Back Slash: Difference between revisions

 

Shulk cannot cancel out of the move when he has initiated it: as a result, careless use of it can result in opponents punishing the attack's lag, and it can also result in a [[self-destruct]] if used too close to a ledge. In addition, despite the small lateral movement Shulk gets from initiating the move in the air, utilizing it as [[recovery]] is risky and ineffective as the move does not [[edge sweet spot|sweetspot]] ledges. In version [[1.1.0]] of both games, Back Slash's startup was reduced by 9 [[frame]]s, making it moderately easier to land.

Something to note is that Back Slash's unique property works on more than just playable characters. It also behaves correctly on [[Smash Run]] enemies, [[Sandbag]], [[Master Hand (SSB4)|Master]] and [[Crazy Hand (SSB4)|Crazy Hand]], stage bosses, entities summoned from an [[Assist Trophy]], {{SSB4|Pac-Man}}'s [[Fire Hydrant]] (which matches which direction Pac was facing when he deployed it), and even [[Smash Balls]], among other things.

[[Image:BackSlashOrigin.png|thumb|Shulk using Back Slash.]]

Back Slash is one of Shulk's physical Arts in ''Xenoblade Chronicles'', and is one of the two Arts (excluding his Talent Art) in his arsenal when he is introduced, being his main physical art. It does the most damage out of all the physical arts in his complete moveset, and as a bonus effect, it deals double damage when hitting the enemy from behind. Its low cooldown makes it one of the most potent Arts Shulk has, though this is hampered by needing to be behind the opponent for maximum effect, meaning other party members have to draw the aggro away from Shulk (such as Reyn, whose main skill increases enemy aggro towards himself). Otherwise, this attack deals standard damage if hit anywhere else, although the damage is still higher than an auto-attack. The difficulty of landing the move in ''Smash'' mirrors this behavior, as opponents need to be caught offguard for a Back Slash to land and rewards Shulk for hitting backs with either increased damage (Buster) or a reliable KO move (Smash). The red color of the Monado's beam is a reference to the red color which identifies physical Arts in menus. Other characters in ''Xenoblade'' also have Arts with the same bonus effect as Back Slash, examples being Fiora's Power Smash and [[Riki]]'s Sneaky.

File:Backslash origin.jpg|Shulk activating Monado Speed in ''Xenoblade Chronicles'', the animation is similar to Back Slash.

Shulk SSBU Skill Preview Side Special.png|Back Slash as shown by a Skill Preview in ''Ultimate''.

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