Updated through Luigi's ground game under Arsenal!
Thanks for the sticky Pakman!
I needed to do something epic for my 2000th post so I thought why not give something big back to the Luigi community? Luigi has been an underrated character for years and he deserves some respect. Tobias' guide is a few years old and I see new Luigi's come here every once in a while, so it seems like a new guide would be nice. Here we go!
---= Overview =---
Luigi is the slippiest, slidiest character in Melee. He's floaty and has the longest wavedash in the game. Thanks to wavedashing (I'll go more into detail about this later), Luigi has become one of the most variable characters in the game. He's got a solid arsenal of fast attacks and a great aerial game.
Let's look at some pros and cons of Luigi:
Pros:
Fast
High groundspeed
Platform maneuverability
Longest wavedash in the game
Strong combos from 0%
Good edgeguarding game
Cons:
Floaty
Recovery has a high learning curve
Easily gimped
*Not a lot of traction
* though this isn't always a bad thing!
Basic Techniques
Teching - When you land on the ground after being hit by a move, press L or R on contact and Luigi will jump into a standing form.
Spot Dodge/Sidestep - Shielding, then pressing down. This will make you temporarily invincible.
Shield Grabbing - Press A while shielding to perform a grab.
Ledge Teching - Pressing L or R when you touch the ledge at the same time as your opponent attacking with a move that hits the edge. You'll take damage, but won't get sent anywhere. (I find this to be extremely extremely useful with Luigi once you can do it consistently)
Ledge Hop - Dropping off of the edge then jumping back on.
JC Grab - A 'Jump Canceled' Grab. Done by running, then pressing up and the grab button immediately afterward. This gives you a standing grab out of a run, which has less lag than a dash grab. Very useful
Terms
Fair - Forward Aerial
Bair - Backward Aerial
Nair - Neutral Aerial
Dair - Downward Aerial
Uair - Upward Aerial
Fthrow- Forward Throw
Bthrow - Backward Throw
Dthrow - Downward Throw
Uthrow - Upward Throw
Wavedash - see below
LCancel - see below
Sex Kick - Nair (see below)
DI - Directional Influence (holding in a direction when hit to 'influence' your 'direction')
SDI - Smash Directional Influence (smashing in one direction the instant hit by a move, this greatly affects the distance you are sent)
CC - Crouch Cancel (when crouching, then hit by a move, knockback is greatly reduced)
Fastfall - Holding down on the control stick to 'fall' 'faster'
ShortHop - A 'short' 'hop' done by lightly tapping control stick up or quickly pressing x/y
SHFFL - Short Hop Fastfall'd LCancel (short hopping into an aerial, then fastfalling and LCanceling)
Ping - Luigi's sweetspotted UpB hit (you'll know it when you see it)
The Wavedash
This is pretty much what makes Luigi the man he is today. How to wavedash:
Jump
Airdodge towards the ground in a diagonal, downwards direction as fast as you can
The airdodge should be done fast enough that you don't actually see Luigi leave the ground. By doing this, you'll cause him to slide in whichever direction you aimed. The more your control stick is tilted to one direction, the farther he'll slide that way. It's not easy to do consistent perfect wavedashes, but generally his length is good enough.
This is a good beginner's guide to wavedashing, and it's especially nice because Luigi is the demo:
Wavedashing has so many uses, but I won't cover them in the Overview.
The LCancel
LCancel is NECESSARY to know if you want to play decently with ANY character. It's simple to do, but at first you'll have to consciously do it before it's consistent. But don't worry, once you have it down, it'll just be muscle memory.
There isn't much to actually doing it - when you hit the ground with an aerial, press the L button on the instant of contact. What this does is actually does is halve the lag that the aerial originally would have had. This makes you less vulnerable when you land on the ground with an aerial.
A good way to practice this is to take Link or Marth into an Endless Time VS. Match (training mode has no c-stick, I believe) and use your down aerial into the ground. Then press L when your character lands on the stage. The reason I say Link or Marth is because their down aerials are very laggy, so it should be obvious when it is cut in half.
Recovery
At first, it seems nearly impossible to recover with Luigi once you're off the stage. But if you utilize everything correctly, you'll be fine. You have to use Luigi's UpB, SideB, and DownB to recover. The following is assuming you're off the stage and trying to recover.
UpB: This move is Luigi's best bet for vertical recovery. It goes straight up, and that's pretty much it. Only use this move when you're right next to the stage, then you'll actually grab the ledge. It will serve you well to learn how to sweetspot the ledge (i.e. waiting until you are low enough that your UpB will carry you only as high as the ledge).
SideB: There's a couple ways to use this. One is charging the move until you're around the same level as the stage's ledge, then letting go. Another way to go is to just use a few uncharged SideB's. I prefer to do the several uncharged SideB's when I'm higher in the air, because if I fully charge on too early, I might land on the stage and get hit right off again, which I don't want. The last way to use this move is to misfire. The end. (check the misfire sticky for more info - http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=64648). Don't use this move when you are too low due to the amount of ending lag. DI high when you're hit away, and you'll have more time to use this move and get closer to the stage.
DownB: This move takes a bit of practice to master. You have to "charge" it on the stage before it's of any use (use it while on the ground). Then, when you're off the stage and attempting to recover, press DownB then press B 14 more times as fast as you can - if you get it all in one second then you'll achieve maximum height. This is very difficult, and there are no shortcuts. You have to figure out the best way for you to do it and practice practice practice.
Second jump: It is wise to rely on the aforementioned techniques excluding UpB before you use your double jump. Sometimes, after using SideB and DownB, you will get hit away, and your second jump will save your life. Keeping Luigi's second jump until you absolutely need it is imperative - don't use it if you can recover without it.
Situational-ness
I think that Luigi is a very situational character. There are generally several options when playing with Luigi, so play with your own style. This is what makes Luigi such a unique character, everyone plays him differently. That's also a reason why he's pretty hard to counter with other characters. You may know how to play against one Luigi, but the next one will have their own style.
Efficiency
This little section isn't Luigi specific, but is useful to know anyways.
Do not try to be flashy in a serious match. To win, you have to play to win - be efficient... with that sad, you should be playing Luigi because you have fun playing Luigi, so make sure you're having fun, too.
---=The Armory=---
In this section of the guide, I will describe each of Luigi's moves and list some of its uses. Remember, like I said earlier, there are so many things to do with Luigi, so don't be afraid to be creative!
-=Tilts=-
Jab - punch punch BUTT
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Damage:
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This is one of my favorite moves with Luigi. If you get in really close and spotdodge one of their attacks, you can land several jab cycles. It's fast, it racks up damage. There isn't much starting or ending lag, so you can wavedash into or out of the jab combo.
Sometimes you'll just want to do the first one or two hits of the three-hit jab combo. This way you can run into something else (the third one has a tad bit more ending lag than the other two). You can double/single jab into a JC grab, a wavedash escape, a Ping, etc. Keep in mind, this move is better at lower percents.
The jab can also be used to interrupt the opponents attack, because of its speed. You can even block projectiles sometimes with the first hit.
Forward Tilt --- Long Legs
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Damage:
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Luigi's bread and butter.
First things first, this move can be aimed in three different directions - you guessed it! Up, middle, and down. They've all got their pros and cons.
The upward FTilt is a little bit shorter than the others, but it hits high, and that's a plus. I also believe it has more knockback (?).
The middle FTilt is pretty standard. He just kicks forward. This is a very solid ground option for Luigi. A relatively safe way to approach with wavedash.
The downward FTilt is a little bit tricky. It won't have much knockback on them at all, but you can hit an opponent hanging on the edge with this.
Wavedashes into FTilt are usually a good idea for a solid ground game with Luigi. This is one of Luigi's longer ranged ground moves, so we like it. All in all, it's an overall good move. It also is one of Luigi's most reliable edgeguarding moves. Beware of hitting your opponent with a downward-aimed Ftilt - if your opponent DIs upward, then they will insta-grab the ledge. Either grab the ledge/edgeguard some other way, or Ftilt mid or high.
Down Tilt --- Cute Kick
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Damage:
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This is the worst of Luigi's three tilt moves, but every move has its use. It has more lag than the other tilts, and not as much range. It really just pops your opponent into the air, and its best merit is the fact that it is rarely used and offers the element of surprise. At mid %, you can Dtilt->Ftilt. At high %, you can Ftilt->Fair for a kill. Be creative!
Up Tilt --- Super Powerful Thunder Uppercut Finish
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Damage:
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This is a good move for low %s juggling and setting up combos/Fair/Dair kills. You can juggle fastfallers with this. It also works out of mixups. On FD, this is useful while doing WD juggles/chaingrabs on fastfallers.
-=Smash Attacks=-
Forward Smash --- Friendly Handshake
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Damage:
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This move is pretty much only for killing. It has a small range. You can aim it up, middle, and down, just like Luigi's FTilt. It's not that useful and you won't find Luigi's using it as much as Downsmash or Upsmash.
One interesting thing I found about this move is that you can actually put the wavedash to a complete stop if you start to charge it up midslide. It's very abrupt and not a lot of people know about it (I'm updating this in 2013 and I STILL never see it used). Still, it's the least useful of Luigi's smashes.
Down Smash --- Break It Down Now
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Damage:
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This is probably the most used of Luigi's three smashes. It hits on both sides of him and sends the opponent straight up. It covers a nice area if you wavedash into it.
This move is Luigi's best smash attack in my opinion. It's very easy to catch unsuspecting opponents with multiple hits of this move at low %. It's pretty standard in Luigi's arsenal for combos.
At high %s this can kill, but not quite as well as Usmash.
Uthrow->Dsmash tends to work on faster-falling characters, and Dthrow->Dsmash works on others. For some reason, when you Dthrow Mr. G&W he falls instantly to the ground, allowing Luigi to instantly turnaround Dsmash him.
What I've found is that a lot of people tend to get hit by consecutive Dsmashes at low %, and this is not limited to fastfallers. If they choose not to jump or aerial and opt to tech after getting hit by another Dsmash, you can Dsmash them again before they touch the ground.
Up Smash --- Super Effective Head Smash
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Damage:
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This is probably Luigi's best move for killing upwards. It's tough to land a sweetspotted Nair high up and Dsmash doesn't have the same vertical knockback, although its range outclasses the UpSmash's by far. This move's strength is its speed.It hits above Luigi and a little bit to the back. Uthrow-> Usmash works on Sheik at 0% unless she jumps as soon as possible.
-=Aerials=-
Forward Air --- CHOP
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Damage:
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This is one of the moves that Luigi is famous for. It will be one of your main killing moves. Luigi has a much better aerial game than his ground game, so you have to learn all of his aerials the best you can!
The Chop hits out in front of Luigi with decent forward range. It's good when you're using aerials to space, because the other aerials have pretty crappy forward range.
Weak Nair -> Chop, Utilt -> Chop, Uthrow -> Chop. All of those are pretty simple ways to land the chop at low percents. Nair and Dsmash send the opponent straight up, so it's pretty straightforward - just jump and Fair. Utilt can send them a little bit to one side sometimes. Uthrow depends on their DI. If they DI behind you, then you're going to have to turn around and THEN Chop. Otherwise just jump forwards into Chop.
For high percents, there aren't as many reliable ways to land a Chop. One simple one is Dthrow -> Chop. Know that after Dthrow your opponent will be sent behind you. So you'll have to turn around and Chop, or to be tricky, wavedash backwards and quickly jump into a Chop. (be creative!)
The Chop is also one of Luigi's ways to apply shield pressure. This goes along with spacing, because if you do it correctly they can't shield grab you. Shorthop Chop their shield, and DI backwards so you land too far for them to actually shieldgrab you. You can also waveland and slide far away. Or you could shorthop Chop, then on the way down pop out an Nair and LCancel it. If this still doesn't hit, back it up with a Jab combo. By then they probably would have grabbed, and if they haven't you can grab them. Generally, they'll have tried to grab by then. But some smarter players will expect this. One quick thing I find to work is to jab only for the first couple hits, wavedash behind them and pivot grab. I usually do this from a straight out wavedash as an approach in itself, but it works here too. If you don't think this will work, just do all three jabs or just one or two to be safe, then wavedash out of there. Even though you didn't get any damage, you hit their shield a lot. Note: the previous also applies with Dair as the first hit instead of the Chop, I will reference the reader to this paragraph when I explain the Dair below.
Chop can also be used for edgeguarding. One especially useful thing that comes to mind is that, because of its forward range, it's very easy to Chop Fox/Falco out of their UpB's when you're off the stage. If you land this when they have no jumps and you are off the stage, they are pretty much guaranteed death. You can also use the Chop to stage spike if you drop off the edge and use it on someone trying to sweetspot the ledge (Marth).
Another thing, jumping up to a platform, immediately wavelanding, then fall-off platform into Chop is a surprising and useful tactic. I LOVE platform wavedashing, there are soo many uses. I highly recommend every Luigi learn how to do it.
Down Air --- Power Drill Not
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Damage:
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I usually interchange this move with the Chop. It is another one of Luigi's main killing moves. To see how to use Dair as shield pressure, read above where I described how to use Chop for shield pressure. The same applies for Dair. I prefer to use Dair when I'm shorthopping into a shield, because I can get a little bit closer, and the last second Nair is easier to hit them with. I find Dair to be more useful off the edge than Chop, so I'll list some stuff about it here. These uses apply to Fair as well, though.
Ledgehop -> Dair. Very useful. If they shield it, refer to the shield pressure above. Just pop out a Nair afterward. If they get hit, good for you. If you want to slide back onto the edge, waveland backwards. If you want to follow up, waveland forward. There are numerous things you can do out of this. You can even ledgehop -> Dair -> Fair, or Fair -> Dair. That's the beautiful thing about Luigi - he can use more than one aerial very easily stringed together.
You can wavedash off the edge into a Dair (note: to wavedash off the edge forwards, you'll have to tilt forward at the end a little bit because Luigi will be in his gaining balance position at the edge) to edgeguard. This is where you have to judge whether you should use Dair or Fair. If they are coming horizontally, then Fair because of its forward range. If they are coming from the bottom, then use Dair because it hits farther downwards. If they are against the stage, use Bair (read more below). If they are coming from above, you shouldn't be in this position.
Let's say Fox or Falco comes at you face on, then you use Fair. But think about it, you can't easily Fair DK out of his UpB because he's got a lot of vertical range. But right above him, you can hit with the bottom of Dair. Be creative.
If you hit with Luigi's butt on Dair, it'll meteor them. This is very difficult to do on command as the hitbox is very small.
Back Air --- Broken Kick
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Damage:
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This move is ridiculously good. You can chain it out of SH'd Fairs, Dair, Uairs, or other Bairs for double Bairs. You can pressure with it, edgeguard, kill, etc. For shields, SH Double Bairs or Backwards Dair into Bair.
Hanging from the ledge -> Bair is one of Luigi's safest ledgeguarding options. You can stop people from horizontal AND from below. Let's say Fox's comes at the edge horizontally with UpB. Wavedash to the edge, ledge drop and Bair. He's dead. If someone like Marth tries to sweetspot the edge, wavedash forward off the stage and Bair him, he'll be stage spiked.
Platform wavelands into Bair is also effective. My favorite thing for Bair is edgeguarding, but you can feel free to be creative. That's why Luigi's aerials are so amazing - you can come up with a myriad of things.
Neutral Air --- Sex Kick
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Damage:
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Luigi's signature move. This move is pretty much amazing. The initial hit sends them straight upwards. At high %'s, this can kill floaties. The frames after the initial hit of this move send the opponent popped up a little bit, not as much as the initial hit. I prefer the weaker hit as it leads easily into combos. Read above for some uses of the Nair in terms of shield pressure.
Nair. Destroys. Fasterfallers. Nair, Nair, Chop?
This is really all I have left to say:
Oh and one other thing: COMBO BREAKER
Up Air --- 1080 Kick
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Damage:
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This move is SERIOUSLY underrated and userused. It has soooo many uses. It is Luigi's only aerials that hits well above him. I admit this move isn't the easiest one to learn how to use, but it is definitely worth learning. This move gives you so much range in almost no time. It's not going to kill anything, aside from edgeguarding.
One example of edgeguarding, when an opponent comes straight towards the edge and you're hanging on it, drop down and hit with the reverse kick above Luigi. They'll be sent behind you. It's very stylish, and effective. It's a weaker version of Ganon's Tipman Spike.
If you're about to get hit by Ganon's Dair from above, time and space a Uair to cancel it out before you take that ridiculous amount of damage.
Also, think about Mario combos with Uair. Luigi can sometimes do similar things.
Since this has upward range, you can hit opponent from under platforms with it.
-=Throws=-
Jab Attack --- Headbutt
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Damage:
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Not much to this move. You can use it a couple times if you want to increase their damage slightly before a throw. You can do it several times before a throw if you hear your opponent not banging their controls or that you see out of the corner of your eye that they aren't moving their fingers. Or do this until you grab release if you wanted to grab release in teams or something. Or use this for teams infinite. That's pretty much it.
Forward Throw --- Happy Play Time
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Damage:
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This is a simple, fast throw. They get sent forward. There isn't much killing power in this, but it's a good way to space you from your opponent just enough. Also, if you're at the edge, you can throw with this at low %'s if you want to gimp them. They won't go far, so you can follow them off and Fair/Dair them before they have the chance to UpB. Use this if the other throws don't seem right at the moment, it is nice spacing.
Down Throw --- Violent Bone-Breaker
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Damage:
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This is the easiest throw to string into aerials. When you use this, the opponent will pop up behind you, but they won't go as high as if you used Up Throw. This way, you can easily turn around and Fair/Dair. Or you could just short hop into a Bair. If I'm at the edge, I'll prefer to send them farther for the kill, so I might use Fair. But if they're at high % anyways, I'll use Bair to kill just to be safe. And if it doesn't kill them, I can just edgehog. If you're opponent DI's badly, turn around and grab them again for more free damage. By then they might have learned, so prepare to aerial.
Another useful thing with Dthrow is Dthrow -> Ftilt. At low %'s you can just go with a straightforward backwards Ftilt. If they're at a little bit higher percent, tilt it upwards. If they're too high, you won't be able to hit them with Ftilt, so you should just go with an aerial. This is a good damage racking throw at low %'s.
Down Throw Ftilt while you're facing the stage vs Spacies is a reliable way to get Fox/Falco off the stage and low (imo a better option than Bthrow for the % you rack up). If they DI towards you, they get hit with Ftilt. If they DI away, they are low and off the stage, at which point you should be grabbing the ledge.
Back Throw --- Broken 64 Throw
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Damage:
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If you are between your opponent and the edge while you're near the edge, this throw is what you want, especially at high %'s. At reallyyy high percents, this move will just kill them anyways. Otherwise it's nice if you just want some space, but at lower percents I personally prefer to go with the other throws. This, along with Fthrow, are better at the edge. Also, in teams, you can use this throw to disrupt the grabbed opponent's partner from saving them, because while you swing the opponent around, the rescuer will get hit.
Up Throw --- Hooray Throw
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Damage:
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This throw kills fastfallers. Chaingrab at low %'s, and if you want to be like Ka-Master, learn how to wavedash chaingrab. At high %'s, you can Uthrow -> Fair for a kill. But when their percent is in the middle or too high, you'll want to go with Down Throw. This throw is better for lower percents if you want an aerial though (at lower percents use Ftilt with Down throw). Uthrow -> turn-around Dsmash works on Spacies at low %, and is a good way to get combos started.
Forward B --- Green Missile
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Damage:
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This move is one of Luigi's needed recovery moves. Don't rely on this to use while actually fighting the opponent. A misfire is when Luigi goes flying very far and he has the phire, even if it's uncharged. There is a 1/8 (12.5%) chance of this happening every time you use the move.
There are two ways to go when using this move. You can either a) charge it up a lot, then release to reach the stage or b) use several uncharged missiles until reaching the stage. The way I like to do it depends on where I am. If I'm really high up and off the stage, I'll do the several uncharged missiles because I can sacrifice the vertical distance lost. Plus, with each missile, I have another chance to reach misfire. If I'm only about medium height, I'll charge a SideB up. I like to sweetspot my UpB's on the edge, so I have a little bit more time to charge up because I don't aim to land on the stage. If I'm not far enough, I move a little bit more with DownB recovery, then I UpB along the stage.
Down B --- Green Hurricane
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Damage:
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This is also a survival move. You can use it to sweep, but there's usually better uses for it. My preferred use for it is to approach, but not because it can hit the opponent twice, but because it has high priority. You can approach opponents who are using projectiles with DownB. his fist will outprioritize the aerial when you get close, then just instantly do an Ftilt out of it.
To use the DownB to survive, you and to press DownB, then press it 14 times in less than a second. This is very difficult, and don't expect to get all 14 very easily. In fact, not many Luigi mains can do this. But practice it to the point that you can at least gain height instead of losing it when you're in the air. Keep in mind that before using DownB to recover off the stage, you have to 'charge' it by using it once on the stage before every time you use it. It's a good idea to do this after you kill an opponent or when there is a moment of time that you are safe.
Up B --- Shoryuken
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Damage:
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This move has two uses: survive, destroy.
Survive - the reason Luigi needs his missile and tornado to survive is that his UpB only goes straight up. The missile helps with horizontal distance, and the DownB helps with a little bit of both. Use the UpB how you wish, but I recommend at least trying to sweetspot the edge as to avoid getting hit in your vulnerable falling animation. Keep an eye out for being edgehogged. However, if they aren't off the edge in time, you'll hit them with your coin and they'll go down, giving you the advantageous position.
Destroy - if you are literally touching your opponent and you use UpB, they will be stricken with an intense blast of amazingness from Luigi's fist. The fiery massacre is very high-leveled stuff. Don't rely on this too much - it's mainly flashy. But it does have it's uses. Once you reach a high level with Luigi, this is very easy to land. It kills at lower percents than his other moves, and if it doesn't, you still get a free 20%+ damage. Do this to people out of sidesteps, landing from falling animations, or plan prediction. If they shield it, it's safe because you'll get sent back quite a distance, and you can either land on a platform, go through a platform (mindgames) or land on an edge. But space it correctly.
Neutral B --- Green Fireball
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Damage:
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The fireball is an underrated move. It's Luigi's only projectile. Unlike Mario's it goes straight forward, even in the air (as opposed to listening to gravity, like Mario's). You can fireball camp with it, or mess up someone's recovery with it. Notably Fox and Falco's recovery, because if you hit them while they're charging their fire, they'll drop down and be screwed from there (you should be able to edgeguard them from there). By now, I hope you realize that Luigi destroys Fox and Falco's recoveries.
A cool thing with fireball - If you wavedash backwards off the edge, you'll fall and grab the edge. One easy way to get past this is to wavedash backwards and fireball as you get to the edge. The fireball will shoot regularly onto the edge, but you'll fly off the stage and be free to aerial the surprised, recovering opponent. You can also hold back to fly off the stage, then fireball and it will bounce off the stage, adding an obstacle for recovering opponents.
Tactics
Aerials
I'll start this section off with a short essay I wrote about Luigi's aerials.
NOTE: This is an old essay, and some of the things mentioned might not be up to date, but it's worth the read anyways.
Luigi's aerials are great. I see a use for every single one of them. Many characters will have one or two aerials that aren't so great... but LUIGI FTW
He has 2 strong killing moves, the Fair (Chop) and Dair. These two will kill at maybe 70%+ depending on character. This is just generalized though. A true Luigi player can kill at lower percents
(opponent loses second jump to Luigi wd off stage to chop/luigi skillz).
I find Luigi's Uair and Bair to be the most defensive. Bair, as most Luigis no, can be used twice in one shorthop, or just Bair to waveland to another SH Bair. Many combos come out of it. You can push the opponent off the stage with multiple Bairs or use it as an active sheild. Overall, Bair is t3h pwn4g3z0rZ. Uair has the great overall range of Luigi's aerials. When your opponent is above you, usually you can use Uair (timed correctly!) to cancel their move. This has some comboage in it, but personally I find it more defenseive. As we all know, Luigi can be extremely variable.
Luigi's last aerial is the Nair. You people have probably read many PimpUigi quotes about this move is Tobias' guide. A combo that I learned works well on floaties maybe around 70-80% or maybe lower/higher depending on who is the Dthrow to Nair. The Nair can be sweetspotted or not. You get the sweetspot rght when the kick comes out, this sends them much higher than usual. If they are hit with the kick after the sweetspot.. well then it isn't sweetspotted. Unlike some moves, the unsweetspot might be a better thing, namely juggling or setting up for a finisher. For the Dthrow to Nair on floaties, you need the sweetspot. First, you Dthrow. Then you turn around and SH/Full Hop to Nair. Very easy but effective.
The unsweetspotted Nair (USNair for now, I'm tired of typing that out) can be used into a finisher (Fair/Dair). It could even be used into one of the defensive aerials. If you can get your opponent to jump twice, USNair into a finisher or maybe a Bair. Both could work. You don't even need the USNair depending on the situation, maybe just Bairs/Chops. Luigi is just too situational.. he's too variable. I say he's broken.. jk
A tactic that can be used quite well is the Ledgehop to Aerial-Nair. This works only if your opponent tries to sheidgrab your first aerial, which is a lot of people considering they aren't used to vs Luigi. If the first aerial hits,, hurry I guess. If it misses and they sheildgrab, then they will have a USNair in their face. From there combo (maybe Uair?). I mostly would suggest using Chop to Nair considering the chances that it might actually hit instead of the Nair. It's probably going to end up being better than a Bair or Dair. Once again, it is situational. One other thing you could to is Ledgehop to Bair to Chop, then they have a chop in their face. Situational once again. I'm sure there are other combinations, but you get the picture. They basically all work to Nair cept for Uair, it has more of an Upward hitbox.. or maybe it does work..
SIMPLE YET ANNOYING COMBO: Uthrow them. If they DI behind you the fullhop Backair. It works and it is annoying. You can get a bit of damage and they won't know what to do against it the first time. Who would predict such a weak attack? BUT, from the Bair you could probably DI towards em and Uair with its great Upward hitbox.
If they DI in front of you, I imagine an Uair would work.
Note: if you Uthrow a fastfaller at semi-high % then just do Uthrow to Chop for Luigi's sake.. Bair still annoys them and could work just as well if you Bair them right at the ledge off the stage.
Dthrow to aerials. Great combo. Like I already said, Dthrow to Nair on floaties. Otherwise, some htings like Dthrow to turn-around Chop works cool. Or just Dthrow to Ftilt if their percent isn't high enough.
When in the air fighting someone, usually you can get out of a tight situation with Uair. It isn't the strongest but it is very fast and has a good hitbox. Godd enough for Luigi, hit em while they have startup lag.
Try and put pressure on them with things like Wall of Pain Chops and Double SHBairs.
Ground Game
This is important for Luigi. A lot of characters shut down his aerial game (see: Marth, Falcon)
For a great essay on how to play Marth, see ROFL's thread here: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=91241&highlight=marth
Two of Luigi's most IMPORTANT tools in the ground: Ftilt and Shield. When you learn how to use both of these in conjunction with Luigi's fantastic wavedash, then you'll already have a solid ground game. Luigi's Ftilt is his bread and butter when you're on the floor. It's range is great, the damage and knockback are decent and the damage will definitely stack up. It combos out of Dthrow for a long time and it's just... beautiful.
Luigi can be really creative on the ground. Creativity is necessary for things like landing grabs. For example, wavedashing towards someone who is shielding, expecting a Ftilt or something (conditioning ftw!), then sees you aren't going for an Ftilt but, instead, probably a grab, will spot dodge. To counter this, you simply don't do anything but turn around mid-WD and grab when you're behind them. Another gimmick is wavedashing straight at someone, single jab to break their attack, and turn around grab once you've passed them.
Let's talk about projectiles and Luigi's ground game. Standardly, you could jump above projectiles. But this can put you in a bad position against someone like Doc or Mario, who's Uair will not be nice to you. Shield and DownB are great moves for getting past projectiles. In fact, DownB is practically a moving shield - it instantly cancels when it hits a projectile allowing you to do whatever you want. Ftilt, anyone?. In fact, I credit the game I took off of HugS at pound 4 (he won 2-1, but every game was last stock high %) to the DownB projectile shield. His missiles were 0 threat to me and out of DownB-instacancel I could do whatever I wanted out of it. SHDair -> Nair for the CC Dsmash, for example. Luigi's fists will go through most projectiles, and wavedashing with shield is a very safe approach if you space properly (so as to not get grabbed). Note: wavedash shield works great on things besides projectiles, too - like Marth's sword!
What's next? Dodging! You can get out of bad situations quickly thanks to wavedashing. Shield something, wavedash away out of it. Or spot dodge and then wavedash. Luigi's spotdodge is GREAT. I don't know any frame stuff about it offhand, but it's fast, and you can move out of it quickly.
How about damaging? This will vary for different characters. Spacies are easy to rack damage on from low %. On a spacy, you can do Uthrow CG up to like 40ish%, if I recall correctly. If you don't feel confident with that, then Uthrow/Dthrow Dsmash works, too. Dthrow -> Dsmash, Nair jab cancel UpB = 52% combo ftw?
Falcon is a similar situation. Throw into Dsmash, and Dsmashes go into Dsmashes on fastfalling characters. At more mid-ish %'s, Dthrow -> Ftilt should work pretty much all the time.
On Sheik (credit goes to Pakman on this one), Uthrow -> Usmash can work at 0%. I need verification on whether this is guaranteed - I tried this on lloD and BARELY missed every time because he jumped out of it, but maybe I'm timing it wrong.. But Sheik has to get out FAST because I only missed by a hair, if it isn't guaranteed. Otherwise Dthrows with Dsmash and Ftilts are always good damage rackers.
Combo breaking: if you get combo'd, mash A. Er... if you get rapid jabbed, if you DI up and towards them you can get Nair out and combo them from there. That's relevant to both aerial and ground, I guess.
Note: a lot of the combos I mentioned in this ground section can be finished and continued with aerials, I just mentioned the beginnings of them because I wanted to stick to the ground game. Followups from aerials are fairly simple.
Note 2: I would add stuff about wavelanding and platforms here, because I guess that's ground game, but I have a lot to say about that so I'll make it a separate section.
More to come!
Thanks for the sticky Pakman!
I needed to do something epic for my 2000th post so I thought why not give something big back to the Luigi community? Luigi has been an underrated character for years and he deserves some respect. Tobias' guide is a few years old and I see new Luigi's come here every once in a while, so it seems like a new guide would be nice. Here we go!
---= Overview =---
Luigi is the slippiest, slidiest character in Melee. He's floaty and has the longest wavedash in the game. Thanks to wavedashing (I'll go more into detail about this later), Luigi has become one of the most variable characters in the game. He's got a solid arsenal of fast attacks and a great aerial game.
Let's look at some pros and cons of Luigi:
Pros:
Fast
High groundspeed
Platform maneuverability
Longest wavedash in the game
Strong combos from 0%
Good edgeguarding game
Cons:
Floaty
Recovery has a high learning curve
Easily gimped
*Not a lot of traction
* though this isn't always a bad thing!
Basic Techniques
Teching - When you land on the ground after being hit by a move, press L or R on contact and Luigi will jump into a standing form.
Spot Dodge/Sidestep - Shielding, then pressing down. This will make you temporarily invincible.
Shield Grabbing - Press A while shielding to perform a grab.
Ledge Teching - Pressing L or R when you touch the ledge at the same time as your opponent attacking with a move that hits the edge. You'll take damage, but won't get sent anywhere. (I find this to be extremely extremely useful with Luigi once you can do it consistently)
Ledge Hop - Dropping off of the edge then jumping back on.
JC Grab - A 'Jump Canceled' Grab. Done by running, then pressing up and the grab button immediately afterward. This gives you a standing grab out of a run, which has less lag than a dash grab. Very useful
Terms
Fair - Forward Aerial
Bair - Backward Aerial
Nair - Neutral Aerial
Dair - Downward Aerial
Uair - Upward Aerial
Fthrow- Forward Throw
Bthrow - Backward Throw
Dthrow - Downward Throw
Uthrow - Upward Throw
Wavedash - see below
LCancel - see below
Sex Kick - Nair (see below)
DI - Directional Influence (holding in a direction when hit to 'influence' your 'direction')
SDI - Smash Directional Influence (smashing in one direction the instant hit by a move, this greatly affects the distance you are sent)
CC - Crouch Cancel (when crouching, then hit by a move, knockback is greatly reduced)
Fastfall - Holding down on the control stick to 'fall' 'faster'
ShortHop - A 'short' 'hop' done by lightly tapping control stick up or quickly pressing x/y
SHFFL - Short Hop Fastfall'd LCancel (short hopping into an aerial, then fastfalling and LCanceling)
Ping - Luigi's sweetspotted UpB hit (you'll know it when you see it)
The Wavedash
This is pretty much what makes Luigi the man he is today. How to wavedash:
Jump
Airdodge towards the ground in a diagonal, downwards direction as fast as you can
The airdodge should be done fast enough that you don't actually see Luigi leave the ground. By doing this, you'll cause him to slide in whichever direction you aimed. The more your control stick is tilted to one direction, the farther he'll slide that way. It's not easy to do consistent perfect wavedashes, but generally his length is good enough.
This is a good beginner's guide to wavedashing, and it's especially nice because Luigi is the demo:
Wavedashing has so many uses, but I won't cover them in the Overview.
The LCancel
LCancel is NECESSARY to know if you want to play decently with ANY character. It's simple to do, but at first you'll have to consciously do it before it's consistent. But don't worry, once you have it down, it'll just be muscle memory.
There isn't much to actually doing it - when you hit the ground with an aerial, press the L button on the instant of contact. What this does is actually does is halve the lag that the aerial originally would have had. This makes you less vulnerable when you land on the ground with an aerial.
A good way to practice this is to take Link or Marth into an Endless Time VS. Match (training mode has no c-stick, I believe) and use your down aerial into the ground. Then press L when your character lands on the stage. The reason I say Link or Marth is because their down aerials are very laggy, so it should be obvious when it is cut in half.
Recovery
At first, it seems nearly impossible to recover with Luigi once you're off the stage. But if you utilize everything correctly, you'll be fine. You have to use Luigi's UpB, SideB, and DownB to recover. The following is assuming you're off the stage and trying to recover.
UpB: This move is Luigi's best bet for vertical recovery. It goes straight up, and that's pretty much it. Only use this move when you're right next to the stage, then you'll actually grab the ledge. It will serve you well to learn how to sweetspot the ledge (i.e. waiting until you are low enough that your UpB will carry you only as high as the ledge).
SideB: There's a couple ways to use this. One is charging the move until you're around the same level as the stage's ledge, then letting go. Another way to go is to just use a few uncharged SideB's. I prefer to do the several uncharged SideB's when I'm higher in the air, because if I fully charge on too early, I might land on the stage and get hit right off again, which I don't want. The last way to use this move is to misfire. The end. (check the misfire sticky for more info - http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=64648). Don't use this move when you are too low due to the amount of ending lag. DI high when you're hit away, and you'll have more time to use this move and get closer to the stage.
DownB: This move takes a bit of practice to master. You have to "charge" it on the stage before it's of any use (use it while on the ground). Then, when you're off the stage and attempting to recover, press DownB then press B 14 more times as fast as you can - if you get it all in one second then you'll achieve maximum height. This is very difficult, and there are no shortcuts. You have to figure out the best way for you to do it and practice practice practice.
Second jump: It is wise to rely on the aforementioned techniques excluding UpB before you use your double jump. Sometimes, after using SideB and DownB, you will get hit away, and your second jump will save your life. Keeping Luigi's second jump until you absolutely need it is imperative - don't use it if you can recover without it.
Situational-ness
I think that Luigi is a very situational character. There are generally several options when playing with Luigi, so play with your own style. This is what makes Luigi such a unique character, everyone plays him differently. That's also a reason why he's pretty hard to counter with other characters. You may know how to play against one Luigi, but the next one will have their own style.
Efficiency
This little section isn't Luigi specific, but is useful to know anyways.
Do not try to be flashy in a serious match. To win, you have to play to win - be efficient... with that sad, you should be playing Luigi because you have fun playing Luigi, so make sure you're having fun, too.
---=The Armory=---
In this section of the guide, I will describe each of Luigi's moves and list some of its uses. Remember, like I said earlier, there are so many things to do with Luigi, so don't be afraid to be creative!
-=Tilts=-
Jab - punch punch BUTT
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Damage:
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This is one of my favorite moves with Luigi. If you get in really close and spotdodge one of their attacks, you can land several jab cycles. It's fast, it racks up damage. There isn't much starting or ending lag, so you can wavedash into or out of the jab combo.
Sometimes you'll just want to do the first one or two hits of the three-hit jab combo. This way you can run into something else (the third one has a tad bit more ending lag than the other two). You can double/single jab into a JC grab, a wavedash escape, a Ping, etc. Keep in mind, this move is better at lower percents.
The jab can also be used to interrupt the opponents attack, because of its speed. You can even block projectiles sometimes with the first hit.
Forward Tilt --- Long Legs
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Damage:
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Luigi's bread and butter.
First things first, this move can be aimed in three different directions - you guessed it! Up, middle, and down. They've all got their pros and cons.
The upward FTilt is a little bit shorter than the others, but it hits high, and that's a plus. I also believe it has more knockback (?).
The middle FTilt is pretty standard. He just kicks forward. This is a very solid ground option for Luigi. A relatively safe way to approach with wavedash.
The downward FTilt is a little bit tricky. It won't have much knockback on them at all, but you can hit an opponent hanging on the edge with this.
Wavedashes into FTilt are usually a good idea for a solid ground game with Luigi. This is one of Luigi's longer ranged ground moves, so we like it. All in all, it's an overall good move. It also is one of Luigi's most reliable edgeguarding moves. Beware of hitting your opponent with a downward-aimed Ftilt - if your opponent DIs upward, then they will insta-grab the ledge. Either grab the ledge/edgeguard some other way, or Ftilt mid or high.
Down Tilt --- Cute Kick
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Damage:
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This is the worst of Luigi's three tilt moves, but every move has its use. It has more lag than the other tilts, and not as much range. It really just pops your opponent into the air, and its best merit is the fact that it is rarely used and offers the element of surprise. At mid %, you can Dtilt->Ftilt. At high %, you can Ftilt->Fair for a kill. Be creative!
Up Tilt --- Super Powerful Thunder Uppercut Finish
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Damage:
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This is a good move for low %s juggling and setting up combos/Fair/Dair kills. You can juggle fastfallers with this. It also works out of mixups. On FD, this is useful while doing WD juggles/chaingrabs on fastfallers.
-=Smash Attacks=-
Forward Smash --- Friendly Handshake
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Damage:
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This move is pretty much only for killing. It has a small range. You can aim it up, middle, and down, just like Luigi's FTilt. It's not that useful and you won't find Luigi's using it as much as Downsmash or Upsmash.
One interesting thing I found about this move is that you can actually put the wavedash to a complete stop if you start to charge it up midslide. It's very abrupt and not a lot of people know about it (I'm updating this in 2013 and I STILL never see it used). Still, it's the least useful of Luigi's smashes.
Down Smash --- Break It Down Now
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Damage:
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This is probably the most used of Luigi's three smashes. It hits on both sides of him and sends the opponent straight up. It covers a nice area if you wavedash into it.
This move is Luigi's best smash attack in my opinion. It's very easy to catch unsuspecting opponents with multiple hits of this move at low %. It's pretty standard in Luigi's arsenal for combos.
At high %s this can kill, but not quite as well as Usmash.
Uthrow->Dsmash tends to work on faster-falling characters, and Dthrow->Dsmash works on others. For some reason, when you Dthrow Mr. G&W he falls instantly to the ground, allowing Luigi to instantly turnaround Dsmash him.
What I've found is that a lot of people tend to get hit by consecutive Dsmashes at low %, and this is not limited to fastfallers. If they choose not to jump or aerial and opt to tech after getting hit by another Dsmash, you can Dsmash them again before they touch the ground.
Up Smash --- Super Effective Head Smash
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Damage:
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This is probably Luigi's best move for killing upwards. It's tough to land a sweetspotted Nair high up and Dsmash doesn't have the same vertical knockback, although its range outclasses the UpSmash's by far. This move's strength is its speed.It hits above Luigi and a little bit to the back. Uthrow-> Usmash works on Sheik at 0% unless she jumps as soon as possible.
-=Aerials=-
Forward Air --- CHOP
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Damage:
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This is one of the moves that Luigi is famous for. It will be one of your main killing moves. Luigi has a much better aerial game than his ground game, so you have to learn all of his aerials the best you can!
The Chop hits out in front of Luigi with decent forward range. It's good when you're using aerials to space, because the other aerials have pretty crappy forward range.
Weak Nair -> Chop, Utilt -> Chop, Uthrow -> Chop. All of those are pretty simple ways to land the chop at low percents. Nair and Dsmash send the opponent straight up, so it's pretty straightforward - just jump and Fair. Utilt can send them a little bit to one side sometimes. Uthrow depends on their DI. If they DI behind you, then you're going to have to turn around and THEN Chop. Otherwise just jump forwards into Chop.
For high percents, there aren't as many reliable ways to land a Chop. One simple one is Dthrow -> Chop. Know that after Dthrow your opponent will be sent behind you. So you'll have to turn around and Chop, or to be tricky, wavedash backwards and quickly jump into a Chop. (be creative!)
The Chop is also one of Luigi's ways to apply shield pressure. This goes along with spacing, because if you do it correctly they can't shield grab you. Shorthop Chop their shield, and DI backwards so you land too far for them to actually shieldgrab you. You can also waveland and slide far away. Or you could shorthop Chop, then on the way down pop out an Nair and LCancel it. If this still doesn't hit, back it up with a Jab combo. By then they probably would have grabbed, and if they haven't you can grab them. Generally, they'll have tried to grab by then. But some smarter players will expect this. One quick thing I find to work is to jab only for the first couple hits, wavedash behind them and pivot grab. I usually do this from a straight out wavedash as an approach in itself, but it works here too. If you don't think this will work, just do all three jabs or just one or two to be safe, then wavedash out of there. Even though you didn't get any damage, you hit their shield a lot. Note: the previous also applies with Dair as the first hit instead of the Chop, I will reference the reader to this paragraph when I explain the Dair below.
Chop can also be used for edgeguarding. One especially useful thing that comes to mind is that, because of its forward range, it's very easy to Chop Fox/Falco out of their UpB's when you're off the stage. If you land this when they have no jumps and you are off the stage, they are pretty much guaranteed death. You can also use the Chop to stage spike if you drop off the edge and use it on someone trying to sweetspot the ledge (Marth).
Another thing, jumping up to a platform, immediately wavelanding, then fall-off platform into Chop is a surprising and useful tactic. I LOVE platform wavedashing, there are soo many uses. I highly recommend every Luigi learn how to do it.
Down Air --- Power Drill Not
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Damage:
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I usually interchange this move with the Chop. It is another one of Luigi's main killing moves. To see how to use Dair as shield pressure, read above where I described how to use Chop for shield pressure. The same applies for Dair. I prefer to use Dair when I'm shorthopping into a shield, because I can get a little bit closer, and the last second Nair is easier to hit them with. I find Dair to be more useful off the edge than Chop, so I'll list some stuff about it here. These uses apply to Fair as well, though.
Ledgehop -> Dair. Very useful. If they shield it, refer to the shield pressure above. Just pop out a Nair afterward. If they get hit, good for you. If you want to slide back onto the edge, waveland backwards. If you want to follow up, waveland forward. There are numerous things you can do out of this. You can even ledgehop -> Dair -> Fair, or Fair -> Dair. That's the beautiful thing about Luigi - he can use more than one aerial very easily stringed together.
You can wavedash off the edge into a Dair (note: to wavedash off the edge forwards, you'll have to tilt forward at the end a little bit because Luigi will be in his gaining balance position at the edge) to edgeguard. This is where you have to judge whether you should use Dair or Fair. If they are coming horizontally, then Fair because of its forward range. If they are coming from the bottom, then use Dair because it hits farther downwards. If they are against the stage, use Bair (read more below). If they are coming from above, you shouldn't be in this position.
Let's say Fox or Falco comes at you face on, then you use Fair. But think about it, you can't easily Fair DK out of his UpB because he's got a lot of vertical range. But right above him, you can hit with the bottom of Dair. Be creative.
If you hit with Luigi's butt on Dair, it'll meteor them. This is very difficult to do on command as the hitbox is very small.
Back Air --- Broken Kick
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Damage:
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This move is ridiculously good. You can chain it out of SH'd Fairs, Dair, Uairs, or other Bairs for double Bairs. You can pressure with it, edgeguard, kill, etc. For shields, SH Double Bairs or Backwards Dair into Bair.
Hanging from the ledge -> Bair is one of Luigi's safest ledgeguarding options. You can stop people from horizontal AND from below. Let's say Fox's comes at the edge horizontally with UpB. Wavedash to the edge, ledge drop and Bair. He's dead. If someone like Marth tries to sweetspot the edge, wavedash forward off the stage and Bair him, he'll be stage spiked.
Platform wavelands into Bair is also effective. My favorite thing for Bair is edgeguarding, but you can feel free to be creative. That's why Luigi's aerials are so amazing - you can come up with a myriad of things.
Neutral Air --- Sex Kick
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Damage:
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Luigi's signature move. This move is pretty much amazing. The initial hit sends them straight upwards. At high %'s, this can kill floaties. The frames after the initial hit of this move send the opponent popped up a little bit, not as much as the initial hit. I prefer the weaker hit as it leads easily into combos. Read above for some uses of the Nair in terms of shield pressure.
Nair. Destroys. Fasterfallers. Nair, Nair, Chop?
This is really all I have left to say:
Up Air --- 1080 Kick
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Damage:
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This move is SERIOUSLY underrated and userused. It has soooo many uses. It is Luigi's only aerials that hits well above him. I admit this move isn't the easiest one to learn how to use, but it is definitely worth learning. This move gives you so much range in almost no time. It's not going to kill anything, aside from edgeguarding.
One example of edgeguarding, when an opponent comes straight towards the edge and you're hanging on it, drop down and hit with the reverse kick above Luigi. They'll be sent behind you. It's very stylish, and effective. It's a weaker version of Ganon's Tipman Spike.
If you're about to get hit by Ganon's Dair from above, time and space a Uair to cancel it out before you take that ridiculous amount of damage.
Also, think about Mario combos with Uair. Luigi can sometimes do similar things.
Since this has upward range, you can hit opponent from under platforms with it.
-=Throws=-
Jab Attack --- Headbutt
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Damage:
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Not much to this move. You can use it a couple times if you want to increase their damage slightly before a throw. You can do it several times before a throw if you hear your opponent not banging their controls or that you see out of the corner of your eye that they aren't moving their fingers. Or do this until you grab release if you wanted to grab release in teams or something. Or use this for teams infinite. That's pretty much it.
Forward Throw --- Happy Play Time
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Damage:
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This is a simple, fast throw. They get sent forward. There isn't much killing power in this, but it's a good way to space you from your opponent just enough. Also, if you're at the edge, you can throw with this at low %'s if you want to gimp them. They won't go far, so you can follow them off and Fair/Dair them before they have the chance to UpB. Use this if the other throws don't seem right at the moment, it is nice spacing.
Down Throw --- Violent Bone-Breaker
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Damage:
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This is the easiest throw to string into aerials. When you use this, the opponent will pop up behind you, but they won't go as high as if you used Up Throw. This way, you can easily turn around and Fair/Dair. Or you could just short hop into a Bair. If I'm at the edge, I'll prefer to send them farther for the kill, so I might use Fair. But if they're at high % anyways, I'll use Bair to kill just to be safe. And if it doesn't kill them, I can just edgehog. If you're opponent DI's badly, turn around and grab them again for more free damage. By then they might have learned, so prepare to aerial.
Another useful thing with Dthrow is Dthrow -> Ftilt. At low %'s you can just go with a straightforward backwards Ftilt. If they're at a little bit higher percent, tilt it upwards. If they're too high, you won't be able to hit them with Ftilt, so you should just go with an aerial. This is a good damage racking throw at low %'s.
Down Throw Ftilt while you're facing the stage vs Spacies is a reliable way to get Fox/Falco off the stage and low (imo a better option than Bthrow for the % you rack up). If they DI towards you, they get hit with Ftilt. If they DI away, they are low and off the stage, at which point you should be grabbing the ledge.
Back Throw --- Broken 64 Throw
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Damage:
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If you are between your opponent and the edge while you're near the edge, this throw is what you want, especially at high %'s. At reallyyy high percents, this move will just kill them anyways. Otherwise it's nice if you just want some space, but at lower percents I personally prefer to go with the other throws. This, along with Fthrow, are better at the edge. Also, in teams, you can use this throw to disrupt the grabbed opponent's partner from saving them, because while you swing the opponent around, the rescuer will get hit.
Up Throw --- Hooray Throw
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Damage:
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This throw kills fastfallers. Chaingrab at low %'s, and if you want to be like Ka-Master, learn how to wavedash chaingrab. At high %'s, you can Uthrow -> Fair for a kill. But when their percent is in the middle or too high, you'll want to go with Down Throw. This throw is better for lower percents if you want an aerial though (at lower percents use Ftilt with Down throw). Uthrow -> turn-around Dsmash works on Spacies at low %, and is a good way to get combos started.
Forward B --- Green Missile
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Damage:
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This move is one of Luigi's needed recovery moves. Don't rely on this to use while actually fighting the opponent. A misfire is when Luigi goes flying very far and he has the phire, even if it's uncharged. There is a 1/8 (12.5%) chance of this happening every time you use the move.
There are two ways to go when using this move. You can either a) charge it up a lot, then release to reach the stage or b) use several uncharged missiles until reaching the stage. The way I like to do it depends on where I am. If I'm really high up and off the stage, I'll do the several uncharged missiles because I can sacrifice the vertical distance lost. Plus, with each missile, I have another chance to reach misfire. If I'm only about medium height, I'll charge a SideB up. I like to sweetspot my UpB's on the edge, so I have a little bit more time to charge up because I don't aim to land on the stage. If I'm not far enough, I move a little bit more with DownB recovery, then I UpB along the stage.
Down B --- Green Hurricane
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Damage:
---
This is also a survival move. You can use it to sweep, but there's usually better uses for it. My preferred use for it is to approach, but not because it can hit the opponent twice, but because it has high priority. You can approach opponents who are using projectiles with DownB. his fist will outprioritize the aerial when you get close, then just instantly do an Ftilt out of it.
To use the DownB to survive, you and to press DownB, then press it 14 times in less than a second. This is very difficult, and don't expect to get all 14 very easily. In fact, not many Luigi mains can do this. But practice it to the point that you can at least gain height instead of losing it when you're in the air. Keep in mind that before using DownB to recover off the stage, you have to 'charge' it by using it once on the stage before every time you use it. It's a good idea to do this after you kill an opponent or when there is a moment of time that you are safe.
Up B --- Shoryuken
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Damage:
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This move has two uses: survive, destroy.
Survive - the reason Luigi needs his missile and tornado to survive is that his UpB only goes straight up. The missile helps with horizontal distance, and the DownB helps with a little bit of both. Use the UpB how you wish, but I recommend at least trying to sweetspot the edge as to avoid getting hit in your vulnerable falling animation. Keep an eye out for being edgehogged. However, if they aren't off the edge in time, you'll hit them with your coin and they'll go down, giving you the advantageous position.
Destroy - if you are literally touching your opponent and you use UpB, they will be stricken with an intense blast of amazingness from Luigi's fist. The fiery massacre is very high-leveled stuff. Don't rely on this too much - it's mainly flashy. But it does have it's uses. Once you reach a high level with Luigi, this is very easy to land. It kills at lower percents than his other moves, and if it doesn't, you still get a free 20%+ damage. Do this to people out of sidesteps, landing from falling animations, or plan prediction. If they shield it, it's safe because you'll get sent back quite a distance, and you can either land on a platform, go through a platform (mindgames) or land on an edge. But space it correctly.
Neutral B --- Green Fireball
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Damage:
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The fireball is an underrated move. It's Luigi's only projectile. Unlike Mario's it goes straight forward, even in the air (as opposed to listening to gravity, like Mario's). You can fireball camp with it, or mess up someone's recovery with it. Notably Fox and Falco's recovery, because if you hit them while they're charging their fire, they'll drop down and be screwed from there (you should be able to edgeguard them from there). By now, I hope you realize that Luigi destroys Fox and Falco's recoveries.
A cool thing with fireball - If you wavedash backwards off the edge, you'll fall and grab the edge. One easy way to get past this is to wavedash backwards and fireball as you get to the edge. The fireball will shoot regularly onto the edge, but you'll fly off the stage and be free to aerial the surprised, recovering opponent. You can also hold back to fly off the stage, then fireball and it will bounce off the stage, adding an obstacle for recovering opponents.
Tactics
Aerials
I'll start this section off with a short essay I wrote about Luigi's aerials.
NOTE: This is an old essay, and some of the things mentioned might not be up to date, but it's worth the read anyways.
Luigi's aerials are great. I see a use for every single one of them. Many characters will have one or two aerials that aren't so great... but LUIGI FTW
He has 2 strong killing moves, the Fair (Chop) and Dair. These two will kill at maybe 70%+ depending on character. This is just generalized though. A true Luigi player can kill at lower percents
(opponent loses second jump to Luigi wd off stage to chop/luigi skillz).I find Luigi's Uair and Bair to be the most defensive. Bair, as most Luigis no, can be used twice in one shorthop, or just Bair to waveland to another SH Bair. Many combos come out of it. You can push the opponent off the stage with multiple Bairs or use it as an active sheild. Overall, Bair is t3h pwn4g3z0rZ. Uair has the great overall range of Luigi's aerials. When your opponent is above you, usually you can use Uair (timed correctly!) to cancel their move. This has some comboage in it, but personally I find it more defenseive. As we all know, Luigi can be extremely variable.
Luigi's last aerial is the Nair. You people have probably read many PimpUigi quotes about this move is Tobias' guide. A combo that I learned works well on floaties maybe around 70-80% or maybe lower/higher depending on who is the Dthrow to Nair. The Nair can be sweetspotted or not. You get the sweetspot rght when the kick comes out, this sends them much higher than usual. If they are hit with the kick after the sweetspot.. well then it isn't sweetspotted. Unlike some moves, the unsweetspot might be a better thing, namely juggling or setting up for a finisher. For the Dthrow to Nair on floaties, you need the sweetspot. First, you Dthrow. Then you turn around and SH/Full Hop to Nair. Very easy but effective.
The unsweetspotted Nair (USNair for now, I'm tired of typing that out) can be used into a finisher (Fair/Dair). It could even be used into one of the defensive aerials. If you can get your opponent to jump twice, USNair into a finisher or maybe a Bair. Both could work. You don't even need the USNair depending on the situation, maybe just Bairs/Chops. Luigi is just too situational.. he's too variable. I say he's broken..
jkA tactic that can be used quite well is the Ledgehop to Aerial-Nair. This works only if your opponent tries to sheidgrab your first aerial, which is a lot of people considering they aren't used to vs Luigi. If the first aerial hits,, hurry I guess. If it misses and they sheildgrab, then they will have a USNair in their face. From there combo (maybe Uair?). I mostly would suggest using Chop to Nair considering the chances that it might actually hit instead of the Nair. It's probably going to end up being better than a Bair or Dair. Once again, it is situational. One other thing you could to is Ledgehop to Bair to Chop, then they have a chop in their face. Situational once again. I'm sure there are other combinations, but you get the picture. They basically all work to Nair cept for Uair, it has more of an Upward hitbox.. or maybe it does work..
SIMPLE YET ANNOYING COMBO: Uthrow them. If they DI behind you the fullhop Backair. It works and it is annoying. You can get a bit of damage and they won't know what to do against it the first time. Who would predict such a weak attack? BUT, from the Bair you could probably DI towards em and Uair with its great Upward hitbox.
If they DI in front of you, I imagine an Uair would work.
Note: if you Uthrow a fastfaller at semi-high % then just do Uthrow to Chop for Luigi's sake.. Bair still annoys them and could work just as well if you Bair them right at the ledge off the stage.
Dthrow to aerials. Great combo. Like I already said, Dthrow to Nair on floaties. Otherwise, some htings like Dthrow to turn-around Chop works cool. Or just Dthrow to Ftilt if their percent isn't high enough.
When in the air fighting someone, usually you can get out of a tight situation with Uair. It isn't the strongest but it is very fast and has a good hitbox. Godd enough for Luigi, hit em while they have startup lag.
Try and put pressure on them with things like Wall of Pain Chops and Double SHBairs.
Ground Game
This is important for Luigi. A lot of characters shut down his aerial game (see: Marth, Falcon)
For a great essay on how to play Marth, see ROFL's thread here: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=91241&highlight=marth
Two of Luigi's most IMPORTANT tools in the ground: Ftilt and Shield. When you learn how to use both of these in conjunction with Luigi's fantastic wavedash, then you'll already have a solid ground game. Luigi's Ftilt is his bread and butter when you're on the floor. It's range is great, the damage and knockback are decent and the damage will definitely stack up. It combos out of Dthrow for a long time and it's just... beautiful.
Luigi can be really creative on the ground. Creativity is necessary for things like landing grabs. For example, wavedashing towards someone who is shielding, expecting a Ftilt or something (conditioning ftw!), then sees you aren't going for an Ftilt but, instead, probably a grab, will spot dodge. To counter this, you simply don't do anything but turn around mid-WD and grab when you're behind them. Another gimmick is wavedashing straight at someone, single jab to break their attack, and turn around grab once you've passed them.
Let's talk about projectiles and Luigi's ground game. Standardly, you could jump above projectiles. But this can put you in a bad position against someone like Doc or Mario, who's Uair will not be nice to you. Shield and DownB are great moves for getting past projectiles. In fact, DownB is practically a moving shield - it instantly cancels when it hits a projectile allowing you to do whatever you want. Ftilt, anyone?. In fact, I credit the game I took off of HugS at pound 4 (he won 2-1, but every game was last stock high %) to the DownB projectile shield. His missiles were 0 threat to me and out of DownB-instacancel I could do whatever I wanted out of it. SHDair -> Nair for the CC Dsmash, for example. Luigi's fists will go through most projectiles, and wavedashing with shield is a very safe approach if you space properly (so as to not get grabbed). Note: wavedash shield works great on things besides projectiles, too - like Marth's sword!
What's next? Dodging! You can get out of bad situations quickly thanks to wavedashing. Shield something, wavedash away out of it. Or spot dodge and then wavedash. Luigi's spotdodge is GREAT. I don't know any frame stuff about it offhand, but it's fast, and you can move out of it quickly.
How about damaging? This will vary for different characters. Spacies are easy to rack damage on from low %. On a spacy, you can do Uthrow CG up to like 40ish%, if I recall correctly. If you don't feel confident with that, then Uthrow/Dthrow Dsmash works, too. Dthrow -> Dsmash, Nair jab cancel UpB = 52% combo ftw?
Falcon is a similar situation. Throw into Dsmash, and Dsmashes go into Dsmashes on fastfalling characters. At more mid-ish %'s, Dthrow -> Ftilt should work pretty much all the time.
On Sheik (credit goes to Pakman on this one), Uthrow -> Usmash can work at 0%. I need verification on whether this is guaranteed - I tried this on lloD and BARELY missed every time because he jumped out of it, but maybe I'm timing it wrong.. But Sheik has to get out FAST because I only missed by a hair, if it isn't guaranteed. Otherwise Dthrows with Dsmash and Ftilts are always good damage rackers.
Combo breaking: if you get combo'd, mash A. Er... if you get rapid jabbed, if you DI up and towards them you can get Nair out and combo them from there. That's relevant to both aerial and ground, I guess.
Note: a lot of the combos I mentioned in this ground section can be finished and continued with aerials, I just mentioned the beginnings of them because I wanted to stick to the ground game. Followups from aerials are fairly simple.
Note 2: I would add stuff about wavelanding and platforms here, because I guess that's ground game, but I have a lot to say about that so I'll make it a separate section.
More to come!
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