Knockback

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As the damage meter goes up, so does the knockback of most moves, as seen here with Mario's forward smash on Link.

Knockback is the measure of how far an attack sends its target. For most attacks, knockback increases as damage on a character increases. An example of an attack with high knockback is Bowser's forward smash; it launches opponents very far, so far that at high damages it's more powerful than a Home-Run Bat's smash attack. Pikachu's neutral attack, on the other hand, has very low knockback - it hardly sends opponents anywhere, even at ludicrous damages. Attacks with relatively low knockback tend to be good for combos.

Basic physics

The knockback of almost every attack works in tandem with the target's damage - it increases as the target's damage gets higher. It is also affected by the target's weight, gravity, and a few other conditions (such as type effectiveness). The damage dealt by an attack is a significant factor in how much knockback it deals, but it is not the primary factor - this is the reason stale moves have less knockback than fresh ones, and why many chargable special moves deal less knockback when fully charged (the knockback values of the fully charged move are altered to compensate for the higher damage, whereas the same is often not true when not fully charged).

Each hitbox of a move has two knockback values: a base knockback and a knockback scaling (also known as knockback growth). Base knockback is the minimum amount of knockback the attack can deliver (in normal circumstances), and knockback scaling is a factor that controls how much the knockback increases as damage increases. Moves with high base knockback deal high knockback under any circumstances, such as the swing of a Home-Run Bat. They additionally tend to be more effective at KOing when less knockback is needed to KO (such as against lighter characters, when near the edge of the stage, or when an opponent is handicapped to sustain more knockback). On the other hand, moves with high knockback scaling take less damage to reach KO potential, such as Luigi's forward smash. They additionally tend to be more effective at KOing when the opponent requires more knockback to be KO'd (such as against heavier characters, when far away from a stage's blast line, or when an opponent is handicapped to sustain less knockback). Advanced techniques to extend survival such as DI and momentum cancelling are also less effective the stronger a move's knockback scaling is.

In Melee, the highest knockback delivered and received by each character is given in a match's results screen, labeled as "Fastest Pitch" and "Top Speed" respectively, though the numbers lack meaning. In Brawl, the velocity applied (in units per 1000 frames) is provided instead of the knockback value (though it's simply knockback divided by 0.03). The unit is given as "mph"; while this would presumably mean "miles per hour", this is obviously not the case, as a 1,000 mph hit would barely send characters anywhere. In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, knockback units are again shown without a meaning, while in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, they are measured in "mph" as in Brawl, though in a lower scale. Strangely enough, knockback for a same move between the two games is actually shown in different scales: Ganondorf's Warlock Punch, for instance, scores 102 units of knockback against Mario at 0% damage (without other modifiers) in Smash 3DS, while scoring 53 mph under the same conditions in Smash U.

The following table gives an idea of various knockback strengths:

Knockback values in Brawl

Knockback	Velocity	Example
10	333.33	One stage builder block per second
33.6	1120	Jigglypuff's short hop
43.2	1440	Jigglypuff's first jump
63	2100	Fox dashing (without running)
102.6	3420	Falco's first jump
131.43	4381	Sheik's footstool jump
172.5	5750	The approximate knockback needed to KO from the center of Final Destination with the Sakurai angle DI'd down.
186	6200	The approximate knockback needed to KO from the center of Final Destination with the Sakurai angle and no DI.
204.75	6825	The approximate knockback needed to KO from the center of Final Destination with the Sakurai angle DI'd away.
300	10000	Jigglypuff's shield jump

Angle indicator

Appearing in all games to date, visual effects known as angle indicators show when a hitbox collides with an opponent; as its name suggests, the angle indicator shows the angle of said hitboxes. In Brawl, angle indicators show different colors depending on who or what they hit. For player one, the angle indicator is red, with the second player's indicator being blue, and so forth. Computer-controlled opponents and objects like Sandbag have white angle indicators. Angle indicators appear in Super Smash Bros. as small "bubbles" appearing in the direction of the angle. In Smash 4, angle indicators appear as colorful, stylized "debris" flying off of an impact.

Smoke trails also indicate the angle at which a character is knocked away, but only appear when a character has taken a lot of damage, and are thus much less useful. In Smash 4, said smoke trails at higher knockback values are accompanied by thick light trails, colored depending on the player that dealt the knockback.

• 

  Note the downward facing lines that indicate Donkey Kong's meteor smash.

• 

  The angle indicator in Super Smash Bros.

• 

  An angle indicator in Smash 4.

Formula

Melee

Recently, Achilles has shown that this is the formula for regular knockback in Melee by looking directly at the game code:

Knockback[regular] = {(0.01 * knockback_growth) * {{1.4 * {{{0.05 * {attack_damage_unstaled * [attack_damage_staled + floor(victim_current_percent)]}} + [attack_damage_staled + floor(current damage)] * 0.1} * {2.0 - [2.0 * (victim_weight * 0.01)] / [1.0 + (weight * 0.01)]}}} + 18} + base_knockback} * VictimDefenseRatio * AttackerOffenseRatio * GlobalDamageRatio

Which gives us...

attack_damage_unstaled = u

attack_damage_staled = s

knockback_growth = G

victim_current_percent = v

victim_weight = w

base_knockback = b

VictimDefenseRatio = d

AttackerOffenseRatio = a

GlobalDamageRatio = r

This simplifies down to

G = g / 100 = knockback_growth divided by 100

W = w / 100 = victim_weight divided by 100

All other variables same as above.

If Knockback > 2500, then Knockback = 2500.

Other multipliers (crouch canceling, smash attack charging, etc) are applied later in a separate function.

Brawl onward

File:SSBBKnockbackFormula.png

Brawl and Smash 4 use a second formula to alter knockback based on the target's gravity:

The result of this formula is added to the vertical component of the knockback. As a result, characters with higher gravity take more knockback than those with lower gravity, depending on how vertical the angle is. This is seemingly an attempt to normalize the effect of combos and multi-hit moves on characters of differing gravity, as the effect is too minor to reasonably affect high knockback.

Variables

• p is the percentage of the target, counted after the attack's damage is added.
• d is the damage the attack dealt.
• w is the weight of the target. Note: in SSB, heavier characters have a lower weight value than lighter ones, in accordance to the formula.
• s is the attack's knockback scaling (also known as knockback growth) divided by 100 (so a scaling of 110 is input as 1.1).
• b is the attack's base knockback.
• r is a ratio based on a number of factors, including:
  • Difficulty
  • Handicap (in SSB and Melee)
  • Damage ratio (between x0.50 and x2.0)
  • Crouching penalty/Crouch cancel factor (x0.67 in SSB and Melee, and x0.85 in Smash 4)
  • Smash charge interruption bonus (x1.2, Melee onwards, cannot be stacked with crouch cancel factor)
  • Type effectiveness (x1.1 for super effective, x0.9 for not very effective, specific to Charizard, Ivysaur, and Squirtle in Brawl)
  • Rage (between x1 and x1.15, Smash 4 only)

If the move has a weight-based knockback value set (so the move deals set knockback), then d is set to that value, and p is always 10.

Other physics of knockback

• Bouncing off a surface reduces knockback by 20% in Melee and Smash 4 and 15% in Brawl. Landing a meteor smash or spike on a grounded opponent counts as a bounce, if enough knockback was dealt. Because the bounce occurs after the hit, the amount of hitstun suffered is not reduced a corresponding amount, meaning that downwards-hitting attacks tend to be excellent combo starters.
• In Brawl, characters that take enough knockback to be sent tumbling will slightly damage opponents they run into while flying. This hitbox belongs to the character that dealt the knockback, and inflicts minor damage (usually from 1% to 4%) and knockback depending on how powerfully the character was launched. This property was later removed in Smash 4, where launched opponents simply fly through other characters like in previous games.
  • A similar effect is used against enemies in The Subspace Emissary, Smash Run and Master Fortress, known as careening, or the cannonball effect in Smash 4. When an enemy is defeated, it is sent flying at an angle (depending on the attack that KO'd it) and deals major damage to other enemies it runs into, before being removed from play.
• Characters with launch resistance will take no knockback.
• In Smash 4, characters at higher percentages deal slightly more knockback, a factor popularly known as "rage". Rage starts building up at 35% damage and caps at 150%, at which the character deals 15% more knockback than normal.
• Characters in the background plane of Jungle Hijinxs take more knockback.
• In Smash 4, attacks dealing strong enough knockback to KO opponents before they can act afterwards produce a red-and-black lightning effect on contact, known as a Deadly Blow. This effect works depending on the distance required to KO the character rather than the actual strength of the knockback; for example, a forward or back throw towards a walk-off blast line will trigger the effect if the throw effectively KOs, even at low damage percentages where it would be otherwise very weak, while strong attacks launching foes from one side of the stage to the other will not display the effect if they don't KO, even if the knockback is strong enough to do so otherwise. Additionally, DI can still save the victim after the effect is displayed if the attack can just barely KO them.
  • Attacks that freeze do not produce this effect at any percentage, instead the screen will flash white. Meteor smashes also do not produce the effect until higher percentages.
  • In addition, the game does not consider stage walls, ceilings, or obstacles than can otherwise change the trajectory of knockback (thereby preventing or causing a KO) when determining whether the lightning appears.
  • The Deadly Blow effect also tends to appear after the actual damage percentage at which an attack can start KOing. For example, Jigglypuff's Rest can KO Mario on Final Destination with no DI starting at 60%, but the effect doesn't appear until 62%.

Set knockback

Set knockback, also referred to as fixed knockback, is a property of some attacks where the amount of knockback dealt by the attack is always the same regardless of the opponent's percentage, stale-move negation, or how much damage the attack does. Moves with this property can be thought of as those having a knockback scaling factor of 0. Usually, set knockback is used for the first hits of a natural combo or multi-hit move, while the last hit deals normal knockback (sometimes called "scaling knockback" to contrast), to make it easier for the entire attack to hit regardless of the opponent's damage. While damage is not a factor for set knockback, the character's weight still is, so the term weight-dependent set knockback is sometimes used.

List of set knockback moves

Super Smash Bros.

With the exception of Captain Falcon, all characters in Super Smash Bros. have at least one move with set knockback.

• DK's dash attack, Spinning Kong, and Hand Slap.
• Fox's down aerial, up aerial (first hit), Blaster and Reflector.
• Kirby's Final Cutter (meteor smash and up slice), up air, forward air (all but the last hit), neutral air and down air (landing hit), Inhale.
• Link's up smash (first 2 hits).
• Luigi's sourspotted Super Jump Punch dash attack, down air, and taunt.
• Mario's Super Jump Punch (excluding last hit), down air, and Mario Tornado.
• Ness's PK Fire (all outside of first hit).
• Pikachu's forward aerial.
• Samus's up air and Screw Attack.
• Yoshi's up tilt, down tilt, Egg Lay, Yoshi Bomb (stars).

Super Smash Bros. Melee

• Most neutral attacks have set knockback during the first hits.
• Mario's and Dr. Mario's Mario Tornado, excluding the last hit.
• Dr. Mario's first hit of Super Jump Punch.
• Mario's and Dr. Mario's down aerial.
• Fox's Reflector, down aerial, and up aerial (first hit).
• Ice Climbers' down aerial.
• Yoshi's down tilt.
• Luigi's taunt.
• Mario and Luigi's down angled forward tilt.
• Kirby's Hammer (in the air) and Final Cutter.
• Bowser's up throw.
• Peach's Peach Parasol startup.
• Donkey Kong's Hand Slap.
• Bowser's down aerial (first hits).
• Captain Falcon's uncharged smash attack with a Home-Run Bat.
• Captain Falcon's neutral air (first hit).
• Falco's Blaster (both neutral special and shots during throws).
• Young Link's forward smash (first hit).
• Roy's Blazer.
• Luigi's sourspotted Super Jump Punch.
• Red Shell.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

• Many jabs, such as Kirby's, have set knockback.
• Many smash attacks have setup hits with set knockback (e.g., Ness's up and down smashes).
• King Dedede's down throw.
• Luigi's down taunt.
• Toon Link's forward smash (first hit).
• Kirby's Final Cutter (up and downwards stroke).
• Fox's up aerial (first hit).
• Falco's Blaster.
• Wolf's neutral aerial (3rd hit to end) and Reflector.

Super Smash Bros. 4

• Many jabs, such as Mario's and Ryu's, have set knockback.
• Bowser Jr.'s Mechakoopa (first hit).
• Diddy Kong's Banana Peel.
• Falco's Blaster.
• Fox's up aerial (first hit).
• Little Mac's neutral aerial.
• Luigi's sourspotted Super Jump Punch.
• Luigi's down taunt.
• Mario's Super Jump Punch (first five hits).
• Pac-Man's down aerial (first three hits).
• Ryu's down tilt (light attack).
• Shulk's Air Slash (first hit).
• Captain Falcon's neutral aerial (first hit).

No knockback

From Melee onward, there are certain attacks that deal zero knockback, causing damage as usual but not flinching, meaning that the hit character can still perform any actions while being attacked. Most attacks with no knockback can be used for racking up damage quickly, as they can hit foes repeatedly without flinching them or sending them away; other attacks that do cause knockback have hitboxes with no knockback in the middle of them for a similar purpose, an example being Roy's Blazer in Melee. These moves can also be used to "steal" KOs from opponents in free for all battles, as while they do not cause knockback, they will take ownership of the KO on an already fatally struck opponent. Fox's Blaster is an infamous example of an attack with no knockback. Due to the fact that it does not deal knockback, it will not interrupt an opponent's moves or force them out of a punishable state such as being asleep or being stuck in the ending lag of a missed Rest. Idle characters in Brawl will also turn around if they are repeatedly struck with moves that deal no knockback, which is noticeable with Fox's Blaster.

In Melee, phantom hits damage foes, but without any knockback. It is possible for any character to receive no knockback from attacks by certain factors, such as by being giant and metal simultaneously on a low damage ratio battle, or during the actions of certain attacks in Brawl, such as Charizard during the first frames of Fly. This is known as launch resistance.

List of moves with no knockback

• Fox's Blaster shots in both his neutral special and throws (except his forward throw).
• Togepi's Leech Seed.
• The flower status.
• The first hit of Mario Tornado and Dr. Tornado in Melee.
• The middle hits of Roy's Blazer in Melee.
• The "crush" of Master Hand and Crazy Hand during their grab attacks in Melee.
• Charizard's forward air in Brawl (hitboxes furthest away from Charizard).
• Snake's Hand Grenades (when striking the opponent without exploding).
• Olimar's antenna during his jab and down tilt in Brawl.
• Amaranthine gas in The Subspace Emissary.
• Some consecutive-hitting attacks used by bosses (such as Rayquaza's Thunder).
• Mario's and Dr. Mario's Capes have similar properties, except that they use the Reverse effect.
• Bowser's Fire Breath (Smash 4 only; hitboxes furthest away from Bowser).
• Heavenly Light, both as one of Palutena's special moves and as a power in Smash Run.
• The last hits of Mega Man's up air.
• Some of the food in Mr. Game & Watch's Short-Order Chef will not deal any knockback.
• Mii Gunner's Laser Blaze.
• Bayonetta's Bullet Arts.

Knockback stacking

Knockback stacking is the means by which the game applies knockback to a character who has already been sent flying. The new knockback will sometimes replace the old knockback entirely, sometimes have no effect at all, and sometimes a merge will be performed between the two velocities. This has a large effect on combos, as the character being comboed will often have already been struck when another hit lands.

In Melee

In Melee, the method of knockback stacking used varies based on how many frames separate the first and second hit in addition to the relative angle between the two knockback directions. When the two hits are separated by fewer than 10 frames, the second hit's knockback always replaces the first's. This prevents attacks that hit repeatedly from accelerating the character that they hit with each strike, which would be the case were they added. This can also lead to some interesting scenarios that allow strong hits to be canceled into weaker ones, although this is mostly prevalent in team battles and with certain items. If the two hits are separated by 10 or more frames, the knockback is either set to the stronger value or the two are merged. The relative angle between the two hits' launch angles comes into play here: if the angle is large enough (meaning the hits are in opposite directions), then the two hits are merged via vector addition. However, if the relative angle is small (meaning the hits are in the same direction) the stronger hit is used and entirely replaces the weaker one. Since merging occurs when the hits are in opposite directions, merged knockbacks may be in a direction distinct from either of the previous two. For example, if a character is struck up and right by a strong hit and then up and left by an equally strong hit more than ten frames later, the character will be sent straight up (as the horizontal values cancel out and the vertical ones stack). This often leads to there being residual knockback from a previous hit in a combo which must be taken into account when trying to follow up.

In addition, hitstun duration is always refreshed by the second hit regardless of the time and angle between them, and the amount of hitstun applied is the amount that would be applied if the opponent had not already been hit. For example, the additional knockback put on the opponent from any merging does not factor in to the equation used to calculate the amount of hitstun that should be put on the opponent.

In Brawl and Smash 4

In Brawl, the second hit always completely replaces the first hit's direction unless the first hit was much stronger, in which case the direction does not change. No merging is ever performed. This is carried over to Smash 4.

Knockback chart

The following is a chart demonstrating how much knockback each character sustains in Brawl. While weight is the primary attribute for determining how much knockback a character sustains, there are other attributes that factor in, such as a character's gravity. This results in some characters sustaining more knockback than lighter characters.

The knockback value shown is how much knockback a character sustains when hit with Marth's Critical Hit at 0%, arranged from least knockback sustained to most knockback sustained.

Rank	Character	Knockback sustained	Velocity applied
1	Bowser	490.8	14724
2	Donkey Kong	494.667	14840
3	Snake	499.367	14981
4	King Dedede	501.4	15042
5	Charizard	504.667	15140
6	Samus	505.333	15160
7	Ganondorf	508.467	15254
8	Yoshi	508.7	15261
9	R.O.B.	509.533	15286
10	Wario	509.867	15296
11	Ike	513.3	15399
12	Link	515.633	15469
13	Captain Falcon	517.133	15514
14	Lucario	520.033	15601
15	Ivysaur	520.833	15625
16	Mario	525.1	15753
17	Wolf	525.7	15771
18	Luigi	525.9	15777
19	Sonic	531.9	15957
20	Ness	532.367	15971
21	Pit	532.8	15984
22	Lucas	534.4	16032
23	Toon Link	536.2	16086
24	Diddy Kong	536.6	16098
25	Ice Climbers	536.967	16109
26	Peach	539.533	16186
27	Marth	546	16380
28	Zelda	550.467	16514
29	Olimar	556.267	16688
30	Sheik	558.5	16755
31	Zero Suit Samus	561.567	16847
32	Falco	561.9	16857
33	Kirby	565.5	16965
34	Pikachu	566	16980
35	Meta Knight	566.933	17008
36	Fox	573.367	17201
37	Mr. Game & Watch	574.133	17224
38	Squirtle	577.567	17327
39	Jigglypuff	589.1	17673

Trivia

• SSB and Brawl both have a knockback cap of 2500 (or 83 1/3 units per frame), fast enough to move from the edge of Battlefield to the center in less than one frame.

External links

A list of all moves with set knockback in SSB outside of items and get up attacks.