Technical skill
- "Tech skill" redirects here. For the maneuver, see Tech.
Technical skill, also referred to as just tech skill, is one's ability to manipulate a controller and produce their desired inputs. Players with greater technical skill are able to more reliably produce their intended inputs, and more efficiently perform maneuvers that require more complicated inputs (such as advanced techniques). Players with lesser technical skill are more prone to input mistakes, and are less able to utilise complicated maneuvers; such players tend to rely on superior cerebral play (such as utilising mindgames) to overcome their technical shortcomings. Technical skill is just one of the many skills required to excel at Smash; technical skill alone will not bring a player much success. However, it is common for inexperienced players to overrate the value of technical skill, and in some extreme cases, see it as the only "true" skill, completely neglecting the importance of other skills despite players often losing to others with less technical skill.
Technical skill in relation to characters
The amount of technical skill necessary to be successful in competitive play is largely dependent on the characters a player uses. Some characters require greater precision, faster fingers, and have a greater reliance on advanced techs, and as such, will demand a greater amount of technical skill to play successfully at a high level of play. In Melee, the prime examples of such characters are Fox and Falco, both of which demand an incredible amount of technical skill to play at even lower levels of competitive play, each relying on incredibly quick movement and heavy utilisation of their Shine combos. In Brawl, the prime examples would be the Ice Climbers, who rely on desynching and chain throws that demand precise timing, and Diddy Kong, who relies on heavy utilisation of his banana combos and locks. In Smash 4, Rosalina uses desyncing much like the Ice Climbers in previous games, and Ryu relies on chaining unusual button inputs into intricate combos.
On the other end, some characters also have a lower technical demand, as they rely on more cerebral play with less utilisation of advanced techs and less frequent inputs. In Melee, such examples would be Jigglypuff, who instead has a reliance on aerial pressure and spacing as well as its wall of pain, and Marth, who relies on spacing with his superior reach and utilising his less complicated but deadly combos, such as the infamous Ken combo. In Brawl, Marth is again a prominent example of a character with less technical demands for similar reason as in Melee, and Meta Knight is a particularly noteworthy example as well, as he tends to rely on overwhelming opponents with his incredibly quick and superior moveset, without much utilisation of complicated advanced techs; Meta Knight's particular ease-of-use for a character on the top of the tier list was a frequently cited point for the subsequent banning of the character. In Smash 4, Captain Falcon is an example of a character with low technical demands, as he relies largely on uncomplicated combos (typically initiated from a dash grab) and occasional punishes. Diddy Kong was an example prior to his nerfs in version 1.0.6, as his metagame almost entirely revolved around his various throw combos, which were easy to learn and initiate.
Necessary technical threshold
From the transition of Melee to Brawl, the game became slower, with lower falling speeds and the removal of L-cancelling and wavedashing (universal advanced techs that sped up characters in general), as well as a lowered emphasis on combos (with the added ability to air dodge or use an aerial out of hitstun). It is universally agreed that Melee requires a greater amount of technical skill than Brawl, while Brawl requires a greater amount of cerebral skills, with its greater emphasis on outreading the opponent. This has led to one of the most contentious debates in the Smash community; the amount of technical skill that should be necessary in the game. Those who prefer Melee often criticize Brawl for its lesser technical demands, seeing it as making the game "easier", and making the game more "casual" (and as such, less competitive). Supporters of Brawl argue that the lesser technical demands give a greater focus to the "more important" skills that truly determine who the better player is, while allowing slower and less precise players to enjoy success in competitive Smash.
In Smash 4, characters can no longer air dodge out of hitstun, reinstating the importance of combos. As of update 1.1.1, shield-stun has been drastically increased, and combined with shields now taking full damage from attacks, the game places less emphasis on out of shield punishes and more on spacing. The increased hitstun, weaker shields, and overall faster game speed than Brawl are often cited as the reasons for Smash 4 being more competitively viable than its predecessor. While the game removed the DACUS, it reintroduced the ability to pivot, which allows for more spacing and comboing options. Lastly, chain-grabbing has been removed, and though this takes away some technical skill, it has been generally received positively. Many players believe that chain-grabbing is "cheap", especially since some chain-grabs were easy to perform and often decided the outcome of a match. This change results in more offensive gameplay, as characters no longer have to take the risk of sustaining heavy damage from a chain-grab.
However, a few changes in Smash 4 have been somewhat controversial. The addition of rage gives more potential for comebacks, with detractors stating that it overly favors the losing player. Most players argue that rage rewards a player for surviving, not for being hit, and that a clever player with a stock lead can actually take advantage of the mechanic to widen their lead. Many players also debate the effectiveness of edge-guarding. On one hand, meteor smashes are potent KO moves offstage, as meteor cancelling has been removed, and ledge invincibility can no longer be abused by planking. On the other hand, characters' recoveries have been overall buffed, and edge-hogging is no longer possible. Some players argue that this makes recovering "free" and that edge-guarding is situational or even useless. Others state that, since it was not an intended tactic, edge-hogging was merely an exploit of game mechanics, and they go on to argue that the improved recoveries necessitate and encourage more aggressive edge-guarding, as offstage edge-guarding is not as risky as in past games, yet still rewarding when successful. Also, teching cannot be done during hitlag, allowing for certain stage spikes to be un-techable, and with the new ledge mechanics, stage spikes are more common than before.
