Luigi (SSB4)/Down throw

Hitbox visualization showing Luigi's down throw.

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Overview

Luigi forces his opponent on the floor and Ground Pounds them. Depending on percentage, this throw can be followed up by up tilt, any smash attack, any aerial attack, Luigi Cyclone or Super Jump Punch. It serves as Luigi's starting move for some of his most powerful KO combos.

Update history

In earlier versions of the game, Luigi's down throw functioned identically to its Brawl counterpart, with the move having higher base knockback but significantly lower knockback scaling compared to later versions. This overall made Luigi's down throw an incredible combo tool. The throw could not only easily lead to potentially devastating combos at lower percents but it could also easily lead to combos at much higher percents, leading into KO confirms which worked at an extremely wide percent range in earlier Wii U versions. This included KO confirms into back aerial, Super Jump Punch and most notably of all, Luigi Cyclone.

The throw was less egregious in early 3DS versions as it was possible to LSI the throw, along with any vertical launching followups (such as Luigi Cyclone, neutral aerial and Super Jump Punch). This gave the opponent more counterplay against the throw, as they had more freedom with their DI. Luigi still had guaranteed followups out of the throw for a long period of time, he just had to be more weary of the opponent's DI. This also made down throw noticeably less deadly at higher percents as Luigi's down throw Cyclone combo KOed significantly later and had a much smaller guaranteed KO window overall. LSI down was used on the down throw before the KO window while LSI up was used after the KO window to ensure the best survival against down throw cyclone. Despite this, down throw Cyclone was still a powerful tool Luigi had as it could lead to a guaranteed KO at the right percents and if the opponent DIed the down throw wrong at the wrong percent, they could easily get KOed in a scenario where it could have been avoided. Against LSI down (which would be used to avoid Down Throw Cyclone KOes at lower percents), Luigi could also easily set up down throw back air, which could be a KO confirm at high enough percents. This could be avoided with LSI up and DI away but this would set up into Down Throw cyclone, which would be guaranteed and KO earlier due to the unfavourable DI on the down throw.

Update 1.0.4 (and all Wii U versions) changed the DI system so down throw and Luigi's other vertical launching followups could no longer be LSIed. This notably benefitted down throw as it overall made Luigi's followups more reliable as the opponent had less freedom with their DI and most notably, it made down throw Cyclone an even deadlier KO setup. Down throw Cyclone did not lead to KOes against Mario with good DI in early 3DS versions until over 140% but in early Wii U versions, it could KO Mario as low as 110% and the combo would still be guaranteed until well over 200%. Factors such as platforms and rage could allow the throw to KO even earlier and this was naturally even more devastating with the removal of LSI against vertical launching moves in 1.0.4/Wii U.

Update 1.1.1 however noticeably altered the knockback on down throw. The throw had less knockback at lower percents which was beneficial as down throw could no longer be DIed at lower percents (as the throw no longer had enough knockback at 0% to put opponents into tumble. This meant that Luigi could easily go for consistent followups at lower percents without having to worry about the opponent's DI and the throw was still capble of leading into potentially devastating combos at lower percents. However, the throw had significantly increased knockback scaling which overall gave the throw significantly more knockback at higher percents. The throw had around 8-10 less units of knockback at 0% but by the time the opponent reached around 24-35% (depending on weight), down throw's knockback surpassed its pre-patch counterpart. By 100%, down throw's knockback was comparable to its pre-patch counterpart at 215-235%.

This change in knockback severely hindered down throw's ability to lead into KO confirms. Confirms such as back aerial and Super Jump Punch were essentially completely removed outside of far/high platforms. This ultimately left Luigi with down throw Cyclone although the combo was significantly less effective. The combo could still be a KO confirm on flat ground although the percent window was very small. Additionally, as Luigi had to perform his Cyclone as high as possible in order to score a KO, it meant that the opponent had the chance to fall out of Cyclone whereas in the past, Luigi could perform his Cyclone lower to ensure it connected properly against the opponent, albeit at the cost of its KO potential. This essentially led to down throw cyclone being a 50/50 rather than a long lasting KO confirm which significantly hindered Luigi's ability to close out stocks.

Overall, down throw was considerably toned down compared to its initial incarnation but it still remained a very effective move. The move's combo potential at lower percents remained extremely strong and possibly became even better. The change to down throw mainly hindered its effectiveness at higher percents, removing the extremely lenient and powerful KO confirms the move previously had. Despite this, the throw was still solid at higher percents, leading to a solid 50/50 and its sheer effectiveness at lower percents was still very much present. While the move was significantly nerfed overall, it still remained one of Luigi's best moves.

1.1.1

Down throw has less base knockback but much more knockback scaling (75 (base), 30 (scaling) → 55/83). While this does improve its followup potential at lower percents, it also removes Luigi's most notable follow-ups at higher percents (very few moves are now only semi-guaranteed KO set-ups).

Throw data

ID	Damage	Angle		BK	KS	FKV	Bone	FFx	Type	Effect	Sound
0	6%		Forwards	55	83	0	0	1.0x			None
1	3%		Forwards	40	100	0	0	None			None

Timing

The speed of this throw depends on the opponent's weight.

※
Invincible	1-18	1-18	1-18	1-18	1-18	1-18	1-18	1-18	1-18	1-18	1-18	1-18	1-18	1-18	1-18	1-18	1-18	1-18	1-18	1-18	1-18	1-18	1-18	1-18	1-18	1-18	1-18	1-18	1-18	1-18	1-18	1-18
Throw	14.93	15.5	15.6	15.79	15.98	16.08	16.17	16.27	16.46	16.56	16.94	17.04	17.14	17.33	17.42	17.52	17.62	17.71	17.81	17.9	18	18.19	18.29	18.38	18.58	18.67	18.77	19.25	19.54	19.83	20.11	20.88
Interruptible	33.77	35.12	35.35	35.8	36.25	36.48	36.7	36.93	37.38	37.61	38.51	38.74	38.97	39.42	39.64	39.87	40.1	40.32	40.55	40.77	41	41.45	41.68	41.9	42.36	42.58	42.81	43.94	44.62	45.3	45.97	47.78
Animation length	38.68	40.24	40.5	41.02	41.54	41.8	42.06	42.32	42.84	43.1	44.14	44.4	44.66	45.18	45.44	45.7	45.96	46.22	46.48	46.74	47	47.52	47.78	48.04	48.56	48.82	49.08	50.38	51.16	51.94	52.72	54.8