Simon and Richter Advice
I am growing my Elite smash roster. I have 32 characters in Elite and I got stuck on Simon and Richter. It’s been a week and I bounce between 10-13m (Elite is currently 14.6). I’m playing characters in order from the lowest ranking up (according to Eventhubs) so I have done plenty of lower teir characters that felt way better in almost every way. Give me Dr. Mario, Mac, Gannon, K.Rool, DK, Dedede, Ike, Isabelle… all were relatively easy or I could see the path. Not so with the vampire hunters.
I know the problem but I need advice on the solution. I like to brawl up close and dance around the opponent. This is the first character that I’m seriously confused about as his weaknesses are plenty and I can’t understand his strengths. I rarely fight good Simons so I don’t have a catalog of common strategies to try out. I usually just see cross, axe, holy water or some combination while standing still at the corner. That sounds like pulling teeth to me.
Things I like-
Forward tilt has good range and is fast (enough)
Ledge trapping
Surprise hits with long range on those that don’t know the matchup (stops working around 12.5m)
Catching landings with forward smash, aerials, or dash attack
Generally good damage
Fast fall speed
Holy water and cross allow me to block off certain areas but I feel naked when I don’t have them out and I feel predictable if I use them constantly.
Things I hate or need to learn or practice -
Disadvantage and playing defensively is hard.
Off ledge play is gruesome, worse than little Mac for me. I have not developed my whip recovery and have died so many times to minor gimps or missed air dodges. I know to air dodge first when far away but options are limited and it only takes a slight hit on his otherwise linear recovery.
Jump is short, slow, committal. and hard to control because of slow air acceleration. I find myself having to double jump to avoid attacks I want to jump over. This makes me timid and scared all the time.
There are no quick poke moves that are safe. Down tilt is committal and only works when facing lower skill opponents. Forward tilt is my go-to but is only safe on shield from a distance, not get-off-me range where I need a move. Up tilt misses all grounded opponents. I tend to roll or natural air when things get too hot and I see better opponents are reading this.
I don’t know when to use the projectiles or in what order. I heard from some YouTubers to only use cross in neutral but while it works well, it’s predictable. Because my up-close moves are weak, I find myself throwing out cross too much just to gather my thoughts.
I play with a pro controller so it’s difficult to constantly aim the aerials for the angled moves. I don’t really want to get a GameCube controller to get some notches but I do notice it’s also hard to turn-around up B for recovery, or down tilt in the opposite direction.
I could use some more setups. I feel too predictable when using holy water and forward smash at ledge but it’s too rewarding to skip. Is there a combo of projectiles that’s particularly good? Is there a consistent move to use after down air? Did you have success getting Simon into Elite? What did you do?
Thanks in advance. I really appreciate it.