Indirect

In the sticker system used by Super Smash Bros. Brawl, some attacks are coded as being indirect (stickers display them as Specials: Indirect in NTSC and Indirect in PAL). Generally this indicates that an attack is a projectile or is similarly long-ranged and not involving hand-to-hand contact; despite the name, they do not have to be part of a special move.

The main effect of indirect attacks is that most enemies in The Subspace Emissary resist them to a small degree. This is presumed to encourage close-range combat as opposed to camping and turtling to defeat enemies in the mode. The only enemies to not resist them are Floows and the bosses Master Hand, Crazy Hand, Porky, Meta Ridley, and Tabuu. Indirect attacks also affect certain items: Uniras are not moved or dislodged by indirect attacks, and Metal Boxes do not activate when struck by one.

List of indirect attacks by characters

Character	Attack	Notes
Banjo & Kazooie	Egg Firing / Breegull Blaster
	Shock Spring Jump	aerial version, falling pad
	Rear Egg
Bayonetta	Bullet Arts
	Bullet Climax
	forward smash
	up smash
	down smash
Bowser	Fire Breath
Bowser Jr.	Clown Cannon
	Abandon Ship!	clown car, explosion
	Mechakoopa
	Shadow Mario Paint
Byleth	neutral aerial	landing
	Failnaught
	Aymr	shockwave
Captain Falcon	down smash	hit 1 interior
Charizard	forward aerial
	Flamethrower
	Rock Smash	fragments
	Mega Charizard X	Dragon Rush and Fire Blast
Chrom	Awakening Aether
Cloud	Blade Beam
	Omnislash	for the normal version, every hit except the final aerial slash and landing; for Ver. 5, only the dash and initial hit
Corrin	Dragon Fang Shot	water ball
	Dragon Ascent	surrounding water when initiating the move
Daisy	Vegetable
Dark Pit	Silver Bow
	Guardian Orbitars
	Dark Pit Staff
Dark Samus	Charge Shot
	Missile	both types
	Bomb
	Phazon Laser	except arm cannon at start
Diddy Kong	Peanut Popgun	peanut, thrown
	Rocketbarrel Boost	hit 1, loose barrels
	Rocketbarrel Barrage	ram
	Banana Peel
	Hyper Rocketbarrel
Donkey Kong	Hand Slap	only the grounded version
	Konga Beat
Dr. Mario	forward smash	electricity
	Megavitamins
	Doctor Finale
Duck Hunt	Trick Shot
	Clay Shooting
	Wild Gunman
Falco	neutral attack	infinite end wind
	Blaster
	Phantasm
	Landmaster	shot
Fox	neutral attack	infinite end wind
	Blaster
	Illusion
	Landmaster	shot
Giga Bowser	Fire Breath
Greninja	Water Shuriken
	Hydro Pump
	Secret Ninja Attack	mat
Hero	Frizz / Frizzle / Kafrizz
	Zap / Zapple / Kazap	for Zap, with sufficient mp only: every hit except last, lightning pillar; for Zapple: every hit except last, lightning pillar; for Kazap: bolt projectile, initial shock, shockwave
	Woosh / Swoosh / Kaswoosh
	Command Selection	Sizz, Sizzle, Bang, Kaboom, Whack, Thwack, Magic Burst, Kamikazee
Ice Climbers	Ice Shot
	Blizzard
Inkling	Splattershot
	Super Jump	start, landing
	Splat Bomb
	Killer Wail
Isabelle	dash attack
	forward aerial
	back aerial
	Lloid Trap
Ivysaur	Bullet Seed	seeds
	Razor Leaf
Joker	Gun / Gun Special
	Eiha / Eigaon
Kazuya	Devil Blaster
	Final Blaster
Ken	Hadoken
	Shippu Jinraikyaku / Shinryuken	only the Shippu Jinraikyaku version, first six kicks
King Dedede	Inhale	spit star
	Waddle Dee Toss
	Super Dedede Jump	stars
	Waddle Dee Army	wind
	Gordo Throw	bouncing gordo
	Dedede Burst
King K. Rool	Blunderbuss
	Crownerang
Kirby	Inhale	spit star
	Final Cutter	wave
	Ultra Sword
	copy abilities	any neutral special that is indirect
Link	Hero's Bow
	Gale Boomerang
	Bomb
	Triforce Slash
	forward smash	sword beam
	Bow and Arrows
	Boomerang
	Remote Bomb
	Ancient Bow and Arrow
	Hookshot
Little Mac	Giga Mac Rush
Lucario	neutral attack	tip
	down smash	front interior
	forward smash	tip
	Aura Sphere	not charging
	Aura Storm	beam
Lucas	up smash
	down smash
	PK Freeze
	PK Fire
	PK Thunder	thunder projectile
	PSI Magnet	end
	PK Starstorm
Lucina	up smash	sides
Luigi	Fireball
	grab aerial
Mario	forward smash	fire
	Fireball
	F.L.U.D.D.
	Mario Finale
Marth	up smash	sides
Mega Man	neutral attack	pellets
	forward tilt
	forward smash
	neutral aerial	pellets
	up aerial
	down aerial
	Metal Blade
	Crash Bomber
	Leaf Shield
	Mega Legends	black hole bomb explosion
Mewtwo	forward smash	tipper
	up smash
	down smash
	Shadow Ball
	Disable	Disable cannot actually hit items in Melee, so it's indirectness is irrelevant
Mii Brawler	Shot Put
Mii Gunner	forward aerial
	back aerial
	up aerial
	Charge Blast
	Flame Pillar
	Lunar Launch
	Laser Blaze
	Stealth Burst
	Bomb Drop
	Grenade Launch
	Gunner Missile
	Absorbing Vortex
	Full Blast
Mii Swordfighter	Gale Strike
	Shuriken of Light
	Chakram
Min Min	forward smash	dragon laser
	forward aerial	smash version, dragon laser
	back aerial	smash version, dragon laser
	Punch (neutral special)	grounded Ramram (ring)
	Punch (side special)	Ramram (ring, both tilt and smash versions) and Dragon (laser)
Mr. Game & Watch	neutral attack	end
	Chef	food
	forward aerial	bomb
	up aerial
Mythra	Ray of Punishment / Chroma Dust	light projectiles
	Sacred Arrow	falling arrows and beam
Ness	dash attack	every hitbox except largest one, ID2 of first hit
	PK Flash
	PK Fire
	PK Thunder	thunder projectile
	PSI Magnet	end wind
	PK Starstorm
Olimar	up smash
	down smash
	Pikmin Throw	Purple, SSE
	forward smash
Pac-Man	Bonus Fruit
	Fire Hydrant
Palutena	forward smash	outer windbox
	down smash	outer windboxes
	up smash
	Autoreticle
	Explosive Flame
	Black Hole Laser
Peach	Toad
	Vegetable
Pichu	Thunder Jolt
	Thunder	bolt
Pikachu	Thunder Jolt
	Thunder	bolt
Piranha Plant	Ptooie
	Poison Breath	poison cloud
Pit	Palutena's Arrow
	Palutena's Army
	Palutena Bow
	Guardian Orbitars
	Three Sacred Treasures
Pokémon Trainer	Triple Finish
Pyra	Blazing End	spinning aegis sword
	Prominence Revolt	flame pillar
	Burning Sword	flame pillar
R.O.B.	up smash
	forward smash
	neutral aerial
	back aerial
	down aerial
	Robo Beam
	Gyro
	Diffusion Beam
	Super Diffusion Beam
	Guided Robo Beam
Richter	Axe
	Cross
	Holy Water
Ridley	Plasma Breath
Robin	up smash	with levin sword, sides
	down smash	with levin sword, shockwave
	Thunder
	Arcfire
	Elwind
	Nosferatu	when it catches an opponent
	discarded levin sword and tomes
Rosalina & Luma	Star Bits
	Power Star
	Grand Star
Roy	Critical Hit
Ryu	Hadoken	also applies to Shakunetsu Hadoken
	Shin Shoryuken / Shinku Hadoken	for Shin Shoryuken, only the first hit
Samus	Charge Shot
	Missile	both types
	Bomb
	Zero Laser	except arm cannon at start
	Grapple Beam
Sephiroth	Flare / Megaflare / Gigaflare
	Shadow Flare
	Scintilla
Sheik	neutral attack	infinite end wind
	Needle Storm
	Light Arrow	hit 1
	Burst Grenade
	Sheikah Dance	dash
Simon	Axe
	Cross
	Holy Water
Snake	up smash	only mortar shot when not exploding
	down smash
	forward smash
	Hand Grenade
	Remote Missile
	Cypher
	C4
	Grenade Launcher
	taunt
Sonic	Spring Jump	falling spring
Sora	up tilt	low first hit
	up smash	low first hit
	Magic	all three spells
	Sealing the Keyhole
Squirtle	up smash
	Water Gun	charged only
Steve	down tilt
	up smash
	down smash
	down aerial
	Minecart
	TNT
Terry	Power Wave	both ground and aerial versions
	Triple Wolf
	Power Geyser
Toon Link	Hero's Bow
	Boomerang
	Bomb
	Triforce Slash
Villager	dash attack
	forward smash
	up smash	firework
	forward aerial
	back aerial
	Lloid Rocket
	Timber	watering can, tree, woodchip
Wario	forward smash	front
	Chomp	bite, explosion
	Wario Bike	thrown, tires
Wario-Man	up smash	wind
	forward smash	front
	Chomp	bite, explosion
	Wario Bike	thrown, tires
Wii Fit Trainer	Sun Salutation
	Header	soccer ball
	Wii Fit
Wolf	Blaster	laser
	Wolf Flash	during
	Landmaster	shot
Yoshi	Egg Throw
	Yoshi Bomb	stars
	Super Dragon	fire breath, fireball
Young Link	Fire Arrow
	Boomerang
	Bomb
	Triforce Slash
	Hookshot
Zelda	up aerial
	Din's Fire
	Light Arrow	hit 1
	Phantom Slash	only the dash
Zero Suit Samus	down smash
	up smash	hit 1, whip hits 2-6
	forward smash	whip
	neutral aerial
	Paralyzer
	Plasma Whip	all but grounded hit 1
	Plasma Wire
	Power Suit Samus	all but final hit
	armour pieces
	Gunship
	Zero Laser	every hit except the final blast

List of indirect attacks by items

All items, with the exception of battering items when swung and the Screw Attack, are indirect.