Editing Cloud (SSBU)

Cloud is a [[weight|middleweight]] swordsman, tied with {{SSBU|Mii Swordfighter}} at 100 units of weight. Despite his weight class, Cloud boasts high overall mobility: he has average [[walk]]ing speed, very fast [[dash]]ing speed, above-average [[air speed]], and average [[air acceleration]], which collectively make him quick both on the ground and in the air. Cloud also has above-average [[falling speed]] and high [[gravity]], however, which prevent him from staying in the air for long despite his good aerial maneuverability.

Cloud's greatest asset is his effective [[range]], courtesy of his Buster Sword; Cloud's attacks have among the longest reaches in the game and can space out the opponent quite easily, snuff out opposing approaches, and adeptly punish most careless attacks due to his speed and range. A prime example of this trait is Cloud's aerial attacks: his neutral aerial, despite having its range decreased noticeably in the transition to ''Ultimate'', still covers Cloud's hurtbox well, making it a go-to option for spacing or air-to-ground transition movement. It is also very fast on both ends, can autocancel with a short hop, and has a low launching angle, all of which make it a good edgeguarding and spacing tool despite its below-average knockback.

Cloud's back aerial has tremendous range, decent power, very low landing lag, and autocancels from a short hop; altogether, these traits allow him to edgeguard and space effectively, and even perform a [[wall of pain]] at low percentages. However, it can often miss low opponents due to its minimal vertical range. His forward aerial is very strong when it's clean, hitbox connects, and its sweetspot is a powerful meteor smash on aerial opponents. Like his down aerial, it autocancels from a jump and has low landing lag in relation to its range and power. However, it has the slowest startup of his aerials, making it his riskiest one to use, regardless.

Cloud's grounded moveset, while much less effective than his aerial moveset, nevertheless has its own merits. His neutral attack is his fastest attack, has decent overall range, and its third hit can force a [[tech-chase]]. His forward tilt has serviceable speed and respectable power, which make it a decent KO option at high percentages. However, its moderate ending lag and very low base knockback make it unsafe on hit at low percentages if it is not spaced sufficiently. His down tilt is a low-profile sliding kick and is reasonably quick; while these traits make it useful primarily for avoiding projectiles and putting the opponent into a disadvantageous state, its final frames also allow it to combo into his neutral and up aerials at low percentages. Cloud's up tilt is a reliable combo starter, as it can combo into itself at low percentages and into his neutral, back, and up aerials at medium percentages. While it can even combo into his up smash at low to medium percentages, this combo is heavily dependent on the opponent's reaction.

Cloud's dash attack is a quick, punishing option from a distance, and its respectable power enables its clean hit to either KO at reasonable percentages or, at worst, put an opponent in an unfavorable position. However, like his forward tilt, it is easily punished when shielded or avoided. Regarding Cloud's smash attacks, his up smash covers a very large arc, has decent speed, and rather high knockback despite its middling damage output. As a result, it is among his best and least risky KOing options out of his standard moveset. Cloud's forward smash is his most powerful non-Limit Break move, though to compensate, it also takes the longest to start and is very punishable if it whiffs. His down smash is also prone to punishment if the front hit is avoided, but it drags the opponent into the back hit if it connects, with the latter being a strong semi-spike.

Cloud's special moveset also offers interesting options. [[Blade Beam]] is a projectile with good range and activity, making it useful for forcing approaches, though it gets weakened over the duration and has rather high endlag, which hampers its otherwise useful utility. It also stalls Cloud in the air, giving it additional, albeit situational, utility in guard breaking. [[Cross Slash]] is similar to [[Dancing Blade]] and [[Double-Edge Dance]], as it requires additional inputs from the player to initiate the remaining slashes. In contrast, it has wider input windows, but the full move is only allowed to continue if all hits connect. It can also stall Cloud in the air, just like Blade Beam, though much more briefly. [[Climhazzard]] is similar to [[Aether]] and [[Final Cutter]], as it is an ascending slash, but differs from them in that it can be followed by an optional descending slash. This allows Cloud to mix up his recovery and enables Climhazzard to function as his fastest out of shield option, though it is very risky to use.

Limit Charge is also converted to [[Finishing Touch]], a spinning slash with such tremendous knockback that it can KO most characters around 60%-70%. It also emits a whirlwind that pushes away opponents, making it harder to punish and providing Cloud a situational method of gimping weak recoveries. Except Finishing Touch, all Limit Break specials are also granted brief intangibility upon start-up, as well as additional properties: Blade Beam is faster, stronger, and gains [[transcendent priority]]; Cross Slash requires no additional button inputs and strikes five times immediately, has very low ending lag in relation to its immense power, and stalls Cloud completely in the air; and Climhazzard grants more vertical distance and much more horizontal momentum, as well as having the ability to sweetspot an edge at any time. With all these benefits underneath the Limit Break status, players must be wary of this, as one small slip-up from the opponent can give Cloud the perfect opportunity to strike and turn the tide of battle instantaneously, making Cloud's Limit Break a mechanic that should not be taken lightly when in the hands of a competent player.

However, Cloud has some notable flaws. The most prominent one is his poor recovery; despite his aerial mobility and jump height being arguably better than most sword-wielding characters, his diagonal speed remains slow when compared to them, making him prone to edgeguarding and gimping, and making it mandatory to stay a safe distance from the edge. Climhazzard is also a poor recovery move for many reasons: it grants below average vertical distance, little horizontal momentum, its ascending hit is completely incapable of edge sweetspotting, and its descending hit cannot edge sweetspot until it covers a slight distance. The last problem about Cloud's recovery is that if he gets grabbed near the edge and gets air released while lacking access to his double jump, he will not be able to return to the stage unless he properly times a Blade Beam to stall towards the edge, uses aerials or air dodges to reset his momentum, or possesses a Limit Break. These factors make Cloud's recovery among the riskiest and most ineffective without the use of his wall jump or Limit Break Climhazzard (which loses the active hitbox near the end of his ascent, making it less safe than the regular Climhazzard in some situations).

Another of Cloud's glaring flaws is his terrible grab game, being among the worst in the game. His grabs possess a low range while having relatively high startup for a non-tether grab, his throws' damage outputs are mediocre, and, barring his down throw, they lack combo potential. His forward and back throws' decent speed is significantly offset by the problematic combination of their virtual lack of combo potential and low knockback scaling, both failing to KO before 300% unless the opponent is light, Cloud has rage, and/or is at the edge upon performing them. The latter can be used as a situational tech-chase option, but even then, it is largely ineffective in this role. Cloud's up and down throws both have misleading power, with the former failing to KO until well beyond 200%. The former has too much ending lag to set up combos reliably, while the latter lacks reliable combos at low percentages and loses all of its combo potential past low percentages if the opponent DIs properly due to its more horizontal angle. Ironically, it is also Cloud's only throw that can KO below 200%, except his up throw, KOing slightly earlier on platform stages.

Although Cloud's range, combo options, and Blade Beam collectively grant him a strong neutral game, he has a below-average approach at best. His approach options are linear: his dash attack is easily punishable, his neutral aerial's hitbox starts from behind him, and his up aerial is very predictable, as well as surprisingly punishable on shield if it is not spaced properly. This is further compounded by his other attacks lacking the frame data or the utility to be used as reliable approach options, such as his poor grab game.

Cloud also lacks a reliable means of escaping pressure. His neutral attack and down tilt are his fastest ground options, while Climhazzard is a great out-of-shield option. However, they are noticeably unsafe on shield, while none of his fast aerial attacks start from in front or below him. His down aerial's late hitbox can be used to escape juggling directly from below him, but its otherwise narrow hitbox allows opponents to hit Cloud laterally. Thus, Cloud is fairly easy to combo, and is just as easily forced on the defensive if his attacks are improperly spaced.

Aside from Limit Charge, Cloud's special moves have some noticeable weaknesses. Blade Beam is relatively slow regarding start-up and ending lag, as well as depreciating in damage over time or when used in the air, all of which make it less effective for spamming. Cross Slash is inconsistent with linking all five of its hits due to SDI or landing different parts of the hitboxes, along with being very vulnerable to stale-move negation because of its reliability as a damage-racking option. In addition to its aforementioned weaknesses regarding recovery, Climhazzard can also be punishable if shielded and DI'd out of, while all of his specials only boast KO power when they are boosted by the Limit Break.

The Limit Break mechanic itself is also problematic: it acts as a double-edged sword, as it increases Cloud's fall speed and gravity at full charge, making recovery without the use of Climhazzard deceptively difficult, and rendering Cloud even easier to combo at medium percentages. It makes precise use of his special attacks mandatory, as his Limit Break specials can still be blocked and possess limited range. While Limit Blade Beam can be used as a ranged KOing option, it can just as easily be reflected or otherwise avoided at the tip of its range, leaving Cloud wide open to punishment. Finishing Touch deals only 1% and has a very high ending lag that renders Cloud vulnerable if the slash or whirlwind does not hit. Finally and most notably, his Limit will be depleted if it is not used in 15 seconds, requiring Cloud to either "go big or go home" with the charge in a short amount of time, which could potentially be a huge turnabout for him at the wrong time.

Overall, Cloud has all the tools required to be successful, yet the player must manage these resources to the best of their ability and avoid being thrown off the stage at all times. These abilities also, more often than not, force the player to be vulnerable before they can be used effectively. Even though Cloud has many playstyles applicable to him, the combination of all of the traits above makes him a fundamentals-oriented character most of the time, much like {{SSBU|Ike}}, {{SSBU|Lucina}}, and {{SSBU|Palutena}}.