Byleth (SSBU)

Byleth in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
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Universe	Fire Emblem
Availability	Downloadable
Final Smash	Progenitor God Ruptured Heaven

“	Byleth Joins Smash House!	”
—Introduction tagline (♂)

Byleth (♂: ベレト, ♀: ベレス, Byleth) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Byleth was officially announced on January 16th, 2020 as the fifth and final downloadable character from Fighters Pass Vol. 1. Both male and female versions of Byleth are playable. Byleth was released as part of Challenger Pack 5 on January 28th, 2020 and is classified as Fighter #75.

Zach Aguilar and Jeannie Tirado, who respectively voiced the male and female versions of Byleth in Fire Emblem: Three Houses and Fire Emblem Heroes, reprise their roles in the overseas versions, while Yūsuke Kobayashi and Shizuka Itō reprise their respective male and female roles in the Japanese version.

Attributes

Byleth is a tall, middleweight swordsman, yet has poor overall mobility in a similar vein to Ganondorf, Incineroar and Dr. Mario, high startup and ending lag on many of his moves, and a rather short grab range. In the words of Super Smash Bros. series creator Masahiro Sakurai, Byleth is a "distance demon", since his optimal playstyle involves using his Heroes' Relics to zone out opponents at mid-range, similarly to Marth and Shulk. Thanks to his variety of weapons, Byleth's overall range is fittingly long in line with his archetype, and his attacks are generally very strong, especially for a middleweight. All of these traits make Byleth's general gameplan very patient: his sluggishness and strength make it important for him to plan ahead and learn the opponent's habits before covering their options with his range and arsenal of hard-hitting weapons.

Like other weapon wielders, Byleth's attacks have disjointed hitboxes that allow them to fight from a safe distance. Neutral attack is a quick chain of attacks that help ward off nearby opponents and is useful due to being his fastest attack of any kind. Due to having four weapons, each of them is assigned to different attacking directions. Like in Fire Emblem: Three Houses, the Sword of the Creator is Byleth's default weapon, and it is wielded throughout all animations that do not involve any other weapon.

Neutral infinite is one of the most damaging of its kind in the entire game, and it can even KO at very high percentages while near the edge. Up and forward tilts have wide hitboxes and decent speed, making them effective spacing attacks. Down tilt transforms the Sword of the Creator into its whip form, and although it is slower than the other two tilts, it is a useful combo starter into aerial attacks. Dash attack is a wide slash forward that is potent for punishing whiffs, and can even KO at reasonable percentages when its blade hitbox connects. However, its ending lag makes it easily punishable, which is further compounded by its weak hilt hitbox.

In regard to an assigned attack direction, all of Byleth's up-inputted moves emphasize the Sword of the Creator's whip form. Up smash causes him to lash upwards in a flurry, which deals multiple hits and is useful for denying landings or starting juggles. It is also Byleth's fastest smash attack, while its moderately powerful final hit makes it a viable KO option as well. Up aerial functions very similarly to up smash in regard to aesthetics and mechanics. Due to being an aerial, however, its looping hits can also drag opponents downward to initiate extended combos, which makes it one of Byleth's most useful attacks in general.

When used as his up special, the Sword of the Creator grants Byleth a very long tether recovery that can grab Battlefield's edges, even if he is near the bottom blast line. Notably, Byleth's up special can attach to walls and perform a wall jump if it touches a wall, much like tether recoveries in Super Smash Bros. Melee. However, the Sword of the Creator also boasts potent offensive potential as an up special: it causes an untechable meteor smash at high percentages that, if used on offstage opponents, see Byleth hop off the opponent's head for a meteor smash, which can cause an unavoidable KO at high percentages. This hop also has extremely low ending lag, allowing for certain follow-ups like side special or even down aerial. Altogether, these traits provide Byleth with a safe array of covering various approach options.

Byleth's other weapons grant more specialized options. Areadbhar, a lance, is used for Byleth's side-inputted moves (forward smash, forward aerial and back aerial, and side special). It has long-range and has a tipper that deals more damage at the tip of the lance. Forward smash is a slow, but long-ranged stab that deals more knockback if aimed upward and tippered, allowing it to heavily punish jump options. If aimed downward, Areadbhar can also hit opponents grabbing edges. Meanwhile, forward and back aerials are very effective spacing moves, even outranging those of Marth, and their tippers deal heavy knockback.

Byleth's side special has him swing Areadbhar in a slow, but wide swing, and allows him to step forward if it is inputted like a smash attack. Its massive hitbox easily denies jump options and acts as a powerful but risky spacing option, as any character can punish it even when fully spaced if they shield it. Aside from its offensive potential, Areadbhar can even assist Byleth's horizontal recovery when used as a side special in the air. All of Areadbhar's moves are weak if the hilt lands, so proper spacing is vital; the sourspots of forward and back aerials can be used to combo or tech chase effectively, but will KO less readily. Side special will be extremely weak if the hilt lands, but Byleth will be able to shield to protect themselves even if the hilt is used.

Aymr, an axe, is used for Byleth's down-inputted moves (down smash, down aerial, down special). It is an extremely slow, yet powerful weapon that deals high damage and knockback on each move that uses it. Down smash is slow overall, but hits very hard and can KO as early as 90%. Down aerial is a similarly slow swing downwards with extreme landing lag, but it is the strongest meteor smash in the game when it lands, making it also among the most rewarding. Byleth's down special causes him to charge Aymr in a super armored stance before unleashing a powerful, Special Zoom-inducing swing. It allows Byleth to pass through platforms and turn around in the opposite direction while charging, which can be used for mindgames. It also has a surprisingly wide hitbox that starts behind Byleth's head. Altogether, these traits make it a high-risk, high reward move that can catch opponents by surprise. If used in the air, it will be slightly weaker and lack super armor, yet still KO at very reasonable percentages.

Finally, Failnaught is a bow that is used for two of Byleth's neutral-inputted moves (neutral aerial and neutral special). Neutral aerial involves Byleth spinning it in a circular motion for a fairly long time, much like Pit's neutral aerial. As a result, it is a good option out of shield due to its fast startup, and can also initiate combos or edgeguard with its looping hits and landing hitbox. Byleth's neutral special uses Failnaught to fire an arrow, which can be shot at two different strengths: a slow but strong arrow that acts it serviceable for sniping and spacing, or a very delayed arrow that is one of fastest projectiles in the game and is strong enough almost break a full shield. The charged arrow also becomes an energy projectile, making it possible to absorb it, though it cannot be Inhaled or Pocketed. Unlike other bows, Byleth can charge-cancel Failnaught, specifically up until slightly after the delayed charged arrow begins charging. However, he is unable to cancel it after he reaches that point. Byleth's neutral special can also turn around up to two times before the charged arrow is fired, similarly to Palutena Bow/Silver Bow.

Byleth may have good strengths, but he does also have weaknesses. Due to his overall mobility being among the worst in Ultimate, his approach is very committal. This flaw is further compounded by many of his attacks having slow startup (e.g. down smash/down aerial), narrow hitbox placements (e.g. forward/back aerials), or even both (e.g. forward smash). Dash attack, neutral aerial, and side special are exceptions, but are easily punishable on shield due to their ending lag, while the lattermost is dangerously unsafe if the sweetspot does not connect.

This flaw becomes even more dangerous with Failnaught's unique charge properties: while the arrows fired from it are powerful and fast, they are equally as dangerous if reflected, as Byleth cannot cancel the move after charging it halfway through. Byleth's abundance of powerful attacks is also a double-edged sword: while these attacks make it easy for him to heavily punish mistakes, his sluggish frame data also makes counterattacks an excellent option to punish his many KO options if they are used unwisely.

Byleth's grab game is also lackluster at best. Down throw is, by far, the best aspect of Byleth's grab game: it is a reliable combo starter below 80%, with neutral, forward and back aerials being reliable follow-ups. However, this is offset by the other aspects of his grab game. Aside from his aforementioned grab range issues, his pummel is akin to a heavyweight's by being decently damaging, yet fairly slow. Up throw is his most damaging throw, but inflicts only a mediocre 9% and its only real purpose is applying pressure from below, with up aerial and up special being possible follow-ups if the opponent fails to DI properly. Although back throw can potentially combo into dash attack at low percentages, this combo is utterly outclassed by down throw's combos. Instead, it and forward throw are used primarily to launch the opponent offstage.

Byleth's recovery is also burdensome in certain ways. Due to being a tether recovery, his up special boasts high vertical distance, but lackluster horizontal distance. When coupled with his poor air speed, Byleth is susceptible to gimps. However, his recovery is deceptively useful when used properly. Since up special can recover from halfway between the camera border and blast zone on Final Destination, Byleth mostly has to worry about getting in range horizontally. To assist with this, he can use his side special or his neutral/forward/back/up aerials to hit away opponents, and performing a B-reversed Failnaught charge, canceled with a jump, which will make where Byleth is going to be very hard for the opponent to guess.

All in all, Byleth is a ranged powerhouse that boasts a capable mixture of highly damaging attacks, KO options, combos, and setups. However, Byleth's slow overall mobility and poor overall frame data mean that he must be careful with his offensive techniques and use his tools very patiently in order to punish his opponent's mistakes, as a careless move on Byleth's end will easily give his opponent just as big of an opening to retaliate.

Update history

Byleth was buffed slightly via update 11.0.0. The most notable buffs were to Sword of the Creator: its decreased overall lag improved its utility for recovering, combos, and as an out of shield option, while its increased base knockback improved its KO potential while offstage and removed its dead zone (the latter of which improved its consistency). Areadbhar became safer on shield thanks to it receiving shieldstun multipliers, and its decreased ending lag improved its recovery potential slightly. Down smash and down aerial gained slightly higher knockback, which improved their already considerable KO potentials. On an extended note, down aerial's shield damage output was also increased.

Overall, Byleth fares mildly better than he did when he was first released.

11.0.0

• Down smash deals more knockback (73 base/62 scaling → 74/66), allowing it to KO earlier.
• Down aerial:
  • Has more knockback scaling (57/52/82/74/57/52 → 61/56/86/78/61/56), allowing it to KO earlier.
  • Deals more shield damage (6 → 9), allowing it to break shields more easily.
• Areadbhar:
  • Has gained a shieldstun multiplier of 1.7× on the grounded version and 2× on the aerial version, making it safer on shield.
  • Has less ending lag in the air (FAF 66 → 62).
• Sword of the Creator:
  • Has more base knockback at high percents (0 → 14), allowing to KO earlier. This also removes the dead zone, in which the opponent did not have to tech the spike on stage, increasing the move's utility when used around 50%.
  • Has less startup lag (frame 11 → 9 (grounded), 12 → 10 (aerial)), with its total duration on the ground reduced as well (FAF 49 → 47).
• Changed the length of vulnerability when crumpling to be consistent with other fighters.

Moveset

• Byleth features a multitude of weapons throughout his moveset, all which utilize the Heroes' Relics from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Each weapon is designated to a different attacking direction: neutral, side, up, and down.
  • The Sword of the Creator is Byleth's default weapon and is wielded throughout all animations that do not involve any other weapon. It is used for Byleth's neutral infinite, tilt attacks, throws, and get-up attacks, though it is also designated to up-inputted moves like up smash, up aerial, and up special. Certain moves cause the Sword of the Creator to change into its whip form, extending its range. The Sword of the Creator also enables Byleth to wall jump three times when his up special is used.
  • Areadbhar is a lance wielded by Dimitri. It is used for Byleth's side-inputted moves, such as forward smash and back aerial. Areadbhar features a tipper, with the shaft dealing comparatively low knockback and damage and the tip dealing 1.5× the damage of the shaft.
  • Aymr is an axe wielded by Edelgard. It is used for Byleth's down-inputted moves, such as down smash and down special. Aymr boasts incredibly high damage and knockback on all moves that feature it, though at the cost of extremely high overall lag.
  • Failnaught is a bow wielded by Claude. It is used for two of Byleth's neutral-inputted moves, neutral aerial and neutral special. Unlike the previously mentioned weapons, Failnaught does not feature any particular traits.

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

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

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			1.5%	A knifehand strike, followed by a roundhouse kick, followed by a side kick. When button mashed, Byleth instead unleashes a flurry of lashes with the Sword of the Creator's whip form. It is Byleth's fastest attack, although the first hit has short range. Like Palutena's neutral infinite, Byleth's infinite has enough power to KO at very high percentages while near the edge. Holding the attack button causes Byleth to repeat the first hit, albeit rather slowly.
			2%
			4.5%
			0.4% (loop), 3.5% (last)
Forward tilt			11%	A downward slash. A decent spacing tool with reasonable power.
Up tilt			10%	An overhead arcing slash. An effective anti-air and juggling tool.
Down tilt			8%	A kneeling, inward lash with the Sword of the Creator's whip form. It has very good horizontal range. Despite having slow startup for a tilt attack, it is one of Byleth's best combo starters, thanks to its launching angle and knockback collectively enabling it to combo into up tilt, neutral aerial, up aerial or up special, depending on the opponent's damage.
Dash attack			13% (blade), 9% (hilt)	A lunging, downward slash. A quick and useful burst option for punishing landings, though it has a noticeable amount of ending lag. Like Marth and Roy's dash attacks, it also has polarized hitboxes: its sweetspot boasts enough power to KO opponents at reasonable percentages while near the edge, yet its sourspot has virtually no KO potential.
Forward smash	↗		19.5% (tip), 13% (shaft)	Thrusts Areadbhar forward. It has tremendous range, with the sweetspot located on the tip of Areadbhar being extremely powerful. It is fairly slow for a forward smash, however, and has a fairly weak sourspot covering the shaft of the lance. It can be angled, with the upward-angled variant being stronger, and the downward-angled variant being weaker in exchange for being able to more reliably hit shorter, crouching, prone, or ledge-hanging opponents. Byleth may occasionally say either "Areadbhar!" or "There!" while using this move. Can be used to 2 frame punish opponents. The animation of Byleth forward smash is similar to Paraselene, a combat art learned exclusively by Dimitri upon mastering the Great Lord class in Fire Emblem: Three Houses.
	→		18% (tip), 12% (shaft)
	↘		17.25% (tip), 11.5% (shaft)
Up smash			2% (hits 1-3), 10% (hit 4), 16% (total)	Flails the Sword of the Creator's whip form overhead to perform a flurry of lashes. It hits multiple times and is Byleth's fastest smash attack. It is useful for juggling opponents and covering landings. It is also decently strong for an up smash of its kind, which makes it a viable KO option.
Down smash			23%	Kneels and swings Aymr in front of himself and then behind himself. Unlike most down smashes, both hits are equally powerful. It deals extremely high damage and knockback for a down smash, being the strongest in the game. It also deals extremely high shield damage, with a fully charged down smash being capable of nearly breaking a full shield with one hit. However, it is extremely slow compared to other down smashes. Byleth may occasionally say either "Aymr!" or "Take this!" while using this move.
Neutral aerial		rowspan="1"	2.5% (hits 1-3), 3% (hit 4), 10.5% (total), 1% (landing)	Spins Failnaught around himself. It hits multiple times and is Byleth's fastest aerial attack. It is useful for edgeguarding and approaching, while its landing hitbox can be used for set-ups, making it a useful multi-purpose aerial attack. Byleth may occasionally say "Failnaught!" while using this move.
Forward aerial			12.75% (tip), 8.5% (shaft)	Swings Areadbhar horizontally forward. A decent spacing tool that is fairly safe if spaced at the tip and fast-fallen. The tip has decent horizontal knockback, whereas the shaft is overall weak in comparison. Has the lowest ending lag and landing lag of Byleth's aerial attacks, and is the only one that can autocancel in a short hop.
Back aerial			15% (tip), 10% (shaft)	Thrusts Areadbhar backward. Similar to forward aerial in terms of utility, but it exchanges speed for additional power. One of Byleth's best horizontal KOing options when tippered.
Up aerial			3% (hits 1-2), 5.5% (hit 3), 11.5% (total)	Flails the Sword of the Creator's whip form overhead to perform a flurry of lashes. Functions very similarly to up smash both aesthetically and mechanically, as it hits multiple times (with a particularly strong final hit) and has both long range and a fairly long duration. These traits make it a very potent KO option, a decent tool for juggling, and useful for starting drag down combos.
Down aerial			19%	Swings Aymr downward. Deals heavy damage to shields and has long range. It is the strongest meteor smash from a down aerial move in Ultimate, with the sweetspot KOing grounded opponents starting at 85%. However, it is extremely slow to start, has a lot of ending lag, only autocancels from a double jump, and its landing lag is among the highest out of any conventional down aerial in the entire game.
Grab			—	Reaches out with his left hand.
Pummel			1.5%	A knee strike.
Forward throw			3% (hit), 3% (throw)	An upward slash with the Sword of the Creator in its whip form. Byleth's second strongest throw, but fail to KO middleweights until around 185% at the ledge.
Back throw			7% (throw), 5% (collateral)	Wraps the Sword of the Creator's whip form around his opponent and swings them around twice, throwing them behind on the second spin. Much like Mario's back throw, it can damage and launch nearby opponents. Despite being Byleth's strongest throw, it can only start KOing middleweights at around 160% at the edge.
Up throw			6% (hit) 3% (throw)	Shoves the opponent upward with the Sword of the Creator. Can combo into up aerial and up special at low percentages, but these combos can be easily DI'd.
Down throw			3% (hit), 2% (throw)	A downward slash with the Sword of the Creator in its whip form. Byleth's most useful throw by far, it is a reliable combo starter. It can combo into forward tilt at 0%, neutral aerial at low percentages, and forward/back aerials at low to medium percentages.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Slashes behind and then in front of himself.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Same as his front floor attack.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Slashes in front and then behind himself.
Edge attack Edge getups			9%	Performs a low outward slash while climbing up.
Neutral special		Failnaught	12% (normal), 29% (fully charged)	Wields Failnaught to fire an arrow. He can charge it for more speed and damage, change directions while charging, and can charge-cancel with a shield until a certain duration. Charging at its maximum duration will fire a powerful arrow that has a similar animation and range to the staff item. A fully charged arrow can nearly break full shields. It must be charged a bit before it can be fired, similarly to how Bullet Climax cannot be shield-canceled instantaneously and must charge first. Byleth may occasionally say "Failnaught!" while using this move. The fully charged version pushes Byleth back and up when used in the air.
Side special		Areadbhar	17.25% (grounded tip), 11.5% (grounded shaft), 14.25% (aerial tip), 9.5% (aerial shaft)	Wields Areadbhar to perform a lunging, upward slash. It has impressive horizontal and vertical range. If the move is smash inputted, Byleth lunges further, which improves its range. The aerial version has him spin it in an arc around him, covering an area that his aerial attacks cannot and slightly propelling him forward but at the expense of lag. Areadbhar possesses a sweetspot on its blade, as opposed to the weaker shaft. Byleth may occasionally say "Areadbhar!" while using this move.
Up special		Sword of the Creator	1% (hit), 3% (grab), 6.5%-13% (bounce)	Thrusts the Sword of the Creator diagonally upward to extend its whip form. It functions as a tether recovery that can attach to walls and allow Byleth to jump off up to three times consecutively without landing. If it connects with an opponent, Byleth latches onto the opponent before footstool jumping them, which deals damage based on how far away the opponent was; if their percentage is at least 50% when they are footstool jumped, it becomes an untechable meteor smash. This footstool jump has only one frame of ending lag, allowing Byleth to immediately follow up with any of his aerials or special moves, with combos into moves such as neutral aerial (though this particular combo is only effective against Donkey Kong), back aerial, and reverse inputted side special. Against grounded opponents, the move first launches them up with the sword to allow Byleth to latch onto them. When activated in the air, it instantly cancels all of Byleth's knockback, which can improve his endurance.
Down special		Aymr	30% (grounded hit), 8% (shockwave), 25% (aerial hit), 8% (aerial shockwave)	Wields Aymr to perform a sluggish, but colossally powerful downward slash. It has super armor during startup, can be reversed, and Byleth can drop through platforms while performing it. Like other "bold" moves (such as Falcon Punch, Warlock Punch, and Hatchet Man), it triggers Special Zoom. When successfully executed, Aymr can break shields in a single hit. When it is used successfully while falling off the battlefield, by an edge, and it hits the battlefield, Byleth will be suspended, ending the fall. Much like the aforementioned "bold" moves, it expectedly has extremely high lag all around in exchange for its power, making it a very risky yet rewarding move mainly used for hard reads. Byleth may occasionally yell "A...ymr!" while using this move. When used in the air, Byleth is stalled slightly just before the hitbox comes out. The animation itself is based on Flickering Flower, a combat art learned exclusively by Edelgard upon mastering the Emperor class in Fire Emblem: Three Houses.
Final Smash		Progenitor God Ruptured Heaven	10% (lash), 20% (shockwave), 15% (ending)	Lashes out with the Sword of the Creator in its whip form, exclaiming "I'll finish with this!" The lash itself has a decent range and can trap up to three opponents at once. Upon successfully hitting, Sothis then appears in the background and bestows Byleth her power, temporarily granting him access to his Enlightened One class. Byleth then performs his exclusive combat art, Ruptured Heaven, with Sothis saying "Your will and mine be now as one!", as Byleth extends the Sword of the Creator to unleash an earth-rending shockwave. As the targets are struck by the shockwave, Sothis says "The end approaches!" before they are launched diagonally upwards with respectable power.

On-screen appearance

• Warps onto the stage using warp magic, poses while holding a pointer, then pulls out the Sword of the Creator.

• 

  Byleth's on-screen appearance

Taunts

• Up taunt: Swings the Sword of the Creator to his right leg, and puts his left fist to his chest while looking into the sky. Female Byleth has an alternate stance: one foot is in front of the other and the Sword of the Creator is held behind herself in a reverse grip. Based on Byleth's victory pose with a sword equipped.
• Side taunt: Brandishes the Sword of the Creator forward and says either "Let the lesson begin!" or "Stay focused." The former quote is one of Byleth's critical hit quotes prior to the five-year time skip, while the latter is from when Byleth is selected on the battlefield prior to the time skip.
• Down taunt: Swings the Sword of the Creator in its whip form around himself while saying "Try me."

• 

  Male Byleth's up taunt.

• 

  Female Byleth's up taunt.

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  Byleth's side taunt.

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  Byleth's down taunt.

Idle poses

• Twirls the Sword of the Creator into a backhanded grip while striking a pose, before returning to his original position. Female Byleth has an alternate pose: the Sword of the Creator is held in a standard grip with a more energetic pose. Based on the animation when Byleth is selected on the map before moving and when performing a gambit. Both idle poses resemble the ones they assume in their Ultimate renders.

• 

  Male Byleth's idle pose.

• 

  Female Byleth's idle pose.

Crowd cheer

	Cheer (English)	Cheer (Japanese/Chinese)	Cheer (Italian)	Cheer (Dutch)	Cheer (French)
Cheer		(♂) (♀)
Description	Go Teach!	Be-re-to! (♂) Be-re-su! (♀)	By - leth! By - leth! *claps 3 times*	By - leth! *claps 3 times*	Allez, Byleth, allez, Byleth, allez ! Allez, Byleth, allez, Byleth, allez !

	Cheer (German)	Cheer (Spanish)	Cheer (Russian)	Cheer (Korean)
Cheer				(♂) (♀)
Description	By -- leth!	By -- leth!	By - leth *claps 3 times*	Bay - leth - Tu! (♂) Bay - leth - Tsu! (♀)

Victory poses

Note: Like Pokémon Trainer and Inkling, some of Byleth's victory animations are different between the male and female variants.

Both

• Plants the Sword of the Creator into the ground along with the other Heroes' Relics already planted into the floor, says "Each battle, a chance to grow" and then swings their left arm out while facing the background before lowering their left arm to their side. Combines one of Byleth's lines after winning a battle exchange pre-time skip with the game over screen in Fire Emblem: Three Houses, where all four main Relics are planted on the ground.

Male

• Swings the Sword of the Creator outward, saying "Allow me to demonstrate!" He then raises his left hand towards his chest as he looks outward. Based on Byleth's victory pose when wielding a sword, combined with one of his critical hit quotes prior to the time skip. It is also similar to his up taunt.
• With the Sword of the Creator in its whip form, Byleth swings it around the front of his body in a circular motion, saying "No hesitation!" After striking the ground, the Sword of the Creator reverts to its original form, with Byleth posing with it held in a standard grip. Uses the quote from one of his critical hit activations.
  • When this victory pose plays, the clapping animations are delayed for a second before showing up, most likely due to the number of graphics onscreen from the Sword of the Creator hitting the ground.

Female

• Swings the Sword of the Creator outward before holding the sword behind her in a reverse grip, saying "Allow me to demonstrate!" She then looks toward the screen as opposed to looking into the distance. It is also similar to her up taunt.
• With the Sword of the Creator in its whip form, she swings the whip in front of herself twice (each time in a different direction) while saying "No hesitation!" She then holds it up towards her face in a vertical manner.

An excerpt of the main theme from Fire Emblem: Three Houses.

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In competitive play

Initial opinions on Byleth, shortly after release, were mostly lukewarm, if not negative. Most players believed Byleth was a mid or low tier, citing the character's poor frame data, slow ground and aerial speed, limited landing options, and difficult matchups against faster characters such as Fox, Zero Suit Samus, and Sonic. An early success for the character came at Frostbite 2020, where MkLeo used him to defeat Maister in grand finals; despite this, most players remained unimpressed, citing how MkLeo used Joker until the very last game of the tournament, as well as Maister's poor record against him and Mr. Game & Watch struggling against long range characters, in addition to matchup inexperience due to Byleth's recent release at the time. A few weeks afterwards, the COVID-19 pandemic hit North America, forcing an halt of tournament activity and leaving most of Byleth's early metagame development to proceed online.

During this period, MkLeo decided to continue using Byleth online, being unsatisfied with how Joker played under additional input lag. After adjusting to the new environment, he found success with Byleth, leading to a final placement of 5th on the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v7. Byleth was also buffed in update 11.0.0, released at the height of the pandemic, which further improved his standing. Overall, during the pandemic, opinions on Byleth were starting to turn around, but he was still occasionally dismissed as MkLeo's "online main", implying that Leo didn't take online tournaments as seriously and would eventually return to Joker following the reopening of offline tournaments.

MkLeo would defy these expectations by continuing to use Byleth in all events he attended since the return of offline tournaments, starting with SWT: Central America Ultimate Regional Finals, often using him as his sole character. With Byleth, MkLeo has achieved dominance on par with what he had with Joker before the pandemic, if not arguably even greater, as he has placed no less than second in every tournament he has attended until Smash Ultimate Summit 4, winning the majority of them. His efforts have shifted the community's perception on Byleth, leading most players to believe that the character is either in upper mid or high tier.

Despite MkLeo's overwhelming success, however, other players have failed to achieve comparable results with Byleth. Data collected by OrionRank curator Barnard's Loop showed that MkLeo made up roughly 66% of all results obtained by Byleth (an amount only second to BassMage with Jigglypuff). In Japan, Byleth is primarily represented by Rizeasu and Ly, with the former being notorious for having a very large roster of characters and the latter co-maining the character, while online he was also represented by Pelupelu and Sparg0, as both have achieved respectable results but has not transitioned to offline play, with Sparg0 sticking to Aegis and Cloud in offline majors. As a result, while Byleth is widely agreed to have been initially underestimated, his definitive standing is still debatable, with the more skeptic players tending to attribute his results to a perceived wide skill gap between MkLeo and other top level players, rather than any particularly dominant strength of the character itself.

Most historically significant players

Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the Fall 2019 PGRU, which recognizes the official top 50 players in the world in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate from July 13th, 2019 to December 15th, 2019.

See also: Category:Byleth professionals (SSBU)

•  MkLeo (#1) - The best player in the world, having picked up Byleth as a main during the online metagame. Placed 1st at Riptide, Low Tide City 2021, Port Priority 6 and Mainstage 2021 as well as 2nd at both Smash Ultimate Summit 3 and Glitch 8.5. Online, placed 1st at Ultimate 32 and Frame Perfect Series: ONLINE as well as 2nd at The Box: Lunch Box 3 and The Airlock. Currently ranked 5th on the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v7.

Classic Mode: A Heroic Legacy

Byleth's congratulations screen.

Byleth's Classic Mode route is themed around the Fire Emblem fighters and stages from across the Smash series, fought in order of release year. All battles are stamina battles and the player always starts with 100 HP.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Marth	Temple	Story 5 Meeting	References how Marth used Temple as his home stage in Super Smash Bros. Melee, due to the game not having a Fire Emblem stage. Marth starts with 100 HP.
2	Roy	Arena Ferox (Battlefield form)	Winning Road - Roy's Hope	Roy starts with 100 HP.
3	Ike (x2)	Castle Siege	Eternal Bond	The Radiant Dawn Ike will appear once the Path of Radiance Ike is defeated. Both Ikes start with 100 HP.
4	Robin, Chrom, and Lucina	Arena Ferox	Id (Purpose) (Remix)	Team battle. Robin, Chrom, and Lucina start with 50 HP.
5	Corrin (x2)	Coliseum	Lost in Thoughts All Alone (for 3DS / Wii U)	Team battle. The two Corrins wearing white and black, respectively, is a reference to Birthright and Conquest and the conflict against the Hoshido and Nohr kingdoms. They start with 100 HP.
6	Byleth (x3)	Garreg Mach Monastery	Fódlan Winds	Represent the house leaders in Fire Emblem: Three Houses. The red Byleth prefers down specials, the blue one prefers side specials, and the yellow one prefers neutral specials, referencing the primary weapons of Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude, respectively. The costumes will still be worn even when playing with one of them. They each start with 50 HP.
Bonus Stage
Final	Master Hand and Crazy Hand	Final Destination	Code Name: F.E.	The player has Marth, Roy, Ike, Robin, and Corrin as CPU allies with 30 HP each. The five previous opponents now allied with Byleth reference the recruitment system in Three Houses and how certain students can be persuaded to join their side after being defeated in part two.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Byleth has Paths That Will Never Cross accompany the credits.

Role in World of Light

The message that shows Byleth's availability in World of Light

Due to his status as downloadable content, Byleth does not have a legitimate role in World of Light. Instead, he is unlocked for use in the mode after freeing 10 fighters from Galeem's control. If loading an existing save file that meets this condition before downloading Byleth, he is immediately unlocked.

Spirits

Male Byleth's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after Byleth has been downloaded. Unlocking Byleth in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a fighter spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and are purely aesthetic. Female Byleth has a fighter spirit of her own, available periodically for purchase through the shop. Each fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with their artwork in Ultimate.

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  1,380. Byleth (Male)

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  1,381. Byleth (Female)

In Spirit battles

As the main opponent

Spirit				Battle parameters
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music
1,382		Edelgard	Fire Emblem Series	•Byleth		5,000	Castle Siege (Battlefield form)	•Hazard: Lava Floor	•The floor is lava •The enemy has super armor and is hard to launch or make flinch	The Apex of the World
1,384		Dimitri (Fire Emblem)	Fire Emblem Series	•Byleth (100 HP) •Ganondorf (80 HP)		5,000	Distant Planet (Ω form)	N/A	•Stamina battle •The enemy has increased attack power	Between Heaven and Earth
1,386		Claude	Fire Emblem Series	•Byleth		5,000	Gaur Plain (Ω form)	•Hazard: Left Is Right, Right Is Left •Hazard: Poison Floor	•The floor is poisonous •Left and right controls will suddenly reverse	Blue Skies and a Battle
1,388		Sothis	Fire Emblem Series	•Byleth		13,400	Spear Pillar (Ω form)	•Health Recovery •Sudden Final Smash	•The enemy will suddenly have a Final Smash •The enemy is healed significantly when the enemy's at high damage	Fire Emblem: Three Houses Main Theme

As a minion

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
1,393		Hilda (Fire Emblem)	Fire Emblem Series	•Villager •Byleth		2,400	Garreg Mach Monastery (Bridge)	•Attack Power ↑	•The enemy gets a major stat boost when badly damaged	Paths That Will Never Cross	Claude

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Male Byleth's splash art.

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  Female Byleth's splash art.

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  Byleth's unlock notice after downloading him from the Nintendo eShop.

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  Byleth's Amiibo

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  Byleth's weapons.

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  Both male and female Byleth on Umbra Clock Tower.

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  Female Byleth using her back aerial on Garreg Mach Monastery.

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  Male and female Byleth crossing swords on Garreg Mach Monastery.

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  Byleth's costumes based on Dimitri, Edelgard, and Claude.

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  Female Byleth using Aymr against Zelda's Phantom in Pirate Ship.

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  Male Byleth using Failnaught on Garreg Mach Monastery.

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  Byleth's costumes based on Dimitri, Edelgard, and Claude referencing Fire Emblem Three Houses box art.

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  Byleth alongside all the fighters in the 1st Fighters Pass.

Trivia

• Byleth's internal codename is "master", referencing his role as a professor in Fire Emblem: Three Houses.
• According to Sakurai, development of Byleth began while Fire Emblem: Three Houses was still being in development. He had to play the game in secret from the other employees due to the game still being in development.
• Byleth is the first fighter with multiple taglines. In Byleth's case, it is because the male and female variants have different names in Japanese.
  • Despite the fact that male and female Byleth have different names in Japanese, the announcer and English-written UIs (such as the versus splash screen and damage meter) will call both of them by their shared English name, unlike with other characters such as King K. Rool and Lucina in the Japanese version, or unlike with other gender-selectable characters in French, Spanish, German, Italian and Russian. However, this is also similar to Young Link and Lucas being still called by the announcer with their English name.
• Byleth is the only character in Vol. 1 of the Fighters Pass to not be from either a third-party company or a new universe, and is the second such DLC character for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, after Piranha Plant.
• Byleth, like Ike, Pokémon Trainer, Wii Fit Trainer, and Inkling, is one of the few characters to have alternate costumes with different animations.
  • Female Byleth holds the Sword of the Creator with its tip pointed upwards, while male Byleth holds it with its tip pointed downwards. All animations that can be played from their stand animations (like their idle animations) are subsequently affected through the animation blending.
  • Their victory poses are different. Byleth is also the only fighter where the camera angles will also change depending on the costume, rather than just the animations.
• With his debut in Three Houses in July 2019, Byleth is the most recent fighter to appear in Ultimate and, by extension, the entire Super Smash Bros. series. He is also the only character in the game to make his gaming debut after Ultimate's original release in December 2018, which was also the case with fellow Fire Emblem characters Roy and Corrin in their debuts.
  • Correspondingly, Byleth was the first fighter in Ultimate to have debuted on the Nintendo Switch.
• Byleth and Steve are the only characters in Ultimate whose alternate costume is displayed alongside their default costume on the official Ultimate site, similarly to Robin's page on the official SSB4 site.
  • Additionally, because male and female Byleth have different names in Japanese, Korean, and Chinese, the lists of fighters on the website name both of them in those languages.
• According to Sakurai's column, the reason for Byleth's use of the Hero's Relics was to differentiate him from all the other sword fighters.
• Byleth is the first DLC fighter in Ultimate not to have been revealed before his presentation video's release.
• Byleth is the only Fire Emblem character who uses the "drumbeat" sound effect when charging a smash attack.
• Byleth is the second fighter from the Fire Emblem series to not possess a counter as their down special, after Robin.
• Chrom and Lucina are the only Fire Emblem characters that do not aid Byleth in fighting Master Hand and Crazy Hand in the boss round.
• Byleth's boss round in Classic Mode has a total of 6 characters fighting the boss (including the player itself), the most out of any other character (7 if there is another player in Co-op mode). This makes Byleth the only character with this distinction.
• Byleth is the only character in Ultimate to have an exclusively tether-based up special. Ivysaur can switch to Charizard (who can use Fly), Joker gains Wings of Rebellion through Arsene and Min Min's up special is ARMS Jump when used on the ground as opposed to ARM Hook.
• For unknown reasons, the Korean reveal of Byleth had been delayed, being revealed on January 22, 2020, rather than January 16 like in other regions.
• Byleth is one of the few characters who occasionally says something after being Blast KO'd: male Byleth will shout "Not my best!", while female Byleth will shout "Forgive me...!"
• When either male or female Byleth is Star KO'd, they shout, "My battle ends here...!" This is a reference to a line of dialogue when they exhaust their health in Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Byleth shares the distinction of speaking a full sentence during a Star KO with Pit.
  • Both, additionally, do not say a sentence in Japanese.
• Both genders of Byleth in the English version uses one of their heavy knockback screams rather than their standard KO scream when KO'd by reaching 0 HP during their final stock in Stamina Mode. This also applies to Mario, Dr. Mario, all vocal DLC fighters except for Joker, Banjo & Kazooie, and Byleth's Japanese voice.
  • Additionally, Byleth in the Japanese version uses a unique voice clip when KO'd in Stamina Mode. This trait is shared with Joker and Banjo & Kazooie.
• Byleth is the first DLC character to appear in multiple Spirit Battles as both the main opponent and a minion, the other being Steve.
• Oddly, if Byleth charges a forward smash while holding a Death's Scythe, the charging sound effect will not play.
  • Additionally, he will not vibrate in place while charging. This also applies to Zero Suit Samus if she charges a smash attack while holding a Star Rod.
• In male Byleth's right victory pose, there's a brief delay before the UI displays the panes of the losing fighters in comparison to most victory poses. This is due to the game slowing down when focusing on the particle effects from the Sword of the Creator's whip. This does not occur in team battles consisting of two or more fighters.
  • This makes male Byleth the only fighter who can progress through the results screen without displaying the defeated fighters outside of team battles.
• Unlike most humanoid fighter models in Ultimate, the bind pose of both Byleth genders is uniquely an "A-pose" instead of a T-pose. This is shared with Terry and Mythra.
• Byleth is the only character with a taunt that has more than one potential quote.
• The "Congratulations" screen in Byleth's Classic Mode references tea parties in Fire Emblem: Three Houses, specifically the loading-screen tip which features Edelgard as a guest.
• Prior to the 8.0.0 update, the Sound Test did not refer to the two Byleths as male or female, unlike other characters with gender swaps.
• Out of all the Fire Emblem characters, Byleth's hair is modeled differently, having a slightly more solid texture without any feathering on the hair tips.
• Byleth is the first character to have two different splash screens (one for each gender).