Introduction
I wanna start off by saying I appreciate you, GimR. Your in-depth videos on various tech has helped me learn so much about Smash and enjoy it even more than I would’ve without you. I’m glad you were able to get this new tech shown to the public and, more importantly, I’m glad that you seem to be doing well mentally. Please keep doing what you’re doing and take care of yourself.
That being said…
“(uh oh!☹️) BACK TO THE LAB AGAIN! (oh no!😬) BACK TO THE LAB AGAIN! (We messed up😱) BACK TO THE LAB AGAIN! (Not again😒) BACK TO THE LAB AGAIN!🤓” will be stuck in my head for weeks because of you.
The memes that came out of the whole situation were extraordinary. But we’re not here to talk about that…much. We’re here to talk about the tech that was shown off, dubbed slingshotting, and how meta-changing it can really be. Now I’m not a professional player or anything, but I do consider myself skilled enough and knowledgeable enough of the competitive smash scene to not speak total nonsense about this so let’s get started.
What is Slingshotting?
Slingshotting is the tech that GimR revealed and said would change the meta. This tech uses various other techs in the game at one time to give your character better movement control options. As complicated as that may sound, executing it is relatively easy. The hardest part about it, which gets easier with time, is finding out how all this can apply to every character.
The tech is performed by moving the control stick in one direction, then flicking it diagonally downward in the opposite direction (so that your joystick can return to its neutral position), then jumping. This will allow your character to pretty much instantly turn around before jumping, all the while maintaining your full aerial momentum, giving them more freedom in the air.
There are three variants to the slingshot tech, dependent on what you do with the control stick as you perform it. The first one is flickshot, performed exactly as I stated before. The second is holdshot, performed by keeping your control stick in that opposite diagonal downward position as you jump. The final one is fullshot, done by moving your diagonal stick fully in the opposite direction after the jump input.
The most common way this tech was used in the stream was to provide a safe way for fighters to use unsafe aerial options on shields and pressure them even more. Anyone that was there definitely remembers Ganondorf getting away scot-free after doing a poorly spaced back air on shield, which should never happen normally.
There’s a lot more depth and layers to this tech, so I not only suggest you watch the video on GimR’s YouTube channel, GimR’s Lab, but I suggest you lab it for yourself and see how your characters can utilize it. Now to answer the question at hand…
Is It Really Meta-changing?
Honestly, I expected this to be a harder question to answer. It hasn’t even been revealed to the public for two whole days yet, so there’s many things that have yet to be discovered, for better or for worse. That being said, I think this tech is definitely meta-changing.
While there’s still so much to discover, this tech is unlocking new options for various characters, from safe aerial attacks on shield to combos and kill confirms. While it seems like characters with poor aerial drift don’t benefit from this tech as much as characters with great aerial drift do, that doesn’t mean there aren’t uses they can’t get out of it that’ll make a huge difference.
One example is Mewtwo. Mewtwo benefits greatly by having its tail hurtbox be less of an issue in terms of getting out of punishes. Captain Falcon also gets more freedom with his dair-to-fair combos, since the slingshot allows him to consistently reposition himself to perform it in either direction he wants. I’m sure each character can find various things to do that’ll make big changes in their playstyle. I’ve already found a few things for Isabelle that I really like.
What do you think? Do you believe this tech will actually change the meta or not? Why do you feel the way you do? Have you figured out anything useful with your characters using the slingshot tech? I’d love to hear your thoughts. For now, it’s back to the lab with me and I’ll see you later.