Knockback

File:Knockback.jpg

As the damage meter goes up, so does the knockback of most moves.

Knockback is a measure of how far an attack sends its target. For example, Bowser's forward smash is an attack of high knockback; 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.

Basic physics

The knockback of most attacks increases as the target's damage increases. Knockback 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.

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 match results, though the number lacks 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 barely sends characters anywhere. 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

Formula

Melee/Brawl

File:SSBBKnockbackFormula.png
Technically the Melee formula is unknown, but it is extremely likely to be identical to the Brawl one.

Brawl uses 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 then those with lower gravity, depending on how vertical the angle is.

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.
• s is the attack's knockback scaling as a percentage (so a value of 100 becomes 1.00).
• b is the attack's base knockback.
• r is a ratio based on a number of factors, including:
  • Difficulty
  • Handicap
  • Smash charge interruption bonus
  • Type effectiveness

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 wall reduces knockback by 15% (in Brawl). Landing a meteor smash on a grounded opponent counts as a bounce, if enough knockback was dealt.
• If a character is hit while charging a smash attack, they will take more knockback (20% more in Brawl).
• Based on type effectiveness, Pokémon Trainer's Pokémon will take more or less knockback from certain moves.
• Characters that take a certain amount of knockback will slightly damage opponents they run into while flying. This hitbox belongs to the character that dealt the knockback, and KO'ing with one is how one achieves the Dead-Weight KO bonus.
• In Melee, if a second attack hits a target after 10 frames, the knockback delivered is added to the current knockback, so hitting a vertical-flying opponents with a horizontal-launching attack will result in a diagonal trajectory; if the second hit strikes before 10 frames, the knockback is completely overwritten. 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 is unaltered.

Set knockback

Set knockback, sometimes referred to fixed knockback, is a property of some attacks where the knockback dealt by the attack does not depend on the opponent's percentage or how much damage the attack does. This results in it dealing the same amount of knockback regardless of stale-move negation.

Super Smash Bros.

• Mario Tornado
• Fire Flower
• Kirby's Final Cutter (meteor smash and up slice)
• Fox's down aerial
• Mario's down aerial
• Fox's up aerial (first hit)
• Luigi's sourspotted Super Jump Punch
• Yoshi's up and down tilt.
• Kirby’s up aerial
• Kirby’s landing hitboxes, after using every aerial except his back aerial.

Super Smash Bros. Melee

• Fox: Reflector
• Ice Climbers: down air
• Yoshi: down tilt
• Luigi's down taunt
• Kirby's Hammer (in the air)
• Fox's down aerial
• Bowser's up throw
• Young Link: first hit of forward smash
• Fox's up aerial (first hit)
• Kirby's Final Cutter
• Roy's Blazer
• Luigi's sourspotted Super Jump Punch
• Red Shell

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

• Many jabs, such as Kirby's, have set knockback.
• 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)
• Bowser's up throw
• Captain Falcon's neutral air (first hit)
• Wolf's Reflector
• Snake's forward tilt (first hit on grounded opponents)
• Sonic's up aerial (first hit)
• Isaac's Move

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

• Brawl has 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 1 frame.
• Super Smash Bros 64 also has a knockback cap of 2500.