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List of armored attacks (SSBB)

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Donkey Kong using Giant Punch's super armor to beat a charged Super Scope.

Brawl added armor to a variety of moves rather than keeping it exclusive to fighter abilities and Stone. This was most frequently super armor; however, there are also unique cases such as Wario Bike, which has multiple thresholds for its knockback-based armor that causes different interactions. Brawl also introduced non-cumulative damage-based armor for Snake's Cypher, which would be further distributed come Smash 4.

Damage-based armor[edit]

Characters under the effect of damage-based armor will suffer hitlag and damage when hit, but not flinch or take knockback unless the attack deals enough percentage to go over a defined threshold. These are non-cumulative by default, meaning multiple weaker hits will not add up to reach the threshold and break the armor; if an attack's armor is cumulative, it'll be specified.

Character Move Active Armor Frames % Threshold Notes
Kirby Stone 14-162 (grounded), 29-162 (aerial) 29% The armor is active regardless of if initiated on the ground or in the air, though it will become active in less than half the time when the grounded version is initiated. The armor remains as long as Kirby remains in Stone form, though if Kirby untransforms early, the armor will cease the frame the untransformation is initiated. Stone's armor can sustain up to 29% and Kirby will not take any damage, but the damage it can withstand in each transformation is cumulative; once Kirby sustains more than a cumulative 29% in a single transformation, Kirby will be launched out of his Stone form with the full knockback of the hitbox that broke it, though strangely he will not take any damage from the launching blow.
Snake Cypher 8-96 7% Armor is active regardless of if initiated while grounded or airborne. Snake can interrupt the move and release the Cypher starting on frame 47, though the armor will cease the frame he interrupts it. Unlike Stone, Cypher's armor is non-cumulative, so a single hitbox must be able to deal more than 7% to break through it; a multi-hitting move that deals more than 7% total but has no individual hitbox that exceeds the value will fail to break the armor. If the armor is broken, Snake will release the Cypher as he is launched, and it will become a projectile hitbox dealing 6% and 1 HP of bonus shield damage.

Knockback-based armor[edit]

These are attacks that have armor up to a certain knockback threshold. This means that armor can be more easily broken the more damaged the player is and is effectively non-existent against a strong enough attack.

Character Move Active Armor Frames KB Threshold Notes
Donkey Kong Kong Karry Passive 80 KB The knockback threshold is the same knockback that would send DK into tumble. It additionally gives the opponent super armor, but the armor for both DK and the opponent ceases the frame he initiates a throw.
Wario Wario Bike 1- 60/30 KB Wario can jump off the bike from Frame 27, although turning too hard can have Wario immediately dismount; either action will have the armor cease the frame its initiated. The bike is invincible during the duration of the move, enabling a wheelie to protect Wario from most forms of attack. If a 30 KB threshold is reached when hitting Wario, he will passively get off the bike instead. If 60 KB is reached, the armor is broken and Wario will be launched as normal, while the bike will continue on its trajectory. The bike has 26 HP when not being ridden by Wario.
Yoshi Midair jump 1-89 120 KB Passive fighter ability that grants knockback-based armor throughout the entirety of Yoshi's midair jump. Yoshi can interrupt his midair jump at any time with any airborne action, but doing so will cause the armor to cease the frame he initiates any action. Unlike in prior games, Yoshi sustains the full knockback of a hitbox that exceeded the 120 KB threshold.

Super armor[edit]

Characters under the effect of super armor will suffer hitlag and damage when hit, but not flinch nor take knockback. Super armor, by default, does not break, no amount of percentage or launch force is enough to beat it.

Character Move Active Armor Frames Notes
Bowser Giga Bowser 16 seconds (Passive) Armor is active during the entirety of when Bowser is in his Giga Bowser form.
Charizard Fly 4-15 Armor is active regardless of if initiated while grounded or airborne. Fly's first hitbox becomes active on frame 9, so the move can armor through an opponent's move while simultaneously hitting them.
Donkey Kong Giant Punch (fully charged) 17-20 Armor is active regardless of if initiated while grounded or airborne, and only if the move was in its fully charged state. The move's hitbox becomes active on frame 19, so the move can armor through an opponent's move while simultaneously hitting them.
Spinning Kong 10-16 Armor is active during the grounded-version only. The move's first hitbox becomes active on frame 19, so there is still a brief window between frames 17-18 where DK can be hit out of grounded Spinning Kong despite its super armor.
Ganondorf Flame Choke 17-40 (Throw) Armor is active only when Ganondorf has someone grabbed during the grounded version of Flame Choke. The grabbed character on the other hand will have super armor during the grounded version until they're launched, and will have super armor during the entirety of the aerial version until Ganondorf lands. The latter can lead to strange interactions where Ganondorf can be interrupted when he has someone grabbed during an aerial Flame Choke, but the grabbed character will armor through the hit and keep flying downward until they hit the ground, are hit by another hitbox, or are KO'd via falling into the bottom blast zone.
Ike Eruption 25-29 (Uncharged), 6-10 (On Charge Release) Armor is active regardless of if initiated while grounded or airborne. The move's charging begins on frame 20. The uncharged variation's hitbox becomes first active on frame 30, the frame immediately after the super armor ceases, so it is possible for an opponent to trade with Eruption and launch Ike out of the move while they're being hit by it. The charged variation's hitbox becomes first active on frame 11 after release, so like the uncharged variation it doesn't protect against trades either.
Aether 18-38 Armor is active regardless of if initiated while grounded or airborne, with it lasting until just before Ike descends. Aether's first hitbox becomes active on frame 18, so the move can armor through an opponent's move while simultaneously hitting them.
King Dedede Super Dedede Jump 26-45 Armor is active regardless of if initiated while grounded or airborne, with it lasting until Dedede reaches the peak of the jump. The move can be cancelled starting on frame 27, which will immediately interrupt its momentum and send Dedede falling in a helpless animation, though the armor will cease the frame he cancels the move. Super Dedede Jump's first hitbox becomes active on frame 73, so there is a very wide window of 27 frames after the move's armor ceases where Dedede can be hit out of it without retaliation.
Kirby Copy Varies If Kirby copies a neutral special that has armor, such as Giant Punch and Eruption, Kirby's variants will possess the same exact armor properties.
Olimar Pikmin Order 2-16 Armor is active regardless of if initiated while grounded or airborne. This move's on-demand fast armor is often exploited to defend Olimar when trying to land after being launched into the air and to defend against edgeguarding offstage, as the armor activates faster than his air dodge gains intangibility (frame 2 vs. frame 4), and the move has less ending lag plus duration than his air dodge (with Pikmin Order having 4 frames of endlag after the armor wears off and lasting 20 frames total, while Olimar's air dodge has 10 frames of end lag and lasts 39 frames), making it much harder to punish than air dodging.
Pit Mirror Shield 4-5 Armor activates only when the move is initiated on the ground.
Squirtle Forward smash 17-21 When the move is charged, the armor becomes active 10 frames after release. The move's hitbox becomes first active on frame 18 (and frame 11 on release after being charged), so the move can armor through an opponent's move while simultaneously hitting them.
Wario Forward smash 8-11 When the move is charged, the armor becomes active 4 frames after release. The move's hitbox becomes first active on frame 9 (and frame 5 on release after being charged), so the move can armor through an opponent's move while simultaneously hitting them.
Wario Waft (fully charged) 5-10 Super armor is active regardless of if initiated while grounded or airborne, and only if the move was fully charged. It takes 110 seconds (1 minute 50 seconds) for Waft to reach its fully-charged state. Its first hitbox becomes active on frame 9, so the move can armor through an opponent's move while simultaneously hitting them.