Projectile

Mario's fireball is an example of a projectile.

A projectile is an attack or object that operates independently of the character that used it. They are typically used to create pressure on an opponent. This may be shield pressure or pressure to give up stage control. Common examples of projectiles include the Charge Shot, Blaster shots, and thrown items. Almost all projectiles can be reflected, while others can also be absorbed.

A majority of characters have at least one projectile attack, while some have two or even three, and for the most part, one these projectiles serves as the character's neutral special attack. It is considered a disadvantage to lack a projectile, as they can be very useful in both approaching and camping out opponents' approaches. Projectiles also cause the target to take hitlag while the user does not, which allows a few free frames of action.

As projectiles are (in general) considered indirect attacks, the vast majority of enemies in the Subspace Emissary resist them outside of any weak points they may have — in fact, only Porky, Meta Ridley, and Tabuu do not. Projectiles are also generally special moves executed with the B button, but since Brawl, some characters, such as Snake, Olimar, the Villager, and Mega Man, have standard attacks that are projectiles.

Projectiles used by characters

This table includes all non-Final Smash projectiles for every character, as well as some important properties of each. Note that, while a projectile may not be absorbable, that does not exclude the ability to be Pocketed.

Character	Projectiles	Reflectable	Absorbable	Unique/Special Properties
Banjo & Kazooie	Egg Firing / Breegull Blaster
	Shock Spring Jump (aerial usage)
	Rear Egg			The explosions can be absorbed
Bayonetta	Bullet Climax			Chargeable, though that only affects the first two shots. Pressing the special move button repeatedly causes her to continue firing.
Bowser	Fire Breath			Size and length decreases as Bowser continues to breathe, and releasing the special move button causes the move to passively charge up over time
Bowser Jr.	Mechakoopa
	Abandon Ship!			The Clown Car becomes a projectile after being abandoned.
	Clown Cannon
Byleth	Failnaught		/	Only the max charged arrows can be absorbed.
Cloud	Blade Beam
Corrin	Dragon Fang Shot			Only the projectile attack can be absorbed. Can be charged to change size and damage.
Daisy	Toad			The spores produced on a successful counterattack are projectiles.
	Vegetable			Produces a vegetable item, and rarely Bob-ombs or Mr. Saturns.
Dark Pit	Silver Bow			Chargeable and controllable. Can be held for a slightly limited time, and can be aimed up.
Dark Samus	Charge Shot			Follows straight trajectory; chargeable. Can be charged while on the ground or in midair. Fired at a lower elevation compared to Samus.
	Missile			Can fire a homing missile or super missile.
	Bomb			Detonates either instantly upon contact with an opponent or after a set period of time.
Diddy Kong	Peanut Popgun			Can be charged, which increases damage and speed while flattening the movement angle, but charging too much causes the move to fail. Can be grabbed and subsequently thrown as an item. The overcharge explosion in SSB4 cannot be reflected or absorbed.
	Banana Peel			Produces a Banana Peel.
	Rocketbarrel Boost (when the barrels come off)			Has a random trajectory. Cannot be shielded. The barrels explode when crashing into the stage, which can be absorbed in SSB4.
Dr. Mario	Megavitamins			Affected by gravity, and bounces on the ground.
Duck Hunt	Trick Shot			Can be launched higher and/or farther by pressing the special move button repeatedly. Explodes after a while, or if it hits an enemy. The explosion alone can be absorbed, but the hit right before it cannot.
	Clay Shooting			The clay pigeon is shot if the special move button is pressed, and the resulting explosion of the pigeon can be absorbed. If hit by an attack (including ones that normally would reflect projectiles), then it breaks automatically.
	Wild Gunman
Falco	Blaster			Follows a straight trajectory, and causes flinching. The lasers are also used in his back, up, and down throws, and can also be reflected and absorbed in said moves.
	Reflector			Considered a projectile in Brawl and SSB4. Reflectors do not affect the trajectory, but they will reflect the hitbox.
	Up throw (blaster)			The lasers fired from the blaster are projectiles
	Back throw (blaster)			The lasers fired from the blaster are projectiles
	Down throw (blaster)			The lasers fired from the blaster are projectiles
Fox	Blaster			Follows a straight trajectory, and does not cause flinching (except in Smash 64). The lasers are also used in Fox's back, up and down throws from Melee onward, and can also be reflected and absorbed in said moves.
	Up throw (blaster)			The lasers fired from the blaster are projectiles
	Back throw (blaster)			The lasers fired from the blaster are projectiles
	Down throw (blaster)			The lasers fired from the blaster are projectiles
Greninja	Water Shuriken
	Hydro Pump			Does not cause flinching.
Hero	Frizz/Frizzle/Kafrizz
	Woosh/Swoosh/Kaswoosh
	Command Selection (Snooze)			Puts opponents to sleep
	Command Selection (Sizz)
	Command Selection (Sizzle)
	Command Selection (Bang)
	Command Selection (Kaboom)
	Command Selection (Whack)			Can instantly KO opponents
	Command Selection (Thwack)			Can instantly KO opponents
Ice Climbers	Ice Shot			Bounces off shields, causing it to travel the other direction. Hugs the ground, following a straight trajectory.
	Blizzard
Inkling	Splattershot			Requires ink to use.
	Splat Bomb			A projectile that explodes after a fixed time. The bomb needs a certain amount of ink to be activated, and if the Ink Tank does not have enough ink, Inkling cannot throw a bomb. Its trajectory can be controlled by how long the player holds the special button.
Joker	Eiha/Eigaon			A slow-moving projectile which does a small amount of damage when it connects, but deals continuous damage for a short amount of time. With Arsène active, the move becomes Eigaon, which covers more distance and travels faster. It also does more continuous damage.
Isabelle	Dash attack			Trips and drops a small pot.
	Forward aerial			Fires a slingshot pellet.
	Back aerial			Fires a slingshot pellet.
	Lloid Trap			Planted in the ground and shoots out vertically. Activates when someone steps over it.
Ken	Hadoken			A slow, blue energy projectile. Input Hadoken is larger and deals more damage.
King Dedede	Inhale (spit-out character)			Spits in a straight trajectory.
	Waddle Dee Toss	/	/	Affected by gravity, and can be angled up or down, and shortened or lengthened. Waddle Doos' Beam Whip can be reflected or absorbed, Gordos and thrown items can be reflected, while tossed Waddle Dees and Waddle Doos cannot.
	Gordo Throw			Can be reflected by any attack that deals at least 2%.
	Super Dedede Jump (stars produced)
King K. Rool	Blunderbuss			Can be sucked back in, and be shot again in certain directions.
	Crownerang			Tries to return to King K. Rool.
Kirby	Inhale (spit-out character and swallow)			The character turned into a star will be shot out of Kirby's mouth in a straight trajectory in front of him if he spits that character out. If he swallows a character, the star will appear behind him with the same properties but with much shorter range. If reflected and it hits Kirby, he will keep his copy ability, but the swallow animation will stop a few frames earlier.
	Final Cutter (shock wave)			Produces a wave after Kirby touches the ground, hugging it and following a straight trajectory.
	May copy another character's neutral special projectile.
Link	Forward smash			Shoots a spinning Sword Beam, which only comes out when Link is at 0% damage.
	Boomerang/Gale Boomerang			Tries to return to Link. Can be angled. In Brawl and SSB4, it produces a windbox effect on return.
	Bomb			Produces a Bomb, which acts as an item. It explodes after seven seconds, and can deal self-damage.
	Bow/Hero's Bow/Bow and Arrows			Can be charged, and held forever (or for three seconds in Ultimate) before releasing. The charge affects the firing speed and distance. Affected by gravity, and stops moving when it hits the ground. In Ultimate, arrows dropped on the ground or attached to a wall become throwable items, and two arrows can be fired at once if Link uses his neutral special while holding an arrow.
	Remote Bomb			A bomb that bounces off opponents and has to be detonated by pressing down special again. Cannot be detonated when held or during special fall.
Lucario	Aura Sphere			Waves up and down slightly; moves perfectly straight when fully charged. Can be held indefinitely, which damages foes who touch the projectile.
	Force Palm's aura			At close range, grabs the opponent instead of spawning a projectile.
Lucas	PK Freeze			Affected by gravity, and can be tilted forward or backward.
	PK Fire			Travels directly forward, and disappears after about 3/8 of the way across Final Destination.
	PK Thunder			Controllable.
Luigi	Fireball			Follows a straight trajectory.
	Grab aerial (after the plunger is shot out)			Travels downward. The hitbox is active until the plunger either hits the ground or disappears.
Mario	Fireball			Affected by gravity, and bounces on the ground.
	F.L.U.D.D.			Pushes opponents while not inflicting any damage. Can be tilted up or down.
Mega Man	Neutral attack, forward tilt and neutral aerial			Fires up to three shots.
	Forward smash
	Up aerial			Hits opponents repeatedly and pushes them upward.
	Down aerial			Meteor smashes opponents.
	Metal Blade
	Crash Bomber			Can be passed from player to player much like a Gooey Bomb. Explosion can be absorbed.
	Leaf Shield			Can only be reflected when Mega Man fires the leaves.
Mewtwo	Shadow Ball			Huge recoil when used fully charged. Waves up and down slightly. Can be held forever, and in Melee, it damages foes who touch the ball during charging. Small Shadow Balls are launched during Mewtwo's forward throw (which can also be absorbed).
	Disable
	Forward throw (shadow balls)			The shadow balls fired are projectiles
Mii Brawler	Shot Put
Mii Gunner	Forward aerial
	Charge Blast
	Laser Blaze
	Grenade Launch			Can be charged for longer distance. The multi-hitting explosion can be absorbed, but the hit right before it cannot.
	Flame Pillar
	Stealth Burst			Reflectors cannot affect the projectile as it is travelling, but they will reflect the explosion.
	Gunner Missile
	Lunar Launch
	Bomb Drop			Detonates instantly upon contact with an opponent. The explosion can be absorbed, but the hit right before it cannot.
	Up throw (shots)			The shots fired from the arm cannon is a projectile
	Back throw (shots)			The shots fired from the arm cannon is a projectile
Mii Swordfighter	Gale Strike
	Shuriken of Light
	Chakram
Min Min	Punch (Ramram)			When attacking with the Ramram, the chakram projectile is flung in an upward circle that goes away from and returns towards Min Min.
Mr. Game & Watch	Chef			Random trajectory. In Brawl, the projectiles created by Kirby copying this move can be absorbed, unlike the Mr. Game & Watch version.
	Forward aerial			Travels directly downward, and activates after either half a second or upon contact with the stage.
	Up aerial			Hits opponents repeatedly and pushes them upward.
Ness	PK Flash			Affected by gravity and can be tilted forward and backwards.
	PK Fire			Creates gravity-affected fire pillar on impact. Trajectory changes when used in midair.
	PK Thunder			Controllable.
Olimar	All smash attacks			All of Olimar's Pikmin attacks—namely, his smash attacks, directional aerials, grabs, throws, Pikmin Chain in Brawl, and Pikmin Throw—are considered projectiles due to the Pikmin being the active object, not Olimar.
	Pikmin Throw
	All other Pikmin-based attacks
Pac-Man	Bonus Fruit			Effects change depending on the object thrown. All have a hurtbox which means they can take knockback.
	Fire Hydrant			Reflectable while airborne. Water produced by the hydrant is also reflectable.
Palutena	Autoreticle			Targets opponents; does not fire any projectiles if there are no targets in range.
	Explosive Flame			Produces a multi-hitting explosion a set distance away from Palutena.
	Celestial Firework			Flies straight upward from the ground.
Peach	Toad			The spores produced on a successful counterattack are projectiles.
	Vegetable			Produces a vegetable item, and rarely Bob-ombs, Mr. Saturns, or in Melee and Brawl, Beam Swords.
Pichu	Thunder Jolt			Causes 1% recoil damage (0.7% in Ultimate). Hugs the stage.
	Thunder			Causes 3% recoil damage (3.5% in Ultimate) if the bolt hits Pichu.
Pikachu	Thunder Jolt			Hugs the stage, can travel up walls, along ceilings, and below the edge (except in SSB). Has a diagonal trajectory in the air.
	Thunder			Cannot go through platforms above Pikachu.
Piranha Plant	Ptooie
	Poison Breath			Does not cause flinching.
Pit	Palutena Bow			Chargeable and controllable. Can be held for a limited time, and can be aimed up.
Pokémon Trainer	Flamethrower (Charizard)			Can be tilted up and down. Can be held forever, but fire length gradually decreases.
	Rock Smash fragments (Charizard)
	Bullet Seed (Ivysaur)			Can be held for limited time.
	Razor Leaf (Ivysaur)			Goes farther if the control stick is flicked.
	Water Gun (Squirtle)			When charged, pushes opponents and does no damage unless uncharged. Can be tilted up and down.
Richter	Axe			Travels in a parabolic arc.
	Cross			Tries to return to Richter. Goes farther by flicking the control stick
	Holy Water			Drops diagonally downwards. Can be caught and used as a regular item that can be used against Richter.
Ridley	Plasma Breath			Consists of five projectiles that increase in size and damage when charged. Affected by gravity, bounces on the ground.
R.O.B.	Robo Beam			Can reflect off surfaces at certain angles, can be tilted up and down. Charges automatically.
	Gyro			Produces a Gyro item. Has a hurtbox.
Robin	Discarded Levin Sword and tomes			Discarded weapons act as projectiles and throwable items.
	Thunder			Properties change depending on charge level.
	Arcfire			Bursts into a column of flame on impact.
	Elwind			Can meteor smash opponents.
Rosalina	Luma Shot			When distanced, Luma can be called back.
	Star Bits	*	*	*Only the two custom variants are projectiles in Smash 4; the standard move is not, which means it is neither reflectable or absorbable. As of Ultimate it is a projectile.
Ryu	Hadoken			A slow, blue energy projectile. Input Hadoken is larger and deals more damage. Shakunetsu Hadoken is orange, fiery, and deals multiple hits.
Samus	Charge Shot			Follows straight trajectory; chargeable. In Smash 64, it can go on for an infinite distance. From Melee onward, it will disappear if it doesn't hit anything for a few seconds. In Ultimate, the move can now be charged in midair, or be cancelled by jumping or air dodging, as with other chargeable moves.
	Missile			Can fire a homing missile or super missile.
	Bomb			Detonates either instantly upon contact with an opponent, or from Brawl onward, after a set period of time. In SSB4, the explosion can be absorbed, but the hit right before it cannot.
Sephiroth	Flare / Megaflare / Gigaflare			A chargeable attack with three stages. The attack will travel less distance the longer the move has been charged, but on the upside, the move's power and the size of the explosion increases. While charging the move can be canceled with the jumping, shielding, or dodging, it does not store the current state of the charge.
	Shadow Flare			Characters who get hit by the initial beam will be circled by balls of darkness, which will attack them after a certain amount of time. Up to five balls can circle a character at a time, and charging the move will increase the number of shadow balls circling the player on hit. Other characters can be hit by the shadow balls as they circle the target.
	Scintilla			The move itself counters attacks.
Simon	Axe			Travels in a parabolic arc.
	Cross			Tries to return to Simon. Goes farther by flicking the joystick.
	Holy Water			Drops diagonally downwards. Can be caught and used as a regular item that can be used against Simon.
Sheik	Needle Storm			Can be tilted up and down. Can be charged forever, but only six needles can be held and fired.
	Vanish			Considered a projectile because the explosion and hitbox do not follow Sheik.
	Burst Grenade			Only the explosion can be absorbed.
Snake	Hand Grenade			Can be picked up, grenade itself does not cause flinching and can be tilted forward and backward (when tilted backwards it will fall next to Snake). Can also injure the user. Detonates after few seconds. Does not explode on contact.
	Remote Missile			Controllable. Shielding against it makes the user lose control of its trajectory.
	Cypher (once let go of)
	Up smash
	Down smash
	C4
	Taunt			Affected by gravity. Can be picked up by opponents (while Snake is still inside of it), though only Donkey Kong can move around while holding it.
Sonic	Spring Jump (aerial usage)
Steve	Minecart			Needs iron to use. Opponents caught in an empty minecart will need to button mash to escape.
	TNT			Characters who step on the pressure plate will take less knockback from the explosion.
	Down tilt (flame)
	Down smash (lava)
	Down aerial (anvil)			Needs iron to use.
	Down throw (anvil)			Needs iron to use.
Terry	Power Wave			Both grounded and aerial versions can be reflected and absorbed.
Toon Link	Hero's Bow			Can be charged, and held forever (three seconds in Ultimate) before releasing. The charge affects the firing speed and distance.
	Boomerang			Tries to return to Toon Link. Can be angled.
	Bomb			Produces a bomb item. Explode after some seconds. Can damage the user.
Villager	Dash attack			Trips and drops a small potted plant.
	Forward smash			Drops a bowling ball.
	Forward aerial			Fires a slingshot pellet.
	Back aerial			Fires a slingshot pellet.
	Lloid Rocket			Explodes after a while or after hitting an object. Explosion alone can be absorbed.
	Timber (cut tree and woodchip)
Wario	Wario Bike (once dismounted, can be thrown)			Can be destroyed (resulting in two tires that can also be picked up and thrown in Brawl).
Wii Fit Trainer	Sun Salutation			Heals the user when fully charged. Has a weak windbox and can be absorbed while it is being charged.
	Header			Heads a soccer ball at a downward angle. The ball can essentially be reflected by any attack (in some cases a reflector's hitbox will even take presidence over the reflecting effect itself). The headbutt acts as a melee attack that can meteor smash.
Wolf	Blaster			Follows straight trajectory; acts as a melee attack in close ranges.
Yoshi	Egg Throw			Can be tilted forward, backward, up and down (when tilted backward the egg will go next to Yoshi). Holding down the special button will make the egg travel further.
	Yoshi Bomb (stars)
Young Link	Fire Bow			Can be charged, and held forever (three seconds in Ultimate) before releasing. The charge affects the firing speed and distance.
	Boomerang			Tries to return to Young Link.
	Bomb			Produces a bomb item. Explode after some seconds. Can damage the user.
Zelda	Din's Fire			Reflectors cannot affect the projectile as it is traveling, but they will reflect the explosion.
	Phantom Slash
Zero Suit Samus	Paralyzer			Stuns opponent in place. Chargeable for a limited amount of time.

Characters without projectiles

The following playable characters currently lack any projectiles.

• Captain Falcon
• Chrom
• Donkey Kong
• Ganondorf
• Ike
• Incineroar
• Jigglypuff
• Little Mac
• Lucina
• Marth
• Meta Knight
• Roy
• Shulk