Primary spirit

Primary spirits are a type of spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. A spirit team can include only a single primary spirit, and must include a primary spirit in order to have any support spirits.

Primary spirits have one of four types: Attack , Shield , Grab , and Neutral . Attack is strong against Grab, Shield is strong against Attack, and Grab is strong against Shield; Neutral does not have any advantages or disadvantages against other types. Primary spirits cause the equipped fighter to deal 1.3× damage to fighters equipped with a primary spirit of the type they are strong against, but only deal 0.85× damage to fighter equipped with a primary spirit of the type they are weak against. In Spirit Battles, the opposing spirit is always assigned a type, even if it is a support spirit, and the puppet fighters experience type effectiveness accordingly (even though they are not actually equipped with a primary spirit). However, when one obtains said support spirit after defeating the puppet fighter, it is no longer assigned a type advantage.

Primary spirits have two main stats, an attack rating and a defense rating, with the spirit's listed power being the sum of those two stats. The primary spirits' listed power can be further increased by the skill that it has, any support spirits it has equipped, or a style that has been taught (in some cases a style may decrease the listed power). Primary spirits also provide a number of slots for support spirits, ranging from 0 to 3 (Primary spirits that do not have any support spirit slots often have higher stats to compensate). If a primary spirit is from the same series as the character equipped with it, it gains a further 1.1× (10%) stat boost. Even though this series bonus can increase stats above 10,000, the stats used for attack and defense multipliers are capped at 10,000.

Additionally, primary spirits may have a trait, which applies an additional effect to the equipped fighter. This trait can be either positive or negative.

Some primary spirits can be enhanced at level 99. When enhanced, it becomes a new spirit with a higher rank and stats, and gains a skill (as enhancability counts as the unenhanced spirit's trait). Many skills of enhanced spirits are otherwise exclusive to support spirits. The skills gained are identical to those found on support spirits, meaning using a support skill that has the same name as the one on the primary spirit won't multiply together and instead counts as another use of that skill.

Stats

Primary spirits' attack and defense stats modify how much damage is dealt and received by the character, but do not affect knockback dealt, and are not factored into the knockback formula. For both stats, a value of 0 results in no change from base damage.

• The damage dealt multiplier is equal to $1+\frac{attack\times 4}{10000}$. Therefore, an attack of 2,500 results in double damage, 5,000 in triple damage, and so on.
  • Smash attack charging speed is divided by the damage multiplier. An attack of 2,500 will make smash attacks charge in 30 frames, 5,000 is 20 frames, etc.
  • When using a Final Smash the damage dealt multiplier is $1+\frac{attack\times 1}{10000}$.
  • When using an item the damage dealt multiplier is $1+\frac{attack\times 1.5}{10000}$. When throwing a non-throwing item (e.g. a Beam Sword or Super Scope), the damage dealt multiplier is applied to the item's base damage before being affected by its speed.

• The damage taken is divided by $1+\frac{defense\times 6}{10000}$. Therefore, a defense of 2,500 results in taking 0.4× damage, while a defense of 5,000 results in taking 0.25× damage.
  • Shield regeneration multiplied by $1+\frac{defense}{10000}$ and shield depletion is divided by the same value. A defense of 10,000 will double shield regeneration and halve shield depletion.
  • Stun duration after a shield break is reduced by $\frac{defense}{50}$ frames. A defense of 2,500 will reduce the duration by 50 frames, 100 frames at 5,000, and 200 frames at 10,000.

Because of the nature of these functions, defense is a more effective stat in terms of raw numbers, in the sense that a defense of 1000 is stronger than an attack of 1,000 (which is the case when stats are equal at any value). However, defense is also slower to rise as its magnitude increases, whereas attack rises at a constant rate.

Stat growth

A spirit's attack and defense stats grow from its base value to its max value as its level increases. It should be noted that while stat interpolation can be calculated with an equation, the actual values are stored in a lookup table and that the following attempts to replicate it. The interpolation amount ($t$) between the base and max value is defined by the following:

$t=\{\begin{array}{ll}\frac{(level-1{)}^2+67\times (level-1)}{1.96},& level\le 40\\ \frac{(level-1{)}^2-6\times (level-1)+780}{0.98},& 40<level<99\\ 10000,& level=99\end{array}$

Using the stat's base value ($sta{t}_{min}$) and max value ($sta{t}_{max}$), the equation $sta{t}_{min}\times (1-\frac{t}{10000})+sta{t}_{max}\times \frac{t}{10000}$ yields the stat at the given level. Note that while stats are displayed as whole numbers, the prior equations give decimal numbers (except in the case of level 1 or 99) and it is these numbers that are used for damage calculations—this results in small differences between an estimated value (when using the stats displayed in game) and the value found in practice.

Experience

This section is about a spirit's experience value and how it grows. For some of the ways to increase a spirit's experience or level, see Level Up and Spirit#Facilities.

As a spirit is fed, trained, or used, it will gain experience points to increase its level and in turn increase its stats.

Experience growth

The speed at which a spirit can increase its level is determined by its class. Their rate ($r$) is 1.03 for Novice (★), 1.035 for Advanced (★★), and 1.04 for Ace (★★★) and Legend (★★★★). The amount of experience needed for any given level is $maxExp\times \frac{r^{level-1}-1}{r^{98}-1}$. This results in Ace/Legend spirits staying at lower levels for longer compared to a Novice/Advanced with similar maximium experience values.

Maximum experience

The amount of experience needed for a spirit to reach level 99 has several factors: its attack & defense, number of slots, type, class, if it can be enhanced, and its class after being enhanced. It should be noted that while maximum experience can be calculated with an equation, the actual value is pre-defined for each spirit and the following attempts to replicate it.

The maximum experience for a spirit can be approximated with the formula $maxExp=(attack+defense)\times slotMult+classBase$—if the spirit is Neutral , the result is divided by 2.

• Slot multiplier ($slotMult$), multiplied by 1.5 if the spirit can be enhanced:
  • 0 slots = 0.5
  • 1 slot = 0.55
  • 2 slots = 0.605
  • 3 slots = 0.6655
• Base experience ($classBase$), an additional 10000 for each rank that would be gained from enhancing (e.g. Novice -> Legend $12000+(3\times 10000)=42000$):
  • Novice (★) = 12000
  • Advanced (★★) = 20000
  • Ace (★★★) = 40000
  • Legend (★★★★) = 60000

There are several exceptions to the above due to changes to some spirits' parameters that weren't reflected in the hard-coded maximum experience value. The following have signigicantly different calculated values compared to the actual values (calculated | actual): Baby Mario (Superstar Mario) (~33353 | 33209), Tiki (Naga's Voice) (~22749 | 22666), K.K. Slider (~22854 | 22768), Soma Cruz (~33663 | 33496), Dr. Kawashima (Concentration Training) (~33100 | 32959), Link (Link's Awakening) (~22851 | 24276), and Riki (River City) (~22866 | 23468).

List of primary spirits

#	Name	Class	Type	Slots	Base	Max	Base	Max	Trait	Lv. 99 Exp	Series
21	Metal Mario	★★★		⬡	510	1539	2042	6156	Weight ↑	44232	Super Mario Series
28	Cat Princess Peach	★★★		⬡⬡⬡	1610	4853	1371	4134	Weight ↓	45980
30	Bowser (Wedding)	★★★		⬡⬡	1836	5536	988	2980	[None]	45152
31	Toad	★★		⬡⬡⬡	630	2520	801	3207	Can Be Enhanced at Lv. 99	35716
32	Captain Toad	★★★		⬡⬡⬡	1484	4454	1545	4636	Item Gravitation	46049	Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker Series
35	Waluigi	★★★		⬡⬡⬡	1787	5362	962	2887	Foot Attack ↑	22744	Super Mario Series
36	Goomba	★		⬡⬡	361	1807	361	1807	Foot Attack ↑	7093
38	Hammer Bro	★★		⬡	1022	4103	438	1758	Jump ↑	23223
39	Lakitu & Spiny	★★		⬡⬡⬡	817	3279	724	2908	Weight ↓	24117
40	Blooper	★		⬡	476	2384	672	3361	Weight ↓	15159
41	Bullet Bill	★		⬡	575	2877	330	1653	Can Be Enhanced at Lv. 99	25737
42	Banzai Bill	★★		⬡	1173	4708	618	2480	Impact Run	23953
43	Shy Guy	★		⬡⬡	417	2085	348	1741	Fist Attack ↑	7157
45	Birdo	★★★		⬡⬡	1299	3917	1525	4599	[None]	45152
46	Mouser	★		⬡	577	2885	532	2663	[None]	15051
47	Wart	★★		⬡⬡	677	2719	862	3461	[None]	23738
48	Boo	★		⬡⬡⬡	343	1715	464	2320	Can Be Enhanced at Lv. 99	13013
49	King Boo	★★		⬡⬡⬡	746	3020	825	3338	Floaty Jumps	12115	Luigi's Mansion Series
51	Chain Chomp	★★			968	3898	687	2765	Weight ↑	23331	Super Mario Series
53	Nipper Plant	★		⬡⬡	435	2176	426	2133	Can Be Enhanced at Lv. 99	35909
54	Petey Piranha	★★★		⬡⬡	1616	4862	1322	3978	Giant	45348
55	Boom Boom	★★		⬡	661	2660	991	3990	Can Be Enhanced at Lv. 99	35486
56	Boom Boom & Pom Pom	★★★		⬡	1286	3877	1510	4552	Hyper Smash Attacks	44635
57	Tatanga	★★		⬡⬡	848	3405	865	3474	[None]	24161	Super Mario Land Series
59	Chargin' Chuck	★		⬡	226	1134	680	3402	[None]	14494	Super Mario Series
61	Kamek	★★		⬡	673	2702	874	3509	Magic Attack ↑	23416
63	Dry Bowser	★★★★		⬡	1831	4579	2582	6455	Fire Attack ↑	66068
65	Big Urchin	★★		⬡	904	3618	904	3618	Electric Weakness	23979
66	King Bob-omb	★★		⬡	894	3590	809	3248	Strong Throw	23760
70	Shadow Mario	★★★		⬡⬡⬡	1477	4444	1184	3563	[None]	22664
81	Goo-Goo Buggy	★★		⬡⬡	902	3631	753	3031	Weight ↓	24030	Mario Kart Series
88	Cheep Charger	★		⬡	438	2190	514	2571	Speed ↑	14618
90	Biddybuggy	★★		⬡	887	3548	1128	4515	Weight ↓	24434
91	Badwagon	★★★		⬡⬡	1175	3534	1351	4066	Speed ↑	44598
93	Master Cycle	★★★★		⬡⬡	2188	5471	1827	4568	Speed ↑	66073
94	Paper Mario	★★★		⬡⬡⬡	1673	5042	1314	3962	Water Weakness	22996	Paper Mario Series
95	Paper Bowser	★★★		⬡⬡	1717	5178	1269	3827	Can Be Enhanced at Lv. 99	58172
96	Paper Bowser (Paper Mario: Sticker Star)	★★★★		⬡⬡	2307	5768	1887	4719	Mouthful of Curry	66344
97	Kammy Koopa	★		⬡	446	2231	545	2727	Magic Attack ↑	14726
98	Vivian	★★		⬡	848	3392	1057	4230	Weight ↓	24192
99	Shadow Queen	★★★		⬡⬡	1816	5475	1288	3884	[None]	45662
100	Mr. L	★★		⬡⬡	1046	4210	789	3176	Water Weakness	24468
101	Dimentio	★★		⬡⬡⬡	812	3259	973	3904	Weight ↓	24766
104	Geno	★★★★		⬡⬡⬡	2100	5250	1900	4750	[None]	66655	Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
105	Prince Peasley	★		⬡	481	2409	418	2094	[None]	14476	Mario & Luigi Series
106	Fawful	★★		⬡⬡⬡	787	3185	644	2606	Electric Attack ↑	11926
107	Princess Shroob	★★		⬡⬡⬡	841	3365	746	2984	[None]	12112
109	Broque Monsieur	★		⬡	366	1832	637	3187	[None]	14760
110	Dreambert	★		⬡⬡	426	2131	480	2404	[None]	14743
112	Papercraft Mario	★		⬡⬡⬡	613	3068	384	1920	Fire Weakness	15319
115	Eggplant Man	★		⬡	434	2172	520	2601	[None]	14625	Wrecking Crew Series
124	Waluigi (Super Mario Strikers)	★★		⬡	815	3271	737	2959	Foot Attack ↑	23426	Super Mario Strikers Series
125	Petey Piranha (Super Mario Strikers)	★★		⬡	798	3214	865	3482	[None]	23682
126	Mini Mario	★★		⬡⬡⬡	895	3580	689	2756	Can Be Enhanced at Lv. 99	18162	Mario vs. Donkey Kong Series
127	Mini Mario & Hammers	★★★		⬡⬡⬡	1596	4789	1156	3468	Hammer Duration ↑	22747
129	Rabbid Peach	★★		⬡	718	2882	914	3669	Jump ↑	23603	Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
130	Rabbid Mario	★★		⬡	619	2487	929	3730	Jump ↑	23419
131	Rabbid Kong	★		⬡	641	3209	213	1069	Weight ↑	14352
137	Donkey Kong & Lady	★★★★		⬡⬡⬡	2386	5967	1432	3580	Strong Throw	66353	Donkey Kong Series
138	Donkey Kong Jr.	★★★		⬡	1374	4143	1170	3529	Strong Throw	44219
139	Stanley	★★		⬡⬡	763	3064	861	3455	[None]	23943
140	Cranky Kong	★★★		⬡⬡⬡	1378	4155	1324	3992	Speed ↓	45421
145	Dixie Kong	★★★		⬡⬡⬡	1288	3876	1238	3724	Can Be Enhanced at Lv. 99	57586
146	Dixie Kong & Kiddy Kong	★★★★		⬡⬡⬡	2212	5531	2001	5004	Thrown Items ↑	67011
147	Lanky Kong	★★		⬡⬡⬡	775	3102	730	2921	[None]	24008
149	Chunky Kong	★★		⬡⬡	939	3768	768	3083	[None]	24144
150	Rambi	★★★		⬡	1024	3087	1536	4631	Speed ↑	44244
151	Enguarde	★★		⬡	1076	4306	828	3315	Electric Weakness	24191
159	Kritter	★		⬡	631	3156	325	1626	[None]	14630
160	Zinger	★			767	3836	441	2205	[None]	15020
161	Klaptrap	★★			1176	4728	676	2717	Weight ↓	23722
162	Kaptain K. Rool	★★★★		⬡⬡	2243	5609	1989	4974	[None]	66402
163	Baron K. Roolenstein	★★★		⬡⬡⬡	1584	4766	1349	4060	[None]	45873
165	Tiki Tak Tribe	★		⬡⬡⬡	314	1571	638	3191	Fire Weakness	7584
166	Lord Fredrik	★		⬡	516	2582	389	1948	Weight ↑	14491
167	Kip	★		⬡	409	2049	401	2008	Jump ↑	14231	Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast
170	Karate Kong	★★★		⬡	1385	4177	1157	3487	Fist Attack ↑	44215	Donkey Kong Jungle Beat
171	Ninja Kong	★		⬡	631	3159	421	2106	[None]	14895
178	Link (The Legend of Zelda)	★★★★		⬡⬡⬡	1920	4802	1882	4707	Sword Attack ↑	33164	The Legend of Zelda Series
179	Octorok	★		⬡	547	2737	536	2683	Fire Weakness	14981
180	Moblin	★		⬡⬡	511	2556	348	1740	[None]	7299
181	Tektite	★		⬡	382	1914	431	2159	Jump ↑	14240
183	Darknut	★★		⬡	597	2398	1110	4453	Sword Attack ↑	23768
185	Agahnim	★★		⬡	737	2960	883	3546	Magic Attack ↑	23578
189	Young Zelda	★★		⬡⬡	876	3514	824	3310	Can Be Enhanced at Lv. 99	46192
190	Zelda (Ocarina of Time)	★★★★		⬡⬡	1661	4154	2891	7227	Assist Killer	66885
191	Ganon	★★★		⬡⬡	1762	5301	1175	3534	Weight ↑	22672
193	Impa (Ocarina of Time)	★★★		⬡⬡⬡	1403	4221	1403	4221	[None]	45618
200	Ruto	★★★		⬡⬡⬡	1123	3370	1519	4559	Water Attack ↑	45276
202	Koume & Kotake	★★		⬡⬡⬡	921	3686	667	2669	Can Be Enhanced at Lv. 99	18171
203	Twinrova	★★★		⬡⬡⬡	1450	4350	1312	3936	Magic Attack ↑	22757
204	ReDead	★		⬡	537	2688	727	3636	Jump ↓	15478
205	Skull Kid	★★		⬡⬡	931	3735	607	2439	Can Be Enhanced at Lv. 99	45602
206	Skull Kid & Majora's Mask	★★★★		⬡⬡	1596	3990	2394	5985	Lifesteal	66034
207	Deku Link	★★		⬡	1082	4328	921	3687	Fire Weakness	24408
208	Fierce Deity Link	★★★★