Fox (SSBU): Difference between revisions

|tier = S

|ranking = 5

Fox is ranked 5th out of 82 on the [[tier list]] placing him in S tier. This is a slight improvement from his placement in ''Smash 4'' where he was ranked 7th/8th out of 54 and tied with {{SSB4|Sonic}}. Fox's biggest strengths revolve around his phenomenal movement options, stellar frame data, and high [[damage]] output, which gives him the ability to overwhelm opponents easily and allows him to have one of the best [[Neutral game|neutrals]] and advantage states in the entire game. Fox also has several ways to kill reliably thanks to his powerful and quick [[Smash attack|smash attacks]] and his notoriously safe [[Back aerial|back aerial]] at [[Ledge|ledge]]. Finally, Fox's [[combo]] and [[juggling]] game also greatly benefits from universal changes made in the transition from ''Smash 4'' to ''Ultimate'', such as the game's increased speed, reduction to [[landing lag]], and [[airdodging]] nerfs.

Overall, Fox's strengths outweigh his weaknesses, and he has garnered several strong results from players such as {{Sm|Light|p=Connecticut}} and {{Sm|Paseriman}}.

Possibly because of his top tier status in ''Super Smash Bros. 4'' (7th out of 55th tied with Sonic), Fox has received a mix of buffs and nerfs in his transition to ''Ultimate'', but his viability was relatively unchanged. His moveset has been revamped in several ways that, while leaving his core playstyle relatively unchanged, alter the way he has to execute said playstyle, and the revamped engine further compounds this, causing him to be a more polarized character.

Fox's buffs primarily come from his moveset's improved versatility. [[Blaster]]'s shots travel farther and the move has less endlag, granting him a far better camping tool. His primary KO options in his [[forward smash|forward]] and [[up smash]], as well as [[Fire Fox]], now have increased knockback, which has overall further improved his KO power. Down tilt had its knockback and angles altered, whereas dash attack has less ending lag, making both much more viable combo starters overall. In addition, [[Reflector]]'s startup has been cut in half and grants him [[intangibility]] (reminiscent of his ''Melee'' incarnation), allowing him to escape combos easier and edgeguard more safely.

Fox also greatly benefits from many of the changes to ''Ultimate''{{'}}s gameplay mechanics. The universal increase to horizontal mobility has especially improved his previously lackluster air speed, while making his grounded speed even faster. The ability to use any attack out of a run drastically benefits his boxing game and further improves his grounded moveset's utility and combo ability, giving him far more options than he had to pressure the opponent on the ground. The universal reduction to landing lag also improves his aerial game's combo ability by giving him, but most importantly, it improves his already great safety on shield -despite the reduced [[shieldstun]] on aerial attacks-. Finally, the revamped [[air dodge]] mechanics notably benefit his powerful juggling options.

However, Fox has also received many glaring nerfs as well, the most significant ones being to his survivabilty, the ability to combo into his finishers, and the ability to easily [[jostle|cross-up]]; many of the changes to gameplay mechanics further compound these issues. Fox is even lighter and his gravity now matches that of his ''Melee'' incarnation, worsening his already bad endurance, while both [[Fox Illusion]] and Fire Fox travel a shorter distance and Reflector now only allows stalling once, making him easier to edgeguard. All of this, combined with the ability to use only one air dodge before landing or getting hit, the smaller sizes in stages' edges, and the fact enough downwards velocity now causes opponents to be KOd faster from the bottom blast line, means Fox's survivability is much worse than before. Conversely, while Fox's KO potential was improved, he has also lost several KO confirms due to his moveset's worsened combo potential outside of down tilt and dash attack; [[forward tilt]]'s altered knockback reduces its combo and KO potential and almost completely removes its locking potential, one of down tilt's hitboxes that could lead into up aerial at high percentages was removed, and [[up tilt]] can no longer lead into KO setups as easily due to its altered knockback and its altered hitbox placements rendering it unable to hit opponents hanging on an edge or during their 2-frame vulnerability. Finally, the removal of [[frame canceling]] and the changes to [[reeling]] animations no longer being untechable have drastically worsened his down aerial's combo ability.

Fox's dash attack, despite being faster, is now almost unable to cross-up opponents (unless they're small or thin) due to its higher shieldstun and the changes to jostling mechanics, and Fox Illusion can no longer bypass shields, making it much more difficult for him to recover back on-stage by crossing the opponent up, and instead making it much easier to punish him. Other nerfs also include the worsening of his already poor grab game, with his grabs having even less range, [[back throw]] being worse for edgeguarding, and the faster knockback physics completely removing down throw's combo potential when combined with its unfavorable angle and Fox's slower initial dash. Up smash's animation was also made faster with the hitbox duration unchanged, which while making it easier to hit opponents behind him, it also makes the clean hit slightly harder to land; the move also no longer grants intangibility to Fox's head during startup, making it a less effective anti-air.

Overall, Fox is a more polarized glass cannon; most of his tremendous strengths and advantages remain, and some of his moves have increased utility, but his key weaknesses are also significantly more exploitable, and he has an even harder time getting out of disadvantage; all these changes result in Fox's moveset having many more and versatile options, but also mean he now has to play more carefully in order to gain or retain the advantage, and the revamped mechanics compound both points.  

|fsmashname=Leg Shot ({{ja|レッグショット|Janpu Saido Kikku}})

SSBUFoxIdle1.gif|Fox's first idle pose

SSBUFoxIdle2.gif|Fox's second idle pose

*{{Sm|Kaninabe|Japan}} - A newer player compared to other Fox players but has been one of the best Fox players in Japan since mid-2022. He has placed top 8 consistently at superregionals and has also done well at majors, notably placing 7th at the supermajor {{Trn|Maesuma TOP 11}} and 9th at the majors {{Trn|Seibugeki 13}} and {{Trn|UltCore}}.

*{{Sm|Light|USA|p=Connecticut}} - The best Fox player of all-time who has been a top 10 player for most of the game's lifespan, and is currently the only Fox player who has won a major.

*{{Sm|Paseriman|Japan}} - The second best Fox player of all-time who was in contention for the best in 2020, ranking above Light at 11th on the [[OrionRank Pre-Quarantine]] thanks to a string of strong performances, most notably 4th at the supermajor {{Trn|EVO Japan 2020}} and 9th at the supermajor {{Trn|Frostbite 2020}}. However he has never been able to reach those heights after 2020, and he has also picked up {{SSBU|Diddy Kong}} as a co-main.

However, the second half of 2019 saw a noticeable decline in Fox's results as his weaknesses, such as his exploitable recovery and his fragile weight, became more apparent. Players either began performing worse with Fox or began picking up other characters to complement Fox; most notably, the second half of 2019 saw some of Light's worst results of his career, while ZD's results took a noticeable hit and he also began playing {{SSBU|Wolf}}. Despite these negatives, there were still some positives for the character during this time, such as several strong results coming from Light and the rise of {{Sm|Lui$}} in mid-2019 and {{Sm|Paseriman}} in 2020, with the latter most notably putting Light's title of "best Fox player" in contention. Nevertheless, Fox's worse representation led many players to rank Fox lower on their tier lists, with Light himself believing the character was only high tier at best.

Since 2019, Fox's results have remained in a weird spot. Fox's best results in the post-online metagame have since surpassed what he had in the early metagame thanks to the efforts of Light, who abused Fox's strong neutral game and advantage state to place top 8 at most majors he attended, including winning a few of them. On the other hand, Fox's other players have yet to achieve the consistency and results as Light: Paseriman's major results have fluctuated between really strong (such as 3rd at {{Trn|Kagaribi 6}}) to really underwhelming (such as 257th at {{Trn|Umebura SP 9}}); newer Fox players such as {{Sm|Kaninabe}} are also less consistent; and Lui$ eventually dropped the character in favor of {{SSBU|Palutena}}. As such, although Fox was ranked 5th on the current tier list as a top-tier character, his representation remains somewhat underwhelming for a top 5 character, having been ranked mid-10s to high-20s in the post-online metagame. Nevertheless, opinions on Fox have since improved from his slump in mid-2019.