Momentum canceling: Difference between revisions

'''Momentum canceling''' is a staple [[technique]] in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]''{{'}}s [[metagame]] that reduces the momentum of a character in midair, and makes characters harder to [[KO]]. The technique essentially exploits the use of [[hitstun canceling]] to not only cancel hitstun but to also reduce the momentum they received from the knockback by executing aerials, specials, or air dodges to slow down the knocked back character. Since, in ''Brawl'', attacks and [[air dodge]]s can be performed while [[tumbling]] and reeling, it is possible to use these moves, in combination with others, to slow a character's aerial movement, and avoid crossing [[blast line]]s and being KOd. A prominent example of a momentum canceling move is {{SSBB|Mr. Game & Watch}}'s [[Oil Panic]], which negates all aerial momentum immediately, and may be used after tumbling has ended.

When combined with [[directional influence]] (DI), momentum canceling can allow characters to survive to [[damage]] percentages far higher than the percentage a character would normally (without momentum canceling or DI) be KO'd at. While less effective against attacks with high [[knockback scaling]], such as {{SSBB|Luigi}}'s [[forward smash]], this technique is essential in competitive play and helpful in casual matches.

 

 

Momentum canceling is possible due to a critical property of knockback; that is, that it still enables other sources of aerial velocity (such as falling) to build up normally, simply stacking with the velocity of the knockback, with the exception of moves such as Oil Panic which cancel it entirely. Ordinarily hitstun would prevent taking advantage of this, and hence [[fall speed]] is the only critical factor in determining overall distance once the magnitude of knockback has been calculated. However, ''Brawl'' enables the canceling of hitstun by use of airdodging and use of aerials, and once the lag from the aerial or airdodge has ended, any special move which applies a velocity to the fighter can be used to alter the overall speed of the fighter. It is also possible to immediately initiate a fastfall if the hitstun is canceled with an aerial, and assuming the player has not used up their jumps, midair jumping is also possible. Since lateral movement in the air is still disabled until such time that the hitstun would have ended automatically, the use of the initial horizontal velocity granted by jumping forwards or backwards is the only safe method of horizontal momentum canceling for characters who do not possess specials which apply a velocity to the character without causing [[helpless]]ness.

#Once knocked into the air, a character must use an aerial attack as soon as possible, to end [[tumbling]] or [[reeling]], and be able to act with other options. If knocked back horizontally, the character's fastest aerial is usually preferable, and in the case of {{SSBB|Ike}} or {{SSBB|Snake}}, an air dodge may be a better option.

#If knocked vertically, the character must initiate a [[fast fall]], which can be achieved by using the [[C-Stick]] (or the [[Wii remote]]'s [[D-Pad]]), to perform a [[down aerial]] in conjunction with the previous step. If knocked back horizontally, a [[special move]] that negates unwanted momentum should be used. If the character has none, a [[midair jump]] should instead be performed.

Each character's potential to vertical momentum cancel hinges on the difference between the speed of their regular fall and the speed of their fast fall. {{SSBB|Link}}, who possesses the largest difference, gains the most benefit from vertical momentum canceling, while {{SSBB|Wolf}}, who has the smallest difference, benefits the least. It is important to note that, despite the existence of particular special moves that negate vertical momentum, all characters can survive longer by using this basic method, except Mr. Game & Watch. However, he only survives 3% longer using Oil Panic than the basic method (though the difference would be greater in a stage with a higher ceiling).

The following chart shows each character's vertical momentum canceling abilities, and ranks them in terms of their maximum vertical endurance, that is, the highest percentage at which they can survive vertical knockback. Characters were hit by {{SSBB|Olimar}}'s down aerial using {{h2|Olimar (SSBB)|Blue Pikmin}}, from the center of {{SSBB|Final Destination}}. This information was compiled by {{Sm|Omega Tyrant}}.

| 1 || King Dedede || 176% || 195%

| 2 || Snake || 172% || 188%  

| 3 || Donkey Kong || 171% || 185%

| 4 || Link || 161% || 185%

| 5 || Captain  Falcon || 165% || 182%

| 6 || Bowser || 168% || 179%

| 7 || Ganondorf || 164% || 179%

| 8 || Ike || 163% || 178%

| 9 || Charizard || 161% || 171%

| 10 || Wario || 159% || 170%

| 11 || Yoshi  || 159% || 168%

| 12 || R.O.B|| 157% || 165%

| 13 || Samus || 156% || 164%

| 14 || Ivysaur || 154% || 164%

| 15 || Wolf || 159% || 161%

| 16 || Lucario || 152% || 160%

| 17 || Mario || 151% || 160%

| 18 || Pit || 150% || 160%

| 19 || Sonic || 150% || 159%

| 20 || Diddy Kong || 147% || 158%

| 21 || Luigi || 150% || 157%

| 22 || Ness || 148% || 157%

| 23 || Lucas || 147% || 157%

| 24 || Toon Link || 146% || 157%

| 25 || Marth || 146% || 157%

| 26 || Falco || 142% || 155%

| 27 || Pikachu || 138% || 154%

| 28 || Ice Climbers || 144% || 151%

| 29 || Fox || 134% || 150%

| 30 || Sheik || 137% || 149%

| 31 || Peach || 141% || 147%

| 32 || Olimar || 139% || 147%

| 33 || Zero Suit Samus || 138% || 147%

| 34 || Zelda || 138% || 145%

| 35 || Kirby || 134% || 144%

| 36 || Meta Knight || 135% || 143%

| 37 || Squirtle || 128% || 141%

| 38 || Mr. Game & Watch || 131% || 137%

| 39 || Jigglypuff || 123% || 128%

Horizontal momentum canceling is notably more complicated than its vertical counterpart. The most basic method is to perform a character's fastest aerial, followed by a midair jump. If this technique is performed, every character is able to survive to percentages that are at least 1% higher than in cases in which it is not. The amount that each character benefits from this basic method hinges on two factors: the speed of their fastest aerial, and the initial lateral speed granted by their midair jump, in addition to [[air friction]].

Horizontal air speed is not a helpful factor; for example, {{SSBB|Wario}} has fast horizontal air speed, but is poor at momentum canceling horizontally. It should also be noted that Ike and Snake yield better results from using an [[air dodge]] instead of their fastest aerial. Coincidentally, these two gain the most benefit from the basic method. Unlike vertical momentum canceling, there are multiple [[special moves]] that aid horizontal momentum canceling; most influence the character's movement, and a few can cancel it completely.

The following chart shows and ranks each character's horizontal momentum canceling abilities. Each test was carried out by hitting the character from the center of Final Destination with the tip of Wolf's forward smash. This information was compiled by {{Sm|Omega Tyrant}}.

<nowiki/>*''Indicates that the character does not make it back to the stage, and is KOd by the bottom blast line.''

<nowiki/>**''Indicates that without DI, the character's special move provides no additional benefit.''

If a character does not have a special move that negates momentum, their statistics in the "Special MC" columns are copies of those in the "Basic MC" columns, and are displayed in ''italics''. Note that {{SSBB|Lucario}}'s forward aerial is most beneficial when used in basic momentum canceling with no DI, but his down aerial is most beneficial when used in momentum canceling with DI. As such, his down aerial appears in the position of other characters' "Special Moves". Similarly, Snake and Ike have air dodge ("AD") displayed instead of an aerial.

| 1 || Donkey Kong / back aerial / [[Spinning Kong]] ||155% / 163%||176%||204%||189%||199%||234%

| 2 || Bowser / forward aerial / none ||157% / 165%||174%||''174%''||192%||204%||''204%''

| 3 || Yoshi / up aerial / [[Egg Roll]] ||149% / 157%||169%||181%*||181%||197%||204%*

| 4 || King Dedede / back aerial / [[Super Dedede Jump]] ||152% / 159%||165%||172%*||184%||194%||204%

| 5 || Ike / AD / [[Quick Draw]] ||147% / 153%||167%||167%**||178%||189%||203%

| 6 || Snake / AD / none ||153% / 159%||174%||''174%''||184%||201%||''201%''

| 7 || Ganondorf / up aerial / [[Flame Choke]] ||149% / 155%||165%||168%*||181%||192%||197%*

| 8 || Samus / up aerial / none ||151% / 159%||167%||''167%''||182%||195%||''195%''

| 9 || Charizard / up aerial / none ||151% / 157%||165%||''165%''||182%||195%||''195%''

| 10 || Captain Falcon / up aerial / none ||145% / 152%||164%||''164%''||178%||189%||''189%''

| 11 || Lucario / forward aerial / down aerial ||144% / 152%||164%||164%||177%||188%||188%

| 12 || Wario / forward aerial / none ||148% / 160%||163%||''163%''||184%||188%||''188%''

| 13 || Link / back aerial / none ||146% / 152%||162%||''162%''||177%||186%||''186%''

| 14 || R.O.B. / forward aerial / [[Arm Rotor]] ||149% / 155%||156%||157%||179%||180%||184%

| 15 || Mr. Game & Watch / neutral aerial / [[Oil Panic]] ||124% / 132%||140%||157%||152%||161%||184%

| 16 || Sonic / forward aerial / [[Spin Dash]] ||139% / 145%||156%||156%**||169%||179%||183%

| 17 || Diddy Kong / back aerial / [[Monkey Flip]] ||137% / 144%||153%||160%||167%||171%||182%

| 18 || Ivysaur / back aerial / none ||143% / 151%||155%||''155%''||175%||182%||''182%''

| 19 || Wolf / back aerial / none ||142% / 151%||164%||''164%''||178%||179%||''179%''

| 20 || Ness / neutral aerial / none ||139% / 147%||154%||''154%''||170%||179%||''179%''

| 21 || Lucas / neutral aerial / none ||138% / 147%||153%||''153%''||170%||179%||''179%''

| 22 || Pit / forward aerial / none ||139% / 146%||152%||''152%''||169%||179%||''179%''

| 23 || Mario / up aerial / none ||142% / 150%||160%||''160%''||173%||177%||''177%''

| 24 || Ice Climbers / up aerial / [[Squall Hammer]] ||137% / 144%||151%||156%||166%||174%||177%

| 25 || Marth / forward aerial / none ||134% / 141%||152%||''152%''||163%||176%||''176%''

| 26 || Luigi / forward aerial / none ||142% / 149%||158%||''158%''||171%||174%||''174%''

| 27 || Peach / up aerial / none ||137% / 144%||152%||''152%''||166%||173%||''173%''

| 28 || Toon Link / back aerial / none ||138% / 145%||155%||''155%''||168%||172%||''172%''

| 29 || Zelda / back aerial / none ||133% / 140%||148%||''148%''||161%||170%||''170%''

| 30 || Zero Suit Samus / up aerial / [[Flip Jump]] ||128% / 136%||145%||147%||158%||167%||169%

| 31 || Olimar / up aerial / none ||131% / 137%||144%||''144%''||158%||167%||''167%''

| 32 || Falco / up aerial / none ||128% / 135%||143%||''143%''||159%||166%||''166%''

| 33 || Pikachu / up aerial / [[Skull Bash]]||127% / 135%||143%||149%||156%||157%||165%

| 34 || Meta Knight / up aerial / [[Drill Rush]] ||126% / 133%||141%||160%||154%||156%||164%

| 35 || Sheik / forward aerial / none ||129% / 137%||143%||''143%''||163%||163%||''163%''

| 36 || Kirby / up aerial / none ||127% / 134%||139%||''139%''||155%||161%||''161%''

| 37 || Fox / up aerial / none ||123% / 132%||138%||''138%''||158%||158%||''158%''

| 38 || Jigglypuff / back aerial / [[Pound]] ||120% / 127%||131%||131%**||146%||150%||155%

| 39 || Squirtle / up aerial / none ||123% / 131%||141%||''141%''||153%||154%||''154%''

{{SSBB|R.O.B.}}'s side special very mildly negates horizontal momentum, but does not move him far or put him into a [[helpless]] state. While only marginally beneficial, it does not pose any threats to R.O.B.'s recovery.

The {{SSBB|Ice Climbers}}' side special will negate horizontal momentum a small amount. When using the move together, the Ice Climbers are able to return to the stage, but a solo Climber cannot. Squall Hammer is moderately risky when used for momentum canceling, as it puts Ice Climbers into a helpless state upon its completion, which can be dangerous.

{{SSBB|King Dedede}}'s up special negates a decent amount of horizontal momentum, despite projecting him upwards. When using the move to momentum cancel, Dedede cannot return to neutral stages without DI. It is possible to do so with DI, but this may require the player to carefully time its cancel in order to grab a ledge without [[self destruct]]ing. The Super Dedede Jump moves Dedede quickly, and it can be difficult for an unprepared opponent to punish. However, its use it still risky, as performing it without the use of DI is often fatal, and using the move after being knocked offstage by too weak a hit can result in punishment.

{{SSBB|Pikachu}}'s side special negates horizontal momentum moderately, and does not leave him helpless. The move has a large amount of ending lag, so its use could leave Pikachu close the stage and vulnerable to reactive opponents if used after non-lethal knockback. However, Skull Bash is still considered one of the safer momentum canceling moves.

The following video demonstrates the momentum canceling ability of Donkey Kong's Spinning Kong.

 

{{#widget:YouTube|id=TyLBM5d1-20}}

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Ultimate, it instantly cancels all of Byleth's knockback (both horizontal and vertical) in the same fashion Spinning Kong, Egg Roll, Fire Fox/Bird/Wolf, and Lloid Rocket does.

 

[[Category:Advanced techniques]]