The Super Smash Bros. series has easily been one of Nintendo’s most popular titles among all of their series. That is obviously due to the fact that this is a Nintendo All-Star crossover featuring so many of the company’s famous characters. From Mario to Marth, Link to Fox McCloud, Pikachu to Samus, there are so many iconic characters in this series. They even include guest characters you normally don’t see on a Nintendo platform like Snake and Cloud. The appeal of Super Smash Bros. is very wide and it is no surprise that it has reached millions of gamers.

At the end of the day, this is a fighting game of sorts. Naturally, this fighting game involves a lot of skill and players can be very competitive. But with a game like Super Smash Bros. there are also a lot of people who don’t care to play for the competition. Unlike most fighting games, Super Smash Bros. can support up to 8 players in the Wii U game, therefore it is a fantastic party game. Anyone who has played these games has likely been in a situation where they are playing against casual competition; as such the experiences can be very different. Here we will cover a list of things that even the casual players should never do. Super Smash Bros. is a unique game with the mechanics and how certain characters are played. If you are someone who doesn’t put a lot of time in this series, it is important to know what you should avoid doing to further improve your experiences. So let’s get those stocks set and pick a stage, we’re diving in the most ambitious crossover series in history.

30 First Person To The Smash Ball Loses!

youtube.com (SuperSmashBrosWiki)

Super Smash Bros. Brawl introduced an ultimate attack for each character called the Final Smash. In order to activate a Final Smash, you need to track down an elusive Smash Ball item that floats around the stage. For many casual players, their first instinct when they see a Smash Ball is to go straight after it. Most of the time, that will not work as Smash Balls are rarely broken with one decent attack. It would have to be a very strong attack to break it in one hit.

The early bird will likely not get the Smash Ball

If you go after it first, hit it, and it doesn't break, it will bounce off your attack, possibly going towards another player who is waiting for it already weakened. Be patient, allow your opponents to bite first, and be the one who will deal the finishing blow to the Smash Ball, then use your awesome Final Smash to send your opponents flying!

29 Level 9 CPUs In Melee: Terrible Sparring Partners

Super Smash Bros. Melee easily has the most competitive fanbase in the series. However, if you want to practice getting good at Melee, you would be best not playing against CPUs at the highest level.

The reason? They aren't hard, in fact, they are incredibly stupid.

If you play on a stage with hazards, or with items, they ignore nearly everything. Sometimes they find ways to self-destruct on their own like air-dodging to their downfall. Ever heard of the video "Luigi wins by doing absolutely nothing"? That originated in Melee. You are better off practicing combos against level 1 CPUs, seriously!

28 You Think Attacking Item Boxes Is A Good Idea? Nope

via smashpedia

Item boxes, crates, barrels, party balls, and capsules drop often in matches that involve items. Usually, these items produce multiple items. You could also pick them up and throw them at opponents, or you could save time by just attacking them. So why would you waste the time to pick them up and possibly be vulnerable? Simple, sometimes these items contain explosives where they will blow up on contact. If you are just rushing through you might recklessly cause your own self-destruction.

27 Attacking While Grabbing An Opponent Won't Help Much

via cubed3.com

From Super Smash Bros. Melee and onwards, when you grab an opponent, you could get in a few light attacks before you decide where you want to throw them. This is only useful in team battles, it's one way to create a decent wombo combo (search on Youtube if you don't know what that is). However, in single battles, even if your opponent's damage is high you don't want to spend much time trying to sneak in extra attacks. It is relatively quick and easy for any human player to shake their way out of a grab. So when you catch someone, you better have an idea where to throw them quickly.

26 Don't Rely On The Same Combo Repeatedly

Via: IGN

What makes Super Smash Bros. unique from other competitive fighting games is the damage percentage. When it is low, you could chain certain attacks together, but as it increases, and your opponents are launched further and quicker, those same combos won't work. You'll have to find ways to mix and match what attacks from the character you use at different stages of the battle depending on your opponent's damage percentage. Pikachu, for example, has a nice two-move combo you can use when an enemy is near 100% damage. Just grab and throw them upwards and then use thunder immediately where the cloud spikes them back down and the thunder will send them flying.

25 Don't Use The Home-Run Bat Like Every Other Item

via technobuffalo.com

The Home-Run Bat has been in the series since the original Super Smash Bros. and even to this day, it is still one of the most enjoyable items in the game. The reason for this is because of the insane launch power it has.

Barry Bonds' home run record isn't safe in Smash.

So if you see someone grab the Home-Run Bat and just do basic attacks with it, let them know they should be trying to knock players out of the park.

24 Stay Outta The Air Mac, Smash Is No Joke

via youtube (Omega Tyrant)

Little Mac is one of the more noticeable additions to Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS, after originally being an assist trophy in Brawl. Little Mac is also one of the more unique characters in that he is really good on the ground, but really bad in the air. One of his specials, his side-B haymaker, covers quite a lot of ground and can be a pretty powerful attack. However, this move is hard to recover from if Mac flies right off the edge. If you ever pick up Little Mac, it would be best if you be careful with that move.

23 Go In For The Elimination When You Can

via kotaku.com

If you send your opponents flying off stage, don't take the time to taunt. This is your best opportunity to finish them off! Some of the best Smash players in the world make their fame from being able to deal the finishing blow when the opportunity presents itself. Most characters have a spike attack (a.k.a. meteor smash) that will send opponents straight down. They are some of the best and most satisfying types of moves to pull off.

22 Don't Use Your Recovery Moves Right Away

via portforward.com

If you get sent flying against someone who is pretty good at playing Smash, you will want to be careful when you recover back. Most good Smash players will attempt to strike you again on your way back. If you were to use your recovery moves right away, you'll be a floating duck, making it very easy to spike you down. The best possible point to use a recovery move is when you are under the edge trying to get back. That way it would be a bit riskier for your opponent to attempt a mid-air attack.

21 Stop Trying To Become The Next Falcon Punch Highlight

via smashpedia

Captain Falcon's Falcon Punch is the most exciting finishing move ever in Smash. Just check out all of the YouTube videos. Those highlights are among the biggest highlights you see from the series on the internet. As attractive as it must be to try and be the next viral sensation, you'll be more likely to fail if you are playing competitively. Captain Falcon has one of the heaviest drops in mid-air, so if you try to go for an aerial Falcon Punch and miss, you'll likely won't be able to come back. You'll just end up making a fool of yourself.

20 You Must Recover!

via smashpedia

For many casual players who have played fighting games before but not Super Smash Bros. they may be unfamiliar with getting knocked off a stage compared to watching a health bar that is used in most fighting games. Often times, these players fall helplessly to their doom, not realizing that there are methods to getting back on the stage. Every character has at least one mid-air jump they can utilize, some of them, like Kirby and Jigglypuff can mid-air jump up to five times. You also have an up-b recovery special if you need it. Remember, if you get knocked off the stage, it's not over, you must recover!

19 Online Matches Aren't What You Would Expect

via: polygon.com

One would think that a game that can be as competitive as Super Smash Bros. would be a very active online game. However, that has not been the case at all. Brawl was the first game to connect online, and Wii U/3DS would also follow, but the online experience is poor.

There is so much lag that occurs, that it is pointless to try and play with random strangers online.

It is a troubling experience to try and play Super Smash Bros. online. This gives me concerns about how good the online will be when Ultimate releases.

18 Competitive Brawl? Yeah How About No

Via: Mynintendonews.com

The biggest knock on Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Nintendo Wii was that it was built as a more casual experience. The mechanics were drastically changed from Melee, resulting in the overall gameplay becoming much slower. There were also some techniques like gliding that made certain characters capable of flying underneath a stage and come back the other side.

Oh and let's not forget the oh so dreaded randomized tripping, the absolute proof that Brawl was not meant to be a competitive game.

So with that being said, if you try to be competitive with Brawl, you are doing it wrong. However, what made Brawl a great game, was the Subspace Emissary single-player mode. It was a game all on its own and to this day, still, the only true story experience that Super Smash Bros. ever had.

17 Don't Think That Shield Is Going To Hold Up Long

via gamebananna.com

As with many fighting games, Super Smash Bros. has a blocking technique to defend yourself against oncoming attacks. It really is one of the safest forms of defense, stopping almost any attack, save the grabs and certain moves like Marth's Shield Breaker, but it shouldn't be abused. With each block, the shield gets smaller, and eventually, it will shatter, leaving you completely open for a powerful attack. You definitely don't want to do this with Jigglypuff, when it's shield breaks, it is instantly sent sky high in the air, knocking it out if there isn't a ceiling to hold it in play.

16 Smash Is A Simple Game, But It Isn't THAT Simple

via vizzed.com

Most of my experiences playing casually with random people, is that if they are new to Super Smash Bros. they tend to use only one button for attacks, either the A button or the B button. Pro tip: Don't do this, please. In many cases, people love to spam the B button because those are the special attacks, but you will never get far if you rely too much on a few attacks. Even if you have no idea what you are doing, it is important to mix up your attacks between normal attacks and special attacks, it will make you at least somewhat unpredictable.

15 Jump Buttons Are Your Friend

25- Super Smash Bros
Via: gameidealist.com

Back in the original Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64, the game taught you the basics of jumping by flicking the control stick up. Honestly, if you stick to that method of jumping, you won't be able to take advantage of short-hopping. Fortunately, there have always been multiple ways to jump. Every game also has a button assigned to jump. Buttons allow for easier short-hopping techniques, which is a valuable thing to know if you want to be good at the game.

14 Waggle Smash Is A Thing In Brawl

Via Wikipedia

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, you have the option of playing the game with just about any control style that the Wii system can support. Pretty much 99.9% of players used either the Nintendo Gamecube controller or one of the classic controllers of the Wii.

But if you happened to have played using the Wii remote, either on its side or with a nunchuck, then you are taking the casual thing to another level.

Don't do that, neither control scheme is optimal for quality play, and if you played with just the Wii remote, you actually have to waggle in order to do a Smash attack. How awkward must that be?

13 Camping Samus Players Are Doing It Wrong

via smashpedia

One of the most annoying things I have seen from casual Smash players are those who pick Samus, hang along the edge of a stage, and just spam missiles and charge beam shots. Samus's projectiles have enough power to get some very easy K.O.s and is ultimately a cheap tactic.

Just because you are playing as Samus doesn't mean you play the game like if it was a Metroid game!

Seriously, don't do that, only kids do that. Besides, if you are playing Smash on Wii U, Samus's close-range attacks have been improved greatly.

12 Casual Players Love Using Pikachu's Thunder

via smashpedia

I see this all too often for casual Smash players, Pikachu is one of the most recognizable characters in pop-culture history. So it is no surprise that casual players would likely pick Pikachu at some point. Pikachu has one of the most addicting special moves among any smash character, it's down-B special Thunder attack. It's one of the few strong launching moves that Pikachu has but it is such a cool move that can deal damage on opponents on both sides. As cool as Thunder is, there are so many good combos and chains you can use it with instead of just trying to create space.

11 Counter, Counter, And More Counter!

via smashpedia

When Peach, Marth, and Roy were introduced in Super Smash Bros. Melee, they were the first characters in Smash with a counter move. Counters are basically like a parry, except it is very easy to pull off and the timing needed to pull it off is very forgiving for the user.

Marth's counter is very quick and easy to execute, he is the character that abuses the counter move the most.

A lot of amateur Marth players just love spamming counters, fortunately, they don't have an effect on grab attacks. Since Melee, there have been many characters that have been added each with different timing and methods of attacks. Just remember, if you find someone who is counter-happy, just throw them around a bit to soften them up.