Editing King Dedede (SSBU)

Series creator [[Masahiro Sakurai]]'s portrayal of King Dedede from ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]'' was repurposed for ''Ultimate''.

 

King Dedede is currently ranked 79th out of 82 on the current ''Ultimate'' [[tier list]], placing him at the top of E+ tier, and the lowest ranked veteran from Brawl. While Dedede was significantly buffed, this is similar to his exceptionally low placement in ''Smash 4'' at 51st out of 54.

 

King Dedede has some of the best endurance out of any fighter on the roster. Dedede is tied with {{SSBU|Donkey Kong}} as the third [[weight|heaviest]] character in the game and has one of the best vertical recoveries due to [[Super Dedede Jump]], allowing him to survive to extremely high percents. Dedede's primary strengths lie in his hammer and deadly [[ledge trap]]s. King Dedede's hammer provides him with large, disjointed [[hitbox]]es on many of his moves, making him one of the few super-heavyweights that can reliably [[space]] his opponent. Dedede's hammer can also be quite powerful, as he boasts some of the strongest [[smash attack]]s and [[aerial]]s in ''Ultimate''. Furthermore, Dedede's [[Gordo Throw]] combined with his various [[tilt]]s and smash attacks can make Dedede one of the most intimidating characters on the [[ledge]]. King Dedede's moves were largely buffed in power, frame data, and [[combo]] ability in their transition to ''Ultimate''. The most significant buff to Dedede's overall moveset is that {{B|Inhale|Dedede}} now serves as a reflector, allowing Dedede to better fight against [[projectile]] [[camping]]. Inhale can also be used in conjunction with his [[Gordo]]s, giving him another way to use his sole projectile against his opponent. 

 

Changes made to the engine in the transition from ''Smash 4'' to ''Ultimate'' have benefited Dedede's limited combo potential and linear [[recovery]]. Universal reductions to [[landing lag]] made [[neutral aerial]] and [[up aerial]] better combo tools than in ''Smash 4''. Changes made to [[jumpsquat]]s and [[air dodging]] enhance Dedede's [[edgeguarding]] and his poor horizontal recovery options. While air dodging was severely nerfed in ''Ultimate'', Dedede is relatively unaffected by these changes due to his multiple jumps and high vertical recovery.

 

However, King Dedede has severe flaws that overshadow most of his positive attributes, especially when in disadvantage. Dedede's awful mobility is the source of many of his problems, with him especially struggling in the air thanks to having the slowest [[air speed]] in the game. While Dedede's overall speed is better than in ''Smash 4'', it's still a challenge for him to [[approach]] or retreat from his opponent. Like many super-heavyweights, King Dedede has a large hitbox and few escape options, making him highly susceptible to combos and [[juggling]]. While this can be somewhat dealt with through Dedede's incredibly fast [[falling speed]], his super-heavyweight attributes only compound the issues his sluggishness presents. Dedede's atrocious air speed in combination with his fast fall speed leave him exceedingly vulnerable offstage, making it troublesome for Dedede to get back to [[stage]] safely. Despite the universal decrease in lag, the slow frame data associated with Dedede's moves make a majority of his moveset highly committal. Dedede's [[special]]s all leave him open to punishment. Inhale and [[Jet Hammer]], despite their newfound uses, still have slow ending lag. Dedede has to be careful when using Gordo Throw, as Gordos can be reflected back by the opponent with any move that does 2% or higher, causing significant damage. Super Dedede Jump is best used if Dedede can connect with the ledge, as the move has exceptionally high ending lag on stage. All of this leads to Dedede having a surprisingly hard time taking off [[stock]]s, as his powerful finishers are unsafe, and his deadly set-ups are difficult to establish in [[Neutral game|neutral]].

 

King Dedede's sheer amount of problems have left him with negative competitive reception. While Dedede was initially viewed as an upper mid tier, his weaknesses only became more apparent as the metagame progressed. Dedede also received notable nerfs to his Gordo hitboxes and [[shield break]] set-ups in subsequent [[List of updates (SSBU)|balance patches]], lowering his competitive standing even further. Though players such as {{Sm|Atomsk}} and {{Sm|ZAKI}} have seen some success with the character, many of Dedede's early mains have either dropped him or relegated him to a [[secondary]].

King Dedede is tied for the third heaviest character in the game alongside {{SSBU|Donkey Kong}}, making him a [[Weight|super heavyweight]]. King Dedede shares some typical attributes with other heavyweights, such as a high damage output, high KO potential, great endurance, quick [[Falling speed|falling]] and [[fast fall]]ing speeds (both tied for second and third fastest respectively), overall sluggish mobility, large size and a high susceptibility to combos. In addition to having an average initial dash and the thirtieth highest [[gravity]], he has the twenty-eighth slowest [[Walk|walking speed]], eleventh slowest [[Dash|dashing speed]], the worst [[air speed]] in the game, and the fourth slowest [[air acceleration]]. To counteract these flaws, however, King Dedede is gifted with four [[midair jump]]s.

King Dedede was infamous for being one of the worst characters in ''SSB4'', owing to a large number of weaknesses such as notoriously poor frame data, his moveset's lack of power despite being a super heavyweight, and his special moveset's lack of utility outside of [[Gordo Throw]]. Even in game updates, he infamously received nerfs while not receiving a single buff in return. Possibly as a result of his poorly regarded status, King Dedede has been buffed overall in the transition to ''Ultimate''.

Among King Dedede's biggest buffs are those to his ground game. [[Neutral attack]]'s KO power was significantly improved, and it has undergone adjustments that make it harder for opponents to fall from the move as easily. [[Forward tilt]] connects much better overall, allowing it to deal its maximum damage more frequently, whereas [[up tilt]] has increased KO power (now having power comparable to its ''Brawl'' incarnation, especially with rage) and [[down tilt]]'s angle was positively adjusted while its hitbox was fixed, which when combined with the changes to [[jostling]] allows it to connect much more frequently. [[Dash attack]] now deals significantly increased knockback and has had its hitbox fixed, now making it a usable (albeit still rather slow) punish option at the [[edge]]. His smash attacks are also more useful, with both [[forward smash|forward]] and [[up smash]] dealing more damage and knockback, and his forward smash is now slightly faster.

King Dedede's special moveset has also received several miscellaneous buffs, giving him options that either he previously lacked or were outclassed. {{b|Inhale|King Dedede}} has a much larger grabbox and has gained the ability to spit out inhaled projectiles with a one-time increase to their damage, effectively giving him a [[reflection|reflector]], which helps alleviate his vulnerability to projectile camping. Gordo Throw's hitboxes are larger and more accurate, and the move has less ending lag after a Gordo has been thrown. Additionally, Inhale's new ability to suck in projectiles to spit them out combines well with Gordo Throw, giving King Dedede another way to throw or re-launch Gordos at a faster speed, which gives the projectile much more utility. [[Jet Hammer]] now deals more damage and knockback, has [[shield break]]ing potential, and it now has heavy [[armor]] before the move comes out that resists up to 14%, improving the move as a hard punish option.

Aside from direct changes, King Dedede also benefits from a few changes to universal gameplay mechanics. The universal increase to mobility has buffed his abysmal horizontal mobility (although it still remains among the worst across the series), while the streamlined jumpsquats and the new limitations to [[air dodge]] mechanics have increased the effectiveness of his aerial moveset, by giving him additional landing options when combined with the reduction on landing lag, and improving his [[edgeguarding]] ability, now making the latter more formidable. The changes to air dodging also don't affect him as much as other characters, thanks to him still boasting multiple jumps and a long-distanced recovery move in [[Super Dedede Jump]], and he can potentially use a directional air dodge without having to resort to using his recovery move.

However, King Dedede is not without a few nerfs. His [[back aerial]], despite having a visually more accurate animation, has smaller hitboxes, slightly decreasing its range. His neutral attack and up tilt deal less damage, making the former a less reliable option for racking up excess damage. He has also received some nerfs in game updates, such as his forward smash not breaking shields at once. Despite this, most of his nerfs have all been extremely minor in comparison to his more useful buffs.

Altogether, King Dedede's entire kit has been noticeably improved from ''SSB4'', and while this doesn't change his core playstyle significantly (aside from Inhale becoming a reflector), it allows him to play to his strengths better thanks his moves gaining improved consistency and utility, allowing King Dedede to utilize his strengths better. However, it is important to note that, due to this, King Dedede still retains most of his core weaknesses from the previous game, such as slow movement speed, a lackluster disadvantage state, a vulnerability to some forms of camping, and a high susceptibility to rushdown and combos, with many of these changes failing to alleviate his weaknesses outside of Inhale becoming a pseudo-reflector. Combined with the vast majority of returning veterans also receiving buffs that have improved them, King Dedede has not significantly improved to raise his standing relative to the cast, despite performing much better than in ''SSB4''.

|neutraldesc=A pair of hammer swings, followed by thrusting his hammer forward while twirling its head, followed by an upward swing. Unlike most neutral infinites, its finisher launches opponents at a nearly vertical trajectory and has KO potential, as it KOs around 150% without rage. However, it is the slowest jab in the game, with the first hit coming out at frame 10, and opponents can fall out of the neutral infinite if they are near the edge of the spinning hammer.

|dashdesc=His signature [[wikirby:Head Slide|running splash]]. A slow and powerful KOing option, it is the strongest dash attack in the game, and is even stronger than some of the cast's smash attacks, KOing some super heavyweights at around 55% near the edge due to its exceptionally high knockback. The attack can be used for a hard read or setting up tech-chases. Can hit every character on the edge after their [[edge]] invincibility has ended. However, its high ending lag causes the attack to be very punishable when missed. Originates from ''Kirby's Dream Land''.

|fsmashdesc=Rears his hammer back and swings it downward. It can KO as early as 30% near the edge, even when uncharged (which even {{SSBU|Bowser}} and {{SSBU|Ganondorf}} cannot do until 39% and 38%, respectively). When fully charged, it is even capable of OHKOing some lighter characters (such as {{SSBU|Pichu}}) near the edge of Final Destination, and even the heaviest fighters at less than 10%. It is the strongest forward smash in the game by default; when factoring in {{SSBU|Lucario}}'s forward smash at maximum [[Aura]] and {{SSBU|Hero}}'s forward smash with a critical hit, it is the 3rd strongest. Overall, it is the 4th strongest attack of any kind in the entire game by default, being surpassed only by [[Judge]] 9, aerial reverse [[Warlock Punch]], and [[Flare Blade]] when fully charged. It has very slow startup (frame 40), but deceptively short ending lag for its power. It also deals additional shield damage, to the point that its clean hit can break a full shield when fresh, and possesses both transcendent priority and a long-ranged quake hitbox. Originates from ''Kirby's Dream Land''.

|grabdesc=Reaches out. Despite his size, King Dedede's grab range is average.

|pummeldesc=A headbutt. Slow but strong.

|edgedesc=Performs a kick while climbing up. Reassembles the Slide Kick from the [[Kirby]] series.

|ssdesc=Hits a bouncing {{iw|wikirby|Gordo}} with his hammer. The move can be angled upward, forward, or downward, which causes the Gordo's trajectory to behave differently and can be used for [[mindgames]]. By extension, his throws can be used to launch the opponent toward a previously thrown Gordo. The Gordos disappear after almost 3 seconds. An upward-angled Gordo can be used to deny most options at the ledge or even all when combined with an attack. Gordo can also stick to any surface that allows [[wall jump]]ing, and is much more consistent than it was in ''SSB4''. They can also be reflected by any attack dealing at least 2%. Of note is that Dedede can hit opponents with the hammer swing used to serve the Gordo, potentially leading into a hit by both the hammer and Gordo for a considerable amount of damage. Dedede can also Inhale his own Gordo and spit it out at a considerable speed, or re-catch the Gordo and throw it back, though unless it has been Inhaled before hand, this can be done only up to three times.

|usdesc=His [[wikirby:Super Dedede Jump|signature jump]], which concludes with a [[wikipedia:Professional wrestling aerial techniques#Diving double foot stomp|diving double foot stomp]]. The stomp buries grounded opponents and meteor smashes aerial ones. Like [[Yoshi Bomb]], it emits stars on both sides after Dedede stomps the ground, which can make it difficult to punish, especially against characters that lack a projectile. Although Dedede cannot grab edges during his descent, he can do so upon canceling Super Dedede Jump (by pressing the special button or tilting the control stick up). However, if it is canceled too late before landing, Dedede will endure landing lag that lasts for more than a second.

SSBUKingDededeIdle1.gif|King Dedede's first idle pose.

SSBUKingDededeIdle2.gif|King Dedede's second idle pose.

''See also: [[:Category:King Dedede players (SSBU)]]''

 

 

However, as the metagame progressed, game updates removing King Dedede's shield break combinations and shrinking the Gordos' hitboxes started to hurt his perception. Both ZAKI and Atomsk saw a decline in results while other players either dropped King Dedede in favor of others ({{Sm|Big D}}) or relegated him to a secondary ({{Sm|Peli}}). In addition, the combination of King Dedede's poor disadvantage state, inconsistent KO potential, and laggy frame data has caused him to struggle against most top tier and high tier characters, including {{SSBU|Palutena}}, {{SSBU|Mega Man}}, and {{SSBU|Fox}}. Although King Dedede is widely considered to be better than in ''SSB4'', he still remains a pretty unpopular pick and is ranked 79th on the current tier list. Top Dedede players share a similar opinion on the character with Atomsk and Peli considering him a low tier character and one that is hard to use to get consistent results in tournaments.

|1||{{CharHead|King K. Rool|SSBU|hsize=20px}}||[[Pirate Ship]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|Donkey Kong|Gang-Plank Galleon}}''||The stage represents King K. Rool's ship, Gangplank Galleon.

|5||{{CharHead|Bowser|SSBU|hsize=20px}} and {{CharHead|Bowser Jr.|SSBU|hsize=20px}}||[[Find Mii]] ([[Battlefield form]])||''{{SSBUMusicLink|Super Mario Bros.|King Bowser - Super Mario Bros. 3}}''||The stage represents Bowser's Castle.

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==In Spirit Battles==

|{{iw|mariowiki|Genie|Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3}}

|Rab

*Despite also having royal titles, {{SSBU|Lucina}}, {{SSBU|Chrom}}, and {{SSBU|Corrin}} do not appear as opponents in King Dedede's Classic Mode route.

**Additionally, [[Ganon]] does not appear as the boss in King Dedede's Classic Mode route despite also having a royal title.