Talk:Grab aerial

Tether Malfunction

I heard that if you use the Z-air to recover three times on the edge, it won't work. (Can somebody verify this?) Smashdude10 (talk) 18:46, 11 February 2014 (EST)

"A tether recovery can only be used three times without touching the ground; if it is used a fourth time, the tether will not grab onto the edge"

The tether recovery page covers this information and should be the primary area for one to search to figure out that information. MegaTron1XD 20:30, 10 February 2014 (EST)

Rename to aerial tether

I brought this up a while back on the Discord but the name "grab aerial" is very problematic in my opinion. When you use that term, it carries with it the potential implication(s) that it's a move that can grab people in midair, that all characters have it because all characters have a grab, and other misleading half-truths or conclusions that are outright false, and I just think it's a confusing term (I could see somebody mistaking it for aerial item grabs, for instance). Nobody actually uses this term, either, which just adds to the confusion when you see this article linked to.

I'd propose changing the title of this article to aerial tether, as that better communicates that it can be used exclusively characters with tether grabs, doesn't make any mention of grabbing, and implies the existence of the unique recovery mechanics they have. Tether aerial could also work and would better match the format of other air attack names, but aerial tether just rolls off the tongue better.

Of course if this change was to be made, it'd necessitate a good few changes to articles and tables and templates and stuff, but I think it would be worth it. Nymbare and his talk 13:50, August 4, 2019 (EDT)

The current name of the page matches the format of (almost) all the other move class names: it's based on the input. It's unfortunate that in this specific case the name of the input is strongly tied to a different action altogether, but I don't think using the word "tether" in the name would improve matters:

• Some characters have zairs but no tether (Luigi SSBU). Some characters have tethers but no zair (Ivysaur).
• There are no tethers in Melee; this would drag a new term into its world.

In my opinion, for this rename to be worth the effort of changing across the template space, it would have to be the sort of improvement that's clear and obvious across the board. I don't think this is it. Toomai Glittershine The Honcho 14:50, August 4, 2019 (EDT)

You said it yourself that the name of this page matched almost all other move inputs. These rules have exceptions and we need to be willing to bend or break the rules to accommodate for the exceptions where it's necessary. I believe this is a necessary case.

As for your examples, Luigi is the only character with a zair but no tether recovery, not one of a handful. While the point about Ivysaur's tether is true, aerial tether implies that, unlike Ivysaur's Vine Whip (or any other special move for that matter), it can only be used in the air, which is true of these attacks. And while Melee lacks tether recoveries, the term "tether" has still become series standard for long-ranged grabs, to the point where even in Melee tutorials, commentaries, and general discussion you will still see the term 'tether grab' used much more often for Samus/Link's grabs.

By far the most common term for this type of attack is "zair", but obviously we can't name an article that in the same way we can't name an article fair or bair, and I still firmly hold that the term grab aerial doesn't work. Aerial tether, I believe, is what we should name this article in the absence of an apparent official term in order to most clearly communicate what the attack is.

Outside of this wiki I had never heard the term "grab aerial" even used a single time before I did a Google search. Now I have seen it on a scattered handful of SmashBoards and Q&A posts, but the vast majority of this term's usage comes from this wiki and searching "smash grab aerial" off of this wiki and Smashpedia will net you almost across the board a list of literal midair grabs, mods that implement them, etc. Nymbare and his talk 19:39, August 4, 2019 (EDT)

Apparently the official term for grab aerials is grab attack, used in Tips. I don't think it is a good name for a page though, and I don't really see the issue with the current one, it's already a common enough name. Rdrfc (talk) 17:27, August 4, 2019 (EDT)

"Grab attack" is actually the official name for pummels. I believe it's another instance of naming an attack based strictly on its input having potential shortcomings and causing confusion, and is one of the exceptions to that rule that the wiki has already adopted. Nymbare and his talk 19:39, August 4, 2019 (EDT)

You are not wrong, but you are also not entirely right.

• The community's been using "pummel" since Melee came out, partly because the word appears in some bonuses. "Grab attack" didn't come along until SSB4 tips. While it technically is an exception (the only one, assuming "Final Smash" doesn't count), I think it's a valid one. Not just because there's no need to change from a well-established term to an official one, but because:
• SSBU's tips use the term "grab attack" to refer to both pummels and grab aerials. (I'm making a disambig page because of finding this out.) Us having a page called "grab aerial" feels (to me) likely to help newbies with this confusion.

Again though, I stress that moving this page (and therefore changing what we call the move on all other pages) is very high-effort. Since the current title isn't wrong, I'm not a fan of doing it. Toomai Glittershine The Incomperable 23:58, August 4, 2019 (EDT)

I understand your desire to keep things the way they are, and it would definitely be simpler all things considered, but even if the current title isn't technically incorrect, I still think for the reasons I've stated above that changing it would be a worthy pursuit and would help newer players better understand the purpose, usage, and nature of this move in the absence of a widely-accepted formal name. We're a wiki, and we need to be easy to understand. I'm willing to assist in the potential move.

In fact, if this change is to go through, I'd actually also try to push for the renaming of the neutral attack page to 'jab' just because that name is used so much more widely, even on the wiki, to the point of being a more formal term by virtue of how often it's used. But that's an 'if', and that conversation should be held for later.

That being said, it seems we are at a standstill at the moment and I think it would be beneficial to get input from others. Nymbare and his talk 20:22, August 15, 2019 (EDT)