Editing Palutena (SSBU)

{{disambig2|Palutena's appearance in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate''|the character in other contexts|Palutena}}

'''Palutena''' ({{ja|パルテナ|Parutena}}, ''Palutena'') is a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''. She was officially revealed on [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L93H7YC-83o June 12th, 2018] alongside fellow {{uv|Kid Icarus}} representatives {{SSBU|Pit}} and {{SSBU|Dark Pit}}, as well as the rest of the [[veteran]]s. Palutena is classified as [[Fighter number|Fighter #54]].

 

Brandy Kopp and {{s|wikipedia|Aya Hisakawa}} reprise their roles as the voice of Palutena in the English and Japanese versions of the game. In addition to their portrayals being re-purposed from ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]'', they also provide new [[Palutena's Guidance]] conversations for every veteran not present in ''SSB4'', [[Downloadable content (SSB4)#Fighters|the downloadable fighters of ''SSB4'']], the base roster newcomers of ''Ultimate'', and {{SSBU|Piranha Plant}}.

 

Palutena is ranked 16th out of 82 on the current [[tier list]], placing her in the A tier. This is a huge improvement over her 44th out of 54 placement in ''SSB4''. Palutena is one of the most improved veterans from the transition to ''Smash 4'' and ''Ultimate'' due to the engine of ''Ultimate'' complementing her unique strengths. Her aerials are a core part of her neutral due to her high aerial mobility and their effective traits: they both start and extend combos, most notably with her neutral aerial, which is commonly considered one of the best moves in the game due to its overall utility for starting combos, comboing into itself, high active frames and KOing at very high percents. Her back air is great for retreating and mid-range combat due to the invincibility of the shield and priority, while up air is an amazing disjointed multi-hit that functions as a juggle tool and KO option. Her grab game is also impressive due to its above-average reach and her decent set of throws. Overall, this results in her having one of the best advantage states in the game. Her specials also have seen noteworthy improvements: [[Autoreticle]] is useful for interrupting midrange approaches or recoveries, [[Explosive Flame]] is effective for general zoning and for halting approaches, [[Warp]] makes her difficult to edgeguard consistently, and her [[Reflect Barrier]] functions as a simultaneous [[counterattack]] and [[reflection|reflector]] that enhances her already strong defense.

 

Despite these many strengths, Palutena is not without her flaws. While she wields an excellent air game, her ground game is below average for a top tier, having slow and unsafe tilts alongside committal smash attacks. She also has trouble securing stocks at high percents due to her KO moves being fairly predictable (Explosive Flame) or easily staled due to overuse (back aerial). Palutena's main combo starters are also unsafe on shield and thus forces her to mix up her gameplan and neutral. Finally, her recovery is completely reliant on Warp, which has no active hitbox and can be consistently [[two frame|two frame punished]].

 

Overall, Palutena is a simple but effective character at all levels of play, with well-rounded abilities and few overwhelming weaknesses. She has often been considered a top-tier contender since the release of the game, and has been one of the most popular characters in competitive play, with results spearheaded by {{Sm|Nairo}} in the early metagame and a multitude of other Palutena players since, including {{Sm|Jagaimo}}, {{Sm|Lui$}}, and {{Sm|Raflow}}.

 

*Play [[VS. match]]es, with Palutena being the last character to be unlocked.

*Have Palutena join the player's party in [[World of Light]].

Palutena must then be defeated on [[Palutena's Temple]] (the [[Ω form]] is used in World of Light).

 

Palutena is a tall [[Weight|middleweight]]. Her [[walk]]ing speed, [[dash]]ing speed, [[air acceleration]] and [[gravity]] are above-average; her air acceleration, in particular, is the 5th highest in the game. Palutena also has relatively high [[jump]]s, although her [[traction]] and [[falling speed]] are both merely average, while her [[air speed]] is below-average. Thanks to her attributes, Palutena's overall mobility is excellent, even in spite of her aerial mobility being a bit slower compared to her grounded mobility.

 

Palutena has a dynamic, well-rounded moveset. She has both excellent combo potential and good zoning tools, which allow her to be effective when fighting offensively or defensively. Her staff counts as a [[Hitbox|disjointed hitbox]] and she has two [[projectile]]s in her moveset as part of her special moves, meaning she can apply safe pressure from a distance and force approaching opponents off her. Her projectiles are unique by the fact that they are completely unconventional. Her aerial-based moveset, speed and versatility means she can easily overwhelm opponents and quickly rack up damage.

 

Palutena's [[ground attack]]s are generally the weakest part of her moveset, but they can be useful. Her [[neutral attack]] possesses decent range, whereas her [[neutral infinite]] is a reliable damage racking option that can also function as a situational KO option at very high percentages while near the edge. Palutena's [[dash attack]] is very fast, grants her partial [[invincibility]], and its clean hitbox enables it to function as a situational KO option at very high percentages. Her [[tilt attack]]s are somewhat situational due to their lagginess, but have their own individual perks. Forward tilt has long-lasting hitboxes that enable it to intercept approaches and [[Floor recovery|floor recoveries]], while its second hit is strong enough to KO at very high percentages while near the edge. Down tilt is a useful [[2 frame punish]] that [[semi-spike]]s grounded opponents and launches aerial opponents vertically, thus enabling Palutena to edgeguard reliably afterward. Lastly, up tilt has the fastest startup among her tilts, it can initiate aerial pressure, and it is even a serviceable KO option at very high percentages.

 

Palutena's grounded offense is further supplemented by her strong [[grab]] game: her grabs are quick and have respectable ranges, while each of her throws vary from being decent to useful. Palutena's down throw is a reliable combo starter, since it can combo into each of her aerials, and even has KO confirms at high percentages. Her back throw is her strongest throw, being capable of KOing at around 130% while near the edge. Palutena's forward and up throws are much less useful in comparison, but have their own perks regardless. Forward throw has a KO confirm into [[Explosive Flame]] at high percentages, whereas up throw is decent for launching opponents into the air in order to initiate aerial pressure safely.

 

Palutena's [[smash attack]]s are very strong KO options thanks to their considerable power and very long ranges. Up smash has a very long-lasting hitbox and covers a lot of vertical range directly in front of Palutena; it can be used to KO opponents in the air and even intercept air dodges due to how long the hitbox lasts. Her forward and down smashes are similar, both in their damage output and the fact that they have a wind effect to move opponents away from Palutena if they are just outside of the move’s hitbox.

 

The strongest part of Palutena's moveset, however, is her air game. Her [[aerial attack]]s are each useful in regard to comboing or KOing; despite each of her aerials having rather high ending lag, they compensate for this by having very low landing lag and generous autocancel windows, making them very safe on shield. Her neutral aerial is a very fast and safe move, being Palutena's best combo tool by far as it combos into her other aerial attacks (including itself) until fairly high percentages, while also having KO potential at very high percentages. Her up aerial is an extremely good juggling tool capable of KOing while near top blast zone at around 100% (even on heavyweights), with its fairly large, long-lasting hitbox making it difficult to avoid. Her back aerial, like her dash attack, grants invincibility on Palutena's shield. It has the strongest knockback of any of her aerials, making it one of Palutena's best KO options, especially when used as a [[reverse aerial  rush]]ed follow up from down throw. Her forward aerial, while not quite as strong, is a good combo finisher that is also useful for edgeguarding, and is even capable of KOing at very high percentages while near the horizontal blast zones. Although down aerial is generally considered to be Palutena's least useful aerial, it is a guaranteed [[meteor smash]] against airborne opponents.

 

Additionally, Palutena's [[special move]]s each have utility, most prominently for zoning. [[Explosive Flame]], formerly one of her [[custom move]]s in ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]'', is her side special attack and is useful at forcing opponents into the air, as well as for securing KOs while near the upper blast zone at higher percentages. Palutena's neutral special attack, [[Autoreticle]], is not quite as useful as Explosive Flame, yet it is another projectile that can apply long-ranged pressure safely and rack up damage. Her up special move, [[Warp]], is useful for achieving a more favorable stage position; when coupled with its invincibility frames and Palutena's high jumps, Warp is an extremely useful recovery tool. Palutena's down special move, unlike in ''SSB4'', consists of 2 moves: [[Counter (Palutena)|Counter]] activates against melee attacks, whereas [[Reflect Barrier]] activates against [[reflect]]able [[projectile]]s at either close range or from a distance. Lastly, several of Palutena's moves, such as her tilt attacks and aerial attacks, inflict additional [[shield damage]]; as a result, Palutena can pressure opponents consistently and reliably, especially since her forward and back aerials can autocancel with a short hop fast fall.

 

 

 

Despite this, Palutena is generally considered at worst a high tier character due to her versatility, well-roundedness and relatively easy combo game. Her lack of overwhelming weaknesses means that there are few opponents she struggles against.

Palutena was previously a lower-tiered character in ''SSB4'' due to a myriad of factors, such as terrible frame data in relation to power and weight (which also resulted in a deficient grounded game), a predictable offensive game with few reliable options, general trouble at KOing, poor disadvantage state, and an infamously dysergic [[special moves]]et. Being designed with [[character customization]] in mind, custom special moves were able to vastly improve her strengths, but they required for character customization to be turned on to be able to use them unlike the [[Mii|Mii Fighters]], resulting in the inability to use them in regular gameplay and limiting her to her default special moveset. Most likely owing to the removal of custom moves and her previous poorly regarded status, Palutena has been rebalanced significantly to work without custom moves in her transition from ''SSB4'' to ''Ultimate''; though while initially considered to be dramatically buffed during the game's release, game updates have given her some noticeable nerfs that have reduced her viability. Regardless, Palutena is still considered to be significantly buffed overall.

 

Palutena's most notable improvements are indirect, as she benefits from the gameplay changes to the engine to a far greater degree than most of the cast. The universal increases to mobility have not only improved her already high [[dash|run speed]], but particularly give her much faster [[air speed|air]] and [[falling speed]]s compared to ''SSB4'' (though the former is still below-average), improving her air-to-ground transitioning. The reduced [[landing lag]] in all aerials further improves her already impressive aerial game, heightening their spacing and combo potential. The increased [[shieldstun]] on attacks makes Palutena's own moves much safer on shield, while the changes to [[perfect shield]]ing now allow Palutena to more easily retailate against opposing attacks, while not reducing her own moves safety on shield due to the aforementioned higher shieldstun and her moves' multi-hit nature making them risky to perfect shield. The weakening of [[rage]] improves Palutena's endurance, and now allows her to take advantage of it much easier. The changes to [[air dodge]]s have significantly improved her juggling and edgeguarding potential combined with her respectable aerial moves, and the reintroduction of directional air dodging now let her use one to escape pressure or slightly extend her recovery. Finally, the changes to the [[Sakurai angle]] to be lower, while being a buff shared widely around the cast, have turned her [[back throw]] into a highly effective KO throw.

 

In terms of direct changes, Palutena has also received several notable improvements. Some of her standard moves have seen hitbox increases, which increases her melee range and makes attacks using her staff much more reliable at connecting. Her sluggish ground moves have been sped up, with her [[forward tilt|forward]] and [[up tilt]]s having faster startup, and almost all of her moves (aside from up and [[down tilt]]s) receiving less ending lag. Down tilt, particularly, has much better [[edge|2 framing]] potential thanks to its longer range and duration, and sends at a more favorable angle for combos when hitting aerial opponents. Her [[smash attacks]] have had their utility further increased; [[up smash]] lasts significantly longer, while [[forward smash|forward]] and [[down smash]] possess increased power as well as stronger, more reliable windboxes, which combined with their lower ending lag makes them harder to punish at long range.

Her already capable aerial moveset was also improved. [[Neutral aerial]] now always sends at the direction Palutena is facing and deals less knockback; in combination with the reductions to landing lag, this turns the move into a fearsome combo starter and general all-purpose attack. [[Forward aerial|Forward]], [[up aerial|up]] and [[down aerial]]s deal more damage, with both the former and latter, as well as [[back aerial]], dealing more knockback. Down aerial also lasts for an additional frame, no longer being one of worst meteor smashes in the game.

Palutena's special moveset has also seen various drastic enhancements that have put it in-line with the rest of the cast. [[Autoreticle]]'s detection lasts significantly longer, and each projectile has faster startup, deals more damage and travels faster. {{b|Counter|Palutena}} and [[Reflect Barrier]] have been merged into one move; the former activates when blocking a physical attack, while the latter activates to reflect projectiles. As a whole, the move has faster startup, lasts longer and has less ending lag in all aspects; individually, Counter has slightly more knockback (though it remains the weakest counterattack knockback-wise), while Reflect Barrier activates immediately and has a much higher damage multiplier, no longer being the weakest reflector in the game. In place of Reflect Barrier, Palutena's side special is now [[Explosive Flame]]; in addition to giving Palutena an additional move, the move has less ending lag, deals more damage and knockback, and can be summoned at two distances, increasing its versatility.

However, while receiving far more buffs, Palutena has also seen some notable nerfs that have changed her playstyle, most notably to her [[neutral attack]] and grabs. The former can no longer [[jab cancel]] due to its angle being homogenized to connect into the infinite, removing many of its guaranteed set-ups into other moves such as dash attack, grab and some of her aerials. For the latter, despite pivot grab's longer range, both standing and dash grab possess less range (especially the former) and all grabs share the same increased startup and ending lag as with the rest of the cast. Her down throw is also less advantageous due to the changes to hitlag on it and has slightly more knockback, reducing its advantage and combo potential beyond low percents despite its reduced ending lag and more favourable angle. The universal slowdown of shield grabs only exacerbate this, further weakening Palutena's [[out of shield]] and grab games, the former of which was the crux of her defense in ''SSB4''. Moreover, her dash attack and back aerial's invincibility frames no longer cover her entire body after startup, instead only covering her arm, making both attacks less effective at contesting approaches.

 

 

{{SSB4 to SSBU changelist|char=Palutena}}

 

==Update history==

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**''If Dark Pit was present in the match, there is a chance she will instead say "Poor little Pittoo."'' ("{{ja|いつまでも意地っ張りですね～|Itsu made mo ijippari desu ne~}}", ''Forever a nuisance...!'').

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

==Role in [[World of Light]]==

During the opening cutscene, Palutena was present on the cliffside when [[Galeem]] unleashed his beams of light. She attempted to block a beam with [[Reflect Barrier]], which the beam completely pierced, disintegrating her. Her defeat causes {{SSBU|Pit}} and {{SSBU|Dark Pit}} to lose their [[Power of Flight]], making the duo fall victim to the beams as well. They were all placed under Galeem's imprisonment alongside the rest of the fighters, excluding {{SSBU|Kirby}}. A puppet fighter cloned from her is later seen alongside ones cloned from {{SSBU|Greninja}}, {{SSBU|King Dedede}}, {{SSBU|Pokémon Trainer}} and other fighters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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===Fighter Showcase Video===

{{#widget:YouTube|id=0yD_B4ZkdME}}

*Palutena is the only character to have two previously separate special moves ([[Counter (Palutena)|Counter]] and [[Reflect Barrier]]) consolidated into a single special move slot.

*Palutena's artwork was one of three to have been updated on the official site, alongside {{SSBU|Falco}} and {{SSBU|Shulk}}. Compared to [[:File:Palutena_SSBU_No_Halo.png|her original artwork]], her halo was added, her chiton now covers up more of her thigh, her hair became a brighter green, her lips were shrunk, and her eyes were enlarged. Overall, these changes make it more consistent with the official artwork from both [[:File:Palutena Uprising.png|''Kid Icarus: Uprising'']] and [[:File:Palutena SSB4.png|''Super Smash Bros. 4'']] (especially the latter), as well as her in-game model.

*Due to age rating issues, the slit in her chiton was changed to cover up more of her thigh beginning in update 1.0.6. for the Japanese version of ''SSB4''. This change was retained in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'', including all international versions.

**While her official artwork depicts the top of the chiton's slit as fused together, it appears to be stitched together on her in-game model.

**In King Dedede's case, this does not apply to voice clips for [[Dede-Rush]]; and in Robin's case, this only applies to the voice clip used when his tomes are broken.

[[Category:Palutena (SSBU)| ]]

[[es:Palutena (SSBU)]]