Super Smash Bros. Ultimate beginner’s guide – tips and tricks

Getting into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a new player might be a bit of a daunting task for some people. Unlocking the dozens and dozens of characters and fighting against people who have been playing for years is a lot to consider. Don’t worry, though; everyone starts somewhere, and you have to take the first step to get on a path toward greatness. Here are some beginner tips and tricks for Super Smash. Bros. Ultimate.

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Tips and tricks for beginners in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

What should you play?

Your first choice to make when you get into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is to find a game mode to play. To unlock characters, you need to either play various matches and face off against the locked character to add them to your roster or advance through the World of Light Adventure mode under Spirits. Our recommendation for solo play is to play Classic Mode under Games & More. These are basic matches catered to the character you play and will almost always have you unlocking a new character when you beat them at the end. If you fail your fight against them, you can face them again any time under Challenger’s Approach in Games & More.

For multiplayer matches, just regular Smash will suffice. Set the time limit or stocks you want and play. If you have a veteran friend playing, have them walk you through how the character you are playing works and enter Training under Games & More to try them out without stress. You will get the best work in while playing Smash, though. We recommend keeping any AI opponents to about level three to give yourself a good entry difficulty to learn on.

Who should you play?

When you first start Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, you will only have access to a small number of fighters (plus DLC characters) that will quickly grow over time. If you are a fan of video games, especially Nintendo ones, you likely recognize a good portion of the characters available.

While controlling every character is similarly based on the game’s controls, their abilities are much different. We recommend swapping between as many as possible to find a favorite and then sticking with them to really learn them. Kirby, Mario, Pikachu, and Donkey Kong are very good first-time choices. If you have DLC characters, Banjo & Kazooie are also easy to get the hang of.

Get familiar with your fighter

Now on to actual gameplay tips. While it can be fun to find a particular move you like and use it a lot, spamming that attack will actually make it weaker the more you use it. With this in mind, be sure to play with the moves your character has. First, you want to get your enemy’s damage up by any means necessary. Use basic physical attacks with A and your special abilities with B. Rotate between them until your opponent starts getting in the 80% and up damage range. From there, you want to start utilizing smash attacks to send your opponent flying. Smash attacks are done with A and any direction. They can also be charged up for more damage and knockback, but don’t hold it for too long since you leave yourself open for a counter-attack.

On the defensive side, blocking and dodging are everything. Hold ZL, and your shield will be put up. While this prevents you from taking damage from physical and special attacks, you can be grabbed and thrown. Additionally, as your shield gets smaller, it can be broken and leave you stunned for an easy Smash attack. To dodge, move left, right, or down on the left stick while holding your shield up. Timing is the name of the game here. You will avoid all damage from incoming attacks if you time this right.

From there, our best recommendation is to keep playing. Practice makes perfect, and the best way to practice with each character is through the Classic Mode to decide if you like them or not. After that, keep using them in Smash battles until you get to a point where you feel you can take on human competition either locally or online.