Zero Suit Samus (SSBU): Difference between revisions

Zero Suit Samus was previously considered a dominating top tier character throughout the lifetime of ''SSB4'' (6th out of 55 characters), with a combination of excellent mobility, impressive recovery and a highly deadly punish game that could easily turn the tables on a careless opponent. Likely as a result of this, Zero Suit Samus has received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition to ''Ultimate'', but was nerfed slightly overall.

She has received some significant direct and indirect nerfs, especially directly; the most notable ones were to her outstanding punish game, which while still potent, has been toned down overall. Her [[down throw]] has more knockback and ending lag, losing almost all its combo potential past extremely low percentages. [[Up aerial]] has more ending lag, and both her down smash and [[Flip Jump]]'s bury hitbox (especially the former) have less hitstun and knockback, worsening several of her setup moves and making it more difficult to capitalize on them and on KO confirms. Furthermore, the changes to the knockback physics make it more difficult for her to string her moves into the other. Zero Suit Samus's recovery, previously one of the best in the game, was also nerfed, as [[Plasma Whip]] takes much longer to grab an edge and has reduced tether range. Lastly, her forward smash's new sourspot and nerfs to forward aerial's power, and back aerials and [[Boost Kick]]'s hitboxes and the latter's reduced knockback (unless started from the ground), make it harder for her to score KOs, further defining one of her weaknesses in her KO ability.

However, Zero Suit Samus significantly benefits overall from the universal changes to gameplay mechanics. The faster movement speed further enhances her already excellent mobility (now possessing the 2nd fastest initial [[dash]] in the game and a good [[dash-dance]]), improving her approach and as such, her "hit and run" playstyle. The changes to [[air dodge]] mechanics improves her juggling capabilities, while not affecting her as much thanks to her great recovery and options to escape pressure. The universally reduced landing lag and more limited [[out of shield]] options allow her to retain some of her combo game while improving on her mediocre neutral game, one of her most notable weaknesses in ''SSB4''.

She has also directly received some useful buffs. [[Down tilt]], arguably her worst move in ''SSB4'', has reduced ending lag that gives it combo potential, and her up smash has reduced base knockback with significantly increased knockback scaling, turning it into a reliable all-purpose attack with combo potential at low percentages and KO power at high ones. Aside from her lost ability to string lengthy and devastating punishes off of a down throw, Zero Suit Samus' grab game has been improved as a whole — her grab, previously one of the laggiest in the game, has been sped up, making it less risky to use; [[forward throw]] sends opponents in a lower angle, granting it the ability to set up [[tech-chasing]]; and [[up throw]] has increased knockback, granting her an emergency KO move at high percentages.

Finally, her special moveset has seen many improvements, as [[Paralyzer]] charges and fires shots faster, while Plasma Whip has restored some of its lost KO power from ''Brawl'' and has a new version where opponents can be sent towards her for new setups if the button is held. Despite the nerfs to Flip Jump, it has also received some improvements. It executes faster in the air, both the jump and footstool stomp have less ending lag, and the manual kick can be inputted faster which allows her to combo into it from her neutral aerial much more consistently and take stocks at very early percentages.

In the end, Zero Suit Samus remains a high-risk, high-reward character, with her nerfs making her learning curve even higher than in ''SSB4''. Her "hit and run" gameplan has shifted from a linear one into a more dynamic one thanks to a wider and more intricate array of neutral, combo and punish options, as opposed to her more polarized kit in ''SSB4''. Aside from her watered down combo game, she retains many of her most powerful advantages from the previous game, and still performs well despite the introduction of DLC characters and slight nerfs to her through game updates. Thanks to this, while she is a slightly worse character than in ''SSB4'', Zero Suit Samus remains a very viable character.

*{{Sm|Marss|USA}} - The best Zero Suit Samus player in the world and one of the overall best players in the world prior to the pandemic. Placed 1st at {{Trn|GENESIS 7}}, 3rd at {{Trn|Pound 2019}}, {{Trn|MomoCon 2019}}, and {{Trn|Mainstage}}, and 4th at {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2019}}. Ranked as high as 3rd on the [[Spring 2019 PGRU]] and is currently ranked 17th on the [[PGRU v3 NA]].

However, the post-pandemic metagame saw a notable shift in Zero Suit Samus's reception. For one, she received nerfs to some of her best moves, hindering her combo game and KO potential; the nerfs were great enough to cause some players, including Marss and shky, to believe the character was no longer one of the best in the game. In addition, her best players slowly became less active or started to perform worse than before. In particular, Marss began shifting his focus towards content creation while Kuro and Choco began struggling to make it into the top 32 at majors. As a result, Zero Suit Samus's representation declined, from having top 10 representation in 2019 to not even breaking top 30 by 2022. The nerfs to her strongest tools and decline in results and representation mellowed out opinions on the character, with most players no longer considering her to be a top-tier. This opinion is reflected in her current placement on the tier list, where she is ranked 26th in the high tier, while also marking the first time she was ranked below her suited counterpart.