Shield drop lag
Shield Drop Lag, also known as dropping shield, and referred to internally as guard off is the laggy animation that occurs when one lets go of their shield. Shield drop lag is not to be confused with Shield dropping, which is when one drops through a platform out of shield. In Melee, shield drop lag lasts 15 frames, which makes it a significantly slower out-of-shield option compared to shield dropping or jump-canceling. Shield drop lag can also be jump-canceled.
In Ultimate, power shielding, also known as parrying was changed from occurring during the first few frames after pressing shield, to the first few frames after letting go of shield, i.e. shield drop lag. So, while shield drop lag is often something to be avoided in prior games, in Ultimate it can be an optimal out-of-shield option if timed correctly.
