Figure Player
A Figure Player (abbreviated FP) is a computer-controlled fighter whose playstyle is saved to an amiibo. The Figure Player will be the same fighter that its amiibo represents.
Figure Players are the primary use of amiibo in the Super Smash Bros. series, being their only use in Super Smash Bros. 4.
In Super Smash Bros. 4[edit]
In Super Smash Bros. 4, amiibo, when scanned by the console, allow the character represented by the figurines to be used in-game as a customized CPU opponent. Any amiibo figure corresponding to a Smash character may be used (not only Super Smash Bros. series amiibo); however, amiibo cards (such as the Animal Crossing amiibo cards) cannot be used as Figure Players. amiibo can be used to load Figure Players into any copy of the game, even if the character has not been unlocked or downloaded.
The Figure Player can be modified by players with character customization options, which can then be saved to the amiibo. As with other player-designed custom sets for characters, amiibo can be assigned a name and a specific alternate costume. In the case of the Mii Fighters, instead of assigning them a determinate alternate costume, one of the Mii Fighters (corresponding the type of Mii Fighter) saved in the game file is assigned to the Figure Player that also can be assigned an specific headgear and outfit.
Unlike normal fighters, amiibo fighters' stats are modified by "feeding" them equipment, including equipment that fighter cannot normally use (e.g. a Mario Figure Player can be "fed" Hammer equipment, despite not being able to equip it), but any "fed" equipment is permanently lost. There is a limit to how many times a Figure Player can be fed before battling. A Figure Player can also "learn" up to three bonus effects from the equipment they are given. By default, the amiibo's stat total is capped at 120.
The Figure Player functions as a specialized computer player, with the tag "FP" (Figure Player) above them. Figure Players start at level 1 like regular CPU players, but as they fight more often, they can continue to level up, to a cap of 50. As they gain levels, Figure Players can potentially "learn" techniques from other characters: if a player frequently uses long-ranged, camping techniques, then the amiibo will also begin to emulate this behavior. This learning continues even after the 50 level cap is reached. In addition, a Figure Player can gain improved fighting statistics—such as improved damage, knockback, and reaction times—as its level increases. Finally, higher-leveled Figure Players can adapt to individual matches faster than lower-leveled ones; for example, if an opponent takes on an aggressive, rush-down style against a Figure Player in one match, it will begin to make more use of defensive techniques like spot dodges and rolls. However, even high-level Figure Players may struggle on complex stages, like walking back and forth before fighting on stages like Gaur Plain.
Figure Players also earn gold and other items while fighting, which are retrieved when checking them in the amiibo menu. Aside from gold, they can also earn custom parts or trophies. The longer the Figure Player has fought, the more presents and gold are received. These items can be retrieved when the amiibo is scanned on its owner's console under the amiibo menu.
While Super Smash Bros. for Wii U natively supports amiibo, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS was unable to do so at launch. Version 1.0.5, released on February 9, 2015, added support for scanning amiibo if the game is played on a New Nintendo 3DS or New Nintendo 2DS, while version 1.0.8, released on June 14, 2015, added support for an external NFC reader/writer accessory, enabling support for earlier Nintendo 3DS and 2DS models when used in conjunction with this hardware.
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]
|
This article or section is incomplete. You can help SmashWiki by expanding or finishing it. The editor who added this tag elaborates: Add additional functions, like inherit from spirits. Maybe find more information about the lacking personality traits. |
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, amiibo figures representing fighters in the game can be scanned to load Figure Players into the game.
Figure Player data from Super Smash Bros. 4 can be transferred to Ultimate, but high level Figure Players are leveled down to a set level upon conversion (for example, a level 50 Figure Player becomes level 12). Once transferred, the amiibo data will no longer work in SSB4. Alternately, the player can clear the pre-existing Figure Player data and start again in Ultimate. As Charizard was added back into Pokémon Trainer’s team, a Charizard amiibo will scan as Pokémon Trainer with Charizard as the starting Pokémon.
Similar to Super Smash Bros. 4, as a Figure Player fights it will level up, with a cap at level 50. As a Figure Player levels up it will deal more and receive less damage, starting with a value of 0.9 (10% less damage dealt, 11% more damage received) at level 1 and scaling linearly to 1.3 (30% more damage dealt, 23% less damage received) at level 50. During battles, figure players have a unique color: a vertical gradient from yellow at the top to blue at the bottom.
Figure Players can inherit a spirit's stats and their effects, but the spirit will be permanently consumed. A Figure Player that consumes a primary spirit will gain it's type and stats. The first primary spirit that is consumed will give stats equal to MIN(Team Power×0.61, 5000)×Stat Ratio, where 'Stat Ratio' is attack/(attack+defense) or defense/(attack+defense) . The highest stat a Fighter Player can have in normal gameplay is 5000 (which can be achieved with a lv.99 Absolutely Safe Capsule), however modding an amiibo can exceed this limit[1]. The attack and defense multipliers given by a stat is roughly 1 + ([attack or defense]×3.077/10000), with attack and defense being limited to 0-10000. This results in a maximum multiplier for attack or defense being around ×2.54 (or just over ×4 with modding).
A Figure Player also has 3 slots that can be filled with support spirit skills. Consuming support spirits will also alter the Figure Player's personality (see "Personality Traits"), with some personality types seemingly available only through the use of spirits. If there aren't enough open slots for a skill, the player will be given a choice to remove skills to make space. Skills will also reduce the Figure Player's stats, forcing the player to decide if the skill is worth the lower stats. The stats and effects on a Figure Player will always be active regardless of whether the player has spirits on or off in the rules.
Additionally, the ability for a Figure Player to learn and gain experience during battle can now be enabled or disabled on the amiibo menu, essentially freezing the AI. Figure Players can also be used in the game's Training Mode in place of a regular CPU, though they do not gain experience.
Starting in 3.1.0, Figure Players can also be used online in Battle Arenas, as well as be sent on a journey, where they battle other Figure Players to gain experience.
Personality traits[edit]
In Ultimate, Figure Players can have personality traits that describe how they behave in battle. The different personality traits are detailed below.[2]
| Trait | Style | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Normal | Neutral | The default, all-round Figure Player. This is the trait that all Figure Players start with. It balances aggressive and defensive options evenly. Virtually all Figure Players lose this trait after levelling up. |
| Cautious | Defensive | These Figure Players will be more defensive and stable in their choices. They will very rarely take risks and go for gimps. |
| Realistic | Defensive | An extreme version of Cautious, these Figure Players will be even more defensive and won't edgeguard without major hesitation. |
| Unflappable | Defensive | As the name suggests, this Figure Player is incredibly defensive. They are typically incredible at parries and shields even when nothing is happening. They typically use grounded and smash attacks. |
| Light | Neutral | Favouring the air, these Figure Players go for short and quick combos to rack up damage quickly. |
| Quick | Neutral | Similar to the Light trait, but prefers longer combos closer to the ground. These Figure Players also often dash-dance and foxtrot when not attacking or defending. |
| Lightning Fast | Neutral | These Figure Players are the fastest, choosing to approach opponents with dash-dances and foxtrots before attacking with several combos. |
| Enthusiastic | Offensive | Always on the offensive, Figure Players with this trait will often take risks and use many smash attacks to rack up damage. |
| Aggressive | Offensive | Very similar to Enthusiastic, but the Figure Player will go for combos that end in a strong attack to finish off. It may also use dash-dances and foxtrots to approach. |
| Offensive | Offensive | Shares virtually all traits with Aggressive, although the Figure Player may attempt to gimp much more often. They typically favor stronger attacks than Aggressive and go for KOs sooner. |
| Reckless | Offensive | Very rarely shields or defends. The Figure Player will always attempt to deal damage to their opponent, even if that means receiving a lot of damage too. |
| Thrill Seeker | Offensive | Will go off the stage to attempt to gimp as a main option. The Figure Player will often unintentionally SD, as it will often neglect its own recovery in order to gimp opponents. |
| Daredevil | Offensive | Similar to Thrill Seeker, a Figure Player with this trait will use incredibly risky options most of the time and will gimp opponents whenever possible, sometimes to the point of Sacrificial KOs. |
| Versatile | Neutral | Not much is known about this trait, although it seems as if these Figure Players have a balanced strategy that can adapt to most situations. |
| Tricky | Neutral | These Figure Players will go for punishes and move around the stage a lot. If they have projectiles, they will use them with a fair knowledge of spacing. |
| Technician | Neutral | Not much is known about this trait. It seems to be a variant of Tricky that is more prone to using short hop specials and employs projectiles more aggressively. |
| Show-Off | Offensive | These Figure Players jump off the stage and go for spikes. They are one of the more risky traits. |
| Flashy | Offensive | Very aggressive; going for gimps, aerials and taunting even half way through a battle. |
| Entertainer | Offensive | Not much is known about this trait. Figure Players with this trait are thought to take more risks. |
| Cool | Defensive | Similar to the Normal trait, but generally more defensive. Unlike Cautious, it will attempt to gimp or use Aerials on occasion. |
| Logical | Defensive | A very projectile-oriented and defensive style. Usually, if the Figure Player has the choice to gimp or recover, they will recover. |
| Sly | Defensive | Not much is known about this trait. Similar to Logical, but with more projectile use and appears to be inclined towards foxtrots and dash-dances. |
| Laid Back | Neutral | Very similar to Normal, but has a more slow way of moving around the stage. |
| Wild | Offensive | Not much is known about this trait. Seems to be very aggressive and may be related to Flashy and Show-Off. |
| Lively | Offensive | Not much is known about this trait. Observations suggest that it rarely if ever stays still and may try to go off-stage to gimp. It may also taunt or dash-dance. |
In competitive play[edit]
A niche tournament scene involving exclusively amiibo has developed since their introduction in both Smash 4 and Ultimate. Due to their ability to be trained and become more powerful over time, many players have decided to make brackets specific to amiibo to find the strongest Figure Player. While not meant to be taken seriously, these tournaments are meant to be fun and a way to show off the oddities Figure Players can create.
An interesting aspect of amiibo tournaments is how its competitive scene is almost entirely incongruent with the rest of the scene. Due to Figure Players being artificial intelligence that acts off an "if-then" script, they behave completely different to human players and games play out differently as a result. An obvious example is that Little Mac[3] and Incineroar[4] amiibo are not only considered top tier in Smash 4 and Ultimate respectively, but are considered so dominant that they are often banned, due to their strengths being magnified when fighting against AI and the AI being unable to effectively take advantage of their weaknesses, such as never camping and being unable to edgeguard effectively. Other characters like Cloud in Smash 4 and Terry in Ultimate are allowed, but with stat handicaps in the name of fairness.
Ultimate adding the ability for Figure Players to consume spirits and gaining their effects added another layer of depth to how amiibo tournaments work. The broken stat and effect builds that are possible with certain characters often warrant the need for certain spirits and effects to be banned. While there is no universal ban list, some generally agreed upon banned effects include Super Armor, Slow Super Armor, Armor Knight, Autoheal, and Great Autoheal.[5] Before entering a tournament, each amiibo must be inspected to ensure it abides by the tournament ruleset and has not consumed any banned spirits nor has been hacked in any way.
In standard tournament play, teaming with a Figure Player for doubles is universally banned, outside of rare side events centered around that premise. While tournaments may occasionally allow players without a partner to team with a CPU as long as they pay double the entry fee, teaming with a Figure Player isn't allowed due to the immense statistical buffs they have even if not fed any equipment/spirits. Aside from giving them a significant unfair advantage over their opponents, it also radically changes gameplay by altering how combos and kill confirms work on them, the frame advantage of moves that hit them, the shield safety of moves used by the Figure Player, among other things. Tournaments will typically have it stated in their rules that using amiibos are banned, and if not, tournament organizers will reject someone trying to enter doubles with their amiibo on the spot.
