Editing Falco (SSB4)

|ranking = 47

'''Falco''' ({{ja|ファルコ|Faruko}}, ''Falco'') returns as a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]''. Falco was officially confirmed on October 3rd, 2014, alongside {{SSB4|Ness}} and {{SSB4|Wario}}, coinciding with the North American and European release of {{for3ds}}. As in ''[[Melee]]'' and ''[[Brawl]]'',  {{s|wikipedia|Hisao Egawa}} reprises his role in the Japanese version with his re-recorded voice clips of the game. Mark Lund, his voice actor from Star Fox 64 3D, now voices him in the English version, replacing Dex Manley from Brawl.

Falco ranks 47th out of 55 on the [[tier list]], an extreme drop from ''Brawl'' where he was ranked 7th out of 38, and an enormous drop from his ''Melee'' position where he was ranked 4th out of 26, making this his worst placement in the series by far. The majority of Falco's moves have high speed and very favourable angles, granting him a strong combo game and [[juggling]] capabilities. These are further aided by his good grab game and strong jumps, with the latter remaining the highest in the game. His moves that lack speed or reach are also packed with power, giving his moves surprisingly high KO power; for example, his back aerial can reliably KO below 130%. He also boasts an effective grab game and out of shield game, with all of his throws possessing great utility and/or KO power, while the speed of his moves allows him to easily punish opponents out of shield.

However, Falco's [[neutral game]] has been drastically weakened, with several of the moves that made him a threat at all ranges being nerfed: his two staple moves, {{b|Blaster|Falco}} and down aerial, now being much slower, and both are also incapable of [[autocancelling]] in a [[short hop]], eliminating Falco's ability to safely [[approach]]; changes to his back aerial by lowering its duration and reach also make it less effective at [[spacing]]. These weakened tools amplify the issue of Falco's low horizontal mobility, making it very difficult to keep up with opponents or force an approach. Finally, even though Falco benefits from the changes to [[hitstun cancelling]] as they make down throw much better for combos, it can no longer lead into the [[Gatling Combo]] or rack up damage on its own. In fact, the changes to game mechanics have hindered Falco overall, as the removal of [[DACUS]], the Gatling Combo, and [[chain grab]]bing hurt his damage racking capabilities overall, while the introduction of rage makes him more susceptible to KOs, due to his light weight. His recovery, despite being long distanced and buffed overall, is still slow, predictable, and easily intercepted, making Falco vulnerable to [[gimp]]s.  

Falco is a [[Weight|light]] character with polarized movement. He has the strongest [[jump]]ing ability, a fast [[walking speed]], fast [[falling speed]] and high [[air acceleration]], but a rather slow [[dashing speed]], below average [[air speed]] and very high [[gravity]]. These stats give Falco slow horizontal movement, but proficient vertical movement. They also give him good vertical survivability for a character of his weight.

Overall, like {{SSB4|Kirby}} and {{SSB4|Luigi}}, Falco runs hot and cold. Despite having excellent combo potential and KO power, his slow ground mobility, poor range and significantly nerfed neutral game make it very difficult to put his newfound abilities to use. Mainly due to his poor neutral game, Falco's weaknesses outweigh his strengths, resulting in poor tournament representation and similar results, with very few dedicated mains such as {{Sm|Armando}} and {{Sm|Keitaro}}.

However, the nerfs Falco received created new weaknesses that were harsh enough to severely cripple his neutral game. The removal of DACUS (and subsequently the Gatling Combo) prevents his newly buffed up smash from being used as an approach option or a combo finisher. The removal of chain grabbing is a double-edged sword for Falco. While he is no longer adversely affected by it, his ability to easily rack up large amounts of damage with his down throw is no longer present. His down throw was also directly nerfed as it deals less damage and has higher knockback, hindering its combo potential. Down aerial, a staple in ''Melee'' and ''Brawl'', has been drastically slowed down having immensely increased startup lag and no longer [[auto-cancelling]] in a short hop. These changes hinder down aerial so much to the point where it is now useless outside of [[edgeguarding]] and even then, down aerial has reduced knockback. Falco Phantasm has increased startup lag, travels more slowly and its hitbox no longer lasts for its entire duration moving forwards greatly hindering its use on stage and it can no longer be shortened hindering its mixup potential. Finally, his Blaster, formerly one of the most reliable tools for approaching and pressuring, is slower and incapable of autocancelling. These changes make Falco much less of a threat in the neutral game, as it is now considerably harder for him to put his high power to good use.  

**{{buff|Neutral attack's infinite has received a finisher, an outward knifehand strike. The weakening of [[SDI]] also makes it harder to escape from, despite its [[SDI multiplier]] being increased (1× → 1.2×).}}

**{{nerf|The first and second hits of neutral attack have a shorter duration (4 → 3 frames) and more ending lag (FAF 17/19 → 23/26). The first hit and infinite also deal less damage (4% → 3% (hit 1), 1% → 0.4 (infinite)).}}

**{{nerf|The first hit transitions into the second faster slower (frame 7 → 8) which also transitions into the neutral infinite slower (frame 10 → 17).}}

**{{change|The first and second hit of neutral attack have different angles (80° → 68°/77°/80° (hit 1), 50° → 80°/50°/45° (hit 2)), and no longer use [[set knockback]] (hit 1: 5 (set)/, 00 (scaling) → 35 (base), 30 (scaling); hit 2: 20 (set), 100 (scaling) → 30 (base), 30 (scaling)). This makes them harder to connect into the neutral infinite at high percents, but improves their [[jab cancel]]ing potential (especially the first hit's), despite their higher ending lag.}}

**{{buff|The early first hit launches opponents at a lower angle (100° → 106°) and it has higher set knockback (60 → 100), allowing it to connect more reliably into the second hit, as well as making it safer if it fails to lead into the second hit.}}  

**{{nerf|Down tilt's middle hitbox deals less damage (12% → 11%), hindering its KO potential, as its knockback was not fully compensated.}}

**{{buff|Dash attack deals more knockback (40/30 (base), 90 (scaling) → (80/70)/70). It also has a new animation where Falco instead kicks while leaning away from his kicking-direction and recovers with a forward lean brake (in a slightly different fashion than Fox's dash attack), somewhat altering his hurtbox position and making him harder to hit.}}

**{{nerf|Dash attack has more startup with a shorter duration (frames 4-17 → 8-18), and more ending lag (FAF 36 → 40). Additionally if it connects, it can no longer be cancelled into an up smash (via the [[Gatling Combo]]). Altogether, these changes hinder dash attack's utility.}}

**{{buff|Forward smash has increased knockback (clean hit: 40 (base), 88 (scaling) → 42 /(90/93/96), late hit: 10 (base) → 30), improving its KO potential.}}

**{{nerf|Forward smash has a shorter duration (frames 17-22 → 17-20), and the late hit has less reach (9u → 6u).}}

**{{change|Forward smash has increased [[hitlag]] (0.5× → 1× (clean hit), 0.3× → 0.5× (late hit)). This makes it safer on shield, but easier to DI.}}

**{{buff|Falco has a new up smash, a sideways-flipping kick that hits with both legs with the following-legged hit re-positioning him forward. It hits twice instead of once, dealing more total damage (14% → 16%) and having no late hit behind Falco. It also has less startup with a longer duration (frames 8-17 → 7-12/13-20), hits crouching opponents more easily, and grants [[intangibility]] on Falco's legs while the hitboxes are active. These changes greatly improve its ability to challenge opponent's defense.}}

**{{nerf|Up smash has more ending lag (FAF 44 → 50). The removal of [[DACUS]] also immensely hinders its approach potential making it a more difficult to use as a KO option.}}

**{{change|The second hit of up smash has an altered angle (95° → 80°), and higher knockback values than the previous single hit (20 (base), 98 (scaling) → 31 (base), 104 (scaling)) to compensate for its lower individual damage output (14% → 12%). It also has increased hitlag (1× → 1.3×), making it safer on shield, but easier to DI.}}

**{{buff|Down smash has higher knockback scaling (70 → 78), improving its KO and edgeguarding potential.}}

**{{nerf|Sourspotted down smash deals less damage (13% → 12%).}}

**{{buff|[[Neutral aerial]] has more reach (5u → 6u (looping hits)/8u (final hit)). The looping hits also have higher set knockback (10 → 22) and use the [[autolink angle]] (110° → 367°), which alongside the weakening of SDI allows them to connect much more effectively. Lastly, the final hit has significantly increased knockback (40 (base)/100 (scaling) → 55/130), and always launches opponents in the direction Falco is facing, which alongside the changes to hitstun canceling grants it combo potential.}}

**{{nerf|Neutral aerial has more landing lag (9 frames → 15).}}

**{{change|The final hit of neutral aerial has increased hitlag (1x → 2x). This makes it safer on shield, but easier to DI.}}

**{{buff|Forward aerial's looping hits have set knockback (0 (base)/40 (scaling) → 60 (set)/100 (scaling)), a faster rehit rate (8 → 4), and use a different autolink angle (365° → 366°), which alongside the weakening of SDI allows them to connect much more effectively, despite their SDI multiplier being increased (0.8× → 1×). The final hit also deals more damage (3% → 4%) and knockback (80 (base)/60 (scaling) → 55/145), and launches at a lower angle (50° → [[Sakurai angle|361°]]), making it a reliable edgeguarding option. Furthermore, the move has less ending lag (FAF 58 → 50), landing lag (33 frames → 25), [[auto-cancel]]s earlier (frame 49 → 46), and possesses a new landing hitbox with high hitlag, making it harder to punish. These changes drastically improve its utility, and it is no longer one of the worst forward aerials.}}

**{{nerf|[[Forward aerial]] has more startup with a shorter duration (frames 6-33/34-35 → 10-27/28-29), and the looping hits deal less damage (2% → 1%), reducing its total damage output without the landing hit (11% → 9%). The final hit also has an increased SDI multiplier (0× → 1×) and less reach (8u → 6u).}}

**{{change|All hits of have increased hitlag (0.7× → 1× (looping hits), 2× → 2.5× (final hit)). This makes it safer on shield, but easier to DI.}}

**{{buff|[[Back aerial]] has a new animation, with Falco kicking more horizontally while leaning further away (akin to his dash attack), which narrows his hurtbox somewhat. The clean hit has much higher knockback scaling (103 → 130), improving its KO potential to the point of becoming one of the strongest back aerials in the game. It also auto-cancels earlier (frame 23 → 15), and benefits from the increased [[shieldstun]], now being safe on shield if its autocancel is timed properly.}}

**{{nerf|Back aerial has less reach (4.5u/6u/4u → 4.8u/3.2u), and its sourspot in front of Falco has been removed. It also has a shorter duration (frames 4-7 (clean)/8-19 (late) → 4-5/6-11).}}

**{{buff|Up aerial has less startup (frame 10 → 7) and ending lag (FAF 36 → 34), more reach (4.8u → 5u), and no longer has a sourspot that deals drastically lower knockback (30 (base)/20 (scaling) → 35/90), making it more reliable. It also launches at more vertical angles (68°/80° → 65°/75°/85°), which alongside its lower lag and the changes to hitstun canceling allow it to start combos more effectively.}}

**{{nerf|Up aerial deals less damage (11% → 10%) with knockback not fully compensated on its sweetspots (27 (base)/100 (scaling) → 35/90), hindering its KO potential.}}

**{{nerf|Up aerial has a shorter initial autocancel window (frames 1-6 → 1-3).}}

**{{buff|The removal of [[meteor canceling]] improves [[down aerial]]'s reliability for edgeguarding. Due to its 2× hitlag multiplier, it also benefits heavily from [[frame cancelling]] upon landing.}}

**{{nerf|Down aerial has an altered animation, resulting in over three times the startup lag (frame 5 → 16), more ending lag (FAF 50 → 52), almost twice the landing lag (12 frames → 23) and a slower auto-cancel (frame 27 → 38). This drastically worsens its utility and prevent it from autocanceling in a short hop. It also has less reach (5.5u → 4.2u (clean hit)/5.3u (late hit)), and lower knockback scaling on its clean hit (100 → 80).}}

**{{nerf|Down aerial has shorter initial autocancel window (frames 1-4 → 1-3).}}

**{{change|The clean hit of down aerial has a different launch angle on grounded opponents (280° → 80°) and aerial opponents (280° → 285°). In the former case, this improves its KO potential, but removes its follow-ups at high percentages and removes its ability to [[trip]] opponents at lower percents.}}

**{{change|The clean hit has increased hitlag (1× → 2×). This makes it safer on shield, but easier to DI.}}

**{{buff|[[Back throw]] deals more damage (2% (throw)/2% (lasers)/8% (total) → 6%/3%/9%). The throw's knockback scaling was not fully compensated (80 → 60) while the laser's knockback was not compensated, improving its KO potential (to the point where the move can now KO at realistic percents if the laser connects).}}

**{{buff|[[Up throw]] launches at more vertical angles (107° (throw)/50° (laser) → 94°/90°). When combined with the changes to hitstun canceling and DI, this siginificantly improves up throw's combo potential despite the laser coming out sooner than the previous third laser (frame 24 → 20).}}  

**{{buff|The throw and the laser deal more damage (2% (throw)/2% (lasers)/8% (total) → 4%/4%/8%). The throw only received a decrease to its base knockback (70 → 60) while the laser's kncokback was not compensated. When combined with their higher launch angles, this significantly improves up throw's KO potential (to the point where the move can now KO at realistic percents if the laser connects).}}

**{{nerf|Blaster no longer auto-cancels on landing, greatly hindering its safety as well as greatly hindering Falco's camping potential.}}  

**{{nerf|when Falco lands on the same frame as the laser comes out, the laser will now make a sound effect, making lasers easier to react to in this situation.}}  

**{{nerf|Lasers have a drastically shorter duration (98 frames → 33). When combined with the previous change, this drastically reduces the distance lasers travel, with them now only covering 3/4ths of Final Destination.}}

**{{nerf|The changes to shields have hinders the laser's safety on shield as their lack of hitlag now applies to shielding opponents.}}

**{{nerf|The longer gap between shots, the slower speed/shorter distance of the lasers and the introduction of the three hit [[lock]] limit, have greatly hindered the laser's locking potential.}}  

**{{buff|Falco Phantasm no longer dashes over edges when used on the ground, and has less landing lag when used in the air. It also no longer leaves Falco [[helpless]] when used in midair, and gives Falco some forward momentum after the move ends. Lastly, the introduction of [[ledge trump]]ing allows it to be used for gimping opponents after trumping the edge and the removal of meteor canceling improves its reliability.}}

**{{nerf|Falco Phantasm has slightly increased startup lag (frame 17 → 18), and can also no longer be shortened, hindering Falco's recovery mix-up options. The move also dashes more slowly, and the attack has less range, due to the hitbox ending before Falco dashes forward the full distance.}}

**{{buff|Fire Bird covers much more distance, and has less startup lag (frame 21 → 20). The charging portion's hits also have decreased SDI multipliers (1.5× → 0.8×), which alongside the weakening of SDI makes them harder to escape, although they still do not link very well.}}

**{{nerf|The hitbox deals less damage (6% → 5%).}}  

**{{nerf|The hitbox has a lower trip chance (40% → 25%).}}  

**{{nerf|The Reflector has a shorter duration (frames 1-51 → 1-32), no longer lasting the entire animation.}}  

**{{nerf|Landmaster is weaker and has a shorter duration.}}

'''{{GameIcon|ssb4}} [[1.0.8]]'''

*{{buff|Falco's [[air speed]] increased|0.893|0.93.}}

*{{buff|Falco's [[air acceleration]] increased|0.07|0.09.}}

*{{buff|Neutral attack improved. It keeps opponents in place more reliably for all of its hits and its hitboxes' sizes increased.}}

*{{buff|Neutral aerial improved. It keeps opponents in place more reliably for all of its hits, its hitboxes' sizes increased, and it always launches in the direction Falco faces.}}

*{{buff|Forward aerial deals 1% more damage if all aerial hits connect|5%|6%.}}

*{{buff|Forward aerial's start-up and landing lag decreased: 12 frames → 10 (start-up), 32 frames → 25 (landing).}}

*{{buff|Forward aerial overall lag decreased|58 frames|50, giving it follow-up potential.}}

*{{nerf|Forward aerial's landing hit deals 2% less damage|5%|3%.}}

*{{buff|Up aerial's start-up decreased|10 frames|7.}}

*{{buff|Up aerial's hitbox sizes increased and deal more vertical knockback.}}

*{{change|Up aerial's sourspot removed, leaving it with a single hitbox that deals 1% less damage than its previous sweetspot|11%|10%. This makes its utility much more consistent at the cost of an extra powerful hitbox.}}

*{{change|Sweetspotted down aerial no longer [[meteor smash]]es grounded opponents. Instead, it now launches opponents at a slightly diagonal trajectory. This makes it incapable of being [[tech]]ed at the cost of removing its follow-up potential at high percentages.}}

'''Technical changelist 1.0.8'''

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"

|Jab 1 hitboxes 0 and 2 switched|| ||

|Jab 1 base knockback||30||35

|-

|Jab 1 angle (hitboxes 0-1)||80°||68°/77°

|-

|Jab 1 size (hitboxes 0-1)||2/3||2.5/3.2

|Jab 1 Z-offset (hitbox 0)||0||-0.5

|-

|Jab 2 hitbox 2 angle||50°||45°

|-

|Jab 2 Z-offset (hitbox 2)||0||-0.5

|-

|Transition from Jab 2 to Jab 3||frame 10||frame 9

|-

|Rapid jab loop hitbox sizes||2/3||2.7/3.2

|-

|Neutral air weight-based knockback increased||| ||

|-

|Neutral air hitbox sizes increased || ||

|Neutral air (hit 2) damage||3%||2%

|-

|Neutral air hits now auto link || ||

|Neutral air's final hit now forces front-facing knockback || ||

|-

|Animation speed 1.33× for frames 0-37 || ||

|-

|Looping hits refresh time||6||4

|-

|Number of looping hits||3||5

|-

|Forward air landing damage||5%||3%

|Forward air base knockback||30||50

|-

|Up air damage||11%||10%

|-

|Up air angle||68°/68°/80°||65°/75°/85°

|Up air base knockback || 27/27/30 || 35/35/35

|Up air knockback scaling || 100/100/20 || 90/90/90

|Up air hitbox 0 size||4.8||5

| Animation speed 1.5× for frames 0-8 || ||

|-

|Up air startup||10 frames||7 frames

|-

|Down air sweetspot produces a different hitbox with a nonmeteor angle on grounded opponents || 285° || 80°

|Down air sourspot hitbox size||5||5.3

|}

|bairdesc=A back kick. It is notorious for being one of the fastest and strongest back aerials in the game; the clean hit comes out at frame 4 and possesses incredibly high knockback scaling that even exceeds moves such as {{SSB4|Ness}}'s back throw. When including its ability to autocancel from a [[short hop fast fall]], it is a powerful KOing option and combo breaker, capable of KOing at 130% from the center of [[Final Destination]]. However, its other qualities have been heavily toned down since ''Brawl'', with its range and duration being considerably shorter.

''See also: [[:Category:Falco professionals (SSB4)]]''

*{{Sm|AC|USA}}<!--Please do not change Armando's flag to Mexico unless you have proof that he is not an official U.S. resident. Flags should always represent the country they currently reside in (with a few exceptions, as ZeRo is currently not an official U.S. resident).--> (#47) - Considered the best Falco player in the world, but mostly uses {{SSB4|Meta Knight}} in tournament. Placed 1st at {{Trn|2GG: Breakthrough}}, 5th at {{Trn|SwitchFest}}, and 7th at {{Trn|2GGC: Midwest Mayhem Saga}}. Ranked 8th on the [[SoCal Smash 4 Power Rankings]] with a a win over {{Sm|6WX}}.

*{{Sm|Anragon|France}} - The best Falco player in Europe. Placed 3rd at [https://smash.gg/tournament/neokan-party-3/events/wii-u-singles/brackets/66958 Neokan Party 3], [http://challonge.com/fr/MARS2016SingleWiiU MARS 2016], and 33rd at {{Trn|Smashdown World}}. Previously ranked 9th on the [[French Power Rankings]].

*{{Sm|Cyro|USA}} - One of the best Falco players in the world. Placed 17th at {{Trn|2GG: Breakthrough}}, 33rd at both {{Trn|2GGT: Abadango Saga}} and {{Trn|2GGC: GENESIS Saga}}, and 65th at {{Trn|2GGC: Civil War}}.  

Falco has been viewed rather poorly ever since ''Smash 4''{{'}}s release. Players took little time to notice the severe nerfs to his [[Blaster]], which was an essential component of Falco's playstyle in his previous iterations and a driving force behind his top-tier placements in ''Melee'' and ''Brawl.'' The nerfs to his down aerial, another signature move of his, further contributed to his weak status, as well as being somewhat slower on the ground than in Brawl. As time went on and Falco saw little representation and almost no notable results to speak of, it became clear that his nerfs were indeed too severe for him to be even a mid-tier character in the eyes of the community. This is in spite of the fact that Falco has received numerous buffs over the game's life span, due to them largely failing to address his ineffective [[neutral game]]. Meanwhile, characters like {{SSB4|Ike}}, {{SSB4|Meta Knight}}, {{SSB4|Marth}}, and {{SSB4|Mewtwo}}, who were all at some point considered similarly below-average, would go on to receive more meaningful buffs, which served to only worsen Falco's position relative to the cast. Falco's nerfs and his ongoing lack of tournament presence would lead him to place at 38th on the first [[tier list]] released by the ''4BR''. He then saw drops to 49th on the second tier list, and again to 50th on the third tier list.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

::{{Flag|Pal}} ''With immense firepower and tough armour, the Landmaster makes for a mighty Final Smash. Falco can use this fine combat vehicle to run down and roll into rivals, as well as inundate them with cannon blasts. His Landmaster can hover a bit higher than Fox's making it easier to pick rivals up and give them a nice comfy ride off the stage!''

FalcoTrophy3DS.png|Classic (3DS)

FalcoAltTrophy3DS.png|Alt. (3DS)

FalcoTrophyWiiU.png|Classic (Wii U)

FalcoAltTrophyWiiU.png|Alt. (Wii U)

LandmasterFalcoTrophyWiiU.png|[[Landmaster]]

==In [[Event Match]]es==

===Solo Events===

===Co-op Events===

*Due to being placed 47th on the current tier list, Falco's tier placement marks the first time a ''Star Fox'' character is in the low tiers.