Strikers 102: GOOOOOAALLL!!!

Today I'd like to share a few goal-scoring strategies I've found effective and/or entertaining.  In no particular order:



The "Ping Pong Passing One-Timer"



Fairly self-explanatory, simply passing the ball around between your teammates until it's charged, directing it towards a heavy hitter, and launching a 200-mph fastball at the goalie. 



This tactic is most effective when you have good passing teammates as their lobs are more direct and thus less likely to be intercepted.  Trying to pass the rock around three defensive sidekicks is just asking for your opponent to smash one into a fence and steal your hard-earned charged shot.



It's also more effective when you have a power player...taking a one-timer with Toad or Daisy isn't even going to make the goalie flinch, whereas Petey or Birdo can easily score or at least set up a good ricochet opportunity.



The "I got this, it's all me, get out the way"



Most dubiously performed by Hammer Bro., it can be done with most sidekicks that have a high scoring chance special.  The trick is to isolate defenders and use items or dekes to give yourself enough space to fully charge up and launch your special which will either result in a guaranteed goal (Hammer Bro within a reasonable distance, Birdo if no one is in the way), a highly-successful shot (Monty Mole and Boo come to mind), or a goalie-stunning rebound opportunity (Dry Bones, Koopa, Shy Guy).  Toad just sucks at shooting, but his special does light the goalie's hands on fire, preventing him from catching the ball and allowing for potential rebounds (although the goalie is still fully operational).



The best items for this are Stars and Chain Chomps, but you'll usually only see those if you're way behind.  3x Red Shells are excellent as well as most other Shells.  As for dekes, Hammer Bro, Birdo, and Monty all have defensive-jukes that temporarily stun or disable potential attackers. 



The "Naive OMG 6 Orange Shot I R WINNAR"



I felt obligated to throw this in.  Generally speaking, most good players are experienced enough to knock down every Megastrike shot that comes their way, even the top-o-the-line 6-Orange shot.  Sorry.  You're better off releasing a semi-charged shot to give yourself an item to set up a higher-chance special shot, although there are exceptions and sometimes you'll be able to take advantage of someone who's eye-remote coordination is somewhat lacking. 



The "Break the Goalie's Ankles Tap-in"



One of the more annoying maneuvers (at least when you first experience it) that quickly becomes added to most players' arsenals.  This goal is accomplished by using a sidekick or captain with a forward-moving deke (Waluigi, Daisy, Diddy, Dry Bones, Boo, and Toad are the most common) to juke straight through/over the goalie and dribble in a goal.



Some tricks to this:  the higher the charge on the ball, the farther your deke will take you.  With Dry Bones at full charge, you can teleport into the goal from nearly anywhere inside the midline (assuming a proper angle).  Occasionally the field will tilt (on some stages or with certain captains) and trying to deke into the goal will result in electrocuting yourself on the fence, but generally speaking, a straight teleport into the goal is the likely outcome.



For Toad and Diddy, charge doesn't matter (they're hoppers) so timing and positioning are key.  Not to mention a bit of luck.  The idea with these two is to get close to the goalie and as he starts to charge, deke over him and dribble into the goal.



The "This goal brought to you today by the letters F and U"



A CPU-opponent exclusive, this generally happens in the 3rd game of a single player cup series when winning means unlocking a new character and stage but losing results in STARTING THE ENTIRE CUP OVER.  You have no idea how many times I stared in awe at my screen as a freaking Toad would score on an uncharged one-timer from just inside the midline in a 1-1 game with 15 seconds left.  But I digress...



This is by no means a comprehensive list of ways to score, just a few of my personal favorites.  The top scoring sidekicks are Hammer Bro and Birdo (guaranteed special shots, barring distance/clear path).  As for captains, DK and Petey are probably my two most consistent shooters although a case could be made for all Power/Offensive types.



One final note:  Goals tend to come in streaks; once you start scoring, it appears to have a demoralizing effect on the defending goalie and everything gets in.  Strangely enough, this seems to work both ways as once the score starts going up, it feels like every shot is a guaranteed goal. 



With that, I wish you good luck and much fun trouncing your friends and randomly selected ladder opponents.  As always, I'm up for a game anytime, just leave me a comment or message on IRC (irc.gamesurge.net #gameriot) and we'll set something up.