Editing Samus (SSB4)

Samus has received a mix of [[buff]]s and [[nerf]]s in the transition from ''Brawl'' to ''SSB4'', but while she was initially nerfed despite already being a low tier character, she received significant buffs via game [[updates]] resulting in her ultimately being buffed overall due to her buffs fixing one of her main issues in ''Brawl'' combined with the game's mechanics greatly benefiting her overall. Samus has gained several new KOing options, the most notable of which is [[Charge Shot]], which has drastically increased speed and knockback. The other noteworthy options include her forward smash, up smash, neutral aerial, forward aerial and [[Screw Attack]] improving one of her main weaknesses in the previous game. Forward smash now has a powerful sweetspot in the form of a fiery blast at the tip of her Arm Cannon. Neutral aerial, forward aerial, back aerial, up aerial up smash and Screw Attack have each have had their knockback improved, most notably on neutral aerial (and only to the last hit in Screw Attack's case). Additionally, forward aerial, up smash and Screw Attack's multiple hits now connect better due to alterations to those moves along with the weakening of [[SDI]] to further ensure that opponents cannot escape their respective last hits.

Aside from her new KOing options, Samus benefits from the general changes between ''Brawl'' and ''SSB4''. With the changes to [[hitstun canceling]] and [[DI]], Samus' combo game has been improved. Some of her attacks (most notably her dash attack) have been altered to give them much greater followup potential, and she is able to combo attacks into each other far easier, with multiple combo starters and combo oriented moves, including dash attack, up tilt, forward aerial, up aerial and down aerial. Her [[Missile]]s have been improved as well, with more active frames and having less startup and ending lag for all variants except for the aerial version of the Homing Missile. Samus also greatly benefits from the introduction of [[rage]] as it not only further supplements her improved KO power but it also allows her to KO with her grounded Screw Attack at insanely early percents and her high weight and solid recovery allow her to build up rage. The changes to shields, shield damage and [[shieldstun]] also benefit her, as she can use her Charge Shot, Super Missile and Bomb in tandem with other moves to easily break shields.

Samus' falling speed and gravity have noticeably increased. This makes it much easier for Samus to land however, it also hinders her aerial output as she can no longer perform two aerials in a short hop, autocancel forward aerial in a short hop and it makes her more susceptible to combos.

However, Samus also received a few nerfs. The most significant nerf being the fact that she is no longer connected to {{SSB4|Zero Suit Samus}}. As such, she can no longer utilize her Zero Suit counterpart's far superior mobility and moveset to alleviate her own. As for Samus' more direct nerfs, some of Samus' moves her nerfed frame data with her landing lag in particular being significantly increased. While this is a common nerf across the cast, it harmed Samus more than most other returning veterans as Samus went from having the lowest average landing lag in the game to having fairly mediocre landing lag on her aerials with down aerial and forward aerial seeing the largest increase to their landing lag. This is especially an issue with forward aerial, as it can no longer [[auto-cancel]] in a short hop due to her previously mentioned higher gravity and faster falling speed. While her KO potential has improved, some of Samus' previous KO moves, such as her down tilt and down smash, have lost their previous KO potential. [[Missile]] is harder to camp with due it no longer auto-canceling on landing and she can only use two Homing Missile and one Super Missile at a time, though her projectiles overall are still powerful and useful in their own right. Additionally, Samus' overall damage output is lower (though it is higher relative to the cast) and despite her improved combo potential, some of her moves have reduced followup potential with two notable examples being her landing forward aerial and down aerial. One move which notably got nerfed however was her [[grab aerial]]. While it has increased tether range and it benefits from the changes to ledges, it has increased landing lag, deals less damage and has altered knockback hindering its spacing and followup potential.

Overall, Samus has been buffed overall from ''Brawl'' despite receiving a fair share of nerfs. She has been slightly re-balanced having a worse defensive game due to her higher landing lag, altered Missile and grab aerial but now wielding a slightly improved close-range game, with her damage racking ability and combo game having been vastly improved. Most importantly, she has noticeably improved KOing potential, enabling her to score KOs much easier. While a few of her moves now require slightly more precision, such as her forward smash, neutral aerial and Missile, they compensate for this by being more rewarding. The changes to the game's mechanics also greatly benefit her overall as they make her multi hit moves more reliable, give her access to her greater combo potential and they further supplement her already improved KO potential. As such, she has a relatively high learning curve, but can be quite viable and versatile when mastered, similarly to {{SSB4|Shulk}}. Dedicated players like {{Sm|IcyMist}}, {{Sm|ESAM}}, and {{Sm|Afro Smash}} have managed to bring her some degree of tournament success and continue to develop her metagame.

*{{change|Samus' design is now based on her appearance in ''{{s|metroidwiki|Metroid: Other M}}''. Her updated design also incorporates numerous black vents within the {{s|metroidwiki|Varia Suit}}'s helmet, shoulder pads, torso and legs, while the suit's {{s|metroidwiki|visor}} and accents are now emerald green, rather than lime green.}}

*{{change|[[Missile]] and [[Bomb (Samus)|Bomb]] have been very slightly updated with general graphical enhancements. Bomb is now red, rather than reddish orange.}}

*{{nerf|Samus is no longer connected to {{SSB4|Zero Suit Samus}} via [[Final Smash]], taunt, or menu input usage, with the latter becoming her own separate character. This removes Samus' ability to switch into her Zero Suit counterpart mid-match to adapt to different matchups utilizing Zero Suit Samus' far superior mobility and frame data.}}

**{{nerf|Neutral attack's first hit has less range having smaller hitboxes (4.3u/4.3u/4.3u → 4u/4u/3u) and a reduced Y (12.8 → 12) and Z position (15.2/10.4/4.4 → 12.2/6.2/0/2). It also has increased base knockback (5 → 8) and decreased hitstun. This allows opponents to shield the second hit at a wider percent range or even be launched out of range for the second hit to land, hindering its utility. The second hit also has more startup lag (frame 4 → 6) further compounding this.}}

**{{buff|Forward tilt has adjusted hitbox properties. Its non-angled variant has received two sweetspots covering the lower leg and foot that deal more damage and received sourspots on her upper leg and body that deal the same damage as in ''Brawl'' (7%/8% → 7%/8%/9%/10%). Additionally, its upward and downward angles have each received a sweetspot on her foot that deals 1% more damage (10% → 11%). Lastly, the sweetspots's base knockback has been tripled (10 → 30). This significantly improves its KO potential.}}

**{{buff|Dash attack has received an early hitbox that deals 7%. It also has adjusted hitbox timings and a longer duration (frames 8-10 (clean)/11-16 (late) → 8-9 (early)/10-13 (clean)/14-18 (late)), decreased ending lag (FAF 38 → 34) and altered knockback (30/20 (base), 80 (scaling) → 80/60). When coupled with the changes to [[hitstun canceling]], these changes significantly improve its combo potential now being her best combo starter.}}

**{{buff|Forward smash has received a sweetspot and a sourspot. The sweetspot is the fiery explosion from the Arm Cannon and deals more damage (14%/13%/12% → 15%/14%/13.5%) and its base knockback has been doubled (20 → 40), while the sourspot also deals more knockback (20 (base), 100 (scaling) → 16/112), making it stronger despite its lower damage. Forward smash also has much greater reach because of the sweetspot, restoring its utility from ''Melee''.}}

**{{nerf|Up smash deals less damage (4% (hits 1-3), 5% (hit 4), 6% (hit 5) 23% (total) → 3% (hits 1-4), 6% (hit 5), 18% (total)).}}

**{{buff|Up smash's linking hits connect together better as they have a reduced SDI multiplier (1.2x → 0.8x) and the last hit has increased knockback scaling (120 → 150), improving its KO potential.}}

*{{nerf|Samus' faster falling speed  and higher gravity prevent her from performing two neutral, back or up aerials in a short hop.}}

**{{buff|Samus has a new [[neutral aerial]]: a spinning roundhouse kick which represents the aerial version of the Counter Attack from ''Metroid: Other M''. Compared to the previous neutral aerial, it deals more damage (9%/6% → 10%/9%/8%) and significantly more knockback (10 (base), 80 (scaling) → 40/100), making it significantly better at KOing and one of the strongest neutral aerials of the game. It also has a back hit that comes out on frame 16 which has a sweetspot which deals 1% less damage compared to the front hit with the same knockback values, making it reliable for KOing too, and a sourspot that deals 8% with much less knockback. Lastly, it launches at a lower angle (361° → 32°), making it better at edgeguarding.}}

**{{nerf|Neutral aerial has more startup lag with a much shorter duration (frames 5-24 → 8-11/16-24) and less range in front of Samus. Its altered angle and knockback also means that it no longer [[lock]]s opponents removing one of Samus' most reliable locking tools.}}

**{{change|Forward aerial's first hit now has set knockback (20 (base) → 15 (set)). This allows it to connect more reliably with the later hits but significantly hinders its followup potential when combined with forward aerial's much higher landing lag.}}

**{{buff|Back aerial's sourspot deals 2% more damage (10% → 12%) and both hits have higher knockback scaling (95/90 (sourspots), 88 (clean) → 98 (both)), making it among the strongest back aerials in the game, improving its KO potential. It also received a late hit on frames 11-14 that deals 9% and less knockback that enables it to be used in a [[Wall of Pain]], improving its utility. Back aerial also has slightly reduced ending lag (FAF 40 → 39).}}

**{{buff|Up aerial's hits connect together better due to the weakening of SDI and its last hit has increased knockback scaling (120 → 160), granting it KO potential near the upper blast line. It also has juggling potential now due to launching vertically instead of horizontally (361° → 70°).}}

**{{buff|Down aerial now has an early hit with less startup lag (frame 18 → 17), increased base knockback (2 → 25) and it launches opponents horizontally (270° → 361°) significantly improving its spacing and KO potential on stage. The clean hit also has increased base knockback (2 → 25) which when combined with the removal of [[meteor cancel]]ing, improves its edgeguarding potential. It also now has a late hit which functions similarly to the early hit and lengthens down aerial's duration (frames 18-22 → 17-23).}}

**{{nerf|Grab aerial deals less damage (4% (early)/7% (clean) → 1%/3.5%) and the sourspot has decreased base knockback (60 → 30) while the sweetspot's knockback was not fully compensated (60 (base), 60 (scaling) → 30/100) hindering the sweetspot's edgeguarding potential. It also has 8 frames of landing lag, rather than auto-canceling. Altogether, these changes greatly hinder grab aerial's spacing and followup potential.}}

**{{buff|Down throw releases opponents slightly later (frame 19 → 20). When combined with the changes to hitstun canceling and the weakening of [[DI]], this significantly improves down throw's followup potential.}}

**{{nerf|The front hit of back floor attack deals less damage (8% → 7%).}}

***{{nerf|However as the move is a projectile, this gives Samus less time to followup after the opponent is no longer in hitlag, both on hit and on shield.}}

***{{nerf|This particularly hurts the fully charged version as when combined with its lower hitlag, this prevents Samus from being to followup out of it at lower percents as well as making the move much more punishable on shield (with the move no longer being completely safe on shield).}}

**{{buff|Screw Attack travels more vertical distance, improving its recovery potential, and its last hit has drastically increased knockback scaling (175 (grounded), 160 (aerial) → 240 (both)), granting it KO potential. All of the ground version's multi hits also now have extremely high set knockback which when combined with the inclusion of rage can allow Screw Attack to kill at obscenely low percents if Samus has a high amount of rage.}}

**{{buff|Bomb has less ending lag (FAF 47 → 45). Additionally, aerial Bomb can be used faster. When coupled with her faster air speed, these changes improve its horizontal recovery potential.}}

**{{change|Zero Laser's animation has slightly changed. The beam now starts out thin before expanding, rather than starting out wide before thinning. It also produces slightly more prominent visual effects around the Arm Cannon's tip.}}