Ike (SSB4)

Ike in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Fire Emblem
Other playable appearances	in Brawl in Ultimate
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Great Aether
Tier	E (39)

Ike (アイク, Ike) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. His return to the series was announced in a Director's Room Miiverse post on May 23rd, 2014, which coincided with the ninth anniversary of the North American release of Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones.

Jason Adkins and Michihiko Hagi reprise their roles as Ike's voice actors in the English and Japanese versions, respectively, albeit via recycled voice clips from Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Ike is ranked 39th out of 54 on the tier list, placing him near the top of the E tier. This is a moderate drop from his placement in Brawl, where he was ranked 23rd out of 38. In addition to largely retaining his renowned power and range, Ike's overall mobility has noticeably improved, thanks to his faster dashing and air speeds, and higher double jump. His frame data has also fairly improved, with the most obvious improvements being his tilts and aerials. He also benefits from the changes to gameplay mechanics: rage supplements his power; the changes to hitstun canceling have made his up and down throws into very useful combo starters; and the updated edge mechanics supplement his recovery.

However, Ike has received some nerfs, and he also retains his flaws from Brawl. His jab cancel, which was perhaps his best damage-racking option in the previous game, is now extremely situational due to his neutral attack’s higher overall lag. His high weight renders his overall mobility as below-average at best in spite of its improvements, making him vulnerable to rushdowns and combos. His lack of any projectile also leaves him susceptible to camping. Ike also has very few sufficiently fast moves (with jab and back aerial being some of his only moves that come out faster than frame 10), as well as high ending lag in many attacks. In return for Ike’s attacks having better frame data overall, most of them have significantly decreased knockback, slightly lower damage output, and shorter range. His already large hurtbox is slightly taller. Finally, Ike’s recovery is still predictable and linear, making it vulnerable to attacks when ascending.

While Ike has attained greater degrees of success prior to 1.1.6, thanks to the likes of Ryo and San, his playerbase's success has stagnated afterwards.

Attributes

Ike is a heavyweight, being tied with Wario as the eighth heaviest character in SSB4. Unsurprisingly, he has below-average walking speed and air acceleration; slightly below-average dashing speed; above-average falling speed, air speed and gravity; and a low jump and double jump.

Ike's good approach is a noticeable divergence from the heavyweight archetype, though it is a trait shared with his fellow heavyweight swordsmen Shulk and Cloud. His sword, Ragnell, grants him a very long and disjointed range that is surpassed only by Shulk's Monado and Cloud's Buster Sword. Neutral, forward, and back aerials are good approach options: in addition to their ability to auto-cancel with a short hop, the former has low landing lag, whereas the latter two are safe on shield thanks to their high shieldstun. Forward aerial, in particular, boasts a good damage output, high knockback growth, and a large range in front of Ike. Aside from being his most reliable approach option because of these traits, it also makes him a surprisingly difficult character to punish when it is used properly. In addition, his aerials' speed and ranges make him capable of pressuring opponents.

Ike's combo game consists of numerous moves that can flow consistently with each other up to medium percentages. His down tilt, SHFF'd neutral aerial, up throw, and down throw all launch opponents at favorable angles, allowing him to follow up with his aerials and thus perform short, yet impressively damaging combos. Up throw is particularly notable, as its low knockback growth enables it to combo into forward or up aerials even at high percentages, which provides Ike with a few invaluable KO set-ups. Although not as consistent as his aforementioned moves, up tilt, forward aerial and back throw also have combo potential: up tilt is a useful anti-air attack that can also be used for juggles; forward aerial can combo into itself up to three times at medium percentages when auto-canceled; and back throw can tech-chase into dash attack at low to medium percentages.

All of Ike's smash attacks are among the strongest of their respective kinds; his clean-tipped forward smash, in particular, is notably the seventh strongest forward smash in the game. Forward and up smashes both have long ranges, which also grants them utility against both grounded and aerial opponents. Up smash, in particular, covers a wide, overhead arc around Ike; when coupled with its long duration, it is a deadly option while at the edge and for punishing rolls. Although Ike's smash attacks suffer from extreme amounts of start-up and ending lag, he is not reliant on them to KO.

In addition to their aforementioned approach potentials, Ike's forward and back aerials boast impressive power, making them safe KOing options while near the edge or especially while edge-guarding. On a related note, Ike also has an effective edge-guarding game: in addition to forward and back aerials, down aerial's tip is an impressively damaging meteor smash, while Eruption is a chargeable move that boasts a large hitbox regardless of its charge, and devastating power even when it is only partially charged. Furthermore, Ike's excellent endurance enables him to use rage effectively, which boosts his already high power.

However, Ike has a number of flaws. His size, weight, and falling speed leave him vulnerable to combos and rushdown-oriented characters, which is further compounded by his lack of options to quickly and reliably break out of them. As he is a melee-oriented character, Ike lacks a projectile, putting him at a disadvantage against camping tactics. Ike's weak out of shield potential further compounds his susceptibility to pressure: his below-average grab range and very low traction hinder his otherwise great grab game, while he lacks options to immediately retaliate because the overwhelming majority of his grounded moves have moderate start-up lag. By extension, the lag issues within Ike's moveset hinder his overall approach: it renders his grounded approach as comparatively poor and overall predictable, whereas his aerial approach requires proper spacing and timing in order to be effective.

Ike's recovery is also problematic. Aether and Quick Draw are highly predictable because they function strictly as vertical and strictly horizontal recovery options, respectively. In addition to rendering Ike susceptible to semi-spikes, both of these moves are further compounded by specific faults. Quick Draw must be charged to cover more distance, and unless it hits an opponent, it renders Ike helpless and thus cannot be used in tandem with Aether. In comparison, Aether's horizontal distance is almost nonexistent even with directional input, which can lead to an invariable self-destruct if it is used too far from the edge.

Ike gains some benefits from his custom moves. Both Tempest and Furious Eruption improve his already good edge-guarding potential, yet possess noticeable traits. Tempest charges faster and, like Cape, stalls Ike's descent when used in the air and can gimp recoveries. In comparison, Furious Eruption is noticeably stronger than Eruption, has more vertical range, and launches opponents vertically, which makes it a very potent KOing option on stages with low ceilings. Close Combat grants transcendent priority during its dash, which allows it to ignore projectiles and shields, making it even better for recovering.

Aether Drive functions as a diagonal recovery option, unlike Aether and Quick Draw, but covers less vertical distance. Aether Wave is executed faster, making it harder to gimp. It is also an excellent edge-guarding option, as it slings an energy wave upon landing. However, it covers slightly less vertical distance, has little trapping potential, and cannot meteor smash. Paralyzing Counter functions almost identically to Disable: it allows Ike to stun the opponent instead of counterattacking, but deals minuscule damage as a trade-off. Lastly, Smash Counter functions oppositely: its much higher damage multiplier enables it to one-hit KO many strong moves, although its lag is significant enough that many moves with low ending lag will allow the opponent to block the counterattack.

Overall, Ike's optimal playstyle is largely the same as it was in Brawl: he is still effective at spacing and punishing, and must utilize his useful combo game to deal damage and set up KOs. Like Luigi, Ike's weaknesses are exploitable, but circumventing them with careful play can result in him being a formidable character, as shown by players such as Ryo.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Ike had received a mix of buffs and nerfs from Brawl to SSB4. Ike's mobility has improved: he has noticeably faster dashing and air speeds, as well as a higher double jump, the latter of which also improved his neutral game and recovery. His overall frame data is also fairly better, with his forward aerial in particular now being a very useful approach option thanks to its range, lower start-up lag, and ability to auto-cancel with a short hop. By extension, his forward, back, up, and down aerials also have significantly reduced landing lag, and no longer possess transcendent priority, aiding in Ike's approach by allowing him to cancel out projectiles. Lastly, Ike benefits from the changes to gameplay mechanics. The changes to hitstun canceling significantly improve his combo game; the removal of edge-hogging improves Aether and Quick Draw's recovery potentials; and rage boosts Ike's already high power, while his heavier weight makes him a very effective user of it.

However, Ike has also received some nerfs. To compensate for the general improvements to his frame data, his renowned power has been somewhat toned down via decreases to his damage output and the knockback of the majority of his moveset. Ike's overall range has also been decreased, making it slightly more difficult for him to space out his opponents. Ike's jab cancel, which was an essential aspect of his playstyle in Brawl, is now extremely situational because of his neutral attack's higher start-up and ending lag.

Aside from Counter, his other special moves have been nerfed in particular ways. Eruption has been the most noticeably affected, as it now deals less damage, has less knockback, and only grants super armor when it is fully charged. Lastly, Ike's already large hurtbox is slightly larger, and he is slightly heavier. When coupled with the changes to hitstun canceling, these changes collectively make him more susceptible to combos than in Brawl.

Overall, Ike has been rebalanced with his weaknesses becoming less severe at the cost of his previous strengths being noticeably toned down. Ike is faster both in terms of mobility and frame data and has a better recovery in exchange for less range and power (especially when relative to the cast). While he gained a few new useful tools (most of which were due to the changes to the game's mechanics), he also lost one of his most vital tools in the form of his jab. His representation in competitive play: despite initially being minimal, it has expanded over time thanks to the numerous buffs he received from game updates, while his still relatively small playerbase has managed to achieve average results at regional and even national tournaments.

Aesthetics

• Ike's design is now based on his appearance as a Hero in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn.
• Ike has received three new alternate costumes, which are based on his father Greil, the Black Knight, and Chrom, respectively.
• Ike's eye color is now slightly subdued. Ragnell's pommel and the upper portion of its grip are also now darker. These changes are unique to SSB4.
• Ike is slightly more expressive.
• Ike's boots' sound clips are higher-pitched.
• Ragnell's blade is now satin sheen gold, instead of metallic gold. Additionally, the base of its blade is now very slightly wider, similarly to its tip, and has a very small circular gem embedded in it. Lastly, its grip, cross-guard, and pommel are now slightly larger. Altogether, these changes make Ragnell appear more in line with its appearances in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn.
• Ragnell's flames are now sky blue, instead of orange. This makes them appear virtually identical to the fiery aura that Ike emits upon being blessed by Yune during the final battle against Ashera in Radiant Dawn. Its swing's sound clips are also higher-pitched.
• Up and side taunts have updated sound effects.
• Ike's previously unused damage yells from Brawl's Sound Test are now heard when taking high knockback.

Attributes

• Ike is taller, making his hurtbox slightly larger.
• Ike walks slower (0.88 → 0.869).
• Ike dashes faster (1.371 → 1.5).
• Ike's air speed is noticeably higher (0.9212 → 1.08), going from the 22nd fastest out of 39 characters to the 21st highest out of 58.
• Ike is heavier (105 → 107).
• Ike's double jump is higher (height multiplier: 0.88x → 1.037x).
• Ike's gravity is higher (0.0837 → 0.092).
• Rolls have less ending lag (FAF 34 (front)/ 38 (back) → 33 (both)).
• Rolls have a slightly shorter duration (frames 4-19 → 4-18).
• Air dodge has less startup (frame 4 → 3) and ending lag (FAF 40 → 34).
• Spot dodge has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 2-20 → 3-18), and it has increased ending lag (FAF 26 → 28).
• Ike's item throw is stronger (1 → 1.023333).
• The changes to hitstun canceling and Directional Influence both help and hinder Ike. They significantly improve his combo potential out of specific moves, but make him more susceptible to combos and prevent him from making use of momentum canceling, hindering his endurance.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • Neutral attack deals less damage (4% (hit 1)/5% (hit 2)/7% (hit 3) → 3% (hits 1-2)/5% (hit 3)) and the final hit's knockback was not compensated, hindering its damage racking and KO potential.
  • All three hits have more ending lag (FAF 17 (hit 1)/20 (hit 2)/38 (hit 3) → 24/28/39), hindering their safety as well as the first two hits' jab canceling potential.
  • The first hit has more startup lag (frame 3 → 4).
  • The first hit resets itself later when held (frame 15 → 20).
  • The first hit transitions into the second hit earlier (frame 12 → 11).
  • The first hit has an altered animation where Ike now moves forward more. This gives it more range despite it now having a static hitbox.
    • However, the hitbox does not extend as far inside of Ike, giving it less range inside of him.
  • The first hit now has one extended hitbox instead of three separate hitboxes, giving it consistent set knockback (50/40/30 → 50).
    • This gives the move more hitstun at far ranges, improving its jab canceling potential (although this is offset by the move's higher ending lag).
    • However, this also hinders its ability to lead into the second hit at far ranges, especially since it launches opponents at a lower angle compared to the previous far hitbox (70° → 65°).
  • The second hit transitions into the third hit later (frame 8 → 12).
  • The second hit transitions into the first hit later when held later (frame 13 → 18).
  • The second hit has a new animation where Ike does not kick as far forward, and the move now uses smaller static hitboxes (5u/5u/5u → 3.5u/3.5u/4.5u). This gives the move less range.
    • However, the move now has two far hitboxes which are positioned at different heights, giving the move more vertical range.
  • The second hit's further hitboxes deal less knockback (50/40 (set), 80/100 (scaling) → (40/25)/80), improving the move's ability to lead into the third hit.
    • The second hit's higher hitbox also launches opponents at a higher angle (65° → 80°).
    • However, when combined with the move's higher ending lag, this significantly hinders its jab canceling potential.
  • The second hit's nearest hitbox has higher set knockback (30 → 50), and it launches opponents at a higher angle (20° → 65°), hindering its ability to lead into the third hit.
    • However, this also improves its jab canceling potential (although this is offset by the move's higher ending lag).
  • The third hit has less startup lag (frame 10 → 5).
  • The third hit has a shorter duration (frames 10-14 → 5-8).
  • The third hit's nearest hitboxes are larger (3u/2.5u → 4u/3.3u).
  • The third hits furthest hitbox has been moved closer to Ike (y offset: 13 → 12) while the nearest hitbox has been moved further away from him (y offset: 0 → 1), reducing its range.
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt has less startup (frame 17 → 13) and ending lag (FAF 56 → 44).
  • Forward tilt has a shorter duration (frames 17-19 → 13-14).
  • Forward tilt deals less damage (15% (blade)/14% (upper body) → 12.5%) and knockback (38 (base), 100 (scaling) → 30/97), significantly hindering its KO potential.
    • However, it does deal more damage than the previous lower body hitbox (12% → 12.5%), although its knockback is still lower.
  • Forward tilt now consists of one extended hitbox instead of four normal hitboxes. This hitbox is the same size as the previous upper body hitbox, and it also does not extend as far horizontally (particularly for the angled variants), giving it less range, especially the down-angled version.
    • The move also does not cover Ike's lower body, giving it less range below him, especially the up-angled version.
  • Forward tilt's hitbox is now static, rather than being attached to Ike's sword. This gives it more consistent horizontal range but removes its ability to hit opponents far into the Z-axis.
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt has less startup lag (frame 13 → 11) with its total duration subsequently reduced (FAF 50 → 48).
  • The clean hit deals more damage, especially behind Ike (9% (behind)/12% (sword) → 14%).
  • Up tilt now uses one extended hitbox rather than four normal hitboxes.
    • This new hitbox does not extend as far behind the sword (y offset: -2 → y stretch: 1) and the late hit also does not extend as far away from the sword (y offset: 13 → 12), giving up tilt less range in all directions overall.
  • Up tilt has a shorter duration (frames 13-15 (clean)/16-28 (late) → 11-13/14-21).
  • Up tilt has lower base knockback (70 → 50). This hinders the clean hit's KO potential on tournament legal stages (excluding the previous sourspot) as well as noticeably hindering the late hit's KO potential.
  • Up tilt now launches opponents at a consistent angle (85°/88°/92°/95° → 95° (clean)/85° (late), making it easier to DI as well as hindering its KO potential at the middle of the sword.
  • The clean hit has a smaller hitbox (6u → 5u).
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt has drastically lower startup (frame 16 → 7) and ending lag (FAF 55 → 29).
  • Down tilt deals much less damage (14% → 8%) and knockback (55 (base), 100 (scaling) → 70/70), greatly hindering its KO potential.
  • Down tilt now consistently launches opponents upwards (270° (tip)/361° (hilt) → 80° (all)), no longer being a meteor smash.
    • When combined with its much faster speed, lower power, and the changes to hitstun canceling and DI, these changes greatly improve its combo potential at lower percents.
    • However, these changes also significantly hinder its edgeguarding and spacing potential.
  • Down tilt has smaller hitboxes (4u/4u/4u/4u → 3.8u/3.8u/3.8u/3.8u) and the furthest hitboxes have been moved closer to Ike (y offset: 10/16 → 9/13), reducing its range.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack has less startup lag (frame 18 → 15).
  • Dash attack deals more damage (8% (far)/7% (near) → 14%/11%) and has increased knockback scaling (70 → 78), greatly improving its KO potential despite its less favorable launch angle (361° (far)/80° (back) → 52°).
  • Dash attack now has a late hitbox from frames 17-19, which deals 9%, more knockback (70 (base), 70 (scaling) → 60/100) and launches opponents at a 45° angle. This extends the dash attack's duration (frames 18-19 → 15-16/17-19).
  • Dash attack has more ending lag (FAF 51 → 53).
  • Dash attack covers less distance.
  • Dash attack has smaller hitboxes (7u/5u/5u → 6u/4u). When combined with its shorter distance, this reduces the dash attack's range despite its longer duration, as well as the far hitbox being moved further away from Ike (z offset: 17 → 17.5).
  • The near hit now uses one extended hitbox, which does not extend as far behind Ike (z offset: -2 → 2.5), giving the dash attack less range behind Ike.
• Forward smash:
  • Forward smash has a longer duration (frames 31-32 (clean)/33-34 (late) → 31-32/33-35).
  • Forward smash has a new animation where Ike does a larger sword swing. This gives it slightly more range.
  • The late hit's far hitbox deals more damage (17% → 19%).
  • The late hit's hilt hitbox is larger (5u → 5.3u).
  • The late hit's middle hitbox has been moved further away from Ike (y offset: 6.5 → 7).
  • The late hit's far hitbox launches opponents at a lower angle (60° → 57°).
  • The late hit's far hitbox is positioned lower (z offset: -5 → -4).
  • Forward smash has more ending lag (FAF 80 → 84).
  • The early hit deals less damage (22% → 19%) and knockback (50 (base), 100 (scaling) → 40/90), considerably hindering its KO potential.
  • The early hit has smaller hitboxes (6u/5u → 4u/3u).
  • The late hit deals less knockback (45/50 (base), 100 (scaling) → 40/86), hindering its KO potential, even for the far hit, despite its more serious damage.
  • The late hit's back hitbox has been removed and the hilt hitbox has been moved further away from Ike (y offset: 0 → 2), giving it much less range behind Ike.
  • The late hit's far hitbox is smaller (6u → 5.5u), although it has been moved further away from Ike to retain its horizontal range (y offset: 10.5 → 11).
• Up smash:
  • Up smash's clean hit has slightly increased knockback scaling (85 → 86), slightly improving its KO potential.
  • The clean hit's hitboxes have swapped priority, making the hitboxes with higher launch angles easier to land.
  • The late hit now uses one extended hitbox which extends further inside of Ike (z offset: 2 → z stretch: 6), giving it more range in front of Ike.
  • Up smash no longer has transcendent priority.
  • Up smash has more ending lag (FAF 67 → 71).
  • The clean hit's far hitboxes have been moved closer to Ike (y offset: 12/8 → 11/7.5) and the move has a new animation where Ike does not swing his sword as far horizontally, reducing its range.
  • The late hit deals much less damage (19% → 10%), greatly hindering its KO potential.
  • The removal of DACUS slightly hinders up smash's approach potential.
• Down smash:
  • Down smash's first and clean second hits deal more damage (13% (hit 1)/16% (hit 2 clean) → 14%/17%) and have higher base knockback (30 → 40).
  • Down smash has a lower trip chance (30%/40% → 20%), though this is inapplicable in normal play unless the victim is on an extremely steep slope.
  • Down smash no longer has transcendent priority.
  • The first and clean second hit launch opponents at a lower, consistent angle (65°/70°/75°/82° → 48°).
    • This improves their KO potential near the horizontal blastzone.
    • However, this also hinders their KO potential from centre stage and especially when near the vertical blastzone, particularly when landing the hilt.
  • Down smash has more ending lag (FAF 70 → 71).
  • Down smash has a new animation where Ike does not swing his sword as far in either direction. This gives it less range despite the first and clean second hits' hitboxes being moved further away from Ike (y offset: 12/-12 → 15/-15).
  • Down smash does not extend as far inside of Ike (y offset: 0 → y stretch: 4), giving it less range inside of Ike.
  • Down smash has a shorter duration (frames 13-16 (hit 1)/32-35 (hit 2 clean)/36-44 (hit 2 late) → 13-15/32-33/34-36).
  • The first and clean second hit have smaller hitboxes (5u (hit 1)/6u (clean hit 2) → 4.2u (both)).
  • The late second hit launches opponents at a lower, consistent angle (65°/70°/75°/82° → 61°), which overall hinders its KO potential, particularly when landing the hilt.

Aerial attacks

• All aerials no longer have transcendent priority, allowing them to cancel out projectiles.
• All aerials except for neutral aerial have less landing lag (21 frames → 18 (forward), 21 frames → 19 (back), 18 frames → 15 (up), 28 frames → 23 (down)).
• All aerials except for down aerial have shorter initial auto-cancel windows (frames 1-7 → 1-5 (neutral), frames 1-4 (forward/back) → 1 (forward)/1-2 (back), frames 1-8 → 1-5 (up)).
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial has less startup (frame 15 → 12) and ending lag (FAF 75 → 60).
  • Neutral aerial has a shorter animation (74 frames → 71), decreasing the amount of time Ike cannot grab ledges after performing the move.
    • This new animation gives the move slightly more range above and behind Ike, but gives it less range in front of him.
  • Neutral aerial auto-cancels earlier (frame 67 → 64).
  • Neutral aerial deals more damage (9% → 10%) and it launches opponents at a higher angle (70° → 80°), improving its KO potential.
    • The move's higher launch angle combined with the changes to hitstun canceling and DI significantly improves the move's combo potential despite its higher landing lag.
  • Neutral aerial has a shorter duration (frames 15-32 → 12-21 (clean)/22-27 (late)), and the move has received a new late hit which deals less damage (9% → 7%).
    • The new late hit, however, improves the move's combo potential at higher percents.
  • Neutral aerial has more landing lag (12 frames → 14).
  • The nearest hitbox has been removed.
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial has less startup lag with a longer duration (frames 18-21 → 12-16).
    • Additionally, the move's hitboxes now start directly above Ike, giving it more vertical range.
    • However, its total duration was not fully compensated (FAF 60 → 56), giving it more ending lag.
  • Forward aerial auto-cancels earlier (frame 45 → 38), allowing it to do so in a short hop.
  • Forward aerial has more base knockback (20 → 30), improving its KO potential.
  • Forward aerial has larger hitboxes (4.5u/4.5u/4u/4u → 5u/5u/5u) which have more favorable positions along the sword (y offset: 10/7/4/0 → 12/7.5/3).
    • However, the nearest hitbox has been removed, giving the move less range inside of Ike.
  • Forward aerial only makes a medium slam sound effect when it connects instead of a strong slam.
  • Forward aerial has a modified animation: the sword swing is smoother and carries more momentum at the end, instead of the slash abruptly stopping near Ike's feet.
    • The new animation means Ike does not swing his sword as far. This gives the move less horizontal and downward range despite its improved hitboxes.
    • However, this new animation is shorter (59 frames → 55), decreasing the amount of time Ike cannot grab ledges after performing the move.
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial has less startup lag (frame 15 → 13).
    • However, its total duration was unchanged, giving it more ending lag.
  • Up aerial auto-cancels earlier (frame 53 → 51).
  • Up aerial deals less damage (14% → 11%), without full compensation on its knockback (40 (base), 100 (scaling) → 55/94), hindering its KO potential.
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial has larger hitboxes (5.2u/5.2u/5.2u → 6.0u/5.5u/6.3u).
  • Down aerial's hitboxes have been moved slightly to the right (z offset: 0 → 1).
  • The upper hitbox now launches opponents horizontally (270° → 50°), no longer being a meteor smash. This hinders its edgeguarding potential but improves its KO potential on stage.
  • Down aerial no longer has a late hit, greatly reducing its duration (frames 16-17 (clean)/18-30 (late) → 16-17).
  • Down aerial deals less damage (16% → 15%) and knockback (40 (base), 100 (scaling) → (30/20)/(100/90)), hindering its KO potential, especially the lower hitboxes.