Talk:Unlockable character

Please Wait until after 7 December
Please Wait as Patient as you can until after 7th December and then a list of how to unlock the unlockable characters will be revealed on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Thank You. Sportsfanrob (talk) 20:19, 9 October 2018 (BST)
 * What part of "knock it off" do you not comprehend? SonicSpeed48HalloweenSig4.png Sonic, the Speedy Spookable SpookableScarerTigger.png 15:34, 9 October 2018 (EDT)
 * Being told to stop making false edits which makes me undo false edits, blank pages or erase everything. Sportsfanrob (talk) 21:40, 9 October 2018 (EDT)

Taking too long to tell us how to unlock everyone!
I desperately want to know how to unlock everybody in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate ahead of time! NINTENDO WILL NEVER TELL US! :'( —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.242.39.232 (talk • contribs) 16:51, October 15th, 2018
 * Well, we do too, but we have to wait. They might tell us, and they might not. But the wiki isn't the place to complain about it. Aidan,  the Spooky Rurouni  18:03, 15 October 2018 (EDT)
 * If they won't tell us soon, there's a 99% chance that they will refuse to tell us EVEN ON DECEMBER 7TH!!!!! :'( —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.242.39.232 (talk • contribs) 17:05, October 15th, 2018
 * Please calm down, there is no need for all caps and exclamation points (and sad faces). We all want to know more information - whether it be any new characters, the hidden green mode, or, yes, even the unlock conditions - but it is Sakurai who decides when to reveal information.


 * And also, please sign your comments with ~ . Aidan,  the Spooky Rurouni  18:17, 15 October 2018 (EDT)
 * Also, I don't believe comments like this is appropriate in talk sections. If you want to complain, SmashWiki is definitely not the best place. SugarCookie420 (talk) 18:41, 15 October 2018 (EDT)
 * Someone better tell Sakurai to give us the unlocking conditions soon, because he's literally refusing to give the details! And if we still don't know by December 7th, everyone introduced to Smash Bros. from Melee onwards will be locked forever! And don't you dare tell me this isn't the best place to complain! 69.242.39.232 18:47, 15 October 2018 (EDT)
 * I have just posted on your talk page about this situation, but I'm going to repeat myself. Comments like this are not allowed on talk pages, as it's irrelevant to the contribution of this article. If you want to learn more about talk pages, please read TALK. SugarCookie420 (talk) 18:51, 15 October 2018 (EDT)
 * I said DON'T tell me again! THIS BETTER BE THE FINAL TIME YOU TELL ME OR YOU'RE FIRED!!!!! :'( AND DON'T YOU DARE REPEAT YOURSELF! 69.242.39.232 18:54, 15 October 2018 (EDT)
 * How about you calm yourself down and watch the personal attacks. Everyone, myself included, is telling you that you should not be complaining about the article's content, we are not the place for that. Black Vulpine  of the Furry Nation.  Furries make the internets go! :3  18:58, 15 October 2018 (EDT)

Unlock requirements permanently unknown?
It seems that the longer we wait, the longer Sakurai will refuse to give the unlocking requirements for the Smash Ultimate characters! The final pre-launch Nintendo Direct is over, and he STILL didn't mention how to unlock everyone! He will never tell us! NEEEEEEVEEEEEER!!!!!!!!!!!!! :'( 69.242.39.232 12:07, 7 November 2018 (EST)
 * This is improper usage of a talk page. Plus, they wouldn't ideally reveal the unlock conditions before launch. 50.205.200.10 12:42, 7 November 2018 (EST)
 * Although to answer your question, I believe I heard a complete playthrough of World of Light would unlock everyone, much like how Subspace Emissary worked in Brawl. Black Vulpine  of the Furry Nation.  Furries make the internets go! :3  16:30, 7 November 2018 (EST)
 * And if the unlocking by VS. matches thing still works, you can keep playing matches until you get a Challenger Approaching. Rinse and repeat until you unlock all 74 fighters. And even if Sakurai doesn't tell us how to unlock things, someone would figure it out by playing and we would have the unlocking criteria listed. You will never be stuck with the original eight. In fact, even if someone doesn't tell you how to unlock characters, you may unlock some by accident. SeanWheeler (talk) 17:26, 7 November 2018 (EST)
 * Please stop using this talk page to complain about not knowing how to unlock characters. It isn't a proper use of a talk page. George Jones.jpg Corrin Fan Walls Can Fall.jpg 10:55, 8 November 2018 (EST)

Availability of Mii Fighters
We still do not know if the Mii Fighters have to be unlocked, and if Challenger Approaching fights are returning, we have to check if creating Mii Fighters' option is available from the start, however, Mii Fighters are not shown until one is created. Jskylinegtr (talk) 00:27, 9 November 2018 (EST)


 * Even if the option of creating Miis was available from the start, I don't think the Miis should be considered starters because a starter is a character that is always on the select screen when you first buy the game. And besides, Sakurai has already confirmed that the starters for Ultimate is just the Smash 64 characters. The Miis were the last three characters added in the transition between the starter roster and the full roster, so they were treated like Unlockables in the Directs. And even if they don't have Challenger Approaching battles for the Miis, remember that you didn't have to battle most of the characters you unlocked in the Subspace Emissary. SeanWheeler (talk) 17:44, 11 November 2018 (EST)
 * Yes even that means the option needs to unlock the Miis to create them is unlockable. Also there is controversy around their status in Smash 4, I thought that they were unlockable since they needed to be created. Due to the nature of the controversy surrounding them I didn't change them to starter to unloackable. And that was a while back. George Jones.jpg Corrin Fan Walls Can Fall.jpg 19:48, 11 November 2018 (EST)

In the 3DS and Wii U, the Mii Fighters are considered semi-unlockable, since they are not shown until you create one, but since creating one is available from the start, they are considered semi-unlockable. Jskylinegtr (talk) 07:41, 13 November 2018 (EST)
 * Well semi-unlockable still makes it an unlockable character. George Jones.jpg Corrin Fan Walls Can Fall.jpg 17:17, 15 November 2018 (EST)

Correct! But since there would be no challenger approaching fight, and you can create those fighters from the start, they are semi-unlockable in both SSB4 and SSBU. Jskylinegtr (talk) 06:11, 16 November 2018 (EST)
 * They are their own availability: Custom. We've got Starter, Unlockable, and Downloadable characters. We have Custom stages. Why not have Custom as the fourth availability category? Sure, every character in Smash 4 were "customizable" but you just change their stats and moves, while with Miis, you select a Mii created from your console, select a costume for them to wear, and when custom move are turned off, you can still use your Mii's custom moves. They are not starters because you need to create them. They don't have a splash screen like the unlockable and downloadable characters. There is no Challenger Approaching match for them. You don't buy them from the eShop. They pretty much disqualify for all the availabilities we have. So I suggest we consider them "Custom characters" whether than starter or unlockable characters. Although, we can wait three more weeks for Ultimate's release to see if there's any more stuff to dispute the Mii availability. If in Ultimate you only get the Miis by creating them and the option to create them is there from the start, then they are Custom. If they are gotten another way other than creation or the option to create them has to be earned, then the case would get more complicated. We know they can't be starters in Ultimate because of the original 8. SeanWheeler (talk) 22:20, 16 November 2018 (EST)

Add unlockable requirements for characters in Ultimate.
So we now know that you can unlock characters in Adventure Mode: WOL. Should we add unlockable requirements in a table now or wait a bit longer? Corrin Fan 12:15, 20 November 2018 (EST)
 * I personally think we should wait until we come up with a naming scheme for each stage in WoL. Pokebub (talk) 12:27, 20 November 2018 (EST)
 * Alternatively, we must wait until after launch to see if there is an alternative way to unlock them like in past games. Awesomelink234, the Super Cool Sonic Fan  Leave a message if needed 13:04, 20 November 2018 (EST)


 * If you ask me, we will NEVER know how to unlock anyone! We might be forced to play World of Light! 69.242.39.232 14:42, 24 November 2018 (EST)


 * You don't have to worry, 69.242.39.232. There are smart people who would figure it out. And a video confirmed that the Challenger Approaching fights are returning, so it won't be just World of Light. And considering all the starter characters besides Kirby are unlockable in World of Light, World of Light has a different unlocking roster than the VS. matches. Though it could be like Subspace Emissary where unlocking new characters in the story could unlock them in the main game. SeanWheeler (talk) 23:29, 24 November 2018 (EST)


 * I already have a draft set up for the table and the pics, so if a new video comes up, I'll be ready to make new pics to accompany the unlock conditions. Though it might be a while, since the one just got taken down by Nintendo. SonicSpeed48ThanksgivingSig4.png Sonic, the Thankful Speedster FallLovingTigger.png 00:05, 25 November 2018 (EST)


 * Honestly, I'd rather stick with unlocking them via Vs. Matches (as I fear "World of Light" is going to be incredibly difficult, even for a casual player like myself), but that's just me. 97.88.58.90 14:11, 25 November 2018 (EST)

AI Difficulty for SSBU's Challenger Approaching Duels
We are still needing confirmation about the Challenger Approaching duels, if the difficulty, is low, high or gradually increases/decreases. Jskylinegtr (talk) 08:06, 28 November 2018 (EST)
 * We'll get our confirmation in about a week, Jskylinegtr. They are returning for sure, I have two instances of proof in Zelda and Ness, it's just that their specific unlock methods were made very vague before the video was taken down. SonicSpeed48ThanksgivingSig4.png Sonic, the Thankful Speedster FallLovingTigger.png 08:32, 28 November 2018 (EST)
 * When I fought against Ness, he was acting like a CPU at level 1, but as I unlocked fighters they started getting harder...I'm hoping there's a way to decrease the difficulty so I can unlock everybody faster. 97.88.58.90 23:38, 7 December 2018 (EST)

Well, we just have to check, if I would do a Challenger Approaching fight, the first fighter acts as a CPU Level 1. Jskylinegtr (talk) 06:35, 10 December 2018 (EST) When i battled Lucario after beating Classic Mode with Yoshi, he was acting weaker than a Level 1 CPU, but my fights against Palutena and Chrom, the CPU acted like a Level 9 CPU, so the difficulty is still progressive. Jskylinegtr (talk) 06:54, 18 December 2018 (EST)

Ten Minute Timer
Is the 10 minute timer a limit for unlocking fighters, or after you win a Challenger approaching duel, then meet the next unlock confition, then wait 10 minutes befor the Challenger Approaching fight comes? Jskylinegtr (talk) 05:58, 2 December 2018 (EST)

Unlocking glitch
Does the unlocking character glitch (reset game to bypass the 10min timer) still work on version 1.2.1. in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Crocodile Dippy 2 (talk) 06:27, 24 December 2018 (EST)

Challengers Approach Question
Do you absolutely have to use Challengers Approach to rematch challengers (World of Light not counted) if you failed?Zormego (talk) 11:32, 26 December 2018 (EST)

Challenger Approaching Screens
With the 3Ds version being the exception, all the “challenger approaching”s at the beginning of the page should be of hidden characters who series was “newly introduced into Smash at the time”. I’ve seen it edited way too many time with people adding characters that they like (or personal bias) instead which causes people to keep editing and undoing it for that very reason. For example, Inkling and Simon should be the ones that represent Ultimate due to both Splatoon and Castlevania were introduced with fighters in that instament. I honestly prefer Richter, but “Simon” is the main Castlevania rep, much like how Marth was over Roy in Melee. I see no other reason to keep editing it so it change the characters. Sorry if it sounds like ranting, and thank for reading. 172.58.169.77 22:17, March 11, 2019 (EDT)
 * I agree, that makes sense. I was actually wondering why it was changed every once and awhile. &#32;Wolff (talk) 22:40, March 12, 2019 (EDT)
 * When I first changed them from being different Jigglypuffs (since Jigglypuff wasn't unlockable in Wii U), I intended for it to be the newcomer who required the most VS matches. So Jigglypuff (Smash 64 had no VS matches, but she's still the "iconic" unlockable), Mr. Game & Watch, Wolf, Bowser Jr., Duck Hunt (so that there's no overlap for Smash 4), and Chrom. If you want to avoid clones, too, then switch Chrom out for Incineroar. TheNuttyOne 23:24, March 12, 2019 (EDT)
 * I actually prefer 172.58.169.77's reasoning. I like how it is for a new series which is easier to recognize (and find out) then the VS. as I don't think it is as obvious when looking at them. I think more people know which series got a fighter in each installment then how meany matches one needs to complete in each. Also, not everyone ends up unlocking them by VS matches. I think 172.58.169.77's makes more sense. &#32;Wolff (talk) 00:36, March 13, 2019 (EDT)

"Character" is not quit the right word here.
This page should be renamed "Unlockable fighter". "Characters" aren't all fighters, most assist trophies are characters, most stickers/trophies/spirits are characters. YoshiRyu (talk) 05:18, February 19, 2020 (EST)

Adding a "Character joining" screen section?
Should this page features a whole section for the "character joining" screen just like it does for the "challenger approaching" screen one? The "joining" screen isn't a meme, but in regard to the unlock process, I think it's on the same level of relevance as the challenger screen. YoshiRyu (talk) 05:21, October 15, 2020 (EDT)

Is this page locked to editing?
Sorry, I am new here, but I don't see an 'edit this page' button on the article tab. Do I have to wait a certain amount of time before I can change anything? I noticed a couple of simple mistakes. Ajax (talk) 12:23, March 18, 2021 (EDT)
 * It is locked to autoconfirmed (7+ days and 10+ edits) and up. Someone was inserting false unlock criteria repeatedly so it was temporarily locked to prevent it. --CanvasK (talk) 12:26, March 18, 2021 (EDT)
 * It has been over a month since and was just a single IP causing trouble, so I think it has been protected long enough and have thus lifted it. Omega   Tyrant  [[Image: TyranitarMS.png ]] 13:01, March 18, 2021 (EDT)
 * Thanks to both of you. Ajax (talk) 16:53, March 30, 2021 (EDT)

Ultimate Timed encounters edit dispute
I removed the column from the Ultimate unlockable characters table that counted up to 10 hours and 20 minutes, on the grounds that the numbers are not useful - the value "10 hours and 20 minutes" appears nowhere in the game's code, and it is inaccurate to suggest a statement like "Palutena takes 10 hours and 20 minutes to unlock".

User:Unnamed anon put the column back, stating that the numbers are still a useful metric for the minimum amount of time needed to play to unlock everyone.

I disagree with this; I don't think the numbers are useful. To have any accuracy, the player would have to start a blank save file, deliberately ignore both World of Light and Classic Mode, then play continuously for 10 hours and 20 minutes without ever closing the game. Even a hypothetical player who hates singleplayer Smash, plays exclusively VS Mode, and wants to unlock everyone wouldn't do this - they'd just close and reopen the game a bunch to skip the 10-minute waits. You can't even say "play for a combined total of 10 hours and 20 minutes with breaks in between", because each break will do a timer drain (if I understand correctly) and you'd also have to take the strange step of leaving the game open during every break. You'd have to come up with a scenario like "there's someone who hates singleplayer Smash, plays exclusively VS Mode, doesn't particularly want to unlock everyone, and plays matches continuously without ever closing the game - how long would such a player take to unlock everyone?". It seems pretty nonsensical to provide wait times that are only accurate if you aren't trying to unlock everyone. Zowayix (talk) 03:10, May 14, 2023 (EDT)
 * I said minimum. That is true. World of light is clearly longer for reasons I hope I shouldn't explain, and classic mode, while it can be spedrun, isn't done by most of the playerbase, and thus usually also takes more than 10 minutes. I get that you can close and reopen the game to bypass that timer, but I'm very certain that is just a glitch that was never patched because it made unlocking faster. Unnamed anon (talk) 04:45, May 14, 2023 (EDT)
 * It's possible to unlock everyone in World of Light in less than 10 hours, but I agree we're already considering a person playing VS Mode exclusively, so that doesn't matter.
 * As a test, I just beat Classic Mode four times in a row with characters I've almost never used, and all four times it took comfortably under 10 minutes.
 * The timer reset being a glitch and/or unintended behavior by the devs is speculation, especially since it's highly unlikely the devs intend someone to play for 10.3 hours without ever closing the game (therefore, the devs know that the average player will reset the timer at least once).
 * The timer reset being "a glitch that was known and deliberately left unpatched" is super-speculation.
 * This may also partially conflate with rumors from around v1.2.0 that were like "oh they patched out the 1-stock SD reset strat" -> "wait no they didn't".
 * Finally, let's say the intended meaning is "the minimum amount of time needed to unlock each character through VS Mode, assuming that timer reset is a glitch and is not used".
 * Then that seems like it's not true either, because here's a video of someone unlocking 5 characters through VS Mode in 19 minutes without closing the game. Zowayix (talk) 19:52, May 14, 2023 (EDT)
 * There's some circumstantial evidence that the time delay may not always be 10 minutes (or may be shorter for the first few chars and longer for the last few chars), because after all that's what the number of in-battle actions requirement does. I don't think anyone's bothered to specifically test something like Dr. Mario -> Palutena without doing a reset in between. If you or anyone else could test this with a bot or something, I'd be fine with putting the column back. (e.g. Something like "do a 1-minute crouch spam -> see if anyone's unlocked -> do a 1-minute crouch spam -> see if anyone's unlocked" and have the bot count how many minutes pass between each challenger. I expect 1 minute for the first 5 characters and 10 minutes for the next few, and who knows after that because I don't know if anyone's tested. Then there's the possibility of testing certain amounts of inputs and 0 minutes instead of 1, by just entering and exiting World of Light no more than five times.) The whole thing gets complicated quick, which is why it's no wonder that everyone tried the faster strats (WoL/Classic/reset) first and not the 9.7-10.3 hour strat attempt. Zowayix (talk) 01:28, May 15, 2023 (EDT)

Why were all of the following reverted? Zowayix (talk) 04:47, May 16, 2023 (EDT)
 * Video proof that it's possible to unlock 5 characters from VS Matches with no resetting in well under 40 minutes
 * Video proof that the 10-minute delay won't apply even halfway down the table if everyone above is unlocked through a different method first
 * Evidence that versus matches and time alone isn't enough to unlock everyone (this important unlock criterion is nowhere in the current version of the article)
 * Info about how many in-battle actions is enough to unlock 62 characters versus 63 characters
 * Incomplete tag about timed encounter -> timed encounter rematch versus timed encounter -> Challenger's Approach rematch (which neither version of the article answers)
 * Incomplete tag about menu idling versus the time delay (which neither version of the article answers)
 * Three reference links
 * Formatting issue where the article skips from a 2nd level heading to a 4th level heading
 * Grammatical fixes


 * I wrote a bot to actually do a couple dozen hours of tests. This is where the new "Actions required (approx.)" column comes from. The bot also verified that the wait time is 10 minutes for every single character after Inkling.
 * For posterity, the tests I used were:
 * Open World of Light and back out. See if anyone challenges the player. If not, crouch 100 times in a VS match. See if anyone challenges the player. Close the game and reopen it. Repeat 81 times. (Self-destruct out of all challenges as soon as possible.)
 * On a new Switch user, crouch 8,100 times in a VS match (then self-destruct out of Ness's challenge). Start a stopwatch. Open World of Light and back out. Repeat ~20 times until someone challenges the player. Reset the stopwatch. Repeat until everyone has challenged the player.
 * (There were also many smaller tests, such as making sure 1,400 inputs alone is enough to unlock five characters with no timers, which takes about 5 minutes.)
 * Zowayix (talk) 23:44, June 16, 2023 (EDT)
 * You don’t need to justify any of your actions on this talk page anymore, unless you really want to. You clearly did your research, and I trust you. Unnamed anon (talk) 20:23, June 18, 2023 (EDT)
 * Thanks. Zowayix (talk) 03:59, June 19, 2023 (EDT)

Version updates
For posterity, all of the above tests were performed on v2.0.1. On v13.0.1, I re-tested that the first 5 Challenger Approaching fights still have no wait time requirement, but Classic Mode still takes up one of these five slots. Zowayix (talk) 04:25, July 4, 2023 (EDT)