Why Link ISN'T "God-Awful" in Smash Ultimate

Oh boy, I have to defend another character. This time someone made a post saying why Link is "God-Awful" and umm...

Yeah no.

I get it's his opinion so I'm not gonna call him dumb or anything, but I'm just gonna say why I think Link is a pretty good character. This is his post incase you want to see why he thinks Link is- wait what?

No this is a troll right?

"Garbage-tier bottom 3 character". http://aminoapps.vertvonline.info/p/eo8gkh

Oh boy. I'll be using a lot of what he's said and countering it, since I feel like he missed a lot of things out.

Remote Bombs

Okay starting off with his own point, I'm gonna try and address all of his points that I can. Remote bombs are good, he just didn't mention all of the uses. Yeah, they may not do tons of damage or kill early, but they're not supposed too.

The Twitter combos you see utilising remote bombs can be done in matches, and obviously I don't think Sakurai was like "Yeah let's make this bomb not immediately blow up just for cool combos." This is just like an extra benefit the bombs have. One of the many reasons it's a pretty good move, but definitely not one of the main.

Also since the opponent can only pick the bomb up and throw it, they'll have to be (extremely obviously) fishing for something, since they can't just detonate the bomb. They either throw the bomb at you which does barely any damage, throw the bomb away or just try way too hard to get a stylish combo. The thing is, Link can get bombs at any time and has the ability to detonate it, and the combos with it are rarely used, so when he does do it no one really expects it. This means the odds of your opponent getting a better reward than you are preeeeetty low.

This move, especially combined with Links other moves, can be deadly at edge guarding. You have quick arrows to try and inconvenience the opponent, by either hitting them and getting a bit of % while sending them back a little, or even potentially sniping their jump.

Boomerang can be helpful if they're recovering at a specific angle so you can try and get a fair after it but I wouldn't rely on it too much.

Bomb though sends them pretty far away, which can set up for more dumb arrows or even kill, wether that's because the move just killed or the opponent can't recover. While kind of risky, you can also go off stage after you've used a bomb and throw out a fair, which can kill quite early, especially off stage.

And now, something crucial I feel like he skipped.

You know the projectile? The one that you can detonate at any time? Yeah it's pretty good at controling space and keeping the opponent out! Big surprise.

Sorry that was a bit sarcastic even for me

So straight away the main point of a projectile is to keep the opponent out and do a little bit of nice damage, right? What makes this one so unique is the big hitbox when it explodes. It also sends the opponent quite far compared to moves like Wolf's laser, but it isn't as fast.

The fact the bomb doesn't immediately detonate gives it an additional use: controlling space. If you put a remote bomb on the ground, the opponent won't want to go near it, since you can explode it before they pick it up. This is like having Isabelle's Lloyd or Snakes C4 but also as a projectile.

Oh did I say AN additional use? The fact you can put it on the ground also allows you to be able to ledge trap really well. If you get the time to throw a boomerang too, you cover so many options while being able to move around and cover options as link. Even without a boomerang it takes a few options away, unless they want to get exploded.

I really don't know why he didn't mention the fact it's a projectile instead of saying the damage isn't great and it's not the best kill move.

Also, I don't think Link's movement is enough to make him bottom 3 and I can't argue his stats (It makes sense he's slow since most projectile characters are though), but one thing I wanted to mention is the fact the bomb can help with recovery and I think he underrated that a tiny bit. It definitely isn't the best option but it can help. He did mention it though.

Kill Power

I know that was long but I want to make sure I properly defend all you Link mains. For kill power this part actually annoys me. For starters, He mentions 6 moves without edge guarding and says that's a few.

Forward air

He skipped over this move so fast. He only said "Forward air is only practical if comboed from a close-up (unsafe) boomerang." This move is an aireal, you can try spacing it. You can use it off stage. If you get a read on a jump, airdodge counter etc. You can use it. If you even can get a downtilt it can lead into forward air. (Usually Smash attacks won't be able to punish a jump that's why I mentioned it.)

The fact it's an aerial and not a smash attack makes it so much more versatile since, like I said you can use it offstage and in the air, while being able to hit grounded opponents.

Forward tilt

While I can't argue the fact it isn't really safe, but It can be a decent way to punish something. It's not the best kill move of Links, but it does it's job and is one of the quicker options to kill.

Up B

He its it's decent out of shield... Kind of. Again, it's just a move that does what it should. If you shield something and think you can up b and it'll kill, go for it. You could just run up and do it but umm... Don't. People are human, they're bound to make a mistake, so when they do it on your shield this move is a good option.

Of course you can try and do it in the air if you're feeling risky, or even off stage to suicide and style on a poor soul.

Up Smash

The move sometimes doesn't work, with people falling out in the last hit but other characters have the same problem. This move is mainly good if the opponent is above you, since you can catch them. He does mention the fact you often have to get them above 100%, but I'm going to explain later why that's not as big of an issue as it may seem.

Up Air

This move is similar to up smash, where it's good if your opponent is above you. Since air dodges have a lot of lag, depending on the situation if you up air you may be able to still get like a grab or jab. Both of these moves and forward air help make the opponent stay grounded more, since they don't want to get killed by them. Link likes this since you can keep using projectiles and keep your opponent away.

Down Smash

There is one main use for down smash other than doing things like reading a roll or using it after a parry. That use is hitting people on the ledge, whether they're just hanging there (which might happen more often if you use the bomb at the ledge) or if you want to attempt a 2 frame. A lot of Link's kill moves don't have lots of uses, but each one seems to have a main use which when combined makes his killing better than he's getting credit for in Taco's post.

Why killing at over 100% isn't as bad as it seems/Damage output

This one is killing 2 Falcos with one remote bomb... Sorry.

Okay back to when he mentioned Link's up smash killing at over 100% (on Mario on Battlefield). The reason that this isn't too much of an issue is Link deals a lot of damage. He has strong moves, some pretty good combos and plays defensive.

What I mean by he plays defensive is that he uses a lot of projectiles. Overtime the damage from these adds up, so while he isn't a character like Pichu who deals insane damage insanely quick, he does a lot of damage overtime. The fact it might take awhile might give the illusion he doesn't do too much damage, but he can get some nice, safe damage with his projectiles and solid damage with a lot of aerials and ground moves.

Edge-Guarding

Link is great at hitting people who are off stage, which is also one of his main ways of killing. This is not a bad thing AT ALL. Like I said earlier, his projectiles send the opponent a varying distances which is nice, but Link is great at stealing doubles jumps with his projectiles offstage.

The bomb can kill and gimp. Arrows are mainly good for sending people back a tiny bit while doing damage and maybe taking a double jump. Boomerang isn't that great but can be an annoyance and you can try and fair after it if you're right at the ledge, but I mentioned that earlier.

Nair is great due to it's long hitbox, characters like Falcon especially will get absolutely destroyed by this. forward air off stage can be risky, but can also kill early. Back air sends at a decent angle and doesn't take that long to do.

He does have a spike too and although it is strong, I'll it it isn't great. Still worth noting though since it can be useful in certain matchups.

I already went over ledge trapping in the bomb section, so even if they get back to stage they definitely aren't safe, since they have to pick a get up option and can get potentially comboed or killed.

Grab Game

For starters, the amount of projectile pressure Link has is enough to make people shield a lot, which makes up for his grab not being the best. Saying that he doesn't get that much of a reward is just wrong.

With down throw, you can do the CLASSIC DOWN THROW UP SMASH! Or, you can do down throw up tilt. The thing is, you get okay percent doing down throw up tilt, but it puts the opponent in a really bad situation; especially if you shield.

They're right above you and can't really do much. You, on the other hand have plenty of options. You can try and react to what they do and punish which will get you more damage, so while you don't get great true combos you have good opportunities to not let the opponent land, then you can go back to a more slow methodical playstyle.

Up throw eventually kills but isn't until really high percents, but back throw and more importantly forward throw set up for another edge-guarding opportunity, which we've already established Link likes.

That's the last point of his I'm going to mention, since now I want to bring up some bonus points which aren't as important, but are still worth mentioning to argue against Link being bottom 3.

Results

Don't get me wrong: results dont mean everything. If you're calling a character bottom 3 though, I think we need to take a look. Surely there won't be any results like with Little Mac and the other bad characters, right?

Wait Salem exists...

We all know Salem has done well with the character, even if he's a FUCKING CU- Ahem. The main point here is Salem has seen really good success with Link, I can't name a single Little Mac player.

Like I said this isn't the biggest point but it just shows that the character IS capable of doing well, and I highly doubt someone could do that good with a character who's "God-awful".

Mental game and forcing options

If you play really defensive with Link, It can really get to your opponents head. If you make them play overly aggressive you can get more punishes. If the tier list was based on mental damage, Link would be top 5.

Even the best players get pissed off, Just watch a Melee game and look at someone's face when they're getting wobbled. Every character CAN make you annoyed but Link is really good at it. If you get your opponent agitated, then they'll make more mistakes which will annoy them more and make it easier for you. It's a viscous cycle.

Now onto forcing options. With the amount of stuff link can make appear on the screen definitely limits options. If you have a bomb out and throw a boomerang, there's not much your opponent can do other than try and jump over it or shield or something.

If you force your opponent to shield, you get a grab. If they don't shield they'll get hit. Same thing with jumps but you can get a forward air.

While that wasn't the best example, you probably get the point. He's a master of making you do what he wants, and punishing it. Most of the time there are a few options your opponent can do, but combine this with your knowledge of their bad habits and you have a dangerous character.

Right, that's my take on the whole Link situation. I don't think he's top tier or anything but saying he's bottom 3 is criminal. If you have any post ideas you want me to do, just let me know and I might do some. I've got a few in the works right now though so it might take awhile.

(Ayy this is my longest post.)

Bi.