Danger Zone

“	The burning red Danger Zones are as dangerous as their name implies. Touch them with more than 100% damage, and you'll be instantly KO'd.	”
	--Tips on Danger Zones

Danger Zones are stage hazards making their debut Smash Run in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and return in some stages in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Characters who hit them will either take damage or be instantly KO'd without ever passing the blast lines.

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

Danger Zones make their debut in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS. However, touching them is a literal death sentence, unlike in future games. Different kinds of them appear in Smash Run. Some "Defeat Them All!" challenge rooms feature floors which become Danger Zones every few seconds, instantly KOing the player regardless of accumulated damage. Dotted throughout the main map are Danger Zones in the form of lava-colored spiked balls, which also KO regardless of damage.

In the "Run!" and "Climb!" final battles, Danger Zones are placed throughout the course. They appear as either pools of lava or as bunches of spiked balls. Their effect is the same as in the Smash Run itself: if a fighter hits one, they are instantly KO'd regardless of their current damage and are revived further back/down in the stage. Unlike in the Smash Run, however, Danger Zones disappear after being hit once, allowing all players to more easily traverse the stage.

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  Danger Zones in the "Run!" final battle.

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  Danger Zones in the "Climb!" final battle.

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  Danger Zones in a "Survive!" challenge room.

In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Danger Zones make their next appearance in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. In The Great Cave Offensive Danger Zones are placed throughout the stage, and appear as noticeable red-orange areas resembling lava. If a fighter makes contact with one, they will take 25% flame damage and heavy knockback, but if they had equal to or over 100% damage before touching it, they will be instantly KO'd. If the KO belongs to another fighter when this event occurs, that fighter gains credit for the KO. It is possible for a character to tech from a Danger Zone without taking damage and/or getting KO'd, but this is rather difficult..

Danger Zones are also found inside Master Fortress during the Master Core battle at the end of Classic Mode, more prominently during the second wave than the first. Unlike the examples above, these Danger Zones take the form of either subtle yellow outlines on the walls or as more expansive pools of acid resembling those found on Brinstar. Like in The Great Cave Offensive, touching one while under 100% damage will inflict 25% damage and high knockback, but touching one while at or over 100% damage will instantly KO the player.

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  Danger Zones in The Great Cave Offensive.

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  Danger Zones in Master Fortress; four "outline" Danger Zones and one "pool" Danger Zone are visible.

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  A character exploding.

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  Two characters KO'd in a Danger Zone.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

The Great Cave Offensive, a returning stage, has the same Danger Zones as in for Wii U. Aside from no longer dealing flame elemental damage they are functionally the same.

Trivia

• In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U's Stage Builder, areas of lava strongly resembling Danger Zones can be added, but they are not named Danger Zones and do not behave the same way, only inflicting 10% damage upon contact and lacking the instant KO effect.
• Some downloadable content in both versions of Super Smash Bros. 4 features behavior nearly identical to the Wii U version's Danger Zones:
  • When Midgar is flooded by Leviathan, the stage's right side acts like a Danger Zone, inflicting damage to players who contact it but instantly KO'ing anyone besides the summoner with over 100% damage.
  • Gomorrah's attack, from Bayonetta's Final Smash Infernal Climax, inflicts damage to players but instantly KO's anyone with over 100% damage at the end of the attack.
• In both versions of Smash 4, the instant-KO effect resembles the effect seen during a regular blast KO, but as if viewed head-on. Despite this, there is no way to view an actual blast KO head-on like this under any circumstances.
• The Prima Games Guide for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U mentions that Danger Zones will instantly kill their target at 125% or higher. Barring hacks that alter the Danger Zones's damage, this would be true.