Training Mode

"Training" redirects here. For the Training Mode exclusive stage in SSBU, see Training (stage).

Training Mode in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

“	Select a stage and a fighter and get some practice in! Study moves and become the best!	”
—Description from Ultimate's Mode Guide

Training Mode (トレーニング, Training), or simply Training in Brawl onwards, is a mode available in all games of the Super Smash Bros. series where the player can manipulate overall gameplay of a match and experiment with the CPU without the restrictions of standard Versus Mode. The mode's features, behaviors, and properties vary throughout the series.

Overview

As implied by its name, Training Mode is intended to allow players to practice using characters in a non-serious setting. All matches within the mode are actually Time matches of infinite length, as seen on the Jumbotrons featured in the Pokémon Stadium stages. The player can use any character they wish and select one CPU character as their opponent. The CPU's level is fixed at 3 in Smash 64 and 1 in Melee; starting in Brawl, the level can be freely selected much like in standard Versus Mode matches. Any stages available to the player can be used in the mode, including Smash 4's Ω form stages and Ultimate's Battlefield form stages, except for the custom stages in Ultimate for unknown reasons. In Ultimate, Training Mode allows selecting an exclusive stage with a grid that displays exact distances between points.

A new modifier in Ultimate allows drawing of launch distances and trajectories for an attack: a red, green and blue line will display the predicted distance and trajectory for that attack as if it was used against an opponent at 0%, 50%, and 100% damage, respectively. The weight of the targeted fighter is factored into the predictions as well, allowing for a detailed calculation of how well an attack will perform in any given circumstance. Interestingly, Stale-Move Negation is not present in the mode for Brawl or SSB4, and rage is not present in SSB4; a new modifier in Ultimate allows the player to turn these elements on or off. Additionally, pausing in SSB4 and Ultimate will freeze the stage and relevant hazards, but not characters or items; in Ultimate, attacks will also not connect while the game is paused, effectively making all characters intangible.

Overlay

Within Training mode, a specialized UI overlay, unavailable in any other mode, is displayed on the screen in order to show data relevant to gameplay. The overlay is always present in Smash 64 and Melee, disabled by default in Brawl, and enabled by default in Smash 4 and Ultimate.

The overlay contains information regarding:

• Speed : Shows the speed at which the game is running. Not visible in Ultimate if the default 1x is selected.
• Enemy : Shows the behavior set by the player for any CPUs in play.
• Item : Shows the item the player is currently holding.
• Damage: Displays amount of damage most recent attack inflicted by the player. Up until Ultimate, decimals could not be visibly seen, leading the damage display to round off to the nearest whole number. Weaker attacks doing 1%< damage may be displayed as dealing "0%" damage.
• Combo /Consecutive Hits : Displays how many hits the player has attained on the opponent in one standard combo; this data is saved, with the longest combo done by each individual character being displayed on the character select screen for the mode. The counter in the overlay will top out at 999, though the mode can display higher combos on the character select screen. In Ultimate, the use of items will cause the combo counter to turn red and not save as a longest combo (or unlock anything that requires a certain combo).
• Total Damage: Displays how much damage the present combo has done on opponents. Like the Combo counter, it maxes out at 999.

Available modifiers

In addition to allowing players to train against an ordinarily idle opponent or to perfect their timing in combos or other advanced techniques, the player has the option of manipulating the environment of the stage or gameplay. Initially limited in Smash 64, modifiers within later games were more advanced.

Modifying the match's parameters requires using a specialized menu accessed by pressing the pause button; while this menu stops the CPU from performing actions, it does not actually pause the battle, and so items on the stage and other stage hazards can potentially harm the player while they apply modifiers. As the Nintendo 3DS has two screens, the bottom touch screen can be used to manipulate the environment without having to pause the game.

• Speed: Allows the player to alter the gameplay speed of the match, though some aspects of gameplay, such as transformation Final Smashes and stage hazards, are unaffected by this setting.
  • 1x: Runs at normal speed.
  • 2/3x, 1/2x, 1/4x: Runs in slow motion. Decreases the framerate in Smash 64 and Melee, uses frame interpolation in later games.
  • 1.5x : Runs at increased speed.
  • 2x : Runs at even faster speed.
  • 1/2 (Hold L), 1/4 (Hold L) : Runs at reduced speed while the L button is held, pauses gameplay when L is released.
  • 1 Frame (Press ZL) : Advances by one frame if ZL is tapped, an item is spawned, or the number of CPUs is adjusted. Runs at normal speed while ZL is held or during a Final Smash. Players using a GameCube controller will instead hold L.
• Item: Allows the player to spawn an item of their choice on the stage. As the pause menu does not stop gameplay, items can interact with the environment while the stage is paused. Brawl introduced the ability to spawn Capsules, Crates, and Barrels. Ultimate added the option to spawn specific assist trophies or Poké Balls, although some can't be selected on certain stages.
• CP/CPU: Modifies the behavior of the computer-controlled players. For a more detailed list of all available behaviors in various games, see List of CPU modes.
  • Stand/Stop: Stays idle. Will still attempt to recover if launched off stage.
  • Walk: Slowly walks forward. Turns around upon reaching an edge.
  • Jump: Repeatedly jumps in place.
  • Evade/Run: Avoids the player. Will stop if far enough away.
  • Attack/CPU: Behaves according to its set level. In Smash 4, CPUs will use approaching attacks and projectiles more often than usual.
  • Neutral Special : Repeatedly performs neutral specials.
  • Side Smash : Repeatedly performs charged forward smashes.
  • Human /Control : Responds to input from the corresponding controller ports.
• No. of CPUs : Allows the player to decide on how many CPUs to include in the match. Smash 64 only allows one CPU opponent, while later games allow up to 3, though they will all be of the same character as the one selected prior to the match. CPUs cannot be harmed by each other's attacks, such as when "Attack" or "Control" is selected for their behavior. In Ultimate, the 1v1 multiplier is deactivated if more than one CPU is present.
• CPU Damage: Changes the damage all computer-controlled opponents, ranges from 0 to 999. Prior to Smash 4, the value is set upon closing the pause menu (so pausing the game to modify other values will reset damage to the value set). In Smash 4 and Ultimate, the value is only applied when directly changed or upon selecting "Reset". In Smash 4, this also changes the player's damage.
• Camera: Allows the player to modify how the Camera looks at the stage.
  • Normal: Uses the default camera.
  • Close-up /Zoom /Max Zoom : Zooms in very close to the player.
  • Free : Can be manipulated with P4's controller; focuses on the player by default.
  • Fixed-Camera : Zooms the camera out, showing the entire stage.
  • Zoom : Zooms in close to the player, farther away than Max Zoom.
• Reset : Sends all characters back to their original spawn points and resets damage percentages to their original values. Outside of Melee, also removes all items from play, returns the stage to its original form, and restarts the music. In Ultimate, random stage events will occur in the same way as before when resetting the stage, and Smash Taunts can be performed again
• Exit: Sends the player back to the character selection screen.

The following options are only available in Ultimate:

• Move List: Allows the player to read about characters' special moves (including Final Smashes), as well as information on fighter abilities and complex special moves.
• Fixed Damage: If enabled, CPU percentage will not increase upon taking damage, and CPUs will not use DI or SDI.
• Trajectory Guide: Shows the launch trajectory of the most recent attack at 0% (red), 50% (green), and 100% (blue). Does not account for DI.
• Invincibility: When enabled, portions of characters will glow blue when intangible and green when invincible. This option also effectively allows the player to see the character's hurtbox.
• CPU Shuffling: Sets the amount that CPU opponents will attempt to DI or SDI when hit to "None", "A Little", or "A Lot". Has no effect if Fixed Damage is enabled or if the CPU is set to "CPU" or "Control".
• Stale Moves: Manually enable or disable stale-move negation and rage.
• P1 Damage %: Sets the player's damage percentage.

Ultimate also allows Figure Players to be used in Training Mode in place of either the player or CPU. However, FPs will not gain any experience, and in the latter case the "No. of CPUs," "CPU Behavior" and "CPU Shuffling" options are disabled.

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  The pause screen in Super Smash Bros.

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  The pause screen in Super Smash Bros. Melee

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  The pause screen in Super Smash Bros. Brawl

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  The bottom screen in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

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  The pause screen in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

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  The pause screen in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

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  The "Other Settings" page in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Rewards

In Melee

• Getting an 11 hit or higher combo will grant the player the Metal Box trophy.
• Getting a 21 hit or higher combo will grant the player the Lip's Stick trophy.
• Getting a total of 125 combined combos will grant the player the Bunny Hood trophy.

In Brawl

• Getting a 10 hit combo will grant the player the Banana Peel trophy
• Getting a total of 400 combined combos will grant the player the Ouendan trophy.

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

• Getting a 10 hit or higher combo will grant the player the Huge Header custom special move.
• Getting a 40 hit or higher combo will grant the player the Beam Sword Agility Badge equipment.
• Getting a 100 hit or higher combo will grant the player the Protective Gear outfit.
• Getting a total of 400 combined combos will grant the player the Leaper Ability Badge.

In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

• Getting a 30 hit or higher combo will grant the player the Title Theme (Wii Sports Resort) music track.
• Getting a 50 hit or higher combo will grant the player the Unharmed Speed Demon Agility Badge equipment.

In Ultimate

• Getting a 20 hit or higher combo will grant the player the Lion spirit.

Glitches

Character Loading Input Delay

Example of the effects of the Character Loading Input Delay, with all four players using the same input on the same frames. Up tilt was pressed repeatedly until the desync was noticeable.

In Brawl, after adding additional CPUs to a match, those CPUs do not function correctly when they are set to Control. It is unclear exactly what causes it, but they do not act on the same frame as another character using the same input, causing both input delays and ignored inputs. Opening and closing the training menu (by pressing the pause button) fixes this until a new CPU is added. This does not occur in any other games.

Combo Counter inaccuracy

There appears to be an issue with the combo count in Smash 4 which is demonstrated in a video by the Beefy Smash Doods, where true combos will not be displayed as combos and vice versa. This is believed to be due to the formula for hitstun being different in training mode than in a regular smash, although it may also involve not being correctly adjusted for hitstun canceling or gravity compensation.

Minor bugs

• Due to frozen fighters having altered knockback physics, the trajectory guide will not accurately calculate the launch trajectory and distance of fighters who are hit by freezing attacks.
• When extremely high amounts of knockback are dealt, the trajectory guide begins to incorrectly predict the angle that the victim will be launched at. This can be clearly seen by using Marth or Lucina's final smash against Mario on the Training stage. The blue line representing 100% damage will predict a noticeably higher launch angle than the green and blue lines (50% and 0% damage respectively), however, Mario will not actually be launched at such a high angle.
• In Ultimate, resetting Training Mode while a fighter's jostle strength is modified, it will not be corrected until a move which corrects the fighter's jostle strength is used. Currently, Isabelle is the only fighter affected by this, with her fishing rod both triggering and fixing the glitch.
• In Ultimate, resetting Training Mode right after the player is hit by Mario or Dr. Mario's Cape will result in the temporarily reversed controls carrying over into the reset session. It will wear off as usual.
• In Ultimate, resetting Training Mode and then using certain special moves without making any other inputs first can result in the user moving backwards. These include:
  • Little Mac's Rising Uppercut will cause him to be boosted backwards, rather than forward, at the start of the attack.
  • Peach's Peach Bomber will cause her to move further backward before jumping forwards. Mechanically very difficult to perform, as if any left or right input is detected before the B button is pressed, the effect will be cancelled.
• In Smash 4, although opening the Training Mode menu otherwise disables all actions for fighters so that the player can toggle the menu options, the game oddly still enables the shifting of the position of shields while the menu is open (which can be accomplished by activating the shield and immediately opening the menu before the shield is dropped). It is not known what causes this glitch.
• In Ultimate, if the training mode menu is opened on the first frame when the training session begins, the combo counter and game speed indicator will remain permanently transparent for the remainder of the session, even if the counter is closed and re-opened.
• In Smash 4, if a character in Training Mode has All-Round Trade-Off Equipment they will start with 0% damage (with the damage meter even doing the "damaged" animation) instead of 60%. This can be fixed by pushing Reset in the training menu.
• In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, when playing as King Dedede on Dream Land, sometimes another King Dedede will appear in the background of the stage when it is normally not supposed to happen in regular gameplay.
• If Palkia is summoned in Training Mode in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, the "Info" displaying the damage, total damage, and combo numbers will be present while the stage is being flipped, meaning that, rather than hiding the information, the game simply moves it off-screen.
  • As such, the numbers are upside down if the stage is flipped.
• If one resets the training session in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U during the "numbers breaking" animation, the Damage meter will become stuck in the shaking animation until the affected player takes damage.
• In Ultimate, a glitch causes the individual Damage counter to display 0.1% less damage for certain moves with decimal damage values, despite the Total Damage counter showing the correct amount of damage applied to the opponent. An example is Mario's pummel, which deals 1.3% (without the 1v1 multiplier), but erroneously displays 1.2% in the Damage counter.

Gallery

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  The Training Mode in Super Smash Bros.

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  Training Mode in Super Smash Bros. Melee

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  Training Mode in Super Smash Bros. Brawl

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  Training Mode in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

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  Training Mode in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Trivia

• In Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the music for each stage is changed to the Training Mode theme. In Super Smash Bros., the background of each stage is additionally changed to the Smash Bros. emblem.
• In Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee, if the player uses a controller in ports 2-4, their damage meter will be recolored to the respective port color, and in Super Smash Bros. will also appear in its respective slot on screen. As later games natively support wireless controllers, this was changed to always show the player as Player 1.
• In Super Smash Bros. Melee, the most recent Pokémon to be unleashed from a Poké Ball in Training Mode will either be the second Pokémon that appears in a standard Versus match, or the first in a Single Player mode.
• In Brawl, if Player 1 uses trapping Final Smashes on any spawned players and then despawns them, the player will resume the Final Smash on nothing.
• Modifying the Speed setting will alter the pitch of some Final Smashes, such as Puff Up, Mega Legends, NES Zapper Posse, and Shulk's grunt during the final hit of Chain Attack. The sound effects of some attacks striking stage hazards may also be affected (i.e. hitting Yellow Devil with Rest).
  • Stage sounds will be higher pitched on a faster Speed but will quiet down at slower speeds.
• In Smash 4, Smash Balls in Training mode are easier to destroy than in Brawl.
• In Smash 4, the CPU number and behavior cannot be changed if any player possesses a Smash Ball, the former of which stops the situation described above from happening (Final Smashes attacking nothing). Damage also can't be modified during a Final Smash attack. Items also oddly cannot be spawned while any character is in hitstun or in the tumbling animation.
• In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, if the speed is set to a (Hold L) setting, the character models will change when the button is held. This is because the game indirectly pauses when the L button is not held, and Smash 3DS switches the detail of the character models between gameplay and pausing.
• When CPUs are set to Control in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, they will remain with a grey box and CPU tag, but will use human player colors for their shield, launch indicators, Blast KO color, and Villager's Balloon Trip (for example, the first CPU will use Player 2's blue color). This was also the case for the shield and blast line color in Brawl.
• The only things that override the stage freezing that occurs when bringing up the menu in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U are the clock present in Smashville and Town and City and the character titles "rolling up" animation in Boxing Ring.
• Despite time being slowed down, in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, the "numbers breaking" animation for the Damage meter plays faster if the speed is set on 2/3x.
• In Ultimate, when the game is paused, attacks and damaging stage hazards go through opponents without damaging them. Because of this, pausing is disabled during a Final Smash, most likely so that the game wouldn't crash from having their Final Smashes pass through opponents.
  • This can be done, however, if the player uses a non-cutscene trapping Final Smash (such as Triforce Slash and Great Aether) on the partner Ice Climber, and having the leader self-destruct during it.