SmashWiki:Glossary: Difference between revisions

==General terms==

These terms apply to fighting games in general:

*'''[[Approach]]ing''': Moving towards an opponent, usually in conjunction with attacks.

*'''[[Attack]]''': Use of a move that damages the opponent.

*'''[[Cancel]]''': The act of prematurely ending an animation to be free to act again sooner. Cancellable actions vary between games but often includes attacks, movements, and receiving knockback or hitstun.

**"Cancelling" can also refer to cancelling the execution of an action to remain non-committal. Characters with chargeable [[special move]]s may have the option to cancel them before release to avoid an otherwise lengthy period of vulnerability or to gut an opponent's attempt to predict or punish the attack.

*'''Clean hit''': A well-timed hit that uses an attack's initial hitbox; usually much stronger than the late hit. Many attacks don't differentiate, but examples of those that do include {{SSBM|Fox}}'s [[up smash]] in ''Melee'' and most [[sex kick]]s.

**'''Late hit''': A hit that uses an attack's later hitbox; usually weaker than the clean hit. Some attacks have a [[sourspot]] that coincides with the late hit, like the [[Knee Smash]]

**'''Pseudo-clone''': A character that has some shared attacks, animations and attributes with another character, similarly to a semi-clone. However, whereas semi-clones are still largely based on other characters, pseudo-clones are largely unique overall, and so calling them semi-clones would be somewhat misleading.

***An example in ''Smash'' would be [[Wolf]], who shares a small number of moves and animations with [[Fox]], but the vast majority of his moveset and attributes are entirely unique.

**'''Decloning''': The act of making a cloned character more unique in the transition from one game to another through giving them new moves, animations and altered attributes, sometimes in conjunction with the original character getting a few changes of their own as well. Also known as "Luigification" in the ''Smash'' community, referring to [[Luigi]], who initially started off as a clone of Mario in ''Smash 64'', but has been extensively decloned from the latter over time in later installments.

*'''[[Combo]]''': A series of attacks strung together in succession.

*'''[[Free-for-all]]''': A match with more than two players that does not involve two teams. A free-for-all match would also theoretically be played with multiple teams.  

*'''Footsies''': The term itself means different things to different people, but the most common definition is gameplay that takes place directly in front of the fighters. Thoughtful strategy and mind games are key at this distance, as using random moves is highly inadvisable.

*'''[[Grab]]bing''': Clutching the foe so they cannot move for a brief period of time. Usually, a throw follows.

**'''Dash grab''': A type of a grab that a character performs out of a dash. Usually slower than a standing grab and more punishable if missed, but the momentum of a character's dash can allow them to grab from farther away.

**'''[[Command grab]]''': A special move that acts like a grab, bypassing shields and putting the opponent in a special grabbed state. Examples include [[Falcon Dive]] and [[Flying Slam]].  

***'''[[Hit grab]]''': A special type of grab that is blockable, despite putting opponents in a grabbed state when connecting. Examples include [[Fishing Rod]] and [[Buster Wolf]].

*'''Hit and Run''': An archetype which encompasses fighters that excel at running in, getting some damage, then running away. Being unpredictable and evasive is key to characters in this archetype, as they usually are very easy to kill if they are caught. Time out victories are most commonly found with this category.

*'''[[Hitbox]]''': The area of effect for an attack. Generally in proportion of the action; a kick attack should generally have hitboxes on the foot and leg.

**'''[[Hurtbox]]''': The area on a character or object, where an opposing hitbox must touch to register hitting the character/object.

*'''[[Hitlag]]''': The freeze frames that occur when an attack connects, where both characters are frozen in position until the effect ends (unless caused by a projectile, then only the target experiences hitlag). Although primarily used by developers to enhance the feel of an attack's power, actions can also be cancelled or buffered during this time. Sometimes called "hitstop" or "hitpause" depending on the game and language.

*'''[[Hitstun]]''': The time when one cannot take any action after being hit.

*'''Home stage''': A stage associated with one or more specific characters. In the context of ''Super Smash Bros.'', the most common associations are "shares a universe with the character" and "where the character is fought in a single-player mode". Is generally not related to whether a character performs well on the stage.

*'''[[Item]]''': An object spawned in the middle of a battle. Items have a variety of uses, including healing one's self or ally, or damaging a target. Items, unless they can be spawned by a character's move, are not permitted in competitive play.

*'''Rushdown''': An archetype which encompasses fighters that tend to be fast and combo oriented with a mostly offense-based moveset. They rely on getting in their opponent's face and applying pressure until they force the opponent to make an opening, then swarm the opponent to kill them quickly. However, if the opponent either keeps them at a distance or is simply patient, the rushdown fighter does not have much in terms of a backup plan and will likely lose.

*'''[[Shield]]''': Blocking an attack. In the ''Smash'' series, an energy sphere surrounds the player as they block, but this deteriorates over time, which will result in it [[shield break|breaking]] when it shrinks below its minimum threshold.  

*'''[[Spacing]]''': The act of manipulating an opponent's position by utilizing the range of one's character's moves relative to the range of the opposing character's moves. Additionally refers to hitting with an attack from sufficiently far away or hitting with the attack's desired hitbox, to avoid getting punished.

*'''[[Stage]]''': The setting for a battle. Can also be called a '''map'''.

*'''[[Taunt]]''': An action done to mock the foe. Usually have no sort of in-game effect, and done in celebration. Entire matches dedicated to taunts are appropriately called "[[Taunt Match]]es".

*'''[[Technical skill]]''': Known as "tech skill" for short, refers to a player's ability to manipulate their controller to produce desired inputs. Players with greater tech skill can make inputs faster and more precisely, allowing them to more often and effectively pull off manoeuvres that require more complicated inputs.

*'''[[Training mode]]''': Allows one to become familiar with the character that one is using in a controlled setting.  

*'''[[Tier list]]''': The ranking of a character's potential effectiveness to perform in competitive play in relation to a game's entire character roster.

*'''[[Walking]]''': A type of movement that involves the character walking across the ground. While usually slower than other movement options, a character can perform any action at any time out of a walk.

*'''[[Zero-to-death combo]]''': Referred to as "zero-death" for short, a combo that starts on an opponent at or near 0% damage, that finishes with that opponent getting KOed. Can also be used to refer to any general sequence of moves initiated against an opponent at 0% damage and ends with them getting KOed that was not actually comboed together, but where the opponent was unable to successfully hit back or interrupt the sequence.

*'''Zoner''': An archetype that encompasses fighters who excel at keeping the opponent at a distance using long ranged/disjointed moves or projectiles. The goal is to threaten the opponent without being in range to get threatened back. But just as easily as they can pressure, they can also be pressured; if the opponent is able to penetrate the zoner's barriers, they can potentially inflict massive damage, as zoners typically lack reliable defensive options.

*'''[[Aerial attack]]''': An attack that a character performs while airborne. In each ''Smash'' game, every character has five different aerials, one for each of the four basic directions and one for no directional input. The type of aerials are:

**'''[[Neutral aerial]]''': Referred to as "nair" for short, an aerial inputted when the attack button is pressed without any directional input. Neutral aerials are typically weak and the character's aerial attack with the fastest start-up, while involving being a type of [[sex kick]], or an attack where the character spins.

**'''[[Back aerial]]''': Referred to as "bair" for short, an aerial inputted when the attack button is pressed in conjunction with the reverse direction the character is facing. Back aerials typically involve some sort of attack towards the back of the character, and are usually a solidly useful attack that is above average in all categories; very few characters have a back aerial that is decidedly ineffective or inferior to the character's other attacks.

**'''[[Up aerial]]''': Referred to as "uair" for short, an aerial inputted when the attack button is pressed in conjunction with an upward directional input. Up aerials typically involve some sort of attack aimed above the character, and are usually an upward-hitting attack meant to juggle the opponent and/or KO opponents vertically.

**'''[[Grab aerial]]''': Referred to as "zair" for short, an unique aerial inputted when the grab button is pressed. Only characters with tether grabs can use a grab aerial.

*'''[[Auto-canceling]]''': If a character lands with an aerial during a specific timeframe of the attack (usually the immediate beginning or immediate end of the move), the character will land with their standard landing animation instead of the aerial's landing animation, resulting in almost no landing lag.

*'''[[DACUS]]''': Short for "dash attack-cancelled up smash", an act where a player immediately cancels their dash attack with an up smash, which results in some characters sliding forward a significant distance while performing their up smash. It can only be done in ''Brawl''.

*'''[[Dash attack]]''': A type of attack that a character can perform while dashing. Typically involves the character moving forward a small distance while attacking.

*'''Direction of attacks''': All characters can direct their attacks;

**'''Up''': All characters can do an upward-directed attack on the ground or in the air.

**'''Down''': Likewise with up, all characters can do a downward-directed attack on the ground or in the air.

**'''Sideways''': On the ground, attacks directed to the left or right are referred to as "side" attacks.

**'''Back''': Offensive moves initiated while the control stick is pointed in the opposite direction of where the character is facing. Primarily only applies to aerial attacks, though there are a few [[command input]] moves that use this direction.

**'''Neutral''': No input given other than the attack button.

*'''[[Jab]]''': The common term for a character's [[neutral attack]], which is a ground attack inputted by pressing the attack button without any directional input. Typically a very quick, short reaching, and very weak attack, that can be followed through for a standard basic combo.

*'''[[Jump cancel]]''': A technique that can be performed by inputting certain actions while in the pre-jump lag that all characters have.

*'''[[Knockback]]''': The amount of force applied to a character when hit. Also used to describe the distance flown due to this force.  

*'''[[Knockout]]'''/'''KO''' : When a character is launched out of the stage, or, in [[Stamina Mode]] only, runs out of hit points.

*'''[[Midair jump]]''': A jump every character can perform while airborne, often referred to as a "double jump". Most characters can only use one midair jump before landing or grabbing a ledge, but some characters can jump an additional multiple times in the air before landing.

**'''[[Double jump cancel]]''': The act of canceling the momentum of a character's midair jump with an attack. Can only be performed by the few characters with a delayed midair jump, such as [[Ness]] or [[Mewtwo]]. It is not possible to cancel the upward momentum of delayed double jumps completely with regular aerial attacks in ''Brawl'', ''SSB4'' or ''Ultimate''.

*'''[[Out of shield]]''': Refers to any action a player performs immediately out of their shield. An '''out of shield punish''' is when the player successfully punishes the opponent after the opponent struck their shield.

*'''[[Plank]]ing''': A technique where a player stays hanging on the ledge beyond what is necessary, abusing the ledge's invincibility to remain safe. One of the most prominent stalling tactics. It is much less abusable in ''SSB4'' and ''Ultimate'' than in prior games due to altered ledge mechanics.

**'''[[Up smash]]''': Referred to as "u-smash" for short, inputted by pressing the attack button in conjunction with a tapped up directional input. Typically involves the character forcefully striking upward. Effect-wise, up smashes tend to be roughly in between forward and down smashes in terms of speed and power, though some characters have up smashes that are distinctly more powerful than their other attacks ([[Fox]] being a prominent example of such throughout the series). Some characters also have up smashes that are weaker than their other smashes while being multi-hitting.

**'''[[Down smash]]''': Referred to as "d-smash" for short, inputted by pressing the attack button in conjunction with a tapped down directional input. Typically involves the character striking both the front and back of them, whether at the same time or in succession. Down smashes are usually the character's fastest, but weakest smash attack, and are instead designed to safely cover both sides of a character when it is difficult to tell which side the opponent is, or if being surrounded by multiple opponents.

*'''[[Special move]]''': A move that has unique or otherwise unusual properties, that go beyond merely damaging a foe, and can be typically initiated from the ground or air. Also called '''B moves'''. Every character has four special moves (three in ''Smash 64''), which are:

**'''[[Neutral special]]''': A special move inputted by tapping the special button without any directional input. Neutral specials are typically the character's most basic special move, being a projectile or some type of charging attack.

**'''[[Up special]]''': A special move inputted by tapping the special button in conjunction with an upward directional input. Up specials are typically the character's "recovery move", a type of move that allows the character to move a significant distance through the air. Up specials also usually have minimal practical effect outside recovery purposes.

**'''[[Down special]]''': A special move inputted by tapping the special button in conjunction with a downward directional input. Down specials are typically a character's special move with an "other function" (i.e. they have a more unique effect than the character's other special moves).

**'''[[Tech chase]]''': The action of predicting what one's opponent will do when the opponent lands on the ground in a situation where they could have teched.

*'''[[Grab#Tether grabs and extended grabs|Tether grabs and extended grabs]]''': Some characters possess grabs with exceptionally long range, often in exchange for speed. The distinction between a "tether" and "extended" grab is purely technical, based on how the grab is connected to the character's animation skeleton.

*'''[[Tether recovery]]''': A method of recovery involving grabbing onto a ledge from a distance. There are multiple moves capable of connecting to ledges, including an aerial tether grab (a.k.a. "zair"), some special moves, and even a few basic aerial attacks.  

*'''[[Traction]]''': How much the character slows down on the ground. The lower the traction of a character, the farther they will slide around on the ground from momentum.

*'''Transition stage'''/'''Transformation stage''': A type of stage that changes its shape or layout throughout a match.

*'''[[Tripping]]''': The act of a character tumbling over, and being left in a vulnerable sitting position. Tripping can be induced from being hit with certain attacks at too low of damage to get launched off the ground, and in ''Brawl'', can randomly occur 1% of the time whenever a dash is inputted.

*'''[[Tumble]]''': A state in which a character has been hit and is falling in a tumbling animation.

*'''[[Walk-off]]''': A part of the stage that extends all the way to the left or right blastline, rather than stopping at a ledge.

These terms are used in the context of ''Smash'' tournaments, or the fighting game tournament community in general:

*'''[[Bracket manipulation]]''': The act of a player or a group of players manipulating the progression of a tournament bracket, typically done by one intentionally losing in pools or the winners bracket to get a more favorable bracket progression, or intentionally losing to help another player artificially place higher. If discovered, smashers will be penalized.

*'''Counterpicking''' (stage): The act of picking the next stage after losing, usually with the intent to give the counterpicking player an advantage.

**'''Counterpicking''' (character): The act of a player choosing their character after the opponent chooses theirs, also usually done to give themself an advantage.

*'''[[Main]]''': A Smasher's preferred character, and the one they play and train with the majority of the time; some Smashers may have more than one main, though competent players will never have more than about three true mains.

*'''[[Matchup]]''': The measure of how a character is expected to perform versus another character, with both played at high, equal skill. For example, [[Mario (SSBB)|Mario in ''Brawl'']] has a +1 matchup against {{SSBB|Link}}, meaning Mario is expected to fare slightly better and win more often than not. Mario has a -1 matchup when facing {{SSBB|Yoshi}} however, and thus Mario is considered to be at a slight disadvantage.

*'''[[Money match]]''': A non-tournament match between two or more players, who each wager an amount of money, that will then be taken by the winner of the match. Sometimes played with additional stipulations (such as the players having to use a specific character), and the players may wager something other than money as well, such as the "rights" to a particular color scheme.

*'''Neutral start''': A request that is carried out by everyone relocating their characters on the [[stage]] at the start of a match, so that no party begins with a positional advantage over the other.

*'''[[Pocket character]]''': A secondary character the player doesn't properly practise with, who they explicitly use when it will give them a significant advantage over the opponent's character, or in a desperate bid to try throwing the opponent off with matchup unfamiliarity.

*'''Salty''': Analogous to "being upset, disappointed, and/or angry", such as "he's real salty he lost".

*'''Salty runback''': The act of, upon losing a match, quickly selecting the same stage for the next match.

*'''Slob pick''': A rule that allowed the loser of a match to change either their character or the stage, while the winner was required to remain in their previous setting.

*'''[[Smasher]]''': A term used to refer to people who play Smash with any sort of dedication.

*'''Stream''': Tournaments may record matches for viewers on the internet to watch live; this is called streaming or livestreaming.

*The '''Swedes''': Collectively referring to {{sm|Armada}} and {{sm|Leffen}}, two of the dominating ''Melee'' players.

*'''[[Tournament legal]]''': Settings and regulations widely accepted for playing competitively.

*'''VOD''': The short form for "Video on demand", usually referred to videos containing tournaments related matches.