Meta Knight (SSB4): Difference between revisions

'''Meta Knight''' ({{ja|メタナイト|Meta Naito}}, ''Meta Knight'') is a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]''. After initially being teased as a {{SSB4|Mii Fighter}} costume in a [[List of Director's Room Miiverse posts|Director's Room Miiverse post]] on August 11, 2014, his return to the series was announced in a Director's Room Miiverse post two days later.

However, Meta Knight received heavy nerfs in the transition to ''SSB4'', likely owing to his dominance in ''Brawl''. His outstanding frame data and range, long-distanced recovery and overall damage output have been toned down, while his [[approach]] has been weakened because of the total removal of {{s|wikirby|Galaxia}}'s [[Priority#Transcendent priority|transcendent priority]]. When combined with his continued lack of a [[projectile]], these changes result in Meta Knight having a more difficult time overcoming [[camping]] strategies. Meta Knight's very quick falling speed is also a double-edged sword: while it is an important aspect of his mobility, it is also detrimental because of his light [[weight]], as it leaves him vulnerable to both combos and KOs. His endurance is also exacerbated by the nerfs to his recovery, with the most notable example being the removal of [[Glide|gliding]].

Due to his attack speed, Meta Knight is also renowned for his incredible combo potential, with the ability to get very early KOs with guaranteed followups. He additionally has notable finishers: his forward smash has high power and very low ending lag, making it spammable and hard to challenge even if shielded. His up smash is one of the fastest smash attacks in the game and has good power. His back aerial is very deadly offstage due to its high knockback scaling, and its [[autolink angle]] allows it to drag opponents downwards while edgeguarding or to force a [[lock]]. Though less effective, Dimensional Cape, neutral aerial and up throw can still KO. However, his Shuttle Loop is his most frequently used KO move, owing to the numerous setups into it; it is additionally a powerful out of shield option due to its speed, range, and power.

Meta Knight's grab game is effective. While his pummel is slow and his standing grab range is short, the former is highly damaging and the latter is made up for by his long-ranged dash grab. His forward and down throws can combo into other moves even at higher percentages, his back throw is useful for launching opponents off-stage, and his up throw can KO at very high percentages so long as it lands on a platform. Partly due to his throw set-ups, Meta Knight possesses a good combo game. He can launch opponents into the air with his dash attack and throws, and these moves can combo into his up tilt, up smash, any aerial, [[Mach Tornado]] and Shuttle Loop, and his up aerial can reliably lead into his other aerials. His back aerial uses the [[autolink angle|auto-link angle]], allowing Meta Knight to drag opponents to the ground and [[jab reset]] with his down tilt, and the latter move can [[Tripping|trip]] opponents and lead into combos, before opening up [[tech-chase]]s at high percentages. With proper mastery of his combos, he can potentially [[Combo#Types of combos|zero-to-death]] his opponents, most infamously with the [[Rufio]], a staple combo in his metagame that consists of a series of up aerials, which can then lead into a Shuttle Loop near the upper blast line for a virtually ensured KO.

==Changes from ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]''==

===Aesthetics===

===Attributes===

*{{nerf|Meta Knight [[walk]]s slower (1.22 → 1.18).}}

*{{nerf|Meta Knight's [[air acceleration]] is lower (0.08 → 0.075), although his faster air speed more than compensates for it.}}

*{{buff|Meta Knight is slightly [[weight|heavier]] (79 → 80).}}

*{{change|Meta Knight's [[gravity]] is higher (0.0956 → 0.11). This aids in his ability to land safely, but hinders his endurance, increases his susceptibility to combos and reduces the height of his mid-air jumps.}}

*{{buff|Meta Knight's full hop is higher despite his higher gravity.}}

*{{buff|Backward roll has less ending lag (FAF 34 → 28).}}

*{{nerf|Forward roll has more ending lag (FAF 24 → 28), removing its status as the fastest roll.}}

*{{nerf|Air dodge has a shorter duration (frames 4-29 → 2-25).}}

*{{buff|[[Spot dodge]] has less ending lag (FAF 26 → 25).}}

*{{nerf|Spot dodge has a shorter duration (frames 2-20 → 2-15).}}

*{{nerf|Meta Knight's [[item throw]] is weaker (1 → 0.9333333). When combined with the removal of [[glide toss]]ing, this hinders his item game (although Meta Knight still retains his lengthy super glide toss).}}

*{{buff|The changes to [[hitstun canceling]] and [[Directional Influence]] both help and hinder Meta Knight. They improve his KO and combo potential, but make him much more susceptible to combos because of his heavier weight, higher gravity and faster falling speed. These changes also prevent him from performing momentum canceling, hindering his horizontal endurance. Nevertheless, it benefits him overall as it allows him to have a more consistent combo game despite his frame data nerfs.}}

*{{buff|The strengthening of [[pivoting]] improves Meta Knight's neutral game, punishment game, and evasiveness.}}

===Ground attacks===

*[[Neutral attack]]:

**{{change|Neutral attack's animation has slightly changed. Meta Knight now leans slightly farther inward while swinging Galaxia.}}

***{{nerf|However, the move's angle change also removes its ability to [[lock]] opponents.}}

**{{buff|The third and fifth hits now hit in front of Meta Knight. This makes the move connect much more reliably as there is no longer a large gap between the second/fourth hits and the next hit that hits in front.}}

***{{buff|This also leaves Meta Knight much less vulnerable to whiff punishment due to the shorter gap between every hit in front of him.}}

***{{nerf|However, this also removes the move's ability to hit opponents behind Meta Knight.}}

**{{buff|Neutral attack has larger hitboxes (5u → 5.8u/6.8u) that are now extended.}}

**{{buff|Every hit now has identical horizontal hitbox positions (z offset: 6/14.8 (hit 1)/7.2/14.8 (hit 2)/0/-3.6/-9.2 (hit 3)/7.2/13.6 (hit 4)/-2/-10.4 (hit 5) → 8.5/13.5 (all)/z stretch: 8/8 (all)). This gives hits 3-5 more range in front of Meta Knight and it gives hits 2 and 4 more range inside of Meta Knight.}}

***Hits 1 and 2 retain their range in front of Meta Knight as the far hit's larger hitbox equals out its closer placement.

***{{nerf|However, this also gives hit 1 slightly less range inside of Meta Knight as well as removing hits 3 and 5's ability to hit behind him.}}

***{{buff|The move as a whole has much more vertical range relative to Meta Knight overall due to the far hit's larger extended hitbox.}}

**{{nerf|The first hit and the near hitbox on every hit deals less damage (2% → 1.2%).}}

**{{nerf|The finisher has a much higher [[Freeze frame|hitlag]] multiplier (1x → 2.5x), making it much easier to DI.}}

*[[Forward tilt]]:

**{{change|Meta Knight now vocalizes during each of forward tilt's hits, instead of only during its last hit.}}

*[[Up tilt]]:

**{{buff|Up tilt has less ending lag (FAF 36 → 35).}}

**{{buff|Down tilt deals more damage at far range (4% → 5%).}}

**{{buff|Down tilt has higher base knockback outside of the furthest range (11/6 → 15).}}

**{{nerf|Down tilt deals less damage at close range (6%/7% → 5%).}}

**{{nerf|Down tilt has a lower [[trip]] chance (30% → 25%).}}

*[[Dash attack]]:

**{{nerf|Dash attack has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 5-11 → 7-11).}}

*[[Forward smash]]:

**{{buff|Forward smash deals more damage (14% → 16%) and knockback (28 (base), 99 (scaling) → 30/(108/98), significantly improving its KO potential, especially the near hit.}}

**{{change|Forward smash's hitboxes are positioned lower (y offset: 6.4 → 5).}}

**{{nerf|Forward smash has a shorter duration (frames 24-25 → 24).}}

**{{nerf|The far hitbox is now extended and it has been positioned closer to Meta Knight (z offset: 19 → 13/z stretch: 17), reducing the move's range.}}

**{{nerf|The near hitbox has a higher hitlag multiplier (1× → 1.5×), making it easier to DI.}}

*[[Up smash]]:

*[[Down smash]]:

**{{change|Down smash now has a voice clip as Meta Knight performs his down smash. While this sound clip does exist in ''Brawl'', it would never play in game as it was tied to the move's startup animation which was 0 frames long.}}

**{{nerf|Down smash has a shorter duration (frames 4-5 (front)/9-10 (back) → 4/9).}}

===Aerial attacks===

*[[Neutral aerial]]:

*[[Forward aerial]]:

*[[Back aerial]]:

*[[Up aerial]]:

*[[Down aerial]]:

===Throws/other attacks===

*[[Grab]]s:

**{{nerf|All grabs have more startup lag (frame 6 (standing)/8 (dash)/7 (pivot) → 7 (standing)/9 (dash/pivot)).}}

**{{buff|Standing grab extends further inside of Meta Knight (z offset: 6 → 4), giving it more range inside of him.}}

**{{buff|Dash and pivot grabs extend further away from Meta Knight (z offset: 9 (dash)/-14 (pivot) → z stretch: 10.8/-15), giving dash grab slightly more range.}}

**{{nerf|Up throw deals less damage (12% → 10%), although its knockback scaling was compensated (60 → 70).}}

*[[Down throw]]:

**{{buff|The 10th hit has a longer duration (frame 73 → 73-74).}}

**{{buff|The 10th hit has higher base knockback (50 → 60).}}

**{{change|The 10th hit launches opponents at a lower angle (90° → 70°). This grants Meta Knight more followup options against bystanders but makes it more susceptible to DI.}}

***{{buff|When combined with its higher launch angle an the changes to hitstun canceling and DI, this significantly improves down throw's combo potential despite its higher knockback.}}

===Special moves===

*[[Mach Tornado]]:

**{{change|Mach Tornado's visual effects have slightly changed. Its trail is now noticeably thinner.}}

*[[Drill Rush]]:

*[[Shuttle Loop]]:

*[[Dimensional Cape]]:

**{{change|Dimensional Cape's animation has slightly changed. Its non-attacking warp now has Meta Knight face the opposite direction upon reappearing, whereas warping downward from a stationary position on the ground also no longer has him attack behind himself. Conversely, its attacking warp now has Meta Knight perform an upward slash upon reappearing when warping backward (which does not change his direction), whereas his prior slash animation now only applies to a stationary or vertical orientation. Meta Knight also holds Galaxia differently during the attacking warp upon reappearing when warping forward.}}

*[[Galaxia Darkness]]:

**{{buff|Galaxia Darkness no longer attacks Meta Knight's teammates if [[Team Attack]] is turned off.}}

**{{change|Galaxia Darkness' visual effects have changed. The interior of Meta Knight's cape now features a celestial pattern.}}

**{{change|Characters trapped by Galaxia Darkness will now react to being trapped by the move, as opposed to remaining static.}}

==Update history==

'''{{GameIcon|ssb4-3ds}} [[1.0.4]]'''

*{{buff|Neutral attack's loop hits deal 0.2% more damage|1%|1.2%; its loop hits' knockback scaling decreased: 40 → 30; its last hit's hitbox size increased: 5.7u → 8u; its ending lag decreased: frame 47 → 35; its SDI multiplier decreased: 1× → 0.6×; and its hitboxes split to cover more space. Altogether, these changes improve its damage racking potential, range and safety.}}

*{{buff|Forward tilt's last hit deals 1% more damage|3%|4% and its last hit's ending lag decreased: frame 41 → 31.}}

*{{buff|Neutral aerial's landing lag decreased|20 frames|16.}}

{{MovesetTable

|game=SSB4

|neutral1dmg=1.2% (loop)

|neutral2dmg=2% (last)

|ftiltname= 

|ftiltcount=3

|dsmashname= 

|dsmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|7}} (front), {{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|10}} (back)

|nairname= 

|nairdmg=10% (clean), 7.5% (late)

|fsdesc=Swings his cape in front of himself. If the cape touches any nearby opponents, they will be trapped and the screen will then fade to black. After a few seconds, Meta Knight performs a very powerful slash to the trapped opponents that ignores [[Armor|super armor]] and is strong enough to KO grounded middleweights at 80%. If his cape does not to make contact, Meta Knight pauses for a brief time, and Dimensional Cape fails. Any opponents who are not trapped are also attacked, but instead receive vastly less damage and weak, vertical knockback. However, the weaker attacks can also be avoided by dodging with correct timing.

}}

===[[On-screen appearance]]===

|char=MetaKnight}}

===[[Official Custom Moveset Project]]===

{{OfficialCustomMoves

}}

===Tier placement and history===

However, Meta Knight's status went into a sudden decline after his up aerial combos, which were pivotal to his success, had been nerfed in update [[1.1.5]]. As a result, several of his best players either began to co-main him (such as {{Sm|Tyrant}} adopting Sheik and {{SSB4|Diddy Kong}}), transition him into a secondary (such as MkLeo adopting {{SSB4|Cloud}} and {{SSB4|Marth}} as his new mains), or even drop him entirely (such as {{Sm|Katakiri}} and {{Sm|Seibrik}}). Although Meta Knight has maintained his high-tier status throughout ''SSB4''{{'}}s lifespan thanks to his solid punishment game, popularity as a counterpick to Rosalina & Luma, and his playerbase consistently achieving good results, he has steadily dropped on subsequent tier lists regardless. He has since dropped to 13th on the second tier list, then to 14th on the third tier list and, despite Leo bringing better results after using him once again, he has recently dropped once again to 16th on the fourth and current tier list, although this was before Leo's stellar performance with Meta Knight at [[2GG Championship]].

==In [[Event Match]]es==

*Meta Knight has a few distinct aspects that differ from {{SSB4|Kirby}} and {{SSB4|King Dedede}}:

**He does not have a conventional [[meteor smash]].

**He retained his Final Smash.

**He has recycled voice clips.