Falco (SSBU)/Down throw

Hitbox visualization showing Falco's down throw.

Overview[edit]

Falco pins his opponent to the ground and shoots a laser. Without DI, the throw sends the opponent at a ~45° angle. With DI, the throw can send at higher or more outward angles, with DI in and away respectively.

Down throw is one of Falco's best combo starters at low-mid percentages, as it sets up into a lot of his main combo routes, with Falco being able to follow up with:

dash forward shorthop:
- Forward aerial
- Neutral aerial

dash forward:
- Up tilt
- Up smash

Dash attack

The most rewarding moves Falco can get off of down throw are forward air and up tilt. With forward air, Falco is able to get loops with drag down forward air, where he can re-grab into down throw and repeat the loop again (~3 reps on the average middleweight). He can also drag down forward air into loops with down tilt (2 reps of down tilt out of down throw; if you start with down tilt, it is possible to get 3). With up tilt, Falco can combo the move into itself as well as (at slightly higher percentages) into up air and neutral air, which can lead into other combo routes. It is also possible to combo into up tilt with drag down forward air, as well as neutral air can combo into drag down forward air, which can lead into the previously mentioned combo routes that forward air and up tilt lead into. That fact that down throw offers the possibility of comboing into drag down forward air and up tilt, which isn't possible with up throw, or at least offer the same kind of follow ups, gives a reason to choose it over up throw, as Falco can deal lots of damage with these combo routes.

These follow ups stop being guaranteed after around mid percentages (~40% onward on average middle weights), and can be influenced by DIing away in order to end combos even earlier. After the window for guaranteed follow ups has ended, down throw does not have any other big uses outside of gaining stage control/sending opponents offstage; however, forward throw is much more effective at doing so, as it sends farther and at a lower angle, which makes it harder for opponents to recover from. For continuing to combo off of throws after mid percentages, up throw has follow ups that continue after mid percentages where down throw can't be followed up on.

Overall, down throw is a good move that Falco can get a lot off on. It is able to reliably combo into his main combo extenders (drag down forward air & up tilt) from low-mid percentages, which lead into his heavy hitting combo routes where he is able to deal lots of damage. When percentages get too high and Falco can't convert off of down throw anymore, it has very few uses that are not done better by most of his other moves (forward throw & up throw).