Yes, WiFi is actually useful: here’s how
By Thomas Gallanti (soma)
Let’s get one thing out of the way; Smash Ultimate’s online experience was already not the best it could be at release, and that was nearly 8 years ago. Between a less than stellar lobby and matchmaking system, and some frustrating latency issues, many players immediately refuse to play any serious matches or practice on WiFi, in totality.
I’ve heard so many reasons for this - it messes with muscle memory, the input delay is unbearable, and even that the character meta changes entirely based on these factors. While these are true, what if I told you that there is some really valuable training that can be done online? And in some cases, more efficiently than attending locals?
Alright, put the pitchforks (or Buster Swords, Monado, etc) down. What I mean here is that there are unique scenarios that consistent, focused, and intentional practice on WiFi can present that are hard for most local regions to replicate. For starters, you’ve got the sheer variety of characters at play when using either Quickplay or joining a battle arena. Especially in higher GSP levels, you will be matched against very dedicated players of wonky matchups often (how many Zelda, Samus, Wii Fit, and MinMin players do you run into at your locals? Not many? Give Elite Smash a shot). With enough time and energy spent mastering these matchups, we can see how being thrown off by a random low or mid-tier main at your regional or majors becomes much less of an issue.
Outside of Elite Smash, a common tactic many now-top level players leveraged is participating in WiFi brackets extremely consistently. In my opinion, what this does (more than just matchup experience) is help build mentality in several ways that can be applied to your locals: fatigue from several matches and waiting, simulating the same nerves and stakes at a local, and the desire to chase the bag (usually a modest $10 eshop card or something for most small WiFi tourneys, but hey! That’s some free robux yo). Some of the absolute best top talent in the game has come from these WiFi tournament grinds - I’m talking NEEDERS. Take Sparg0, ShinyMark, Wrath, and Sonix for example. These players held static control of every WiFi top 8 they entered for years, and still do! Despite many critics starting as skeptical of their skill translation during their come-up, the naysayers have been silenced with several major medals and top 8’s from these champions.
Thankfully, there has never been better time to get into WiFi training, if you haven’t already started. Local legend Skorz320 has created a new (mostly LI-centric) WiFi series, the Skor Zone, to get some good practice against fellow LI players. For those looking for bigger brackets, HungryBox has revived his extremely successful CoinBox online tournament series (once trampled by the very same Sparg0, ShinyMark, etc above), and given it a new life and new moniker, now titled CashBox, running every other week on Wednesday nights. The prize pools are bigger than ever, more players of all skill levels are entering consistently (Tweek and M2K were even in attendance last week!), allowing you some unique exposure to mini-online majors! Wild times not seen since peak COVID.
While it’s not a perfect replacement and instant transfer to local results, even without things like the Delay mod (but please, please wire your switch, sincerely a WiFi warrior), online Ultimate can provide some really solid fundamental knowledge of matchups, help you get over some tourney nerves, and finally learn that damn Samus matchup. Join the Long Island Smash Ultimate discord if you haven’t already (link in website footer), ping the #matchmaking channel, and lock in!
