Cloud (SSBU)

Cloud in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
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Universe	Final Fantasy
Other playable appearance	in SSB4
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Omnislash / Omnislash Ver. 5

“	He's the protagonist of Final Fantasy VII. You can also select his Advent Children outfit. Charging up his Limit Gauge increases his special move abilities! Land a powerful hit!	”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Cloud (クラウド, Cloud) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was confirmed on June 12th, 2018 and is classified as fighter #61.

In all regions, Takahiro Sakurai's portrayal of Cloud from Smash 4 were repurposed for Ultimate. This makes him the first character to remain fully voiced in Japanese in all regions despite having an existing English voice actor.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play VS. matches, with Cloud being the 55th character to be unlocked.
• Clear Classic Mode with Samus or any character in her unlock tree, being the 6th character in her unlock tree after Dark Samus.
• Have Cloud join the player's party in World of Light.

With the exception of the third method, Cloud must then be defeated on Midgar.

Attributes

Cloud is a semi-heavyweight swordsman with quick mobility overall. He has average walking speed, very fast dashing speed, above average airspeed and average air acceleration, granting him both quick ground and aerial mobility. He has above average falling speed and high gravity, however, preventing him from staying in the air for long despite his good aerial maneuverability. Under Limit Break status, his mobility is even better; his traction slightly improves, his dashing speed becomes even faster, his falling speed the fourth fastest, and his airspeed becomes the fastest in the game under normal circumstances. His increased gravity and falling speed, however, make his jumps slightly lower and prevent him from auto-canceling some of his aerial attacks (notably back aerial and up aerial) as easily. As a result, his Limit Break status only marginally benefits his aerial mobility, but it can nevertheless help him move along the ground better.

Cloud's greatest asset is his effective range, courtesy of his Buster Sword; Cloud's attacks have among the longest reaches in the game and can space out the opponent quite easily, snuff out opposing approaches and adeptly punish most careless attacks due to his speed and range. A prime example of this trait is Cloud's aerial attacks: his neutral aerial covers Cloud's hurtbox well, making it a go-to option for spacing or air-to-ground transition movement. It is also very fast on both ends, can autocancel from a short hop, and has a low launching angle, all of which make it a good edgeguarding and spacing tool despite its below-average knockback. His up aerial has a rather large hitbox, overall decent speed, a long duration, and decent damage and knockback, which makes it effective at juggling and denying landings. His down aerial is not only a very strong meteor smash when sweetspotted, but also possesses a long-lasting late hitbox, which grants it good anti-juggling potential and allows him to follow up into another move if it connects while he is falling. Like up aerial, it also has a long autocancel window, being able to autocancel from a jump regardless of his Limit Break status. Back aerial has tremendous range, decent power, very low landing lag, and also autocancels from a short hop, allowing him to edgeguard and space effectively, though it can often miss low opponents due to it having little vertical range. Forward aerial is very strong when hit clean, and is also a meteor smash on aerial opponents when sweetspotted. Like down aerial, it autocancels from a full jump and has low landing lag in relation to its range and power, however, it has the slowest startup of his aerials, making it his riskiest aerial to use regardless.

His grounded moveset, while not as effective as his range, is also a merit to his kit. His neutral attack is his fastest attack, and the third hit can force a tech-chase. His down tilt is a low-profile slide and can be a great tool to put the opponent at a disadvantage. His up tilt is a reliable combo starter until high percentages, chaining into itself at low percentages, and comboing into up smash or his neutral, back and up aerials. His up smash, in particular, covers a very large arc, has decent speed, and rather a high knockback despite its surprisingly low damage, making it among his best and least risky KOing options out of his standard moveset. His forward tilt has decent power and speed, but has little utility aside from as a quick punish, or being used as a KOing option at extreme percentages. His dash attack is a fast punishing tool from a distance and, due to its power, can put opponents in a bad position. It is easily punished when shielded or avoided, however. Cloud's forward smash is his most powerful non-Limit Break move, though to compensate it also takes the longest to start and is very punishable if it whiffs. His down smash is also prone to punishment if the front hit is avoided, but it drags the opponent into the back hit if it connects, the latter being a strong semi-spike.

Cloud's special moveset also offer interesting options. Blade Beam is a projectile with good range and activity, making it useful for forcing approaches, though it gets weakened over the duration and has rather high endlag, which hampers its otherwise useful utility. It also stalls Cloud in the air, giving it additional, if situational, utility in guard breaking. Cross Slash is very similar to Dancing Blade and Double-Edge Dance, requiring additional inputs from the player to initiate the remaining slashes. In contrast, it has wider input windows, but the full move is only allowed to continue if all hits connect. It can also stall Cloud in the air, just like Blade Beam, though much more briefly. Climhazzard is similar to Aether and Final Cutter, as it is an ascending slash, but differs from them in that it can be followed by an optional descending slash. This allows Cloud to mix-up his recovery and enables Climhazzard to function as his fastest out of shield option, though it is very risky to use.

In reference to Final Fantasy VII, Cloud possesses a unique Limit Break mechanic. It manifests itself in the form of a gauge, which becomes visible while charging it to show its progress, similarly to Little Mac's Power Meter. Cloud can charge Limit Break by dealing 150% damage, receiving 100% damage, or by manually charging it for 5.58 seconds with his down special, Limit Charge. Unlike most other chargeable special moves, it can be canceled with a simple special move button press. After it is full, Cloud gets a boost in all of his movement attributes except for attack speed, allowing him to move very quickly across the stage and in the air, with his overall mobility almost rivaling that of Captain Falcon and Sonic. In addition, all of Cloud's special attacks are given a single-use power boost, with all of them dealing more damage and high knockback to the point of KOing reliably around 90%-120%. Limit Charge is also converted to Finishing Touch, a spinning slash with such tremendous knockback that can KO most characters around 60%-70%. It also emits a whirlwind that pushes away opponents, making it harder to punish and providing Cloud a situational method of gimping weak recoveries. With the exception of Finishing Touch, all Limit Break specials are also granted brief intangibility upon start-up, as well as additional properties: Blade Beam is faster, stronger, and has transcendent priority; Cross Slash requires no additional button inputs and strikes five times immediately, has very low ending lag in relation to its immense power, and stalls him completely in the air; and Climhazzard grants more vertical distance and much more horizontal momentum, as well as having the ability to edge sweetspot at any time. With all these benefits underneath the Limit Break status, players must be wary of this, as one small slip-up from the opponent can give Cloud the perfect opportunity to strike and turn the tide of battle instantaneously, making Cloud's Limit Break a mechanic that should not be taken lightly when in the hands of a competent player.

However, Cloud has some notable flaws. The most prominent one is his poor recovery; despite his aerial mobility and jump height being arguably better than most sword-wielding characters, his diagonal speed remains slow when compared to them, making him prone to edgeguarding and gimping, and making it mandatory to stay a safe distance within reaching the edge. Climhazzard is also a bad recovery move for many reasons: it grants below average vertical distance, little horizontal momentum, its ascending hit is completely incapable of edge sweetspotting, and its descending hit cannot edge sweetspot until it covers slight distance. These factors make Cloud's recovery among the riskiest and most ineffective without use of his wall jump or Limit Break Climhazzard (which loses the active hitbox near the end of his ascent, making it less safe than the regular Climhazzard in some situations). Cloud can stall his descent with Blade Beam and Cross Slash, although they only do so after one use. Additionally, the former's slower start-up and ending lag can make its use problematic against opponents already close to the edge or in prime position to reflect it, while the latter slows down his air speed significantly. The last problem about his recovery is that if he gets grabbed near the edge without his double jump and gets air released, he will not be able to return to the stage unless he properly times a Blade Beam to stall towards the edge, uses aerials or air dodges to reset his momentum, or possesses a Limit Break.

Another glaring flaw is his terrible grab game, being among the worst in the game: Cloud's grabs' ranges are abysmally short, his throws' damage outputs are mediocre and, barring down throw, they lack combo potentials. His forward and back throws' decent speed are significantly offset by the problematic combination of their virtual lack of combo potential and low knockback scaling, both failing to KO before 300%, unless the opponent is light, Cloud has rage or is at the edge upon performing them. His up and down throws both have misleading power, with the former failing to KO until well beyond 200%. Up throw has too much ending lag for reliably comboing, while down throw doesn't have reliable combos at low percentages and loses all of its combo potential past low-mid percentages if the opponent DIs properly due to its more horizontal angle. Ironically, it's also Cloud's only throw that can KO below 200%. Despite his huge range, projectile and combo options granting him a strong neutral game, Cloud has a below average approach at best. His approach options are linear, with dash attack being easily punishable, neutral aerial having a hitbox that starts from behind, up aerial being very predictable and being surprisingly punishable on shield if not spaced well, and having other attacks that either lack the frame data or the utility to be used as reliable options for approaching such as his poor grab game. Cloud also has no reliable means of escaping pressure. His neutral attack and down tilt are his fastest ground options, while Climhazzard can work as an out of shield option. However, they are noticeably unsafe on shield, while none of his fast aerial attacks start from the front or below him. Down aerial's late hitbox can be used to escape juggling directly from below him, but its otherwise narrow hitbox allows opponents to hit Cloud laterally. Thus, Cloud is fairly easy to combo, and is just as easily forced on the defensive if his attacks are improperly spaced. While Cloud also possesses an abundance of strong finishers, his KOing ability is somewhat inconsistent. None of his strongest finishers are easy to land in the neutral game and they can be easily punished if avoided or shielded, his weaker moves such as his forward tilt and back aerial require good positioning to KO reliably, and he lacks reliable set-ups to combo his strongest or best finishers.

Aside from Limit Charge, his special moves have some noticeable weaknesses. Blade Beam is relatively slow in regard to start-up and ending lag, as well as depreciating in damage over time or when used in the air, making it an ineffective projectile. Cross Slash is inconsistent with linking all five of its hits due to SDI or landing different parts of the hitboxes, along with being very vulnerable to stale-move negation due to being a very reliable damage racking option. In addition to its aforementioned weaknesses in regard to recovery, Climhazzard is also very punishable if shielded and easily DI'd out of, while all of his specials only boast KO power when they are boosted by the Limit Break. The Limit Break mechanic itself is also problematic. It acts as a double-edged sword, as it increases Cloud's fall speed and gravity at full charge, making recovery without the use of Climhazzard deceptively difficult, and rendering Cloud even easier to combo at medium percentages. It makes precise use of his special attacks mandatory, as his Limit Break specials are still blockable and possess limited range; while Limit Blade Beam can be used as a ranged KOing option, it can just as easily be reflected or otherwise avoided at the tip of its range, leaving Cloud wide open to punishment. Finishing Touch deals only 1% and has very high ending lag that renders Cloud vulnerable if the slash or whirlwind do not hit. Finally and most notably, his Limit will go away if not used in 15 seconds, requiring Cloud to either "go big or go home" with the charge in a short amount of time, which could potentially be a huge turnabout on him at the wrong time.

Overall, while Cloud has all the tools required to be successful, the player is forced to manage his resources to the best of their ability, and they must avoid being thrown off the stage at all times. His combo game and KOing ability, while unique and powerful, can sometimes be inconsistent. Even though Cloud has many playstyles applicable to him, the combination of all of the traits above make him a fundamentals-oriented character most of the time.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Cloud was previously considered to be one of the best characters in Smash 4, alongside Bayonetta, due to a myriad of advantages, including deceptively lingering hitboxes, excellent speed-to-range ratio alongside generous autocancel windows, and a powerful advantage in the form of his Limit Gauge, which granted a lasting stat buff that boosted his already high overall mobility, allowed him to force approaches, and posed a constant threat during games due to the potential of a powerful Limit Break special attack. All these factors made him one of the most viable characters in the previous game overall, especially in doubles play, where teams containing at least one Cloud were notorious within the community for their prominence and disproportionate effectiveness (statistically, Cloud in doubles held more dominance than even Meta Knight in Brawl singles). Likely as a result of this, Cloud has been considerably nerfed overall in his transition to Ultimate.

Cloud received a fair share of buffs, although most of these are universal throughout the cast. Like most other characters, he was given a boost to his already high stats, with faster movement speed, a frame 3 jumpsquat, and reductions to landing lag, all of which compliments his strong aerial spacing ability and continues to make him one of the most mobile swordfighters in the game. In particular, the reduction to landing lag on his aerials not only makes them much safer on shield due to their range, it also allows Cloud to follow up from them more consistently, most notably with his forward, back and up aerials; this improves his damage-racking game. The readdition of directional air dodges allow him to extend his notoriously weak horizontal recovery when his Limit Meter is not fully charged, and now make him much harder to gimp if he is grabbed during Climhazzard. Certain moves have been improved to make them more consistent, such as his neutral attack (which connects better and can now lock) and forward tilt (which keeps closer to the ground, preventing it from whiffing). The ability to dash cancel into any ground move and the introduction of spot dodge canceling also allows Cloud to make even better use of his ground attacks, such as down tilt as an approaching move, or forward tilt as a potential KO move.

Cloud's special moves have also been given some noteworthy improvements. Blade Beam's sluggishness has been improved by a reduction of ending lag, making it less punishable and allowing Cloud with a semi-reliable camping tool. Climhazzard can be teched at the end of the move, snaps to ledge faster when using the downward slash, has much lower landing lag, transitions quicker, and KOs more consistently if used offstage due to the changes to meteor smashes. This makes it safer for recovery, a much more reliable out of shield option, and consistent for sacrificial KOs. Limit Charge now allows Cloud to jump or air dodge out of it, charges significantly faster with damage dealt, and can now be tracked in the HUD. Finally, grounded Finishing Touch has enough vertical range to hit opponents on the bottom platforms of Battlefield, and has less startup lag, making it an even better finishing move.

However, these buffs are offset by an abundance of nerfs. One of Cloud's most significant changes are to his Limit Charge: it can no longer be instant charge-canceled since it incurs 7 frames of lag when canceling a charge, will have its charge reduced if Cloud is hit during the process of charging, and disappears entirely if not used up in 15 seconds. These changes result in Cloud's Limit Break mechanic no longer being a direct upside that can be kept for mindgames or a lasting stat boost, and forces him to be more cautious of both charging and activating his Limit, vastly reducing the sheer game changing abilities it once had in the previous game.

Cloud's aerials have also been toned down, making his infamous aerial game less effective despite their lowered landing lag and better combo potential. Neutral aerial's range has been significantly reduced due to an altered animation in which Cloud doesn't stretch his arm as much, making it less safe and effective for spacing. Down aerial's lingering hitbox ends earlier and has more ending lag, making it harder to follow up in midair and riskier to use an an anti-juggle move, although its lowered landing lag allows it to start combos if Cloud lands first. Finally, Cloud's notorious up aerial has been substantially nerfed due to its increased startup with no animation change, significantly reducing its range in front of him, smaller hitboxes on the sword, reduced power and lowered autocancel window; these changes worsen its versatility by removing its ability to start combos on grounded opponents, reducing its incontestability and toning down its previously respectable KO power, with its only buffs being its lowered landing lag and damage making it easier to chain several up aerials together with the aid of platforms.

Other nerfs Cloud has received are to his grounded KO ability being slightly nerfed, as his forward and up smash attacks have slightly higher ending lag, while down smash is weaker, making his average ground game even less imposing. Lastly, his already poor grab game has been further weakened, as his down throw has lost its already lacking combo potential and his grabs have been made slower and now have higher ending lag; although the latter point is synonymous with the rest of the cast, this notably hurts Cloud's options against shielding opponents. As a result of these nerfs, Cloud now has more defined weaknesses, with his weak grab game, exploitable recovery, and weakened tools necessitating him to be more precise and careful with optimizing his Limit or spacing, alongside making spacing with his aerials more difficult.

Overall, Cloud remains a fundamentally solid character with a relatively low learning curve and effective tools, although said learning curve has increased, and he is not as overpowering as he was in Smash 4 due to his nerfs toning down the incredible utility his moveset had at his disposal. Due to this, Cloud is considered to be much worse than his iteration in Smash 4, in a similar manner to other top and high tiers in the previous game, and he is one of the most nerfed characters in the transition, alongside Bayonetta, Corrin, Diddy Kong (during the initial release), Donkey Kong, the Ice Climbers, Little Mac, Mewtwo, Rosalina & Luma and Sheik.

Cloud's overall perception and tournament results have been wildly inconsistent over the course of Ultimate's metagame: though he was initially thought to still be a high/top tier character thanks to strong results from the efforts of players such as RAIN and ZeRo, RAIN would eventually drop him in favor of Wolf, and ZeRo would stop participating in tournaments altogether, which would lead to a downfall in results and representation. He would later start to achieve increasingly noteworthy results once more thanks to the efforts of several players including akasa, Cheeks, CurryGovernor, Diabeo, Dietsoda, Kola, Masashi, YOC, and especially Sparg0, which would lead multiple players to think of him as a high tier once again, though several players such as akasa and Cheeks have recently started to drop Cloud, whereas Kola has left him as a secondary, and Sparg0 would take a hiatus from the game, all of which has hurt his tournament presence once again.

Cloud would then received noteworthy buffs in 7.0.0; while it doesn’t fully compensate for his nerfs during the transition from SSB4 to Ultimate, many professionals have changed their opinions on Cloud for the better, due to the buffs addressing his most severe weaknesses, such as his inconsistencies on getting KOs, allowing his players to achieve much stronger results. As such, Cloud’s overall perception remained positive, albeit more mixed; while ESAM still thinks that Cloud is a mid-tier character, almost every other professional now considers Cloud to be a solid high-tier, with Dabuz even claiming that he has reclaimed his position as a top-tier character. Although Cloud is still agreed to be worse than his SSB4 incarnation, his viability relative to the rest of the cast remains debatable, although he’s still agreed to be a relatively viable character.

Aesthetics

• Due to the aesthetic used in Ultimate, Cloud's model features a more subdued color scheme, now more closely resembles his appearance in Dissidia Final Fantasy NT. His clothing and hair feature subtle detailing, and his muscles are more defined.
  • The Buster Sword's blade texture appears more "battle-worn", featuring scratches and a metallic sheen.
• Cloud's sixth alternate costume is black instead of a deep teal, making it identical to the default Advent Children costume with the exception of his exposed left arm. His seventh alternate costume has also been slightly updated; it is now brown, instead of black.
• Cloud's Limit Gauge is now shown persistently above his damage meter, akin to Little Mac's Power Meter. This makes it possible to see how much the meter has been charged.
• The Buster Sword has a much brighter glow effect at its tip during Cloud's sword-based attacks, although this does not affect the range of the sword itself.
• Cloud keeps his eyes open during his clapping animation.
• Cloud's victory poses have been tweaked:
  • His left-inputted victory pose now has him close his eyes and keeps them closed when the camera focuses on him.
  • His up-inputted victory pose now has him only flourish the Buster Sword once, and also turns his head away from the camera completely, hiding his face. The change makes similar to his appearance in the North American box art.
  • His right-inputted victory pose is now mirrored from its previous appearance.
• As with all previous downloadable fighters in SSB4, Cloud now has a unique Palutena's Guidance conversation.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Cloud's jumpsquat animation takes 3 frames to complete (down from 4).
• Cloud's initial dash speed (1.8 → 2.145) and run speed (1.97 → 2.167) are much faster.
• Cloud walks slightly faster (1.1 → 1.155).
• Cloud's air speed is slightly higher (1.1 → 1.155).
• Cloud's traction is higher (0.055 → 0.106).
• Forward roll has less ending lag (FAF 32 → 30).
• Back roll has more startup (frame 4 → 5) and ending lag (FAF 32 → 35).
• Spot dodge has less ending lag (FAF 28 → 26).
• Spot dodge grants less intangibility (frames 3-18 → 3-17).
• Air dodge grants more intangibility (frames 3-28 → 3-30).
• Air dodge has significantly more ending lag (FAF 34 → 48).

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • The first and second hits have altered angles (60°/82° → 361°/180°) and knockback (42/28 base/24 scaling → 35/20 base/25/15 scaling) to keep opponents close to Cloud, akin to other neutral attacks. This allows them to connect better and jab lock.
  • The first hit transitions faster into the second hit (frame 9 → 8), which transitions faster into the third hit (frame 11 → 9).
  • The final hit's hitbox extends further inwards (Z offset: 9-16 → 8-16), improving its consistency against nearby opponents.
  • The first and third hits have higher hitlag multipliers (1.2× → 1.5× (hit 1), 1.4× → 2× (hit 3)), making them easier to SDI and DI respectively.
  • The first hit has had its three larger hitboxes replaced with four smaller ones (3.9u/2.9u/2.9u → 2u/2u/2.3u/2.3u).
  • Consecutive uses of the first hit are slower (11 frames → 15).
  • Cloud's leg for the first hit is angled lower, making the animation more consistent with the hitbox.
  • The second hit has redistributed hitbox sizes (3.3u/3.3u/3.3u → 3u/3u/3.5u).
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt no longer moves Cloud forward slightly, making it safer for spacing, but decreasing its effective range.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack's clean hit has more knockback scaling (60 → 70), noticeably improving its KO potential.
• Forward smash:
  • Forward smash has slightly more ending lag (FAF 64 → 67).
  • Each hit has smaller hitboxes (5.4u/5.4u → 4.5u/4.5u (hit 1), 3u/5.4u/5.4u → 2.5u/5.2u/5.2u (hit 2), 6.8u/6.8u → 5.5u/5.5u (hit 3)), reducing its vertical range.
• Up smash:
  • Up smash has less startup (frame 15 → 12).
    • However, its total duration was not fully compensated (FAF 47 → 46), increasing its ending lag by two frames.
  • Its 13% hitboxes have more knockback scaling (96 → 105), improving its KO potential.
• Down smash:
  • The farthest hitbox on the first hit deals less set knockback (120 → 85) and sends at a higher angle (165° (grounded)/176° (aerial) → 150°/155°), allowing it to connect into the second hit more reliably.
  • Down smash deals less damage (4% → 3% (hit 1), 12% → 11% (hit 2)), and the second hit also has less knockback scaling (94 → 92), reducing its KO potential.

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have less landing lag (15 frames → 9 (neutral, up), 18 → 11 (forward), 14 → 8 (back), 26 → 16 (down)).
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial has an altered animation where Cloud doesn't stretch his arm as much, noticeably reducing its range.
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial's sweetspots have a lower hitlag multiplier (2× → 1.4×), while the sourspots have a higher multiplier (1× → 1.4×).
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial has an altered animation that matches the hitbox more closely.
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial has more startup with a shorter hitbox duration (frames 7-9 (clean)/10-25 (late) → 8-9/10-23) and no animation change. This reduces its juggling ability and worsens the clean hits range below Cloud and prevents it from hitting grounded opponents as easily.
  • The clean hit's deceptively large hitboxes have become smaller (4.7u (frames 7-9) → 4.2u (frame 8)/4u (frame 9)).
  • It auto-cancels later (frame 26 → 32), no longer doing so from a short hop fast fall and immediately after its hitboxes cease.
  • It deals less damage (12% → 11% (clean), 8.5% → 8% (late)) and knockback, and launches at a slightly more horizontal angle (82° → 80°). This hinders its KO potential, but allows it to combo better on landing.
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial has a shorter duration (frames 11-42 → 11-39) and auto-cancels later (frame 43 → 46), making its late hit harder to combo with.
  • It has more ending lag (FAF 60 → 65).

Throws and other attacks

• All grabs have more startup (frame 7/10/11 (standing/dash/pivot) → 9/12/13) and ending lag (FAF 32/40/37 → 37/45/40).
• Dash grab has slightly less range (Z2 offset: 10.6u → 10.4u).
• Pummel:
  • Pummel deals more hitlag (5 frames → 14), but has significantly less startup (frame 5 → 1) and ending lag (FAF 26 → 7), shortening its duration.
  • It deals much less damage (3% → 1.3%).
• Back throw:
  • Back throw deals less knockback to bystanders (100 base/70 scaling → 48/90).
  • It launches bystanders at a lower angle (50° → 45°).
• Down throw:
  • Down throw inflicts hitlag, and thus releases opponents later (frame 18 → 27), giving them more time to DI.
  • Due to the faster knockback physics, it has lost most of its combo potential.
  • The speed of the throw is no longer weight-dependent.
• Edge attack:
  • Edge attack deals more damage (8% → 10%).

Special moves

• With the exception of Limit Blade Beam, all of Cloud's Limit Break specials cause Special Zoom when hitting an opponent.
• Blade Beam:
  • Non-Limit Blade Beam has less ending lag on the ground (FAF 61 → 54), improving its camping ability.
  • It has negative shield damage (0 → -4 (grounded, clean)/-3 (grounded, late)/-3.2 (aerial, clean)/-2.4 (aerial, late)), effectively dealing half its usual damage to shields.
  • Limit Blade Beam moves faster (speed: 2.8 (ground)/2.24 (air) → 2.95/2.4), and lasts longer (41 frames → 47).
• Cross Slash:
  • Due to the changes to hitlag, Limit Cross Slash's hits transition considerably slower if shielded. Combined with the changes to perfect shielding, this makes it significantly riskier to land on shield, as opponents have more time to react to the move connecting and can now parry the final hit for a more substantial punish.
  • Limit Cross Slash's last hit has less knockback scaling (153 → 147), weakening its KO potential.
  • Cross Slash's last hit has a lower hitlag multiplier (2.5× → 2×).
  • Cross Slash's visual effects have a slimmer, sharper design inspired by Dissidia Final Fantasy instead of the thick brush-like strokes from Smash 4.
• Climhazzard:
  • Cloud can now tech at the peak of Climhazzard's height.
  • There is a slightly wider window for the downward slash to snap the ledge.
  • It has less landing lag (41 → 26 frames), making it safer when whiffed.
  • The rising portion of Climhazzard snaps to ledges earlier (frame 28 → 24).
  • The upward slash's sweetspot has been made untechable [1] and deals set knockback (90 base/25 scaling → 110 set/100 scaling), increasing its knockback at lower percents and allowing the grounded hit to land far more reliably at any percent. It is also easier to use as a sacrificial KO, as meteor smashes can now KO the opponent before they reach the bottom blast line.
  • The downward slash's sourspot deals much less base knockback (130 → 50), with knockback scaling not fully compensated (25 → 80), significantly hindering its safety on hit at lower percents, and in combination with the nerfs to rage, no longer KOing at very low percents near the edge.
  • Due to the changes to jostle mechanics, Cloud's horizontal momentum now immediately halts when hitting opponents with the rising hit of Climhazzard, increasing its vulnerability to edgeguarding. [2]
  • Limit Climhazzard's second early hit has more knockback scaling (135 → 142), improving its KO potential.
  • Limit Climhazzard has a purple blade effect rather than a blue one.
• Limit Charge:
  • Like other charge-cancelable specials, Cloud can cancel Limit Charge by jumping or spot dodging.
  • Cloud fills the Limit Gauge faster from dealing damage (full charge: 250% → 150%) and using Limit Charge (full charge: 400 frames → 335).
  • Canceling it is no longer instantaneous, instead incurring 7 frames of lag, leaving Cloud more vulnerable when charging it.
  • If Cloud gets hit during Limit Charge, including the lag from canceling it, his Limit Gauge is depleted by the amount he would have gained otherwise. If he gets grabbed out of it, this effect lasts throughout the entire grab, affecting both the grabber's pummels/throws and collateral attacks.
  • Cloud loses his Limit Break if no special move is used within 15 seconds of reaching full charge, requiring it to be charged again. This makes his Limit Breaks easier to avoid, and prevents him from having his stats increased indefinitely.
• Finishing Touch:
  • Finishing Touch has less startup (16 (both) → 12 (grounded)/14 (aerial)).
  • The ground version's late hit has more vertical range during its first frames (Y offset: 16u → 22u), allowing it to hit opponents standing on the lower platforms of Battlefield.
  • It has more knockback scaling (417 (early, grounded)/390 (late, grounded)/359 (early, air)/335 (late, air) → 431/406/371/349), improving its KO potential.
  • It no longer ignores weight, hindering its KO potential against heavyweights, but improving it against lightweights.
  • It has more ending lag (FAF 80 → 85 (grounded)/88 (aerial)).
• Omnislash:
  • A trapping hit was added before the tackling hit that deals 1%.
  • The string of airborne hits (3-16) deal more damage (2% → 2.2%).
  • The final hit has lower knockback scaling (120 → 113) and launches at a lower angle (70° → 65°), weakening its KO potential.
  • The camera no longer shakes when Cloud is preparing the final hit of the move (though this was initially not the case in his character showcase video).
  • When using any even-numbered costume, Cloud performs Omnislash Ver. 5, the variant of Omnislash used in Advent Children.
    • While the differences are mostly cosmetic, the final hit of Omnislash Ver. 5 has slightly different knockback properties against bystanders, always launching them in the direction Cloud is facing rather than the side of the explosion they are hit on. This changes the trajectory that bystanders behind Cloud are launched and, by extension, the directional influence that must be employed to potentially avoid being KOed, giving it a legitimate, albeit negligible, gameplay difference from Omnislash.
    • The string of airborne hits deal more damage (2.2% → 2.8%) but there are fewer hits (14 → 11), resulting in the same amount of damage to trapped opponents.

Update history

Aside from the default version of Blade Beam having its shield damage output decreased due to universal projectile changes, Cloud has been buffed via game updates. While updates 2.0.0 and 3.1.0 provided only very minor buffs, update 7.0.0 improved Cloud much more in comparison. Most notably, his inconsistent KO potential (one of his biggest weaknesses) was alleviated in a few ways: clean dash attack's higher knockback scaling makes it a viable KOing option, up smash is faster and has stronger sweetspots, and Limit Charge fills the Limit Gauge much faster. In addition, Cloud received a few quality of life buffs: forward smash's hits connect more reliably, Climhazzard snaps edges earlier, and his shield was enlarged as part of a near-universal buff.

2.0.0

• Cloud can grab ledges faster after using forward aerial.
• Finishing Touch has more range at its beginning (Y offset: 20u-16u → 20u-11u). This enables it to hit prone opponents.

3.0.0

• Blade Beam deals less shield damage (0 (all) → -4 (grounded clean)/-3 (grounded late)/-3.2 (aerial clean)/-2.4 (aerial late)).

3.1.0

• The farthest hitbox on down smash's first hit has less set knockback (120 → 85) and its angle has been adjusted (165° (grounded)/176° (aerial) → 150°/155°). These changes make its hits connect more reliably.
• Created glitch where Cloud would significantly increase his momentum if he immediately used his aerial attacks or jump and be hit by Cape while nearly charging his Limit Break.

7.0.0

• Overall shield size has been increased.
• Dash attack has more knockback scaling (60 → 70), drastically improving its KO potential, to the point it can KO at around 140%.
• The set knockback of one of the hitboxes of forward smash's second hit was reduced (90 → 80), making it less likely to knock opponents out of the final hit.
• Up smash:
  • Up smash has less startup lag (frame 15 → 12), with its total duration reduced as well (FAF 49 → 46).
  • The 13% hitboxes have more knockback scaling (96 → 105).
  • The stronger "attack connect" HD rumble no longer triggers.
• The rising hit of Climhazzard snaps to the ledge earlier (frame 28 → 24).
• Cloud fills the Limit Gauge much faster from using Limit Charge (full charge: 400 frames → 335), filling it slightly faster than the original version in Smash 4.

Moveset

• Over the course of normal play, Cloud will charge up a meter called the Limit Gauge by taking or dealing damage, or by manually charging with down special. A visual meter of his current state of charge is always present above his character portrait. When filled up, Cloud's body will emit a blue, fiery aura and is granted upgraded, single use versions of his special moves, as well as enhanced mobility for the duration of the charge.
• Cloud can wall jump.

For a gallery of Cloud's hitboxes, see here.

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2.5%	A side kick, followed by a mid-level roundhouse kick, followed by an outward slash. All hits are executed very quickly and have a high range (particularly the kicks). The last hit can be used to tech-chase due to its low semi-spike knockback, but it is slow to end. The first two hits can jab lock, although their rather high hitbox placements makes this difficult to accomplish.
			2%
			3.5%
Forward tilt			11%	An inward slash. It has a quick start-up, but moderate ending lag, making it punishable on shield unless spaced. It is Cloud's only tilt that has decent KO potential, KOing middleweights around 120% at the edge. It is based on his basic attack in Final Fantasy VII.
Up tilt			8%	An overhead arcing slash. Its hitbox starts behind Cloud with a larger front hitbox, although it does not extend beside Cloud and makes it unable to hit smaller characters beside him. It is fast and has a fairly large hitbox, although its knockback is lacking. It can reliably start combos, chaining into itself at 0% and into aerials at low-mid percentages.
Down tilt		Sliding	6% (knee), 7% (leg)	A baseball slide. His legs are intangible while the hitbox is active, and it will sometimes deal less damage if landed early. It has a very quick start-up, propels Cloud a good distance forward, launches opponents vertically, and significantly lowers his hurtbox. Altogether, these traits make it useful as an approach and punishment option, as well as a capable set-up option into aerial attacks.
Dash attack			11% (clean), 8% (late)	Thrusts the sharp edge of the Buster Sword forward while holding it diagonally. It has a lingering hitbox and, as of update 7.0.0, its clean hit is viable for KOing at high percentages.
Forward smash		Triple Buster	3% (hit 1), 2% (hit 2 center), 3% (hit 2 hilt), 4% (hit 2 tip), 12% (hit 3 tip), 13% (hit 3 non-tip)	Performs three extremely fast slashes in front of himself. The first two hits combo into the third, which has a higher range and immense knockback. It is Cloud's strongest non-Limit Break move, KOing middleweights around 100% at center-stage, but it has a rather slow startup, high ending lag, and deals below average shieldstun. Additionally, each hit is only active for one frame, which means it can be dodged entirely with a well-timed roll or sidestep. It resembles the depiction of Cross Slash in the Kingdom Hearts series, and may also be a reference to the effects of the Double Cut Materia in Final Fantasy VII.
Up smash			13% (early/tip), 12% (mid/hilt), 8% (late)	An upward slash. It has some startup (12 frames) and moderate ending lag, and its KO power is only average compared to most other up smashes, but it has a deceptively large range, being able to function as an effective anti-air. KOs middleweights around 125%.
Down smash		Double Thrust	3% (hit 1), 11% (hit 2)	Kneels and thrusts the Buster Sword's hilt forward, then performs a reverse gripped thrust behind himself. The first hit launches opponents into the second, though it is possible to tech after the first hit, causing the second to miss. The first hit can stage spike with ease due to its angle, while the second hit is a semi-spike, making it useful for launching opponents with weak horizontal recoveries off-stage. It hits on frame 8, making it Cloud's fastest smash attack, and a decent close-range out of shield option.
Neutral aerial			8%	A circular slash around himself. While its range is somewhat lacking compared to Cloud's other attacks, it is his fastest aerial nonetheless and covers his whole hurtbox decently well. Autocancels in a short hop.
Forward aerial		Meteor Slash	14% (clean sweetspot), 13% (clean sourspot), 11% (late)	Briefly pauses and then performs a downward slash. It is his slowest aerial to start, hitting on frame 18, but a sweetspot on the middle of the blade as it comes down powerfully meteor smashes aerial opponents. Grounded opponents are sent at a more vertical angle by the sweetspot. If contact is made once the blade stops, it deals weaker knockback. Its ending lag is moderate, though its landing lag is low for its range and power, and it autocancels from a full hop. On landing, its sweetspot in grounded opponents can act as a situational combo starter. It closely resembles Braver, Cloud's initial Limit Break in Final Fantasy VII.
Back aerial			13%	Turns around to perform an outward slash. It has a very long range and good knockback, KOing middleweights at around 115% near the edge, making it an effective spacing and KO option. It also has very low landing lag, autocancels from a short hop, and can be used to perform a wall of pain at low percentages. It has a limited vertical range, however, and its hitbox is only active for three frames. It resembles the sword strike he does during his Meteorain Limit Break.
Up aerial			11% (clean), 8% (late)	Thrusts the sharp edge of the Buster Sword's blade upward while holding it parallel to the ground. Has sex kick properties. It comes out on frame 8, works as an excellent combo starter on landing, being able to combo into most of Cloud's moves especially at low percentages, while its late hit can set up KO confirms into Limit Cross Slash and Finishing Touch. It can also autocancel in a short hop and its large, lingering hitbox makes it an effective anti-air and punishment tool. It also boasts respectable knockback by itself, with its clean hit KOing near the upper blast line at around 140%. However, it is very difficult to land on grounded opponents, as its hitbox doesn’t extend much beyond the sword itself.
Down aerial			13% (clean aerial sourspot, grounded opponent), 15% (aerial sweetspot), 8% (late)	A downward thrust. Striking directly beneath Cloud with the first few frames meteor smashes aerial opponents. Its late hit is a capable combo starter when autocancelled (from a full hop, but right before he reaches the apex), which even has certain KO confirms at high percentages. It has a long duration, but also has high ending lag, making it a huge risk to use off-stage. Despite its meteor-smashing capabilities, it is rather quick, coming out on frame 11, allowing it to be a potential follow-up option.
Grab			—	Reaches out with his hand. It has a very short range.
Pummel			1.3%	A knee strike.
Forward throw			4% (hit 1), 3% (throw)	A modified dropsault. It has low knockback, so it's usually used for positioning or throwing opponents off-stage. It resembles Somersault, a Limit Break used by Tifa Lockhart, one of Cloud's party members in Final Fantasy VII.
Back throw			3% (hit 1), 3% (throw)	A spinning back kick. At lower percentages, it is capable of tech-chasing with Blade Beam or his dash attack against middleweights and heavyweights. Has weak knockback, making it only suitable for positioning and edgeguard setups
Up throw			2% (hit 1), 2.5% (hit 2), 4% (throw)	A 540 kick. While it has high enough knockback to set up juggles, it is unable to KO at reasonable percentages, and should the opponent be in the middle of the stage and be at such percentages (around 215% for middleweights), down throw will be more effective at KOing. It vaguely resembles Tifa's Waterkick Limit Break, albeit kicking vertically instead of horizontally.
Down throw			7%	A one-handed body slam. It launches opponents behind him with low base knockback; it is Cloud's only combo throw, though it is a lackluster one. True combos into Limit Cross Slash at 0%, dealing a very fast 34%, and at higher percents can be a KO combo if the opponent’s reaction is read. It also KOs earlier than any of his other throws, at around 181% for middleweights with Cloud facing away from the edge of Battlefield. It resembles Tifa's Meteor Strike Limit Break, albeit performed while grounded instead of in the air.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Swings the Buster Sword around himself before getting up.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Swings the Buster Sword around himself before getting up.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Swings the Buster Sword around himself before getting up.
Edge attack Edge getups			10%	Performs an inward slash while climbing up.
Neutral special		Blade Beam	8% (grounded clean), 6% (grounded late), 6.4% (aerial clean), 4.8% (aerial late), 6% (Limit Break hit 1), 2% (Limit Break hits 2-6), 3% (Limit Break hit 7)	Swings the Buster Sword upward and in front of himself in order to launch a green, crescent-shaped energy beam as a projectile. It comes out and moves rather slowly, but travels a long distance and has a large hitbox. It is stronger if used on the ground and hit early. The aerial version is slower and deals less damage, but gives Cloud a Fall Break effect. Like most projectiles, it disappears on contact with an object or enemy. The Limit Break variant possesses transcendent priority, moves much faster across the ground, grants Cloud’s entire body intangibility on start-up and hits multiple times, with its last hit having great KO potential. It is still weaker and slower when performed in midair, however. Upon hitting a wall, the Limit Break variant will not disappear and instead act as if hitting a player, making it an effective stage-spiking tool if performed under the ledge. However, this maneuver is rather risky considering Cloud's poor recovery.
Side special		Cross Slash	4% (hit 1), 3% (hit 2-4), 6% (hit 5), 5% (Limit Break hit 1), 3% (Limit Break hits 2-4), 10% (Limit Break hit 5)	Performs a downwards slash. On contact with an enemy, pressing the special button allows this slash to transition into a series of follow-up slashes, spelling the kanji 凶 (きょう) ("bad luck", "misfortune"). The full attack deals high damage and moderate knockback, making it a superb punishing option at close range. It is weak against shields, however, as all stages of the attack are slow and punishable if missed. Its Limit Break variant results in Cloud unleashing all five strikes with a single input regardless of whether he hits anything. It also noticeably increases both the damage and KO potential of the move, KOing middleweights at 100% from the center of the stage, while reducing the move's ending lag to such an extent that it becomes nearly impossible to punish without being right behind Cloud as he unleashes the move while also granting intangibility to Cloud's body on start-up. Additionally, Limit Cross Slash deals a high amount of shield damage, so much so that the final hit can sometimes break a middleweight's shield, making it risky to be near Cloud during Limit Break. When used in the air, it halts all momentum until the move is finished. It is commonly considered Cloud's most effective Limit Break move due to its abundance of positive traits.
Up special		Climhazzard	3% (hit 1), 4% (hits 2-3), 3.5% (landing), 6% (Limit Break hit 1), 7% (Limit Break hit 2)	A leaping reverse gripped slash. If the special button is pressed again, it is followed with a descending reverse gripped slash. The first hit deals set knockback that leads into the second hit, which has a sweetspot at the center of the Buster Sword's blade that meteor smashes opponents as Cloud descends. It is Cloud's primary recovery move, though it is notable for being very ineffective due to multiple traits: it grants mediocre distance with low vertical height and almost no horizontal momentum, and the descending slash cannot be canceled and isn't able to sweetspot the edge until Cloud has fallen a certain distance with it, making it unsuitable to use offstage. Its fast startup makes it a good surprise attack when grounded, particularly as an out of shield option. Its Limit Break variant greatly strengthens the rising (but not falling) hits of the move (allowing it to KO grounded middleweights at around 125%), allows it to sweetspot edges throughout, grants Cloud intangibility on start-up and much greater vertical and horizontal distance.
Down special		Limit Charge	1% (Finishing Touch)	Holds the Buster Sword horizontally in front of himself and remains still in order to manually charge the Limit Gauge. While the move is being held, a text box labeled "Limit" appears above Cloud, which contains a meter that denotes the current level of Limit and increases as it is charged. The Limit Gauge will reach full charge either by using Limit Charge for 335 frames but can be alternatively filled by dealing 150% or receiving 100% and each of these methods stacks with each other. When the Limit Gauge is fully charged, Cloud will say "限界を越える", which translates to "limits are meant to be broken" or "breaking the limit". The move can be charge-canceled by pressing the shield button, hitting the control stick left or right (which triggers a roll), grabbing, or pressing the special button again (the latter of which has an 8-frame delay). When the Limit Gauge is filled, Cloud is surrounded by a blue, fiery aura, and his mobility receives a noticeable increase. As long as he is in this state, he has access to much more powerful, single use variants of his special attacks, as listed above. Using any of these attacks will empty the Limit Gauge and return Cloud to his normal state, even if the move misses or is interrupted. The charge goes away in 15 seconds if it isn't used at all when fully charged. The Limit Break variation of Limit Charge itself is an entirely different attack called Finishing Touch; Cloud slashes in an arc around himself, generating a large whirlwind that deals only 1% damage but deals tremendous knockback, enough to KO most opponents before 70%. The move hits on frame 14 but has very high ending lag and almost no shield stun due to its damage output. The attack is weaker as a whole when performed in the air, however, KOing about 24% later when hit in the front, and 36% later with the back hitbox. The attack's hitbox is deceptively large, and it generates a powerful windbox that extends even further beyond the Buster Sword's range, pushing opponents away. Finishing Touch's animation may be based on Tornado, an unused Limit Break in Final Fantasy VII.
Final Smash		Omnislash	3% (hit 1), 2% (hits 2-14), 5% (hit 15), 4%-5% (hit 16), 10% (hit 17), 50% (all hits connect)	Rushes forward at high speed and attacks, unleashing a series of slashes that concludes with a powerful, descending slash that triggers an explosion. At the beginning of the move, with a text box appearing above him that displays "Omnislash" as he proceeds to flings any opponents he runs into to the top of the screen. After the series of slashes, Cloud charges up a final slash, in which he descends and slashes the opponent down to the stage and results in a huge explosion that launches the opponent. One of the most powerful Final Smashes in the game when successful, as it can KO as low as 22%. Unlike Marth and Lucina's Critical Hit, Cloud will dash off the edges of platforms if Omnislash is initiated next to one, and he cannot cancel the move.

On-screen appearance

Descends from the sky and catches the Buster Sword with a flourish.

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  Cloud's on-screen appearance

Taunts

• Up taunt: Twirls the Buster Sword and places it behind his back, referencing his victory animation from Final Fantasy VII, while saying 興味ないね ("I'm not interested.", his catchphrase from Final Fantasy VII).
• Side taunt: Places the Buster Sword on his back, places his hands together, and mimics the casting animation from Final Fantasy VII, complete with the sound effect and glow.
• Down taunt: Leans on the Buster Sword while scoffing.

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  Cloud's up taunt.

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  Cloud's side taunt.

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  Cloud's down taunt.

Idle poses

• Pulls the Buster Sword back and rubs the edge of its blade.
• Holds the Buster Sword upward in front of himself with both hands.

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  Cloud's first idle pose

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  Cloud's second idle pose

Victory poses

• Left: Twirls the Buster Sword with one hand and places it on his back with his eyes closed, and says "悪く思うな", which translates to "No hard feelings." Based on his victory animation in Final Fantasy VII.
• Up: While turning away from the camera, he twirls the Buster Sword, places it on his back and then looks to the left while hiding his face, saying "ついてないな", which translates to "Better luck next time." Based on his appearance in the box art of Final Fantasy VII and his pose when he first enters Shinra Headquarters.
• Right: Dashes into the screen, slashes the Buster Sword twice, and gets in his battle stance while saying "お前 は 俺 を 倒せない", which translates to "You cannot defeat me."

A remix of the victory theme heard in Final Fantasy VII, which is itself a variant of the victory theme heard throughout the Final Fantasy series. Unlike other themes, it continuously plays, replacing the results theme.

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In competitive play

While Cloud was initially considered to be an extremely potent character, his results have fallen off overtime with some of his strongest players either not playing the game or dropping the character altogether. This is due to Cloud's noticeably worse toolkit and flaws becoming much more apparent in the current metagame. Such flaws include inconsistencies with killing, the shortened limit gauge time, his linear recovery, his ability to edgeguard being lackluster at best, and his grab game being among the worst in the game. As such, top players ESAM, Raito, Tsu, Leffen, and Armada consider him to be amongst the lower half of mid-tier, with many of Cloud's top players agreeing that he belongs there. However, VoiD has noted that Cloud has had some success at top level and that he should be closer to the middle of high-tier. Surprisingly, Dabuz believes Cloud has potential to be top tier. Furthermore, Cloud has received noteworthy buffs in 7.0.0 changing Cloud’s overall perception, albeit more positive; while ESAM still thinks that Cloud is a mid-tier character, almost every other professional now considers Cloud to be a solid high-tier, with Dabuz even claiming that he has reclaimed his position as a top-tier character. While it is still agreed that Cloud is worse than his Smash 4 iteration, he remained as a fairly popular character with great success.

Currently, because of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic causing all tournament play to shift to an online setting, Cloud has a stronger presence in the Wi-Fi meta, with many Cloud players performing well in online tournaments, such as The Quarantine Series and other regionals. Kola and Sparg0 have demonstrated Cloud's success in that spectrum.

Notable players

Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the Fall 2019 PGRU, which recognizes the official top 50 players in the world in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate from July 13th, 2019 to December 15th, 2019.

Active

•  ΩRugal - One of the best Cloud players in Mexico. Placed 3rd at Get in the Game! 2020, 13th at 2GG: SoCal Chronicles 2020, and 33rd at both Smash Factor 8 and 2GG: Kongo Saga. Has defeated Prodigy.
•  akasa - One of the best Cloud players in Japan. Placed 4th at Sumabato SP, 17th at Umebura SP 2, 25th at Sumabato SP 5, and 33rd at Umebura Japan Major 2019.
•  Azrael - Co-mains Cloud with Wolf and is considered the best Cloud player in the Netherlands. Placed 5th at The Ultimate Performance 3 and 17th at Tech Republic IV.
•  Crump - Placed 9th at Ultimatum 2, 17th at DreamHack Dallas 2019, and 33rd at Low Tier City 7.
•  CurryGovernor - The best Cloud player in Europe. Placed 7th at Valhalla III, 25th at Albion 4, and 33rd at Syndicate 2019. Has wins over Scr7 and Yetey.
•  Diabeo - Placed 4th at Fight For 95 and 49th at CEO 2019. Has taken sets off of ESAM and MuteAce.
•  Dietsoda - The best Cloud player in North Carolina. Placed 9th at Just Roll With It! 10, 13th at 2GG: Grand Tour - South Carolina, and 17th at Just Roll With It! 11. Ranked 2nd on the North Carolina Ultimate Power Rankings.
•  DoctorKayh - One of the best Cloud players in Canada. Placed 5th at Rising Stars at EGLX 2019, placed 17th at The Amuka Smash Cup, 49th at both Get On My Level 2019 and The Big House 9 with wins over tamim, Rickles, and Smokk.
•  Jasowa - One of the best Cloud players in Canada. Placed 9th at PSG Classic 2019, 13th at Press Less 2019, and 17th at The Amuka Smash Cup. Ranked 4th on the Ottawa Power Rankings.
•  Kola (#46) - Uses Cloud as a secondary and is one of the two best Cloud players in the world. Placed 1st at Final Round 2019, 2nd at Just Roll With It! 11, 5th at 2GG: Grand Tour - South Carolina, 13th at Super Smash Con 2019, 33rd at CEO 2019, and 49th at MomoCon 2019. Has taken sets off of Tsu, ANTi, Puppeh, LingLing, and Peabnut.
•  Luna*// - One of the best Cloud players in SoCal. Placed 3rd at 2GG: All In and 33rd at 2GG: Breakthrough 2019.
•  Masashi - One of the best Cloud players in Japan. Placed 2nd at KVOxTSB 2019, 9th at Sumabato SP and Sumabato SP 4, 13th at Sumabato SP 2, and 33rd at EVO 2019.
•  MINTOS - Placed 9th at Just Roll With It! 12. Has a win over Dietsoda.
•  Niko - Placed 5th at Super Smash Fight Club 2 and has wins over Shadow_PR, Trela, Carlos, and Ismon. Ranked 7th on the Houston Power Rankings.
•  Scubbss - Placed 2nd at Canada Cup 2019, 9th at Smashfest 5: Queen City Ex, and 17th at Play With Heart with wins over Exodia, Alphicans, Chaizord, and Smear.
•  Sparg0 - The best Cloud player in Mexico and one of the two best Cloud players in the world. Placed 2nd at Delfino Maza 2, 4th at BIT MASTER MTY 8, 17th at both CEO 2019 and Smash Factor 8, 25th at both 2GG: Prime Saga and 2GG: Nightmare on Smashville, 33rd at EVO 2019, and 49th at GENESIS 6. Has wins over Chag, Javi, VoiD, kameme, Elegant, Eon, Sinji, Myran, and Zenyou. Ranked 2nd on the SoCal Ultimate Power Rankings and 1st on the Tijuana Power Rankings. Has considered dropping Cloud, but has instead opted to co-main him and Inkling.
•  Thor - Placed 4th at Ascension IX. Ranked 7th in Minnesota and 9th in Arizona simultaneously.
•  YOC - Placed 17th at Sumabato SP and 25th at both Umebura SP 2 and Umebura SP 3. Though he initially dropped Cloud, he has recently gone back to using him alongside Joker.

Inactive

•  Cheeks - Considered one of the best Cloud players in the United States before switching to Lucina. Placed 9th at DreamHack Dallas 2019, 13th at Ultimatum, and 97th at EVO 2019. Ranked 14th on the Texas Ultimate Power Rankings and 3rd on the DFW Ultimate Power Rankings.
•  Javi - Placed 2nd at Ragnarok and 5th at Mexican Gaming Championship using Cloud as one of his characters. Has a win over yeti.
•  Marc - Placed 4th at Codec Call and 17th at Tech Republic IV before switching to Joker.
•  RAIN - Was considered one of the best Cloud mains before switching to Wolf. Placed 5th at Pre-Genesix, 25th at Umebura SP 3, and 49th at GENESIS 6.
•  Stroder - Placed 13th at Shine 2019 with mainly Cloud.
•  Tyrant - Placed 13th at SoCal Chronicles with mostly Cloud before dropping the character.
•  ZeRo - Placed 9th at Smash Conference United with mostly Cloud.

Classic Mode: A Ride? Not Interested.

Cloud's congratulations screen.

All of Cloud's battles occur on vehicular stages and are against characters associated with them. This is a reference to the fact that he suffers from motion sickness, while his Classic Mode route's title is a direct reference to his catchphrase, "Not interested."

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Toon Link	Spirit Train	Full Steam Ahead	References the train that he hops off of in the opening of Final Fantasy VII.
2	Fox and Falco	Corneria	Main Theme - Star Fox 64 (Brawl)
3	Meta Knight	Halberd	Meta Knight's Revenge
4	Mario , Yoshi , and Peach	Rainbow Cruise	Slide	References the use of airships in the Final Fantasy series, usually depicted as sailing ships that fly through the skies.
5	Captain Falcon	Big Blue	Big Blue (Remix)	References the motorcycle chase in Final Fantasy VII.
6	Wolf	Lylat Cruise	Space Armada	References his trip to space in the Shinra No. 26 during the events of Final Fantasy VII.
Bonus Stage
Final	Master Hand	Final Destination	Master Hand (Less than 7.0 intensity) Master Hand / Crazy Hand (Intensity 7.0 or higher)	On intensity 7.0 and higher, Crazy Hand fights alongside Master Hand.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Cloud has Fight On! accompany the credits.

Role in World of Light

Finding Cloud in World of Light

Although Cloud does not appear in the World of Light opening cutscene, he was vaporized and later alongside the rest of the fighters (With the exception of Kirby) when Galeem unleashed his beams of light.

Cloud was one of the many fighters that fell under Dharkon's control upon Galeem's first defeat. He is unlocked in the Sacred Land sub-area in the Dark Realm, guarding the Master Sword required to dispel the darkness clouding the top part of the land which makes up the Triforce of Power after Sonic has been awakened, making his unlocking mandatory.

Fighter Battle

No.	Image	Name	Type	Power	Stage	Music
61		Cloud	Attack	11,200	Midgar (Ω form)	Fight On!

Spirits

Cloud's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 Gold. Unlocking Cloud 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. His Advent Children outfit has a Fighter Spirit of its own, available through the shop, or by completing a challenge (Smash: As Cloud, hit an opponent with his side special, Cross Slash, while the Limit Gauge is charged). Unlike most fighters, the Spirits for Cloud only use his artwork from Ultimate, rather than also having alternative artwork from a previous appearance.

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  1,004. Cloud

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  1,005. Cloud (Advent Children)

In Spirit battles

As the main opponent

Spirit				Battle parameters
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music
973		Zeke	Xenoblade Chronicles Series	•Cloud •Bayonetta		2,500	Kongo Falls (Battlefield form)	•Sudden Final Smash •Hazard: Zap Floor	•Survive until the timer runs out •The floor is electrified •The enemy will suddenly have a Final Smash after a little while	Those Who Stand Against Our Path - Xenoblade Chronicles 2
1,103		Master Edges	Super Smash Bros. Series	•Cloud Team (×4)		9,500	Final Destination	N/A	•The enemy's melee weapons have increased power •Stamina battle •The enemy has increased move speed and reduced weight	Master Core
1,378		Kyle	ASTRAL CHAIN	•Cloud •Sheik Team ( ×3)		4,200	New Pork City (hazards off)	•Attack Power ↑ •Item: Exploding Types	•The enemy has increased attack power when the enemy's at high damage •Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd	Attack - Soma Bringer

Alternate costumes

Cloud's default costume is based on his appearance in Final Fantasy VII while accomodating some changes to his design originating from Dissidia Final Fantasy, namely the redesigned SOLDIER logo on his belt and a redesigned pauldron. He has an alternate costume based on his appearance in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, known as "Cloudy Wolf" in Dissidia Final Fantasy, which replaces the Buster Sword with the Fusion Sword. It has two minor variants: one with a long sleeve covering Cloud's left arm to hide the visible signs of his Geostigma, and the other revealing Cloud's left arm after he has been cured of Geostigma, as well as a red ribbon wrapped around it, which he and his party wear in memory of Aerith Gainsborough.

Gallery

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  Link, Kirby, Mario, and Cloud artwork, as posted by Tetsuya Nomura's official Twitter account.

• Cloud SSBU Banner.png

  Cloud's appearance on the panoramic artwork

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  Cloud's fighter card.

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  On Gaur Plain.

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  Posing on the Bridge of Eldin.

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  Using Cross Slash on Diddy Kong on the Umbra Clock Tower.

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  Charging up his Limit Charge on Midgar.

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  Cloud on Figure-8 Circuit.

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  Cloud and his Advent Children costume posing on the Bridge of Eldin.

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  Cloud getting hit by Luigi's Super Jump Punch on Battlefield.

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  Grabbing Mega Man on Great Bay Ω.

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  Taunting while the Luminary uses Heal on Spear Pillar.

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  Cloud with Zelda in Tortimer Island

Trivia

• A section of Cloud's trailer pictures him using his side taunt with R.O.B. in the distance, who is promptly struck by Thunder. This is a direct reference to spellcasting and its general animations in the Final Fantasy series, with Thunder being a basic Black Magic spell throughout the series. Thunder, localized as "Bolt" in Final Fantasy VII, is one of Cloud's starting spells in that game.
• Cloud’s official artwork resembles his idle animation from Final Fantasy VII and Super Smash Bros., as well as Ike's official render for Brawl.
• With Marth and Roy now dubbed in English for international releases of Ultimate, Cloud is the one of the three playable characters along with Hero and Mewtwo with an established English voice actor (in Cloud's case, Steve Burton prior to Final Fantasy VII Remake, where he was replaced by Cody Christian) to only be voiced by his Japanese voice actor in all versions of Ultimate. Additionally, he is the only one of the three who speaks in Japanese in all versions of the game.
• Cloud, R.O.B., and Ice Climbers are the only fighters that cannot receive a series bonus since they don't have any primary spirits from their own series.
• In the base game, Cloud has the fewest Spirit battles out of the entire roster, being only part of the Zeke, Master Edges and the Kyle spirits.
  • Since both spirit battles do not take place during World of Light's events, Cloud is one of two characters whose only appearance is as their original fighter in World of Light (the other being the Pokémon Trainer).
  • Due to the Final Fantasy series lacking non-fighter spirits, Cloud is the only fighter not to appear in their own universe's spirit battles.
  • Additionally, he is the character who has an alternate costume that changes their model to not use the default model in a spirit battle, with an exception to the Kyle spirit.
• Excluding use of a Boss Galaga, Cloud is one of the few fighters to spin differently in their Star KO: he spins forwards instead of away from the screen, similarly to how Star KOs acted in Smash 4. He shares this trait with Shulk, Corrin, Incineroar, Inkling and Joker.
• Cloud, Wii Fit Trainer, Pokémon Trainer, and Robin are the only four playable characters not to use artwork from their home series for their fighter Spirits, simply only using their official renders for the game.
• According to Sakurai from a Famitsu column, as of January 2019, Cloud was the most used fighter online.
• Cloud, Ivysaur, Greninja, Little Mac, Ryu, Olimar, and Ken are the only characters to never appear as minions in any Spirit battles.
• With the removal of Trophies and descriptions in-game, Cloud is the only human Final Fantasy character explicitly shown or mentioned in Ultimate.
  • Previously, the combined descriptions of for 3DS and Wii U's trophies namedropped Zack and Sephiroth.
• When using one of Cloud's Advent Children costumes, part of his left shoulder will be cut out on his damage meter.
• When fighting off the fifty puppet fighter army as Master Hand in World of Light, Cloud is one of the eight fighters fought there, being affiliated with Dharkon.
• Oddly, striking opponents with the sweetspot of Cloud's up smash does not trigger controller rumble. This is especially strange considering the sourspot causes the controller to vibrate much more intensely than one would expect from a weak hit.