Important Numbers

The purpose of this post is to outline how I am going to systematically memorize as much relevant frame data in Melee as possible. The main way I will be going about this is with flash cards, which in and of itself probably doesn’t need to be explained on here. Another purpose of this post is to justify why I think this is worth investing my time into as an avenue for growth in Melee.
Time is a limited resource. One of the main arguments that people use for why they haven’t memorized frame data and percents is because both are so accessible that it makes it a waste of time. Why memorize something when you can just check your phone to know the data? I see it the opposite way, though. Time is a limited resource, so I should be doing as much to improve at Melee during my down time as possible. Time that I’m spending driving, or walking, or eating, or waiting in line, is all time I could be improving at the game. There’s not a lot of things I can do though, during that time, that directly relates to the game. One of the few things I can do is consider my options in tight scuffle situations and during shield pressure, but the only way I can do that is if I know all the numbers. Being able to calculate shield advantage, and both people’s possible options and which beat which in my head will make me able to spend downtime theorycrafting options.
Another benefit of memorization of frame data and percentages is that I will be able to refer to these things mid-match, when I wouldn’t be able to with my phone or computer. If I need to know when Peach’s Nair knocks me out of my DJ armor, then I don’t need to think about it and estimate it, I just know that number. It should give myself room to clean up my play and make fully informed decisions in-game in a much more prompt manner.
Anyway, here’s a tentative list of things that should be memorized:
Tier 1 (Very Important) -
  • Jumpsquats
  • Aerial Startups
  • Aerial Ending Lag
  • Universal Shield Frame Data
  • Attack Frame Data
  • Spotdodge/Roll Frame Data
Tier 2 (Important)
  • CC Percents
  • Kill Percents
  • ASDI Down Percents
  • Drop Shield
  • Major Movement Frame Data
    • Wavedashes
    • Ledge Options
Tier 3 (Good to know)
  • Minor Movement Frame Data
    • Shorthop Duration Min/Max
    • Fullhop Duration Min/Max
    • Earliest Fastfall Frame
    • Dash Frame Duration
  • Kill Percents with CC
  • Kill Percents with ASDI
  • Movement Attributes
    • Dash Duration Frames
    • Dash Speed
    • Max Run Speed
    • Max Walk Speed
    • Traction
Tier 4 (Tangentially Related)
  • Character Attributes
    • Weight
    • Shield Size
    • Gravity
    • Falling Speed
    • Air Acceleration
    • Max Horizontal Air Speed
  • Base Knockback Values
  • Knockback Growth Values
Obviously with the tier system for the things I need to memorize, I’ll be tackling Tier 1, then 2, etc. I will only move on to the following tier once I’ve fully memorized the current one. It is also important to note that concerning ASDI, CC, and Kill percents, I obviously won’t be memorizing them for every matchup in the game. I will only be memorizing the ones directly concerning Yoshi.
I will update this post with a link to a Google Doc once I’ve collected all of the numbers and formatted them in a way that is conducive to being used as flash cards.



“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”
- Benjamin Franklin

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