4: How to Wavedash – An SSBM Milestone
You often read the names of techniques like ‘Wavedashing’ being thrown about (I’ve already used it repeatedly) and this technique has many variations and uses – you will learn them.
Wavedashing is an abstract form of movement possible in SSBM through the abuse of the game’s physics, so it isn’t a glitch, and therefore isn’t banned from tournament play.
Basically it involves the following steps to execute a wavedash.
1. You jump
2. You airdodge, using DI to make yourself dodge into the ground, preferably at a 30 degree angle
The end result of this action is that you will slide along the ground for a certain distance, retaining your current facing.
All the while you may perform any action whatsoever – This being the reason why it is an extremely useful skill to have.
However, you must perform the two actions EXTREMELY FAST.
The value of EXTRMELY fast differs between characters. Extra speed is required when doing it with a fast jumper like Fox. However slower (But still fast) timing is needed to wavedash with characters like Link and especially Bowser, as your character must actually leave the ground before you can airdodge into it.
Therefore characters with a longer animation for the leaving of the ground require slower (Yet still very fast) timing.
Also the distance granted by a wavedash is varied by their ability to slide.
This is my advice to you, start with Luigi. His ability to slide is greater than any other character, and he is therefore the best wavedasher.
Now go into a vs. Human match (So your opponent isn’t disturbing you while you wavedash – you could do it in training as well I suppose) on Final Destination (Or any flat stage)
Now here’s what I want you to do.
1. Use X to jump and R to airdodge – get your fingers in a position that will allow you to press them consecutively 1/10th of a second after each other, although you needn’t change the whole way you hold the controller, you may need to reposition your right thumb and index fingers.
2. Use your left thumb to hold the directional stick to either the Diagonal left or Diagonal right, your character should now be crouching.
3. Press X then R EXTREMELY FAST, did it work? If it did and the little green man slid across the ground, congratulations, if not, then you just joined the 95% of people who didn’t get it on their first try
All I can say is keep trying until you get it – If worse comes to worse and you’re ready to throw something large and damaging at the screen, restrain yourself, go into training mode and set it to 2/3 speed and try.
Once you manage to do it a few times, you should practice doing it consecutively.
A good way to describe wavedashing consecutively is this.
Instead of pressing X and R like this:
X R X R X R X R X R X R X R
It should be more like this:
XR XR XR XR XR XR XR XR
If that makes sense =D
I implore you to practice it, do it until your wrist hurts, do it until you get to a point where you don’t need to start by holding diagonal down before pressing X and R.
You need to get to a point where during any time during play you can go
X – diagonal down left/right + Airdodge
Continuously
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There are also another way to wavedash,
Wave land:
This is when you’re already in the air, and just before you hit the ground, you air dodge into the ground at an angle like a wavedash. It will have the same effect but there is one thing I want to point out. You end up sliding further
And that’s the only difference, albeit not an important one.
When you think about it, there a multitude of ways you could apply wave landing, but for now it isn’t essentially important, you’ll figure out for yourself if this will have any benefit to your play style, so just know that you needn’t learn this right away – Just practice wavedashing.
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