Directional influence: Difference between revisions

'''Directional influence''' (usually abbreviated '''DI''', and known officially as '''launch shuffling''') is the control the receiver of an attack has over his or her trajectory. Each attack sends its target in a particular direction; DI can be used to alter, but not completely change, this original trajectory. This change can be vital to surviving high power attacks such as [[Fox]]'s [[up smash]], and for escaping [[combo]]s, most importantly KO setups such as the [[space animal slayer]]. Perhaps one of DI's most useful applications is the ability to make the character move in a path that is as long as possible before crossing the [[blast line]]. "Good DI" usually occurs when a character is sent in a trajectory that creates the greatest distance between the character and the blast line, or one that will help the character recover back on stage. In most situations, angling towards the upper-left or upper-right corners will grant the greatest chance of surviving a high knockback attack. Conversely, "poor DI" (often informally referred to with some form of mockery towards a certain region/player, such as "West Coast DI", or "{{Sm|PatG}} DI" in ''Brawl'') occurs when the shortest distance between the character and the blast line is created, or the angle sends the player into a position they cannot recover from when they normally easily would, such as [[Semi-spike|down and away from the stage]]. Bad DI that results in a KO commonly occurs near the sides of the stage, when a character is hit diagonally while holding the [[control stick]] downward (commonly as a result of intentional [[fast falling]]), which sends them on a more horizontal trajectory, towards the closest blast line.