Sheik (SSB4): Difference between revisions

:{{cquote|''Sheik Appears on the Scene!''|cite=Introduction Tagline}}

Sheik is ranked 4th out of 54 on the [[tier list]], placing her at the top of the A tier and is her best placement in the series. This is a significant improvement over her mid-tier placement in ''Brawl'', where she was ranked 25th out of 38. While not as dominant as {{SSBB|Meta Knight}} in ''Brawl'', the sheer effectiveness of Sheik's moveset saw her almost universally perceived as the best character in the early metagame of ''SSB4''. Sheik's extremely fast frame data grants her an excellent neutral game and a potent combo game, which are supplemented by [[Needle Storm]] and her improved grab game, respectively. Her KO potential has also improved: up aerial now consists of multiple hits and concludes with a very strong hit, while her new down special move, [[Bouncing Fish]], deals respectable damage and has high knockback scaling. Lastly, the combination of Sheik's much faster [[air speed]], Bouncing Fish's horizontal travel distance, and the removal of [[edge-hogging]] have greatly improved her [[recovery]].

*{{change|Sheik has a new idle animation. However, she reverts to her idle animation from ''Brawl'' while holding a small [[item]] and briefly when transitioning to her idle animation after using a move.}}

Much like {{SSB4|Diddy Kong}}, Sheik initially started out as a much stronger character in the early metagame, being one of the strongest characters in earlier versions of the game. As a result, Sheik  has been nerfed significantly via game updates. Update [[1.0.4]] immediately gave Sheik some impactful nerfs, with Sheik receiving considerable power reductions to her forward aerial, up aerial and [[Bouncing Fish]]. These moves were some of her most effective KO options, as Sheik had numerous ways to combo into them and they could even lead into KO confirms at high enough percents. Naturally after their power reductions, the moves became more restrictive as KO confirms. Forward aerial's power reduction also made it a less potent combo tool at lower percents. In addition to Sheik having weaker KO power, [[Needle Storm]] received more ending lag on the ground, which not only made it a riskier camping tool but it also removed its ability to lead into comboes and KO confirms. Sheik now had to use the move in the air to land a KO confirm with a Bouncing Fish followup and as Bouncing Fish became weaker, the KO confirm became less potent overall.

The universal changes in 1.0.4 were not particularly beneficial to Sheik. The removal of LSI for moves which launched between 65°-115° considerably hindered Sheik's endurance, making her easier to combo as well as making her easier to KO vertically. While it did improve the consistency of Sheik's vertical launching combo moves (particularly her throws), it did not benefit Sheik's combo game as much as numerous other members of the cast, and some of Sheik's main followups out of her vertical launching moves were weakened (mainly forward and up aerials). Sheik also had very few vertical KO moves which benefitted from the technique with up aerial's power reduction being significant enough to make up aerial a weaker KO move even though it could no longer be LSIed.

 

Sheik was also hindered by the removal of [[DACUS]] as Sheik previously had one of the most effective DAUSes in the game. While very difficult to perform, Sheik's up smash was strong, her DACUS covered a large amount of distance and it had the potential to be a KO confirm out of moves such as neutral aerial and Needle Storm. With DACUS being removed, it significantly hindered the approach potential of Sheik's up smash and it largely removed the comboes and KO confirms Sheik could previously perform with a DACUS.

 

Update [[1.0.6]] noticeably decreased back aerial's damage, considerably reducing the move's KO potential. From updates [[1.1.0]] - [[1.1.4]], Sheik only received a few minor nerfs, with forward aerial receiving a slightly decrease to its power in 1.1.0 and with Sheik become slightly lighter in 1.1.4.

 

Update [[1.1.5]] however would give Sheik the most impactful nerfs she had received since 1.0.4. Some minor nerfs Sheik received were that she became noticeably lighter, hindering her endurance and her forward aerial received a range reduction. Sheik's Needle Storm received a significant reduction on its range, which considerably toned down its potentially oppressive camping potential but the most significant nerfs Sheik received were to her forward and down throws. In earlier versions of the game, the throws were both capable of leading into long lasting 50-50es into potential KOes which were very powerful. In 1.1.5 however, both throws received significantly more knockback which greatly weakened their 50-50 potential at higher percents, making them considerably less scary at higher percents. Sheik could no longer rely on her throws to lead into potential KOes, instead having to rely more on situational KO confirms, edgeuarding and raw KO moves to take stocks.  

 

Overall, Sheik is significantly worse compared to how she was at the release of the game. Sheik is more fragile, being easier to combo and KO, her defensive game is weaker having a laggier and shorter range projectile and her damage racking and KO potential have noticeably decreased, making it significantly harder for her to score KOes, especially compared to the rest of the cast. Despite this, Sheik still remained one of the most potent characters in the game. Her incredible mobility and frame data were near untouched, her recovery remained strong and while her neutral game was weakened, it still remained among the best out of the entire cast. Sheik's nerfs mainly impacted her punish game but she still had the tools needed in order to win neutral and get her punish game going.

 

Sheik was very likely the best character in the game in early 3DS versions and while she did have a negative transition to the Wii U version, with Sheik receiving impactful nerfs combined with not benefitting from the game's universal changes, she still managed to remain a contender for the best character in the game. As time went on, things looked very good for Sheik, with other top tiers (mainly Diddy Kong) receiving more impactful nerfs than her, firmly making Sheik the best character in the game for a period of time but by 1.1.4, {{SSB4|Bayonetta}} was added to the game, who ultimately took Sheik off of her pedestal and 1.1.5 was ultimately the final nail in the coffin for Sheik, giving her some impactful nerfs which firmly took her out of the discussion for the best character in the game. Despite all the nerfs Sheik received combined with the shift in the meta, Sheik still remained one of the strongest characters in the game, being considered as a top 5 or even a top 3 character by the later stages of the game's life.

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*{{Sm|Eim|Japan}} - One of the best Sheik players in Japan, especially towards the end of the game's competitive lifespan. He is one of two Sheik players to have won a major following Sheik's nerfs, winning {{Trn|Umebura Smash 4 Final}}.

*{{Sm|K9sbruce|USA}} - The best Sheik player from the United States West Coast, co-maining her alongside {{SSB4|Diddy Kong}} and placing 7th at {{Trn|Shots Fired 2}} and 9th at {{Trn|DreamHack Austin 2017}} and {{Trn|GENESIS 5}}.

*{{Sm|Mr.R|Netherlands}} - One of the best solo-Sheik players of all time, as well as the best European player of all-time who was regularly ranked in the top 10 globally. Although he never won a major, he finished 2nd at many of them, including at {{Trn|EVO 2015}} and {{Trn|2GG: Hyrule Saga}}.

*{{Sm|VoiD|USA}} - One of the best solo-Sheik players of all-time who was regularly ranked in the top 10 globally. He is one of two Sheik players to have won a major following Sheik's nerfs, winning {{Trn|Smash 'N' Splash 4}}.

*{{Sm|ZeRo|Chile}} - The all-time best player in the world who co-mained Sheik alongside {{SSB4|Diddy Kong}} for the first few years of the game's competitive lifespan, most notably using her during his 56 consecutive tournament win streak.

 

===Tier placement and history===

Sheik had always been perceived as a top-tier character since the game's release, which was eventually reflected in her ranking at the very top of the first official ''4BR'' [[tier list]], with the previous nerfs to {{SSB4|Rosalina & Luma}} and {{SSB4|Diddy Kong}} paving the way for Sheik to be considered the near-indisputable best character in the game. Players noticed her fantastic frame data, the ability to control the [[neutral game]] by [[spacing]] effectively with her forward aerial and [[camp]] with [[Needle Storm]], extensive combo game that allowed her to rack up damage quickly and efficiently, dominant offstage game, and reliable KO set-ups off of low-committal grab set-ups. This led most players to believe she lacked losing match-ups and had only a handful that were arguably even. As expected, Sheik's position was cemented by a stellar playerbase that included highly talented players such as {{Sm|ZeRo}}, {{Sm|Mr.R}}, {{Sm|VoiD}}, {{Sm|K9sbruce}} and {{Sm|RAIN}}, among others, all of whom achieved great results with the character on a consistent basis.

However, Sheik's overwhelming dominance took a blow with patches [[1.1.4]] and [[1.1.5]], which removed her most reliable KO set-ups, worsened her survivability, and weakened her camping ability. As a result, her most notable player, ZeRo, eventually dropped her, and others such as K9sbruce have been using secondaries more often. Despite her heavy nerfs, Sheik's neutral, combo, and offstage games are still among the best, allowing her to continue to gain strong results from players such as VoiD and Mr.R and remain a top-tier character, placing at 3rd on the second tier list and 4th on the third and fourth tier lists. However, the 4th tier list notably had Sheik drop into the A-tier due to her worse results compared to the top 3 at the time of the tier list's release.

2018 saw a new breath of fresh air for Sheik as dedicated mains managed to improve her results, including {{Sm|Nietono}}'s run to 3rd at {{Trn|EVO 2018}}, {{Sm|Mr.R}}'s run to 2nd at {{Trn|2GG: Hyrule Saga}}, and most notably {{Sm|VoiD}}'s victory at {{Trn|Smash 'N' Splash 4}} and {{Sm|Eim}}'s victory at {{Trn|Umebura Smash 4 Final}}, which remains the only two major victories for a Sheik player since her nerfs. Sheik's improving results were notably more impressive than Diddy Kong and {{SSB4|Cloud}}, two characters generally agreed upon to be better than her but by then were not getting as far in-tournament without the use of a secondary. As a result, Sheik's true placement became debatable, with some top players such as {{Sm|MkLeo}} and Mr.R believing that Sheik should be ranked slightly higher.