Editing Ike (SSBU)

|image = {{tabber|title1=Path of Radiance|content1=[[File:Ike SSBU.png|x250px]]|title2=Radiant Dawn|content2=[[File:Ike-Alt1 SSBU.png|x250px]]}}

|tier = D-

|ranking = 71

Ike is currently ranked 71st out of 82 on the [[tier list]], placing him in the upper of D- tier. This is a moderate drop from his tier placement in ''SSB4'', where he was ranked 39th out of 54, and is his worst placement in the series. Ike's best assets lie in his overall power and range, having some of the strongest moves in the game. His neutral aerial is an infamously effective combo tool thanks to its low landing lag and base knockback, making it an effective option for spacing and initiating combos, including into KO confirms. Additionally, Ike has a promising combo game, as he is able to use down tilt, neutral aerial, down throw and, to a lesser extent, his up throw to confirm into combos at various percentages. Courtesy of Ike's relatively high power, his combos translate into giving him effective 50/50 KO combos for a heavyweight.

However, Ike also has some polarizing weaknesses, most notably his poor disadvantage state. Due to his tall height, heavy [[weight]], slow mobility, and sluggish frame data, Ike is especially susceptible to combo-oriented and/or speedy fighters. His most effective tools are hampered by poor hitboxes or low speed: some examples include his back aerial, which starts too high to hit most standing characters despite its speed, and his neutral aerial, which has a slow hitbox that starts above Ike and renders it very predictable. He is also vulnerable to [[perfect shield]]ing due to his overall slow aerial attacks and general reliance on aerials, giving him trouble with landing. Finally, Ike suffers from a predictable recovery: both his recovery moves have fixed travel trajectories (either fully horizontal with [[Quick Draw]] or fully vertical with [[Aether]]), making him reliant on conserving his [[double jump]] and rendering him weak to reasonably strong [[semi-spike]]s while recovering.

Ike originally achieved very promising results during the early metagame of ''Ultimate'' and was usually considered one of the best swordfighters during that time, courtesy of players such as {{Sm|MkLeo}} and {{Sm|Ryuga}}. However, his representation notably declined due to his weaknesses becoming exploitable as time went on, and with his best players either dropping him or becoming inactive. Despite currently having below-average representation, Ike has nevertheless maintained some tournament success in the current metagame, thanks to dedicated mains such as {{Sm|Tora}} and {{Sm|PsyKoD}}.

Ike has received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition from ''SSB4'' to ''Ultimate'', having been buffed overall, though not enough to improve his standing.

Ike benefits from some of the universal gameplay changes. The changes to [[air dodge]] mechanics significantly benefit Ike's [[edgeguarding]] and juggling game. His mobility has been improved to help with the new faster pace of ''Ultimate'', sharing the universal buffs of a 3-frame [[jumpsquat]]. His aerials also have significantly reduced landing lag, making them much more reliable for landing and comboing. When it comes to direct changes to his aerial game, Ike's [[neutral aerial]] has faster startup, lower landing lag and a more reliable disjoint, making it an even better approach option and combo starter, to the point it now has semi-reliable KO confirms on his [[back aerial|back]] and [[up aerial]]s. Ike has also received a new up aerial with greatly increased horizontal and vertical range, improving his powerful juggling capabilities.

Thanks to his faster jumpsquat, Ike is able to combo with his [[down tilt]] and [[down throw]] at low percentages more reliably; the former also has less knockback, giving Ike KO setups at high percentages against some characters. [[Eruption]] can now generate a maximum of three flame pillars if fully charged, improving its already powerful ledge-trapping potential. Finally, the already high power on a few of his moves has been further increased, such as [[neutral attack]], [[forward tilt]], [[forward smash|forward]] and [[down smash]], and the landing hit of [[Aether]]; most notably, neutral attack has had its lost KO power from ''Brawl'' completely restored.

However, Ike's nerfs were also noticeable. His [[dash]]ing speed was almost unchanged, making him much less mobile relative to the cast despite his improved air speed and streamlined jumpsquat. His [[forward aerial]], a staple of his [[neutral game]] in ''Brawl'' and ''SSB4'', had its hitboxes repositioned to create a small blind spot, no longer [[autocancel]]s in a short hop, and has significantly decreased knockback, removing a lot of its previously great KO potential. Combined with his much slower grounded mobility relative to the cast, Ike's approach is much more limited. Aether is also a much more polarized recovery option, as his sword now moves along the stage's perimeters instead of passing through the stage. While several of his attacks now have increased power, it has been reduced on some of his other moves, most notably with [[up tilt]]. His grabs' range was also nerfed, making them much less reliable for punishing.

A few of the engine's changes also hinder Ike. The universal increase to grabs' ending lag further hinders Ike's own grabs due to their shorter range. The changes to [[rage]] prove detrimental to Ike, since he can't take as much advantage of it at higher percentages due to his high weight. Lastly, the size reduction of most stage's ledges, combined with Aether's higher vulnerability and [[Quick Draw]] receiving no changes to its recovery potential, mean Ike's recovery is much more exploitable, increasing his vulnerability to edge-guarding just as much as the changes benefit his own.

Overall, Ike's changes and improvements have given him new ways to gain the advantage and also grant him a deadlier [[punish]] game, with less overall difficulty in KOing due to his enhanced overall moveset and combo ability. However, because his mobility remains slow (especially when compared to most other characters), he has a slightly harder time at keeping up with the rest of the cast. His worsened grabs also force him more to use his range to punish opponents. Ike has received various changes in game updates that have also toned down his most oppressive moves (most notably his neutral aerial's combo ability at high percentages) in exchange for increased power, though none of these changes have noticeably improved his viability. This is coupled with various returning veterans receiving buffs both on release and through game updates, as well as various metagame shifts and the introduction of DLC characters, some of which Ike struggles against. As a result, while it's generally agreed that Ike is more potent than he was in ''SSB4'', he has not significantly improved from the previous game, instead performing worse relative to the rest of the cast.

|dsmashdesc=A kneeling, two-handed outward slash in front of himself and then behind himself. It is Ike's fastest smash attack by a considerable margin, hitting on frame 13. The front hit is considerably weaker than Ike's other smash attacks, but still boasts respectable power, KOing opponents at around 105% from the center of Final Destination. As a result, it is Ike's most reliable smash attack overall; however, its 70 total frames and 35 frames of ending lag make it very punishable if it misses or is shielded. On the other hand, the back hit is slower, coming out on frame 32, and has a much weaker late hit, but its hitboxes have a longer duration, and the clean hit is far stronger, dealing impressive damage and KOing opponents at around 85% while having less ending lag compared to the front hit. Unlike most down smashes of its kind, both hits come out too high to 2-frame opponents at the ledge.

|nairdesc=A downward arcing slash underneath himself. It has the lowest landing lag out of Ike's aerials, and its hitboxes have a long duration, provide wide coverage around and below Ike, and launch opponents vertically. Altogether, these traits make it an infamously reliable combo starter when [[SHFF]]'d, while also being a relatively safe spacing option. It is renowned for reliably comboing into a wide variety of attacks, including neutral attack, tilts and grab at low percentages, and an aerial attack (including itself) at low to medium percentages. At higher percents, it can be followed up with any of Ike's aerials and eventually becomes a notoriously reliable KO set-up into [[Aether]] near 80%, though at even higher percentages this stops being the case. It is Ike's least damaging aerial, but as of update 8.0.0, its knockback has increased to the point that it can function as a situational KO option at very high percentages while near the upper blast line. While it has excellent strengths, it is very predictable due to its hitbox starting above Ike's head, meaning the hitbox tends to connect around head level for opponents. As a result, it comes out slower than expected and is relatively easy to shield. Its long duration and high ending lag also makes it punishable if used high up in the air, as well as risky to use offstage. Finally, it is unable to autocancel even with a full jump, requiring a double jump to do so.

|bairdesc=Quickly turns around to perform an outward slash. Due to its hitting on frame 7, it is Ike's fastest aerial. When coupled with its high damage and knockback for its speed, long horizontal range, and low landing lag, it is one of Ike's most viable approach and KO options. It can KO middleweights at around 120% from the center of Final Destination. Like the rest of Ike's aerials, however, its high ending lag prevents it from being used offstage as safely. It also has a short vertical range, being unable to hit many opponents below standing human height from the ground even though it is Ike's only aerial move that he can autocancel in a short hop.

|pummeldesc=A headbutt. Slow but strong.

|nsdesc=Lifts Ragnell in front of himself in a two-handed reverse grip, and plunges it into the ground to produce a pillar of blue flames. It has [[transcendent priority]] and is [[charge]]able, causing Ragnell to become engulfed in [[flame]]s that become more prominent the longer it is charged. Its impressive vertical range and respectable power even when uncharged make it useful for edge-guarding, hitting recovering opponents before they can grab the edge if timed properly. When reaching full charge level, it grants super [[armor]] and produces one additional flame pillar away from Ike, or two if held for the maximum duration, significantly increasing its horizontal range; however, it also deals 10% [[recoil damage]] to him in the process in the latter case. It can KO middleweights at around 150% when uncharged, and at around 55% from center stage when fully charged. The flame pillars at full charge deal more damage the closer to their base opponents are hit. A fully charged Eruption is also capable of instantly breaking a full shield, similarly to a fully charged [[Shield Breaker]]. Can also hit slightly behind Ike if sufficiently charged.

|ssdesc=Kneels on one knee and readies himself to charge forward. If an opponent comes in range, Ike will perform a lunging outward slash. It deals more knockback on the ground, becoming strong enough to KO middleweights at around 120% when fully charged. However, it has high ending lag if no opponent comes in range. In midair, it renders Ike [[helpless]] apart from a short window after swinging at an opponent where he can use his double jump or up special, but still functions reliably as an alternate recovery option due to the long horizontal distance it provides when charged, as well as its ability to auto-cancel if timed properly.

|usdesc=Performs the {{iw|fireemblemwiki|Sol|skill}} portion of {{iw|fireemblemwiki|Aether}}, which sees Ike throwing Ragnell directly upwards, causing it to spin before he leaps upward to grab Ragnell, perform a somersaulting series of slashes, then conclude with a descending slash. It covers a respectable amount of vertical distance, but almost no horizontal distance. It grants super armor when initiated and until Ike begins rising, for a much longer window if the move is used on the ground, while all but its first hit have transcendent priority. Although it is primarily used for recovering, it can also function as a useful damage racking option when all of its hits connect due to its high total damage. Its descending hitbox also meteor smashes opponents, allowing it to be used for a [[sacrificial KO]]. As of update 2.0.0, its descending hitbox has less knockback, which makes it less reliable at KOing opponents before Ike loses his stock if used too high up. As of update 8.0.0, its landing hit has significantly more knockback and a much more horizontal launching angle, to the point that it KOs middleweights as low as 70% near the edge.

|dsdesc=[[fireemblemwiki:Counter|Parries]] and then [[counterattack]]s against any incoming attacks with a reverse gripped downward slash while Ragnell is covered in blue flames. It is slow for a counterattack, activating on frame 9, and has high ending lag, but is among the strongest counterattacks in the game in terms of knockback. Additionally, due to granting Ike full intangibility on frames 8-15, it can effectively be used to retaliate against attacks one frame before its counter window. However, the counterattack itself has the peculiar trait of not slowing his descent at all during execution, causing him to fall the most distance after triggering it offstage compared to other characters' counter moves and making it very risky to edgeguard with.

SSBUIkeIdle1.gif|Ike's first idle pose.

SSBUIkeIdle2.gif|Ike's second idle pose.

*{{Sm|MkLeo|Mexico}} - The greatest ''Ultimate'' player of all-time who played Ike in the early months of ''Ultimate''. He won {{Trn|GENESIS 6}} with primarily Ike, which stands as the only major win from an Ike player as well as the best tournament run from an Ike player. Since dropping Ike, no other Ike player has ever came close to his results, as his win at GENESIS 6, 2nd-place finish at {{Trn|Frostbite 2019}}, and 4th-place finish at {{Trn|Glitch 6}} remain the only top 8 finishes from an Ike player.

*{{Sm|PsyKoD|USA}} - The best Ike player in North America in the post-pandemic metagame, best known for placing 9th at {{Trn|The Big House 10}} defeating {{Sm|BassMage}} and {{Sm|IcyMist}}, one of the highest major performances from an Ike player during this period. His other results include placing 5th at {{Trn|Chain Grab 2}} defeating IcyMist again and placing 49th at {{Trn|Let's Make Big Moves 2023}} and {{Trn|Maesuma TOP 13}}. He picked up {{SSBU|Cloud}} in 2024, although Ike remained in his roster as a co-main.

*{{Sm|Ryuga|USA}} - The best Ike player in the world after MkLeo dropped the character and the only solo-Ike player ranked top 50 globally, ranking 33rd on the [[Spring 2019 PGRU]]. His performances in the first half of the year, especially 9th at {{Trn|Frostbite 2019}} and 17th at {{Trn|MomoCon 2019}}, remains some of the best Ike performances of all-time. He became inactive in 2020.

*{{Sm|Tora|Japan}} - The best Ike player in the post-pandemic metagame. She is known for her many strong superregional performances, including placing 5th at both {{Trn|Kurobra 40}} and {{Trn|KOWLOON 10}} as well as 7th at {{Trn|Kyokkan 6}}, and while her major performances vary, they are still overall more consistent than other Ike players during this time, having placed 17th at {{Trn|UltCore Second}} and 25th at both {{Trn|Maesuma TOP 15 "FINAL"}} and {{Trn|Sumabato SP 50}}. She also has the best Ike wins during this metagame defeating {{Sm|Gackt}} at Maesuma TOP 15 and {{Sm|Umeki}} at {{Trn|Maesuma TOP 13}}.

*{{Sm|Yez|USA}} - First known for his online performances during the pandemic, where he was ranked 7th on the [[Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v7]] and placed 2nd at {{Trn|Mazer Gaming Gives Back 2}} and 4th at {{Trn|The Box: Lunchbox+}}. Although less prominent when offline returned, he remained the best Ike player in the world in the next two years, seeing some of Ike's best placements since the early metagame including 9th at {{Trn|Kagaribi 8}} and 25th at {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2022}}. He went inactive in 2023.

 

===Tier placement and history===

In the early metagame, Ike was seen as a significantly improved character from his low-mid tier placement from the previous installment, due to disjoints being prominent in the metagame. Initial tournament results were also strong thanks to players such as {{Sm|MkLeo}} and {{Sm|Ryuga}}; MkLeo especially won the first ''Ultimate'' supermajor {{Trn|GENESIS 6}} with Ike. This led to an initial positive reception, with top players designating him as a high tier fighter.

 

However, Ike's weaknesses, most notably his poor disadvantage state, hampered most of this initial positive reception. Ike's reception further cooled off after MkLeo dropped him and following Ryuga's tournament presence waning in regard to both attendance and significant placements. The latter also retired from competitive play later on, further reducing his representation. Despite an overall lukewarm reception toward his viability offline, Ike had a brief period of success during the online metagame. As [[perfect shield]]ing is harder to perform due to input lag, Ike's slow aerial attacks and tilt attacks are safer on shield during online play than they are during offline play. Players such as {{Sm|Yez}} and {{Sm|Ravenking}} capitalized on this and managed to achieve high placements at large online tournaments alongside their high rankings on the [[Wi-Fi Warrior Rank]]s.

 

In the post-online metagame, dedicated mains such as Yez, {{Sm|PsyKoD}}, and {{Sm|Tora}} continue to achieve respectable placements in offline tournaments. However, none of the players were as consistent as MkLeo or Ryuga in his prime, which coupled with his overall below-average representation and noticeable weaknesses led to his placement on the first tier list, where he was ranked 65th as a lower-mid tier.

 

This unfortunately continued on the second and current tier list where he fell from his previous 65th placement to 71st in the D- tier, registering Ike as a low tier character.

*** His "{{ja|誰にも、譲る気はない|Darenimo yuzuruki wa nai}}" (''I have no intention of yielding to anyone.'') is taken from a conversation he has with Mist in the prelude to Chapter 27 of ''Path of Radiance'', prior to his duel with the Black Knight, but is taken out of context for ''Ultimate'': it was originally Ike expressing his determination to fight the Black Knight at all and refusal to let anyone talk him out of it, not a refusal to lose. Accordingly, the English version of ''Path of Radiance'' translated the line as "That's one thing I won't let anyone else do in my stead," while ''Ultimate'' translates it as "I submit to no one."

*** His "{{ja|あんたの戦い…見事だった|Anta no tatakai... migotodatta}}" (''You fought... well.'') line originates from his battle with Bryce in the Endgame of ''Path of Radiance''; this line was originally translated in that game as "You fought...a good fight." ''Ultimate'' translates this as "Your skills were... remarkable."

*** His "{{ja|俺は前に進む|Ore wa mae ni susumu}}" (''I move forward.'') line is a condensed version of a line he speaks in the aftermath of his slaying of the Black Knight in the Part 4 Endgame of ''Radiant Dawn'': {{ja|俺は立ち止まらん。死ぬまで前に進み続ける。|Ore wa tachitomasen. Shinu made mae ni susumitsuzukeru.}} (''I will not stop. I will keep moving forward until I die.'') In the English localization of ''Radiant Dawn'', this was translated as "I will keep fighting. I won't stop until I die," while ''Ultimate'' translates the shortened version simply as "I must move forward".