on, jump once, up attack, jump again, up attack and use recovery. Also. Found a glitch with her as well but in special smash. Put tiny, light and use down special the whole time you'll go up in the air just like the double Luigi unlimited air glitch
@Gengarrr III that’s actually really funny, i love smash 64 item combos so this just made me imagine the possibilities in ultimate. I’m lame so I never use items and haven’t ever encountered having that one with samus but that could be hilarious because it’s the only true 0-death I can think of that works out of shield lol. The only glitch I encounter (a LOT and i hate it now) is a visual one when you zair close to the ground and it makes the end of the zair shoot out like a projectile and by the ledge it just keeps going into the edge of the screen. When patch 3.0 hit I was like omg this is the most amazing edgeguard move in the game until the next patch but then I tried it online and realized the “projectile” zair is just an animation with no hitbox lol.
Yeah I started using samus here recently and got her up to 4.1 mil gsp. I've hit some banger combos and crazy games but dk is my main then Mario to CF then samus. But samus is by far my favorite and my fastest character to learn only a day and got pretty good with her. But yeah definitely try those techs out brotha
People barely speak of the down B... I use it to block, confuse, distract and to safe myself from up B attacks from characters below me. In melee, I can spam it and then immediately to an aerial
Really nice video! Probly one of the only good Samus guides out so far! I just picked dark Samus up cuz I just really enjoy playing her. Can you explain to me how to recover (hit myself ) with the down b bombs effectively ? I can’t seem to get it right. Nice vid again !!
@Brent Golobich hey thanks bud! Ok so morph bombs are honestly not nearly as good for recovery as in melee, so first off don’t try to recreate that all the time. Basically the most effective way to Bomb bounce imo is to do it like a one-two, where you drop the first bomb that you will bounce on, and then use a second bomb to move back over to where the first bomb is to bounce on it. You can bounce on the second one too but it’s not worth almost always. You can use Bomb bounces off stage mostly to stall your recovery, otherwise you can just use the added air speed while you’re a morph ball to gain horizontal distance without bouncing. Bombs are much more offensive in this game I think, they can be used to set a trap to start combos, from above to add shield pressure and cross up mix ups, and to ledge trap. Focus more on those things when it comes to down b tactics and you’ll probably get better much faster than practicing Bomb bouncing; although it is most definitely helpful as a recovery/stalling in the air move. Samus needs a creative playstyle, so experiment and use those bombs as another tool for the mind game. Thanks again man, cheers!
@@Dr.Jay. I highly agree that the bombs are more offensive in this game, but as the old saying goes a good offense is a great defense. I find that people tend to run into the bombs a lot against characters who are good at staying on top of you ( almost anything high tier except maybe snake) simply dropping bomb often can defend you from a lot and start getting damage on your opponent. This FORCES them to slow down and as you said before that is a good place to be as a Samus player, in the slower game. Another thought, her fair is way stronger in this game and compete with even some of the best characters in the air like Lucina. When I play my brother he spends half the time cursing my flamethrower (he mains Lucina and I main Samus). I'm a little surprised you didn't mention her meteor smash, for I have killed people as low as 20% with it. There are many characters that a back throw into a meteor smash is simply devastating if the try low recovers, and fair or charge shots can punish high recovers.
Thanks bud! If you wanna get gud with samus practice spacing your tilts, cancelling charge shot into stuff, and make sure you can approach (usually you follow a projectile or dash dance grab/dash attack to do this) because while she is a solid defensive zoner and all, characters like young link will force an approach and make it hard to get a charge shot without first getting a ko. Peace!
Due to the projectile height difference actually effecting the same subsets of characters, even in crouch, I feel the higher projectile is actually slightly better since it catches jumpers.
@CaseOfSpades true but I definitely still prefer the lower projectiles because it’s easier to 2 frame ledge grabs imo and I like to shoot while jumping or landing in some mu’s so I’m generally a bit off the ground anyway
I main dark Samus and whenever I try playing Samus I seem to miss my back airs a lot. There has to be a difference in how many frames some of thier moves come out because I notice a big difference when it comes to back airing which makes me only able to play dark Samus since I'm used to the timing but I cant play both samuses simultaneously.
All the fire emblem characters a long with cloud and Schult are by far my favorite to beat. They're really predictable. If you are against any sword wielding fire emblem character wait to see their play style. If they jump slash a lot, spam bombs and place them correctly, wait for any open air jumps and attack with either zair or Normal air attack (kick or fire blast) easy peazy
nice summary. maybe you could do one with detailing (dark) samus' combos? also a tip, your voice could have been a little louder. either decrease the music volume or speak louder :P
I'm having trouble performing the mid air pivot with the charge shot. Does anyone have any extra tips. I'm doing what the video says but Idk if I'm just not timing it right
Where is the highlight on the greatest move of all, her f-air! It‘s so great to catch jumps which are super easy to force with her projectiles. It‘s hitbox is quite far away from samus and hitting it on the very edge provides very little counter play for the opponent. It looks cool, feels great and is one of the best moves in the game in my book.
Hi I'm trying to find my main and for that I'm looking at the strengths and weaknesses of the characters in the game. I can see what are Samus' strengths, but I can't find her weaknesses... She must have some, otherwise she wouldn't lose any games. Can you please enlighten me on this?
They put a blanket nerf to all projectiles against shields in 3.0.0. This applies to Samus, now she can't pressure shields anymore, let alone break them. And her jab still stinks. Thanks Nintendo.
@Michael Bowman yeahh I miss the easy shield breaks. Don’t be discouraged though because it’s just the charge shot on shields that changed (although obviously parry changes nerfed all projectiles slightly) and it’s still easier to break shields with samus than most characters, and shield pressure is still 100% doable and better than a lot of characters for sure. Her jab still stinks tho lol still useful so it’s not as bad as commentators and a lot of people think like you should still use it in some situations(although mostly just the first hit), it’s just one of the worst in the game
This doesn't really have so much to do with samus in particular, but I think I heard you mention that peach was a good counter pick to swordies like Marth and lucina, and I was wondering what makes her a good counter pick? Does her float make her good at spacing them out or something? How does she get in on them?
@Jay man did I say that? Hmm well I guess not a great counterpick, but at least an even matchup. Peach has amazing off stage and good projectile game, and the marthlikes have bad recovery and get juggled pretty easily so there’s that. Obviously Marth/Lucy’s fairs are really good in that mu, but if you can punish a whiff or get a punish out of shield (which peach is amazing at due to float canceling) with peach you should be good to go. Debatable matchup, but I feel that a defensive peach with fast float cancelled bairs oos and to space and that has good edgugarding should do very well
@3DI so only her charge shot had that change even though the new parry sorta nerfs all projectiles. Shield breaks are definitely still there and shield pressure hasn’t changed much but that nerf does make it way harder now. Will definitely talk about the new shield break setups and stuff in future samus videos, as I’m actually doing an entire video on charge shot, one on bombs, one on zair, etc. Aside from those I’ve still got the second half of the samus matchup chart to talk about it as well.
Imo the worst part of the update might just be the mewtwo buff. Using bombs you can still frame trap shielded enemies despite the buff to parrying projectiles so I don’t even think that matters too much. Also random but there’s now a visual glitch on landing zair and at first it was cool but now its really annoying me lol
Its a normal missile, the other is homing. Why does everyone call it super lol... the homing missile is slower because of the extra weight (radar or heat guided). IF one wanted to be a nerd about it.
@Nick Woodman Hey bud, yes I made all the songs! just did it for fun to go with the videos so they aren't up anywhere else (and most of the ones in this are like not actually finished) but I'm starting a thing on the side making songs inspired by the play styles of smash characters so you'll be able to hear most of these tidbits in finished songs when I start uploading those. Thanks for the interest tho!
@@Matter_Of_Fact Thanks so much bud! Ive got a fun/goofy video coming on like tuesday involving both smash and music, but by wednesday ill be back on the guide grind. I'm thinking dk next because I've got a lot to say about him, but after that I'll be taking a vote on who next if you've got anyone in mind. Thanks again; I've been making music and labbing game strats all my life but mostly kept to myself about it. The support and feedback I've been getting since starting on here is really inspiring me to kick it up a notch on both ends and go public with it. Much love and peace bro!
@indo popstar to turn around both your direction and momentum, press b then immediately flick the control stick in the opposite direction from where you’re facing. To simply turn the way you’re facing without changing your momentum quickly flick the stick in the opposite direction that you’re facing and let it go back to the neutral position then immediately press b. You can cancel a charge with a jump or double jump and charge again afterward, but note that you won’t be able to cancel charge easily if you’ve already used your double jump
Great video. I have been a Samus main since N64. You're right, it is the chess player's character.
Aeriesune0 Me too. Maybe I should send my friend code
This. I've also been maining her since 64. This vid is spot on with how i play her strategically, and I learned some things too. Best samus guide I've seen yet
@@aintfalco7968 no u
@@spiteful6494 Replying to a futile question, you're pathetic to even acknowledge him.
@@legodarkmetal not questshun is staytment bict
My friend plays Samus hyper aggressively and it's super scary.
I do too
Wait do i know you? I play samus like that
To you it might seem hyper aggressive, like how one can make seemingly aggressive plays in chess, I too play Samus aggressively because I know I have tools that I can fallback on and and take others by surprise.
Its like having a gun knowing the opponent wont expect a punch, and when they start expecting the punch you just step back and shoot them.
Matt Sonneillon very well said. I also play Samus aggressively and like to camp as a mixup
i play her like that too
As a Samus main I appreciate this so much. Thanks for the insight!
The threat of an attack is definitely a big part of Samus's game. But also baiting options as well.
Conditioning reflectors can be big thing to consider as well, especially since her Super Missile has a delay which makes it easier for opponents to see it coming and react with a reflector and her fully charged beam can beat a reflected super missile if they are baited into a reflector. Catches a lot of opponents off guard, plus it saves wasting a charge shot for conditioning. Of course it won't work on characters who can hold their reflector like Fox and Wolf, but characters like KKR, Palutena, Falco, Ness and Lucas, etc can be baited effectively.
Or even better, characters who can't reflect might pull their shield up. A super missile plus an immediate fully charged beam will instantly break any shield.
if you are far enough away, even the weaker missle won't do much since you can move around it. also can bait them with that and then rush for a grab.
Since joker came out.... I've had a blast baiting them to absorb my charge shots and just go in for a grab... Or throw out a homing missile, since it's slower, and go for a grab and just keep doing non stop until they give up on doing it at all or decide to use it after I gave it a 10% charge so that they don't "waste it".....
Ahahahahahaa.
Hey everyone! Tonight (around 9) and tomorrow I’ll be streaming on here labbing samus and going through each matchup more in depth. Tune in if you’re looking for more tips or have any questions!
Really liked this guide! I haven't found many guides on how to play Samus in Ultimate, so I'm happy to say this one was super helpful for me (just got Smash Ultimate, and I haven't played much Smash before at all). The comparison to Samus as the "chess-player's-character" and the Empty Fort Strategy description were really useful for explaining her playstyle. Long story short, I learned a lot from this guide. Thank you for making it!
I've always played Samus as a "come and get me, " kind of gal, and you summed it up with her defensive style.
Threaten with charge shot, zone with missiles, up tilt into up special. Glad to hear I'm on the right track!
Seeing that shield break at 7:46 made me sad, bomb/missile to charge shot doesn’t work anymore
BigOof it still works for me
It...still works dude 😅 missle into 100% charge shot always breaks shield
It doesn’t break full shield anymore. Because: 1. Projectiles do less shield damage as introduced in an earlier patch and 2. Everyone’s shield size/durability has been increased as of the 2nd to latest patch. Only works if opponent already used about 25%-30% of their shield already.
@@grandeur2800 really? I have a buddy who is a samus main and he gets me with missle -> charge shot quite a bit...I need to see this for myself. Off to training mode!
I really appreciate this video, it’s been difficult to find much Samus play or tips for Ultimate. Definitely agree with the chess analogy, you have to predict and plan where you want your opponent to be.
Just a few additions. When gone flying off stage fire a quick homing missile to help recover back on stage.
Throw forward then F-air. Great mini combo
Also F-air is a key defensive tool because it lasts so long. Thanks guys
Dair also has a spike but is a tad risky and morph ball bombs are also fantastic for opening up hard to approach characters. Especially rush downs that can't afford even a few frames of vulnerability and are easily fooled by them. Makes for fantastic grab openings charge blasts or zoning if needed
I forgot I was watching a smash video when @9:00
Mason Haggerty that story really changed my view of Samus
As a Samus main this is the best thing I found
This is the best guide I've seen so far on samus. I've mained samus since 64 and already knew and did a lot you've explained in the vid while seeing some things I need to add to my playstyle. Definitely would recommend
I agree about her jumping up on the tier list. Samus has always been either my 3rd or 4th option since melee but now that she's able to kill with Up B and up tilt fairly easily, she's very dangerous
@Kevin Salinas I love melee samus, also my third in melee after doc and falco. Seeing more recent players like plup with samus makes a lot of people think samus was really good in melee, but I think her tools are stronger now. Aerial charging is such a huge buff, she’s a mix up monster now even if she doesn’t have the cc punishes or missile tech from melee, and I personally think zairing is still very useful (should have mentioned it more in the video but I was wrongly assuming I was talking to sm4sh players who already knew about it) but it’s not as good imo because it has to be perfectly spaced to hit short characters which are really prominent rn. I think missiles were her best tool in melee, zair in brawl, and charge shot and maybe zair in sm4sh. But her charge shot is so buffed that i think it’s the single most useful samus move in any smash game by far. Considering making a more advanced samus guide talking about zair tricks and specific combos but we’ll see
Great video. I've always played Samus and Yoshi since 64. Glad you had informative videos on both.
Huge credit to Dr. Jay for the analysis! I liked, subbed and I’m commenting for channel support to this guy! Couldn’t agree more with the mind games chess aspect of ‘Samus’ in particular. I honestly feel, when playing human opponents especially 1v1, this makes her a higher tier character. Even if facing a fox/falco with an extended reflect, a player can over and over set an expectation to the opponent for the sequence of charge.missile.attack.blast.shield.roll.dodge.attack.etc.repeat. The human brain has evolved and is conditioned to recognize patterns, so let them see one where there is not, invest time doing the same thing (maybe even let them take a stock on you) thinking you’re a repetitive idiot, then completely and constantly change up the order and timing on those input commands once you see them get used to and react to it in the way you want. Again, on the human mind, works like a charm even playing as other characters. Sometimes when I play online I do nothing for a while making the opponent think I’m “AFK” and when they least expect it I go full ass Kaioken! Then back to absolutely nothing. Confuses the shit outta people!😂
Thank you for this. I’ve been waiting for a quality Samus guide for Ultimate. Well done.
I love the nice pace of information in this video! Thank you for cutting out the fluff and getting to solid points! I'm hoping to claim more tournaments with our gal, Samus!
As a (Dark) Samus main, I appreciate this guide. Though I always felt Dark Samus was the better of the two when maining this character.
@Ruufihs Zorophox so apparently people in the samus discord recently found out that both of dark samus’ rolls are actually slightly better than samus’. I think that this may be patched out to make them more equal, but even just the difference in projectile height is enough to make dsamus better imo
@@Dr.Jay. yep yep -d.samus is better, but regular samus has heart!
dsamus has better hurtbox positions that make her smaller on screen. lsamus has a better air grapple for baiting opponents.
@@AfroSnackey I feel like dark samus is too slow and floaty. A lot of my strategy revolves around her dash smash and it just doesn't feel as tight with her dark version.
What is dark samus??? I only know samus and dunkle samus
This gives me ideas for combos thankyouu..samuss movements and quick attacks are so good for set ups for other attacks or combos
LOVE THE GARAGEBAND TRACKS IN THE BACKGROUND
yes I'm a huge garage band nerd and know many tracks.
Ty good sir
This is a fantastic video. You deserve more subs. Keep up the great work!
I've been a Samus main since Melee. The funny thing is, I'm a super casual, and I never really learned to use the more complex game mechanics like grabs, dodges, and shields. I only ever jump and attack. But I play Samus so often that I can often beat my brother, who's objectively a much better player than me.
You're right; playing Samus is very strategic. You gotta stay near/below them, keep a charge shot primed, and patiently wait for the opportunity to strike.
I'm a little late, but I really like your style. Maybe your reading could use a little help but the script of this video is top notch. I really enjoyed listening to what advice you had to give.
Very informative. Since Smash 4, I've begun maining Samus and King Dedede, so this helped me quite a bit, thanks.
Same but i use Dark samus instead of Samus
Nice Samus guide, i need to improve in my shielding and those back airs kick... those are insanely useful.
@Miau Lee thanks! One random thing I’ve been noticing is that smaller characters have a much easier time dodging stuff like her back air or zair, because you have to wait and time the attack to hit low to the ground. Tilts are the counterplay. Shielding is incredibly important in this game even without the parry mechanic, definitely practice punishing hits on your shield with aerials (I like nair on fast hits and dair against laggy moves but situational) oos. Juggling with uair is extremely good if the opponent isn’t yoshi or something (air speed) but it’s so easy it doesn’t take much practice. Peace bud!
:o TY!!
Use neutral air attack. That kick has unexpected launching power. Useful when they think youre all range and you close in . ;b so satisfying to see
On top of the FE matchups being rough for Samus, I find Cloud particularly hard to deal with.
Trev C Same here...
Basically all sword fighters.
Samus has been one of my strongest characters since day 1, and I'm always interested in more strategies and ideas. Great video!
I also appreciate the lack of expletives.
Yeah i see where you're going with the Yang history. I knew about that one, applying it on hard hitting characters can make wonders
Do mewtwo next! There's little/no information on him online, and this video was dope af.
One thing I'd like to throw in there is the value of dropping bombs before going for a grab as Samus doesn't get tossed around if she's doing an action on top of a bomb, with the added benefit of the bomb's damage hitting the enemy during your grab as well as simply making an extra hitbox for them to worry about if they want to run in or jump at you. This is something I've come to do fairly often, and I'd go as far as to say you can condition the enemy with it by making them think you're going for another grab because you put a bomb down, and will attempt to jump. Then, instead of going for the grab, just challenge their air attack with a aerial of your choice.
Another tip I saw was to jab once then shield then punish, as her 1 2 isnt very good, or jab 1 then down tilt. Also using tether mid air is good for spacing. Great video btw.
@Mitchell Bruce Very true, the full jab is pretty unreliable and you can’t jab grab now. I personally like jab 1 into shield grab for opponents that expect the second jab and try to interrupt itYeah I really should have talked more about her zair (tether) but I just don’t think it’s as important as the last two games. Still a very very good tool though, honestly regret not coming up with some tips for it totally slipped my mind lol
@@Dr.Jay. Sounds like you should do another one lol 😏 I wouldnt mind your voice being a bit louder tbh.
I think another solid tip is to drop bombs over heavies trying to up B like DK or DDD, idk if you covered it might have missed it.
True true, honestly I’d like to redo all 4 of my current videos with better sound quality and a few more tips I’ve picked up. Probably will at some point, but I’ve been working on the next few videos i have planned for a long time so they take priority. Finally have some time the next few days to take my time making them, and now I sorta have some experience editing so hopefully they’ll sound much better lol
@@Dr.Jay. Subbed and looking forward to it 👍
I've been playing Samus since Smash64. This video was very informative and i love it. Subbed👍🏾
Thanks man never really played samus in smash but since ultimate she feels alot better to me and is pretty much my go to character.
Awesome video. I’ve always been somewhat iffy about Samus. Love the character but needed some more tips as I may pocket her. Please make more guides!
@Sparktier so I’ve been finding some weird samus tech, I think im gunna do a quick samus advanced tricks guide tomorrow and a metagaming (counterpick) kind of Guide the following few days. Thanks budddy!
Dr. Jay would love to see what they are so I’ll be looking out for it!
What a scholar. You clearly know Samus as a fighter. She’s been my main since N64, and with as good as she seems to be in Ultimate, that’s not changing soon :)
As a Metroid fan ZSS as my main and Dark Samus/Samus is perfect. Great guide btw 👌🏾 just got into smash and this video is really really helpful
Great video! I main Samus, now and forever. N64 veteran bringing the pain of nostalgia! Lol
Samus main here since smash 4 , amazing video and great to see comparisons . Watch out for “salgoat” he’s on the come up in Ultimate
Thank God someone is actually doing decent character guides!
Thanks for the tips, I don't play a lot of competitivec, but I will use these tips when I get to competitive. P.S. love your videos. :)
Nice. I think I play like this most of the time. I agree a good fire emblem character like Lucina can go to town on me and pretty much get away with spamming nair and fair approaches, even dash grabbing through my bombs. I've beaten back some of those Lucinas for making a single mistake as you said and have been 3 stocking a couple of competent players who used their good moves and set ups on me.
I even recently beat a DK who got me to my last stock at freaking 150% and cargo jump back throwed me to what would have been a kill if I hadn't DIed away, the counter to being sent up. I then finished him with a Fair (that awesome anti air flame thrower) that killed him at 200%.
I'm glad her neutral B was buffed over 4 cause I already lived and died by how well and often I'd use it back in 4. Sometimes a match would come down to wether or not I could time a shot right as an enemy approaches. And I'm still jumping and shooting to heavily punish defensive aerial approaches. I even threw a Lucina upward and finished her by double jumping up and a decent distance to one side and firing where she'd fall into the shot, confused I'd throw it out up their as I hadn't done that yet over the matches we fought.
And her fast falling back air to the backs of enemies heads has let me virtually instantly punish. I even got it to work on a little Mac who thought he'd just dash up and punch me only to die instantly instead.
And let's not forget it feels like her grab had a frame data buff.
tips for play samus:
-not necessary u need to play pasive, its depend of the match but is the recomended because the grand part of the people that use their main is a counter of samus(ex: ike, roy, link, marth, cloud,etc), thats why very people put it on low tier-mid tier
-u can cancel your charge shot to confuse ur enemy for put him in a bad position, its recomended to do that for a few characters that have parry shields (fox, wolf, falco,palutena,rob,etc)
--in another cases is better play with super missile or regular missile (charge shot in some cases) not to much , just because the lagging (more the super missile) and this could be some advantage for the oponnet that have so much chase on u, so play it with some space and carefully
-dont use up smash if u arent sure to hit it on the opponent, (this is the most lagging move of samus) and can cost u a stock or a match, so use it carefully
-one of the most advantage to play with samus is her recovery, she have a lot of option to recovery and a lot of resource to have more range, and this is a benefit because samus is tanky u can keep stay int the stage for 200% or longer (obviusly depend how good u are to recover or how good ur oponnet know about the matchup) have the grape beam, mophball situation can help u, up B, even the impulse of the charge shoot can help u just a little bit (in the most of the case u dont need it).
-use constantly ur charge shoot (even isnt charge) because produce a little stun to ur oponnet, thats bring u the chance to go aggressive to do damage on melee range. is recommended to keep charge the beam just beacuse ur oponnet can allow u the space to do that again, so use it in situations, (for me is worth to use constantly, because i play aggressive with samus the most of the times)
some tips for samus i hope that u can use it, i have more but need more time to explain
samus is a funny character to use, try it to play as ur style u want :D
Edit: some samus players to learn how to use it: YB, Kicker (there are more but i like their style)
Love the Vid, fellow Samus main here. I suggest you put a black outline behind the white text so it stands out better! Otherwise great stuff!
Awesome video! Loved the part with the chinese story! Thank you
Just the video I needed
Yay! I keep forgetting reverse b in the air... That will be of use. Thanks for the new and good Samus guide. I’m loving the new music in the video, too.
Oh yes, aerial charge shot shenanigans will be everywhere in top level play. No problem, and thanks!
Remember when everyone (except me lol) thought that Samus was going to suck at the pre-release days?
Times have changed indeed.
I've learned that bomb jumping to avoid hits or just laying them behind is a great tool for defense against alot of of aerials and decreases their options.
You should make this into a series. I know this is outdated now, but good job bro.
@Aatu Stoutamire hey thanks bud! Do you mean for Samus? Because I am actually doing that lol, I have a part two up already to this (not sure why it doesn’t show up for a lot of people) and I’m doing a series of one video for each of samus’ moves, starting with down b this weekend. I’m sure I’ll make guides on more characters, but seeing as most of my time has been spent labbing samus and I’m getting decent results with her I’ll mostly be focusing on her. Will probably do more “how to beat” character guides though for a lot of the top tiers and future dlc
Damn great explanation. Always liked samus but found dificult to use. Definetly trying again.
Cool video man, I wish there were vids like this for more characters. I'm currently playing Cloud so I would like a pretty easy video to understand.
Way more useful to me than anything else has been.
Empty fort ref was dope
Great video! The music is great, though if you're open to feedback I would make your voice a tad louder for a better volume ratio. Love my girl Sammy
I think the charge shot shield break just recently got nerfed.
@L-Y3T yes it did. Don’t worry I’m currently making a new updated/advanced guide where I talk about the cons/pros of recent patches. You can still get shield breaks pretty easily in certain matchups (but significantly less often) but now cs actually has 6 or 7 more frames of shield stun so it’s still good to land on shield, aka it still forces your opponent to jump, dodge, or parry or get punished
I think your channel has a lot of promise. Nice video
the missile height difference supposedly does not actually allow you to hit lower crouched opponents. The difference is slight enough to where those who would be hit by either, will be. Just something to note.
The quote in the video was good.
Get them to high percent use back air down air they shouldn't die if enough percentage foward air x2 use final smash your welcome
10:12 that made me laugh more than it should have
A little late but I found a 0 to death for samus but involves a screw attack item. With the screw on, jump once, up attack, jump again, up attack and use recovery. Also. Found a glitch with her as well but in special smash. Put tiny, light and use down special the whole time you'll go up in the air just like the double Luigi unlimited air glitch
@Gengarrr III that’s actually really funny, i love smash 64 item combos so this just made me imagine the possibilities in ultimate. I’m lame so I never use items and haven’t ever encountered having that one with samus but that could be hilarious because it’s the only true 0-death I can think of that works out of shield lol. The only glitch I encounter (a LOT and i hate it now) is a visual one when you zair close to the ground and it makes the end of the zair shoot out like a projectile and by the ledge it just keeps going into the edge of the screen. When patch 3.0 hit I was like omg this is the most amazing edgeguard move in the game until the next patch but then I tried it online and realized the “projectile” zair is just an animation with no hitbox lol.
Yeah I started using samus here recently and got her up to 4.1 mil gsp. I've hit some banger combos and crazy games but dk is my main then Mario to CF then samus. But samus is by far my favorite and my fastest character to learn only a day and got pretty good with her. But yeah definitely try those techs out brotha
People barely speak of the down B... I use it to block, confuse, distract and to safe myself from up B attacks from characters below me. In melee, I can spam it and then immediately to an aerial
Really nice video! Probly one of the only good Samus guides out so far! I just picked dark Samus up cuz I just really enjoy playing her. Can you explain to me how to recover (hit myself ) with the down b bombs effectively ? I can’t seem to get it right. Nice vid again !!
@Brent Golobich hey thanks bud! Ok so morph bombs are honestly not nearly as good for recovery as in melee, so first off don’t try to recreate that all the time. Basically the most effective way to Bomb bounce imo is to do it like a one-two, where you drop the first bomb that you will bounce on, and then use a second bomb to move back over to where the first bomb is to bounce on it. You can bounce on the second one too but it’s not worth almost always. You can use Bomb bounces off stage mostly to stall your recovery, otherwise you can just use the added air speed while you’re a morph ball to gain horizontal distance without bouncing. Bombs are much more offensive in this game I think, they can be used to set a trap to start combos, from above to add shield pressure and cross up mix ups, and to ledge trap. Focus more on those things when it comes to down b tactics and you’ll probably get better much faster than practicing Bomb bouncing; although it is most definitely helpful as a recovery/stalling in the air move. Samus needs a creative playstyle, so experiment and use those bombs as another tool for the mind game. Thanks again man, cheers!
Wait, did you call dark samus a she? It's a genderless parasite, not a woman. I'm sorry for being snobby, but I'm a HUGE Metroid fanatic.
@@Dr.Jay. I highly agree that the bombs are more offensive in this game, but as the old saying goes a good offense is a great defense. I find that people tend to run into the bombs a lot against characters who are good at staying on top of you ( almost anything high tier except maybe snake) simply dropping bomb often can defend you from a lot and start getting damage on your opponent. This FORCES them to slow down and as you said before that is a good place to be as a Samus player, in the slower game.
Another thought, her fair is way stronger in this game and compete with even some of the best characters in the air like Lucina. When I play my brother he spends half the time cursing my flamethrower (he mains Lucina and I main Samus).
I'm a little surprised you didn't mention her meteor smash, for I have killed people as low as 20% with it. There are many characters that a back throw into a meteor smash is simply devastating if the try low recovers, and fair or charge shots can punish high recovers.
Wake up and try to do something productive ( )
Talk to a girl ( )
Correct people on the internet misgendering Dark Samus ( ✔ )
this video confirmed on why i should main Samus, thats my bottom bitch. Great video
Thanks bud! If you wanna get gud with samus practice spacing your tilts, cancelling charge shot into stuff, and make sure you can approach (usually you follow a projectile or dash dance grab/dash attack to do this) because while she is a solid defensive zoner and all, characters like young link will force an approach and make it hard to get a charge shot without first getting a ko. Peace!
Due to the projectile height difference actually effecting the same subsets of characters, even in crouch, I feel the higher projectile is actually slightly better since it catches jumpers.
@CaseOfSpades true but I definitely still prefer the lower projectiles because it’s easier to 2 frame ledge grabs imo and I like to shoot while jumping or landing in some mu’s so I’m generally a bit off the ground anyway
Super small diff though
Congrats on 100 subs!
(I am your 100th sub)
I main dark Samus and whenever I try playing Samus I seem to miss my back airs a lot. There has to be a difference in how many frames some of thier moves come out because I notice a big difference when it comes to back airing which makes me only able to play dark Samus since I'm used to the timing but I cant play both samuses simultaneously.
I mostly play Samus and I agree that it feels a bit different, but it is hard to pinpoint on how they feel different.
awesome. for some reason i'm kind of interested in playing her at the moment
ColdRamen2 your tag is awesome lol
Dr. Jay thanks man!
All the fire emblem characters a long with cloud and Schult are by far my favorite to beat. They're really predictable. If you are against any sword wielding fire emblem character wait to see their play style. If they jump slash a lot, spam bombs and place them correctly, wait for any open air jumps and attack with either zair or Normal air attack (kick or fire blast) easy peazy
nice summary. maybe you could do one with detailing (dark) samus' combos? also a tip, your voice could have been a little louder. either decrease the music volume or speak louder :P
Ohh that shield break...how I miss it...
Very helpful :)
9 mins in, thanks Robert Greene
I love her juggle game. Its so fkn good! ^_^
4:00
What is that Incineroar's problem?! Use Revenge!!
RIP Samus shield breaks
mew2king tested the missile size difference. He determined it doesn't make a considerable difference. they will hit and miss the same characters
Amazing vid subscribed
I'm having trouble performing the mid air pivot with the charge shot. Does anyone have any extra tips. I'm doing what the video says but Idk if I'm just not timing it right
Where is the highlight on the greatest move of all, her f-air! It‘s so great to catch jumps which are super easy to force with her projectiles. It‘s hitbox is quite far away from samus and hitting it on the very edge provides very little counter play for the opponent. It looks cool, feels great and is one of the best moves in the game in my book.
Well done
Up B is also a good kill option.
4:23 Mewtwo is invincible
Hi I'm trying to find my main and for that I'm looking at the strengths and weaknesses of the characters in the game. I can see what are Samus' strengths, but I can't find her weaknesses... She must have some, otherwise she wouldn't lose any games. Can you please enlighten me on this?
As a samus main for 6 months, i think that the uncharged shot is better as it stuns leading into combos
I feel like Samus is the character you play if you want a beginners way of learning Pac-Man
Great guide!!!
They put a blanket nerf to all projectiles against shields in 3.0.0.
This applies to Samus, now she can't pressure shields anymore, let alone break them. And her jab still stinks.
Thanks Nintendo.
@Michael Bowman yeahh I miss the easy shield breaks. Don’t be discouraged though because it’s just the charge shot on shields that changed (although obviously parry changes nerfed all projectiles slightly) and it’s still easier to break shields with samus than most characters, and shield pressure is still 100% doable and better than a lot of characters for sure. Her jab still stinks tho lol still useful so it’s not as bad as commentators and a lot of people think like you should still use it in some situations(although mostly just the first hit), it’s just one of the worst in the game
This doesn't really have so much to do with samus in particular, but I think I heard you mention that peach was a good counter pick to swordies like Marth and lucina, and I was wondering what makes her a good counter pick? Does her float make her good at spacing them out or something? How does she get in on them?
@Jay man did I say that? Hmm well I guess not a great counterpick, but at least an even matchup. Peach has amazing off stage and good projectile game, and the marthlikes have bad recovery and get juggled pretty easily so there’s that. Obviously Marth/Lucy’s fairs are really good in that mu, but if you can punish a whiff or get a punish out of shield (which peach is amazing at due to float canceling) with peach you should be good to go. Debatable matchup, but I feel that a defensive peach with fast float cancelled bairs oos and to space and that has good edgugarding should do very well
I would really like to see your take on mewtwo strategy
It's called exclusively get in with fair and nair when they're too close
Just throw out projectiles otherwise
Drew Snider Fair is a really bad approach option
damn what a nice vid
Nailed it
Short updat. Her projectile shield damage got nerfed last patch. Maybe you can mention that
@3DI so only her charge shot had that change even though the new parry sorta nerfs all projectiles. Shield breaks are definitely still there and shield pressure hasn’t changed much but that nerf does make it way harder now. Will definitely talk about the new shield break setups and stuff in future samus videos, as I’m actually doing an entire video on charge shot, one on bombs, one on zair, etc. Aside from those I’ve still got the second half of the samus matchup chart to talk about it as well.
Imo the worst part of the update might just be the mewtwo buff. Using bombs you can still frame trap shielded enemies despite the buff to parrying projectiles so I don’t even think that matters too much. Also random but there’s now a visual glitch on landing zair and at first it was cool but now its really annoying me lol
I play chess! I suck at chess.... but it's fun! And that's why I'm a Samus main
"Power or Smash missile"
I uh-
I believe you mean Super Missile, there
Its a normal missile, the other is homing. Why does everyone call it super lol... the homing missile is slower because of the extra weight (radar or heat guided). IF one wanted to be a nerd about it.
Hey whats the music you used for this vid?
Edit: wait did you make that song?
@Nick Woodman Hey bud, yes I made all the songs! just did it for fun to go with the videos so they aren't up anywhere else (and most of the ones in this are like not actually finished) but I'm starting a thing on the side making songs inspired by the play styles of smash characters so you'll be able to hear most of these tidbits in finished songs when I start uploading those. Thanks for the interest tho!
@@Dr.Jay. you've done a fantastic job man keep it up!
@@Matter_Of_Fact Thanks so much bud! Ive got a fun/goofy video coming on like tuesday involving both smash and music, but by wednesday ill be back on the guide grind. I'm thinking dk next because I've got a lot to say about him, but after that I'll be taking a vote on who next if you've got anyone in mind. Thanks again; I've been making music and labbing game strats all my life but mostly kept to myself about it. The support and feedback I've been getting since starting on here is really inspiring me to kick it up a notch on both ends and go public with it. Much love and peace bro!
so confused how to do the reverse charge shot in the air
@indo popstar to turn around both your direction and momentum, press b then immediately flick the control stick in the opposite direction from where you’re facing. To simply turn the way you’re facing without changing your momentum quickly flick the stick in the opposite direction that you’re facing and let it go back to the neutral position then immediately press b. You can cancel a charge with a jump or double jump and charge again afterward, but note that you won’t be able to cancel charge easily if you’ve already used your double jump
Thanks helped a lot