Guys I am in desperate need of tips for Shulk. Sometimes when i play as him he clicks for me in a match (against lvl 9 cpus...) but i feel like I'm not using his tools right. Any suggestions are welcomed.
I've been putting in a lot of time with Shulk - he's fast becoming my new secondary - so here are a few tips.
- Learn what the Monado Arts are and when to use them. The two most important ones, IMO, are Buster and Smash. Buster increases the damage you give and receive and decreases knockback, so use it when your opponent is at low percents and you need to rack up damage. I usually start matches in Buster. Smash increases the knockback you give and receive in exchange for less damage, so use it when your opponent is at high percents. I usually switch to Smash once my opponent is around 80%.
- Learn the order in which the Monado Arts cycle: Jump, Speed, Shield, Buster, Smash. You need to be able to switch Arts at a moment's notice throughout the match, and you don't have time to slowly cycle through until you find the one you like. It needs to be muscle memory - e.g., you need to know that four quick taps of B will activate Buster.
- A lot of Shulk's attacks are either long, sweeping arcs or long-ranged thrusts. These thrusts (forward and up smashes, back, up, and down airs,) are generally more powerful, but the hit boxes are much narrower, so make sure you're lined up with your opponent before you use them. Otherwise, use the arcing attacks (forward and neutral airs, up and forward tilts.)
- When using Air Slash (up B,) press B again after the first swing to do a second swing. It's a decent attack, and because it has such great range, it's good for preventing your opponent from edgeguarding you.
- Don't spam Vision (counter move, down B.) Save it for when you're about to get hit with a big attack. If you're in Smash mode, it can even be a KO move.
