Link (SSBU)

Link in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	The Legend of Zelda
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Melee in Brawl in SSB4
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Ancient Bow and Arrow
Tier	C- (66)

Link (リンク, Link) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was suggested to appear in the then unnamed Ultimate in its first teaser trailer at the end of the March 8th, 2018 Nintendo Direct, and officially announced in Ultimate's E3 2018 trailer on June 12th. Link is classified as Fighter #03.

Ultimate marks the first time in the Super Smash Bros. series where Link has newly recorded voice clips for Smash instead of using re-purposed voice clips from past Zelda games. In all regions, Link is now voiced by Kengo Takanashi, who originally voiced the character in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, reprising his role with new voice clips that mimic the ones he recorded for Breath of the Wild. This reflects his succession of Akira Sasanuma, Link's voice actor from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

Link is currently ranked 66th out of 82 characters on the current tier list, placing him in the middle of the C- tier, making him the lowest ranked of the three Links. This is a significant drop from his placement in SSB4, where he ranked 31st out of 54. Link has solid disjointed range, courtesy of the iconic Master Sword, with several strong KO moves that utilize it, such as his forward tilt, dash attack, forward aerial, his smash attacks, up aerial, down aerial, and Spin Attack. Link's non-sword moves also have fantastic utility. In particular, his neutral aerial is notorious for being a staple of his neutral game, being a strong landing, spacing, edgeguarding, and pressure tool. Link also has a strong projectile game, with his Remote Bomb acting as a dynamic tool for mindgames, item combos, edgeguarding, recovering, and ledgetrapping that he can activate at any time. His Boomerang is also good at catching approaches and keeping opponents in check. Overall, Link has a strong zoning game with powerful KO tools should his opponent get up close to him.

However, Link has several weaknesses. He is on the slower side of the spectrum, so he struggles to keep up with faster characters who can get around his projectiles. Link's sword moves also have rather sluggish frame data, which can cause him to be overwhelmed by faster moves. Link's status as a heavyweight also makes him easy to combo and juggle and keep in disadvantage. His recovery is also exploitable, as his Spin Attack travels in a predictable path, leaving his head vulnerable to spikes or lingering hitboxes.

Overall, Link has the tools to keep out his opponents and KO them at fairly low percentages, but should his defenses be infiltrated, it makes it difficult for him to get back in neutral. Link had promising results in the early metagame thanks to strong performances from T; however, his results and representation declined noticeably in the post-pandemic metagame, with only a few notable performances from players such as Rido and Kyon.

Attributes

Link is a heavyweight swordsman that sports powerful attacks and long range via the Master Sword. Link sports an above-average walking speed, the 15th slowest dashing speed, above-average initial dash, the 10th slowest air speed (tied with Diddy Kong), the 4th slowest air acceleration, average gravity, above-average falling speed, the 6th highest fast falling speed, and above-average traction. Lastly, Link has among the lowest jumps in the game. Overall, these stats render Link's mobility generally poor. Like his alternate timeline counterparts and Hero, Link possesses two shields instead of just one. In Link's case, he wields the Hylian Shield, which blocks opposing projectiles if he is standing still, walking, or crouching. Like Toon Link, Link also wields his respective version of the Master Sword, which sports an overall better range compared to the previous installment.

In addition to overall long range, Link's grounded moveset features other merits: neutral attack deals above-average damage and has a reliable semi-spike in its third hit. Forward tilt boasts both above-average damage and knockback, which, in tandem with its good range and low ending lag, makes for a great spacing option. Up tilt also deals above-average damage, which, in tandem with its low ending lag and large range, makes it a great juggling option. Down tilt possesses low ending lag, satisfactory damage, and high vertical knockback; altogether, these traits render it a great combo starter for devastating chains of aerial attacks. Dash attack possesses high damage, knockback, range, and traveling distance, all of which make it very useful for KOs at around 110%.

Link's KO potential shines strongly in his smash attacks, all of which deal high damage and knockback. Forward smash has a large range and a tipper on the first hit. His forward smash is a natural combo without activating the tip. When Link is at 0% or when he has full stamina in a stamina battle, the first swing of his forward smash releases a sword beam that can be charged to improve damage and distance. His up smash hits three times, has a wide range, and average startup; these attributes, in tandem with up smash's high damage and knockback, make it very reliable for both damage-racking and KOing. His down smash deals the lowest damage out of Link's smash attacks, but its decent speed and vertical trajectory make it a very useful edgeguarding option; down smash's edgeguarding capabilities are further bolstered through its second hit's strongest hitbox, which is a reliable semi-spike.

Link's aerial attacks are useful in their own right. His neutral aerial is a sex kick with low all-around lag and good damage output overall, and can lock and combo with other aerial and ground attacks; forward aerial sports long range, low landing lag, and high damage, making it one of Link's most reliable KOing options; back aerial is Link's fastest aerial in terms of startup lag, being able to combo into itself at low percents and other attacks at higher percents; up aerial deals high damage, a long-lasting hitbox, and great range, making it reliable for both KOs and juggles; down aerial is similar to up aerial in some regards, but its clean hit instead functions as a reliable meteor smash that KOs at alarmingly early percents (its grounded hit KOs at 125%). Down aerial can be used to bounce off opponents, which can actually aid Link's recovery.

Although Link's close combat capabilities are excellent, he shines primarily when it comes to his projectiles: arrows from his bow, Boomerang, and Remote Bomb. Bow and Arrows has Link fire an arrow straight ahead, which can be spammed to some degree; it can be charged, greatly increasing its damage, knockback, and distance, making it a good gimping and pressuring tool. Link's neutral special is unique in the fact that his arrows briefly linger on the ground when landing, allowing him to pick them up and fire two arrows simultaneously; Link can deal more damage and knockback, aiding neutral special's KO potential.

Boomerang travels decently far and deals good damage, which can be further exploited by smash tapping the move: the Boomerang's distance and damage are increased as a result. Boomerang also launches opponents vertically with high base knockback on its way forward, and launches opponents towards Link on its way back. When coupled with its ability to be angled up and down, Boomerang is a flexible combo starter and approaching option.

Remote Bomb can be thrown as an item, potentially being able to initiate combos by chaining it with other attacks. This is further bolstered by the Remote Bomb's 30-second time limit, which gives it plenty of time to be abused as a projectile. The Bomb's detonation has a large range and deals decent damage and knockback, with enough power to KO opponents at 180%. Although Link can be harmed by his own bomb's explosion, he can exploit its vertical knockback offstage as a means of aiding his recovery. This also allows him to launch himself way past the ledge without going into freefall, avoiding being edge-trapped.

Link's primary recovery move and most offensive special attack is Spin Attack. The move's grounded version boasts decent damage and knockback, good range, and is a fast out-of-shield option, giving it decent utility; however, it can be charged, increasing its damage output and knockback and significantly improving its KO ability. Aerial Spin Attack is instead a multi-hitting series of sword slashes that gains respectable vertical distance and has good knockback on its last hit, making it good for KOing near the upper blast line.

However, like all fighters, Link has some weaknesses. Although he has better mobility than his predecessors, Link's mobility is still inconsistent and somewhat on the poor side. Despite his fast walking speed, his dash is only marginally faster, making it very sluggish and unreliable for approaching (with foxtrotting being the only way of mitigating this issue). Link's air speed and air acceleration are both very poor, making his air game solely reliant on the traits of his aerial attacks. On a related note, Link's recovery is burdened by the combination of his low jumps and high falling speed, his aforementioned poor air speed and air acceleration, and the merely average travel distance of Spin Attack. Due to a lack of a Hookshot or a Clawshot in his moveset, Link lacks both a tether recovery and another spacing option, the former of which further hinders his recovery.

Link's lack of a Hookshot/Clawshot also results in his grab game differing entirely: due to grabbing opponents with his bare hands, his grab speed is significantly quicker at the cost of his grab having much less range. Thus, Link's grab game is much more aggressive and up-close. Despite being a swordsman, Link's grab game is decent overall. His pummel is fast, and his down throw is a reliable combo starter into moves like up tilt, up smash, neutral aerial, and up aerial. Although Link's up throw will semi-spike bystanders, it has minimal KO potential. Finally, his forward and back throws deal minimal damage, and while both are best suited for setting up edgeguards, only forward throw is decent in that regard.

Overall, Link is a flexible zoner character; while his long-distance projectiles and disjointed hitboxes make him play somewhat defensively for much of the match, his excellent out-of-shield options and KO power allow him to close in on his opponents with the right timing and deal large amounts of damage very quickly. However, Link players must be cautious not to play recklessly due to his below-average frame data and mobility, as many other characters can make it difficult for him to utilize his options with their superior speed.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Link has received arguably the most noticeable changes of any veteran in Ultimate. Due to his appearance being updated to the Hero of the Wild from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, he incorporates multiple elements from that game into his moveset, such as the Remote Bomb, the Ancient Bow and Ancient Arrow, the Sword Beam, and the ability to fire two arrows at once. This has led to a much larger overhaul in his kit compared to other veterans, as several of his attacks either have altered or completely new animations alongside mechanical changes. As a result, Link has gained a large mix of buffs and nerfs in his transition from SSB4 to Ultimate, but while sporting an improved aerial and stage control games, his more polarized kit up close and universal game mechanics have thrown the efficacy of his buffs into question. All in all, it is difficult to determine whether Link was buffed or nerfed overall.

Compared to his predecessors (the Hero of Time and the Hero of Twilight) in Smash, Link has better spacing capabilities, thanks to a stronger and longer ranged Boomerang (which also improves his combo game), and the longer range on his Master Sword, now having range on par with other swordfighters, such as Ike or Marth. Particularly, the latter change has either improved or outright granted his attacks' more utility: forward tilt is now much more effective as a ledge-trapping option due to its wider arc, down tilt's reduced damage output allows the move to combo for much longer (even serving as a potential KO confirm at higher percents), up smash serves as a more threatening anti-air option, forward aerial is more effective as a spacing option while the first hit can now be used to start combos, up aerial catches airborne opponents from a farther distance, and Spin Attack has increased reliability as an out of shield option and KOing tool due to its faster start-up and larger sweetspot.

Link's air game has also benefited from gameplay changes: the combination of his standardized jumpsquat (which is much faster than his predecessors') and the universal reduction of landing lag makes his aerial combo game significantly more potent, as well as result in him having somewhat less difficulty at landing safely. This has been demonstrated with neutral aerial's weak hit granting him varied set-ups until very high percents, forward aerial's first hit comboing into other moves until very high percentages, back aerial's SHFF'd first hit now serving as a KO setup at high percents, and his aerials' damage outputs making them safer on shield despite the reduced shieldstun for aerial attacks.

However, Link is not without his fair share of nerfs. In exchange for his sword-based attacks' longer range, some of them have also received hitbox reductions to be more narrow; while this doesn't necessarily affect their reach on attacks that involve swinging his sword from above (i.e. forward tilt, up tilt, forward smash), it has reduced the vertical reach of his swings in front of him (i.e. down tilt) and the horizontal reach of his thrusting sword attacks (i.e. up aerial, down aerial), making them slightly more strict to land overall. Despite sporting less landing lag and a better Spin Attack than his predecessors, the majority of his frame data is more sluggish in comparison, especially on the ground, as a considerable number of his attacks have either increased endlag (such as forward tilt or down tilt) or slower start-up (such as neutral attack, forward smash, down smash, and forward aerial). This makes his close combat capabilities more polarized, as it is now harder for him to defend himself up close against opponents with superior frame data and/or boxing capabilities (such as Fox or Mario), now requiring Link to use his sword's longer range to his advantage.

Link's grab game is vastly different to that of his predecessors due to him now possessing a more standard grab instead of the Hookshot or Clawshot as a long-ranged grab. This makes it harder to punish as a result of its lower ending lag and improves its usage as an immediate punish tool thanks to its faster startup, which is helped by his down throw's combo potential, forward throw's low angle and up throw's situational KO power. However, his grab is now one of the shortest and least disjointed grabs among the cast as a result, significantly worsening his overall grab range and effectively removing one of his more potent recovery and spacing options due to no longer possessing a grab aerial.

Unlike his predecessors, Link uses the Remote Bomb instead of a standard Bomb. Compared to standard Bombs, Remote Bombs can be detonated at will, making them function similarly to Snake's C4, and feature both much higher knockback and a much larger blast radius. These changes favorably modify his set-up and combo routes, as the Remote Bomb can now be detonated or Z-dropped into one of Link's own attacks; they significantly improve Link's pressuring, edgeguarding, and edge trapping abilities, since the bomb can be thrown and detonated at command; and they possess potential as a stronger, albeit much more difficult recovery option as the bomb can be Z-dropped and detonated to launch Link a considerable distance. However, since Remote Bombs no longer explode on impact, KO set-ups with them have effectively become harder to perform; Link can only have one Remote Bomb at a time, hindering them as a worse zoning option; and they make him more vulnerable to combos since Link can no longer pull out a normal Bomb as a way to potentially break out of them.

Finally, disregarding the changes to landing lag, Ultimate's universal gameplay mechanics both help and hinder Link. The changes to dash-canceling, when coupled with Link's faster mobility, above average traction, and the Master Sword's overall improved range, altogether improves his ground game's utility. The increased mobility among the cast improves his horizontal recovery and allows him to catch up to the rest of the cast with more ease, but it also allows opponents to close in on the distance to him despite his sword's longer range, which further polarizes his boxing game. Finally, the changes to air dodging and reintroduction of directional air dodges makes it easier for him to read his opponents and edgeguard them, but it conversely makes him easier to edgeguard under normal circumstances, which further hinders his new lack of a grab aerial.

Overall, Link's changes have somewhat repurposed his playstyle from that of a hard-hitting zoner/set-up character with long-ranged melee attacks, to one that also incorporates more stage control and trapping tactics with his Remote Bomb, similar to Snake. Link's playstyle has noticeably deviated due to these changes from not only his predecessors, but also from Young Link and Toon Link, with his strengths and weaknesses being more polarized than his previous incarnation; his new Remote Bombs make it trickier to play around Link in conjunction with his improved range and aerial game due to his faster jumpsquat and lower landing lag, thus gaining new access to certain options he didn't have before, but his revamped recovery tactics due to his bomb, slower frame data, and more polarized close-ranged game with the changes to his grab also make his recovery and close quarters game riskier. His close-range game is now being more reliant on using the Master Sword's longer range to its fullest lest he is thrown into a disadvantaged state more easily. The extent of his new playstyle's effectiveness is also debatable, given other veterans' own buffs and the introduction of various strong DLC characters. Because of this, Link hasn't improved enough to raise his standing in Ultimate compared to SSB4, instead performing worse relative to the cast.

Aesthetics

• Link's design is explicitly based on his appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. His hair is now a dirty blonde color, instead of a lighter blonde; his default outfit is the blue Champion's Tunic and the Hylian Trousers, with the more traditional green Hero of the Wild set as an alternate costume.
  • The Master Sword and the Hylian Shield are also designed based on their appearances in Breath of the Wild, with the former now glowing similarly to when Link encounters Malice.
  • Link now physically carries a Traveler's Bow on his back, under the Master Sword's sheath. This matches how Link carries his weapons in Breath of the Wild.
  • Link has a new Boxing Ring title and Palutena's Guidance conversation to coincide with the design change.
• Link holds his sword in his right hand and his shield in his left hand. Due to this, Link's entire moveset has been horizontally flipped, with many of his animations changed to coincide with this.
  • Link has a new idle pose, reminiscent to his battle stance when holding a broadsword and shield in Breath of the Wild; his legs are positioned farther apart, his sword and shield are held up at all times, and he does not bounce in place. Like many other characters, he also faces towards the screen.
  • The majority of Link's animations (standard attacks, landing, taunts, etc.) have been significantly reworked in order to seamlessly transition into his new idle stance.
  • Link has a new on-screen appearance that involves him gliding onto the stage using the Paraglider.
  • Link has a new side taunt where he holds the Master Sword in front of him with both hands while it glows, similar to one of Ike's taunts. This replaces his Fairy taunt from previous games, which has been given to Young Link.
  • Link's up taunt and down taunt execute much faster; for the former taunt, he no longer twirls the Master Sword before sheathing it, resembling how he acquires the sword in Breath of the Wild.
  • Link's victory animation where he swings his sword then sheathes it shows him swinging it back, no longer twirling his sword before sheathing it. He also faces away from the camera while doing it.
• Due to receiving new voice clips, Link is more vocal overall.
  • Link now gasps upon waking up from sleep when not suffering from any knockback, similar to few other characters such as Palutena and Cloud. He shares this trait with Zelda, Ganondorf and Wolf.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Link's jumpsquat animation takes 3 frames to complete (down from 7).
• Link walks faster (1.188 → 1.247).
• Link runs faster (1.3944 → 1.534).
• Link's traction is much higher (0.064 → 0.113).
• Link's initial dash is significantly faster (1.3 → 1.98).
• Link has increased air speed (0.88 → 0.924).
• Forward roll grants less intangibility (frames 4-17 → 4-15).
• Back roll has more startup with less intangibility (frames 4-17 → 5-16), and more ending lag (FAF 31 → 36).
• Spot dodge has less ending lag (FAF 28 → 27).
• Spot dodge grants less intangibility (frames 3-18 → 3-17).
• Air dodge grants more intangibility (frames 3-28 → 3-30).
• Air dodge has significantly more ending lag (FAF 34 → 50).
• Link's head hurtbox has been reduced and he sports a slightly thinner hurtbox overall; compounded with his longer Master Sword, this gives him a more favorable disjoint.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • The third hit has higher knockback scaling (50 → 70), allowing it to set up edgeguards more effectively.
  • The first hit has smaller hitboxes (3.8u/4.5u/3u/2.5u → 1.8u), noticeably decreasing its range.
  • All hits have a higher hitlag multiplier (1× → 1.6× (hit 1), 1.2× (hit 2), 2× (hit 3)), giving opponents more time to SDI each hit and DI the last hit.
  • The first and second hits have altered angles (95°/80°/361°/361° (hit 1), 90°/78°/60°/50° (hit 2) → 361°/361°/180°/361°) and knockback (35/30 base/37 scaling (hit 1), 38/10 (hit 2) → 25/20 base/25/15 scaling) to keep opponents close to Link, akin to other neutral attacks. This allows them to connect better and jab lock, but hinders their previously guaranteed jab cancel setups.
  • Neutral attack's speed has been modified overall.
    • The second hit has less startup (frame 6 → 5) and transitions into the third faster (frame 11 → 8).
    • The first and third hits have less ending lag (FAF 28 → 24 (hit 1), 37 → 35 (hit 3)).
    • The second hit has more ending lag (FAF 21 → 26), removing its jab cancel setups.
    • The third hit has a shorter hitbox duration (frames 6-10 → 6-7).
  • Neutral attack's damage has been redistributed, with the first two hits dealing more damage (2.5% → 3%) and the third hit dealing less (5% → 4%).
  • The third hit involves Link swiping vertically instead of thrusting his sword.
• Forward tilt:
  • The clean hit's hitbox has been placed farther from Link (X offset: 6.2 → 7.8), improving the move's range despite its smaller hitboxes (4.3u/2.8u/2.1u → 4u/2.8u/2.1u (early), 5.2u → 3.5u (clean)).
  • Forward tilt has more ending lag (FAF 38 → 40).
  • It always sends opponents in the direction Link is facing, even if hit from behind.
  • It causes the screen to shake when the sword hits the ground.
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt's sword hitboxes have been placed farther from Link (X offset: 5/0 → 8.4/2), considerably improving its range despite its reduced hitboxes (3.6u/4.32u/2.88u/2.16u → 3.4u/4.3u/2.7u/2.16u).
  • Up tilt deals more damage (9% → 11%), with its knockback scaling compensated (122/130/124/123 → 103/111/105/104).
  • It has a new animation, starting from behind Link rather than from his front.
    • The sword no longer reaches the ground in front of Link before its hitboxes cease, making it more difficult (or sometimes impossible) to hit short or crouching opponents.
  • It has a lower hitlag multiplier (1× → 0.9×).
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt has less startup (frame 11 → 10).
  • It has more horizontal range (Z offset: 16.6u → 17.5u).
  • It deals less damage (11% → 9%).
    • However, its knockback was not compensated, allowing it to combo for longer, and even serve as a KO confirm at higher percents into Spin Attack.
  • It has more ending lag (FAF 29 → 31), though its combo potential is compensated by Link's faster jumpsquat.
  • It has a smaller hitbox (3.1u → 2u), reducing its vertical range.
  • It can no longer meteor smash aerial opponents, removing its edgeguarding uses.
  • It launches at a higher angle (80 → 85), improving its combo potential.
• Dash attack:
  • The changes to jostle mechanics allow dash attack to hit opponents close to Link more easily, as he can no longer go through them during startup.
  • It has gained a shieldstun multiplier of 1.4×, which combined with the increased shieldstun for ground attacks makes it safer on shield.
  • The strong hit has been moved slightly farther from Link (X offset: 8u → 8.5u), and the mid hit has been moved back (X offset: 3.8u → 3u), slightly increasing the range of the strong hit overall.
  • It has slightly smaller hitboxes (3.5u/3.8u/3u → 3.2u/3.5u/3u).
  • The sweetspot has a higher hitlag multiplier (1× → 1.2×).
• Forward smash:
  • Both hits of forward smash have less ending lag (FAF 52 → 51 (hit 1), 68 → 61 (hit 2)).
  • The first hit shoots out a spinning Sword Beam as a projectile when Link is at 0% damage, in reference to multiple Zelda games where his sword shoots out beams when he is at full health. Charging forward smash increases the size, distance and damage of the projectile, dealing between 5% and 13% damage. This gives him a new long range option, while increasing the total damage of his forward smash at close range.
  • The first hit's innermost hitboxes have different angles (75°/55° → 69°/60°) and deal less knockback (47 base/15 scaling → 45/12), while the second hit has less startup (frame 12 → 10), allowing them to connect together more reliably.
  • Both hits have noticeably more range on the sword hitboxes (X offset: 0.5/6.2 → 2.7/8.5 (hit 1), 1/6 → 1.5/7.5 (hit 2)).
  • The closest hitbox of the first hit is larger, with tip's hitbox slightly reduced to compensate (3.5u → 4.2u (close), 3.8u → 3.5u (far)).
  • The second hit has larger hitboxes overall (4u/4u/3.6u/3.2u → 4.5u/4.5u/3.5u/3.5u).
  • The first hit has increased startup (frame 15 → 17) and transitions into the second hit slower (frame 20 → 22).
• Up smash:
  • All 3 hits have had their sword hitboxes placed farther from Link (X offset: 0/5.5 → 2.5/8.5 (hits 1 and 2), 5.5 → 7 (hit 3)), significantly increasing its range despite the move's reduced hitbox sizes (4u/4.4u/4.5u → 3.5u/3u/4.8u (hits 1 and 2), 4.3u/4.3u/3.5u/5.2u → 4.3u/4.3u/3u/5.2u (hit 3)).
  • The final hit has higher knockback scaling (96 → 101).
• Down smash:
  • The first hit's hitboxes have been redistributed so that the weak hits have the lowest priority (14%/16%/17%/16% → 16%/17%/16%/14%), making it easier to land the stronger portions.
  • Down smash has larger hitboxes (3.5u/3.5u/2.9u/2.5u → 3.5u/3.6u/3.4u/3u (both hits)).
  • The first and second hit have had their sweetpots moved farther from Link (Z offset: 5.8 → 7.5 (both hits)), noticeably increasing its range and making the sweetspots much easier to land.
  • It has more startup on both hits (frame 9 → 12 (hit 1), 21 → 24 (hit 2)), and more ending lag (FAF 50 → 55).

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have less landing lag (10 frames → 6 (neutral, back), 12 → 11 (forward), 23 → 14 (up), 32 → 19 (down)).
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial's animation has been sped up, with the gap between hits being shorter (12 frames → 8). This allows it to connect both hits more reliably.
  • The second hit deals more knockback (30 base/100 scaling → 43/120) and launches at a slightly lower angle (45° → 44°), being as powerful as the first hit in Smash 4 .
  • Both hits have had their farthest sword hitboxes moved farther from Link (Z offset: 17u → 18u (hit 1), 15.5u → 17.5u (hit 2)), increasing its range.
  • Forward aerial has more startup for its first hit (frame 14 → 16), and more ending lag (FAF 50 → 52).
  • It auto-cancels later (frame 51 → 53).
  • Both hits deal less damage (11% → 8% (hit 1), 13% → 10% (hit 2)).
  • The first hit deals significantly less knockback (20 base/130 scaling → 31/25/33/25/33/26 base/28/30/30/30/28/26 scaling), no longer KOing until around 800%. It also has different angles (45° → 43°/367°/47°/367°/47°/38), a lower hitlag multiplier (1× → 0.8×), and uses weight-independent knockback.
    • This allows it to connect into the second hit even at high percents, and coupled with its lower landing lag, improves its combo potential on landing from low to mid percents.
    • However, this completely removes the first hit's previously high KO potential, requiring Link to land the slower second hit in order to KO with the move.
• Back aerial:
  • Both hits of back aerial deal more damage (3% → 5% (hit 1), 5% → 7% (hit 2)).
  • The first hit launches at different angles (72°/68° → 73°/70°/66°), has a lower hitlag multiplier (1× → 0.8×), deals different set knockback to grounded and aerial opponents (40 → 50 (grounded)/36 (aerial)), and uses weight-independent knockback. These changes allow it to connect more reliably into the second hit.
  • The second hit has less startup (frame 18 → 15), thus reducing the frame gap between hits.
  • The second hit has lower base knockback (70 → 45), but higher knockback scaling (70 → 98). This allows it to combo more reliably at low percents, while also significantly improving its KO potential, KOing middleweights at around 200% from the center of Final Destination.
  • The second hit has less active frames (frame 18-22 → 15-17). The move's total duration was also not compensated for the second hit's faster startup, increasing its ending lag.
  • The first hit has slightly smaller hitboxes (4.5u/4.8u/5u → 4u/4.5u/5u).
  • The second hit has a slightly different animation.
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial's clean hit has increased knockback (18 base/88 scaling → 23/93), improving its KO potential .
  • It auto-cancels earlier (frame 47 → 43).
  • It has a smaller hitbox (6u → 4.5u). This is somewhat compensated for by the hitbox being more extended (X offset: 6u → 6.9u, X2 offset: 0u → -1.5u), but the hitbox is slightly shorter and noticeably narrower overall.
  • It has an increased hitlag multiplier (1× → 1.2×).
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial has been reverted to possessing only a clean hit and late hit like in Brawl, with its early hit being removed. The clean hit remains mostly unchanged against grounded opponents, but meteor smashes aerial opponents like the early hit in Smash 4.
    • Because of this change, the move can KO grounded opponents much more reliably. The meteor smash against aerial opponents is also stronger, due to its knockback not being compensated for the clean hit's higher damage compared to the previous early hit.
    • Due to the removal of the early hit, down aerial can no longer combo into its bounce-off hit as effectively at higher percents, reducing its damage potential.
  • Down aerial's hitboxes are smaller (5u → 4u (clean), 6u → 4.2u (late)).
  • The clean hit (against grounded opponents) and late hit launch at a lower angle (65° → 60°), with the former also having decreased knockback scaling (80 → 78), slightly hindering their KO potential.
  • All portions of the move have a higher hitlag multiplier (1× → 1.2×).
  • It has a different animation, with a more exaggerated downward thrust.

Throws and other attacks

• Link grabs opponents with his hand instead of using his Clawshot.
  • All grabs have noticeably less startup (frame 12/14/15 (standing/dash/pivot) → 6/9/10) and ending lag (FAF 62/66/67 → 35/43/38), making them safer to use at close range, and allowing Link to set up into them more effectively.
  • However, all grabs have much shorter range, and their hitboxes have a shorter duration (6 frames (standing), 8 frames (dash, pivot) → 2 frames (all)).
• Link no longer has a grab aerial or a tether recovery due to losing the Clawshot.
  • However, this allows him to Z-drop items without triggering the grab aerial's lengthy animation.
• Pummel: