Tournament rulesets (SSBU)

This is the ruleset for SSBU. For other rulesets and general info on tournament legal settings, see Tournament rulesets.

Tournament legal describes the rules and settings that are generally accepted for use in competitive Smash tournaments. In SSBU, while many elements of tournament rulesets are consistent across major tournaments, they are not set in stone. Some specific details vary from tournament to tournament, with some local tournaments having completely different rulesets depending on the goals of said tournament.

General ruleset

Singles

• Ruleset: 3 Stock
• Time Limit: 6-8 minutes
• Items: Off.
• Stage Selection: Anyone
• Stage Hazard Toggle: Off
• Final Smash Meter: Off
• Spirits: Off
• Damage Handicap: Off
• First to: 1 Win
• Launch Rate: 1.0x
• Underdog Boost: Off
• Score Display: Off
• % Show Damage: Yes
• Custom Balance: Off
• Echo Fighters: Separate
• Radar: Big
• Mii Fighters and their respective custom moves are allowed. Movesets will be shown in their name with each individual special move numbered from 1 to 3, based on the order shown on the move selection screen (ex. 1111, 2223, 3121).
• Similar to previous Smash titles, if time runs out, the winner is first determined by how many stocks remain, and then by the percentage after time is up.
  • If both stock and percentage are the same, or a game ends in both players losing their last stock at the same time, then a tiebreaker is played, which consists of a 1 stock and 3 minute match with the same characters and the same stage.
• If pausing is turned on, rulesets will have clauses on how to proceed if a pause occurs. This does not apply if pausing is turned off.

Doubles

• All rules for singles apply for doubles.
• Team Attack: On
• Teammate Highlight: On
• Share stock is allowed.

Stages

Since the competitive scene is still rather young, and because of the sheer number of stages and the option to turn off stage hazards, there is no universally agreed upon stage list. This is why some tournaments use stages that are banned in others. When the losing player is choosing a counterpick stage, the winning player is sometimes allowed to ban one to two stages they have not counterpicked to or won on in the set. The list compiled below is an estimate based off of the most recent major Ultimate tournaments. While Small Battlefield has not seen much tournament play due to the lack of offline tournaments since its introduction, the stage is considered legal at the moment and may be used as a substitute for either Pokémon Stadium. The legality of Minecraft World is debated, due to the ability to choose specific forms, however the lack of offline tournaments since its introduction have inhibited the discussion to a degree. Northern Cave and Hollow Bastion are other recently released stages that have been considered as potential replacements to Kalos Pokémon League and Smashville, respectively.

Universal starters

The following stages are on the starter lists of virtually all tournaments, meaning they can be selected for any game in a match:

• Battlefield*
• Final Destination*
• Pokémon Stadium 2 / Small Battlefield*
• Smashville

Counterpicks

The following stages are commonly seen as counterpick stages, meaning they can only be picked after the first game in a match. In some tournaments, they may be used as starter stages, or be banned altogether:

• Yoshi's Story
• Lylat Cruise
• Kalos Pokémon League
• Town and City
• Northern Cave
• Hollow Bastion

Uncommon counterpicks/Semi-retired

The following stages rarely see use in larger tournaments, but may still be found in smaller tournaments and tournaments hosted by Nintendo. These stages may also see use in competitive play via the Gentleman's Rule.

• Dream Land
• Rainbow Cruise
• Fountain of Dreams
• Pokémon Stadium*
• WarioWare, Inc.
• Yoshi's Island
• Frigate Orpheon
• Halberd
• Castle Siege
• Unova Pokémon League
• PictoChat 2
• Skyloft
• Wuhu Island
• Wily Castle
• Midgar
• Umbra Clock Tower
• Mementos
• Yggdrasil's Altar
• Spring Stadium
• Minecraft World

Battlefield and Ω forms

Most Battlefield and Ω forms are typically allowed, but there are several that are explicitly banned for one reason or another. Stages that only have two dimensions cause significant differences during gameplay due to manipulating the Z-axis, and as such are always banned. Stages that conceal the ground are banned due to the unfair advantage they provide to characters that lay traps on the stage, such as Snake, Isabelle and Steve. Stages that conceal the blast zone walls are banned due to hindering player visibility and unfairly affecting characters that rely on offstage chases; though this rule is sometimes contested due to the introduction of the radar.

Stages that manipulate the Z-axis

• Hanenbow
• Dream Land GB
• Mute City SNES
• Flat Zone X
• Duck Hunt
• Pac-Land
• Super Mario Maker

Stages that conceal the ground

• Windy Hill Zone

Stages that conceal the blast zone walls

• Gamer

No longer banned as of version 8.0.0

• Fountain of Dreams (Previously banned due to the water's reflection causing framerate drops.)
• Garreg Mach Monastery (Previously banned due to the stage's ceiling blast zone differing from Final Destination and Battlefield.)