Perfect shield: Difference between revisions

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*For '''direct non-projectile''' attacks, the attacker experiences 14 extra frames of hitlag, while the defender experiences 11 extra frames. As a result, the defender can act '''3''' frames earlier than shielding the attack normally. Although this difference in itself is minimal, perfect shielding still lets the user bypass shield drop lag with any attack like in previous games (compared to only aerial attacks, up smash, and up special), which is a more valuable attribute in ''Ultimate'' due to it having been increased, making perfect shielding much more advantageous for punishing usual direct attacks than shielding normally.
*For '''direct non-projectile''' attacks, the attacker experiences 14 extra frames of hitlag, while the defender experiences 11 extra frames. As a result, the defender can act '''3''' frames earlier than shielding the attack normally. Although this difference in itself is minimal, perfect shielding still lets the user bypass shield drop lag with any attack like in previous games (compared to only aerial attacks, up smash, and up special), which is a more valuable attribute in ''Ultimate'' due to it having been increased, making perfect shielding much more advantageous for punishing usual direct attacks than shielding normally.
*For '''indirect non-projectile''' attacks (such as {{SSBU|Zero Suit Samus}}' [[down smash]], {{SSBU|Mii Gunner}}'s [[back aerial]], and {{SSBU|Bayonetta}}'s [[smash attack]]s), the attacker experiences 14 extra frames of hitlag, and the defender experiences 2 frames more. This allows the defender to act '''12''' frames earlier than shielding it normally, leaving these moves even more punishable by perfect shielding.
*For '''indirect non-projectile''' attacks (such as {{SSBU|Zero Suit Samus}}' [[down smash]], {{SSBU|Mii Gunner}}'s [[back aerial]], and {{SSBU|Bayonetta}}'s [[smash attack]]s), the attacker experiences 14 extra frames of hitlag, and the defender experiences 2 frames more. This allows the defender to act '''12''' frames earlier than shielding it normally, leaving these moves even more punishable by perfect shielding.
*For '''direct projectile''' attacks (such as {{SSBU|Isabelle}} and {{SSBU|Snake}}'s [[up smash]]es), the attacker is not affected, while the defender experiences 11 extra frames of hitlag. This causes the user to act '''11''' frames ''later'' by comparison, making perfect shielding strictly worse for punishing these attacks than normal shielding.
*For '''direct projectile''' attacks (such as {{SSBU|Isabelle}} and {{SSBU|Snake}}'s [[up smash]]es), the attacker is not affected, while the defender experiences 8 extra frames of hitlag. This causes the user to act '''8''' frames ''later'' by comparison, making perfect shielding strictly worse for punishing these attacks than normal shielding.
*For '''indirect projectile''' attacks (usual projectiles), the attacker is not affected, while the defender experiences '''2''' extra frames of hitlag. As a result, perfect shielding any kind of projectile is less optimal for punishment than shielding them normally, just not by as much against indirect ones.
*For '''indirect projectile''' attacks (usual projectiles), the attacker is not affected, while the defender experiences '''1''' frame ''less'' of hitlag. As a result, like with direct attacks, perfect shielding traditional projectiles offers an advantage over shielding them normally, albeit not as significant.


Update {{SSBU|3.0.0}} of the game attempted to increase perfect shielding's advantage against both direct and indirect projectiles by 3 frames, so that the user could act 8 frames later and 1 frame earlier (respectively) than shielding them normally. Although this change was (vaguely) documented on [https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/45075 Nintendo's official patch notes], it was [https://twitter.com/Meshima_/status/1295503881661644800 discovered nearly a year after the update] that it only applied to [[Training]] mode, and was thus irrelevant in competitive play. Perfect shielding's lack of utility against projectiles is often cited by competitive players as a reason for the viability of [[camp]]y playstyles in ''Ultimate''.
Prior to update {{SSBU|9.0.0}}, perfect shielding's advantage against both direct and indirect projectiles was 3 frames lower, so that the user could act 11 and 2 frames later (respectively) than shielding them normally, making it less effective against [[camp]]ing. Although update {{SSBU|3.0.0}} allegedly increased these advantages to match the current versions, which was (vaguely) documented on [https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/45075 Nintendo's official patch notes], it was [https://twitter.com/Meshima_/status/1295503881661644800 discovered nearly a year after the update] that these changes only applied to [[Training]] mode, and were thus irrelevant in competitive play; it was not until 9.0.0 that they applied to every game mode.


With perfect shielding now being tied to the shield drop animation, certain limits have been implemented to it. If an attack is shielded normally, perfect shielding is disabled on a subsequent shield drop unless it is done at least 3 frames after shieldstun ends, preventing characters from easily perfect shielding multi-hit moves that do not possess enough shieldstun to keep opponents trapped inbetween their hits. Similarly, from version 3.0.0 onward, multiple perfect shields cannot occur within the same shield drop. An exception is if the first hit of a move with multiple hits separated by only one frame is perfect shielded on the first shield drop frame, which causes the next hit to automatically be perfect shielded as well; an example of a move that can trigger this is {{SSBU|Wolf}}'s [[forward tilt]].
With perfect shielding now being tied to the shield drop animation, certain limits have been implemented to it. If an attack is shielded normally, perfect shielding is disabled on a subsequent shield drop unless it is done at least 3 frames after shieldstun ends, preventing characters from easily perfect shielding multi-hit moves that do not possess enough shieldstun to keep opponents trapped inbetween their hits. Similarly, from version 3.0.0 onward, multiple perfect shields cannot occur within the same shield drop. An exception is if the first hit of a move with multiple hits separated by only one frame is perfect shielded on the first shield drop frame, which causes the next hit to automatically be perfect shielded as well; an example of a move that can trigger this is {{SSBU|Wolf}}'s [[forward tilt]].