Question - Smoke What is the Best Playstyle for Smoke?

[CrazyFingers]

Hey guys, Smoke has always been one of my favorite ninjas since way back and I was looking into playing him, however I ran into a bump in the road and that is how to play him. Is he a pure vortex character? Do you play a solid neutral with some 50/50's thrown in? Is he defense? I'd love to hear what you guys think because I sure as hell don't know where to begin!

 

[Tweedy]

He's not a pure vortex character. If he were you would be able to combo off of B1 xx bomb midscreen all the time.

Cash out most of the time. That's what Scar does, that's what good players who are picking him up, are doing. Tbh trying to vortex constantly with him has held the Smoke community back. His neutral is great. Cash out and use it.

 

[DDutchguy]

Just fiddy fiddy dawg ez pz

Smoke has excellent mids which make his neutral quite good. While I don't personally play Smoke (and I don't fight too many either), in theory Smoke is as you described: Solid neutral with 50/50s and a vortex.

 

[CrazyFingers]

So does that mean I'd be playing a better Butcher? *sigh* that's exactly what that means isn't it.

 

[God Confirm]

Do you play a solid neutral with some 50/50's thrown in?

this, plus heavy pressure, he has great ways to apply buttons and keep his turn, mix in a 50/50 when you know it goes thru

He's not a pure vortex character. If he were you would be able to combo off of B1 xx bomb midscreen all the time.

Cash out most of the time. That's what Scar does, that's what good players who are picking him up, are doing. Tbh trying to vortex constantly with him has held the Smoke community back. His neutral is great. Cash out and use it.

and this too


he doesnt need his vortex he isnt inferno scorp, his neutral is badass, and he has real armor. take the damage and find a good knockdown gameplan, the +1 knockdowns prbly leave you at disadvantage as ur opponent has wake-up options but there is some good tech on this forum, i like 213 ender but its on you



easiest ways to slip up with Smoke and think hes worse than he is, 1.) going for vortex everytime 2.) doin dumb shit like tryna reset it with a mid instead of a 50/50

dont go for that vortex unless you confident its going thru

if only you mix it every now and again they also will be less ready for it

 

[CrazyFingers]

this, plus heavy pressure, he has great ways to apply buttons and keep his turn, mix in a 50/50 when you know it goes thru


and this too


he doesnt need his vortex he isnt inferno scorp, his neutral is badass, and he has real armor. take the damage and find a good knockdown gameplan, the +1 knockdowns prbly leave you at disadvantage as ur opponent has wake-up options but there is some good tech on this forum, i like 213 ender but its on you



easiest ways to slip up with Smoke, 1.) going for vortex everytime 2.) doin dumb shit like tryna reset it with a mid instead of a 50/50

dont go for that vortex unless you confident its going thru

if only you mix it every now and again they also will be less ready for it

*sigh* Yup, Butcher with a mid but better

 

[Tweedy]

Why isn't Smoke's phase as good as armor btw?

If I do anything besides a high with Alien, that obviously he can just scout and poke, i'm fucking dead when he does EX phase. There are tons of armors that I can do a high on, like standing 1, and then block. It's like slow armor that's really hard to punish, essentially.

I think God Confirm just said it's like real armor too. I'm mostly talking about the stoners in the character's forum that say it's a bill.

 

[CrazyFingers]

Why isn't Smoke's phase as good as armor btw?

If I do anything besides a high with Alien, that obviously he can just scout and poke, i'm fucking dead when he does EX phase. There are tons of armors that I can do a high on, like standing 1, and then block. It's like slow armor that's really hard to punish, essentially.

I think God Confirm just said it's like real armor too. I'm mostly talking about the stoners in the character's forum that say it's a bill.

EX Phase is super good, it's just not as good as other moves like it...looking at you Ethereal...honestly think she might be better than Piercing BUT that's neither here nor there, we're talking about Smoke. The move seems pretty solid but you can't just throw it out willy nilly and i feel like a lot of people who are in those threads saying those things expect that move to do what they want it to do 100% of the time without putting thought behind it.

 

[God Confirm]

Why isn't Smoke's phase as good as armor btw?

If I do anything besides a high with Alien, that obviously he can just scout and poke, i'm fucking dead when he does EX phase. There are tons of armors that I can do a high on, like standing 1, and then block. It's like slow armor that's really hard to punish, essentially.

I think God Confirm just said it's like real armor too. I'm mostly talking about the stoners in the character's forum that say it's a bill.

its real armor

its also a borderline launcher as it whiff punishes a lot of strings

 

[Tweedy]

its real armor

its also a borderline launcher as it whiff punishes so many strings

Imo it's like Takeda's bf2 or Predator's bf4 but harder to punish and you can't break it.

 

[God Confirm]

Imo it's like Takeda's bf2 or Predator's bf4 but harder to punish and you can't break it.

ehhh

its easy to punish, if you read it you can literally punish with any string in the game, pretty unsafe

 

[Cooljaxx]

Smokes best game play style?

I would say He has the "Get mixed you hoe" play style

 

[CrazyFingers]

Smokes best game play style?

I would say He has the "Get mixed you hoe" play style

Lol, that seems to be the consensus.

 

[leoj89]

I think smoke is one of those characters that rewards creativity and character knowledge.
I don't think he has a set play style. Man it's not too often but I really enjoy watching smoke at higher levels of play.

Very interested to see what the next patch brings to this character.

 

[CrazyFingers]

I think smoke is one of those characters that rewards creativity and character knowledge.
I don't think he has a set play style. Man it's not too often but I really enjoy watching smoke at higher levels of play.

Very interested to see what the next patch brings to this character.

Hopefully nothing, this is one of those characters who doesn't need anything.

 

[The_Tile]

I'm mostly talking about the stoners in the character's forum that say it's a bill.

#StonerLivesMatter

 

[CrazyFingers]

#StonerLivesMatter

Don't worry Tile, no discrimination on lit evil sorcerers here...or summoners/warlocks either.

 

[God Confirm]

Hopefully nothing, this is one of those characters who doesn't need anything.

its automatically bringing him a different playing field which may open up more possibilities in itself

 

[CrazyFingers]

its automatically bringing him a different playing field which may open up more possibilities in itself

pretty much, he's already really solid, the biggest buff any character is getting is nerfs to the top

 

[just_2swift]

He's not a pure vortex character. If he were you would be able to combo off of B1 xx bomb midscreen all the time.

Cash out most of the time. That's what Scar does, that's what good players who are picking him up, are doing. Tbh trying to vortex constantly with him has held the Smoke community back. His neutral is great. Cash out and use it.

Thank you. I said this for the longest time.

 

[GLoRToR]

Don't go flowchart with any character. It's a very stupid way to play: To use the same thing over and over. You become predictable.
Instead, apply solid fundamentals to a game plan based on your opponent's character and the player. Some characters are best left alone and kept at a distance while others need to get pressured consistently so they can't do their own thing.
Learn your matchups, apply fundamentals, and when they enter your circle, crush them.

Just fiddy fiddy dawg ez pz

This is the most professional advice I've seen on this forum yet btw.

 

[TyCarter35]

Smoke has a lot of room in the way he can be played. He can be played safely to an extent tho that is dependent on the opponent's knowledge of his gaps which he has a fair share. Phase and EX phase can be good but be careful of just randomly throwing it out as he can be stuffed if the opponent is expecting it and good against overly aggresive players. His tp is a solid AA with the tracking and smoke bomb does well against zoners as trading is in Smoke's favor. He has a solid vortex and a respectable neutral. There's a lot of option in how he can be played. Imo it's best to be unpredictable in ur playstyle as again the player can succeed with him in many ways. That's just my experience from fighting against Smoke players

 

[RyuuJin882]

Play neutral and let them hang themselves. When you get the hit, they'll get the mix.

 

[Pygmy_Potato]

All you gotta do is mix-up random slide and random teleports in the neutral like a madman, fiddy fiddy everywhere all day dawg. And if that isn't working just do B213 and mix with B21 into ex teleport for that swag fiddy fiddy.

Trust me, 50% of the time... it works everytime. And even if you get bodied, this playstyle has a 100% chance of annoying the shit out of your opponent.

edit: /s

 

[Harlequin969]

this, plus heavy pressure, he has great ways to apply buttons and keep his turn, mix in a 50/50 when you know it goes thru

What are smokes good ways to keep his turn? I tend to feel like enough of my plus moves get punished or I respect my opponent too much and don't go for them because I'm worried they'll blow me up.

I like smoke and would like to break away from the vortex, except in the corner/vortex + corner = great.