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| | A '''Shield Break Combo''' is a combination of attacks that enables a character to break an opponent's [[shield]] without the opponent having to hold down shield for the duration of the [[combo]]. |
| [[File:SSB64 Yoshi Shield Break.gif|thumb|{{SSB|Yoshi}} using his down aerial to break a shield in ''Smash 64''.]]
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| [[File:SSB64 Ness Shield Break Combo.gif|thumb|{{SSB|Ness}} using [[DJC]]'d aerials to break a shield in ''Smash 64''.]]
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| [[File:SSB64 Shine Cancel Chain.gif|thumb|{{SSB|Fox}} performing a shine cancel chain as a shield break combo in ''Smash 64''.]]
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| [[File:SSBM Peach Down Smash Shield Break.gif|thumb|A shield break combo in ''Melee'', performed by {{SSBM|Peach}} using her down smash.]]
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| A '''shield break combo''' is a combination of attacks that enables a character to break an opponent's [[shield]] without the opponent having to hold down shield for the duration of the [[combo]] (also known as a "blockstring" in traditional fighting games).
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| ==Technical details== | | ==How it Works== |
| Normally, when one is shielding and then lets go of the shield button, the shield disappears. This does not happen when the shield is under attack. If one lets go of shield while the opponent's attacks are making contact with the shield, the shield will stay until the attacks stop for a certain amount of time (this is called [[shieldstun]]). As the attacks make contact, the shield gradually shrinks. If the shield size decreases too much, the shield will break, causing the shielding opponent to become stunned in place for a few seconds, depending on the damage. | | Normally, when one is shielding and then lets go of the shield button, the shield disappears. This does not happen when the shield is under attack. If one lets go of shield while the opponent's attacks are making contact with the shield, the shield will stay until the attacks stop for a certain amount of time (this is called shield stun). As the attacks make contact, the shield gradually shrinks. If the shield size decreases too much, the shield will break, causing the shielder to become stunned in place for a few seconds, depending on the damage. Normally, there is enough delay after an attack to allow the shielder to remove the shield if he/she chooses to do so, but there exist certain combos in which attacks are executed quickly enough so that the shield stays up for the duration of the combo, at the end of which the shield breaks. |
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| How a shield break combo works is that the player performs attacks on an opponents shield which have low enough ending lag to allow the attacker to act before the opponent's shieldstun is over. If the attacker can act the same frame that the opponent can drop shield or perform an out of shield option, the attack is neutral (or +/-0 frames) on shield. If the shielding opponent can act before the attacker, the move grants frame disadvantage (or - frames) on shield; which is the case for most attacks. However, if the attacker can act before the shielding opponent, the move will grant frame advantage (or + frames) on shield. True shield break combos consist of players using moves which grant + frames on shield and then they use another attack which comes out before the shielding opponent can do anything. This next attack will either also grant enough + frames to do another attack or it will simply break the shield. This process is then repeated until the shield breaks.
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| This concept is not exclusive to the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series as it also applies to any other traditional fighting game or even any game where a player or an opponent can block or put up a shield (although it is much less important to know exact frames in games outside of fighting games).
| | A shield break combo must have these properties: |
| | *The attack(s) have very little start up or cooldown delay. In other words, there exists very little time in between [[hitbox]]es |
| | *The hitboxes of the attacks are rather large. The hitbox must make contact with the shield each time or else the shielder will be [[shield jab]]bed. Therefore, a large hitbox is required to hit the increasingly diminutive shield. |
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| An example of a shield break combo and how it works can be seen with {{SSB|Kirby}}'s {{mvsub|Kirby|SSB|up tilt}} chain in [[Super Smash Bros.|''Smash 64'']]. Kirby's up tilt comes out on frame 4, has an [[FAF]] of 18 and grants 26 frames of shieldstun (assuming that the up tilt is [[Stale-move negation|fresh]]); which means that the opponent cannot act after shielding Kirby's up tilt until frame 31. This means that up tilt grants Kirby with a +13 frame advantage, giving him 13 frames to hit his opponent's shield before they can do anything. Because up tilt comes out on frame 4 and it has rather outstanding range, this gives Kirby more than enough time to perform another up tilt which will hit the shielding opponent before they can drop the shield. After performing three up tilts, Kirby can then use forward smash; which comes out on frame 10 (which is fast enough to hit the opponent before they can drop shield) and covers a lot of horizontal distance. Altogether, the three up tilts and forward smash deal 60 HP to the opponents shield (14 for each up tilt and 18 for the forward smash). As shields have 55 HP in ''Smash 64'', this is enough to break the shield.
| | ==Examples== |
| | *[[Ness (SSB)|Ness]]'s [[double jump cancel]]led [[down aerial]] chain ([[Super Smash Bros.|''SSB'']] only) |
| | *[[Kirby (SSB)|Kirby]]'s down aerial into [[up tilt]] chain into [[forward smash]] (''SSB'' only) |
| | *[[Yoshi (SSB)|Yoshi]]'s double jump cancelled [[neutral aerial]] chain into [[down smash]] (''SSB'' only) |
| | *[[Fox]]'s [[Shine]] cancel chain (''SSB'' and [[Super Smash Bros. Melee|''Melee'']]) |
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| True shield break combos are only really common in ''Smash 64'' due to shieldstun being very high; allowing numerous attacks (especially aerials along with [[Z-cancel]]ling) to grant a frame advantage against shield. Shieldstun was significantly reduced in ''Melee'' which along with the weakening of L-cancelling and the 0.7x damage decrease to shields, significantly hindered the shield pressuring potential of many moves. Because of this, many moves became unsafe on shield and very few attacks outside of projectiles and [[item]]s are + on shield. While shields, shield damage and shieldstun continued to be adjusted in each subsequent entry, shieldstun still remained low enough for most attacks to leave players at a frame disadvantage against shield. Because of this, the only true shield break combos in later entries (outside of moves which shatter shields in one hit) involve using projectiles and items to constantly hit the shield and lead into a powerful attack.
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| ==Examples of true shield break combos==
| | ==Variants, Special Situations== |
| (Most of these examples only apply to ''Smash 64'' unless stated otherwise)
| | There exist combos that are not always called "true shield break combos," but nevertheless can be utilized to break shields. These combos work only under certain situations. The two most common ones are the shield not being at full strength at the start of the combo and the shielder somehow being locked in a fixed position during the combo due to a feature of the stage. |
| *{{SSB|Ness}}'s [[double jump cancel]]led {{mvsub|Ness|SSB|down aerial}} chain, known as the [[shield break jump]].
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| *{{SSB|Kirby}}'s {{mvsub|Kirby|SSB|down aerial}} into {{mvsub|Kirby|SSB|up tilt}} chain into {{mvsub|Kirby|SSB|forward smash}}.
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| *{{SSB|Yoshi}}'s double jump cancelled neutral aerial chain into down smash.
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| *[[Fox]]'s [[Shine]] cancel chain (this is a true shield break combo in ''Smash 64''. It is not guaranteed in ''Melee'' however, the opponent only has two frames to act if Fox perfectly performs shines, making it very difficult and risky to escape.)
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| *{{SSBU|Mr. Game & Watch}} in ''Ultimate'' can trap opponents with {{mvsub|Mr. Game & Watch|SSBU|forward aerial}} and follow up with a full [[Oil Panic]] for a shield break.
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| ==Variants, special situations== | |
| There exist combos that are not always called "true shield break combos," but nevertheless can be utilized to break shields. These combos work only under certain situations. The two most common ones are the shield not being at full strength at the start of the combo and the shielder somehow being locked in a fixed position during the combo due to a feature of the stage. These are types of shield break combos which work in games after ''Smash 64''. | |
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| ===Examples=== | | ===Examples=== |
| *{{SSBM|Falco}}'s [[Shine]] cancel chain (''Melee'' only) | | *[[Samus (SSB)|Samus]]'s [[back aerial]] followed by [[up smash]] while the opponent is up against a wall (''SSB'' only) |
| *{{SSBM|Peach}}'s {{mvsub|Peach|SSBM|down smash}} (''Melee'' only) | | *Kirby's up tilt chain while the opponent is up against a wall (''SSB'' only) |
| | *[[Link (SSB)|Link]]'s [[neutral attack]] chain while the opponent is up against a wall (''SSB'' only) |
| | *Yoshi's double jump cancelled neutral aerial chain (''SSB'' only) |
| | *[[Pillaring]] with [[Falco (SSBM)|Falco]] (''Melee'' only) |
| | *[[Peach (SSBM)|Peach]]'s down smash (''Melee'' only) |
| | *Yoshi's down aerial (Both but much easier in ''SSB'') |
| *A low-cooldown attack into a multi-hit attack is often considered a shield break combo | | *A low-cooldown attack into a multi-hit attack is often considered a shield break combo |
| *{{SSB4|Link}}'s aerial bomb into neutral aerial into down smash in ''Smash 4''
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| *A {{SSB4|Pac-Man}} [[Bonus Fruit]] combo consisting of tossing a key against a shielding opponent, dropping a Fire Hydrant, then doing either a back aerial or neutral aerial to completely deplete a shield.
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| *Kirby's back aerial to forward tilt into forward smash in ''Ultimate.'' This is not true, and the back aerial must be done from a full hop, but it is especially effective when the opponent is shielding on a platform.
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| *Kirby's Hammer Flip in the same game can be used in the same situation, since an aerial Hammer Flip will hit shields twice as long as it is not fully charged. This "combo" is true and will instantly break a full shield, but will only work if the opponent is on a platform and if the Hammer is slightly charged.
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| | [[Category:Techniques]] |
| [[Category:Techniques (SSB)]] | | [[Category:Techniques (SSB)]] |
| [[Category:Techniques (SSBM)]]
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| [[Category:Techniques (SSBB)]]
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| [[Category:Techniques (SSB4)]]
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| [[Category:Techniques (SSBU)]]
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| [[Category:Advanced techniques]]
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