Knockback
- "Launch" redirects here. For the Ultimate tournament, seeTournament:Launch.
Knockback (officially referred to as alaunch distance inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate) is the measure of how far an attack sends its target. For most attacks, knockback increases as damage on a character increases. An example of an attack with high knockback isBowser'sforward smash; it launches opponents very far, so far that at high damages it's more powerful than aHome-Run Bat'ssmash attack.Pikachu'sneutral attack, on the other hand, has very low knockback - it hardly sends opponents anywhere, even at ludicrous damages. Attacks with relatively low knockback tend to be good forcombos.
Basic physics[edit]
The knockback of almost every attack works in tandem with the target'sdamage - it increases as the target's damage gets higher. It is also affected by the target'sweight,gravity, and a few other conditions (such astype effectiveness). While not the primary factor, the damage dealt by an attack is a significant factor in how much knockback it deals - this is the reasonstale moves have less knockback than fresh ones, and the reasonsmash attacks deal significantly more knockback when fullycharged.
Each hitbox of a move has two knockback values: abase knockback and aknockback scaling (also known asknockback growth). Base knockback (officially referred to asundamaged launch distance inUltimate) is the minimum amount of knockback the attack can deliver under normal circumstances, and knockback scaling is a factor that controls how much the knockback increases as damage increases.
Moves with high base knockback can deal high knockback (such as performing a forward smash with theHome-Run Bat), even against fighters who haven't taken much damage, and tend to be more effective at KOing when fighters can easily be sent flying at low damage percentages (such as against lighter fighters, when near the edge of the stage, or when a fighter ishandicapped to sustain more knockback). They are also useful for positional advantages or to set upedgeguarding, as victims can be sent a sufficient distance away from the stage regardless of percentage. Tiny-sized fighters are usually the most vulnerable to getting KO'd by high base knockback attacks, due to having reduced weight, and an increased knockback taken multiplier.
On the other hand, moves with high knockback scaling can reach KO potential more quickly (such as Luigi's forward smash), especially if they have a high damage output, and tend to be more effective at KOing when fighters need to take greater knockback than what a high base knockback attack can deliver on its own (such as against heavier fighters, when far away from a stage's blast line, or when a fighter is handicapped to sustain less knockback). Advanced techniques to extend survival, such asDI andmomentum canceling, are also less effective the stronger a move's knockback scaling is.
InMelee, the highest knockback delivered and received by each character is given in a match'sresults screen, labeled as "Fastest Pitch" and "Top Speed" respectively, though the numbers lack meaning. InBrawl, the velocity applied (in units per 1000 frames) is provided instead of the knockback value (though it's simply knockback divided by 0.03). The unit is given as "mph"; while this would presumably mean "miles per hour", this is obviously not the case, as a 1,000 mph hit would barely send characters anywhere. InSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, knockback units are again shown without a meaning, while inSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U, they are measured in "mph" as inBrawl, though in a lower scale. Strangely enough, knockback for a same move between the two games is actually shown in different scales:Ganondorf'sWarlock Punch, for instance, scores 102 units of knockback againstMario at 0% damage (without other modifiers) inSmash 3DS, while scoring 53 mph under the same conditions inSmash U. Despite these differences among games, they all internally use the same knockback measurement units in accordance to the knockback formula, as evidenced by moves with unchanged damage and knockback values throughout them (such asJigglypuff'sback throw fromMelee toSmash 4) keeping their knockback identical.
The following table gives an idea of various knockback strengths:
| Knockback | Velocity | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 333.33 | One stage builder block per second |
| 33.6 | 1120 | Jigglypuff'sshort hop |
| 43.2 | 1440 | Jigglypuff's first jump |
| 63 | 2100 | Fox dashing (without running) |
| 80.0001 | 2666.67 | The minimum amount of knockback required to causetumbling |
| 102.6 | 3420 | Falco's first jump |
| 131.43 | 4381 | Sheik'sfootstool jump |
| 172.5 | 5750 | The approximate knockback needed to KO from the center ofFinal Destination with theSakurai angle DI'd down. |
| 186 | 6200 | The approximate knockback needed to KO from the center of Final Destination with the Sakurai angle and no DI. |
| 204.75 | 6825 | The approximate knockback needed to KO from the center of Final Destination with the Sakurai angle DI'd away. |
| 300 | 10000 | Jigglypuff'sshield jump |
InSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, whenhitstun exceeds 32 frames, the process of the character getting launched is sped up for a duration proportional to the hitstun inflicted. This is especially noticeable near KO percentages, where characters fly away very quickly, then come to a stop almost immediately, effectively causing the launch to execute much faster. The effect is also more noticeable for moves which have high hitstun modifiers, such as Isabelle's neutral attack, which can even trigger the effect before the knockback is strong enough to cause tumbling. Because of this change, the hitstun they experience scales much more slowly at higher knockback values. According to directorMasahiro Sakurai, this change was implemented to increase the overall speed of the game, by reducing the time during which launched characters are incapacitated.[1] The visual and mechanical differences this effect causes on knockback are notorious enough that it is often dubbed "balloon knockback" by the community, as it has similar physics to hitting a balloon in real life. Moves withset knockback retain traditional knockback physics.
Launch rate[edit]
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- Launch rate is not to be confused withhandicap.
Launch rate, also known asDamage % inSuper Smash Bros. andDamage Ratio inMelee andBrawl, is a feature in allSuper Smash Bros. games that alters how much knockback is given and received (despite its name inMelee andBrawl, damage is unaffected).
All knockback in a match is multiplied by the launch rate value, which by default is 1.0×. This value can be set from as low as 0.5× (attacks have half knockback) to as high as 2.0× (attacks have double knockback). The minimum launch rate is ideal forcombos, while the maximum launch rate is ideal forKOing opponents at extremely lowpercentages. However, the latter also affected attacks withset knockback up untilSmash 4 andUltimate, causing multihit attacks to not always combo into each other.
In competitive play, nonstandard launch rates are difficult to detect during games, which has led to some tournament matches unintentionally having been played at an incorrect launch rate. A notable example of this was a set betweenArmada andSilentSpectre atPound 4 in 2010 that was played at 0.9×; this remained undiscovered for nine years. The infamous matches betweenkomorikiri andCaptainZack, andZeRo andDabuz atGENESIS 4 are more recent examples. Both matches were being played at a launch rate setting of 0.9×. The latter match gained notoriety, and soon became an inside joke in the community.
There has been some discussion amongBrawl's competitive community as to whether using a launch rate value other than the default 1.0 results in a more healthy metagame; 1.1× is a commonly-mentioned value claimed to make many polarizing attack chains (such as using Sheik's forward tilt into itself endlessly) less viable while also shortening the length of stocks. The idea has never attained serious consideration among tournament organizers.
Angle indicator[edit]
Visual effects known asangle indicators show when a hitbox collides with an opponent; as its name suggests, the angle indicator shows the angle of said hitboxes. InBrawl, angle indicators show different colors depending on who or what they hit. For player one, the angle indicator is red, with the second player's indicator being blue, and so forth. Computer-controlled opponents and objects likeSandbag have white angle indicators. Angle indicators appear inSuper Smash Bros. as small "bubbles" appearing in the direction of the angle. InSmash 4, angle indicators appear as colorful, stylized "debris" flying off of an impact.
Smoke trails also indicate the angle at which a character is knocked away, but only appear when a character has taken a lot of damage, and are thus much less useful. InSmash 4, said smoke trails at higher knockback values are accompanied by thick light trails, colored depending on the player that dealt the knockback.
Note the downward facing lines that indicate Donkey Kong'smeteor smash.
Formula[edit]
SSB[edit]
Melee onward[edit]
Starting inBrawl, a second formula is also used to alter knockback based on the target'sgravity:
The result of this formula increases vertical launch speed if the target enters tumble. As a result, characters with higher gravity get launched faster than those with lower gravity, depending on how vertical the angle is, resulting in fighters with higher gravity stats having worsened vertical survivability, seemingly as an attempt to normalize the effect of combos and multi-hit moves on characters of differing gravity. This formula is also applied to moves that launch opponents downwards, though since vertical launch speed is negative in this case, the result of the formula effectively decreases it slightly instead, reducing the effectiveness ofmeteor smashes on fast fallers.
InUltimate, moves that launch at angles between 70° and 110° now instead cause characters' falling speeds to be homogenized to a set value of 1.8 during hitstun. Furthermore, the additional launch speed from the gravity formula is no longer applied. As a result of these changes, falling speed no longer plays as much of a factor on determining a characters' vertical survivability, and moves that deal vertical knockback are generally easier to survive compared toBrawl andSSB4, thus making vertical survivability among the cast much more consistent than in previous games. Note that weight-independent moves do not homogenize falling speeds or use the different gravity value, so gravity and fall speed (especially the latter) still have an impact on the vertical survivability against those moves.
Variables[edit]
- p is the percentage of the target, counted after the attack's damage is added. InStamina Mode this is set to 20.
- InMelee,p is floored pre-hits percentage + sum of hitbox damage(s) dealt to the character that frame, including staling and other modifiers.
- d is the damage the attack dealt.
- InSSB andMelee, it is the full damage without countingstale-move negation, except forprojectiles, which use the stale damage and other possible modifiers.
- InBrawl, it is the damage including the staleness or the freshness bonus.
- InSmash 4 andUltimate, it is the damage including 0.3x of the staleness or freshness bonus.
- w is theweight of the target. It is set to 100 if the attack is weight independent. Note that inSSB, heavier characters have a lower weight value than lighter ones, in accordance with the formula.
- s is the attack's knockback scaling (also known as knockback growth) divided by 100 (so a scaling of 110 is input as 1.1).
- b is the attack's base knockback.
- r is a series of ratios based on a number of factors, including:
- Difficulty
- Handicap (inSSB andMelee)
- Single-player mode conditions (e.g. inMelee'sEvent 24: The Yoshi Herd, allYoshis give x0.5 knockback while taking x3.7 knockback)
- Launch rate (between x0.5 and x2.0)
- Crouching penalty/Crouch cancel factor (x0.67 inSSB, x0.666667Melee, and x0.85 inSmash 4)
- Smashcharge interruption bonus prior toUltimate (x1.2,Melee onwards, applied if the opponent was charging a smash attack when hit)
- Frozen penalty factor (x0.25 inMelee). Characters in frozen state take reduced knockback.
- Type effectiveness (x1.1 for super effective, x0.9 for not very effective, specific toCharizard,Ivysaur, andSquirtle inBrawl)
- Size changes made by theSuper Mushroom,Poison Mushroom, andLightning Bolt (less knockback is dealt to giant-sized fighters, while tiny fighters take more knockback than normal)
- Rage (between x1 and x1.15 inSmash 4 and between x1 and x1.1 inUltimate)
The total amount of knockback dealt can also be subtracted by the target'sknockback resistance, which is applied after all the other calculations have been made. However, hitboxes that have thebury effect can ignore the knockback resistance.
If the move has a fixed knockback value set, thend is set to that value, andp is always 10. As a result, the knockback dealt is independent of current damage, damage dealt, and ignores stale-move negation's knockback modifiers. However, it still remains dependent on other factors.
To determine how far a character is launched away, the numerical amount of knockback caused is multiplied by 0.03 to calculatelaunch speed, and the initial value of launch speed then decays by 0.051 everyframe, so that the character eventually loses all momentum from the knockback. During this time, character-specific attributes such asair friction are disabled; however,falling speed still takes effect, giving fast fallers better endurance against vertical knockback than others of their weight.
Deadly Blow[edit]
Deadly Blow is an aesthetic effect inSmash 4 andUltimate. Attacks dealing strong enough knockback to KO opponents before they can act afterwards produce a red-and-black lightning effect on contact. This effect tends to appear slightly after the actual damage percentage at which an attack can start KOing. For example,Jigglypuff'sRest can KO Mario on the 3DS version'sFinal Destination with no DI starting at 60%, but the effect doesn't appear until 62%.
This effect works depending on the distance required to KO the character rather than the actual strength of the knockback; for example, a forward or back throw towards a walk-offblast line will trigger the effect if the throw effectively KOs, even at low damage percentages where it would be otherwise very weak, while strong attacks launching foes from one side of the stage to the other will not display the effect if they don't KO, even if the knockback is strong enough to do so otherwise. Attacks thatfreeze do not produce this effect at any percentage, instead simply causing the screen to flash white. Meteor smashes also do not produce the effect until higher percentages.
The Deadly Blow activating does not necessarily guarantee a KO. The game does not consider stage walls, ceilings, or other obstacles that can otherwise change the trajectory of knockback (thereby preventing or causing a KO) when determining whether the lightning appears.DI Is also not taken into account, meaning players can still save themselves after the effect is displayed if the attack can just barely KO them.
InUltimate, when a move is expected to end the match (that is, when all remaining opponents are on their last stock and hits the last character not already in lethal knockback or aStar KO), this effect is accompanied by a dramatic slowdown alongside a red background and a unique, much more intense sound effect, with the camera zooming in on the character. This is referred to asFinish Zoom byMasahiro Sakurai and his development team.
Other physics of knockback[edit]
| This article or section may require additional technical data. The editor who added this tag elaborates:Knockback reduction from bounce off a surface inSSB You can discuss this issue on thetalk page oredit this page to improve it. |
- Bouncing off a surface reduces knockbackby 20% inMelee andSmash 4 and 15% inBrawl and 5% inUltimate. Landing ameteor smash orspike on a grounded opponent counts as a bounce, if enough knockback was dealt. Because the bounce occurs after the hit, the amount ofhitstun suffered is not reduced a corresponding amount, meaning that downwards-hitting attacks tend to be excellent combo starters.
- InMelee, bouncing off a floor from spike only reduces vertical component of knockback velocity by 20%. Meanwhile, bouncing off walls and ceilings reduces total velocity by 20%.
- In all games, the screen will commonly flash white when a character receives knockback that is greater than or equal to 160 units; however, the screen will flash into a different color when they're launched far by an elemental attack (i.e. red forflame attacks, blue forelectric attacks, etc.).
- InBrawl, characters that take enough knockback to be senttumbling will slightly damage opponents they run into while flying. This hitbox belongs to the character that dealt the knockback, and inflicts minor damage (usually from 1% to 4%) and knockback depending on how powerfully the character was launched. This is also present inMelee andSmash 64, but only applies to characters who receive knockback after athrow (not countingspecial move grabs likeFalcon/Dark Dive andKoopa Klaw). This property was later removed inSmash 4, where launched opponents simply fly through other characters like in previous games.
- A similar effect is used against enemies inThe Subspace Emissary,Smash Run andMaster Fortress, known ascareening, or thecannonball effect inSmash 4. When an enemy is defeated, it is sent flying at an angle (depending on the attack that KO'd it) and deals major damage to other enemies it runs into, before disappearing.
- Characters witharmor will take no knockback, or reduced knockback.
- InSmash 4 andUltimate, characters at higher percentages deal slightly more knockback, a factor popularly known as "rage".[2] InSmash 4, rage starts building up at 35% damage and caps at 150%, at which the character deals 15% more knockback than normal, or 10% more inUltimate.
- Characters in the background plane ofJungle Hijinxs take more knockback.
- InSmash 4,launch speed influence can increase launch speed to a maximum of x1.095 by holding up on thecontrol stick, or decrease it to a minimum of x0.92 by holding down. From update1.0.4 onward, this does not apply if the target is launched at an angle between 65° and 115°, or between 245° and 295°.
- InSmash 4,buried characters take 30% less knockback from attacks, provided these are strong enough to hit them out of said state.
Set knockback[edit]
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Set knockback, also referred to asfixed knockback, is a property of some attacks where the amount of knockback dealt by the attack is always the same regardless of the damage the opponent has received so far,stale-move negation, or how much damage the attack does. Moves with this property can be thought of as only having base knockback with no scaling, though this is actually not the case. Usually, set knockback is used for the first hits of anatural combo or multi-hit move, while the last hit deals normal knockback (sometimes called "scaling knockback" to contrast), to make it easier for the entire attack to hit regardless of the opponent's damage. While damage is not a factor for set knockback, the character'sweight still is, so the termsweight-dependent set knockback orweight based knockback are sometimes used. Starting inBrawl, the effect of Damage Ratios (Launch Rates) for fixed knockback was drastically reduced, to the point where the in game Damage Ratio setting would have only a small effect on their knockback. Additionally, Shulk's SmashMonado Art is ignored entirely inSmash 4. However, other modifiers on knockback, such as rage, crouch cancelling, or smash attack charging bonus are still calculated normally, which in the case of rage can lead to unintended early KO setups in normal gameplay. InUltimate, the effect of both types of knockback modifiers on set knockback was removed altogether, so set knockback is much harder to modify.
List of set knockback moves[edit]
Super Smash Bros.[edit]
With the exception ofCaptain Falcon, all characters inSuper Smash Bros. have at least one move with set knockback.
Donkey Kong'sdash attack,Spinning Kong, andHand Slap.
Fox's down angledforward tilt,down aerial,up aerial (first hit),Blaster andReflector.
Jigglypuff'sdown aerial (all but landing hit).
Kirby'sFinal Cutter (excluding the projectile),up aerial,forward aerial (all but last hit),neutral aerial (landing hit),down aerial (landing hit), andInhale.
Link'sup smash (first two hits).
Luigi'ssourspottedSuper Jump Punch,dash attack,down aerial, andtaunt.
Mario'sSuper Jump Punch (all but last hit),down aerial, andMario Tornado.
Ness'PK Fire (all but first hit).
Pikachu'sforward aerial.
Samus'sup aerial andScrew Attack.
Yoshi'sup tilt,down tilt,Egg Lay, andYoshi Bomb (stars).
Super Smash Bros. Melee[edit]
Bowser'sneutral attack (first hit),down aerial's looping hits andup throw.
Captain Falcon'sneutral attack (first and second hits),up smash (first hit),neutral aerial (first hit) and his uncharged smash attack with aHome-Run Bat.
Donkey Kong'sHand Slap.
Dr. Mario'sneutral attack (first and second hits),down aerial,Super Jump Punch andDr. Tornado (excluding both specials' final hits).
Falco'sBlaster.
Fox'sup aerial (first hit),down aerial andReflector.
Ganondorf'sdown smash (first hit).
Ice Climbers'down aerial.
Mario'sneutral attack (first and second hits), down angledforward tilt,down aerial,Super Jump Punch,Mario Tornado, (excluding their respective final hits).
Marth'sup smash (outer hitboxes).
Mewtwo'sneutral attack (first hit),up smash andneutral aerial (excluding their respective final hits).
Mr. Game & Watch'sneutral attack (first hit and infinite) andJudge #8.
Ness'sdash attack (first two hits).
Jigglypuff'sdown throw (first four hits).
Kirby'sdown aerial (landing hitbox),Hammer (in the air),Final Cutter (up and down cuts) anddown throw (first nine kicks).
Link'sup smash (first two hits) andSpin Attack (air, all but final hit).
Luigi'sneutral attack (first and second hits), down angledforward tilt andtaunt.
Peach'sneutral attack (first hit) andPeach Parasol (first hit).
Pichu'sforward aerial.
Pikachu'sforward aerial.
Roy'sup smash (multihits),Double-Edge Dance (hit 3 down, all but final hit) andBlazer.
Samus'sup aerial (all but final hit) andScrew Attack (ground, final hit only).
Sheik'sforward smash (first hit).
Yoshi'sdown tilt.
Young Link'sforward smash (first hit),up smash (first two hits) andSpin Attack (air, all but final hit).
Zelda'sforward smash,up smash,neutral aerial (excluding their respective final hits) anddown throw (flames).- Red Shell.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]
- Manyjabs, such asMario's, have set knockback for all but their last hit.
- Many multi-hittingsmash attacks have setup hits with set knockback (e.g.,Ness's up and down smashes).
- Allwindboxes.
Bowser'sdown aerial (looping hits).
Captain Falcon'sneutral aerial andup smash (first hit of both).
Charizard'sforward smash (first hit) andup smash (first hit).
Diddy Kong'sdash attack (second hit),forward smash (first hit) andup smash (first two hits).
Falco'sup tilt (first hit),neutral aerial (all but final hit) andBlaster.
Fox'sup aerial (first hit).
Ganondorf'sdown smash (first hit).
Ivysaur'sdown tilt (first hit) andneutral aerial (all but final hit).
King Dedede'sup aerial,down aerial (excluding their respective final hits) anddown throw.
Kirby'sdown aerial (landing hitbox),Final Cutter (up and down strokes) anddown throw (first nine kicks).
Link'sup smash (first two hits) andback aerial (first hit).
Lucas'sup tilt (launcher),up smash (launcher) anddown aerial (hitbox ID 1 only, first three hits).
Luigi's down angledforward tilt,down taunt and sourspottedSuper Jump Punch.
Mario'sMario Tornado andSuper Jump Punch (excluding their respective final hits).
Marth'sup smash (launcher).
Meta Knight'sup smash,forward aerial,back aerial,Mach Tornado (excluding their respective final hits) anddown throw (first nine kicks).
Mr. Game & Watch'sneutral aerial (all but final hit) andJudge #8.
Ness'sdash attack (first two hits),up smash (charging hitbox) anddown smash (charging hitbox).
Pikachu'sback aerial (looping hits).
R.O.B.'sup tilt (launcher).
Samus'sup aerial (all but final hit).
Sheik'sup tilt (first hit) andforward smash (first hit).
Snake'sforward tilt (first hit),up smash (launcher),neutral aerial anddown aerial (excluding their respective final hits).
Squirtle'sdown tilt,up smash (launcher) anddown aerial (excluding their respective final hits).
Toon Link'sforward smash (first hit).
Wario'sdown aerial (looping hits).
Wolf'sneutral aerial (3rd hit onward) andReflector.
Zelda'sneutral attack,forward smash,up smash,neutral aerial (excluding their respective final hits) anddown throw (flames).
Zero Suit Samus'sup smash (launcher).
Super Smash Bros. 4[edit]
- Many neutral attacks, such asMario's, have set knockback for all but their last hit.
- All windboxes, except forMr. Game & Watch'sdown tilt,Ike'sTempest, andGreninja'sup special and down taunt.
Bayonetta'sneutral attack infinite (rapid jab and first hit of finisher),up tilt (early launcher),down smash (Bayonetta's foot) and lateAfter Burner Kick.
Bowser'sdown smash (first hit),Whirling Fortress (ground, all but final hit) andBowser Bomb (scooping hitbox).
Bowser Jr.'sMechakoopa (first hit).
Captain Falcon'sup smash andneutral aerial (first hit of both).
Charizard'sup smash (first hit) andFly (launcher and looping hits).
Cloud'sforward smash (first two hits) anddown smash (first hit).
Diddy Kong'sdash attack,forward smash,up smash (excluding their respective final hits) andBanana Peel.
Dr. Mario'sDr. Tornado (looping hits).
Falco'sup tilt (first hit),neutral aerial,forward aerial (excluding their respective final hits) andBlaster.
Fox'sup aerial (first hit) anddown aerial (excluding final hit).
Ganondorf'sdown smash (first hit).
Ike'sAether (first and second hits).
King Dedede'sforward tilt andup aerial (excluding their respective final hits).
Kirby'sdown aerial (landing hitbox),Final Cutter (up and down slices) anddown throw (all kicks).
Link'sup smash (first two hits),back aerial (first hit) andSpin Attack (air, all but final hit).
Little Mac'sforward tilt (first hit),neutral aerial andup special (launcher).
Lucas'sup tilt (launcher),up smash (launcher) anddown aerial (hitbox ID 1 only, first three hits).
Luigi'sdown taunt and sourspottedSuper Jump Punch.
Mario'sMario Tornado andSuper Jump Punch (first five hits for both).
Marth'sup smash (launcher).
Meta Knight'sup smash,forward aerial,back aerial (against an aerial oponent) (excluding their respective final hits),Drill Rush (first multihit) anddown throw (first nine kicks).
Mewtwo'sup smash andneutral aerial (excluding their respective final hits).
Mr. Game & Watch'sneutral aerial (all but final hit),back aerial (hitbox ID 1 only, looping hits) andJudge #8.
Ness'sdash attack (first two hits) anddown smash (first, third and fourth hits).
Pac-Man'sdown aerial (first three hits).
Peach'sdash attack (first hit),down smash (looping hits),Toad (all but first and final hits) andPeach Parasol (launcher and multihits).
Pikachu'sforward aerial andback aerial (both moves' looping hits).
R.O.B.'sup tilt (launcher) andup smash (launcher).
Ryu's heldforward tilt (first hit), tappeddown tilt andup aerial (first hit).
Samus'sup smash,forward aerial,up aerial,Screw Attack (ground) andScrew Rush (excluding their respective final hits).
Sheik'sup tilt (first hit),forward smash (first hit) andVanish (reappearance hit).
Shulk'sAir Slash (first hit), along with the first hits offorward smash,up smash,up aerial, anddown aerial.
Toon Link'sSpin Attack (ground: looping hits; air: first three hits).
Wario's latedash attack,down aerial (looping hits),Chomp (biting hitbox) andCorkscrew (all but final hit).
Yoshi'sYoshi Bomb (launcher).
Zelda'sneutral attack,forward smash,up smash,neutral aerial (excluding their respective final hits) anddown throw (flames).
Zero Suit Samus'sup smash (launcher),Paralyzer andBoost Kick (all but final hit).
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]
Bowser'sdown tilt (first hit),Whirling Fortress (ground, all but final hit) andBowser Bomb (scooping hitbox).
Banjo & Kazooie'sup smash (scoop, and multihits),neutral aerial (hits 1-7),back aerial (hits 1-2) andpummel.
Bayonetta'sneutral attack infinite (first hit of finisher),up tilt (early launcher),down smash (Bayonetta's foot), sweetspotteddown aerial (only against a grounded opponent), lateAfter Burner Kick (up) andWitch Twist (launcher and multihits).
Byleth'sneutral aerial,up aerial (excluding their respective final hits) andSword of the Creator (launcher).
Captain Falcon'sup smash (first hit).
Charizard'sup smash (some of first hit) andFly (launcher and looping hits).
Chrom'sup smash (multihits) andSoaring Slash (excluding the landing hitbox).
Cloud'sforward smash (first two hits) anddown smash (first hit).
Diddy Kong'sdash attack,forward smash andup smash (excluding their respective final hits).
Dr. Mario'sDr. Tornado (looping hits).
Falco'sup tilt (first hit),neutral aerial,forward aerial (excluding their respective final hits),Blaster andFire Bird (hits 1-8).
Ganondorf'sdown smash (first hit).
Incineroar'sAlolan Whip when failing andRevenge when countering an attack.
Ivysaur'sBullet Seed (clean and late launchers).
Joker'sRebel's Guard when releasing.
Ken's tappedforward tilt (close) and tappeddown tilt.
King Dedede'sforward tilt andup aerial (excluding their respective final hits).
Kirby'sdown aerial (landing hitbox),Final Cutter (up and down slashes) anddown throw (first nine kicks).
Link'sup smash (first two hits),back aerial (first hit) andSpin Attack (air, all but final hit).
Little Mac'sforward tilt (first hit),neutral aerial andup special (launcher).
Lucas'sup tilt (launcher),up smash (launcher),down aerial (hitbox ID 1 only, first three hits) andPK Thunder 2 (looping hits).
Luigi'sLuigi Cyclone (windbox),down taunt andpummel.
Mario'sF.L.U.D.D.,down aerial (landing),Cape,Super Jump Punch (hits 1-6) andpummel.
Marth'sup smash (launcher).
Meta Knight'sup smash,forward aerial,back aerial (excluding their respective final hits),Drill Rush (multihits),Shuttle Loop (first hit) anddown throw (first nine kicks).
Mewtwo'sup smash andneutral aerial (excluding their respective final hits).
Mii Swordfighter'sGale Strike.
Mr. Game & Watch'sneutral aerial (all but final hit) andJudge #8.
Ness'sdash attack (first two hits),up smash (charging hitbox),down smash (charge, first back hit and first front hit),up aerial (multihits) andPSI Magnet.
Peach'sdash attack (first hit),down smash (looping hits) andPeach Parasol (launcher and multihits).
Pichu'sforward aerial andback aerial (both moves' looping hits).
Pikachu'sforward aerial andback aerial (both moves' looping hits).
R.O.B.'sup tilt (launcher) andup smash (launcher) andArm Rotor (all but final hit).
Roy'sup smash andBlazer (excluding their respective final hits).
Ryu's tappedforward tilt (close), held forward tilt (first hit), tappeddown tilt andup aerial (first hit).
Samus'sup smash,forward aerial,up aerial andScrew Attack (excluding their respective final hits).
Sheik'sup tilt (first hit),forward smash (first hit) andVanish (reappearance hit).
Snake'sup smash (launcher),neutral aerial anddown aerial (excluding their respective final hits).
Squirtle'sup smash (launcher),down aerial andWaterfall (excluding their respective final hits).
Toon Link'sSpin Attack (ground and air, all but final hit).
Wario'sdown aerial (looping hits),Chomp (biting hitbox) andCorkscrew (all but final hit).
Yoshi'sYoshi Bomb (launcher).
Young Link'sup smash (first two hits),back aerial (first hit) andSpin Attack (ground and air, all but final hit).
Zelda'sforward smash,up smash (excluding their respective final hits) anddown throw (flames).
Zero Suit Samus'sup smash (launcher),Paralyzer andBoost Kick (all but final hit).
No knockback[edit]
FromMelee onward, there are certain attacks that deal zero knockback, causing damage as usual but notflinching, meaning that the hit character can still perform any actions while being attacked. Most attacks with no knockback can rack up damage quickly, as they can hit foes repeatedly without launching them away from their range. These moves can also be used to "steal"KOs from opponents infree for all battles, as while they do not cause knockback, they will take ownership of the KO on an already fatally struck opponent. Fox'sBlaster is the most well known example of an attack with no knockback. Due to the fact that it does not deal knockback, it will not interrupt an opponent's moves or force them out of apunishable state such as beingasleep or being stuck in the endinglag of a missedRest.Idle characters inBrawl andSSB4 will also turn around if they are repeatedly struck with moves that deal no knockback, which is noticeable withFox's Blaster.
InMelee,phantom hits usually damage foes, but without any knockback. It is also possible for any character to receive no knockback from attacks by certain factors, such as by beinggiant andmetal simultaneously on a low launch rate battle, and as mentioned above, armor will prevent characters from taking knockback while active.
List of moves with no knockback[edit]
Fox'sBlaster shots in both his neutral special andthrows (except hisforward throw) inMelee onward.
Mario'sMario Tornado inMelee (hit 1).
Dr. Mario'sDr. Tornado inMelee (hit 1).
Charizard'sforward aerial (furthest hitboxes) inBrawl.
Snake'sHand Grenades (when striking the opponent without exploding) in all games.
Olimar's antenna during hisneutral attack anddown tilt inBrawl.
Mr. Game & Watch'sShort-Order Chef (some types of food) inSSB4.
Mr. Game & Watch'sJudge #1 in all games.
Falco'sBurst Blaster inSSB4.
Olimar'sPikmin Toss (except for Purple Pikmin) in all games.
Mario'sCape in all games. While it has knockback programmed, thereverse effect overrides this, and instead adds a fixed amount of momentum to opponents. Will deal knockback to opponents hanging on the ledge inUltimate, and puts opponents on the ledge into hitstun inMelee.
Dr. Mario'sSuper Sheet in all games. While it has knockback programmed, thereverse effect overrides this, and instead adds a fixed amount of momentum to opponents. Will deal knockback to opponents hanging on the ledge inUltimate, and puts opponents on the ledge into hitstun inMelee.
Bayonetta'sBullet Arts (at a distance from Bayonetta) in all games.
Piranha Plant'sPoison Breath inUltimate.
Joker'sGun (at a distance from Joker) inUltimate.- Togepi's flower attack from Metronome.
- Theflower,poison andcurse statuses.
- The "crush" ofMaster Hand andCrazy Hand during their grab attacks inMelee.
- Amaranthine gas inThe Subspace Emissary.
- Some consecutive-hitting attacks used by bosses (such asRayquaza's Thunder).
Weight-independent knockback[edit]
Introduced in version 1.1.0 ofSSB4, certain moves are coded to ignore the target's weight when inflicting knockback, instead using a set value of the default 100. As a result, they are much more consistent across the cast when used as set-up hits and similar.
List of moves with weight-independent knockback[edit]
Super Smash Bros. 4[edit]
Bayonetta'sneutral attack (all except infinite finisher),forward tilt (hits 1-2),forward aerial (hits 1-2),down aerial (clean),Heel Slide (ground dash and last hit, air dash) andWitch Twist.
Charizard'sup smash (hit 1 clean).
Cloud'sneutral attack (hit 2),forward smash (hits 1-2),down smash (hit 1),Cross Slash (hits 1-4) andClimhazzard (most of non-Limit hit 2).
Corrin'sneutral attack (hit 2) andDraconic Ascent (loop hits).
Dark Pit'sneutral attack (infinite loop).
Diddy Kong'sup smash (hit 1).
Falco'sup smash (hit 1 clean).
Ganondorf'sneutral aerial (hit 1 clean (hitbox ID value 2 only)).
Kirby'sforward aerial (hits 1-2) andHammer Bash (air hit 1).
Link'sSpin Attack (air all but last hit).
Lucas'sdown tilt.
Lucina'sneutral aerial (hit 1) andDancing Blade (hit 2 down, hit 3 down).
Marth'sneutral aerial (hit 1) andDancing Blade (hit 2 down, hit 3 down).
Pit'sneutral attack (infinite loop).
Robin'sneutral attack (hits 1-2).
Roy'sneutral aerial (hit 2).
Samus'sforward aerial (hits 1-4) andScrew Attack (hits 1-10).
Toon Link'sforward smash (hit 1).
Yoshi'sback aerial (hits 1-2).
Zero Suit Samus'sPlasma Whip (all but last hit).
A few moves not only treat the opponent's weight as 100, but also temporarily set theirgravity to 0.085 andfalling speed to 1.5, making their knockback even less character-dependent. However, since the gravity and falling speed alterations are temporary, the knockback is still heavily affected by them, and so the vertical KO power of such moves is heavily skewed towards fast-falling characters surviving much longer than heavy ones.
Cloud'sFinishing Touch (hitbox on frames 16 and 19-26, but not 17-18 or 27-32) (gravity and fall speed set for 22 frames)
Pac-Man'sMeteor Trampoline (clean meteor) (gravity and fall speed set for 5 frames)
Ultimate[edit]
InUltimate, weight independence is now programmable from a standard flag within hitbox scripts, and as such its effect has been homogenised. If active, all fighters are treated as having a weight of 100 when calculating the attack's knockback, and a fall speed of 1.5 and gravity of 0.087 for the first 10 frames of the launch, before reverting back to a fighter's regular fall speed and gravity. Notably, this effect overrides the homogenised fall speed and gravity used by attacks which have an angle between 70˚ and 110˚.
Bayonetta'sneutral attack (all except for the rapid jab and the second hit of the rapid jab finisher),forward tilt (hits 1-2),up tilt (hit 1),forward aerial (input 1-2),Heel Slide,After Burner Kick andWitch Twist.
Bowser'sWhirling Fortress (ground) andBowser Bomb (first hit and spike).
Bowser Jr.'sdown tilt (hits 1-2) andAbandon Ship! (hits 1-2).
Byleth'sup smash (hit 3),neutral aerial (loop hits/landing hit) andup aerial (loop hits).
Captain Falcon'sneutral aerial (hit 1).
Charizard'sup smash (some of hit 1).
Chrom'sup smash (loop hits),neutral aerial (hit 1),Double-Edge Dance (input 1-3) andSoaring Slash (hits 1-2).
Cloud'sforward smash (hits 1-2),down smash (hit 1),Cross Slash (all hits except final) andClimhazzard (no Limit/some of hit 2).
Corrin'sneutral attack (hit 2),down aerial,Dragon Fang Shot andDraconic Ascent (loop hits).
Daisy'sdash attack (hit 1) andDaisy Parasol (hits 1-2/when parasol is open).
Dark Pit'sforward smash (hit 1).
Dark Samus'sup smash (hits 2-4) andScrew Attack (loop hits).
Diddy Kong'sdash attack (hits 1-2),forward smash (hits 1-2) andup smash (hits 1-2).
Falco'sup smash (hit 1).
Ganondorf'sdown smash (hit 1) andneutral aerial (hit 1).
Greninja'sup smash (hit 1) andWater Shuriken (full charge; loop hits).
Hero'sforward tilt (hit 1),Kazap (hits 2-3)Magic Burst (loop hits),Woosh,Swoosh (hit 1) andKaswoosh (loop hits).
Ike'sAether (hit 1-3).
Incineroar'sCross Chop (hit 1/semi-spike) andRevenge when countering an attack.
Inkling'sdown tilt (hit 1).
Isabelle'sup smash (loop hits) andLloid Trap (loop hits).
Ivysaur'sBullet Seed (launcher).
Joker'sforward tilt (hit 1)up tilt (loop hits) andforward aerial (hit 1).
Kirby'sforward aerial (hit 1-2),pummel (collateral hit) andFinal Cutter (hit 1).
Link'sup smash (hit 1-2),forward aerial (hit 1),back aerial (hit 1) andSpin Attack (air; all hits except final).
Lucario'sup smash (hit 1) anddown aerial (hit 1).
Lucas'sdown tilt.
Lucina'sup smash (scooping hitbox),neutral aerial (hit 1) andDancing Blade (input 1-3).
Luigi'sLuigi Cyclone (windbox) anddash attack (hit 4).
Mario'sMario Tornado (loop hits) andSuper Jump Punch (loop hits).
Marth'sup smash (scooping hitbox),neutral aerial (hit 1) andDancing Blade (input 1-3).
Meta Knight'sMach Tornado (loop hits) andShuttle Loop (hit 1).
Mr. Game & Watch'sup tilt (hit 1),neutral aerial (hits 1-3) andJudge #8.
Mythra'sLightning Buster (prior to software version12.0.0).
Pac-Man'sup smash (hit 1) anddown aerial (hits 1-3).
Palutena'sforward tilt (hit 1-2).
Peach'sdash attack (hit 1) andPeach Parasol (hits 1-2/when parasol is open).
Pichu'sThunder (projectile).
Pikachu'sneutral aerial (loop hits andforward aerial (loop hits).
Piranha Plant'sPiranhacopter (loop hits).
Pit'sforward smash (hit 1).
Richter'sdash attack (loop hits),down tilt (hit 1)neutral aerial (loop hits) andUppercut (loop hits).
Ridley'sforward aerial (hits 1-2).
Rosalina'sforward aerial (Luma).
Roy'sup smash (loop hits),neutral aerial (final hit),Double-Edge Dance (input 1-3) andBlazer (loop hits).
Samus'sup smash (hits 2-4) andScrew Attack (loop hits).
Shulk'sup smash (hit 1).
Simon'sdash attack (loop hits),down tilt (hit 1)neutral aerial (loop hits) andUppercut (loop hits).
Snake'sforward tilt (hit 1) andneutral aerial (final hit).
Sonic'sup smash (loop hits).
Squirtle'sback aerial (loop hits).
Terry'sRising Tackle (loop hits).
Toon Link'sSpin Attack (air; all hits except final).
Villager'sup tilt (hit 1) andup smash (loop hits).
Wario'sCorkscrew.
Wolf'sFire Wolf (loop hits).
Yoshi'sback aerial (hit 1-2).
Young Link'sup smash (hit 1-2),forward aerial (hit 1),back aerial (hit 1) andSpin Attack (air; all hits except final).
Zelda'sneutral aerial (hits 1-3).
Zero Suit Samus'sPlasma Whip (loop hits).
In addition, all throws inMelee treat the opponent's weight as 100.
Lastly, some attack effects have weight independent properties, which include thebury,paralyze, andstun effects. However, only the bury effect can ignoreknockback resistance.
Knockback stacking[edit]
Knockback stacking is the means by which knockback is applied to a target that has already been launched by a previous move. Depending on the game and situation, the new knockback can replace the old knockback entirely, have no effect at all, or have its properties merged with the old knockback. In games where knockback stacking is more common, it is an important aspect to consider forcombos, as a character will have already been launched when hit by a subsequent move, therefore altering the followup move's properties.
InMelee[edit]
InMelee, knockback stacking occurs if both hits are separated by 10 or moreframes, and if the target does not stay on the ground. Otherwise, the second hit's knockback completely replaces the first's. This can lead to noticeable scenarios where strong hits can be canceled into much weaker ones, which is mostly prevalent inteam battles or with certainitems. This also prevents knockback stacking in cases such aswaveshine combos, when a character heavy enough to not be knocked down byFox'sshine is hit back and forth in opposing directions.
Knockback stacking for both hits is done separately for the horizontal and vertical components of their knockback. If both vectors have equal directions on one axis, the stronger component prevails, whereas if they have opposing directions, they are merged via vector addition. This often leads to the resulting knockback having a different angle than either of the previous hits alone. For example, if a character is struck up and right by a strong hit, then up and left by an equally strong hit, the character is sent straight up, due to the horizontal components canceling each other out. In this same example, if the second hit was stronger, the character would be launched up with the second hit's full vertical force, as well as weakly to the left. Knockback stacking occurs even if both hits come from the same character; as a result, there is often residual knockback from a previous hit in a combo, which must be taken into account when trying to follow up.
While knockback stacking alters the resulting angle and launch speed,hitstun always remains the same as if the second hit had struck the target without any merging. However,DI does apply to the resulting knockback vector, so knockback stacking needs to be taken into account for optimal DI. If the victim is grounded and gets spiked towards or in parallel to the ground at non-tumble knockback, they stay grounded, unless the hit also resets.
Brawl onward[edit]
FromBrawl onward, knockback stacking behaves much differently, and its effects have been generally minimized. It now only occurs if both hits come from different sources, and if the second hit's resulting launch speed is lower than 0.8× of the first hit's launch speed at the time the second hit connects. Additionally, the first hit's launch speed and hitstun are retained throughout, instead of being merged and using the second hit's (respectively), and the resulting angle cannot be DIed. Furthermore, if the first hit's launch speed at the time the second hit connects is 2.65× of the second hit's or higher, the second hit's knockback is ignored, though it still applieshitlag. In any other case, the second hit fully overrides the first.
As a result of these changes, knockback stacking is generally no longer a factor for combos from a single character, and it is no longer possible for characters to cancel out strong knockback with significantly weaker attacks. However,hitboxes belonging to articles coded separately from a character, such asBayonetta'sWicked Weaves,Fox'sFox Illusion, and allprojectiles, are considered separate sources, and can thus be subjected to knockback stacking with physical moves from the character that produced them. InSmash 4 andUltimate, this gives certain characters unique advantages with combo finishers, such as withRobin comboingArcthunder (inSmash 4) orArcfire into hisdown aerial'smeteor smash, or Bayonetta comboing herforward smash into her down aerial's meteor smash on aWitch Timed opponent; both of these setups cause the opponent to be launched at amuch lower angle horizontally, better securing KOs near the edge if the meteor smash would otherwise cause the opponent to land onstage.
The resulting angle from knockback stacking is determined by theinverse tangent of both hits' added knockback vectors, with the vertical component divided by the horizontal component. For example, stacking Robin's Arcthunder (50°) and down aerial meteor smash (270°) results in an angle of approximately 17.6°. This also means that moves with completely opposing horizontal strengths cannot stack, while moves with completely opposing vertical strengths will result in a perfectly horizontal angle. Worth noting is that when determining whether two moves can stack, the first hit's launch speed takes thegravity penalty into consideration, while the second hit's does not.
Knockback chart[edit]
The following is a chart demonstrating how much knockback each character sustains inBrawl. While weight is the primary attribute for determining how much knockback a character sustains, there are other attributes that factor in, such as a character's gravity. This results in some characters sustaining more knockback than lighter characters.
The knockback value shown is how much knockback a character sustains when hit with Marth'sCritical Hit at 0%, arranged from least knockback sustained to most knockback sustained.
| Rank | Character | Knockback sustained | Velocity applied |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 490.8 | 14724 | |
| 2 | 494.667 | 14840 | |
| 3 | 499.367 | 14981 | |
| 4 | 501.4 | 15042 | |
| 5 | 504.667 | 15140 | |
| 6 | 505.333 | 15160 | |
| 7 | 508.467 | 15254 | |
| 8 | 508.7 | 15261 | |
| 9 | 509.533 | 15286 | |
| 10 | 509.867 | 15296 | |
| 11 | 513.3 | 15399 | |
| 12 | 515.633 | 15469 | |
| 13 | 517.133 | 15514 | |
| 14 | 520.033 | 15601 | |
| 15 | 520.833 | 15625 | |
| 16 | 525.1 | 15753 | |
| 17 | 525.7 | 15771 | |
| 18 | 525.9 | 15777 | |
| 19 | 531.9 | 15957 | |
| 20 | 532.367 | 15971 | |
| 21 | 532.8 | 15984 | |
| 22 | 534.4 | 16032 | |
| 23 | 536.2 | 16086 | |
| 24 | 536.6 | 16098 | |
| 25 | 536.967 | 16109 | |
| 26 | 539.533 | 16186 | |
| 27 | 546 | 16380 | |
| 28 | 550.467 | 16514 | |
| 29 | 556.267 | 16688 | |
| 30 | 558.5 | 16755 | |
| 31 | 561.567 | 16847 | |
| 32 | 561.9 | 16857 | |
| 33 | 565.5 | 16965 | |
| 34 | 566 | 16980 | |
| 35 | 566.933 | 17008 | |
| 36 | 573.367 | 17201 | |
| 37 | 574.133 | 17224 | |
| 38 | 577.567 | 17327 | |
| 39 | 589.1 | 17673 |
Trivia[edit]
- All games have a knockback cap of 2500 (or a launch speed of 75 units per frame), fast enough to move from the edge of Battlefield to the center in less than one frame.Smash 4 introduced a cap for vertical launch speed of 10, or a little over 330 units of knockback vertically straight up. Additionally, attacks that surpass a vertical launch speed of 4.7 when crossing the upper blast line will causeStar KOs andScreen KOs to not occur. InUltimate, the vertical launch speed cap was raised to 15, equivalent to 500 units of knockback.
- Because of this vertical knockback cap inSmash 4, if a fighter were to have an incredibly high fall speed and gravity, it would be impossible to KO them off the upper blast line (unless using an item such as aBeetle), no matter how much knockback they were given. This can be accomplished under specific conditions in the unmodified game, via the use of customs and special smash. InUltimate, this is only possible by meteor smashing opponents off the ground, as fall speeds are set to 1.8 during hitstun for launch angles between 70° and 110°, and requires an even more extreme setup due to the vertical launch speed cap being raised.
- According toMasahiro Sakurai, the knockback speed up effect seen inUltimate was planned to be implemented in previousSmash games, but ended up being scrapped because it was easy to lose track of characters' positions, especially inSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
- Through hacking, the value of damage dealt in the knockback formula can be a negative number, in which case the game will run the calculation as normal, and as such knockback will decrease with percent if the damage is less than -2. Furthermore, a negative knockback value can be calculated, although this will simply result in zero knockback being dealt.

