MultiVersus Shaggy Guide: Combos, strategies, and matchups you should know
Looking to pick up everyone's favourite dog owner? Look no further.
Shaggy is probably the closest thing MultiVersus has to a Ryu, in that they’re a great all-rounder able to perform well in any and all aspects of the game. While they may not be the best character in MultiVersus, a Shaggy with their head in the game can be a powerful force of nature online. To help you reach this lofty goal, we’ve written up this Shaggy MultiVersus guide.
We’ll break down everything you need to know about the character, starting with the basic gameplan a Shaggy player should keep in mind, to the more complex aspects of the character such as Perk options, how to edgeguard, what their best moves are, and combos you should learn.
- Shaggy guide - what’s the Shaggy strategy?
- Shaggy guide - what are Shaggy’s best moves?
- Shaggy guide - Simple combo routes
- Shaggy perks - what are the best Shaggy perks?
- Shaggy guide - How do I edge guard with Shaggy?
- Shaggy guide - How do I fight aerial enemies with Shaggy?
- Shaggy guide - What characters pair well with Shaggy?
- Shaggy guide - What characters are rough for Shaggy?
Shaggy guide - what’s the Shaggy strategy?
Shaggy may be able to hold their own in a vast number of situations, but as a Bruiser you really want to be getting up in your opponent’s faces. Shaggy has some excellent normal attacks that are great at racking up some earlier percentage, while his collection of special moves can act as great movement and elimination tools.
One particular aspect of Shaggy that isn’t shared with many others in the cast is his ability to enrage. This is central to his kit, and something you should take advantage of wherever possible. Charging up his rage (neutral special) takes some time, so you’ll want to do it when you’ve got some distance between yourself and enemy players.
Once charged, Shaggy’s special attacks go from great to downright amazing. They do more damage, go further, provide Shaggy with armour and weaken enemies when hit. Becoming enraged also spreads to your ally, giving them additional damage on their next hit.
He’s also unbelievably scary off stage, thanks in large part to two attacks: Like, Knee Strike and Get Down, Man. These combined allow him to chase down enemies for stylish kills if you’ve got the guts to go for them.
As such, you basic strategy should be going in for early damage to set up a percentage lead, charging up rage when enemies are knocked away, and using that rage to finish off enemy players. If these enhanced specials don’t kill, they’ll deal some serious damage which can be cashed in for a kill with several of Shaggy’s great normals.
Shaggy guide - what are Shaggy’s best moves?
Power Stomp (grounded down attack)
This attack is a brilliant ground attack that destroys armour on enemy characters and can be cancelled into an addition strike that sends them flying backwards. It comes out quick, and hits both ahead and below Shaggy, making it both a great combo normal on the ground as well as a good edge guarding tool. Charge it up for big damage and to catch dodges!
Like, Knee Strike (Aerial side attack)
A borderline iconic move that many Shaggy’s don’t use. It’s a great forward-facing aerial attack that can be charged to pack and additional punch. This is awesome when chasing enemies off stage, and is a go-to killing tool in such situations. This move, when paired with Shaggy’s aerial down attack (see below) is what makes him such a menace off stage.
Get Down, Man (Aerial down attack)
This move is a spike, meaning it’s an attack that shoots enemies directly downward. This, on the stage, is fine enough as a aerial juggling tool. However off the stage this is a killer - on low percentages and high. If you see another player in the danger zone and climbing up from below, hitting them with this will kill them 99% of the time. Damn scary.
Flying Slacker Smack (Aerial up Attack)
Your reliable attack when juggling enemies upwards or punishing them as the recover back onto the stage. This does a decent amount of damage, and can be used repeatedly to score some easy damage.
Zoinks (Neutral Special)
At the centre of your character. Charging this allows you to enter an enraged state, buffing up the rest of your moves, buffing your ally, and creating a snack that can heal you and your allies. Use whenever you have a moment to breath.
Like, Feed the Hunger (Down special)
Grab a sandwich! This is your main projectile, and becomes a serious threat when thrown off stage at enemies or enhanced thanks to Zoinks. It also heals allies it passes through, which is a nice bonus!
Shaggy guide - Simple combo routes
Here are a few combos that you should learn in order to make the most out of early hits and low percentage scraps (input attacks listed from the top of the list to the bottom).
Basic grounded combo - 22 damage
- Side attack
- Side attack
- Down special
- Up attack
- Up special
Jump-in combo - 26 damage
- Aerial down attack
- Down special
- Up attack
- Up special
Air-to-air combo (on stage) 25 damage
- Aerial down attack
- Side attack
- Side attack
- Up attack
- Up special
Once you have these down, you can dig into some really tricky combos and setups, but these will get your started as you get to grips with Shaggy!
Shaggy perks
When it comes to perks, we recommend these if you want to get the most out of Shaggy!
- That’s (Not) All, Folks (red) - Ringing out enemies near the blast zone pushes the attacker back towards the centre of the map.
- Up, Up, and A-Slay (red) - Your team deals 5% increased damage with attacks that knock enemies upwards.
- Triple Jump (Green) - Your team gains an extra jump after hitting an enemy while in air
- Hangry Man (golden) - if Shaggy has a sandwich equipped, he can quickly charge rage at the cost of eating his sandwich.
Shaggy guide - How do I edge guard with Shaggy?
Edge guarding with Shaggy can be approached two ways: safely from on the stage at the edge, or chasing enemies down off stage. Shaggy is good at both, so which to do depends on the situations and your own confidence.
When guarding from the stage, your main tools are your sandwich and you ground stomp attack. Your Sandwich when thrown off stage can be great at taking out players who are recovering horizontally from the stage, as it’ll force a dodge which you can then puns with follow-up attacks. You stomp can spike enemies coming close to the edge from below, so standing right on the precipice and timing that move can be a game winner.
If you’re going hard and chasing off stage, your aerials are obviously key. Shaggy’s aerial down attack is a spike that can kill players below you easily if not dodged. In addition, Shaggy’s Knee Strike is brilliant at killing enemies recovering from the side. Be sure to mix up charging it and throwing it out un-charged to make it harder to dodge.
Shaggy guide - How do I fight aerial enemies with Shaggy?
You’ve got two main tools for this: your upwards aerial attack and your aerial knee strike. Your up air is brilliant, and usually what you’re doing to be using to punish those falling from above. You can also combo it into your up special uppercut, which is nice if you want to trade in the opportunity for continued up air pressure for some extra damage.
Your aerial knee strike is a great tool for enemies jumping in at you from the sides. Bear in mind that it isn’t super fast on startup, meaning it’ll be beaten out by faster attacks from enemies, but if you can get it off you’ll be able to turn the tables.
Shaggy guide - What characters pair well with Shaggy?
Since Shaggy is all about going in for the offensive, while occasionally staying backing to charge up his rage, he benefits from other brawlers and hyper aggressive characters that can back him up and follow up on his attacks. Characters like Jake, Finn, and Harley Quinn are good picks here. Tanks can be okay too, if you’re a fan of chunkier picks.
Alternatively, if you see yourself chasing enemies off stage a lot, Reindog can be a great support for pulling you back to safety! Just be careful to check and see that they aren’t being beaten up, as they won’t be able to pull you back while being combo'd.
Shaggy guide - What characters are rough for Shaggy?
Any character that can chase Shaggy down quickly while charging his rage, or knock him out of it with projectiles, can be a thorn in your gameplay. Be wary of mages with good projectile pressure like Tom & Jerry, as well as Lebron James whose basket balls can dunk your chances of success in a flash
That wraps up our MultiVersus guide on Shaggy! For more MultiVersus guides, check out our MultiVersus character tier list for 2v2 and 1v1, as well as our guide on downloading PC mods for the game.