Resources

Here are useful links I have discovered and documented in my journey as a smash researcher.

HARD DATA

Frame Data – Kurogane Hammer’s archive of all character Frame Data, and other game attributes.

Hitbox/Frame Data/KO Percentages – Thinkaman’s Smashboards thread. The data is difficult to interpret if you don’t know what you’re looking for, but the data is good nonetheless.

Smash 4 Calculator – Spacejam’s Smash 4 Knockback, Hitstun & Shield Advantage Calculator

SSB4 On-Shield Data – Spreadsheet on Google Drive (Author unknown!)

CHATS/FORUMS

Smashboards – A forum that much of the competitive smash community frequents, contains guides and information that is great for the learning player.

Discord Competitive Smash Chat – a tool to communicate with other players about various smash related things.

TOURNAMENTS

US Smash Tournaments – smash.gg’s website, where you can view and register for bigger tournaments around the United States.

TOP LEVEL GAMES ARCHIVE

SSBWorld is a fantastic resource for all players to study character and player matchups. Their interface allows you to search any character, or browse the list of players who have YouTube footage of their matches.

YOUTUBE CHANNELS

VGBootCamp – Vast amount of high-level and top-level games.

Izaw – Izaw, an incredible Link player, also has one of the most well-edited and informative channels when it comes to competitive smash.

Beefy Smash Doods – Informative videos surrounding everything competitive smash. My #1 recommended resource for learning players, and it’s endorsed by Mew2King!

Beefy Smash Dudes are such a godly youtube for smash4, everyone should be following them – https://t.co/I0DkQKxUKD

— Jason Zimmerman (@MVG_Mew2King) April 14, 2016

ZeRo – ZeRo is one of the best, if not the best, Smash 4 player right now. Various smash content ranging from character analysis, to drama in the smash community.  Another fantastic resource.

STREAMS

2GG’s MSM – Mondays ~7:00PM EST

VGBootCamp’s Twitch – Tuesdays 7:30PM – 1:20AM EST

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As always, I will post more as I find them!

– parson

Control Setups

Smash 4 has an awesome feature in the form of control scheme customizations.  The most ideal settings are completely up to personal preference.  There are several options and there are advantages and disadvantages to each one.

I use a GameCube Controller, and since that’s what a good portion of the smash community uses, I will use that as the example. Other controllers are just as good, arguably.

Let’s take a look at the custom control scheme screen:

 

There are many possible schemes, and ultimately it is up to you which one you pick, but there are specific changes that offer various benefits you may want to consider.

– Tap Jump: Tapping the control stick Up will cause you to jump.  Turning this feature off allows for easier usage of Utilts and Uairs.

– Rumble: Changing this feature will not affect anything other than whether your controller vibrates during play.

– A + B to Smash (Shake to Smash) (Not Pictured): By pressing A and B (or shaking your controller), it will Smash in the direction inputted on the Control Stick.

Common Tweaks to Default Settings:

• C-Stick: Some players, including myself, do not rely on the C-Stick for smash attacks. Instead, changing it to Attack allows easier usage of Tilt attacks.
  • Some players may change this to Special Move, if they want an easier time doing a Downwards Afterburner Kicks as Bayonetta.
• X/Y: Some players may decide to use one of these buttons as either a grab or a shield.
  • This is useful if you like controlling these actions with your thumb.
• L/R: A few characters may benefit from using either L or R as a Jump instead of shield.
  • This makes Short Hop aerials very easy to do.
  • Doing this also may benefit characters that need to attack instantly out of jump, suck as Sonic or Villager, or potentially anyone if the situation applies.

Vastly Alternate Schemes:

• Bidou: Typically done with a Wii U Pro Controller, as it has four shoulder buttons (it can be done on the GameCube Controller, but the technique is more difficult to master since the right thumb would have to travel between the C-stick and the A, B, X, & Y buttons very quickly). This setup is done by changing the ZL button to Special Move, ZR button to Attack, R button to Jump, and the Right Stick to Special Move as well.  This scheme relies on the ZL button being pressed to hold a special move input, while the Right Stick is used to allow simple pivoting and control of the character. Some techniques are made a lot easier with the use of Bidou, but the task of changing your control schemes and rewriting that muscle memory may make this scheme more trouble than it may be worth. But don’t take my word for it! ZeRo does a fantastic job further explaining this concept in this video:

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That’s all for now – as I come across more controller setups, I’ll be sure to update this post!

– parson

[1.1.5] First Draft Tier List

Hey folks! here it is: the long awaited, kid tested, mother-approved, completely yet sort of arbitrarily scientific, obligatory…

[1.1.5] Tier List

Ah! The 1.1.5 patch brought many controversial opinions to the table, some ecstatic, some furious, and some outright dumb (pls nerf Ganon’s Warlock Punch pls too OP). All opinions aside, I think it is clear the 1.1.5 patch was a change for the better in terms of the longevity and value of Smash 4 as a competitive game, where now more characters may have an opportunity at being labelled as “viable”.

But that’s not what I’m here to talk about. Let’s get to the tier list. I’ll break down each character that I have gathered a good amount of information on.  Some of the underplayed characters are more sporadically ranked, as I believe we may not have discovered their full potential at this stage in the game’s life. Deal with it for now.

Things I took into account:

• Tournament placings
• Kill options/setups
• Frame Data
• Neutral
• Opinions of top-level players
• Current state of meta

Also note, that the throw %’s throughout this post were calculated without rage, on Mario, on Final Destination.

TOP TIER:

Bayonetta.  A big source of drama in the smash community as of late.  From Spain on the verge of banning her from tournaments, to ZeRo’s video outlining the controversy, to other top level players such as Ally voicing their opinions on Twitter – many have considered her overpowered.  The common reasoning is that her ability to link combos to death is “too easy” without proper DI and SDI.  I have not gotten the chance to play a good enough Bayonetta to have enough of a say in whether she is too powerful, but from what I have observed watching players such as Pink Fresh and Salem, she is definitely a force to be reckoned with.  She has a variety of combos, usually starting with a Dtilt, Up-B, or a Side-B/Downward Side-B that can lead into kill setups at many different percentages, but once the opponent reaches very late percents (130%+) she relies mostly on Dtilt to Upair, or Fthrow (kills at about 200% from the middle of the stage, and 120% from the edge). Don’t even get me started on Witch Time.

Recently discovered by Kurogane Hammer:

Today I learnt: Bayonetta’s Up and Side Special calculate knockback as if everyone’s weight were 100 units.

— Kurogane Hammer (@KuroganeHammer) April 12, 2016

This means that Bayonetta’s Up-B and Side-B combo heavy characters equally to light characters, meaning the knockback will be the same for Jigglypuff as it will be for Bowser.  This means the logical thought that lighter characters can escape her combos easier is only relatively true, remaining partially true because of their generally smaller hitboxes (*cough* sorry, Mewtwo.).

I think at this point in the game, while she is still relatively new she holds this top position with grandeur.  Until players figure out how to efficiently avoid her setups, she will remain supreme.

TL;DR:

• Lackluster neutral
• Zero-to-death combos without proper DI
• Long combos with proper DI
• Decent kill options
• Witch Time

Notable players: Pink Fresh, Salem, Saj

Rosalina. We’ve seen Dabuz absolutely wreck with this character. Rosalina thrives off of stage control. Her large, disjointed hitboxes are difficult to challenge. Setups are the key to playing Rosalina, by spacing Luma properly with Neutral-B or Jab. Her Jab and Jab infinite with Luma are very difficult to contest, and can block off parts of the stage during stage get-up reads. Her Down-B absorbs all projectiles, making her a little more difficult to stall against, while also giving her a big edge over Ness and Lucas, who rely on PK Thunder to recover. Attacks are more powerful with Luma, and can she net some early kills using Uair. Bthrow kills around 140% from the back of the stage, while Fthrow kills around 150% from the front. Luma makes it very difficult to grab her. Luma can also smash attack off of the ledge. Her Up-B has no hitbox on it, so it can be gimped. Avoiding Luma and keeping pressure on Rosalina to avoid Luma setups are key to winning this fight. Most Rosalinas will run away while they wait for Luma to respawn.

TL;DR:

• Great when Luma is alive
• Luma’s kill power and setups
• Dat Uair tho (with Luma)
• Luma Luma Luma, yay.

Notable players: Dabuz

BORDERLINE:

Diddy. A contender for the best neutral in the game, with banana setups into combos and kill confirms, along with the threat of the bananas in general can trigger some mistakes.  Diddy’s small size makes him a difficult target, especially when he is ducking. His Side-B command grabs OR attacks, making an easy mix up. Fair has good range and is decently powerful for edgeguarding. Dtilt can also combo into a variety of kill moves, making it a great kill confirm. Uair isn’t what it used to be in Diddy’s glory days, but it can still seal some kills if you’re competent at reading airdodges. His recovery can cover a lot of ground. Fthrow kills at 145% from the front of the stage, and Bthrow kills at 130% from the back of the stage.

TL;DR:

• Bananas
• Good kill confirms…
• …that are usually off of bananas.

Notable players: MVD, ZeRo

Shiek. It was difficult to place Shiek.  Even with the latest nerfs in 1.1.5, she still is one of the most threatening characters in the game. She has potentially the other best neutral in the game.  Needle pressure, along with her Fthrow and quick Fairs/Bairs cause her to gain stage control quickly and maintain it with ease. Her Fair, if spaced properly, is virtually unpunishable on shield. Her main faults come now in her kill setups being much harder to pull off, with Dthrow no longer being a 50/50 option, and Fthrow no longer connecting as easily at higher percents, but it still can be done. Ftilt into Uair still connects well. The rest of her kill setups rely mostly on reads, which is why I placed her at #4 instead of #3.

TL;DR:

• Needles
• Retains stage control
• Can be played extremely safely
• More limited kill confirms than 1.1.4

 

Notable players: ZeRo, Mr. R, VoID

Cloud. Would definitely be top tier if his recovery wasn’t so poor, without a doubt.  Does not benefit greatly from grabs besides gaining stage control, but the rest of his traits make up for it. He has strong disjointed moves that have great range, combined with quick ground speed. Cloud forces the opponent to approach by charging his Limit with Down-B. Nair is safe if spaced correctly. His Dair can cancel when landing if timed correctly, making it a pretty safe and strong option. Has a ton of great kill options, in the form of his smashes, Dair, Uair, Bair, and Limit Break.  All his Limit moves can kill, with his Limit Cross Slash (Side-B) being the quickest and most fearsome.

TL;DR:

• Forces Approaches with Limit charging
• Limit Break
• Hard-to-challenge hitboxes
• Good ground speed
• Recovery without Limit is limited

 

Notable players: Tweek, Mew2King

Zero Suit Samus. Although recently nerfed in 1.1.5, ZSS still possesses the tools and setups to be in the Top 6. Her Jab is insanely quick, being among the fastest in the game. Her Nair as well as her Dsmash are safe on shield, if spaced properly. Zair is also great when spaced. Her Neutral-B, along with her Dsmash allow a plethora of kill confirms, along with a grab to combo setups.  Her grab is very punishable, even more so with the latest patch, so only grab when you know it’s safe. She has fantastic recovery, with the help of her Side-B, Down-B, and Up-B. Bair and Uair are great kill tools.

TL;DR:

• Good followups off of grabs
• Punishable grab
• Does well on low ceiling stages

Notable players: Nairo, Marss

 

 

VERY HIGH:

Sonic. So quick, and to over come him requires a patient player that is good at reading the various options Sonic has out of Side-B, while also pressuring him at close range. His Up-B can gimp opponents. Sonic is a character that exceeds at closing gaps, but suffers when it comes to the up-close boxing. Has a good killing Backthrow as well (135%), and excels at timing out (plz don’t be that guy tho). If the Sonic can read your techs, he will be able to keep up no matter what option you choose!

TL;DR:

• You’re too slow!
• ^

Notable players: SeagullJoe, Scatt

Mario. The combo man himself.  From early percent, (10-12), usually starts with a Dthrow into Utilt (a few) > Uair string.  He has a lot of mixup options that still connect, so just be wary and DI accordingly (usually away). Nair is a great tool for escaping combos. Usmash is so quick and is good enough to have started rumors about it having super armor (it does NOT, but it has intangibility frames!).  Perfect pivoting Usmash causes the fastest part of the hitbox to connect first, making it an insane punish tool. Cape (Side-B) is a reflector, and can be used to gimp some character’s recoveries. F.L.U.D.D. (Down-B) is a good gimping tool for characters who have poor recoveries that are spaced incorrectly or don’t auto-snap.  Personally, I have experienced this most harms characters like Cloud.

TL;DR:

• Utilt and/or Uair
• Usmash
• F.L.U.D.D.
• Mixups

Notable players: Ally, Anti

 

Fox. Ace-wing pilot Fox Mcloud’s speed and versatility make him a threat to almost every character, possessing a super fast Jab.that is great for mixups into a grab, or even an Usmash at higher percentages. Has a self-comboing Utilt, which can lead into many reads. Kills usually rely on Usmash/Uair, based off of read rolls, airdodges, or tech-chases. Nair can escape combos. Dair has less landing lag when hitting an opponent, usually enough less that a followup is possible. Bair is quick, and can be a kill move at higher percentages. Fthrow kills at 145% from the front of the stage. His recovery is somewhat linear, but the option of using either Side-B or Up-B is helpful for mixing up (and they cover quite the distance, especially together).

TL;DR:

• Usmash / Uair off of reads
• Speedy
• Somewhat linear, but long recovery
• He’s Foxy

Notable players: Larry Lurr

Meta Knight. It was initially thought that Meta Knight suffered severely from the 1.1.5 patch, since it made his Uair to Up-B combo harder to string together.  However, it can still be done, and the new programmed trajectory opens up a new realm of combos. His Fair received reduced landing lag, making it a little safer tool in neutral. His Nair is good for escaping combos, as well as edge guarding. His Dtilt trips opponents occasionally, opening up an easy punish. His Fsmash is a great tool on shield in neutral, as the opponent is forced to respect it. All of his Specials can be used to recover, making him extremely hard to gimp. His edge guarding game is one of the best in the game.  His Uthrow can kill at about 170%, and kills earlier when underneath a platform.

TL;DR:

• Edguarding game on point
• Hard to edgeguard him
• Great recovery mixups

Notable players: Tyrant, Leo

 

Pikachu. Great combo potential, but suffers in damage output. His Utilt is great to start combos, and his aerials are great afterwards. Has a few kill setups, in the form of Uthrow to Full Hop Lightning, or relying on a read or punish that allows a Usmash. Quick attack is a great approach option, combo starter/extender, as well as recovery. He has a solid set of aerials: Fairs are good when spacing/gimping, Nairs are good for escaping combos or to simply throw out a hitbox before you land.  Bairs trap opponents and rack up damage, and Dairs are great when paired with a Short Hop for tech chases, or simply as a mixup/read.

TL;DR:

• Good combos, weak damage output
• Decent kill options
• Quick-attack (Up-B)
• Tiny little rodent

Notable players: ESAM

 

Ryu. His kill confirmed Up-B out of Utilt is scary to avoid.  His damage output per hit is also a big threat, it only takes him a couple hits to get you into kill range. Due to the various moves that have alternate and precise inputs, he is extremely difficult to learn how to play effectively in making the right move decision. Has a lot of recovery options, as all of his special moves move him a little, from Neutral-B stalling your fall, to Side-B or Down-B for horizontal recovery, to his Up-B Shoryuken.

TL;DR:

• Shoryuken kill confirm at 70ish percent
• Killer damage output
• Can mixup recovery, but…
• Exploitable recovery

Notable players: Mr. R, False, Ryo

HIGH:

Villager. A character that relies on mixing up and projectiles. Characters without a reflector must be very patient against a Villager in order to not get walled out by his Fair and Bairs. His Nair is great for escaping combos, and has very little landing lag. His 3-Turnip Uair and Dair can be good options to kill off of the top or to spike, respectively. Unfortunately it is based off of RNG how many turnips he pulls. His Neutral-B, or Pocket, can take any projectile and  His Up-B covers a lot of ground but does not have a hitbox to protect him from, making him gimpable. It is best to either spotdodge or jump over his Side-B, as then it takes longer for him to be able to use another one. His Bthrow kills at around 110 from the back of the stage.

TL;DR:

• Projectiles
• Up-B has no protection

Notable players: Ranai

Yoshi. Possesses a really dang good set of frame data, his Usmash has a lot of range and is a great kill option. All of his smashes are quick. His Nair is one of his best tools, breaking out of combos and tacking on good damage. He has a decent neutral game by throwing eggs with his Up-B. It also moves him upwards slightly, but without a double-jump Yoshi’s recovery doesn’t go very far. His double-jump has super armor on it, making it also a good escape to combos. Dair can rack up a lot of damage (30+!). His Uair is another good kill option. An occasional Down-B mixup can also be a fantastic kill if your opponent slips up.

TL;DR:

• Quick moves
• Many quick kill options
• Lacking recovery without a double-jump

Notable players: The Wall

Ness. The boy wonder.  PK Fire (Side-B) into a throw if your opponent can’t SDI. Dthrow into Uair or Fair, depending on where the opponent DI’s. His Fairs link together. Nair is great for escaping combos, and for landing. Ness can Full Hop and Bair twice and cancel his landing. Bair, Uair, and a Dsmash on the ledge are great kill options.  Oh yeah, and his Bthrow can kill extremely early on the edge for a throw (85%, around 120 from the middle of the stage). Down-B can absorb projectiles, giving him some percentage back. PK Thunder (Up-B) is a fantastic edge guarding tool. Ness struggles against Rosalina, Villager, Lucas, and other Ness due to his recovery being absorbable. While recovering, if Ness hits and bounces off of the stage after being propelled from a PK Thunder, there is a small window of time you can press Up-B again to use another PK Thunder.

TL;DR:

• Back throw
• PK Thunder control
• Recovery can be gimped

Notable players: FOW, Nakat

Mewtwo. This psychic creature has received numerous buffs since his initial release, from things like his running speed, to his slight weight increase. Not only his he a little tougher, but he has always had some pretty cool tools under his belt. His Jab isn’t super fast, but the first hit can combo into a variety of moves. Shadow Ball (Neutral-B) is great for kills when fully charged, but can also be a good approach in neutral when smaller shots are fired. Dtilt and Utilt are both great combo starters. Fairs can link at lower percents, and at later percents becomes a viable kill option. His Bair has a long disjoint behind him, making it a good spacing move. Uair can combo into itself at lower percents, or with the sour spot of the hitbox, or it can kill at higher percents with the sweet spot. Nair is a great followup to many moves, and can lead into many other moves if the opponent’s DI is read. Mewtwo has two kill throws, from his Uthrow being able to kill at about 130%, and his Bthrow kills around 130 from the edge of the stage. Usmash is another great kill tool, useful for reading rolls, or can be led into from the sour spot of Utilt. His recovery is phenomenal, it goes a great distance and can be mixed up between his Confusion (Side-B), his double-jump, and Teleport (Up-B). His Confusion is also a reflector, and a Command Grab. Usually, the safest option for an opponent after being hit with a Confusion is to jump, and Mewtwo can follow accordingly. His downfalls come with his weight and size. Although he is a little heavier since patch 1.1.5, he is still one of the lighter characters in the game. His large size also makes him easier to hit.

TL;DR:

• Disjointed hitboxes
• Quick combo-opening tilts
• Shadow Balls (Neutral-B)
• Uthrow and Bthrow are grand
• Great mixups and distance in recovery

Notable players: Mew^2, Abadango

COMING SOON…

 

Toon Link. He’s essentially Smash-4’s incarnated Bomberman. Bombs (Down-B) can lead into many different followups, making them great tools for combo starters, extenders, and kill confirms, most notably leading into his Fair.  His Utilt can combo into itself. His Uair kills and is great for reading airdodges, and has a long lingering hitbox. Overall good projectile pressure. Has a slow and punishable tether grab, but it can be used for recovering. Usmash can also kill.

TL;DR:

• Bombs
• Bomb setups
• His sword is pretty alright too.

Notable players: Hyuga

Corrin. He/She/They are quite the beast. Corrin possesses an overall quick moveset, with safe moves in the form of Nair

Notable players: ESAM, Dexter

Greninja.

Notable players: iStudying

MID-HIGH:

R.O.B.

Captain Falcon.

Notable players: Fatality

Peach.

Dark Pit/Pit.

Notable players: Earth, Nairo

Lucario.

Wii Fit Trainer.

Notable players: TK Breezy

Luigi.

Notable players: Mr. ConCon, Boss

Mega Man.

Notable players: Scatt

Robin.

Notable players: Mr. II

MID:

Ike.

Notable players: Ryo

Donkey Kong.

Notable players: DK Will, Larry Lurr

Marth.

Notable players: Pugwest, Mr. E

Wario.

Notable players: Nasubi

Bowser.

Notable players: Lordmix

Lucina.

Kirby.

Lucas.

Notable players: Pink Fresh

Falco.

Notable players: Keitaro, Osiris (Osiris197)

Mr. Game and Watch.

LOW-MID:

Dr. Mario.

Notable players: Nairo

Pac-Man.

Notable players: Zage, Abadango, Scatt

Little Mac.

 

Notable players: Sol

 

Link.

Notable players: Scizor

Charizard.

Notable players: Mew2King

 

Olimar/Alph.

Notable players: Logic

Palutena.

Shulk.

Samus.

Roy.

LOW:

Bowser Jr.

Notable players: Tweek

Duck Hunt.

King Dedede.

Notable players: Jdawg, Big D, El Bardo

BOTTOM:

Zelda.

Ganondorf.

Jigglypuff.

Notable players: RDR7, Hungrybox

 

– parson

Sm4sh Lingo

Hey guys, it’s parson!  Whether you’re new to the smash scene, or you are a returning player from older games in the smash series, there are a lot of jargon that may go over your head.  Hopefully this guide clears some of that up.

A reminder that nothing on this blog is static, I will always be updating these guides and adding terms and explanations as I come across ones I may have forgotten.

I will also further explain a lot of these terms in future posts!

That being said, let’s jump in-

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Standard Jargon

Standard Attacks/Moves

• Jab (1, 2 3, Infinite): Standing attack combo. (A,A,A).
• Utilt, Ftilt, Dtilt: Up Tilt, Forward Tilt, Down Tilt (A+ slight use of the Control Stick).
• Nair, Fair, Bair, Dair, Uair, Zair: Neutral Air, Forward Air, Back Air, Down Air, Up Air, Grab in Air (while airborne, A alone for Nair, Z alone for Zair, with Control Stick for the rest).
• DA: Dash Attack (While dashing with the Control Stick, use A or the C-Stick).
• Usmash, Fsmash, Dsmash: Up Smash, Forward Smash, Down Smash. Can be charged! (A + Control Stick or C-Stick)
• Up-B, Side-B, Down-B, Neutral-B: Self explanatory, I hope! (B + direction on Control Stick)
• Grab: Exactly what you think.  Counters Shields. (Z or L/R + A).
• Pummel: When grabbed, press A or Z to deal a little damage.
• Fthrow, Dthrow, Bthrow, Uthrow: Forward Throw, Down Throw, Back Throw, Up Throw. After a grab, throw someone with the Control Stick.
• Roll: Dodges to the left or right, with moments of invulnerability (L/R + left or right on the Control Stick).
• Spotdodge: A dodge in place. Makes you invulnerable for the duration of the dodge (L/R + down on the Control Stick).
• Airdodge: A dodge in the air. Makes you invulnerable for the duration of the dodge, but has landing lag if used above the ground (while airborne, press L/R).
• Shield: Protects from attacks. (L/R). You can position it by slightly moving (Control Stick).

Techniques and Terms

• Short Hop (SH): exactly what it sounds like.  Performed by lightly tapping the jump (X, Y, or tapping the Control Stick upwards lightly!) button (yes, it CAN be done with Tap Jump!), your character will jump about half the height as they would with a Full Hop.  Useful for using aerials on a standing character.
• Full Hop (FH): a regular jump.
• Fast Fall (FF): When airborne, tapping and holding the Control Stick downwards will initiate a fast-fall.  All characters have different fast-fall speeds. Fast falling is a great way to regain stage control.
• Footstool: Jumping while on another character initiates a footstool, sending them downwards. Cannot be Teched (see below) on stage.
• Knockback: Can refer to a few things.  A move’s Knockback determines how far a character is sent, while Knockback Angle determines what direction they will go. All characters have different amounts of knockback and unique knockback angles with each of their respective moves.
• Meteor Smash/Spike: Usually done with a character’s Dair, a spike is performed by knocking the opponent off of the bottom of the screen with an attack. A Meteor Effect is when a move has a knockback angle that aims downwards.  Many moves have a meteor effect, let it be slight or extreme.
• Frame: can refer to a few things.  First off, there are 60 frames every second.  This is used as a unit of measure with various actions, such as attacking, or shielding.  Each character has unique Frame Data for their set of moves (eg: Fox’s Grab initiates at frame 6 and is active until frame 7), while some actions have the same speed across every character (eg: Shielding comes out at frame 1).
• Patch: An update to the game.  Currently the game is version 1.1.5.
• Nerf & Buff: Two antonyms.  These are in reference to how characters change between patches.  A nerf is a change that affects the character negatively, while a buff benefits them.
• Input: When the game registers a button press.
• Button Mashing: When Grabbed, or trapped in a move like Lucas’ PK Freeze or Yoshi’s Egg, you can minimize the amount of time you are locked into these moves by registering a lot of inputs, or Button Mashing.
• Stale: Moves become weaker with repeated use, reducing their knockback and damage output slightly with each use.
• Shield Break: When your shield depletes, you are put in a daze for a while.  The time you are stunned depends on how much % you have accumulated, and how fast you mash buttons.  Jigglypuff, however, dies instantly if you break her shield. How tragic.
• Stage Control: Exactly what it sounds like. Maintaining control of the stage is a crucial part of any character’s strategy. Gives you an advantage because you are on solid ground.
• Blast Zones: The areas off-screen where your character dies are known as the blast zones.  Blast zones differ depending on the stage.

• Hitbox: Where a character’s moves hit. (Credit to Smashboards user Furil for the sweet visualization of Cloud’s Dair)

• Disjointed (Hitbox): A hitbox that extends beyond the character’s hurtbox (see below). Good examples are Marth’s sword, or Mewtwo’s tail.
• Sweetspot/Sourspot: Most hitboxes have a spot where the move deals more damage and knockback. This is known as the Sweetspot. A Sourspot deals less damage and less knockback.  Sweetspots are good for killing, while Sweetspots are useful for comboing.
• Hurtbox: Where a character can get hurt.  Using attacks and moving around changes the position and size your hurtboxes.  This is a GIF from Melee, however the principle still applies to Smash 4.  (Yellow represents the hurtbox, while red is the hitbox of Falco’s Jab Infinite)
• Hitstun: When a character is hit by an attack, there is a period of time where they cannot perform any action, this is known as hitstun.  They are put in a “tumbling”animation, however when the hitstun is over, they will still be in this tumble animation until an input is registered.
• Tech: A Tech is preformed while in hitstun or during the Tumble Animation by pressing shield (L or R) as your character hits the ground or a wall.  Initially the timing may be difficult, but is a very good habit to get into.  Teching on-stage allows you to roll by adding a direction (Control Stick).  Helpful to escape combos and to survive stage spikes.
• Shieldgrab: Pressing attack (A) while in shield (holding L or R) initiates a grab.  Use as a counter to a person attacking your shield. 
• Command Grab: A move that also grabs.  eg. Ganondorf, Mewtwo, or Diddy Kong’s Side-B.
• Cooldown/Endlag: All moves have a period of time when they are finishing their animation, and often do not have an active hitbox for this time, thus making the character vulnerable.  This is the cooldown, or endlag of a move.  Some moves have longer cooldown than others, try not to use moves that have a lot of endlag unless you’re sure they will connect.
• Punish: Taking advantage of an opponent’s mistake.  When an opponent uses a move that has a long cooldown, this is where you have a window of time to punish them for missing.
• Approach: Getting closer to the opponent. Safely approaching is much more complicated, the safest approaches happen when you’re going for a punish.
• Read: Knowing what your opponent is going to do before they do it, usually reads come from observations of play patterns a player repeats.  This goes both ways and is much more complicated than this simple explanation. But here is a GIF showing an attempt at a read.  Ike gets thrown up in the air, and sees Roy charging his Fsmash.  In an attempt to read Roy’s strike, he counters while falling.  The Roy patiently waits until his smash uses itself, and waits out the counter’s active frames.
• Option: This goes hand in hand with reading. At any moment, you always have several options.  An easy way of looking at this is looking at the options someone has while in shield.  They can drop their shield, spot-dodge, roll left or right, or grab.  Often lower level players will resort to using the same options repeatedly.  eg: If an opponent is always rolling away when you run up on their shield, take note of that habit and next time you run up on their shield, anticipate their roll, and keep running to where the roll would end and punish.  Or, eg: If a player always spot-dodges when you approach their shield, run up and charge a smash attack that’ll hit them when their invulnerability runs out.  Again, a very brief explanation of this term.
• Mixup: Changing the way you do various actions. Mixing up approaches, combos, and recovery are basic but essential adaptations to your playstyle. Otherwise, you’ll get too predictable.
• DI (Directional Influence): Using the Control Stick to influence the trajectory you’re flying in. Can help you live longer, and can help you escape combos. I am working on a guide on how to correctly DI in the background.
• Pressure: any action that forces a player to react.  Using projectiles a lot is a common way of pressuring the opponent to approach.  Shield Pressure is when you continuously attack someone’s shield, forcing them to choose an option, at risk of a shield break.
• Spacing: positioning your character or placing your attacks in a way that keeps your character safe. Knowing the hitboxes of your moves and your opponents moves is crucial to learning how to properly space. Some characters rely on a heavy spacing game (Marth) moreso than other characters, but all characters must be conscious of spacing.
• Zoning: using your attacks, or the potential threat of your attacks, to limit your opponent’s spacing options.
• Neutral: the stage of the game where no character has the advantage, and players are usually looking for an opening either in the form of a punish or a read.  Mastering the neutral is one of the most difficult parts of the game.  Certain character have better options in neutral than others, usually in the form of projectiles.

Other Lingo

• Johns: An excuse.  eg: Blaming a controller for your mistakes is known as “Controller Johns”.
• SD: Self-Destruct
• Misinput: Accidentally pressing the wrong button, or messing up the timing of a technique.
• Sakurai: The lead developer of smash.  Often blamed for things.
• There are so many other terms here and there that commentators use to reference moves, eg. “The People’s Elbow” for Captain Falcon’s Fsmash.  Someday I’ll provide a list of the one’s I’ve compiled, but for now – learn and observe!

Links/Sources

• Furil’s Smashboards Hitbox Visualization Thread:  Not all characters have data yet, although Furil said he has plans to do more members of the cast when he has the time to.  Definitely a great resource.
• This Kotaku Article by Yannick LeJacq: reference this to further understand the difference between Zoning and Spacing.
• Kurogane Hammer: A fantastic reference containing all of the Frame Data for characters.

 

– parson