Spirit Board
The Spirit Board (スピリッツボード, Spirit Board) is a sub-menu within the Spirits single-player mode of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It contains a random, periodically rotated collection of Spirit Battles, which pit the player against spirit-possessed fighters under special conditions.
Overview[edit]
The Spirit Board is available from the start. That being said, only six slots are available at the start, with four more slots gradually being unlocked over time (for example, by completing certain Challenges). Every spirit only lasts on the Spirit board for a limited amount of time. Spirits ranked Novice, Advance, and Ace will remain on the Spirit Board for five minutes, while Legend spirits will stay for fifteen minutes. If a spirit is part of a weekend event, it can stay on the Spirit Board for up to an hour. If a spirit battle is cleared, that slot will remain empty until its timer expires. Prior to version 2.0.0, this would also happen upon losing a spirit battle, though currently any spirit battle can be challenged up to three times before disappearing. An exploit to bypass this timer exists by restarting the game. When the timer expires, a new spirit will not replace it and its timer won't start until the next time the player accesses the Spirit Board. To assist the player in knowing which battles they have already done, the Spirit Battle page has a "CLEAR!" badge that appears when the player has won a battle against this spirit, while a checkmark appears next to the spirit's rank on the board if the player has at least one of that spirit in their possession. There are Support Items one can earn or purchase to make the spirit obtaining process easier. Examples include restocking the Spirit Board, re-rolling the board, or forcing the reappearance of a previously fought spirit, for either a second attempt at acquiring it or the chance of acquiring a duplicate.
Since some spirits can be obtained without having completed their battle (e.g., by amiibo or as a reward from Classic Mode), it is possible to have a spirit in the inventory without having won its Spirit Battle. The opposite is also true, as spirits previously obtained can be enhanced or dismissed, which could leave a battle marked as clear while the player at that moment lacks a copy of the spirit in question. Finally, when the board is refreshed, spirits that the player does not currently possess have higher chances of appearing. If the player has collected every spirit, then the board will start prioritizing spirits with battles that haven't been completed yet. If every spirit battle has been cleared, than the game will stop prioritizing and the selected spirits will be random for the most part.
Aside from fighter spirits, master spirits, and spirits of Bosses, all spirits can be obtained from the Spirit Board, including those found in World of Light; however, spirits can be found via summoning will not appear unless they have been previously summoned. Spirits that are obtained from a challenge will not appear on the Spirit Board until their challenges are completed. Additionally, spirits that must be summoned via the evolution of another spirit do not have a Spirit Battle. Numerous spirits can only be obtained exclusively from the Spirit Board. Spirits that the player has not acquired have a higher likelihood of appearing on the board.
Spirit Board events[edit]
Occasionally (each week or so), special events involving spirits fitting a specific theme will occur. When this happens, certain spirits who fit the theme will spawn with the word "Event" displaying on their cards and defeating spirits that match the theme will grant bonus rewards. Most Spirit Board events have periodically appearing spirits where certain spirits, generally Legend class spirits, or in rare occasions, newly released spirits appear at certain time intervals and stays on the board for one hour unlike other spirits. These spirits have unlimited tries whenever the player loses and will only disappear when the player wins the battle or the given hour expires. Legend-class spirits which are part of an event will stay up on the Spirit Board for up to one hour, rather than the standard fifteen minutes. During events with randomly appearing participating spirits, the 9th and 10th slots will exclusively feature event participating spirits, unless shuffled. Hourly spirits will fill up or replace the spirit at the bottom right slot at the top of an hour regardless of how much time remains for that slot.
Update history[edit]
2.0.0[edit]
- Up to four players can now participate in Spirit Battles offline. The number of players can be changed after selecting a challenge from the Spirit Board. However, if any of the players are KO'd, it counts as a defeat. Opponents will also have limited super armor.
- The player can now fight a spirit up to three times before it disappears.
3.0.0[edit]
- A special Spirit Board for DLC spirits was added. DLC spirits were gradually rolled out in the updates they were introduced in, with each set containing unique background music. While these spirits can be obtained by other means even if the corresponding DLC has not been purchased (e.g. as Classic Mode prizes or in the Shop), these special boards allow them to be challenged at any time without temporarily disappearing and randomly reappearing. Defeating an entire set of spirits rewards the player extra Gold.
Gallery[edit]
A full Spirit Board.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 Japanese |
スピリッツボード | Spirits Board |
 English |
Spirit Board | — |
 French |
Tableau des esprits | Board of spirits |
 German |
Geistertafel | Spirit board |
 Spanish |
Tablero de espíritus | Board of spirits |
 Italian |
Tabellone degli spiriti | Board of spirits |
 Chinese |
命魂板 | Spirit Board |
 Korean |
스피릿 보드 | Spirit Board |
 Dutch |
Spiritboard | |
 Russian |
Доска духов | Spirits Board |
Trivia[edit]
- The possessed fighters encountered on the Spirit Board use their normal appearances, as opposed to the Puppet Fighters in World of Light that have red or purple eyes (depending on whether they are controlled by Galeem or Dharkon, respectively).
- Due to being composed of two active characters, the Ice Climbers' models behave strangely on the spirit freeing screen. When the player-controlled Ice Climbers enter the minigame, the partner climber's model will slide upon landing and touching the leader. On the other hand, beating a Spirit Battle against an Ice Climbers puppet fighter will seemingly show the lead climber only, but close observation shows that the partner is behind the leader with the same pose, and both Ice Climbers will separate upon being shot.
- The character's falling speed affects how long the player has to wait before they can shoot the spirit in the minigame. The higher the speed, the shorter the wait.
- If the player wins a regular Spirit Battle as Joker, his unique screen transition (similar to when he wins a VS match) plays before the spirit freeing screen.
- In the Japanese version of the game, the announcer says 'Spirit Board' in a different, slightly lower inflection than in English.
