Smash Ultimate Tips: Put the Pressure on Your Opponent!
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Smash Ultimate Tips: Put the Pressure on Your Opponent!

In competitive Smash, your playstyle will vary based on who you use as well as your opponent’s character. While everyone has a general idea of how to play, they might change it up when faced with an unfamiliar or losing matchup. Regardless of each other’s character or fighting style, one constant can make or break a player: pressure.

If you can play neutral well, or camp out, that’s great. But how are you capitalizing on your opponent and disallowing them from playing their own game? Even just a second in letting your opponent get their space back can allow them to turn the tides.

How can you tell when you’re not putting enough pressure on your opponent? Do you notice that you might be respecting your opponents too much? Instead of going in for the kill, you might be trying to just play chess with them. In doing so, you give them too many chances to come back.

Remember that Smash Ultimate is a mental game and one that you’ll only get better at with the proper psyche. As such, you want to become more confident in your own play and learn to keep the pressure on your opponents. Learn how to keep the squeeze on them and make them play your game instead.

Source: USA Today.

Space Control

Don’t press buttons. Know burst range. It’s okay to back off a little bit if you’re setting up projectile traps from a safe angle. It’s even okay if they do get back to center stage if you maintain control over your opponent’s movement. There’s a fine line between letting your opponent get their space back for free and lulling them in to set traps, punish landings, or punish approaches.

To do this means to understand the opponent’s burst range. To know burst range means to gauge how much space you have to play around your opponent’s radius without getting punished. For instance, if you’re fighting Robin, he has some projectiles like Thunder that go far. But how far does Arcfire go or how close can you get without getting popped by dash attack or Levin Sword Fair?

Knowing these in your matchup will make a difference with what you can get away with. This is the difference between being too anxious to get close enough to pressure your opponent and not sticking your neck too far out to get punished by your opponent’s approach. When you learn to manage your opponent’s burst range, you’re taking a major step in how well you can pressure them.

Source: The Guardian.

Final Thoughts

Remember that your ability to pressure your opponent comes from your ability to read and react to them. If you anticipate and guess moves too often, you’ll be pressing buttons and allowing your opponent to intercept or whiff punish you. Lay off the button-presses and use your movement options to get in close on your opponent before you decide to attack.

Chances are your opponent will be the one pressing buttons first. As you suffocate their range, you limit their options and what they can get away with. Players will feel nervous about your presence and how to react to you at close range. This is where you take command by whiff punishing without letting your opponent get away when you launch them. The next time you play online or at an event, try this option and see how much you feel improvement in your play.

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