Floating

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Floating refers to a technique Peach can perform. If Peach holds the jump button after using her second jump, she will float in the air for several seconds. Peach can move Horizontally while Floating, but will not move vertically. The float is a major part of Peach's recovery and frequently used in competitive play, especially due to Auto-Floating and Float Canceling.

Auto-Floating

In order to float on command--and at any height--you need to jump, and press Down when at the desired height while holding either Y or X (Jump). Once you've hit Down while holding Y or X, you can hold Up and let go of X or Y and keep on floating. This technique has been dubbed the "Auto-Float" by SuperDoodleMan. Holding Up, X, or Y whilst jumping will also allow you to float once the jump animation has ended. Doing so while performing an aerial attack will let you float once the aerial's animation (including lag) has ended; you do not need to hold Down. If you want to float just above the ground, hold Down before pressing jump and let go once you do. Floating at different heights has varying uses depending upon which height you choose, but you will generally find yourself floating either at Short Hop height or just above the ground. If you are falling down and you have yet to use your float, you can press Down and Y or X simultaneously, but make absolutely sure that you do so at the same time; otherwise, you will waste your double jump and just float, which could prove disastrous while being edgeguarded. Look for the double blue circle from a double jump or listen for the very distinct sound effect of her double jump to give you a notice that the technique has been performed successfully so you know to either Wall Bomb or use her Up B.

Float Canceling

Float Canceling is arguably the most important aspect of Peach's one-on-one combat as it allows her to combo from almost any aerial at low percents; likewise, FCing makes it almost impossible to shield grab Peach out of her aerials. This technique makes all of her aerials useful at all times.

Execution is simple, but tournament-level mastery is not so easily learned. You simply float, attack while floating, and land on a surface on which you can stand at any time while the aerial is still in progress. When you land on the ground, instead of going into your aerial landing animation, you land with your normal landing animation. This reduces the lag of her aerials from 8-13 frames down to a brisk 4 frames, which is actually quite significant.

Some uses of Float Canceling include, but are not explicitly limited to:

• Avoiding shield grabs
• Creating better set-ups and follow-ups for her Aerial Down A, as well as utilizing its priority
• Jumping out of your shield into an aerial attack, or to attack again if a previous attack missed

Some uses of Ground Floating include, but are not explicitly limited to:

• Leading into combos more easily than at other heights
• Edgeguaring whilst onstage
• Effectively utilizing her Aerial Neutral A against a grounded opponent
• Mindgaming with a quickly FC'ed Aerial Neutral A

At her full jump height, you can abuse the benefits of Peach's aerial arsenal, especially the spacing on her Aerial Forward A and the priority of her Aerial Down A. Peach's full jump height can also be used to punish overaggressive combatants or overzealous players who like to jump the gun and attack too early. For example, a Falco who is constantly firing off Short-Hopped Lasers (SHL), or a character busy SHFFL'ing, can be punished with a Float Canceled aerial. Ground Floating should be used against opponents who remain airborne; it may also be used for following an opponent's DI from one of her launcher attacks.