Port priority

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A Wii with its GameCube controller ports exposed. P1 to P4 are arranged from left to right.

Port priority (also known as controller slot priority) is a set of rules that determine the outcome of certain situations between characters, during matches. These rules are based on the numbered player ports (slots) in which each player plugs in, or occupies with their controller, and these are represented by P1, P2, P3 and P4 with respect to the first, second, third and fourth ports. CPU players may also occupy these ports, and are affected by port priority in the same ways as human players.

In the Super Smash Bros. games, the outcome of certain concurrent events, such as two characters being KOd or attempting to grab each other simultaneously, are determined by port priority. For unknown reasons, in Brawl port priority also influences the outcome of situations in which two characters are attacked during a grab, through an effect known as Faux Super Armor.

Concurrent events

During gameplay, certain events may occur at the same time, that is, on exactly the same frame. While the result of simultaneous attacks is resolved through the laws of attack priority, the outcome of other concurrent events, such as two characters attempting to pick the same item up, are determined by port priority. It should be noted that the probability of two such events occurring on the same frame is extremely low, since one frame is equal to 1/60th of a second.

Grabbing

If two opponents attempt to grab each other and both grab hitboxes connect at the same time, only one player will end up grabbing the other, since two players cannot be grabbing and grabbed at the same time. The above also applies to two players' simultaneous use of Mewtwo's Confusion. Port priority determines that the player with the lowest port - that is, closest to P1 - is awarded with the grab: this essentially means that P1 is always awarded with the grab, and P4 is never awarded with it. In this case, P1 > P2 > P3 > P4.

Unusually, Dr. Mario's down throw in Melee is also affected by port priority when performed on Mr. Game & Watch: if the Dr. Mario player's port is the lower one the knockback will behave as it does on all other characters, but if the Game and Watch player's port is the lower one the knockback will behave in the same manner as Fox's down throw.

Two characters attacking a third

If two characters attack a third and both attack hitboxes are within priority range and connect with this character at the same time, the trajectory of the third character's knockback will only be affected by a single attack, not both. The third character will be projected by the knockback of the attack from the player with the lowest port. Note that regardless of their trajectory, the third character will still take damage from both attacks.

Picking items up

If two or more characters attempt to pick the same item up from the ground at the same time, only one character will acquire the item. Under these conditions, the player with the lowest port will acquire the item. Note that different characters pick items up at different speeds.

Landing in the same space

If two or more airborne characters attempt to land in the exact same place on the ground, some characters may be pushed left or right upon landing. This is because two characters may not occupy the same space while standing on the ground. The players with the lower ports always get pushed to the left.

Transformations

In Brawl, if two players attempt either to transform between Sheik and Zelda, or switch between the Pokémon Trainer's Pokémon at the same time, the player with the lowest port always finishes their transformation first. This issue is caused by the fact that Brawl loads these characters during gameplay, as opposed to before matches begin, and the Wii may not have enough memory to load two or more characters simultaneously.

KOs

Port priority determines the winner in certain cases of simultaneous KOs, including those that involve the use of suicide techniques. In this field, its influence in Melee differs from that in Brawl. In Melee, the outcome of simultaneous KOs during normal stock matches is not determined by port priority, regardless of their causes. However, when a match involving two players is tied and Sudden Death is initiated, if both players are KOd at the same time, the player with the lowest port wins the match. In Smash 64 however, the player with the highest port wins the match; matches won't even go to Sudden Death. In addition, Smash 64 ranks each player based on port; so in a 4 way tie P4 would get first place, P3 gets second, P2 earns third and P1 is stuck with last place.

Unlike Melee, the winner of a simultaneous KO during a Sudden Death match in Brawl is random, and unaffected by port priority (aside from Kirby's up throw; where the player with the highest port wins). However, in the NTSC and NTSC-J versions of Brawl, it does affect the use of Bowser's Flying Slam as a sacrificial KO technique. If, during a stock match involving two players, Bowser uses Flying Slam to sacrificial KO on both players' last stocks, Bowser will either win or a Sudden Death match will be initiated. In this scenario, if the Bowser player's port is lower than that of his or her opponent's port, the Bowser player wins the match. However, if the Bowser player's port is higher, Sudden Death initiates. In the PAL version of Brawl, the use of Flying Slam in the aforementioned manner will win Bowser the match regardless.

Faux super armor

Faux super armor (abbreviated to FSA) is an effect in Brawl that protects one player from the knockback and status ailments of external hazards and third party attacks during a grab, regardless of which character has grabbed the other. Players with FSA still take damage from interrupting attacks, and will undergo a grab release animation if their opponent is knocked, but will not otherwise be affected. Port priority determines that the player with the highest port, closest to P4, receives FSA during a grab. In this case, P4 > P3 > P2 > P1.

Examples:

• Falco (P2) grabs Ike (P3) and while Falco is holding Ike, another player, Lucas, attacks them with PK Freeze. Since Ike (P3) has a higher port than Falco (P2), Ike receives FSA, so he is released and takes damage from Lucas' attack, but is otherwise unaffected. Falco, however, will take damage as well as being knocked into the air and becoming frozen.
• Toon Link (P1) pulls out and holds a bomb. Lucario (P4) grabs him, and while he is holding Toon Link the bomb explodes. Lucario (P4) receives FSA and only takes damage, but Toon Link (P1) incurs knockback and a fire ailment from the bomb.
• Snake sticks a C4 onto Meta Knight (P2). Meta Knight then grabs Diddy Kong (P1), and uses his up throw. This causes both he and Diddy to rise above the stage, and while they are high in the air, Snake detonates the C4. Since Meta Knight has FSA, he falls to safety while Diddy is KOd by the upper blast line, from the C4's knockback. This trick is nicknamed the "Omnigay" after Omni.

In competitive play

In most competitive matches (excluding Brawl doubles matches and singles matches featuring Snake, playing with the lowest controller port (closest to P1) is considered to be advantageous, as a lower port will allow a player to beat out their opponent if both attempt to grab each other or grab a ledge at the same time. Port priority allows the player with the lower port to hold the advantage in these specific situations, but these occur infrequently and are considered to have a miniscule effect on gameplay. Despite being advantageous, the lower port is generally not contested at the beginning of a set, as calling for port (or winning the rights to it, either by rock-paper-scissors or by scoring a higher number on Mr. Game & Watch's Judge) requires the player to give up stage striking advantage to the opponent. The stage chosen tends to have far greater influence in the outcome of a match than port priority, so players are generally content to give up port priority to the opponent in favor of stage striking. In mirror matches, port priority becomes more contested, as the neutrality of the matchup nullifies stage advantage. Doubles sets arrange team players in a "1221" fashion (with one team using P1 and P4, while the other team uses P2 and P3) to balance out the effects of simultaneous grabbing.

However, in Brawl, due to the effects of FSA, port priority is of significant importance during competitive doubles matches, and singles matches that involve Snake, since he can summon powerful explosives. Faux super armor can be used to advantage, if a player launches a powerful attack at a teammate holding an lower-priority opponent in a grab; the attack will hit both players, but the higher-port teammate will survive with no knockback, while lower-port player will be launched, allowing for easy KO setups. This can be seen in the notorious (Omnigay) technique, where a Snake player (P1) can stick a C4 onto their ally Meta Knight or Kirby (P4), and detonate it during the partner's up throw, killing the opponent in port P2 or P3 at as low as 0%. In addition, if a Snake player gets grabbed while holding a Grenade, the hitboxes of pummels and throws are often enough to detonate it, and at high percents, this could result in the lower-ported player being KOed, while the higher-ported player survives.

Consequently, additional rules are enforced in tournaments to ensure fairness. The losing side is allowed to choose ports for the next game, potentially creating a significant swing in favor of the losing player or team in a Snake matchup.

The impact of FSA is significant enough to create slight imbalances in the Snake ditto matchup, where an unfavorable Hand Grenade trade can result in the lower-port player being KO'd while the higher-port player survives. As a result of FSA's effects, Snake is considered the only character to have an uneven matchup when fighting against himself; the Snake player using the higher port is considered to have a slight advantage.