-Written by Pommy17


Link - Overall, Link is a pretty slow moving character. He’s got a good variety of long range and short range attacks, and his sword gives him a bit of an advantage when attacking opponents with shorter reach. Link is heavier than most characters, which causes him to not go flying as high, but his jumping capabilities are not at all that good compared to the other characters.
     Obviously, Link’s Master Sword is his main line of offense, and almost all his attacks involve using it. Use the sword’s long reach to your advantage, but when up against Marth or Roy, be careful because their swords are more powerful and have better reach. Link doesn’t have to get in too close to do lots of damage, but the closer he is, the better. Link’s three Smash attacks all do quite a bit of damage, and they send your opponent flying very high. The Double Sword Slice (Smash Left or Right + “A” and then A again) is very powerful, and sends people flying the highest. It should be used at a bit of a distance, and almost every time you use the smash attack. Of course the third swipe on the upward smash attack is the most powerful and for the downward one, you should always face your opponent while using it, because it attacks forward first.
     The Running Hack (“A” while dashing) is quick, and should be used often to send an opponent flying upwards and a bit behind you. You can use it in many combos with Smash attacks on big and heavy characters.
     Pushing “A” repeatedly may sound like a cheap move, but it should be used often between attacks, or to get a quick hit on your opponent. The first three hits do quite a bit of damage, while if you can push “A” fast enough, and get the Illusion Stab going, you’ll do 1% damage each hit, at a very fast rate, racking up lots of damage if your opponent gets caught in it. This attack works well when up against characters faster than Link.
     Link’s basic “A” + direction attacks are not too good because they are very slow. The upward one should be used to hit an opponent who is above you, and has low damage. If he had high damage, it would be best to use the Triple Sword Swipe (Smash Up + “A”). The left or right basic attack should be used less frequently, or when up against slower characters. The downward attack is probably the best out of the three because it can be used as a Meteor Smash under certain conditions to smash an opponent downward off the edge of the stage. Other than that, it’s just as slow as the left or right basic attack.
     The Aerial attacks that Link has are very useful and powerful at the same time. The strongest is the Sword Plant (“A” + Down in the air) and can kill enemies with high damage if you land on them, by sending them flying up in the air. If you miss, and hit the ground, you should push “R” or “L” to recover quickly. The Stab-Up is the second most powerful of these, and it helps knocking enemies away from above you. Next, the two kicking attacks in the air are effective for just knocking the enemy away, but it won’t launch them into the air, and they’re not very powerful attacks, yet they are quick. Pushing forward + “A” in the air will make Link spin his sword around, sending your opponent flying away. This attack is slow, so it should be used a bit in advance, and it should be used on enemies facing the opposite direction as not to be countered easily.
     The Spin Attack; Link’s only “B” move that isn’t a projectile is excellent for use at any time in a battle. In multiplayer, use it to clear away anyone who’s around you. When up against a quick opponent who’s dancing circles around you, use it to attack from both sides of Link, hitting the foe no matter what side they are on. Of course the Spin Attack can be used as the third jump to help get back on the platform, while attacking anyone on the edge waiting for you. The Spin Attack packs a powerful final blow which can send any airborne opponents with enough damage off the screen. Use the attack in combos as well, especially with the Hookshot. Another thing to mention is that the Spin Attack does more damage, the closer your opponent is to the center of it.
     Link has 3 great projectiles at his disposal; the Bomb, Boomerang, and his Bow and arrow. You should throw the boomerang as often as possible, when your opponent approaches you. The Boomerang throws your opponent off guard. If he/she dodges it, it always comes back at them, giving you a bit extra time to run up and attack them. It’s also a good idea to try not to catch your own Boomerang on its return towards you. It usually slows you down, so try jumping out of the way, or rolling towards it to prevent losing your footing. Of course the Boomerang works great to hit opponents very far away from you and can be directed slightly up or down, using the control stick. All you have to do is throw the Boomerang in the opposite direction of your opponent, and jump away from it on its return to you, an it should fly past you, towards you foe. It may take a bit of practice to aim the Boomerang.
     Link’s Bow is also an excellent weapon. It can be used to slow opponents down, and it can even stop powerful attacks, along with the Boomerang. If up against an opponent with powerful attacks, such as Capt. Falcon or Ganondorf, you can use the Bow to stop them from charging at you with strong attacks like the Falcon Kick, or Gerudo Dragon. Then you can just run up and attack them-but that may be risky, because they may recover quickly, so roll behind them, and then attack. Use the Bow as a line of defense, to try and block attacks before they happen. Fire the Bow when enemies are charging up, when they are far away from you, or while running right at your opponent fire the bow and then attack. The Bow can also help set off traps in the level such as the bombs in the Green Greens level. You can also fire it at crates and such to open them up from a distance. Enough said about the Bow.
     Bombs are Link’s worst projectile attack, only because they can hurt Link himself. Bombs have horrible range, but they can be used to hit opponents where the Bow and Boomerang cannot reach, such as below or above Link. It’s best to pull out Bombs while falling in the air. Throw them down directly at your opponent to watch the reaction, and then move in quickly in on the attack. Be careful not to hit yourself with your own Bomb to prevent foiling your own plans. This method can also be used when you’re on the ground, and your opponent is trying to attack you or land on your head with a sword from above. Just send a Bomb flying upwards so that they can’t hit you from above. They’ll either have to dodge the Bomb, so you don’t get hit by the attack, or they’ll get hit, giving you lots of time to attack, and making them take damage. You can also catch your own Bombs in the air, which may trick your opponent, when you redirect the Bomb. You can throw it straight up in the air, and while your opponent comes running at you, catch the Bomb, and throw it quickly at them. This works best if you are about level with your opponent when you catch the Bomb.
     Link’s Hookshot is only very useful when you don’t miss with it. Only use it when you think you have a 90%+ chance of grabbing your opponent with it, or don’t use it at all. The Hookshot has excellent range, which means that Link doesn’t have to get close to an opponent to use it, and you should use it at a bit of a distance. Samus and Young Link are the only other characters with this advantage. If Link misses with the Hookshot, it will give the opponent tons of time to prepare a powerful attack. Even though Link’s throws don’t do a lot of damage at all, the Hookshot it great to set up combos. Once you grab an opponent, push the “A” button once or twice to rack up some damage, and then choose a direction to throw them in before they break loose. Throwing them upwards causes the most damage, and then you can jump in the air with a powerful Spin Attack or hitting them upwards with your sword. Usually though, try to throw them off the nearest cliff, and then if they are still too close to you, smash them away with a Smash attack. Throwing them downward and then using the Spin Attack is a great way to give them very little space, while causing the most amount of damage. If they are at high damage, the Spin Attack will send them flying. The best time to use the Hookshot so that you are almost guaranteed a hit is after you dodge an attack by rolling on the other side of your opponent. Big characters are very vulnerable to it, while short characters suck at Kirby, Pikachu, Pichu, etc. may be too short to even get hit by it, if the ground is uneven. The Hookshot can also be used in the air to deal damage to opponents. You can also use it to grab onto walls and hoist yourself up.
     Link’s shield can block most projectiles if they hit him in the shield when he’s not doing anything. You can duck, to narrow down your opponent’s target, and raise the percentage of Link that the shield is covering. It may also block attacks that you didn’t expect, such as Sheik’s Needles, which are barely visible. It’s best to try and reflect projectiles back, and if this fails, it’s most likely to hit either your Power Shield or Link’s basic shield. Link’s shield can block something as powerful as a fully charged up Super Scope blast, but it can’t withstand anything that blows up, or anything on fire.
     Link is a tough character to get used to, but once you master his moves, and can move easily with him, he’ll make a very worthy competitor.



Written by Aftermath

This is a complete guide to Samus, it includes complete move listings, strategies on when to best use them and general explanations on when to not, explanations on how fast they are, general priority, and damages for them. The damages are right under the name of the move and the first number signifies the damage you can do with it if it hasn’t degenerated any, the second is the least amount you can do with it. In the game, all decimals are rounded down. I also included the ways to do every single trick that I am aware of with Samus and hope to have someone with AR give the exact details of the super wavedash. There will also be a section on a few character specific strategies and combos that can be done with Samus. I'll also go over the importance of her wd.

Ground moves:

The A Moves:

Neutral A-
3%-1.5%

This attack comes out faster than any of her other moves and has hardly any knockback. However, it is good if you landed in front of someone's shield, this is fast enough to usually hit them before they can grab you. Although it has little knockback, it has decent stun and can be followed up with a dtilt to put the person in the air for a combo or another move that also comes out quickly. While this attack does not have priority over alot of things, it will cancel many of them, making the little ting and stunning both characters.

Good times to use:
Landed in front of someone's shield after an l-cancelled aerial, their first reaction is to shield grab, but this can usually some out first, thanks to their shield stun. Has priority over very little, can cancel other neutral A's and a few tilts though (pika's, yoshi's, pichu's, luigi, basically anyone’s that use their body to attack and don't have much range). Not recommended unless you need a very quick attack that won't leave you open if you miss and has a chance of canceling what the other person is doing.

Neutral A, A-
7%-4%

This attack has decent knockback and surprising range. It follows up perfectly after the first A or if you just barely missed it. It has more priority and a little lag, shouldn't be used too much but can come in handy sometimes since it stuns the opponent and knocks them away.
Good times to use:

After the first neutral A. Not recommended if the opponent has low damage, as they usually would recover sooner than you.

Ftilt-
10%-5.5%

Great range, comes out fast, good priority, and good knockback. This move can hit through nearly all other tilts (non-sword ones, save for shieks and ganons) because of its range and speed. It cancels the other tilts, but shiek can hit you again with hers before you can do yours again and gets hit by marth's, roy's, and a well timed link ftilt. With fast fallers, as long as they don't tech, you can do this all the way across FD at low-to-mid percentages. Also leads well into combo since it can set up pretty well for a dash attack or wavesmash (has to be quick). There is a small portion that is off of her foot that can hit as well, this disjointed hitbox is what you should try to hit with. Tilting this move up or down is also a good idea for shielders or people coming from the air, as it can be angled very high or low and can cancel or even hit through some character's air moves.

Good times to use:
Another character is running at you and you need something quick that will most likely hit over their dash attack. Someone is in their shield and there are exposed spots at the top and bottom, angle this of course. Someone is about to attack you, continuing their combo, but you recover just in time and manage to hit them back with this (ends up happening a lot). The best time in my opinion to use this is when someone just landed/ran/rolled/wd behind you and you need a quick attack that can knock them away. There's not a whole lot of situations where using this move puts you at a disadvantage (unless you're trying to hit a marth out of the air).

Utilt-
13%-7% (Opponent on ground), 12%-6.5% (Opponent in air)

This is an awesome move altogether, startup may be slow, but knockback is very high and is a meteor :D When hitting someone on the ground, it sends them straight up and can be used to hit people multiple times at low percentages if they don't DI out. When hitting someone in the air, it sends them sideways at a very deadly trajectory, usually nearly completely horizontal. It also can hit below the edge a little, this means it is one of Samus' best moves for edgeguarding. The timing may be awkward at first, but is worth it to knock away would-be edge sweetspotters. Also cancels or goes through many tilts and some smashes (shiek's, fox's, kirby's, etc.)

Good times to use:
Right after throwing someone with a dthrow/uthrow and want to get them away from you. After doing a dtilt at low percentages, goes right into this attack. Edgeguarding, hits below and has very high knockback. Good sometimes against someone coming out of the air at you. Not recommended for when you need a fast move to break a combo.

Dtilt-
14%-7.66%

In my opinion her best tilt, this comes out very fast, hits the opponent up and leads into nearly any combo. CC an attack into doing this move is the basis of many of my battles, unless it's against a peach. This will always put you at an advantage, and leads into long massive damage dealing combos and ends many people's lives. It has incredibly high priority and can be done pretty quickly of one another. Kind of useful for edgeguarding since it can hit them above you and let you give more damage before hitting them back off the stage. Since it also comes out fast it can be another combo breaker for Samus.

Good times to use:
Are being tilted/neutral A'd by anther character, this is fast enough to break the chain and will send the opponent into one of your combos. Have just been hit by a smash at a low percentage and were CCing it (great against foxes). Are running at the opponent and they are charging a smash, crouch right out of their range and do this when they attack. After doing a dthrow, is possible to use this to hit the enemy up for combos. Not recommended against peach, period.

Fsmash-
19%-10.5% (Fully Charged), 14-7.5% (Uncharged)

A very good smash that comes out fast has insane priority and range and very high knockback. The biggest downside to this move is it hits in the beginning, but she leaves her arm out there to get attacked. Despite what I had earlier, this move does not have more range than marth’s fsmash, but you can hit him while he’s leaning forward after the move. It does, however, have a long disjointed hitbox, and I’m always surprised how far away I can be and still hit with this. Great for edgeguarding, as it leaves you safe and hits the enemy far away off the screen. When angled downwards can just barely hit below the edge to knock off sweetspotters and hit below shields. When angled up can hit attackers out of the air. This move can basically hit through or cancel anything without getting hit yourself. This is very useful when going up against foxes, marios, marths (very hard to hit out of upB without getting hit yourself), and basically anyone that comes up off the edge at an angle or with an attack that is usually hard to hit.

Good times to use:
When someone is trying to come back from the edge, this hits them back off far and will usually end up in the person getting very frustrated. When you need a finishing move or something that will get the opponent off the edge and allow for Samus' awesome edgeguarding. When someone is coming at you from the air and thinks they're safe, a little upwards angle solves that. The enemy finishes their smash and realizes they're out of range, but your attack isn't. Not recommended for use unless you won't be left horribly open to attacks, seeing as how this move has a lot of lag afterwards.

Sorry if I got a little caught up in explaining how much this move pisses people off when they think they can hit you but you get them instead, it's just that it happens so often to the person I play most.

Usmash-
29%-17% (Fully Charged), 21%-12% (Uncharged)
5.25%-3.125% (First Four Fully Charged Flames), 8%-4.5% (Last Fully Charged Flame)
3.75%-2.25% (First Four Uncharged Flames), 5%-3% (Last Uncharged Flame)

Many people consider this the most useless of all of Samus' moves, but I think it's just VERY situational. This move is a good follow up attack as it can suck the opponent in and gives the most damage of any of Samus' moves. The major drawbacks to it are its lack of priority, lag afterwards, and lack of reliable knockback (ie only the lat hit sends them anywhere). Some players may never use this in a match, but sometimes it can be the best option to do.

Good times to use:
Right after a dtilt, this moves will suck them in and end up keeping them glued to the ground while this attack is going, then sending them up in the air for other attacks. Last minute defense against people coming from the air, though this is usually no the best option. Not recommended for abuse, or as a lead off attack, as the enemy will usually only be hit by the first flames and retaliate appropriately.

Dsmash-
21%-12% (Front Fully Charged), 16%-8.8% (Front Uncharged)
20%-11.25% (Back Fully Charged), 15%-8.33% (Back Uncharged)

Another very good smash that comes out fast and hits all around quickly with great knockback. This attack is great for wavesmashing with and CCing to as it comes out nearly as fast as the dtilt but has more priority. It goes through many characters attacks but does not seem to hit below the shield well for some reason. It can also be used as an edgeguarder since it will a lot of the time sweep the enemy into the wall, bouncing him/her back off at a low angle. While it doesn't have nearly as much range as the fsmash or the priority, it is still a very powerful attack that sends opponents into the sky and can break out of a combo.

Good times to use:
Basically it can be used anytime in place of the dtilt; the only reason to use the dtilt instead would be to have better combo ability from the move. The dsmash has good damage, but comboing is always better than just hitting once, although this can lead into a few combos. Not recommended for people coming out of the air, peach.

Air Moves:

Nair-
14%-7.66%

Also known as the sex kick, it is the most abusable aerial of Samus' and has great priority, lasts a long time, comes out and back in fast, good knockback, and hits all around you. This is the best move for stopping the enemy from continuing their combo on you since it will most likely hit them instead of you. The place to aim this is on you legs, nearer to your feet, as that will go through nearly every attack in the start of the animation. Your whole body may be protected, but many times you may just end up trading blow unless you connect with this. I find this is also a good move for running at someone you know is going to jump. It knocks opponents far away and sets them up for missiles or can be used to edgeguard. The only other sex kick that is nearly as good is luigi's, but does not have the range.

Good times to use:
Almost any, whenever the opponent is coming at you from the front and he/she is in the air. after you missile cancel a missile, you can run behind it, and , if you've been grabbing or dash attacking after this recently, jump up and hit them in the air. After someone grabs you and tries to start a combo on you, you do this and they get a nice foot in the face. Also if someone is coming from below you while you are being juggled, this is another option instead of bomb jumping to avoid them, Works because they will be used to waiting longer before attacking and not react to the fast falled sex kick in time. Not recommended against aerial marths as they have more range and you usually only trade hits.

Fair-
23%-13%, 4.5%-2.66% (Each Hit)

Another great move involving fire, although the priority and speed of this move may be less than that of her other moves, this is her second most damaging attack, assuming you hit with all the bursts of fire. This move is also situational, as it should mainly be used for people coming from above. Even then, it has little priority and many attacks will simply go through or hit both characters at best. It doesn't have much stun afterwards either, unless the opponent has high percentages and knocks the opponent upward. The one thing this attack is useful for is doing a lot of damage in combos and continuing them, since it can be followed up quickly by another move. Not that this needs much mentioning, but always l-cancel this attack, not that you don't need to on the other ones, it's just that this is her most laggy attack upon landing.

Good times to use:
Whenever the enemy is standing on a platform above you, this move has surprising priority over ground moves, and it's possible to hit with each burst of fire when used this way. If an opponent is coming from above you with an attack, as long as you hit with the flame while they're still away from you, this almost always cancel their move and hit with this one, allowing you to combo from there. Also useful for when you are coming back to the stage and still have your jump, you can jump and do this and the flames will be in a fairly straight line and do the damage while letting you back on (can also be done by edgehopping on). The only drawbacks to this are that the opponent will usually be waiting on the stage with an attack so there’s a possibility that you will get hit out of this, but still a good tactic to throw in every now and then. Not recommended when you are coming horizontally or from above someone, as it starts out only hitting above you and takes awhile to work down, unless you can time it well, but most of the time you're better off with a sex kick.

Uair-
10%-6%
3.25%-.75% (First Hit), .75% (Middle Four Hits), 3.75%-2.25% (Last Hit)

Another great aerial that comes out fast, combos well, has great priority and range, and is easily abusable. It overrides most attacks from above (save for marth and roy's sword and kirby's stone). This is also usually the second step in all of Samus' combos, and is well suited for protecting yourself from would be attackers. one thing I’ve been meaning to try and will post on when I test it is shielding when the opponent is coming from above very early, so they think they'll just land behind you and grab or attack, but jump out when they're above and hit with this. This strategy will become predictable after extended use, but as long as you change it up with other tactics, it may stay a viable option for protection. This move is also very versatile and may be substituted for the missile-run-jump-sex kick strategy that I do a lot. It's also very good for edgeguarding also as it has even MORE priority than the sex kick and knocks the opponent away a good distance on the last hit, great for following up with a missile or Bair.

Good times to use:
When the opponent is coming down on top of you with an attack, this negates theirs and hits with yours. If someone is attempting to come back from off screen high, this is a good move to hit them back off and set them up for more edge guarding. Basically the best use of this move is it's combo-ability, nearly every move that hits the opponent skyward can be worked into this one way or another and it has little lag afterwards so it can be quickly followed up by anything, even another uair (although a jump is usually needed). Not recommended against kirby's stone, when you're coming down to someone (may work, but I’ve had bad experiences with fox), or over used coming up to a falling marth.

Bair-
10%-5.5% (Normal Hit), 14%-7.66% (Sweetspot)

Yet another great aerial move for Samus, she's starting to sound broken... Anyway, this attack comes out as fast as her other aerials explained before and also has little follow up lag. It has crazy priority and range (possible to hit a marth out of a fsmash) and an odd placing of the sweetspot. This is placed about half the length of her foot to her knee off of her toes (meaning that it can hit MUCH farther away than it should). This is usually the combo finisher, although at lower to mid percentages it's possible to do a pseudo wall of pain on the more mid to slow falling speed characters. Also a decent edgeguarder, just turn around and hit the enemy as they come into your range, although this will send them the opposite direction you want if they are in front of where your hip is. When connected with that area it will send them horizontally across the stage but won't have the same knockback, as you get closer to the sweetspot, it sends them a little more vertically with more knockback, the sweetspot has very high knockback (near that of her fsmash) and sends them at about a 40 degree angle upwards. The only place this move is really vulnerable is from the bottom or the front.

Good times to use:
As a combo finisher, usually right after a fair or uair. Edgeguarding since it has priority, range, and great knockback, just make sure you try to get level with the opponent before hitting them, so you have the best chance of hitting them without getting hit. Use this after a dsmash when the opponent is at low percentages, as the dsmash will set them up perfectly for this and you can get off 1-3 of these. Basically, anytime the opponent gets behind you in the air and is at about the same level. Not recommended for running at someone and using in place of a sex kick, getting out of combos, you will usually be approached from the front/bottom, where this move is most easily hit.

Dair-
16%-8.8%

The other Samus meteor, and one of the best edgeguarding options. Unlike the last game this move has horrible startup times and a small window with which to hit with it. However, it has great priority, decent range, and good knockback and stun. Like most meteors, this is possible of spiking, and is the most common way for Samuses to edgeguard people coming back, although it can be meteor cancelled easily. Another good use of this move is short hopping, then a little after the peak of your jump use this and fast fall into the enemy, if they were on the ground this will knock them straight up and keep them stunned for a long time, at low percentages you can use this to set up for a uair. If you learn to time this well enough you can even get out of some juggles (never attempt against marth, only get you hurt).

Good times to use:
When the opponent is recovering and is about level with you (I highly recommend using the c-stick for this so you don’t accidentally fast fall to your death). When coming down from above your opponent, usually requires good timing and make sure you anticipate what the opponent is going to do correctly, because you’re screwed if you do it too early or late because you thought/didn’t think the opponent was going to jump. Also good for hitting the opponent up into the air when they’re on the ground. Not recommended if you can’t time it or need a fast attack.

The B Moves:

Neutral B-
25%-13.75% (Fully Charged), 3%-1.5% (Uncharged)

The charge shot and the most watched out for of all Samus’ moves. If you charge one of these, basically anyone you play will be wearier of your every move in an attempt to always dodge this. A good strategy into fooling your opponents into thinking you have an uncharged one is to stop charging it right before it’s full by tapping L/R and carrying that around for awhile. When you feel like using it, just use it in place of a missile cancel. This doesn’t always work, but is sometimes a good trick to pull. Also a well placed non-charged beam is sometimes good since it comes out faster than a missile and has pretty good stun. This should be used sparingly and only if you really don’t have anything else to protect yourself with, since it’s mainly a surprise tactic, but does have good priority. Other than this, try to keep one at least partially charged but don’t concern yourself too much with it, because usually once you have one, you’re eager to get it off, which may lead to mistakes. I mainly just charge it after I get a kill, otherwise it’s not that important to me and I don’t really care if I miss.

Good times to use:
Uncharged or less than halfway- Basically use this if the opponent is on top of you and you don’t have much else to protect you, if done sparingly this will throw off their timing by a surprising amount and let you do whatever you want to them. Another good use is to every now and then charge your beam while they’re recovering, they’ll think you’ll want to wait and think nothing of it, but shoot them when they’re at the right spot, this will surprise them and knock them back far enough to get edgehogged afterwards. Not recommended for a KO.

Fully charged or near it-
Use this when you think the enemy will least expect it, as this does a lot of damage and has a ton of knockback, using this immediately after a missile cancel is always good, because if you hit with the missile, chances are you’ll hit with the beam. Also, people have an uncanny ability to take their shield off after a missile even if there’s an even more powerful beam on the way. However, do not always stick to this; try to throw it in randomly in the middle of a combo. Keep in mind that the enemy will always be expecting this as your next move, so try and fight the urge to shoot it even if you’re both standing across form each other. Also a good edgeguarder if you can hit with it, as it will almost always kill. Not recommended when a fox/falco has their reflector on, when a doc/Mario can see it coming, or to be abused, it’s a good attack, but you usually have more options than just charging and shooting a beam. Also try not to get too predictable with it against marths/roys as they can counter it (although sometimes they still get hit out of it), and hit you back if you ran in.

Forward B:

Homing Missile-
5%-2.66%

This attack sends out a heat-seeking missile that moves slowly and doesn’t actually track the character very well. It has pretty low priority and very little knockback I do not like this move particularly well and am always disappointed when I see Samuses that don’t shoot any other kind of missile. It is useful in some situations and can screw up someone’s timing if you missile cancel a slow one, then a fast one. Or use it every now and then if they get used to jumping over them. One thing to remember though is it comes out much slower than the super missile, so you have to time the homing earlier. I find that, in most cases, it’s actually better to shoot an uncharged/partially charged beam.
As for edgeguarding with it, I’d say you’re still better off with a beam or super missile instead.

Good times to use:
Whenever the opponent has gotten very used to the super missile timing, you can use this to catch them off guard. Other than that, I don’t see much use to it. Not recommended for frequent use.

Super Missile-
12%-6.5%

The better of the two missiles, this comes out relatively slow but speeds up as it goes in a straight line. It has the same low priority but great knockback in comparison to the homing. It is capable of getting kills at higher percentages and is a move that is always stopping the opponent from coming at you the way he/she wants. Through missile canceling and timing the missiles you can make the opponent jump up into a waiting sex kick or run in behind and grab them while they shield. This is usually the most used move of any Samus and a great edgeguarder. Missile canceling is a must nearly anytime you land, even if the opponent can reflect it, you can always jump or shoot another missile. This move also opens up a whole new plethora of possibilities and is a great combo finisher since you don’t have to be near the opponent. On some smaller platformed levels this may become less important in a fight but can still let you position the enemy where you want him/her. All in all, it lets Samus have a lot of control over the flow of the fight. However, when fighting characters with ways to reflect projectiles, get used to jumping after a missile cancel.

Good times to use:
When landing, try to get it as close to the ground as possible so characters like shiek can’t duck it. If the opponent is from in front of you in air, or when they’re dashing at you while you’re about to land. When the opponent is off the edge at a higher level than you either jump up and shoot it to hit them back or missile cancel a few and let them fall into it. After doing a uair or bair the opponent will usually be in the perfect position to be hit by a missile. Not recommended for complete spamming, as there are numerous ways around that, also, don’t shoot one if a fox/falco is sitting with their reflector on.

Down B:
3%-2% (First Hit), 4%-2% (Explosion)

This of course lays a bomb, and after laying one it will give you a small boost upwards and air mobility that rivals Jigglypuff until you come out of your morph ball state. This attack always seems to take longer to come out when you need it and has a long lag time in which you can’t do anything else. It does however have good priority and never ceases to slow the opponent down at least a little while coming to you. Just like the missiles, this can be used to position the opponent where you want them and take advantage of them from there. This can also be used to stop would be jugglers from hitting you and throw off their timing (Note: when they get used to you doing this and simply wait longer to attack you, fast fall at them with a sex kick and always change it up from then on). Another good thing to do with the bombs is to use them as a sort of short hop, lay one then go towards/away from the opponent and lay another then go towards your original bomb for a little boost and do a sex kick or other aerial at the opponent. Another way to do this is to just lay one and go away from the opponent, wait about half a second after you stand up and then run at the opponent and receive the same boost, both these tactic soon become very predictable and easily countered, so don’t overuse them. The most invaluable thing about bombs is how much they help your recovery. When knocked off the edge, simply lay one in mid air, then lay another one as soon as possible afterwards, this will bounce you up into the first one’s explosion and you will receive a boost that will allow you to go back a significant distance towards the level, repeat as necessary until you’re within upB range or grappling range. However, this attack is much more helpful on some characters (shiek for example) than others (marth, bombs don’t even affect him).

Good times to use:
When the opponent is running at you, one option is to lay a bomb and then go away from them and wait for them to jump over and then hit them with a short hopped sex kick. Another option from there is to either shoot a missile or grab them if they’re just standing there waiting for it to explode. Other times to use this of course are when you’re being juggled or someone is coming at you when you both are in the air and the opponent is attacking. Another great use for it I’ve found is landing on a potential shield grabber’s shield with a few bombs, it takes it out very fast and they usually don’t know exactly what to do, because they get hit when they try to grab, when the shield gets low enough, hit them in their exposed spots with a missile, sex kick, bair, fair, etc. Not recommended against an aerial marth, as his attacks can go through both bombs and you with a single swipe, you’re better off just moving out of the way.

Up B
12%-7%
2%-1% (First Hit), ~.91%-.5% (Other 11 Hits)

The Screw Attack, this drags opponents up with you and hits them multiple times. It can be used out of a shield, as Samus’ alternative to shield grabbing. This does not do very much damage or have much knockback, but does have amazing priority. While I don’t use this for much else other than recovering, one of these at an unpredictable time can be helpful and if you do fast fall down, chances are that you won’t be punished for not being able to do anything else afterwards.

Good times to use:
Recovering from off the stage. Use as an alternative to shield grabbing. If someone is coming from above you with an attack that you don’t think a uair will cover, this may do the trick. Not recommended for using a lot, as the opponent can simply dodge it or get out of the way and punish you while you’re falling back down.

Throws:

The Grapple-
4%

Yes, it is an attack, but not one that is of great significance. It has very little knockback but priority over everything, as long as it hits them first, but will usually still leave them in a better position than you.

Good times to use:
When the opponent is relatively far away and you don’t have time for a missile. Not recommended as a main attack.

Fthrow-
9%-4.947368421052631578%

Samus’ forward throw, her strongest one, but it does not have many combo set ups from it. Can be used at higher percentages to throw the enemy off the edge for edgeguarding, but there is usually a safer way.

Good times to use:
When you want a throw that will give the most damage and get them away from you.
Not recommended if you want a combo starter.

Uthrow-
7%-3.83%

A better throw that actually can set up for a couple different thing at lower percentages depending on which way the opponent DIs. While it doesn’t give very much damage, it does send the opponent very high into the air.

Good times to use:
When you either want to put the opponent in the air for a uair or bair (best against fast fallers) or just want them away from you so you can run the other way and missile. Not recommended if you want a combo starter and the opponent is at high percentages.

Bthrow-
8%-4.33%

A throw that gives a fair amount of damage and can sometimes set up for a dash attack/ftilt. It is basically the fthrow with less damage and knockback.

Good times to use:
When the opponent is at mid-range damage, you can usually follow this quickly with a dash attack or whatever you can think of. Not recommended against fast fallers, as they will be able to tech roll out of it.

Dthrow-
6%-3.25%

By far my favorite throw as it sets up for the most combos than any of her other throws. The only problem is fast fallers who will be able to tech roll out of it before you can do anything, other than that, it usually sets up characters for a nice fsmash or nair which can lead to other things. It doesn’t give much damage and will never kill, but combo-ablility makes up for all of that.

Good times to use:
Against any character that doesn’t fall incredibly fast, the most useful throw against shiek, because it puts her right in the way for a fsmash, against people like marth, you may have to jump and give them a nair or missile. Not recommended against fast fallers, you’d probably be better off going with an uthrow if they know how to tech.

Ok, now for the important parts of the guide, first will be the overview of Samus’ wavedash, followed by a character strategies section, combos, general strategies, and finally tricks.

The Wavedash:

Samus’ wavedash is very easy to pull off quickly and flawlessly but also has a great effect on her overall speed, evasiveness, and attacks. With her long wavedash, it is very possible to use it to move, it moves slightly faster than her dash, but has no startup or turn around time. Once you begin to use wavedashing as second nature to being attacked, you will be able to avoid many attacks and wavesmash into your own. The best use of this is dodging people’s dash or smash attacks and charging yours a little while they’re coming off their lag. When someone is coming at you in the air however, no matter how it looks, many times it is better to wavedash towards them and then turn around and tilt/smash them. This is especially true on characters such as falcon, where he moves through the air a lot farther than it would seem.

So really, if you’re new to Samus, spend a couple hours in training mode or something and practice your wavedash, it is invaluable in a match.

Character Specific Strategies:
(Will be described for fighting on FD, since many people only play there)

Sheik-

I play against sheiks more than any other character and so I’ve been able to devise quite a few different tactics that are effective. Bombs are the most useful move to trip sheik up that you possess. Her aerials can take out missiles, but only a very well timed and placed fair will stop a bomb. Not to say that missiles are useless against her, it’s just that her needles come out much faster and can cut right through them, same with the beam. Bombs are also cancelled by needles, but one bomb can stop all six needles, so if you’re are going to shoot missiles or a beam, it’s a better choice to do so close, so the player doesn’t have as much time to react.

As for close range attacks, your tilts are often the best choice since they come out quickly and will keep her at bay for the most part. Take every chance you can get to knock her into the air, because that is where Samus can deal the bulk of her damage quickly. If you do for some reason grab and manage to actually grab her, a dthrow to fsmash is the best thing you can do after hitting her a couple times. Also, this may not be the smartest thing, but you can do an ftilt to a dash attack and hit her quite a few times, since she falls perfectly into it again.

Another good way for attacking is to come at her from the air your bair and sex kick have priority over ALL of her aerials if timed correctly, even the dreaded fair. If the sheik is on the ground, she will most likely shield since her ground attacks can’t go through a sex kick well either, you have two likely options from here. The first one is to either jump again and try to land behind her then ftilt or dtilt her shield until she jumps out of it, rolls, wavedashes, etc. then either shoot a missile, beam, or come after her with a dash attack/more tilts. The other option is to not attack on the way down but land right in front of her and bomb her shield, you can do this very quickly and it takes out a ton of her shield, the reason you go to the front is so she will try and shield grab you and get hit by the bomb, go with your bombs to the back of her and then do what was described earlier.

When you do decide to shoot missiles, always missile cancel them at a close range to sheik and either grab (one of the only times to do it) her if she shields or shorthop up with a sex kick if she tries to jump. Another good way of attacking her with missiles would be missile canceling and shorthopping to a dair on her shield, but still trying to land behind it and follow the strategy above, this way both the missile and dair take out her shield and a dtilt will most likely hit her.

Her tilts can combo you to a pretty good percentage sometimes but either DI out or simply CC and wait for a chance to do a dtilt and get her in the air for you. If you do manage to DI out though, a sex kick is the best option you have from there. If you get grabbed, there is a 95% chance you will be dthrowed, if you are at low percentages, DI away and lay a bomb, since there’s a pretty good chance the sheik will want to tilt you out of it or dash attack. If you are at higher percentages however, just try to DI up out of the range of her slap and recover as soon as possible and throw out a sex kick, if she tries to jump again or uair, of course, a bomb is always another option. Always try to keep an eye out for her fair though.

Another nasty thing she can do to you is her dsmash, while this is nowhere near as bad as peach’s (I’ll talk about her later) it is still something to watch out for since it has very good priority and knockback. Some good ways of countering this move are to wavedash back and grab her out of it and dthrow her to a fsmash or to simply wd back a little and fsmash. Of course, you do not always have time to react to this, when you are hit try to tech when you hit the ground and then shorthop towards her and missile cancel and go from there.

When recovering try not to take the most obvious or same route back as you did last time, needles can severely screw up your bomb jumps and hit you out of your grapple, ending your life early. Always try to come from below, as there is the smallest chance of the sheik jumping out to slap you. If you do come from above the level, make sure to lay the bombs in the path that she would take to slap you and try to set her up to get hit off by you. Also, is the sheik is used to your timing of the bomb jump, only laying one bomb then not laying the other but fast falling with a sex kick while they’re coming for you can sometimes help you make it back.

Other than those things to keep in mind, fighting a sheik isn’t all that much different than fighting anyone else, you just need to edgeguard well, watch out for needles, and send her into combos every chance you get.

Marth-

Of all the characters I hate to fight, marth has to be number one; I’d rather fight a hundred sheiks than a good marth. The biggest reason? Projectiles do next to nothing to a marth; he can swipe through missiles and bombs and continue to you without even slowing down. Almost every attack of his will stop/go through any projectile (I think there are two that don’t). So let me just say this now, if wavedashing out of the way isn’t COMPLETELY natural to you, you’ll have a very hard time against good marths.

First off is what you can do to him to control where you want him to go, I found that shooting a missile in the air at his shorthop height when he’s near you and running at you can often keep him on the ground, which is better than having him in the air. If he doesn’t jump into the missile or fair it and does stay on the ground, he’ll most likely grab or dash attack. Either way you have two options, wait until he’s about to do whichever one and do a dsmash and hit him out of it, or wavedash towards him right as he’s about to do either one, this can work because you’ll be too close to be grabbed or be hit by the dash attack, from there a smash of some sort is recommended. However if he does manage to fair it, you can either wd back a couple times and try a dtilt or fsmash, or wd towards him and hope you go under him, then do a dsmash or fsmash.

If he is coming from above you there are a few options available to you. You can always jump up and do a uair since it has the best chance of actually hitting, but a little tip: do the move a little early and tap L or R immediately afterwards, this way if you get spiked, you can tech out of it easily. If he doesn’t do that to you, then a good idea is to fast fall right before the last hit hits him then jump up again and do another uair, this way he doesn’t get knocked away by the first uair. Another thing you can do is lay a bomb and then go under him, he’ll either have to jump again, at which point you jump and uair or missile him, or he’ll bair to try and hit you or dair to get rid of the bomb, if he bairs just wavedash back a little and then go smash him or missile, if he dairs, take advantage of the lag afterwards (it’s still a lot even lcancelled) with a smash or a dtilt to start a combo. Those will most likely be your best two options, but another one is to just wd/run away a bit and shoot a missile at the shorthop height and do what was described before.

One of marth’s most damaging combos that he can do to samus easily is just multiple fairs, because of her weight and floatiness, she can easily be combo’d by this until about 90%, where she just gets hit too far up. The worst part about this for me is that I’m so used to getting hit once, and then simply doing a sex kick or fair while the enemy is lagging, so I tend to DI towards the enemy and down a bit, but since marth has no lag afterwards, it’s a very bad idea to do this. Even though it’s completely away from my style, the best choice is to DI as far away as you can and just try to land and go from there, marth’s annoying because you can both combo each other so well, so both people will just try to get away and regroup when they’re being combo’d. You have the advantage of projectiles in slowing him down a *little* bit after you get away, but he can more easily hit you after or in the middle of your combo if he’s at lower percentages. If you are hit out over the edge while getting out of the combo most likely the safest thing you can do is try to get under the side of the stage and either bomb jump back to an upb or try and sweetspot the grapple.

On the topic of being off the edge, some good things to keep in mind are to always try and sweetspot the edge whenever possible because of marth’s dtilts and fsmash and if you are high, just try to get over him and use your bombs to confuse him about how you’re coming down. Just watch out because you can’t hit him with his uair blocking him and his fsmash hits above him and his utilt is unbelievably good. Other than that, it’s basically a normal recovery, he may jump out and fair or bair you, but that’s already something you should be watching out for with every character.

As for edgeguarding the marth there are two important things to consider:
1) Does Marth still have his jump?
2) Will he try to sweetspot?

If he has his jump, it’s very important that you don’t really try to edgehog, unless he’s very far out or very low, but rather hit him with a missile, the weakness of most people that recover with marth are that they think you’ll shoot a missile below them as if they’re going to fall into it, but instead, shoot it a bit high, chances are they’ll keep doing over b or jump as they realize it’s about to hit them, but if they fast fall or simply fall past it then you still messed up they’re recovery anyway. If they do get hit however, either by jumping late (in which case you stole their jump and over b won’t do jack) or just getting hit, you severely screwed up their recovery and can follow up with more missiles or an edgehog if they get close enough. If they jump up past it and continue to over b simply jump at them and either shoot another one a bit higher than usual and hope they don’t expect it again or shoot it slightly lower and hope they try and fall past it.

If he is coming in low and trying to sweetspot, hold off as long as possible before actually edgehogging him, so you give the false illusion of a free edge. You really don’t have too many options against a marth trying to sweetspot as his sword will hit you out of anything you’d do to hit him. One good thing to do though is to drop a bomb and either meteor him while he’s stunned or go back onstage and wait for him to upb again, since he’ll usually try to do it right away up either utilt or fsmash him back off as he lands.

The most important thing to remember against marth’s is that you have to choose your moments well, since any hit on either player will usually be followed by a combo. A great way to start yours are to grab him after he comes down from the air, the most damaging combo that you can easily do to him is a dthrow to repeated fairs. However, the fairs start having a bit too much knockback around 70% and should usually be replaced by a uair or sex kick after the throw.

Fox-

Fox is actually a relatively easy fight for Samus. Like many characters, fox is easily combo’d by Samus; also, the usmash is actually very useful in fights against fox. He can’t get out of it at low percentages and it sets up very nicely for many different combos. As always with fox, the hardest thing can be getting around shine, shine combos, and grabs. while Samus is not susceptible to many of fox’s more devastating combos with these, she can still be damaged pretty good. The single thing I’d have to hate most about fox is that his dair can cancel out Samus’ uair, which is usually the best choice for defending from an aerial.

The biggest thing in any match is to know how to kill your opponent effectively. Against all fastfallers, the easiest way is off the side. However, thanks to fox’s recovery, doing so can be difficult sometimes. When edgeguarding, shoot missiles like normal, as they can screw him over just as bad, if not more so, than any other character. The thing to remember is, if he’s doing his over B or upB to the edge, do a down angled fsmash (not utilt, the fsmash can reach farther below the edge) or edgehog, although edgehog is probably better. If he’s going to try to do an upB and attempt to go over you, the best options here would be a utilt or a sh sex kick. And if he’s coming from below, a down angled fsmash is definitely the best thing you can do in this situation, because, if you position yourself correctly, it will hit him even if he does manage to sweet spot the ledge.

Now, knowing how to edgeguard is great, but it’s next to pointless if you can’t get the person off the edge in the first place. At low percentages (maybe 0-40%), the usmash will almost always hit him with all of the hits and leave him completely open for any follow up attack. The only time he will not be hit by all of the flame bursts is if he’s at high percentages, or if he’s at low and CC’s it. Just like this move demonstrates, fox will basically fall into anything you can hit him with, the fair and uair are especially good here, as they both combo and give decant amounts of damage. The only problem I’ve found with the fair is that’s he can actually fall out of it if he’s at too low of a percentage, so it comes in at the end of the combo more often so he’ll be at a high enough percent to stay in. Aside from those often neglected moves, nearly all of Samus’ attacks are useful in comboing and set ups.

Although combos are very important to string together whenever you can, you really don’t always have that option open. The bair is a good finisher to get fox off the edge, and can be led to by many attacks or simply done by shffl’ing it. Of course, Samus’ fsmash is good at getting fox away and often off the edge waiting to be gimped by missiles. Against most foxes I’ve played, I found that simply sh’ing around with sexkicks, dairs, and fairs can be very helpful, since these attacks have good priority over fox. Dtilt and dsmash are also great to use if fox is getting a bit too personal for your liking. While there has been a lot of debate over which one is faster and when it should be used, I’ll try to settle some of it here with my views on them. First of all, both come out on the same frame, the difference there is that dtilt has 9 frames less lag than the dsmash, but is actually the slowest tilt (in terms of total lag). As for when each should be used, I advocate dtilt at mid percentages (30-75%) while dsmash should be used at other times, the reason for this is that when used against fox, the dtilt does not send him very high, but he can go very far away with DI, around those mid percentages though, the DI can be followed easily and a variety of attacks can be done. In other percentages, the dsmash is better to use for a couple reasons, at lower than the dtilt range, it will hit farther away and can get fox off the edge at a low percentage because of the trajectory, at high percentages, it doesn’t have too great of a chance to kill, but will knock fox far side to side, allowing for edgeguarding.

Though it may sound simple, I base the usefulness of moves based on two deciding factors:
1) Combo ability - Can you lead into any other attacks from this move, making a relatively weak move turn into one which leads to massive amounts of damage.
2) Lead to edgeguarding? - This is for moves with no apparent combos stemming from them, but can still be considered very useful if they put you in a situation where you can edgeguard, which I believe is Samus is best at.

Another big thing about fighting a fox is how often projectiles should be used, since he has that wonderful reflector. I say, spam missiles all you want, just make sure that you missile cancel them and, if he’s not off the edge, only shoot one at a time at a given height. This is so that if he does reflect a missile canceled missile and you are running/wding in behind it, you can simply shffl a meteor to usmash/bair/fsmash/anything that isn’t upB because he’ll be stuck in the shine and chances are that his DI won’t go too far to be followed. So for missiles, you’re usually safe from them since you won’t have lag and are free to dodge or jump or whatever, the real problem comes from the charge beam. While I think charge beams should be used during an open spot in a combo in place of a sex kick or something else where you jump next to him, sometimes a charge beam just gets reflected. In this case, the smartest thing you can do is either shield if you’re on the ground or air dodge, obviously. However, oftentimes you will just get hit and simply need to learn to be smarter with the beam. So basically, missile like you would most other characters, but use the beam a bit more carefully, but it really shouldn’t be too much of a problem, not too many foxes try to reflect everything after trying to reflect a missile and getting dair’d.

While there is A LOT you can do to fox, he can also screw you pretty badly. His dair has priority over many of Samus’ aerials or the two will cancel, so protection from above is a bit hard. My advice is to go ahead and try to uair him out of the dair, usmash, or shield the attack and regroup a bit. Of course, the other option, and often the one that works best is to simply wd back and fsmash him right before he lands, however, he’ll probably catch on after awhile and avoid it. The uair is a pretty safe option, as it can usually go over the dair or cancel it if nothing else, but keep tapping A while holding up, this way, if it’s canceled you’ll start another one quickly. As for the usmash, this really isn’t too reliable, but can be used sporadically to catch the fox off guard and se up for your own combo. The last option, shielding, can be very risky sometimes, if you know the fox to drill shine to grab, then this probably won’t be the most intelligent thing to do. However, if the fox tends to drill shine usmash, then this is one of the better options, but it would be a good idea to lightshield the attacks, though lightshield has more stun, while in it, it’s unlikely that you will get hit by the usmash since it fully covers your feet.

That’s for if he’s coming at you from the air with an aerial that goes well into a shine (so any aerial I guess). If you are above him, this is THE MOST DANGEROUS place you can be while fighting a fox, especially at high percentages. To get back down to the stage you have a few options, the first is obviously bomb to avoid the uairs and bairs, but other options include trying to sex kick through, dair and meteor him to the ground, or air dodging towards the ground. Bombs are always the most reliable in this circumstance, boosting you out of uair range and sometimes even hitting fox. The major downside to them are that it will often take a very long time to get down, because usually you’ll be close enough to where the uair hit the bomb that you’ll receive a boost, and since you have to keep doing it, you end up staying in the air a long time. Another thing that comes from being airborne so long is that the bombs will not always protect you; sometimes the first hit of the uair will take it out, leaving the second hit for you.

While the bombs may be the most reliable, they don’t really help you much in the way of getting fox away from you so you can safely return to the stage, this is where the dair and sex kick come in. The dair is usually my second choice from the bombs, it hits fox down to the ground so you can come down in safety. I prefer this over the sex kick because it has a larger window with which to hit fox and during that time, has more priority over the uair while many times sex kick will simply trade blows. My philosophy on it is, if you don’t bomb, try to sex kick if you’re at low percentages while fox is at high, otherwise, go for a dair or bombs to return. The last and probably most risky thing to do is to just try and airdodge through the attack. This may not sound very smart, since fox can just ff back down and jump back up quickly, but that really shouldn’t be too big of a deal if you don’t do this often and only try it when close to the ground or a platform.

Besides aerials, really the only thing of fox’s that you need to worry about is the usmashes, but even these aren’t too big of a problem. The dair and bair are great for hitting fox out of it, just make sure that you time them very well (and the bair hits with the sweetspot). Other than that, fox’s attacks aren’t too intimidating for a Samus, being grabbed isn’t a problem since hardly any of his grab combos work on Samus. For dash attacks and fsmashes, a wd back to fsmash is usually the most obvious and useful option. The main thing to do against fox is to get him off the edge as quickly as possible, because he should die once he is.