New Sheik player not knowing where to advance from here.

[El___presidente]

I am in no context good at all but I have my basic movement and fundamentals good enough to be seen as "competitive" so I was wondering what exactly I should be doing and practicing to get better. I'm also not really sure how to explain how experienced I am so I will gladly answer questions about my skill.

 

[Scroll]

As a competitor have you been to any tournaments? What proved difficult for you there?
What you can always work on, by yourself, is tech skill. There is no skill ceiling, so keep grinding movement, ledge options, SHFFLs etc.
If you have 20XX hack pack then practice downthrow tech chasing on reaction.
Read MU articles and think about MU. What works and what does not work. What do certain people do in certain scenarios (look up videos of tournament matches). Take notes.
Talk to your friends about smash. Study frame data. Search for more terminology. Teach what you discover to your training partners. Tell them what they did wrong. Ask what you can do better. Theory craft together.
And play some friendlies.
Write down a list of things you know you did wrong. Keep the list visual to you as you play more matches. Remind yourself of those things.
https://www.reddit.com/r/SSBM/comments/2rnvkv/list_of_common_noob_habits_you_should_all_try_to/
Look at this list.
Work towards crossing EVERYTHING off that list.

 

[El___presidente]

As a competitor have you been to any tournaments? What proved difficult for you there?
What you can always work on, by yourself, is tech skill. There is no skill ceiling, so keep grinding movement, ledge options, SHFFLs etc.
If you have 20XX hack pack then practice downthrow tech chasing on reaction.
Read MU articles and think about MU. What works and what does not work. What do certain people do in certain scenarios (look up videos of tournament matches). Take notes.
Talk to your friends about smash. Study frame data. Search for more terminology. Teach what you discover to your training partners. Tell them what they did wrong. Ask what you can do better. Theory craft together.
And play some friendlies.
Write down a list of things you know you did wrong. Keep the list visual to you as you play more matches. Remind yourself of those things.
https://www.reddit.com/r/SSBM/comments/2rnvkv/list_of_common_noob_habits_you_should_all_try_to/
Look at this list.
Work towards crossing EVERYTHING off that list.

what is an effective way of practicing my edge guards when I don't have someone to practice with? Also what are the "fundamentals" I should learn and practice for Sheik?

 

[Scroll]

Well all you can really do is taking the ledge as fast as possible after hitting them off with a Fair, Nair, Bair or Dsmash.
That means running towards the ledge at full speed and Short Hop Reverse Needle Cancel Fast Fall Ledge Grab.
And for the most part dropping from the ledge and double jump Bair.
Grind doing the same jump height Bair, from the ledge, over and over and over.
High ones onto stage, medium back to ledge and low ones that requires you use UpB to get back to the ledge and instant ones that you start before your Double Jump.
You dont need to hit or aim at anything, just practice these till they become second nature.

Know that mastering this doen't instantly making you able to edge guard anything. Sometimes you need to use other aerials. Sometime you need to use standing or jumping needles before taking ledge. Sometimes you don't want to take the ledge at all. BUT it makes for a great foundation.

Another thing you can practice is when you grab the ledge, the frame Sheik hangs completely vertical (it takes a few frames before she reach this frame) - practice letting go ON this frame or ASAP after. This means you will carry as much intangibility over to your jump or any action you choose. If you master this then you can intercept anyone recovering, safely.
For example Fox and his burning Firefox (UpB).
~Pls ask if this didn't make sense~

That's part of the basics of Sheik Edgeguarding.

Also there is 2 videos you should watch on youtube. Search for Sheik Trials. One video is by Little England and the other is by Jason Ripple

Lemme know if you have any further questions

 

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Btw I have been begging Achilles for coding Advanced CPU recovery.
But it seems it's far too advanced and detailed for it to be worth it.
Imagine if the CPU knew all the options we humans do? And could choose from them with true random priority?
We would all be M2K in no time

 

[AbraxasHydroplane]

Man I wish at the very least CPU spacies would side b for recovery. They managed it in PM, would it be that hard to incorporate in 20XX?