Reflection
Reflection is a phenomenon wherein one fighter gains control of an enemy's projectile and uses it as their own attack. Most, but not all projectiles reverse direction upon being reflected, sending them back to their original users.
To be reflected, a projectile must come into contact with an attack or object that reflects, such as the aptly-named Reflector, Ness's forward smash, or a character wearing a Franklin Badge. Most reflectors increase the damage done by projectiles, while some also increase their speed. Projectiles can be reflected from any direction, and can be reflected multiple times to multiplicatively increase the damage dealt.
In SSB64 and Melee, if a projectile is too strong for a reflector, the reflector breaks as if it was a shield and stuns its user. From Brawl onwards, the projectile simply ignores the reflector and hits its user anyway. In the case of Ness's or Lucas's forward smash, should the overpowered projectile collide with the move's hitbox without striking the user, he will undergo a proportionally-substantial amount of lag due to being outprioritized.
Reflectors are generally very useful moves, as they help prevent projectile camping and spamming. As such, characters with reliable reflectors tend to have better matchups against characters that rely upon projectiles, such as Samus, than those who lack a reliable reflector.
In addition to the above, Villager and Isabelle are able to grab projectiles and items and store them for later use via Pocket. While not strictly a reflector, retrieved projectiles gain a 1.9x damage multiplier generally associated with reflectors.
In Ultimate, a visual indicator in the form of a flashing blue hexagon (referencing Fox's Reflector) was added to all reflecting moves when struck by a projectile as an indicator that the item was reflected with the damage multiplier appended accordingly.
List of reflectors
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Reflectors only available as custom moves are in italics.
- ^ a b c d e Does not change the ownership of certain projectiles reflected.
- ^ a b Only reflects physical projectiles. Absorbs energy-based projectiles.
- ^ Selected randomly through Command Selection.
- ^ Only available while Arsene is active.
- ^ In Melee, simply reverses projectiles without changing their owner.
List of reflectable attacks
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This article or section is incomplete. You can help SmashWiki by expanding or finishing it. The editor who added this tag elaborates: Final Smashes and Custom Moves, Smash Run enemies, needs Super Smash Bros. Ultimate update |
These attacks are also blocked by the shields worn by Link (Melee onwards), Young Link, Toon Link, and Hero.
- ^ When fully charged, cannot be pocketed or inhaled
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Does not change trajectory when reflected.
- ^ When reflected, Waddle Dees and Waddle Doos will not switch ownership.
- ^ In Brawl, Water Gun is only reflectible when at least partially charged.
- ^ Only the bombs themselves, not their explosions, can be reflected.
Trivia
- Not counting Melee's powershield, since Zelda's Nayru's Love and King Dedede's Inhale in Ultimate are the only neutral special reflection moves, they are the only reflection moves that Kirby can copy or use.
- Pit is the only character to have different reflectors between games.
- Prior to version 1.0.8 of Smash 4, all but the final hit of Zoroark's Fury Swipes were technically considered projectiles. By wearing a Franklin Badge, a character trapped by Zoroark would only take damage from the final hit of the attack.
