King K. Rool (SSBU)/Dash attack

Hitbox visualization showing King K. Rool's dash attack.

Overview

A belly-first lunge based on his attack from Donkey Kong Land. It covers a good distance and has incredibly fast start-up for its power (comes out on frame 7), but has very high ending lag.

Dash attack has Belly Super Armor - the highest amount in K. Rool's kit in fact - allowing it to tank opposing hits (especially projectiles). This makes it a formidable burst option in neutral, but it is a risky approach due to the FAF of 61. To make matters worse, the active frames for the armor come back to bite him when it has low HP, with it potentially breaking if abused too much. It also deals much less damage later into the attack, which can be unsafe on hit at lower percentages. Due to this, K. Rool players tend to use dash attack as a predictive tool to stuff habits, in a similar manner to Banjo & Kazooie's Wonderwing.

Dash attack also crosses up shields consistently and has a shieldstun multiplier of 1.15x. This makes it a bit safer on shield than it would be, but remains more of a surprise option to exploit reaction time. This is because it remains -37 on shield on the early hit. For it to be a reliable crossup, the King K. Rool player must space dash attack to cross up at a precise distance, which isn't always something the king can afford to do in high intensity matches. As such, it is often relegated to a niche option for shock factor, that doubles as a knowledge check.

The long lasting hitbox on dash attack makes it a premier ledgetrap tool for King K. Rool, especially since it hits the ledge against some characters^[1]. Due to its kill power and high general knockback, it makes it great on reaction and can end stocks solely through normal ledgetrapping. This is matchup defining for the character.

Dash attack is useful as a combo ender, specifically out of moves like Blunderbuss's Kannonballs, Crownerang and forward throw. All of these make substantial use of the early hit's damage output, with Crownerang being able to confirm the early hit at low percentages through Crown Sliding. Forward throw into Instant Dash Attack is among the best bread and butter combos for K. Rool, being consistent on a large majority of the cast and landing him around 30% right out of the gate. Kannonballs often lead into dash attack's late hit, which is handy for extra damage buildup at mid percents where the late hit becomes safe on hit.

The move KOs Mario at 114.6% at the edge of Final Destination with optimal DI (up and in, a trait common with 45 and 50 angle moves), making it a very good move to use out of down throw through Instant Dash Attack, as it kills larger characters earlier than forward tilt. This is considered the optimal way to use down throw "true" confirms. Due to how fast dash attack is on startup, it can also be used as a bread and butter combo against worse mashers.