New To Brawl - Blocking and Timing

[Kiryllos]

I'm new to Brawl - never played it before, but decided to give it a go. I was a pretty big Mortal Kombat fan in the old days, and even played my fair share of Marvel vs Capcom.

Anyway, I played some online games and I find that while I can perform everything I want to while waiting to connect versus the punching bag, once I'm actually in the fray, my timing and blocking are waaaay off.

A quick couple of questions:

What can penetrate the block shield? It seems sometimes I'm blocking but I get wasted anyway... is it just that the shield is taking damage or are there some hits that go through it (or can at least knock me out of block)?

Also, I find that I block some shots, and when I go to retaliate I get smashed before I can do anything. What should I be looking for before I go for a good hit?

Last but not least, my smash hits. Again in practice I can do these at will (and usually while vs the CPU)... Using the nunchuck+wiimote, it's flick+A. Online, though, it often doesn't work. Could it be lag?

Finally, unlike some fighting games I've played, Brawl really seems to be a but of a cluster f*^#. Not in a bad way, though, it's loads of fun, but when you get more 'seasoned' can you actually see what's going on or is there always some feeling of 'whoa, this is crazy, what's going on'?

 

[Douten]

Shield dimishes as it takes damage and over time. Some character have special shield breaker moves, which pierce through your sheild and damage you anyways, I think Marth has one.

As for shielding and getting damage as soon as you let it go, it's all about timing. With enough practice you can pull it off. I still have a hard time blocking right before opponent attack and then grabbing them :x but it's possible.

The game gets chaotic sometime but if you play enough you'll get used to it. FFA with items won't be like a regular 1 vs 1 in most fighting games, so it takes sometime to adjust.

 

[FloYdian]

you cant block everything with your shield.

try pressing attack while your shielding and you will grab the guy if he is next to you. or try to just quickly roll away.
im having slight trouble with rolls..hehe damn analog stick.

doing a smash you will learn with time. it took me a while playing the game..ssb64 to get it. seems easy after you learn. oh but you can charge it too in this game.

 

[CantGetAWii]

In the future, please use the help thread for all Brawl related questions:
http://www.wiichat.com/super-smash-bros-brawl/47450-brawl-help-thread-help-questions-page5.html