Superswimming Stuff

When buffering to find good frames for a superswim, there are a few things you should know. The first is that Link's animation is consistent, from when he starts spinning to whenever you decide to stop. The air meter is not linked to his animation though (obviously) so if you remain in the water for a little bit before starting to charge the swim, and you generally use the air meter as a reference as to when you should release the swim, the two will not correspond as the air meter starts depleting as soon as you jump in the water, not when you start charging.

Throughout charging the swim you may notice Link's animation reverse, speed up, slow down, or freeze. Using these is generally the best thing for figuring out when you need to release the swim as it's consistent. He will always do the exact same thing after X amount of time spent charging.

The "second red flash" on the air meter corresponds with shortly before Link's animation is about to slow down, freeze, then reverse. This only matches up if you start charging the swim almost immediately after entering the water. If you swim around for a moment before starting the charge, you may want to wait for the 3rd red flash, or even later. This is why it's best to get accustomed to the animation and not the air meter. The air meter is just a general reference and easy to use which is why it's a good thing to note in the beginning.

Something I'd recommend when trying to learn to buffer superswims is to jump in the water multiple times somewhere that you know you won't get air refills or end up splooshing, such as at the south side of DRI or somewhere similar. Just charge a swim and watch Link's animation without buffering at all. Watch primarily Link and keep an eye on the air meter so you know when it's at/around the second red flash. You'll notice that around then Link's animation will slow down. Ideally you want to release a swim during this slow down. The best frames are where Link's head is above the water (tilted upwards/forward, can fully see most of his face) and his arms are out to the side or in front of him, not behind him.

Supposing you end up being unable to get a frame you're comfortable with or recognize as good, and end up charging the swim for an additional 2-3 seconds, you want to look for the opposite. Frames where Link's head is tilted downwards and noticeably under the water. Again going back to what I said earlier, Link's animation around this point should be slowing down, stopping for a brief moment, then reversing. It's after this reverse you look for head down.