Projectile

Sephiroth's Gigaflare is an example of a projectile.

A projectile is an attack or object that operates independently of the character that used it. A majority of characters in the Smash series have at some point used at least one projectile as part of their moveset, as well as many items and stage hazards utilizing projectiles.

Overview

An object is considered a projectile when it fully separates from a character and is no longer fully controllable by the player, but still has a hitbox. A rule of thumb is that projectiles are able to be reflected, with a majority of them also being able to be absorbed. If a projectile is reflected, ownership is changed to the opponent and all cases where ownership is relevant now applies to said opponent. There are some fringe cases where an object that looks like a projectile is not in practice, like Sephiroth's Gigaflare stops being a projectile upon exploding, but these cases are few and far between. Projectiles can vary greatly in size, shape, speed, and interaction depending on its intended purpose.

The main purpose of a projectile is for long-range combat. A character with a projectile can attack opponents in a situation where they may not be able to attack back, giving a tangible advantage if the opponent is reckless. Projectiles are also great for applying pressure. In an effort to not be hit by a projectile, an opponent will either have to shield or dodge a specific way, both strategies carrying significant risks that can be exploited by a player well versed in matchup knowledge.

A majority of characters have at least one projectile attack, while some have two or even three. If a character were to have a projectile attack, it is most likely the neutral special attack. It is generally considered a disadvantage to lack a projectile (with there being 13 characters who do not have a projectile), as these characters can be easily walled out and unable to approach a player who runs away and camps, making getting in close enough to actually deal damage a slow and risky process. they can be very useful in both approaching and camping out opponents' approaches. Projectiles also cause the target to take hitlag while the user does not, which allows a few free frames of action.

As projectiles are (in general) considered indirect attacks, the vast majority of enemies in the Subspace Emissary resist them outside of any weak points they may have — in fact, only Porky, Meta Ridley, and Tabuu do not. Projectiles are also generally special moves executed with the special move button, but some characters such as Snake, Olimar, Villager, and Mega Man have standard attacks that are projectiles.

Projectiles used by characters

This article or section is incomplete. You can help SmashWiki by expanding or finishing it. The editor who added this tag elaborates: needs a list for items, stage hazards, and bosses

This table includes all non-Final Smash projectiles for every character, as well as some important properties of each. Note that, while a projectile may not be absorbable, that does not exclude the ability to be Pocketed. Any character not listed has never been able to spawn a projectile under normal circumstances.

Character	Projectiles	Reflectable	Absorbable	Unique/Special Properties
Banjo & Kazooie	Egg Firing / Breegull Blaster
	Shock Spring Jump (aerial usage)
	Rear Egg			The explosions can be absorbed
Bayonetta	Bullet Climax			Chargeable, though that only affects the first two shots. Pressing the special move button repeatedly causes her to continue firing.
Bowser	Fire Breath			Size and length decreases as Bowser continues to breathe, and releasing the special move button causes the move to passively charge up over time
Bowser Jr.	Mechakoopa
	Abandon Ship!			The Clown Car becomes a projectile after being abandoned.
	Clown Cannon
Byleth	Failnaught		/	Only the max charged arrows can be absorbed.
Charizard	Flamethrower			Can be tilted up and down. Can be held forever, but fire length gradually decreases.
	Rock Smash fragments
Cloud	Blade Beam
Corrin	Dragon Fang Shot			Only the projectile attack can be absorbed. Can be charged to change size and damage.
Daisy	Toad			The spores produced on a successful counterattack are projectiles.
	Vegetable			Produces a vegetable item, and rarely Bob-ombs or Mr. Saturns.
Dark Pit	Silver Bow			Chargeable and controllable. Can be held for a slightly limited time, and can be aimed up.
Dark Samus	Charge Shot			Follows straight trajectory; chargeable. Can be charged while on the ground or in midair. Fired at a lower elevation compared to Samus.
	Missile			Can fire a homing missile or super missile.
	Bomb			Detonates either instantly upon contact with an opponent or after a set period of time.
Diddy Kong	Peanut Popgun			Can be charged, which increases damage and speed while flattening the movement angle, but charging too much causes the move to fail. Can be grabbed and subsequently thrown as an item. The overcharge explosion in SSB4 cannot be reflected or absorbed.
	Banana Peel			Produces a Banana Peel.
	Rocketbarrel Boost (when the barrels come off)			Has a random trajectory. Cannot be shielded. The barrels explode when crashing into the stage, which can be absorbed in SSB4.
Dr. Mario	Megavitamins			Affected by gravity, and bounces on the ground.
Duck Hunt	Trick Shot			Can be launched higher and/or farther by pressing the special move button repeatedly. Explodes after a while, or if it hits an enemy. The explosion alone can be absorbed, but the hit right before it cannot.
	Clay Shooting			The clay pigeon is shot if the special move button is pressed, and the resulting explosion of the pigeon can be absorbed. If hit by an attack (including ones that normally would reflect projectiles), then it breaks automatically.
	Wild Gunman
Falco	Blaster			Follows a straight trajectory, and causes flinching. The lasers are also used in his back, up, and down throws, and can also be reflected and absorbed in said moves.
	Reflector			Considered a projectile in Brawl and SSB4. Reflectors do not affect the trajectory, but they will reflect the hitbox.
	Up throw (blaster)			The lasers fired from the blaster are projectiles
	Back throw (blaster)			The lasers fired from the blaster are projectiles
	Down throw (blaster)			The lasers fired from the blaster are projectiles
Fox	Blaster			Follows a straight trajectory, and does not cause flinching (except in Smash 64). The lasers are also used in Fox's back, up and down throws from Melee onward, and can also be reflected and absorbed in said moves.
	Up throw (blaster)			The lasers fired from the blaster are projectiles
	Back throw (blaster)			The lasers fired from the blaster are projectiles
	Down throw (blaster)			The lasers fired from the blaster are projectiles
Greninja	Water Shuriken
	Hydro Pump			Does not cause flinching.
Hero	Frizz/Frizzle/Kafrizz
	Woosh/Swoosh/Kaswoosh
	Command Selection (Snooze)			Puts opponents to sleep
	Command Selection (Sizz)
	Command Selection (Sizzle)
	Command Selection (Bang)
	Command Selection (Kaboom)
	Command Selection (Whack)			Can instantly KO opponents
	Command Selection (Thwack)			Can instantly KO opponents
Ice Climbers	Ice Shot			Bounces off shields, causing it to travel the other direction. Hugs the ground, following a straight trajectory.
	Blizzard
Inkling	Splattershot			Requires ink to use.
	Splat Bomb			A projectile that explodes after a fixed time. The bomb needs a certain amount of ink to be activated, and if the Ink Tank does not have enough ink, Inkling cannot throw a bomb. Its trajectory can be controlled by how long the player holds the special button.
Isabelle	Dash attack			Trips and drops a small pot.
	Forward aerial			Fires a slingshot pellet.
	Back aerial			Fires a slingshot pellet.
	Lloid Trap			Planted in the ground and shoots out vertically. Activates when someone steps over it.
Ivysaur	Bullet Seed			Can be held for limited time.
	Razor Leaf			Goes farther if the control stick is flicked.
Joker	Eiha/Eigaon			A slow-moving projectile which does a small amount of damage when it connects, but deals continuous damage for a short amount of time. With Arsène active, the move becomes Eigaon, which covers more distance and travels faster. It also does more continuous damage.
	Grappling Hook			Reflectors will block the Grappling Hook, but will not harm Joker.
Kazuya	Devil Blaster			A long ranged projectile that can fire straight ahead, or it can be angled upward or downward.
	Up throw (laser)			The beam is identical to Kazuya's Devil Blaster.
Ken	Hadoken			A slow, blue energy projectile. Input Hadoken is larger and deals more damage.
King Dedede	Inhale (spit-out character)			Spits in a straight trajectory.
	Waddle Dee Toss	/	/	Affected by gravity, and can be angled up or down, and shortened or lengthened. Waddle Doos' Beam Whip can be reflected or absorbed, Gordos and thrown items can be reflected, while tossed Waddle Dees and Waddle Doos cannot.
	Gordo Throw			Can be reflected by any attack that deals at least 2%.
	Super Dedede Jump (stars produced)
King K. Rool	Blunderbuss			Can be sucked back in, and be shot again in certain directions. If a Kannonball hits something, it'll fall down and retain its hitbox until it disappears.
	Crownerang			Tries to return to King K. Rool. Grants King K. Rool damage based armor (12%) starting at frame 6 that lasts up until the move ends. Crown will always try travel in its general direction, and can't be stopped by other attacks, but it can still be reflected. If King K. Rool fails to catch the crown, it'll become an item that can be picked up by other players. The move can't be used again until King K. Rool retrieves the crown.
Kirby	Inhale (spit-out character and swallow)			The character turned into a star will be shot out of Kirby's mouth in a straight trajectory in front of him if he spits that character out. If he swallows a character, the star will appear behind him with the same properties but with much shorter range. If reflected and it hits Kirby, he will keep his copy ability, but the swallow animation will stop a few frames earlier.
	Final Cutter (shock wave)			Produces a wave after Kirby touches the ground, hugging it and following a straight trajectory.
	May copy another character's neutral special projectile.
Link	Forward smash			Shoots a spinning Sword Beam, which only comes out when Link is at 0% damage.
	Boomerang/Gale Boomerang			Tries to return to Link. Can be angled. In Brawl and SSB4, it produces a windbox effect on return.
	Bomb			Produces a Bomb, which acts as an item. It explodes after seven seconds, and can deal self-damage.
	Bow/Hero's Bow/Bow and Arrows			Can be charged, and held forever (or for three seconds in Ultimate) before releasing. The charge affects the firing speed and distance. Affected by gravity, and stops moving when it hits the ground. In Ultimate, arrows dropped on the ground or attached to a wall become throwable items, and two arrows can be fired at once if Link uses his neutral special while holding an arrow.
	Remote Bomb			A bomb that bounces off opponents and has to be detonated by pressing down special again. Cannot be detonated when held or during special fall.
Lucario	Aura Sphere			Waves up and down slightly; moves perfectly straight when fully charged. Can be held indefinitely, which damages foes who touch the projectile.
	Force Palm's aura			At close range, grabs the opponent instead of spawning a projectile.
Lucas	PK Freeze