Samus (SSBU): Difference between revisions

Samus, alongside her [[Echo Fighter]] {{SSBU|Dark Samus}}, is ranked 15th out of 82 on the current [[tier list]], placing her at the top of the A tier. This is a drastic improvement over ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]'', where she was tied with {{SSB4|Robin}} at 36th/37th out of 54, and is her best placement in the series to date. This mainly comes as a result of Samus' dynamic moveset, improved from the previous games. Samus' main strength is her powerful far-range neutral game, combined with a decent close-range game as well. For her archetype, Samus possesses a highly sophisticated variety of attacks, ranging from [[Charge Shot]], one of the most powerful neutral specials in the game, to her quick, short and basic hard-hitting combos. She also carries the undisputed best shield pressure in the game for a zoner. Charge Shot is fast and covers wide distance when fully charged. Not only does it deal heavy shield damage, but when slightly charged, can set up for a combo, and when fully charged, can deliver a KO. [[Missile|Missiles]] is a projectile that allows her to easily force approaches, as it covers space wide enough to catch opponents in the air or spot-dodging, and it inflicts good shield damage. She provides an excellent air game, possessing among the strongest aerial attacks in the game, all of which are useful for combos or easy KOs. Samus has a good close-range neutral game for a zoner. Her forward aerial is one of the best anti-aerial attacks in the game, as it covers a lot of distance and also inflicts heavy damage and KOs at fairly high percents. She also possesses the longest tether grab of any character in the game in the form of [[Grapple Beam]], which allows her to easily punish opponents that are quick to approach her on the ground. Should opponents reach Samus up close, she can quickly punish and reset neutral with [[Screw Attack]], which has very high hitstun and knockback, allowing for an easy [[out of shield]] KO option at higher percents. Samus has an excellent recovery, with her slow falling speed, Grapple Beam, the great vertical and horizontal distance of Screw Attack, as well as [[Bomb (Samus)|Bombs]] providing minor boosts to her recovery and serving as a tool for recovery mixups as well. Finally, Samus boasts amazing survivability, with a very heavy weight and good recovery allowing her to survive until higher percents, which could sometimes give her [[Rage|rage]] for an extended period of time and allow her to eliminate opponents first.  

However, Samus has weaknesses, the most significant ones being her slow mobility and frame data. Samus has rather poor ground mobility, hindering her defensive options, and giving her a harder time against opponents who can catch up to her quickly. Samus' projectiles are burdened with significant startup and endlag. Aside from Charge Shot, all of her special attacks, especially Screw Attack, have a high amount of ending lag and often leave Samus vulnerable to a sharp punish. This, combined with her low traction relative to the cast, gives her a poor out of shield game. Grapple Beam coming out at frame 15 gives opponents enough time to spot dodge and punish Samus accordingly. Samus relies on spacing with her special attacks and out of shield options to succeed against her opponents, but with most of her defensive options being risky, she would have a difficult time handling opponents that avoid her projectiles and defensive options. Therefore, Samus can be forced to use her specials less frequently. She may have difficult match-ups against characters that have better frame data and/or mobility and defense options, such as [[Mario]], [[Fox]], and [[Bayonetta]]. Many of her KO options suffer from high ending lag. Her up-smash, while serving as an effective out of shield punish option, is escapable via [[SDI]], struggles to hit short characters on the ground and has a lot of ending lag, while her forward-smash, though quick, is burdened with a large and weak sourspot at close range that takes precedence over the [[Sweet spot (hitbox)|sweetspot]] hitbox. Samus has a poor ground game, with a forward tilt that loses a lot of power at point-blank range, a slow up-tilt and a down tilt with dangerously high ending lag. Her [[jab]], while often used for mixups, is notorious for its inability to connect consistently. This causes Samus to struggle when the opponent is too close to her. Being tall and surprisingly floaty for her weight is only beneficial to a limited degree, as it also makes her relatively easier to punish when in the air and juggle. Finally, her recovery, though solid, is slow, linear, and predictable, so opponents with an effective offstage game will often give Samus a hard time recovering.

Overall, Samus is an effective zoner that can quickly and easily deal massive amounts of damage, shield pressure, and secure stocks, while surviving to very high percents. Samus is a popular character in competitive play, and she has a low learning curve, with basic combos and neutral gameplay that is highly effective. From the early meta to the current meta, Samus has had consistent growth in successful representation, and has seen strong results from players such as {{Sm|Yaura}}, {{Sm|Sisqui}} and {{Sm|quiK}}.

|zairname=Midair [[Grapple Beam]] ({{ja|空中グラップリングビーム|Kūchū Gurappuringu Bīmu}}, ''Aerial Grappling Beam'')

|grabname=Grapple Beam ({{ja|グラップリングビーム|Gurappuringu Bīmu}}, ''Grappling Beam'')

|grabdesc=Fires the Grapple Beam from ''Super Metroid''. It has impressive range and is the longest tether grab in the game. However, it is tied with [[Zero Suit Samus (SSBU)|her Zero Suited form]]'s grab as the second slowest in terms of ending lag, making it very punishable if missed.

|pummeldesc=Chops the opponent with her left hand. Average power and speed.

|rair      = 34-36

|[[File:Samus Cheer English SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:Samus Cheer Japanese SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:Samus Cheer Italian SSB4 SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:Samus Cheer Dutch SSBU.ogg|center]]||{{NTSC}} [[File:Samus Cheer French NTSC SSBU.ogg|center]] <br> {{PAL}} [[File:Samus Cheer French PAL SSBU.ogg|center]]

|[[File:Samus Cheer German SSBU.ogg|center]]||{{NTSC}} [[File:Samus Cheer Spanish NTSC SSB4 SSBU.ogg|center]] <br> {{PAL}} [[File:Samus Cheer Spanish PAL SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:Samus Cheer Russian SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:Samus Cheer Korean SSBU.ogg|center]]

|3||{{Head|R.O.B.|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Grey}}{{Head|R.O.B.|g=SSBU|s=20px}}{{Head|R.O.B.|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Yellow}}{{Head|R.O.B.|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Purple}}{{Head|R.O.B.|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Blue}}{{Head|R.O.B.|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Green}} {{SSBU|R.O.B.}} (x6)||[[Brinstar Depths]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|Metroid|Brinstar (Melee)}}''||Horde Battle (3 at a time).

Samus's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing {{SSBU|Classic Mode}} as Samus. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold. Unlocking Samus in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a fighter spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Her fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with her artwork in ''Ultimate''.