Editing Palutena (SSB4)

Palutena possesses a unique blend of archetypes: she has a tall frame, yet is tied with {{SSB4|Duck Hunt}} as the third lightest [[Weight|middleweight]]. Palutena also boasts fast [[walk]]ing and [[dash]]ing speeds; the seventh highest [[traction]]; a high [[jump]] and [[double jump]]; and is tied with Rosalina, {{SSB4|Peach}} and {{SSB4|Mega Man}} for the fastest [[air acceleration]] in the game. On the other hand, she has below-average [[falling speed]], slow [[air speed]] and high [[gravity]].

These attributes grant Palutena quick grounded movement, make her very capable at ground-to-air transitions, and allow her to quickly change direction in midair. However, they also make her susceptible to heavy pressure, and she can sometimes have difficulty at resetting the [[neutral game]] against some characters. Palutena's reliance on [[shield]]ing at close range can also result in her shield being whittled down often. This is further compounded by her poor out of shield options in spite of her high traction. Therefore, Palutena's attributes make her unreliable at air-to-ground transitions, and render her susceptible to [[juggling]], [[combo]]s and being KO'd early from strong vertical attacks.

Palutena's air game is impressive, thanks to her aerial moves' utility, minimal start-up lag and, aside from her neutral and up aerials, low landing lag. Neutral aerial has a large hitbox that uses the [[Autolink angle|auto-link angle]], which makes it a useful damage racking option. When coupled with its fairly long duration, it is also capable of pressuring the opponent while they are on a platform, or from out of their air dodge. Its last hit's extremely high knockback scaling also makes it decent for [[edge-guarding]], and even capable of setting up combos at low percentages. Forward aerial has the longest horizontal range of Palutena's aerial moves, the lowest amount of landing lag, and the ability to [[auto-cancel]] when [[SHFF]]'d. Altogether, these traits make it very useful for spacing and allow it to reliably start combos at low to medium percentages, with follow-ups including neutral attack, standing/dash grab, her tilts or her other aerials.

In comparison, back aerial grants partial [[invincibility]] around Palutena's body throughout its duration, while its shield hitbox is strong enough to reliably KO either on-stage or via edge-guarding. Up aerial has good vertical range, hits multiple times, and uses the auto-link angle, which make it ideal for juggling. Most notably, its final hit's extremely high knockback growth also makes it arguably her most viable KOing option. However, some of her aerial moves have rather high ending lag in proportion to their power, durations and ranges, which means that they must be spaced accordingly. Lastly, down aerial will always [[meteor smash]] aerial opponents thanks to its consistent hitbox, although it can also be used as to [[punish]] opponents from [[out of shield]] when it is SHFF'd.

Palutena's grounded moveset also has some interesting options. This is most notable with her grab game: Palutena's standing grab is the fourth longest ranged in the game despite not being a [[tether grab]], whereas her pivot grab also has impressive range. Her [[pummel]]'s average speed and high damage output make it one of the best pummels in the game. Like {{SSB4|Luigi}}, Palutena's down throw is the most essential aspect of her offense: its high base knockback, very low knockback scaling, and diagonal launching angle collectively grant it impressive combo potential into her neutral, up, forward, and back aerials, although latter requires the usage of a [[reverse aerial rush]]. By extension, its up aerial combo boasts KO potential on almost the entirety of the cast at high percentages, while its back aerial combo also has decent KO potential.

Neutral attack is a very reliable damage racking option and has excellent [[jab cancel]] potential, thanks to its very quick [[interruptibility]]. Like {{SSB4|Little Mac}}, Palutena's tilt attacks boast [[Priority#Moves that cannot rebound|anti-rebounding priority]], while up and down tilts also possess distinct strengths. Up tilt has the lowest amount of start-up lag out of her tilts; a very long duration; lowers her hurtbox even more than her [[crouch]] does; is a useful anti-air attack thanks to its deceptive vertical range; and is a situational KOing option thanks to its very strong final hit. In comparison, down tilt's very low ending lag makes it a good spacing option at long range, while its fairly long duration allows it to punish sidesteps rather easily. Dash attack is fast thanks to it hitting on frame 6 and, like her back aerial, it grants partial invincibility. Lastly, forward and especially up smashes possess excellent ranges and high power, the latter of which is among the strongest when sweetspotted.

Despite these advantages, Palutena's weaknesses are very noticeable. Her most glaring flaw is her awful frame data in relation to her power and weight class, which is overall the laggiest in the entire game. When coupled with below-average damage output on most of her attacks, Palutena's offense has major issues that are distinct from her fellow middleweights. This is most apparent with her grounded moveset, which is unfitting for a character with great grounded mobility. Aside from down tilt, Palutena's other grounded moves have disproportionately high ending lag. Neutral infinite's finisher has 21 frames of ending lag; dash attack, forward tilt and up tilt have more than 25 frames of ending lag; her smash attacks have more than 40 frames of ending lag; and her special moveset is fairly sluggish in regard to overall lag. These traits result in Palutena's missed attacks being very susceptible to punishment, even if the opponent is a fair distance away from her, and results in her having an almost nonexistent grounded [[approach]] by extension.

In addition to considerable ending lag, Palutena's grounded KOing options are risky in other ways: her smash attacks have considerable start-up lag, whereas up tilt and clean dash attack are situational at best. As such, accuracy is crucial when using Palutena's grounded moves, and can often make a player instead rely solely on her safest grounded moves to set-up KO opportunities via edge-guarding or her down throw-initiated KO combos.

Palutena's abysmal frame data also extends beyond her moveset. Despite her [[item]] throws being fast, most of them have very high ending lag, which limits most follow-ups she might have if she is able to steal an item from an opponent. Palutena's safe edge grab is offset by all of her other options being very unsafe: her edge attack is slow and short-ranged; her edge roll grants minimal intangibility frames; and her normal get-up and edge jump are the slowest in the game. As a result, Palutena's [[edge recovery]] is problematic weakness unique to her, since her aerial attacks are unsafe on hit should she drop from an edge and then jump while attacking. The only remotely safe option she has is using [[Warp]] and aiming for the middle of the stage, although its lack of invulnerability can render her prone to being punished afterward. Despite her larger number of edge options compared to other characters, these flaws make Palutena quite easy to predict when she attempts to recover.

[[Reflect Barrier]] has an [[unblockable]] hitbox, a weak [[push]] effect, a long duration, and can be reused immediately after breaking. However, it is still the weakest [[reflect]]or of its kind, neither covers her entirely or accompanies her in midair, and has noticeable start-up lag for a reflector. Lastly, {{b|Counter|Palutena}} has a high damage multiplier, but is the least effective counterattack in the game because of its overall low knockback, overall high lag, very short counter window, and dubious distinction of being one of the very few counterattacks to have a sourspot.

Her custom moves’ utility are rivaled only by the {{SSB4|Mii Fighter}}s' in regard to versatility, and they benefit her tremendously in comparison to the majority of her default special moves. [[Super Speed]] has immense utility: it allows Palutena to move faster than even an uncharged [[Spin Charge]], it can either be jump-canceled into any aerial move and an up smash, or perform a ramming attack, the latter of which can also lead into the aforementioned attacks, but only as long as it is not telegraphed or interrupted with a disjointed [[hitbox]]. The move can also be used for huge horizontal recovery if jump-cancelled. As a trade-off, Super Speed has a cooldown mechanic like [[Monado Arts]], with its cooldown duration lasting approximately 3 seconds.

[[Lightweight]] amplifies her movement speed and jump height to the point that she [[dash]]es faster than {{SSB4|Sonic}} and [[jump]]s higher than {{SSB4|Falco}}. This drastically improves Palutena's mobility and by extension her recovery, yet also makes her off-stage presence and already good combo game become among the best in the game; the latter of which is particularly notable, as it includes a guaranteed combo into her up or down aerials that both KO reliably after 80%. As a trade-off, it lasts for approximately 12.5 seconds, doubles the damage (but not knockback) she receives, and halves her default speed for approximately 5 seconds upon expiring while her damage vulnerability and jump height return to their original values. Regardless of their weaknesses, Super Speed and Lightweight are unarguably Palutena's most effective custom moves, as they improve her KO potential and grant her various mix-ups, set-ups, mindgames, combos and edge-guards that her default moveset otherwise does not possess.

Palutena's other custom moves also have noticeable advantages, but some of them are held back by their easily exploitable weaknesses. [[Explosive Flame]] is a pinpoint explosion that is just as slow as Autoreticle, although its limited range makes it even more difficult to land than Autoreticle, as well as being easily punishable if the opponent is in the middle of her and the explosion. [[Heavenly Light]] has very minimal use in singles play because of its inability to KO or even [[flinch]]. However, these traits also make it invaluable in [[Team Attack]]-based [[doubles]] play as a method to supplement {{SSB4|Ness}}, {{SSB4|Lucas}}, {{SSB4|Mr. Game & Watch}} and {{SSB4|Mii Gunner}}'s [[absorption]]-based moves, as well as capable of potentially stealing KOs, similarly to {{SSB4|Fox}}'s [[Blaster (Fox)|Blaster]]. [[Angelic Missile]] is a good recovery move and a potent edge-guarding option thanks to its respectable damage output and high base knockback, but it is easy to intercept because of its noticeable start-up lag, low knockback scaling and linear path.

[[Jump Glide]] covers an extreme amount of horizontal distance; grants Palutena a safe approaches with her aerial moveset; and can help her extend combos out of Super Speed or Lightweight. However, it has the same fatal flaw as [[Wings of Icarus]]: if for any reason Palutena flinches during the move, she cannot use Jump Glide again if she does not land on solid ground, which may lead to an inevitable KO. [[Rocket Jump]] has a meteor smash hitbox below Palutena in midair, as well as a strong hitbox that notably improves her out of shield game. However, it is inferior to both Warp and Jump Glide in every other way. Lastly, [[Celestial Firework]] grants intangibility during start-up; has impressive knockback; and can easily hit aerial opponents. Although it can potentially hit grounded opponents, this is difficult to do unless they are at point-blank range or enduring heavy lag.

Overall, Palutena is a frail, yet defensive character who has a surprisingly high learning curve in spite of her default moveset being rudimentary. Her optimal playstyle is similar to {{SSB4|Ike}}'s: her grab game and punishment options are potent, yet she must rely on spacing and shielding to circumvent her moveset's sluggishness and lack of reliable approach options. Although Palutena's default moveset ultimately renders her as a "high-risk, medium-reward" character, she can be fairly threatening when mastered. As such, Palutena is most rewarding for players with good fundamentals, as a single opening can allow her to quickly rack up damage with her most reliable moves, use her mobility and spacing options to evade and maintain a strong defense, or even KO early with her down throw-initiated KO combos.

Due to her flaws and learning curve, Palutena initially received a poor reception within the Western scene. However, thanks to buffs from game updates, the expansion of her metagame, and notable tournament results from the likes of {{Sm|TLTC}}, {{Sm|Iceninja}} and {{Sm|Prince Ramen}}, the competitive community's reception toward Palutena has improved over time, even in spite of her continually sparse representation.