Hero Log: Week 2

Hero Log: Week 2



This past weekend, I gathered up what little courage I had built up with my Hero so far and entered two tournaments. Despite how much I've been practicing him recently, it felt like I was taking too much of a risk in trying to win with him so early. If my main goal is to aim for 1st place in any tournament, then I must make sure that I am both well practiced in the characters that I plan to use and that I am mentally prepared to do so. As you can tell from this way of thinking about competition, I can get a bit too serious at times. My performance was a bit inconsistent during the first event I attended; I started to panic when things didn't go my way. My general playstyle in Smash seems to go against Hero's main gameplan, but I still managed to take the win in the Finals. It wasn't until I watched over the vods and saw my face in the camera during my matches that I realized I was being too hard on myself. I made sure to put a stop to that quickly during the second event, where I reminded myself to have fun with the whole learning process again. Things went a lot smoother from there, and I took 1st place with more confidence.



Hero may be the most fun I've had playing Smash since using Lucario back in Brawl. His slow but defensive Mana based style of play is very similar to the Paladin-esque classes that I always go for in any type of RPG. The problem is trying to translate that way of playing into Smash itself. If you've watched me play over the years, you'll know that I have a hard time telling myself to stay back a little, or to even hold a lead. Lucario was essentially rewarded for taking risks and for gaining more percent, while Ryu's punish game far outweighed any other decisions you tried to make with him. I have never played like that in Smash, but I am determined to make it work for Hero.



So what do I need to work on for Hero to make this possible? Perhaps a few of the pointers I have written out here can help with your Hero, too!



- Zapple is your best move. The range this Spell has, along with its special properties in being a disjoint and not a projectile, allow you to control the pace of the neutral game. Not to mention the 25% of damage it inflicts on the opponent if it connects! This Spell can force your opponents to Jump a lot in order to either approach you or to punish you for using it, which is what you want them to start trying to do.



- Spacing with Zap is very underrated. The frame data behind this move, and the disjoint it provides, allows you to safely poke and punish other options that would normally be too difficult to punish for a respectable 15%. This Spell is great for stopping Aerial approaches, as it can either be used to catch them in the air or to punish their landing.



- Frizz is great for stopping Dashes on the ground, and can be followed up on from nearly any distance. Unlike Frizzle, Frizz will pop their opponent straight up for you, giving you the chance to either Zap or Aerial them from a close-to-mid range, or a Zapple at long range. Ryuga has been showing this off very well with his Hero!



- Hold your ground! Staying grounded is the key to consistency with Hero. This is something Salem has mentioned briefly before, and it really is great advice to follow. Other than the Spells mentioned above, Jab and Dtilt are relatively safe options to utilize in neutral, along with the occasional Grab mix-ups, of course. Aerials can be very risky to use, because not only do they have slow start-up times, but it's actually very easy for your opponent to Parry each and every one of them. Instead, it is recommended to incorporate more empty hops into your play in order to play around your opponent's Shield. From there, you can decide whether or not it is safe to go for an Aerial Attack depending on your opponent's habits. Oh, and don't be scared to Roll a bit, either!



- Command Selection can be very overpowered when you are in an advantaged state. The best use I have found for the Menu so far is when you are ledge trapping your opponent. Flame Slash and Kacrackle Slash can cover every option at the ledge if spaced correctly, and it can also hit a little below the stage, making them great options for 2-framing! They are the most common type of Spells you can get on your Menu, too. But the strongest option of all is Magic Burst at the ledge. There is absolutely no reason for you NOT to choose this Spell when you are ledge trapping your opponent.



- Do not always try to fight your way out of a disadvantaged state. Hero's frame data on his Aerials is incredibly lacking, and they are very telegraphed. Remember to save your Double Jump, and do not be afraid to go for the ledge in order to gain its invincibility.



- Zoom is almost mandatory in certain matchups. Due to Hero's weak disadvantage state overall, it's usually best to search through your Menu a few times in order to activate Zoom offstage. His recovery can be very exploitable in the right hands, and some characters can even 2-frame punish his ledge grab consistently without much effort.



There's still a lot more to go over, but I will go ahead and stop there. A lot of these notes are more so common sense for stronger Hero players, but I hope they can at least serve as small reminders to all, including myself! My next tournament won't be for another week or so, but until then, I will continue grinding for experience. Thank you for reading!

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