Perhaps one of the most useful aggressive
tactics you can learn as a Smash Ultimate
player is shield pressure.
What is shield pressure?
Thanks for asking.
Shield pressure is, as the name implies, the
process of poking at someone’s shield, in
hopes of them choosing a punishable option
to get out of the difficult situation.
Since shields are nerfed in Ultimate compared
to Smash 4, there’s never been a better
time to learn this stuff than now.
You’ll see top players like Light doing
this all the time, making it look practically
impossible to get out of shield against Fox.
So why don’t we find out just how to do
this thing?
#1 - Back the opponent into a corner
This step isn’t technically required but
it’s a huge help.
The more stage control you have, the easier
it’s gonna be to shield pressure.
This is true for several different reasons.
For one, roll backwards suddenly becomes a
terrible option in the corner, as it doesn’t
move you anywhere, nerfs your future roll
invincibility, and makes you vulnerable for
a short amount of time.
Contrast this with rolling from center stage
which is a pretty solid option for retreating.
Another reason the corner is so great for
you as a shield pressure..er is because your
horizontal kill moves will K.O. much earlier.
This can possibly make the opponent more scared
of those specific horizontal options, so it’ll
be easier to get a read on what they’re
going to do.
It also sets you up for ledge pressure or
edgeguarding if you get the chance to throw
them offstage, which are both excellent ways
to get you some extra damage or even a stock.
So how do you get the opponent in the corner?
Well, you can try to hit them horizontally
and not vertically if you prefer shield pressure
over juggling.
But a great way is to follow up after an opponent
just makes it onstage.
For example, many people do something defensive
right after jumping to the stage, perfectly
setting you up for a good shield pressure
situation.
There are plenty of other methods to get the
opponent backed into an unfavorable position,
but that’s not exactly what this video is
about and I can assure you that one on stage
control will be released in the near future.
Again, you don’t have to back them into
a corner and this is definitely doable from
center stage.
But it’s simply more effective to shield
pressure with good stage positioning.
It’s kind of like asking out the cute girl
in science class and you look either like
this or like this.
Sure, it’s technically doable if you’re
a funky-looking reptile with a good personality
but being a perfect 11/10 is just...better.
#2 - Be safe
Being safe is a necessity when pressuring
the opponent’s shield.
Like it’s not really shield pressure if
you’re putting yourself in unfavorable positions
and getting punished all the time.
So attack them with moves that are, you may
have heard this term before, safe on shield.
Moves like well spaced Lucina forward airs,
Peach’s down air, the list goes on.
You don’t even have to attack their shield
and can instead just pressure with your movement.
Just make sure you’re not stabbing yourself
in the foot by being clearly unsafe.
If you’re not sure what’s safe then feel
free to reach out to character Discords or
other people who play your same character
and ask them.
You can also go into training mode with a
partner and see what’s shield grabbable
and what’s not.
Unfortunately the training mode still sucks
and you can’t do this by yourself.
Love you, Nintendo. <3
While it is important to be safe, it’s also important to not be too passive while pressuring shields.
If you just run up and shield, you’re technically
being safe, but it’s not nearly as threatening
as, say, a Fox throwing out scary aerials
that eat the opponent’s shield and force
them to do something in the heat of the moment.
#3 - React and take mental notes
So let’s assume the opponent’s backed
into a corner and your pressure isn’t getting
you punished all the time.
Good job.
Now it’s time to pay attention to what the
opponent likes to do while being cornered.
Do they jump, roll, attack, or something
else?
If you can react to their option, then that’s
great. Easy damage.
However, sometimes their option will be unreactable
and you’ll have to let them get away with
it just this one time.
That’s okay.
Simply take a mental note of what they did
and punish it next time you pressure their shield.
Heck, you might even get hit in this situation,
like if the opponent does something aggressive
that you weren’t expecting.
Don’t worry, it’s just data, be ready
to punish them harder than they punished you
in the next shield pressure scenario.
#4 - Know how to beat your opponent’s favorite
out of shield option, and do it
Once you have the data on your opponent’s
favorite option, make sure you punish it properly.
Like for example, if they like to nair out
of shield, you can try something like empty
jumping and shielding.
If they roll forwards, bait it and stand in
position for an optimal punish.
If they shield grab, watch this video from
VoiD, he talks about baiting shield grabs
super well and I think more Smash channels
should be like that one.
This is really the area where you can get
creative.
There’s no set way to always beat what the
opponent does out of shield, especially with
the insane amount of characters.
So in your own time, think about every out of shield option
and brainstorm how you can best punish each of them.
You may even want to punish with something
suboptimal to get the opponent in a position
you know they’re weak in.
For example a Yoshi could expect a roll and
grab, forcing a Little Mac offstage.
Even though a forward tilt would give the
Yoshi more damage from a juggle, the chance
of gimping Little Mac might be more valuable
than some instant damage.
Just a thought.
Here’s an example of a top player properly
beating an out of shield option.
You see in the beginning of the game Tweek
is fairing out of shield against Light and
it seems to be working really well.
But here Light decided that enough is enough
as he uses his jab to stuff Tweek’s jumpsquat.
The only reason Light’s jab hit was because
he knew that Tweek was gonna try and aerial
out of shield.
So even at top level these principles still
apply.
#5 - Learn the opponent’s timing for getting
out of shield
Similar to how people like getting off the
ledge at similar timings, many players will
perform their out of shield option at the
same timing as well.
If you’re Roy, jabbing the opponent’s
shield, they might roll after the first jab
or the second or the third.
Keep track of this data as it increases your
chances of successfully hitting the punish.
This also helps if the opponent likes to switch
up their option.
Like if they rolled last time and are deciding
to jump this time, you’ll at least know
when they’re gonna do it, making it possible
to react.
#6 - Remember the option you punished last
time
Some players who have a good grasp on what’s
happening in a match will notice which option
of theirs got punished during shield pressure.
Because of this, they’ll be likely to mix
it up to avoid getting hit again.
So if you punished a full hop last time, be
aware that they might hold shield for longer,
roll, or even just run towards center because
they know that you’re gonna be high in the
air, still trying to stuff it.
But you’re different.
You watched this video so go ahead and be
ready to punish that next option instead,
assuming the opponent is smart of course.
Some players just do the same option every
time.
And that’s how to shield pressure.
Like my ledge pressure guide, this definitely
didn’t cover everything due to the complexity
of Smash, but I hope I at least gave you all
a good grasp on the basics.
So get onto practicing this as much as possible.
Even just going into training mode and pretending
the CPU is a shield can get you more comfortable
with the process of spacing safe aerials.
As always, see you soon, and stay beefy.
Am I allowed to say that?
