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[[File:damagepercent.jpg|thumb|right|{{SSBB|Mario}} damaging {{SSBB|Link}} in ''Brawl''.]]
{{disambig2|the general mechanic|the display element in particular|Damage meter}}
 
[[File:damagepercent.jpg|thumb|{{SSBB|Mario}} damaging {{SSBB|Link}} in ''Brawl''.]]
'''Damage''' is the basic measure of how vulnerable a [[character]] is to the [[knockback]] of attacks. At low damages, the character cannot be knocked back very far, and can only be thrown off-stage by the game's most powerful attacks. However, at high damages, attacks deliver  considerably more knockback, increasing the risks of severely damaged characters to be [[KO]]'d.
'''Damage''' is the basic measure of how vulnerable a [[character]] is to the [[knockback]] of attacks. At low damages, the character cannot be knocked back very far, and can only be thrown off-stage by the game's most powerful attacks. However, at high damages, attacks deliver  considerably more knockback, increasing the risks of severely damaged characters to be [[KO]]'d.


Damage starts at 0% and can rise all the way up to 999%. Though damage is displayed as a percent, getting to 100% does not mean a character is doomed - the number itself is somewhat arbitrary. Damage is measured as an integer in the first ''[[SSB]]'' and a decimal number in subsequent games; a damage with a decimal part is rounded down when displayed.
Damage is represented by a numerical percentage that starts at 0% and can rise all the way up to 999%. Despite this formatting, getting to 100% does not mean a character is doomed the number itself is somewhat arbitrary. This value is displayed as an integer in every game prior to ''Ultimate'', though is only actually measured as such in the original game. In ''Melee'', ''Brawl'', and ''Smash 4'', it is actually a decimal value that is shown as a truncated integer. In ''Ultimate'', the value is displayed to one decimal place (with the damage cap rendered as 999.0%).


Each attack deals a set amount of damage, which is then modified by things such as [[Stale-Move Negation]] before the target is launched. An attack that does no damage will not cause targets to [[flinch]] and not produce a regular hit sound, although it will still cause knockback. The damage an attack deals is a significant factor in how much knockback it causes.
Each attack deals a set amount of damage, which is then modified by things such as [[stale-move negation]] before the target is launched. An attack that does no damage will not cause targets to [[flinch]] and not produce a regular hit sound, although it will still cause knockback. The damage an attack deals is a significant factor in how much knockback it causes.


The following aspects are affected by damage:
The following aspects are affected by damage:


*Knockback - As a character gets more damage, they fly further when hit. Certain attacks have [[set knockback]], and don't apply.
*Knockback As a character gets more damage, they fly further when hit. Certain attacks have [[set knockback]], and don't apply damage to the knockback formula.
*[[Grab]] time - Characters at high damage can be grabbed for longer periods of time.
*[[Grab]] time Characters at high damage can be grabbed for longer periods of time.
*Status time - Generally, characters with higher damage are vulnerable for longer from a status effect (such as sleeping). The exception is being stunned though a shield breaking - the more damage a stunned character has, the faster they can recover.
*Status time Generally, characters with higher damage are vulnerable for longer from a status effect (such as sleeping). The exception is being [[stun]]ned through a [[shield]] [[Shield break|breaking]] – the more damage a stunned character has, the faster they can recover.
*[[Ledge recovery]] - Before ''Smash 4'', a character's ledge animations change at 100% or more, becoming more sluggish and providing more invincibility frames. The slower attack also deals more damage (in all games this applies to, [[Captain Falcon]]'s is the sole exception).
*[[Ledge recovery]] Before ''Smash 4'', a character's ledge animations change at 100% or more, becoming more sluggish and providing more invincibility frames. The slower attack also deals more damage (in all games this applies to, [[Captain Falcon]]'s is the sole exception).
*[[Hoop damage]] - Characters will not accumulate hoop damage at 150% damage or more.  
*[[Magnifying-Glass Damage]] Characters will not accumulate hoop damage at 150% damage or higher.  
*[[Jet Hammer]] - Like hoop damage, {{SSBB|King Dedede}} will not be damaged by charging this attack when he has 150% or more damage.
*[[Jet Hammer]] Like hoop damage, {{SSBB|King Dedede}} will not be damaged by charging this attack when he has 150% or more damage.
*[[Lucario]]'s attack power - The more damage Lucario has, the more damage his [[Aura|aura-based]] attacks do. In ''Brawl'', the power is at "normal" when Lucario is at 75%, while it stops decreasing at 20% and caps at 170%.
*[[Lucario]]'s attack power The more damage Lucario has, the more damage its [[Aura|aura-based]] attacks do. In ''Brawl'', the power is at its base level when Lucario is at 75%, while it stops decreasing at 20% and caps at 170%.
*[[Pikmin Throw|Pikmin latch time]] - Pikmin release a character faster at higher damages.
*[[Pikmin Throw|Pikmin latch time]] Pikmin release a character faster at higher damages.
*A [[Team Healer]]'s healing power - The more damage the target has, the more damage the item heals.
*Certain recovery [[items]]:
*[[Swimming|Swim time]] - Higher-damaged characters have less time to swim before panicking, the shortest swim time being at 96% and up.
**The [[Fairy Bottle]]'s behavior – it heals a character only if they have 100% or more damage; otherwise, it acts as a Throwable item.
*[[Donkey Kong]]'s [[forward throw]] - The more damage the grabbed character has, the longer they can be carried, similar to the grab time function.
**A [[Team Healer]]'s healing power The more damage the target has, the more damage the item heals.
 
*[[Swimming|Swim time]] – Highly-damaged characters have less time to swim before panicking, with characters at 96% or higher damage having the shortest swim time.
Should a [[tournament]] match [[time out]] and the players have equal stock remaining, whoever has less damage is the winner, and a tiebreak procedure is followed should damage also be even. This refers to the usual rules in ''Smash'' tournaments, unrelated to the [[Tournament mode]].
*[[Donkey Kong]]'s [[forward throw]] The more damage the grabbed character has, the longer they can be carried, similar to the grab time function.
 
*[[Instant KO]]s – Many potential Instant KOs, such as [[Danger Zone]]s, [[Giga Bowser Punch]], [[Infernal Climax]], [[Plasma Scream]], [[Triforce of Wisdom]], [[All-Out Attack]], [[Whack]], [[Thwack]], [[Sealing the Keyhole]], and [[Death's Scythe]], will fail to obliterate a character with less than a certain amount of damage and instead cause damage and knockback.
==Damage meter==
[[File:StockMeter.png|thumb|right|Link's damage meter in the first three games.]]
[[File:GameAndWatchStock.png|thumb|left|Mr. Game and Watch's stock meter in ''Melee'', illustrating what occurs when there are more than five stocks.]]
The damage meter displays the damage percentage a character has accumulated, as well as their score or number of [[stock]] remaining where appropriate. These are superimposed over a background comprised of their [[series symbol]] and, as of ''Brawl'', their character name and portrait (the symbol gains an animated "smoky" texture.) The number of stock remaining is visually represented by the number of icons (nondescript circles in ''Brawl'', the character's mugshot in other games), while score is displayed with a simple integer value. A stock higher than five (six in the original game) is represented by one stock, with a multiplier value next to it; having fifteen stock, for instance, would show "× 15".
 
Damage meters are displayed at the bottom of the screen during gameplay on console installments and on the bottom screen in the 3DS version of ''Smash 4'' (the Wii U version can also show a similar display on the GamePad.) While normally opaque, damage meters from ''Brawl'' onward become translucent if a character goes behind them. The damage percentage itself changes color when more damage is accumulated. At low percentages, the value is white, but gradually turns maroon as it increases; starting with ''Brawl'', the value will also shift through red first, and ''Smash 4'' further adds a yellow hue before that. In addition, the Wii U version of ''Smash 4'' displays the value with a metallic gradient.
 
Additionally, in all games, the background of a player's damage meter is colored depending on their controller port. For human players, Player 1 is red, Player 2 is blue, Player 3 is yellow, and Player 4 is green, while CPUs are generally a gray color. As of ''Smash 4'', more colors have been added for Amiibo support and the Wii U version's eight-player capability - Player 5 is orange, Player 6 is cyan, Player 7 is purple, Player 8 is dark gray, and Amiibo CPUs are rainbow-colored. Certain bosses in ''Smash 4'' also have unique meter colors.


==Gallery==
In lieu of [[sudden death]], damage is used as a tiebreaker in competitive environments when players have equal [[stock]] remaining. The player with the least damage is considered the winner.
<gallery>
DamageMeterSSB4.jpg|The Damage Meter in {{forwiiu}}.
SSB4 3DS Bottom Screen.jpg|The Damage Meter in {{for3ds}}.
</gallery>


==Trivia==
==Trivia==
*In ''Melee'', when a character reaches 10% or 100% damage, their damage meter displays a leading zero on the frame they get hit. For example, raising one's damage from 7% to 12% will have the meter display 07% for one frame before it changes to 12%.
*The most damaging single-hit move (excluding [[counter]]s) is the strongest bite of the [[Ultimate Chimera]] in ''Brawl'', inflicting 200% in a single hit.
*Sometimes, the damage meter in ''Melee'' uses the "healing" animation instead of the "falling off" animation for returning to 0% if the character is KO'd.
*Considering multi-hitting moves, [[Lugia]]'s Aeroblast in ''Melee'' can deal up to 440% in a little more than 2 seconds if all hits connect.
*In ''Brawl'', the black outline around the damage text is not part of the number textures like in the previous two games; it is instead drawn in real-time.
*While ''Ultimate'' was the first in the series to display decimal percentages on-screen, decimal points have actually been used in every ''Smash'' game since ''Melee''. Up until ''Smash 4'', the game would truncate that value to an integer and display that number on-screen.
*Early footage of the Wii U version of ''Smash 4'' seemed to show the damage value also shifting through a greenish hue before turning yellow; this appears to no longer be the case.
**This caused a side effect where attacks seemingly had inconsistent damage output in certain circumstances because the hidden decimal would roll up to the next integer, which would be reflected on-screen.
**Another side effect was that players would occasionally be forced to go into [[Sudden Death]] because they have the same integer percentage on-screen when time runs out despite technically having a difference of less than 1% in the background.


==See also==
==See also==
*[[HP]] - The measure of damage in [[Stamina]] mode, which is also used by [[boss]]es.
*[[HP]] The measure of damage in [[Stamina Mode]], which is also used by [[boss]]es.


[[Category:Damage| ]]
[[Category:Damage| ]]
[[Category:Game physics]]
[[Category:Game physics]]
[[Category:Game mechanics]]

Latest revision as of 14:28, July 21, 2024

This article is about the general mechanic. For the display element in particular, see Damage meter.
Mario damaging Link in Brawl.

Damage is the basic measure of how vulnerable a character is to the knockback of attacks. At low damages, the character cannot be knocked back very far, and can only be thrown off-stage by the game's most powerful attacks. However, at high damages, attacks deliver considerably more knockback, increasing the risks of severely damaged characters to be KO'd.

Damage is represented by a numerical percentage that starts at 0% and can rise all the way up to 999%. Despite this formatting, getting to 100% does not mean a character is doomed — the number itself is somewhat arbitrary. This value is displayed as an integer in every game prior to Ultimate, though is only actually measured as such in the original game. In Melee, Brawl, and Smash 4, it is actually a decimal value that is shown as a truncated integer. In Ultimate, the value is displayed to one decimal place (with the damage cap rendered as 999.0%).

Each attack deals a set amount of damage, which is then modified by things such as stale-move negation before the target is launched. An attack that does no damage will not cause targets to flinch and not produce a regular hit sound, although it will still cause knockback. The damage an attack deals is a significant factor in how much knockback it causes.

The following aspects are affected by damage:

  • Knockback – As a character gets more damage, they fly further when hit. Certain attacks have set knockback, and don't apply damage to the knockback formula.
  • Grab time – Characters at high damage can be grabbed for longer periods of time.
  • Status time – Generally, characters with higher damage are vulnerable for longer from a status effect (such as sleeping). The exception is being stunned through a shield breaking – the more damage a stunned character has, the faster they can recover.
  • Ledge recovery – Before Smash 4, a character's ledge animations change at 100% or more, becoming more sluggish and providing more invincibility frames. The slower attack also deals more damage (in all games this applies to, Captain Falcon's is the sole exception).
  • Magnifying-Glass Damage – Characters will not accumulate hoop damage at 150% damage or higher.
  • Jet Hammer – Like hoop damage, King Dedede will not be damaged by charging this attack when he has 150% or more damage.
  • Lucario's attack power – The more damage Lucario has, the more damage its aura-based attacks do. In Brawl, the power is at its base level when Lucario is at 75%, while it stops decreasing at 20% and caps at 170%.
  • Pikmin latch time – Pikmin release a character faster at higher damages.
  • Certain recovery items:
    • The Fairy Bottle's behavior – it heals a character only if they have 100% or more damage; otherwise, it acts as a Throwable item.
    • A Team Healer's healing power – The more damage the target has, the more damage the item heals.
  • Swim time – Highly-damaged characters have less time to swim before panicking, with characters at 96% or higher damage having the shortest swim time.
  • Donkey Kong's forward throw – The more damage the grabbed character has, the longer they can be carried, similar to the grab time function.
  • Instant KOs – Many potential Instant KOs, such as Danger Zones, Giga Bowser Punch, Infernal Climax, Plasma Scream, Triforce of Wisdom, All-Out Attack, Whack, Thwack, Sealing the Keyhole, and Death's Scythe, will fail to obliterate a character with less than a certain amount of damage and instead cause damage and knockback.

In lieu of sudden death, damage is used as a tiebreaker in competitive environments when players have equal stock remaining. The player with the least damage is considered the winner.

Trivia[edit]

  • The most damaging single-hit move (excluding counters) is the strongest bite of the Ultimate Chimera in Brawl, inflicting 200% in a single hit.
  • Considering multi-hitting moves, Lugia's Aeroblast in Melee can deal up to 440% in a little more than 2 seconds if all hits connect.
  • While Ultimate was the first in the series to display decimal percentages on-screen, decimal points have actually been used in every Smash game since Melee. Up until Smash 4, the game would truncate that value to an integer and display that number on-screen.
    • This caused a side effect where attacks seemingly had inconsistent damage output in certain circumstances because the hidden decimal would roll up to the next integer, which would be reflected on-screen.
    • Another side effect was that players would occasionally be forced to go into Sudden Death because they have the same integer percentage on-screen when time runs out despite technically having a difference of less than 1% in the background.

See also[edit]