Sheik (PM)

Sheik in Project M and Project+
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Universe	The Legend of Zelda
Base game appearance	Brawl
Moveset inspiration	Sheik (SSBM)
Alternate costume	Ocarina of Time Sheik

Sheik is a playable character in the Brawl mod Project M. She has been reverted to her powerful Melee version with some additional minor buffs. She ranks 7th out of 41, at the bottom of the A tier, on the current official tier list. She roughly places the same as her 5th place position in Melee and a significant improvement over her position on the Brawl tier list, where she ranks 25th out of 38.

Attributes

Sheik falls under the same archetype she did in Melee: a lightweight fastfaller with quick albeit weak attacks made for comboing. Sheik's frame data is among the fastest in the game, with many of her attacks having very little lag, especially her tilts. She also has a great projectile in her Needles which allows her to camp very well. Sheik also has very fast ground movement, which complements her combo game somewhat and allows her to chase down opponents easily. Her fast falling speed also grants her excellent vertical endurance despite her light weight, potentially making her difficult to KO.

Regardless, Sheik still has weaknesses. One of Sheik's biggest flaws is her survivability; being light, she can be easily KOed by horizontal finishers. This is exacerbated by her fast falling speed, slow air speed, and poor recovery move in Vanish, which makes her one of the easiest characters to KO horizontally. Sheik is also very easy to combo due to her fast falling speed and gravity, as well as her light weight causing her to suffer significant hitstun. Despite her near lagless aerials and fast falling speed, Sheik has a poor SHFFL as a result of her very high short hop that does not allow her to use many aerials in one. She also has significant trouble KOing, as she only has three noteworthy KO moves, two of which are very hard to land. Lastly, as she is almost exclusively based on her Melee appearance, she lacks some of the improvements she saw in Brawl such as her superior mobility, forward tilt, faster up throw and her Chain tether.

However, Sheik's strengths generally overpower her flaws and this results in dominant tournament results. Because of the harsher environment where a larger portion of the cast are able to compete at the highest level, however, her successes are decreased compared to Melee.

Changes from Melee to PM

Attributes

• Retains both crawl and wall cling abilities from Brawl.
• Due to Zelda being heavily buffed, using Transform during recovery no longer carries the risk of possibly forcing the player to fight on-stage with a non-viable character.

Ground Attacks

• Rapid jab is much faster and better at racking up damage.
• Forward smash connects better and the first kick has a slightly longer duration (1 frame → 2).
• Forward smash's second hit deals decreased knockback (50 (base)/70 (scaling) → 65/58) and sends at a different angle (361° → 58°), allowing it to combo into her aerials reliably.
• Forward smash's first hit deals slightly more damage, but the second hit deals slightly less (5% (first)/10% (second) → 6%/9%).
• Up smash is based on its PAL incarnation with the clean hit dealing less damage (17% → 16%) and knockback scaling (105 → 102).

Aerial Attacks

• Forward aerial now has motion trail.

Throws

• Like with the Brawl version, Sheik releases opponents earlier from forward throw (frame 24 → 21) and it has less ending lag (FAF 48 → 40).
• Forward throw deals more damage (8% → 10%).
• Back throw deals more damage (7% → 8%).
• Sheik releases opponents earlier from back throw (frame 20 → 16) and it has less ending lag (FAF 48 → 32).
• Back throw has altered knockback (40 (base), 140 (scaling) → 70/75) along with a higher angle (135° → 62°), allowing for easier follow-ups when combined with its decreased ending lag.
• Sheik releases opponents earlier from up throw (frame 23 → 20) and it has less ending lag (FAF 58 → 55) making it harder to DI (although it does not have greater followup potential).
• Sheik releases opponents much earlier from down throw (frame 36 → 14) and it has less ending lag (FAF 58 → 36) making it much harder to DI.
• Down throw launches opponents at a lower angle (80° → 62°) and it has increased knockback scaling (50 → 65), depriving Sheik of many guaranteed follow-ups that she had in the NTSC version of Melee.

Special moves

• Needles can deal maximum damage when fully charged even when closer-up.
• Needles' hurtboxes were removed, so they can no longer block disproportionaly stronger projectiles, worsening their defensive capabilities. They are no longer transcendent, so projectiles can still hit them out of the air, but this also means physical attacks can clank them out.
• Chain comes out and can be canceled quicker, making it see more practical use. In addition to this, Brawl's mechanics having blessed the Chain with the drag maneuver allow the hitboxes to refresh very quickly when it is maneuvered with a repeated 2323_2121 motion with the chain flat along the ground; this can deal a great amount of damage in very little time, especially if opponents dare attempt to crouch cancel their way out of it.
• Unlike in Melee, the Chain's hitboxes are unable to clank out projectiles. The electric tipper hit also cannot hit aerial targets, so the effective range is reduced somewhat against opponents in the air.
• Vanish now deals more damage and stronger horizontal knockback, being even stronger than in Brawl.

Revisions

v2.1

• Sheik's recovery A.I has been improved
• Sheik's wavedash animation now properly matches Melee

v2.5b

• Forward-Smash damage slightly increased, hitlag is reduced, base knockback is significantly higher, and growth much lower
• Forward-Smash can no longer send backwards on 2nd hit
• Back-Throw releases closer to Sheik, releases slightly faster, and has less endlag
• Back-Throw damage slightly increased, angle is lower, has a bit more base knockback, and significantly less growth making it combo as effectively as Down Throw
• Final Smash increased slightly in angle and base knockback
• New proper entry animation
• Dash-Attack animation matched to Melee
• Down-Smash animation adjusted to better match Melee
• Down-Smash IASA timing altered to match Melee
• Forward-Air animation slightly adjusted to match Melee
• Turn-Grab grab boxes more closely match the animation, also allowing her to grab very low targets
• Forward-Throw damage slightly increased
• Down-Throw releases slightly faster and has a bit more knockback growth
• Needles adjusted to clank close to exactly how they would be hit with hurtboxes on them in Melee
• Down-B graphical effects adjusted to better match the timing
• Final Smash uses the new Light element effect

v2.6b

• Down-B (transform) is slightly faster
• Jab3 hitboxes reduced in size to be more even and less disjointed
• Down-B (transform) intangibility adjusted slightly and also not as interruptible as soon
• Entry animation polished
• Forward-Tilt hitlag and SDI multipliers matched to Melee
• Up-Tilt first hit SDI multiplier matched to Melee
• Turn-Grab animation shortened to match other Turn Grabs

v3.5

• IASA frames of Transform: 1 → 7
• Inputs can no longer be buffered on end of midair Transform.
• Transform's Gravity has been decreased.
• TransN values of dash attack have been adjusted to be more similar to the Melee version.
• Dash attack animation ends 9 frames earlier.

v3.6

• Forward aerial now has a motion trail that follows Sheik's slap.

Moveset

Up to date as of version 3.6.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			4%	Two quick swipes followed by a series of short jabs.
			3%
			1% (loop)
Forward tilt			7%	A quick roundhouse kick upwards. Its high speed and low knockback allows good combo ability, being able to do it repeatedly or follow up with another attack. Possibly one of Sheik's best combo starters.
Up tilt			8% (hit 1), 4% (hit 2)	Brings her leg up and quickly brings it down. Can hit on both the upswing and downswing.
Down tilt			8%	Quickly sweeps her leg out in front of her. Has low vertical knockback, being a pretty good combo move.
Dash attack			10% (clean), 7% (late)	Performs a quick slash in front of her while coming to a stop. Has excellent juggling utility due to it little ending lag. Sends opponents up and behind her.
Forward smash			6% (hit 1), 9% (hit 2)	Sheik kicks forward twice, trapping the enemy with the first kick and launching them with the second kick. Below-average knockback.
Up smash			16% (sweetspot), 13% (sourspot)	Sheik raises her arms over her head and quickly brings them down to her sides. Powerful knockback when sweetspotted, but less powerful when sourspotted. It is also possible to hit twice with it for huge damage. Both of Sheik's arms and her head are intangible while the hitboxes are active.
Down smash			13% (clean), 10% (late)	Gets on her back and does a break-dance style rotation. Can hit twice.
Neutral aerial			14% (clean sweetspot), 10% (clean sourspot), 9% (late)	Kicks forward with one leg. Has sex kick properties. Can KO opponents offstage at high percentages.
Forward aerial			13%	Leans forward and quickly slashes downwards. Great finisher/edgeguarder with high knockback, and very deadly move offstage against characters with poor recovery. Can potentially be done against an opponent repeatedly if the player maneuvers correctly.
Back aerial			14%/10% (clean right foot/leg), 8% (clean left leg), 10%/9% (late right foot/leg), 7%/6% (late left leg/body)	Kicks backward with her right leg. Has sex kick properties. Can KO opponents near the edge at around 140%.
Up aerial			12% (clean), 9% (late)	Does a quick screwdriver kick upwards.
Down aerial			11%	Performs a downwards kick that has long ending lag.
Grab			—
Pummel			3%	Hits opponent with her left elbow.
Forward throw			8% (hit), 2% (throw)	Launches her opponent forward with low horizontal knockback and hitstun.
Back throw			6% (hit), 2% (throw)	Throws her opponent behind and kicks them away. Better knockback and hitstun than f-throw but otherwise weak.
Up throw			6% (hit), 2% (throw)	Flips upside-down and kicks her opponent upwards with both of her feet.
Down throw			5% (hit), 3% (throw)	Throws her opponent on the ground, then performs an axe-kick knocking the opponent up into the air. Can reliably chain grab or tech chase many characters to high percentages, with a reliable KO option being a u-smash.
Floor attack (front)			6%	Gets up and kicks in front and back of herself.
Floor attack (back)			6%	Gets up and punches in front and back of herself.
Floor attack (trip)			5%	Gets up and kicks in front and back of herself.
Edge attack (fast)			8%	Kicks back on the stage.
Edge attack (slow)			8% (body), 9% (arm)	Slowly does a similar attack to her fast ledge attack, except she goes knee first and thus the move has far less range.
Neutral special		Needle Storm	3% (per needle) (18% maximum)	Charges up needles, which can be fired by releasing the B button. The charge can be saved by pressing the shield button, and continued by pressing B again. They are quick to charge, travel fast and far when thrown, can cut through or stop most other projectiles in the game, and also have high hitstun and low knockback, making them good for distracting foes. They can even edgeguard characters easily and effectively. If used in the air, they travel roughly 45 degrees to the ground.
Side special		Chain	3% (chain), 5% (tip)	Pulls out a long metal chain and whips it around (controllable with the control stick). Does minor damage to opponents, and has an electric effect at the tip of the chain. Has high ending lag.
Up special		Vanish	15%	Vanishes into the air, then reappears further in one direction, which can be controlled with the control stick. It does not travel as far as Zelda's Farore's Wind, though if Sheik is above the ledge and far away from the stage, transforming into Zelda to get back to the stage is possible, but this should only be done if Vanish absolutely can't make it to the stage.
Down special		Transform	—	Transforms into Zelda.
Final Smash		Light Arrow	3% (hit 1), 45% (Light Arrow 1st opponent), 33% (2nd opponent), 25% (3rd opponent)	Sheik pulls out a large magical bow and light arrow which she fires in a straight, horizontal line across the stage. It can strike multiple opponents, but the damage decreases for each successive target. Launches opponents at a semi-spike angle.

In competitive play

Notable players

•  Avro
•  BlueZone-Placed 5th at Frozen Phoenix 2017 using a combination of Sheik and Captain Falcon.
•  Chief-Ranked 6th on the Washington Project M Power Rankings.
•  Darkatma
•  Drephen-Ranked 2nd on the Columbus Project M Power Rankings.
•  Frootloop
•  HAT
•  Jaden - Placed 7th at Olympus. Ranked 17th on the PMRank 2016.
•  Kels
•  Malachi - Ranked 1st on the PMRank 2019, Ranked 1st on NY/NJ Project M Power Rankings
•  Mew2King - Used as one of his 3 counterpick characters. Reverse 3-0ed Junebug with Sheik at Paragon Los Angeles 2015.
•  Myst-One of the best solo Sheik mains. Placed 1st at Revelation 2016. Very strong in doubles with his partner Messi.
•  OkamiBW
•  Plank-Ranked 15th on the MD/VA Project M Power Rankings.
•  Umbreon
•  Plup

Alternate costumes

Project M

Sheik gained an alternate costume based on her appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Sheik's alternate costumes in PM

Project+

Sheik's alternate costumes in P+

Z-Secret Costume: Impa Sheik

R-Secret Costume: Hyrule Warriors Sheik

Trivia

• Due to issues restoring the Chain's mechanics to those of Melee, the Chain Jacket glitch from Brawl still remains in Project M.
• Two players can use the same costume for Sheik (and Zelda) as long as one chooses Zelda and the other chooses Sheik with the corresponding palette swap (i.e. default costumes or team colors). This is likely an oversight as a result of being able to choose Zelda and Sheik separately. Upon exiting the results screen and going back to the character select screen, one of the character portraits will use a different palette swap instead.