Dr. Mario (SSB4): Difference between revisions

The implementation of multipliers to most of Dr. Mario's moveset and some of his attributes result in him functioning like a stronger, yet slower {{SSB4|Mario}}. As a result, his overall damage output and KO potential are above-average for a character of his size and weight. Similar to Mario, Dr. Mario's frame data is very fast in regard to start-up lag. In addition to granting him a decent combo game, this trait makes him both difficult to [[Punishment|punish]] and very effective at punishing.

However, the multipliers applied to some of Dr. Mario's attributes collectively result in him being considerably slower and less nimble than Mario. Due to some moveset adjustments and changes to game mechanics, Dr. Mario's combo game is also inferior to Mario's in regard to both versatility and consistency.

As a [[clone]] of a {{SSB4|Mario}}, Dr. Mario is a [[Weight|middleweight]] that can [[wall jump]]. Like his normal self, Dr. Mario also has excellent frame data: when not counting [[special move]]s, the overall start-up lag of his normal moveset is the fifth fastest in the game. As a result, Dr. Mario is both difficult to [[punish]] and very effective at punishing. Although they share an overwhelming number of animations and even the exact same values for certain attributes ([[falling speed]]; [[fast fall]]ing speed; [[traction]]; and [[gravity]]), Dr. Mario nevertheless has a number of traits that differ from his normal self. Like Mario, Dr. Mario's height is below-average; oddly, however, he is marginally shorter in comparison and does not [[crouch]] as low as his normal self.

Unlike in ''Melee'', Dr. Mario now functions like a stronger, yet slower Mario, owing to the implementation of multipliers to the majority or his moveset and some of his attributes. Aside from six moves, the remainder of Dr. Mario's moveset deals 1.12× more damage compared to Mario's moveset.<ref name="DamageMultiplier">[http://smashboards.com/threads/complete-hitbox-frame-data-for-every-character-now-with-ko-percents.383550/ Complete Hitbox/Frame Data For Every Character (Now with KO Percents)]</ref> Conversely, his [[walk]]ing and [[dash]]ing speeds are 0.832× slower; his [[air speed]] and [[air acceleration]] are 0.808× slower; and his [[jump]] and [[double jump]]'s initial speeds are 0.888× slower, which is equivalent to their heights being 0.788544× lower. These multipliers result in Dr. Mario being distinctly affected by passive [[equipment]] physics, in which he specifically possesses a +15 Attack value and a -50 Speed value. Although Dr. Mario's shorter jump height makes his [[short hop]] more effective than Mario's, these modified attributes collectively render his overall mobility as sub-par. Conversely, Dr. Mario's higher overall damage output results in him being noticeably more efficient at KOing in comparison to Mario.

He also shares two useful combo starters with Mario, thanks to said moves being modified since ''Melee''. Down tilt is the most effective of the two: although it is short-ranged, it is very reliable at low to high percentages, with useful follow-ups including itself, neutral attack, up tilt, his smash attacks, back aerial, up aerial, and Super Jump Punch. Like Super Jump Punch, forward aerial can function as a KO mix-up at high percentages, but requires a [[Mindgame#Predicting|hard read]]. Up tilt can combo into itself reliably, albeit not as consistently as Mario's version because of its higher damage output. However, its higher damage output makes it better at juggling, and even enables it to function as a situational KOing option at very high percentages.

Dr. Mario possesses a decent grab game. His overall grab is range is average, but each of his grabs have minimal start-up and ending lag. Dr. Mario's pummel also has the distinction of being the most damaging in the game by default, as it is surpassed by {{SSB4|Olimar}} and {{SSB4|Shulk}}'s pummels only if they use [[Pikmin (species)|White Pikmin]] and the [[Monado Arts|Buster Art]], respectively. Forward throw is useful for initiating [[Edge-guarding|edge-guards]] and can even combo into dash attack at 0%-20%, whereas back throw is a viable KOing option at high percentages.

Like his normal self, Dr. Mario's air game is above-average. Neutral aerial is a "reverse sex kick": its clean hitbox deals minimal damage, whereas its late hitbox deals more damage. Thanks to it hitting on frame 3 and having low landing lag, its clean hitbox is ideal for set-ups. Conversely, its late hitbox is decent at edge-guarding. Back aerial is also fast; [[auto-cancel]]s with a short hop; and possesses a powerful clean hitbox, which collectively make it viable for KOing, edge-guarding and approaching. Forward aerial has considerable start-up lag, but its clean hitbox makes it the third strongest aerial of its kind, which results in it being lethal when [[Short hop fast fall L-cancel#Short hop fast fall|SHFF]]'d against unwary opponents that are near the edge.

In regard to special moves, [[Megavitamins]] travel farther in the air without landing compared to Mario's [[Fireball]], and they bounce twice instead of three times. [[Cape#Super Sheet|Super Sheet]]'s [[reflection]] hitbox has a longer duration compared to [[Cape]]'s. Due to its hitbox being positioned higher, it also has more vertical range, yet less horizontal range in comparison. Most notably, Super Sheet no longer stalls Dr. Mario in midair like it did in ''Melee''. To alleviate the removal of Super Sheet's recovery potential, [[Dr. Tornado]] is now a much more integral part of Dr. Mario's recovery, thanks to it granting him a decent amount of horizontal distance when it is button mashed sufficiently.

Unlike [[F.L.U.D.D.]], Dr. Tornado deals damage. When coupled with its very high knockback scaling, [[Autolink angle|auto-link angle]] and [[transcendent priority]], it is useful for edge-guarding, warding off edge-guarders, and even out-prioritizing attacks. However, Dr. Tornado's much shorter range makes it much riskier to use for edge-guarding compared to F.L.U.D.D. Due to [[Super Jump Punch]] consisting of a powerful clean hitbox and a weak late hitbox instead of multiple hitboxes like Mario's, it actually functions like a less polarized version of {{SSB4|Luigi}}'s Super Jump Punch. As a result, its clean hitbox makes it a viable KOing option unlike Mario's. Although it can no longer be canceled, Super Jump Punch can now be [[B-reversing|B-reversed]] upon landing its clean hitbox like Mario's can upon start-up. This makes it useful for edge-guarding, and can enable Dr. Mario to avoid punishment and/or hit an opponent behind himself upon hitting his primary target.

Ol' One-Two gives Dr. Mario a fast and extremely powerful KOing option that can KO at very low percentages, but at the cost of further hindering his already sub-par recovery. Conversely, Super Jump functions in the exact opposite way: it grants noticeably better recovery, but deals no damage. However, Soaring Tornado is arguably Dr. Mario's best custom move because of its utility. It grants noticeably better vertical recovery, has incredible edge-guarding potential thanks to its [[wind]]box and hitbox, and its hitbox is powerful enough to KO early either on-stage or off-stage. However, these benefits come at the cost of it granting no horizontal recovery. Conversely, Clothesline Tornado is effectively his worst custom move: it boasts impressive power, yet further hinders his recovery; has a shorter duration; and has slower start-up lag.

Aside from the multipliers, changes to game mechanics have indirectly buffed and nerfed Dr. Mario. [[Rage]] makes his KOing options KO even heavyweights with relative ease. Additionally, the higher damage multiplier for fully charged smash attacks makes his fully charged forward and up smashes even more potent. Lastly, the changes to shields and [[shieldstun]] supplement Dr. Mario's smash attacks by making them much better at pressuring shields. However, the removal of [[chain grab]]bing significantly worsens his up and down throws' damage racking potentials, while the removal of [[wavedash]]ing further compounds his already worsened approach.

However, several of Dr. Mario's moves have been ambivalently buffed and nerfed. Up tilt's consistent angle makes more reliable for combo, but at the cost of its versatility. Up smash is no longer a [[spike]], which makes its KO potential more consistent at the cost of significantly worsening its ability to start combos. Down smash's front hit is now a semi-spike, but has a much lower damage output. Neutral aerial's lower damage output makes its clean hitbox better for set-ups, yet removes its late hitbox's KO potential. Back aerial's clean hitbox now possesses KO potential, yet is no longer a semi-spike. Lastly, Super Jump Punch can now be [[B-reversing|B-reversed]] upon landing its clean hitbox, but at the cost of its ability to be [[Super Jump Punch#Up-B cancel|canceled]].

Despite being poor in ''Melee'', Dr. Mario's recovery also received a mix of buffs and nerfs. His jump is higher, his air speed is faster, he can now [[wall jump]] like his normal self, and [[Dr. Tornado]] can now be moved horizontally. However, Dr. Tornado now covers much less vertical distance, while [[Cape#Super Sheet|Super Sheet]] no longer stalls him in the air. As a result, Dr. Mario is forced to mix up the usage of Dr. Tornado by using it before his jump, before his double jump, or after his double jump.

*{{buff|The weakening of [[Smash directional influence|SDI]] makes down aerial significantly more difficult to escape from.}}

*{{nerf|[[Cape#Super Sheet|Super Sheet]] deals less damage (12% (near)/10% (far) → 7.84%) and has decreased knockback (30 (base)/80 (scaling) → 0/0). It also has a significantly smaller hitbox.}}

*{{buff|Aside from Dr. Mario's up tilt; forward aerial; clean back aerial; down aerial; up special; and down special, his other moves use a multiplier of 1.12×.<ref name="DamageMultiplier"/> As a result, he is significantly stronger than Mario. However, this multiplier does not apply to [[item]]s or [[Reflection|reflected]] attacks.}}

*{{change|Up aerial has less knockback (10 (base)/135 (scaling) → 9/100). Dr. Mario's up aerial also launches the opponent diagonally (45°), whereas Mario's launches them vertically (75°). These differences make its beginning frames capable of edge-guarding, and its ending frames better for aerial combos. However, they also make its beginning frames unusable for KOing, and significantly less effective for juggling and [[Short hop fast fall L-cancel#Short hop fast fall|SHFF]]'d combos.}}

*{{buff|Compared to [[Cape]], [[Cape#Super Sheet|Super Sheet]]'s reflection hitbox has a longer duration (frames 6-20 → 6-22).}}

|neutraldesc=The {{s|mariowiki|Punch}} + Punch + {{s|mariowiki|Kick}} combo from ''Super Mario 64''. It hits on frame 2, which makes it among the fastest moves in the game. Its first hit can also [[Lock#Jab lock|jab lock]] like the first hit of [[Mario (SSB4)|his normal self]]'s neutral attack. However, its higher ending lag makes it less effective at jab locking and unreliable at [[jab cancel]]ing compared to Mario's.

|dtiltdesc=A legsweep. It is Dr. Mario's best combo starter, thanks to it hitting on frame 5 and launching at 80°. It can combo into neutral attack and a grab at 0%-15%; itself, all smash attacks and Super Jump Punch at 0%-20%; up tilt, a dashing up smash, and a short hopped Super Jump Punch at low to medium percentages; and back and up aerials at medium to high percentages. It also has forward aerial as a KO mix-up at high percentages, but this requires a hard read. However, it has short range.

|nairdesc=A flying kick. It hits on frame 3, which is the lowest amount of start-up lag out of Dr. Mario's aerials. Like in ''Melee'', it is a "reverse [[sex kick]]": its late hitbox deals more damage and has more knockback, whereas its clean hitbox deals less damage and has less knockback. It can also auto-cancel with a short hop. Thanks to these traits, its late hitbox is decent for edge-guarding, whereas its clean hitbox is a useful set-up option when [[Short hop fast fall L-cancel#Short hop fast fall|SHFF]]'d and a decent combo breaker.

|ssdefdesc=Waves a white sheet in front of himself. It deals damage, [[Reflection|reflects]] projectiles with 50% more power than they originally had, and [[reverse]]s opponents. Compared to [[Cape]], its hitbox is much smaller, but its reflection hitbox has a slightly longer duration. Unlike in ''Melee'', it lacks recovery potential because it no longer stalls Dr. Mario in midair.

|ssc2desc=The sheet has emits a small gust of wind that pushes opponents back. It is one of the best edge-guarding options in the game, thanks to the sheet itself possessing an extremely strong [[Wind#Pushing attacks|pushbox]]. However, it deals less damage and has slightly more ending lag.