Ice Climbers (SSBU)/Down special

Hitbox visualization showing Popo's down special, Blizzard.

Hitbox visualization showing Nana's down special, Blizzard.

Overview

Each of the duo thrusts their empty hand forward, generating a miniature snowstorm from their palm. It's a high-committment, high-risk-high-reward utility move that unleashes a harshly damaging and highly active multihit, but leaves the Ice Climbers wide open if they miss. It's one of the duo's only midrange attacks, able to give them a chance at stuffing out even long ranged melee fighters such as Shulk or Corrin. Opponents hit with a high enough concentration of snow will be frozen, and the time frame and quantity required for this effect become more lenient at higher percentages. Enough that just three or four hits can freeze somebody at kill percent.

The Ice Climbers' down special hasn't got combos in the traditional sense, there's far too much ending lag and too little hitstun for that. But it can be converted into nearly anything in their kit if the victim is frozen. The most reliable option is up tilt, which not only frame traps opponents who 'escape the ice, but also leads to dangerous combos or simple kill confirms. At relatively high percents, a down throw can instead be followed up with a Blizzard to catch opponents attempting to airdodge or DI to escape. With good timing, the Ice Climbers can be desynced while grabbing the edge. This allows them to pick two different getup options at once, making them difficult to ledgetrap. What's more, if only one of the climbers is trapped successfully, the other can punish the opponent, turning an unfavorable situation into an advantageous one. This technique is often used to make the 2nd Climber use a getup attack while the 1st Climber safely gets up or jumps up to hit the opponent with a Blizzard. By desyncing them, the duo's down specials can be used one after the other, creating a constant barrage of ice that can cover most ledge getup options, rack up major damage against unsuspecting foes, and even wall out opponents who lacks a prioritized and disjointed move to combat it, forcing a predictable approach from above. A desynced Blizzard can also be used in tandem with Ice Shot, attacking distant foes while Blizzard prevents the shots from being sent back at the climbers. The multihits of the partner climber's down special can lead to grabs, but this is unreliable since a frozen opponent can't be grabbed. On top of its utility in zoning and ledge-trapping, a desynced series of blizzards can simply be used to harass opponents, dealing damage that sticks and often forcing them into an awkward position.

When it comes to edgeguarding, down special can be quite a potent option due to its large and long lasting coverage. Its ability to freeze its victims make it a major threat against opponents susceptible to gimping, but offstage Blizzards aren't a common sight due to the risks of using it offstage and edgeguarding in general.

Upon isolation, Blizzard maintains most of its primary uses, but the risk-reward ratio is tipped moreso out of the lone climber's favor. Even at its lowest point, it's far from the worst down special in the game, and is quite good in its stronger base form.

Hitboxes

ID	Part	Rehit rate	Damage	SD	Angle	Angle type	BK	KS	FKV	Set weight	Radius	Bone	Offset			H×	SDI×	T%	Clang	Rebound	Effect	Type	G	A	Sound	Direct	Hit bits	Hit part	Blockable	Reflectable	Absorbable	Flinchless	No GFX	Heedless
Clean hit
0	0	0	1.8%	0		Speed-based	10	50	0		5.0	top	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5×	1.5×	0%							Freeze		All	All
Mid hit
0	0	0	1.0%	0		Speed-based	10	50	0		4.0	top	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5×	1.5×	0%							Freeze		All	All
Late hit
0	0	0	1.0%	0		Speed-based	10	20	0		2.5	top	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5×	1.5×	0%							Freeze		All	All

Timing

Ice shards (clean hits)	16-17, 21-22, 26-27, 31-32, 36-37, 41-42, 46-47, 51-52, 56-57
Ice shards (mid hits)	18-21, 23-26, 28-31, 33-36, 38-41, 43-46, 48-51, 53-56, 58-61
Ice shards (late hits)	22-24, 27-29, 32-34, 37-39, 42-44, 47-49, 52-54, 57-59, 62-64
Interruptible	85
Animation length	89

Legend (1 square = 1 frame)

Lag time

Hitbox

Hitbox change

Prop event

Interruptible

Parameters

Ice shard X/Y offsets	[2, 1]
Travel speed	2.8
Vertical acceleration	0.125
Highest random angle deviation	25°
Lowest random angle deviation	-30°
Size multiplier of shatter effect from clanging	0.8 to 1.3

Ice Climbers's moveset

Neutral attack (1 · 2) · Forward tilt · Up tilt · Down tilt · Dash attack · Forward smash · Up smash · Down smash
Neutral aerial · Forward aerial · Back aerial · Up aerial · Down aerial
Grab · Pummel · Forward throw · Back throw · Up throw · Down throw
Forward roll · Back roll · Spot dodge · Air dodge · Techs
Floor attack (front) · Floor getups (front) · Floor attack (back) · Floor getups (back) · Floor attack (trip) · Floor getups (trip)
Edge attack · Edge getups
Neutral special · Side special · Up special · Down special · Final Smash