Piranha Plant (SSBU)/Down smash

Hitbox visualization showing Piranha Plant's down smash.

Overview

Piranha Plant swings its pot around itself. Being its fastest smash attack, it is also its weakest, however it is still quite powerful, dealing more damage on the second hit than the first. It launches opponents at a low angle, which when combined with its low hitbox, makes it great for hitting ledge hanging opponents, or for 2-framing. It can also be used as a read tool, such as reading rolls behind with the back hit, or crossups. It also low-profiles Piranha Plant, giving it strange use as an option to cover landings, which can at times make it better than up smash due to its far better horizontal reach and faster startup. Down smash is also Piranha Plant's least laggy smash attack.

Down smash has certain flaws however. The most notable flaw is that it doesn't hit every ledge hang in the game, meaning it also can't 2-frame every character. This limits its use at ledge against those who can avoid it simply by hanging onto the ledge, and forces Piranha Plant to go for more riskier options, such as down aerial. It also possesses deceptively low range, as while the hitboxes cover the pot, the trail effect ingame is far larger than the hitboxes.

Update history

8.0.0

• Down smash has less startup (frame 12 → 10), with its total duration reduced as well (FAF 46 → 44).

Hitboxes

ID	Part	Rehit rate	Damage	SD	Angle	Angle type	BK	KS	FKV	Set weight	Radius	Bone	Offset			H×	SDI×	T%	Clang	Rebound	Effect	Type	G	A	Sound	Direct	Hit bits	Hit part	Blockable	Reflectable	Absorbable	Flinchless	No GFX	Heedless
Hit 1
0	0	0	12.0%	0		Forward	25	100	0		5.0	top	0.0	4.0	12.5	1.0×	1.0×	0%							Kick		All	All
1	0	0	12.0%	0		Forward	25	100	0		4.0	top	0.0	3.5	7.5	1.0×	1.0×	0%							Kick		All	All
Hit 2
0	0	0	14.0%	0		Backward	25	100	0		5.0	top	0.0	4.0	-13.5	1.0×	1.0×	0%							Kick		All	All
1	0	0	14.0%	0		Backward	25	100	0		4.0	top	0.0	3.6	-8.5	1.0×	1.0×	0%							Kick		All	All

Timing

Charges between	5-6
Hit 1	10-11
Hit 2	14-15
Interruptible	44
Animation length	66

Legend (1 square = 1 frame)

Lag time

Charge interval

Hitbox

Interruptible

Piranha Plant's moveset

Neutral attack (1 · 2 · 3 · inf) · Forward tilt (1 · 2) · Up tilt · Down tilt · Dash attack · Forward smash · Up smash · Down smash
Neutral aerial · Forward aerial · Back aerial · Up aerial · Down aerial
Grab · Pummel · Forward throw · Back throw · Up throw · Down throw
Floor attack (front) · Floor attack (back) · Floor attack (trip) · Edge attack · Footstooled attack
Neutral special · Side special · Up special · Down special · Final Smash