Palutena (SSBU)

Palutena in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Kid Icarus
Other playable appearance	in SSB4
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Black Hole Laser

“	With her wings and staff, this goddess's attacks cover a wide range. With her up smash, neutral special, and side special, she can create a ranged attack in almost every direction except for directly beneath her! Keep the pressure on your opponents from a distance with ranged attacks!	”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Palutena (パルテナ, Palutena) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, officially confirmed on June 12th, 2018. Palutena is classified as fighter #54.

Brandy Kopp and Aya Hisakawa reprise their role as the voice of Palutena in the English and Japanese versions of the game, albeit via recycled voice clips from Super Smash Bros. 4. However, they did record new Palutena's Guidance conversations for new non-DLC fighters in Ultimate (the exception being Piranha Plant), as well as any fighters who were absent from SSB4 or were released as DLC for that game.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play VS. matches, with Palutena being the last character to be unlocked.
• Clear Classic Mode with Kirby, being the last character in his unlock tree.
• Have Palutena join the player's party in World of Light.

With the exception of the third method, Palutena must then be defeated on Palutena's Temple.

Attributes

Palutena is a tall middleweight. Her walking speed, dash speed, air acceleration and gravity are above average (with her air acceleration being the fifth best in the game), her traction and falling speed are both average, and her air speed is below average. In addition, she has relatively high jumps, giving her overall good mobility.

Palutena has a dynamic, well-rounded moveset. She has both excellent combo potential and good zoning tools, meaning she can be played effectively either defensively or offensively. Her staff counts as a disjointed hitbox and she has two projectiles in her moveset as part of her special moves, meaning she can apply safe pressure from a distance and force approaching opponents off her. Her aerial-based moveset, speed and versatility means she can easily overwhelm opponents and quickly rack up damage.

Her grounded moves are generally the weakest part of her moveset, but they can be useful. Her jab has good range, can be held to deal more damage and can also be jab cancelled into other moves. Her dash attack is very fast and grants Palutena partial invincibility; it is also a KO option around 160%. Her tilt attacks are somewhat situational: forward tilt has a long-lasting hitbox and can be used to intercept approaching opponents and floor recoveries. Her down tilt has utility for edgeguarding opponents, while her up tilt - her tilt attack with the fastest startup - can be used for forcing opponents into the air and is even a viable KO option at higher percents.

Outside of her grounded attack moves, Palutena’s ground game is strong thanks to her grabs and throws having good utility, with her grabs being quick and having good range. Her down throw is her strongest combo throw, comboing into all of her aerials and having KO confirms at higher percents. Her back throw is her strongest throw, being capable of killing from the ledge around 130%, while her forward throw also has a kill confirm at higher percents with Explosive Flame. Her up throw is the weakest of her throws, though it still has utility for forcing opponents into the air where Palutena’s can safely apply aerial pressure.

Palutena's smash attacks are very viable KO options due to each having excellent range and dealing decent damage. Up smash has a very long-lasting hitbox and covers a lot of vertical range directly in front of Palutena; it can be used to KO opponents in the air and even intercept air dodges due to how long the hitbox lasts. Her forward and down smashes are similar, both in their damage output and the fact that they have a wind effect to move opponents away from Palutena if they are just outside of the move’s hitbox.

The strongest part of Palutena's moveset, however, is her aerials, each having strong combo or KO potential. Despite all of her aerials having rather high ending lag, this is compensated by their very low landing lag and generous autocancel windows making them very safe on shield. Her neutral aerial is a very fast and safe move, being Palutena’s best combo tool by far as it combos into her other aerial attacks (including itself) until reasonably high percents, while also having KO potential at very high percents. Her up aerial is an extremely good juggling tool capable of killing off the top blast zone around 100% (even on heavyweights), with its fairly large, long-lasting hitbox making it difficult to avoid. Her back aerial, like her dash attack, grants invincibility on Palutena's shield. It has the strongest knockback of any of her aerials and is one of Palutena’s best KO options, especially from down throw. Her forward aerial, while not quite as strong, is a good combo finisher with KO potential towards the side blast zones at very high percents. While her down aerial is generally considered the weakest of her aerials, if used offstage it can have a meteor smash effect, meaning it can kill opponents at the bottom blast zone.

Additionally, Palutena’s special moves each have utility, most prominently for zoning. Her Explosive Flame can be used on opponents some distance from Palutena, and is good for forcing them into the air or for securing KOs from the top blast zone at higher percents. Her neutral special attack, Autoreticle, while not quite as useful as Explosive Flame, is another projectile which can apply safe pressure and rack up damage from a distance. Her up special, Warp, is a teleport which grants invincibility on frames 16-32. In addition to being useful for getting into a more favourable stage position, its invincibility makes it an extremely useful recovery tool which, combined with Palutena’s high jumps, gives her a very good recovery. Finally, her down special is a counter which acts similarly to Lucina and Marth’s counter when used on nearby opponents, but can also reflect projectiles from a distance.

Although Palutena has very good strengths, she does have a number of noticeable weaknesses. Her most glaring problem is her mediocre ground game, with all of her grounded attacks bar her dash attack coming out on frame 8 or later and almost all of her moves either have high startup (smash attacks and down tilt), punishable ending lag (forward, back and down aerials and smash attacks) long duration (all of her tilts) or all three (forward tilt and special moves), making her very vulnerable if her attacks miss or are dodged or shielded. While some of her grounded attacks have the potential to KO, such as forward tilt, up tilt and dash attack, it is not until much higher percents than her other attacks. This is another weakness of Palutena - while a number of her moves have the potential to KO at reasonable percents, she can still struggle to secure kills due to her options being either somewhat risky or situational. Though her back aerial is a reliable kill option at reasonable percents, it has high ending lag and her smash attacks each have a noticeable amount of startup and very high ending lag, making them punishable, while Explosive Flame is also easily punishable if whiffed due to its endlag and her up aerial relies on Palutena being underneath her opponent. Furthermore, while Palutena’s recovery is decent in its distance, Warp leaves her helpless and lacks a hitbox to protect her, which - combined with the fact that Palutena is a tall character - means that her recovery can be easily exploited by opponents who know how to intercept teleport recoveries.

Despite this, Palutena is generally considered at worst a high tier character due to her versatility, well-roundedness and relatively easy combo game. Her lack of overwhelming weaknesses means that there are few opponents she struggles against, and thus her representation at tournaments has generally been excellent thanks to players like Nairo maining her and achieving noteworthy results. However, some players like ZeRo have voiced their opinion that Palutena’s relative simplicity means her representation may dwindle over time.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Palutena had been considered a low-mid tier character in Smash 4, and suffered from poor tournament representation even after receiving buffs via updates. In the transition to Ultimate, she has been drastically buffed, to the point where she is considered to be one of the most improved returning characters, similarly to the changes Pichu received.

In addition to the universal mobility buffs, nearly the entirety of Palutena's moveset has been improved in various ways, many of which are substantial. Starting with her ground game, forward tilt, having previously been considered the worst of its kind, has less startup and ending lag, connects both hits reliably, and has increased power; likewise, up tilt has less ending lag and connects more reliably, while down tilt has a longer duration and more favorable angles of knockback. Dash attack deals more damage and has much less ending lag, allowing Palutena to better take advantage of the invincibility at the front of the move. Furthermore, all her smash attacks have less ending lag, forward smash and down smash have stronger windboxes, and up smash has a much longer duration, allowing it to catch airborne opponents more effectively.

Palutena's aerial game has been further strengthened, now being one of the most efficient aspects of her moveset. The most notable example is neutral aerial, which has larger hitboxes, connects more reliably, consistently launches opponents in the direction Palutena is facing, and heavily benefits from the universally decreased landing lag on aerial attacks. As such, it has become one of Palutena's most reliable approach options, and more infamously, it can combo into itself multiple times to rack up large amounts of damage, as well as other aerials. Forward aerial and down aerial both deal more damage without compensation on their knockback, with the latter also having a longer duration (previously lasting only one frame), while back aerial has increased knockback and no longer possesses a sourspot. Additionally, up aerial deals slightly more damage and auto-cancels much earlier, no longer failing to auto-cancel in a full hop. These changes amount to noticeably improving Palutena's KO ability overall, allowing her to close stocks better at high percents with her safer options, which is complemented by their lower landing lag. As for her grab game, her throws have received few changes, but more notably, back throw KOs more effectively near edges due to launching opponents at a lower angle.

Moreover, Palutena's special moveset, previously considered among the most situational in Smash 4, has undergone an overhaul with considerable improvements. Instead of having Reflect Barrier as her side special and Counter as her down special, both moves have been merged into her down special, which triggers Counter or Reflect Barrier depending on whether the attack it blocks is reflectable or not, while her new side special is Explosive Flame, previously one of her custom neutral specials in Smash 4. This effectively gives Palutena an additional move, and makes her the only character alongside the Mii Fighters to retain a former custom move. In addition to this, all of her returning special moves have been buffed. Autoreticle's shots are faster and deal both more damage and knockback, while Explosive Flame is likewise considerably stronger (KOing opponents reliably at high percents), has much less ending lag, and can be summoned at two different distances depending on control stick input. This greatly improves Palutena's zoning capabilities, allowing her to threaten opponents from diverse positions, and gives her a more defined strength of long ranged attacks that have excellent utility. Lastly, Warp grants slightly more intangibility, and from her down special, Counter has less startup (no longer being the slowest in the game), a longer window, and less ending lag especially upon a successful counterattack, in addition to dealing more knockback, while Reflect Barrier has a much higher damage multiplier on reflected projectiles.

In spite of her myriad of buffs, Palutena did still receive some notable nerfs. Although her full neutral attack connects more reliably, the first hit can no longer be used for jab cancel setups at high percents due to its altered knockback. Up tilt has fewer active frames, making it slightly worse as an anti-air attack, while back aerial's invincibility is slower and shorter, preventing it from blocking opposing attacks as consistently, and up aerial has more startup. Additionally, as Reflect Barrier can no longer be triggered on command, it is less effective for preemptively deterring projectile use. However, these nerfs are largely outweighed by the larger and more significant amount of buffs she has received, while other nerfs, such as the increased ending lag on her grabs and reduced shield damage on her projectiles, have also affected the rest of the cast.

Palutena's buffs have improved her standing in Ultimate's metagame by a large margin, with a huge representation at all levels of play, and she has consistently attained high placements in tournaments thanks to players such as Nairo, Gen, and Zinoto. Additionally, unlike other prominent characters in the metagame since the game's release, such as Peach, Pichu, and Olimar, Palutena has not received any drastic nerfs in updates. As a result, she is widely considered a top tier character by the Smash community, as well as one of the best characters in the game.

Aesthetics

• As with all veterans returning from Super Smash Bros. 4, Palutena's model has a more subdued color scheme. Her chiton and armor feature simple detailing, and her face appears more realistic and expressive.
• Palutena's sidestep now causes a visible warping effect when she disappears.
• Palutena's skirt now has independent physics.
• The golden door in Palutena's on-screen appearance now disappears without the transparency effects.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Palutena's jumpsquat animation takes 3 frames to complete (down from 5).
• Palutena walks slightly faster (1.21 → 1.271).
• Palutena runs faster (1.888 → 2.077).
  • Her initial dash speed is much faster (1.5 → 2.035).
• Palutena's air speed is slightly faster (0.91 → 1).
• Palutena's max additional air acceleration is higher (0.1 → 0.105).
• Palutena's falling speed and fast falling speed are higher (1.4 → 1.55 and 2.24 → 2.48 respectively).
• Palutena's gravity is higher (0.105 → 0.12). In combination with her faster falling speed, this improves her vertical mobility, while not affecting her vertical endurance due to gravity no longer affecting vertical knockback between 70 and 110 degrees.
• Forward roll has less ending lag (FAF 31 → 30).
• Forward roll grants less intangibility (frames 4-17 → 4-15).
• Back roll has more startup with less intangibility (frames 4-17 → 5-16), and more ending lag (FAF 31 → 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 → 50).

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • The first hit and neutral infinite's finisher have less ending lag (FAF 26 → 25 (hit 1), 43 → 40 (finisher)).
  • The first hit transitions into the neutral infinite faster (frame 15 → 11).
  • The first hit has altered angles to keep opponents closer to Palutena (76°/70° → 361°/180°), and inflicts 4 additional frames of hitstun, allowing it to lock opponents and connect better into the infinite.
  • The infinite has a lower hitlag multiplier (1.2× → 0.5×) and SDI multiplier (1× → 0.4×), a different launch angle to keep grounded opponents closer to Palutena (60°/110° → 361°), and a much larger hitbox (3.5 → 6u). This allows it to connect much more effectively, and rack up more damage overall despite each hit dealing slightly less damage (0.8% → 0.6%).
  • The first hit has a shorter hitbox duration (frames 8-10 → 8-9).
  • The first hit deals less knockback (30 base/60 scaling → 25/20 base/20 scaling), removing its guaranteed jab cancel setups from Smash 4, despite its lower ending lag and additional hitstun.
  • The first hit has a higher hitlag multiplier (0.5× → 1.6×).
• Forward tilt and up tilt have flashier motion effects.
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt has less startup (frame 17, 25 → 14, 24) and ending lag (FAF 68 → 60).
  • The first hit no longer has a sourspot (6%/4% → 6%), and the second hit deals higher, consistent damage (6%/4% → 7%), as well as more knockback (43 base/100 scaling → 78/80), allowing it to KO at around 130% near the edge.
  • The first hit has different angles (48° → 90°/45° (clean), 285°/100° (mid), 20°/85° (late)), set knockback (43 base/65 scaling → 25/45 set/100 scaling, 25/40/100, 35/30/100) that is weight-independent, a lower hitlag multiplier (1× → 0.8×), and it can no longer be SDIed (1× → 0×). These changes allow it to connect much more reliably into the second hit, regardless of the opponent's percent.
  • The second hit has larger hitboxes (4.1u/2.8u → 4.8u/3.9u).
  • Palutena's right arm is now intangible for the duration of the hitboxes.
  • The move has a shorter hitbox duration by one frame (frames 17-24/25-39 → 14-23/24-35).
  • The second hit launches at a slightly different angle (361° → 40°).
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt has less startup (frame 10 → 8) and Palutena can act faster (FAF 68 → 56).
  • It has lower hitlag multipliers (1× → 0.5× (looping hits), 2× → 1.5× (last hit)), and the looping hits have a faster rehit rate (5 → 3), causing the move to execute noticeably faster.
  • The last hit no longer has a sourspot (2.5%/1.5% → 2.5%).
  • The last hit's hitbox was moved more upwards (Y offset: 19u/13u → 23u/17u). This improves its vertical range, but causes it to have a blindspot and makes it harder to hit opponents on the ground.
  • The looping portion has a shorter duration (frames 10-38 (looping hits)/40-41 (last hit) → 8-22/24-25), and thus hits five times instead of six before the last hit, despite its faster rehit rate. This reduces the move's total damage (9.7% → 9.5%), despite the looping hits dealing more damage (1.2% → 1.4%), and increases its ending lag by five frames, as its FAF was not fully compensated.
  • The last hit has a lower hitlag multiplier (2× → 1.5×).
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt has a longer hitbox duration (frames 14-24 → 14-27), making it even more effective for 2 frame punishes.
  • It launches grounded opponents at a lower angle (361° → 35°), improving its edgeguarding and KO abilities near the edge. It also launches aerial opponents at a higher angle (70° → 75°), improving its combo potential when used to catch landings and hit ledge-hanging opponents.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack has significantly less ending lag (FAF 52 → 38).
  • It deals more damage (9% → 11% (clean), 5% → 7% (late)), although with its knockback compensated (70 base/90 scaling → 71/76 (clean), 60/70 → 61/56 (late)).
  • Its invincibility starts one frame later with its duration compensated (frames 4-15 → 5-16).
  • It causes Palutena's shield to glow, indicating its hitbox.
• Forward smash:
  • Forward smash has less ending lag (FAF 67 → 64).
  • The hitboxes have a longer duration (frame 18-19 → 18-20), with the windboxes having a shorter duration instead (frames 20-31 → 21-31).
  • The hitboxes have slightly more knockback scaling (97/96 → 100/102), while the windboxes have increased set knockback (40 → 60 (clean), 26 → 35 (late)), improving the move's KO potential.
• Up smash:
  • Up smash has less ending lag (FAF 68 → 64).
  • It has a longer hitbox duration (frames 18-26 → 18-35), now lasting twice as long as before, although with a weaker late hit during frames 31-35. This allows it to punish dodges and landings a lot more efficiently.
  • The mid and high hitboxes deal more knockback (55 base/85 scaling → 58/89 (mid), 55/87 → 62/92 (high)) and are larger (2.5u → 2.8u).
• Down smash:
  • Down smash has less ending lag (FAF 72 → 69).
  • Its hitboxes are larger (2.5u → 3.7u (clean), 4u → 6u (late), 8u → 9u (windboxes)).
  • The windboxes have more horizontal range (Z offset: 22u → 24u) and increased set knockback (30 → 55), making them more effective for disrupting opponents.
  • The clean hit has a higher hitlag multiplier (1× → 1.4×), while the late hit has a lower multiplier (1× → 0.85×).

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have less landing lag (20 frames → 12 (neutral), 12 → 7 (forward), 16 → 10 (back), 24 → 14 (up), 18 → 11 (down).
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial has lower hitlag multipliers (1× → 0.5× (looping hits), 2× → 1.5× (last hit)), and the looping hits have a faster rehit rate (5 → 4), causing the move to execute noticeably faster.
  • Its hitboxes are larger (3.4u → 4.2u (looping hits), 11u → 11.5u (last hit)).
  • The looping hits have increased set knockback against grounded opponents (20 → 65/80), which in combination with the move's landing lag allows them to combo into several other moves, including an up aerial at high percents as a KO setup.
  • The last hit comes out faster (frame 31 → 29).
    • However, the move's total duration remains unchanged, increasing its ending lag.
  • The last hit always sends opponents in the direction Palutena is facing. Combined with her faster dash speed and the move's lower landing lag, this allows it to combo into itself several times at low percents, greatly improving her damage racking ability.
  • Due to the looping hits' faster rehit rate, the move hits seven times instead of six. However, its damage values have been redistributed (1.7% (hits 1-5) → 1.4% (hits 1-6), 5% → 5.1% (last hit)), leaving its total damage unchanged.
  • The looping hits no longer have set knockback against aerial opponents.
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial deals more damage (9% → 10%) with no compensation on knockback, improving its KO potential near the edge.
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial no longer has a sourspot (12%/9% → 12%), and has slightly more knockback scaling (92 → 95), improving its KO potential.
  • Its invincibility starts later and thus has a shorter duration (frames 3-10 → 7-10).
  • It causes Palutena's shield to glow, indicating its hitbox.
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial auto-cancels significantly earlier (frame 64 → 42), doing so in a full hop.
  • The looping hits have a lower hitlag multiplier (0.8× → 0.6×) and a faster rehit rate (5 → 3). As a result, the move executes noticeably faster, and hits six times instead of five, increasing its total damage (9% → 10%).
  • The last hit comes out faster (frame 25 → 24). However, this is compensated by the multi-hits of up aerial having a shorter duration meaning the amount of startup remains the same.
    • However, the move's total duration remains unchanged, increasing its ending lag.
  • The move has more startup, with the looping hits having a shorter duration (frames 8-23 → 10-22).
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial has a longer hitbox duration (frame 10 → 10-11).
  • It deals more damage (9% → 11%) with no compensation on knockback, making it a stronger meteor smash.
  • The meteor hitbox is slightly larger (4u → 4.2u).

Throws and other attacks

• Grabs:
  • Pivot grab has more range (Z2 offset: -17.4u → -18.9u).
  • All grabs have more ending lag (FAF 32 → 40 (standing), 40 → 48 (dash), 40 → 43 (pivot)).
  • Dash and pivot grabs have more startup (frame 9 → 10 (dash), 10 → 11 (pivot)).
  • Dash grab has less range (Z2 offset: 13.7u → 13.1u).
• Pummel:
  • Pummel deals more hitlag (5 frames → 14), but has significantly less startup (frame 8 → 1) and ending lag (FAF 23 → 7), shortening its duration.
  • It deals much less damage (3.1% → 1.3%).
  • Palutena pummels the opponent by holding her staff vertically instead of horizontally.
• Back throw:
  • Due to the Sakurai angle being lower against aerial opponents in Ultimate (45° → 38°), back throw KOs more effectively near edges.
• Down throw:
  • Down throw triggers a hitlag effect on both Palutena and the opponent for 7 frames prior to release, rather than inflicting 5 frames of hitlag on the opponent upon release, making it less advantageous.
    • However, it has less ending lag to compensate (FAF 50 → 46), and launches at a slightly higher angle (70° → 73°), which combined with Palutena's faster jumpsquat and jump speed slightly improves its combo potential at low percents nevertheless.
• Edge attack:
  • Edge attack deals more damage (7% → 9%).

Special moves

• Autoreticle:
  • Autoreticle's shots are faster (frame 29/35/41 → 25/31/37).
  • The shots deals more damage (2.9% → 3.5%) and knockback (20 base/42 scaling → 40/41), making them more effective for disrupting approaches. The changes now give the move a chance of tripping opponents.
  • The shots have received negative shield damage (0 → -1.7), effectively dealing around half their usual damage to shields.
  • The changes to locking make the projectile almost useless to start combos.
  • Autoreticle's reticle is red instead of green. Additionally, Palutena illuminates her staff's orb with a blue light instead of a yellow one.
• Explosive Flame:
  • Explosive Flame, previously one of Palutena's custom neutral specials, is now her side special. Since Reflect Barrier has been merged into her down special, she has effectively gained an additional move. This provides Palutena with another long-ranged attack option.
  • It has significantly less ending lag (FAF 89 → 72).
  • It deals considerably more damage (0.8% → 1.5% (hits 1-6), 4.2% → 5.5% (hit 7); 9% → 14.5% total) without compensation on knockback. This turns it into a much more effective finisher, KOing opponents from ground level at around 135% if all hits connect.
  • It can be unleashed at two different distances away from Palutena depending on whether the control stick is tilted or tapped, improving its zoning ability.
  • The looping hits have a lower SDI multiplier (1× → 0.4×).
  • It has received negative shield damage (0 → -0.7 (hits 1-6), -2.7 (hit 7)), effectively dealing around half its usual damage to shields.
  • The last hit has a higher hitlag multiplier (1× → 1.5×).
• Warp:
  • Warp has one extra frame of intangibility (frames 16-31 → 16-32).
  • It has a more stylish appearance.
• Counter and Reflect Barrier:
  • Down special functions as both Counter and Reflect Barrier. By default, Counter activates upon blocking an attack, but if it is a reflectable projectile, Reflect Barrier activates instead. This allows her to respond to a larger variety of attacks using only one move, while also freeing up her side special for an additional move.
  • The move has less startup with a longer counter window (frames 10-31 → 7-34), less ending lag (FAF 75 → 71), and grants intangibility earlier (frames 10-16 → 6-12).
  • Upon activation, Counter has significantly less ending lag (FAF 56 → 37), as does Reflect Barrier compared to the previous side special (FAF 56 → 35), and the latter also has immediate startup (frame 8 → 1).
  • Counter has more base knockback (40/20 → 50/30), with only the sweetspot having less knockback scaling (75 → 70), making it more consistent and improving its KO potential near edges.
  • Projectiles reflected by Reflect Barrier have a much higher damage multiplier (1.17× → 1.4×).
  • Reflect Barrier has a shorter duration (frames 9-66 → 1-42), and no longer possesses an offensive hitbox.
  • Palutena can no longer directly access Reflect Barrier. As a result, she can no longer use its windbox on command to gimp opponents, or deter projectile use with the barrier's longer duration.
  • Palutena closes her eyes instead of showing a angry look upon activating the move. Additionally, she no longer shouts "Counter" until she successfully counters a melee attack. Counter also glows blue instead of yellow.
• Black Hole Laser:
  • Black Hole Laser produces a larger black hole and a wider laser, making the attack harder to avoid.
  • The final hit has less knockback scaling (135 (trapped)/105 (collateral) → 127/97), reducing its KO potential.

Update history

Palutena has received a mixture of buffs and nerfs in updates. Update 2.0.0 made Warp safer to recover with, and reduced her neutral aerial's hitlag, making it harder to SDI. In 3.0.0, however, she has been affected by the universal reduction of shield damage for projectiles, and as a result, Autoreticle and Explosive Flame are less effective for shield pressure when used in conjunction. Overall, Palutena is mostly unchanged from the game's launch, and remains a highly viable character.

2.0.0

• Reduced hitlag on neutral aerial(1×/2× (hit 1-6/7) → 0.5×/1.5×, allowing it to execute faster.
• Palutena can grab ledges more easily during Warp.

3.0.0

• Autoreticle deals less shield damage (0 → -1.7).
• Explosive Flame deals less shield damage (0 (all) → -0.7 (hits 1-6), -2.7 (hit 7)).
• Removed the Super Warp Glitch.

Moveset

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

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

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3%	Thrusts her staff forward, emitting a blast of light from its orb. While holding her staff out, she then proceeds to attack with repeated light bursts, followed by a final burst from an upward swipe. The first hit can lock. The final hit does decent knockback allowing it to function as a situational KO move. However, it is slow for a neutral attack, coming out on frame 8.
			0.6% (loop), 3.5% (finisher)
Forward tilt			6% (hit 1), 7% (hit 2)	Telekinetically twirls her staff in front of herself, inwards. This move can hits twice altogether if the tail of the staff hits the opponent. Its long duration and range allows it to punish sidesteps and backward rolls. The second hit has slightly more range than that of the first. However it comes out on frame 14, and its long duration and high lag makes it very punishable if missed.
Up tilt			1.4% (hits 1-5), 2.5% (hit 6)	Kneels down and telekinetically twirls her staff overhead. Unlike her forward and down tilts, it has KO potential due to the high knockback scaling on the last hit. It also has the lowest startup lag of her tilts, coming out on frame 8. However, its long duration and noticeable ending lag make it punishable. It also has a blindspot that makes it almost impossible to hit small or crouching characters like Kirby.
Down tilt			8.5% (grounded opponents), 5% (aerial opponents)	Kneels down and telekinetically twirls her staff along the ground in front of herself. A good spacing tool, and can even punish sidesteps. Slow startup on frame 14 but a low 12 frames of ending lag and has a long 14 frames duration. If the opponent is hit in the air it will be launched vertically, and it's a semispike if it hits opponents on the ground. It is one of the few moves in the game that has a longer duration than ending lag, and because of these attributes combined, it's one of the best moves for edgeguarding and 2-framing opponents.
Dash attack			11% (clean), 7% (late)	Rams into the opponent with her shield. Its clean hitbox grants partial invincibility to Palutena's body and arm (frames 5 and 6 on her upper body; 7-16 on her arm). Her shield emits a shine, which indicates the duration of its hitbox. Fast startup on frame 6, although it is unsafe on shield. The clean hit has decent knockback and KOs around 160%.
Forward smash			16% (base), 13% (tip)	Conjures a pair of ethereal wings and flaps them forward. Great range. This move has a huge windbox near the tips of the wings that can push away opponents and potentially gimp recoveries. The tip of the wings is weaker compared to the inner part. Has quite a bit startup lag at frame 18, tied with up smash, and very high ending lag with 43 frames, making this move very punishable. Occasionally, Palutena utters "Goddess Wings!" when using this move.
Up smash			16%/12%/9% (clean, base/middle/tip), 13%/9%/7% (late)	Raises her staff skyward, conjuring a cyan beam of light that erupts from the ground in front of herself. Has the second highest vertical range of any up smash in the game, surpassed only by Snake's. The beam has three hitboxes: one at the base, one at the middle, and one at the top. It has a long-lasting 18-frame duration, and unlike her other smash attacks, has a moderate 28 frames of ending lag, making it her most reliable smash attack. However the long duration and moderate ending lag still makes it very punishable if missed or dodged and it has almost no horizontal range in front of Palutena and without covering her from directly above and behind.
Down smash			15% (clean), 13% (late)	Conjures a pair of ethereal wings and flaps them downward on both sides. It has very long range. Its clean hitbox has the highest knockback scaling out of her smash attacks. Much like her forward smash, huge windboxes appear near the tips of her wings and has a sourspot at the tip. Much like her forward smash, Palutena occasionally utters "Goddess Wings!" when using this move. Due to coming out on frame 17 and having extreme ending lag (49 frames), it is very easy to punish.
Neutral aerial			1.4% (hits 1-6), 5.1% (hit 7)	Telekinetically spins her staff around herself. Has the lowest amount of startup lag in her moveset, coming out on frame 5. Notorious for its ability to effectively combo into itself and into other aerials, being capable of comboing into itself at low percents until four times, and especially for its importance to Palutena's gameplan thanks to its low ending and landing lag, making it very spammable. It also can easily set up an edgeguard when fast falled, and due to its high knockback scaling, it has enough knockback to KO middleweights at around 150% on the edge of Final Destination. Autocancels in a full hop.
Forward aerial			10%	A flying kick. It has long disjointed range and is somewhat disjointed, as the hitbox extends beyond Palutena's leg. It has a generous autocancel window, doing so in a short hop fast fall, and has decent knockback, allowing it to set up edgeguards at high percents. Comes out on frame 9, but it has high ending lag and a short hitbox duration.
Back aerial			12%	Rotates her body to slam her shield behind her. Much like her dash attack, the clean hitbox grants invincibility around her upper body, and the duration of its hitbox is indicated by a shine. Its invincibility is brief, which is just before the hitbox first comes out (frame 7). Like her fair, it has a generous autocancel window, allowing it to autocancel in a short hop fast fall. It has a large hitbox, but is unable to cover Palutena at point-blank range. It also has 40 frames of ending lag, making it very punishable if not used close to the ground.
Up aerial			1% (hits 1-5), 5% (hit 6)	Twirls while emitting her halo above her. Comes out on frame 10, and is tied with down aerial for being the slowest start-up of Palutena's aerials. It has several hitboxes that grant great coverage above Palutena. It has good power and can KO reliably. Autocancels in a full hop.
Down aerial		Purging Kick	11%	A downward roundhouse kick. Unlike most meteor smashes, it will always meteor smash midair opponents, thanks to its consistent hitbox. It is also fairly fast for a meteor smash, coming out on frame 10. Conversely, it will obliquely launch grounded opponents (grounded opponents in front of Palutena are launched behind her, and vice versa), which allows it to be used as a punishment option from out of shield when SHFF'd. However it is unarguably Palutena's worst aerial for a number of reasons. Due to it hitting on frame 10, it is tied with her up aerial for her slowest aerial. It also has the shortest range, duration, and worst autocancel window of her aerials (autocanceling late in a full hop), while its knockback is only average for a meteor smash at best. It also has immense ending lag (47 frames) which is among the laggiest aerials in the game. Additionally, it only lasts 2 frames and combined with its lack of vertical reach make it hard to use effectively. This makes it among the hardest to land aerials in the game and as such, makes it a very high risk, but only moderate reward move with characters like Pit, Luigi and Cloud having noticeable better meteor smashes at a similar or even faster speed.
Grab			—	Telekinetically clinches the opponent with her staff. Palutena's overall grab range is above-average: her standing grab is the fourth-longest ranged non-tether grab in the game, while her pivot grab also has impressive range. However, her grab has a noticeable amount of ending lag.
Pummel			1.3%	Emits a burst of light from her staff.
Forward throw			9%	Slightly curls herself and then telekinetically pushes the opponent forward while throwing out her arms. It is Palutena's second-most damaging throw, but only has utility as an edge-guard set-up.
Back throw			10%	Telekinetically lifts the opponent and then performs an inverted version of the Arabesque (a ballet position) to fling the opponent backward. It is Palutena's most damaging throw, and her only throw that KOs at reasonable percentages, doing so at around 130% on middleweights on the edge of Final Destination, and it is also useful for setting up an edgeguard.
Up throw			8%	Telekinetically raises the opponent upward with her left arm, and heaves them upward by thrusting her staff upward. Despite having high base knockback, its average damage output and below-average knockback scaling make it unreliable at KOing without the use of a highly elevated platform, while its ending lag makes it unfavorable as a combo starter. As a result, it is better suited for setting up aerial pressure.
Down throw			5%	Telekinetically lifts the opponent, then slams them onto the ground. It is Palutena's most useful throw, thanks to its high base knockback, very low knockback growth, and diagonal launching angle. Depending on the opponent's DI, it can combo into any of her aerials.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Swings her staff behind herself and then in front of herself before getting up.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Same as her frontal floor attack.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Swings her staff in front of herself and then behind herself before getting up.
Edge attack Edge getups			9%	Performs a legsweep while climbing up.
Neutral special		Autoreticle	3.5% (per shot)	Illuminates her staff's orb to aim a reticle over the opponent, and then fires three energy blasts at that location. It will only fire the blasts if nothing blocks her target, and if the opponent is within range and not intangible. The shots can lock, although due to the changes on locking, it has even less use to initiate combos. It can be used as a way for stopping direct approaches and to force an approach. It is also able to hit opponents behind Palutena, such as if she is moving when it fires and if the opponent is at the maximum horizontal range toward her. Although situational, it also has very minor recovery potential, thanks to it briefly stalling her descent. However, it has high ending lag, regardless of whether or not it targets anything. Its very minor knockback also makes it poor for spacing.
Side special		Explosive Flame	1.5% (hits 1-6), 5.5% (hit 7)	Creates a multi-hitting explosion approximately 4 character lengths away from herself. If inputted like a smash attack, the explosion hits approximately 7.5 spaces away. The ability to change its range makes it a decent spacing and zoning tool, as well as an edge-guarding option. This move has good KO potential, thanks to its loop hits reliably trapping the opponent, and its last hit having impressive knockback. However it is very punishable if missed and can be shielded.
Up special		Warp	—	Disappears and then reappears in a chosen direction. It quickly covers both a respectable amount of vertical distance and a decent horizontal distance while rendering Palutena invisible (frames 16-32). It can also be edge-canceled, which grants it defensive and re-positioning potentials. However, it renders Palutena helpless after she reappears, unless it is edge-canceled and lacks a hitbox to protect her.
Down special		Counter/Reflect Barrier	1.3× countered attack/1.4× reflected projectile	Palutena uses her shield to catch an opponent's attack. If a physical attack connects, Palutena will forcefully thrust her staff out, creating a blast of light. If a projectile attack connects, she raises her shield to emit a rectangular barrier that reflects the projectile.
Final Smash		Black Hole Laser	40.8% (maximum damage)	Illuminates her staff's orb and twirls around repeatedly before firing a Black Hole from her staff's orb, after which she quickly retreats off-stage in order to fire a Mega Laser into the Black Hole. The Black Hole does not deal damage, but pulls the opponent into itself and places them in a tumbling state. Conversely, the Mega Laser hits multiple times before concluding with a final blast that launches the opponent and dissipates the Black Hole.

On-screen appearance

• Walks out of a golden door that is decorated with her halo's design and emits a bright, shining light.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Raises her arms overhead and then brings them down while producing ethereal wings, emitting her halo, and saying "You shall be purified." (浄化してあげましょう, You will be purified.)
• Side taunt: Laughs while using her staff to perform a twirling, inverted version of the Arabesque.
• Down taunt: Lets go of her staff and telekinetically holds it next to herself, then brushes her hair aside while emitting her halo and saying "Ready when you are." (いつでもどうぞ？, Feel free whenever.) before grabbing her staff.

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  Palutena's up taunt.

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  Palutena's side taunt.

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  Palutena's down taunt.

Idle poses

• Taps the ground with the tail of her staff and shield in front of herself, during which she briefly emits her halo.
• Looks away while crossing her staff and shield in front of herself, during which she briefly emits her halo.

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  Palutena's first idle pose

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  Palutena's second idle pose

Victory poses

• Left: Twirls with her staff held out, hovering off the ground. She then raises it in an arc and points it in front of her, saying "No one can hide from the light." ("さ、回収しましょうか？", So, shall we recover?).
  • If Pit is present in the match, there is a chance she will instead say "Oh, so sorry about that, Pit." ("やられちゃいましたね？", Were you hurt?).
• Up: Enters from the side of the screen hovering. She then briefly spins her staff in front of herself telekinetically, catches it, and stands with it pointed outwards. During the pose, she says "Too bad for you." ("ちょっと大人げなかったかしら？", Was that a bit immature??).
  • If Dark Pit was present in the match, there is a chance she will instead say "Poor little Pittoo." ("いつまでも意地っ張りですね～", Forever a nuisance...!).
• Right: Uses her staff to briefly perform the Backwards Showgirl (a pole dancing move) before assuming a seated stance while floating and laughs. In the Japanese version, she says ("本気出しても良いんですよ。", It's all right to fight seriously.).

A flourished remix of a small excerpt of the title screen theme of Kid Icarus, with an original ending.

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In competitive play

Due to Palutena’s considerable buffs in transition to Ultimate and her special moves being beneficially reworked, her representation remains very strong, with many players utilizing her as a main or secondary. With success such as Nairo winning Mainstage, she has seen great success since the beginning of the metagame, and she is considered to be among the best characters in the game.

Notable players

Active

Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the Spring 2019 PGRU, which recognizes the official top 50 players in the world in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate from February 1st, 2019 to July 7th, 2019.

•  Abadango (#40) - Co-mains Wario with Palutena and is considered the best Palutena player in Japan. Placed 1st at Just Roll With It! 11, 5th at The Kid, the Goat, and the Mang0, 7th at 2GG: Grand Tour - South Carolina, and 13th at both Umebura Japan Major 2019 and Sumabato SP 4 with wins over Kie and OCEAN.
•  BestNess - Uses Palutena as a secondary and placed 2nd at Smashpoint, Ascension V, Ascension VI, and 4th at Crown with both Ness and Palutena.
•  Chag - Co-mains Palutena and Inkling and is considered the best Palutena player in Mexico. Placed 3rd at BIT MASTER MTY 5, 13th at Smash Factor 8, and 33rd at EVO 2019.
•  Dabuz (#7) - Has a strong Palutena secondary and is considered one of the best Palutena players in the world. Placed 2nd at both Smash at The Paramount and Let's Make Moves, 4th at both GENESIS 6 and CEO 2019, and 9th at MomoCon 2019 using Palutena as one of his characters.
•  Etsuji - Co-mains Palutena with Lucina and is considered one of the best Palutena players in Japan. Placed 2nd at EGS Cup 2, 9th at Umebura SP 5, and 33rd at Super Smash Con 2019 with both Palutena and Lucina.
•  Frozen (#46) - One of the best Palutena mains in the world. Placed 3rd at Collision 2019, 49th at Frostbite 2019, and 13th at Smash at The Paramount. Has wins over Cosmos, Light, and Tweek.
•  Gen (#51) - One of the best Palutena players in the world. Placed 5th at Overclocked Ultimate, 49th at Frostbite 2019, and 33rd at Smash 'N' Splash 5. Has wins over Suarez, ZD, and Zinoto.
•  Jagaimo - One of the best Palutena players in Japan. Placed 9th at Umebura SP 5 and 17th at Umebura SP 6.
•  Kie - Has a strong Palutena secondary. Placed 2nd at Sumabato SP 3 and 3rd at Sumabato SP 4 with a win over Raito.
•  Light - The best Palutena player in Germany. Placed 3rd at Valhalla II, 7th at Calyptus Cup Inkstrike, and 33rd at Frostbite 2019.
•  Nairo (#8) - The best Palutena player in the world. Placed 1st at Mainstage, 2nd at Glitch 6, 3rd at Shine 2019, 4th at The Big House 9, and 5th at Super Smash Con 2019.
•  Phantom - The best Palutena main in New England. Placed 4th at Overclocked Ultimate II and 13th at Pound 2019 with wins over Mr.R and Ryuga.
•  Samsora (#4) - Uses Palutena as a secondary. Placed 2nd at Smash Ultimate Summit 2 using Palutena as one of his characters.
•  Scr7 - The best Palutena main in the United Kingdom. Placed 4th at Albion 4 and 13th at Regen 2019 with wins over MVD and Mr.R.
•  Skilly - Placed 9th at Paradigm Shift 2019, 33rd at both Frostbite 2019 and EVO 2019.
•  TLTC - The best solo Palutena player in SoCal. Placed 9th at SoCal Chronicles, 17th at Ultimate Nimbus, and 49th at GENESIS 6.
•  Trevonte - Placed 4th at Super Splat Bros and 65th at GENESIS 6.
•  UtopianRay - One of the best Palutena mains in the United States. Placed 17th at Glitch 6, 17th at Frostbite 2019, and 17th at Pound 2019.
•  Zinoto - Co-mains Peach with Palutena and is considered the best Palutena player in Michigan. Placed 9th at Heart of Battle and 17th at Get On My Level 2019.

Inactive

•  Prince Ramen - The best Palutena main in Florida prior to his inactivity. Placed 9th at Overlords of Orlando: Ultimate Edition and 17th at Smash Conference United.
•  The Great Gonzales (#43) - One of the best Palutena players in the world before switching to Mr. Game & Watch. Placed 3rd at The Scarlet Classic V, 13th at Smash 'N' Splash 5, and 25th at Collision 2019. Has wins over ScAtt, Suarez, and Tweek.

Classic Mode: A Little Divine Intervention

Palutena's congratulations screen.

Referring to being a goddess herself, Palutena's opponents all come from series where religion and mythology play a key role. The title is the same as a phrase she says in her debut character trailer for Super Smash Bros. 4.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Link and Zelda	Great Plateau Tower	Overworld
2	Cloud	Midgar	Magnus's Theme	The track used and Cloud as an opponent may serve as an allusion to Magnus.
3	Simon and Richter	Dracula's Castle	Destroyed Skyworld
4	Shulk	Gaur Plain	Thunder Cloud Temple
5	Bayonetta	Umbra Clock Tower	Riders Of The Light
6	Pit (x3) and Dark Pit (x3)	Palutena's Temple	Underworld	Horde Battle
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.

Note: Most stages play a track from the Kid Icarus universe, no matter what universe the stage originated from, with the only exception being Umbra Clock Tower.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Palutena has Destroyed Skyworld accompany the credits.

Role in World of Light

Finding Palutena in World of Light

Palutena was among the fighters that were summoned to fight the army of Master Hands.

During the opening cutscene, Palutena was present when Galeem unleashed his beams of light. She attempted to block a beam with Reflect Barrier, which the beam completely pierced, disintegrating her. Her defeat causes Pit and Dark Pit to lose their Power of Flight, making the duo fall victim to the beams as well. They were all placed under Galeem's imprisonment alongside the rest of the fighters, excluding Kirby. A puppet fighter cloned from her is later seen alongside ones cloned from Greninja, King Dedede, Pokémon Trainer and other fighters.

Presumably, Palutena fell temporarily under Dharkon's control after Galeem was first defeated, the narration of Dharkon's introduction being vague on how many fighters he stole from Galeem.

Palutena is the last fighter to be found to be imprisoned by Galeem. In The Final Battle, she is called by Galeem as part of reinforcements after Dark Samus is awakened and Crazy Hand is beaten. She is an obligatory unlock for the true ending, as awaking her leads to a battle with Master Hand that frees him from Galeem's control (both of whom's defeats greatly shifts the balance of power in Dharkon's favor).

Fighter Battle

No.	Image	Name	Type	Power	Stage	Music
54		Palutena	Attack	12,500	Palutena's Temple (Ω form)	Destroyed Skyworld

Spirits

Palutena's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking Palutena in World of Light allows the player to preview the spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a Fighter Spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Each Fighter Spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in Ultimate.

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  705. Palutena

In Spirit battles

As the main opponent

Spirit				Battle parameters
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music
118		Wanda	Super Mario series	•Tiny Palutena •Yoshi •Peach •Mario		1,500	Green Greens (Battlefield form)	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd	Mario Paint Medley
381	File:Elline Spirit.png	Elline	Kirby series	•Tiny Palutena		3,800	Rainbow Cruise	•Item: Balls	•Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle	Butter Building (Brawl)
445	File:AlolanExeggutorSpirit.png	Alolan Exeggutor	Pokémon series	•Giant Palutena		4,300	Tortimer Island	N/A	•Timed Stamina battle •The enemy favors up smash attacks •Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls (Alolan Exeggutor)	Battle! (Wild Pokémon) - Pokémon Sun / Pokémon Moon
632		Nyna	Fire Emblem series	•Palutena •Ganondorf		4,200	Temple	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy tends to avoid conflict •The enemy heals over time	Shadow Dragon Medley
640	File:Deirdre Spirit.png	Deirdre	Fire Emblem series	•Palutena		3,700	Temple	•Attack Power ↓	•You have reduced attack power	Edge of Adversity
644		Lilina	Fire Emblem series	•Palutena •Roy		3,500	Gaur Plain (Battlefield form)	N/A	•The enemy's explosion and fire attacks have increased power •The enemy favors side specials •Reinforcements will appear during the battle	Beyond Distant Skies - Roy's Departure
650		Ninian	Fire Emblem series	•Palutena •Roy		3,400	Castle Siege (Battlefield form)	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy can use their Final Smash twice in a row •The enemy's FS Meter charges quickly	Winning Road - Roy's Hope
661	File:Elincia Spirit.png	Elincia	Fire Emblem series	•Palutena		3,600	Skyworld	•Health Recovery •Attack Power ↑	•The enemy has increased attack power when the enemy's at high damage •The enemy is healed when the enemy's at high damage •The enemy has increased move speed	Victory Is Near
710		Medusa	Kid Icarus series	•Giant Palutena		4,600	Find Mii (Ω form)	•Hazard: High Gravity	•The enemy has super armor but moves slower •Stamina battle •Your jumping power decreases after a little while	Boss Fight 1 - Kid Icarus: Uprising
722		Pseudo-Palutena	Kid Icarus series	•Palutena		1,900	Dracula's Castle	N/A	•Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls (Ditto)	Destroyed Skyworld
843		Katrina	Animal Crossing series	•Palutena		3,700	Smashville	•Sudden Damage	•All fighters take serious damage •The enemy favors dash attacks •The enemy has increased move speed	Plaza / Title Theme - Animal Crossing: City Folk / Animal Crossing: Wild World
859		Serena	Animal Crossing series	•Palutena		1,900	Fountain of Dreams	•Item: Hammer	•The enemy is easily distracted by items	The Roost - Animal Crossing: Wild World
957		Melia	Xenoblade Chronicles series	•Palutena •Shulk		4,200	Gaur Plain (Battlefield form)	•Hazard: Poison Floor	•The floor is poisonous •The enemy's magic attacks have increased power	Time to Fight! - Xenoblade Chronicles
1,172		Mia	Golden Sun series	•Palutena		2,200	Delfino Plaza (Large Island)	N/A	•Timed battle •The enemy shields often •The enemy can heal by shielding attacks	Battle Scene / Final Boss - Golden Sun
1,253	File:Elena Spirit.png	Elena	Pandora's Tower	•Palutena		3,600	Great Plateau Tower	•Item Tidal Wave	•The enemy becomes temporarily invincible after eating •The enemy starts with damage but has increased defense •Certain items will appear in large numbers after a little while	Midna's Lament
1,269	File:Culdra.png	Culdra	Culdcept series	•Palutena		9,200	Temple	•Magic and PSI Unleashed	•All fighters' magic and PSI attacks have increased power	Culdcept
1,366	File:Athena Asamiya.png	Athena Asamiya	Psycho Soldier	•Palutena •Richter		9,400	Mushroomy Kingdom	N/A	•The enemy favors special moves •Reinforcement will appear during battle	Psycho Soldier Theme (Overseas Version)

As a minion

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
972		Mòrag	Xenoblade Chronicles series	•Lucina •Palutena		2,400	Gaur Plain (Battlefield form)	•Hazard: Lava Floor	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The floor is lava	Battle!! - Xenoblade Chronicles 2	Brighid
1,052		Trevor C. Belmont	Castlevania series	•Simon •Palutena •Sheik		13,000	Dracula's Castle	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Alucard)	•Hostile assist trophies will appear when the enemy's at high damage •Reinforcements will appear during the battle	Beginning	Sypha Belnades
1,168	File:Isaac Spirit.png	Isaac	Golden Sun series	•Mii Swordfighter (Moveset 1222, Isaac Wig, Isaac's Outfit, High Voice Type 1) •Palutena •Robin •Roy		8,900	Wuhu Island (Swaying Bridge)	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Isaac)	•The enemy's magic attacks have increased power •Hostile assist trophies will appear •Reinforcements will appear during the battle	Battle Scene / Final Boss - Golden Sun	Mia

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Palutena's fighter card.

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  Idling on Coliseum.

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  Palutena summoning Explosive Flame on Skyloft.

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  Palutena reflecting Samus's Charge Shot on Temple.

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  Palutena on Lylat Cruise.

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  Palutena using her down tilt near an aerial Villager on Gaur Plain.

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  Palutena in her cyan alternate costume on Prism Tower.

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  Palutena catching Mario in the Black Hole item on Gaur Plain.

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  Getting launched by Lunala's Moongeist Beam along with Fox and Samus on Summit.

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  With Pit and Dark Pit on Skyworld.

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  Palutena, Samus, Villager, and Shovel Knight fighting on Find Mii Ω with the Moon about to crash into the stage.

Trivia

• Palutena is the only character to have two previously separate moves merge into one, being Counter and Reflect Barrier.
• Palutena's artwork was one of three to have been updated on the official site, alongside Falco and Shulk. Compared to her original artwork, her halo was added, her chiton now covers up more of her thigh, her lips shrank, and her eyes grew.
• Due to age rating issues, the slit in her chiton was changed to cover up more of her thigh beginning in the 1.0.6. update for Japanese releases of SSB4. This change was retained in Ultimate, including all international versions.
  • While her official artwork depicts the top of the chiton's slit as fused together, it appears to be stitched together on her in-game model.
  • As Palutena's Fighter Spirit artwork uses an unaltered illustration from Kid Icarus: Uprising, it depicts her chiton still revealing most of her thigh. This is probably an oversight, as the Spirits for Camilla from Fire Emblem: Fates and Mythra from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 had modified artwork to be less provocative.
    • This oversight appears to be shared with the Fighter Spirits for Bayonetta and female Corrin, who likewise use unaltered artwork from their games of origin, but have had censorship applied to them in their playable forms.
• Palutena is one of the last characters to unlock no matter which method is chosen. She's the last unlockable character in Kirby's Classic Mode column, she is the final opponent in the timed encounters, and in World of Light, she is in the Final Battle map.
• An interview with Masahiro Sakurai revealed that Palutena and Bayonetta were under consideration to survive Galeem's attack in the World of Light opening. They were turned down in favor of Kirby, due to both women being very complex characters to use for beginners and that other characters of their series were also turned into spirits, stating that Palutena couldn't do anything to escape as all other Kid Icarus deities like Hades were also turned into spirits.
  • Both Palutena and Bayonetta are in the Final Battle map, appearing as the last of all fighters. This implies that Galeem (and eventually Dharkon) knew how big of a threat Palutena and Bayonetta were (Palutena being a Goddess, and Bayonetta's slaughter of two gods) to his plans, so he kept them as a last resort.
  • Despite this claim, the Hades spirit does not appear in World of Light at all.
• Palutena's unique voice clip when winning against Pit ("Oh, so sorry about that, Pit.") is missing from the Sound Test, despite all her other voice clips used on the victory screen being present.
• Palutena is the only Kid Icarus character to not fight alongside a CPU ally in the final round of her route.
• Oddly, Palutena does not vanish when performing a directional air dodge despite the sound effects playing. She shares this oddity with Rosalina & Luma and Greninja.