Knockback

File:Knockback.jpg

As the damage meter goes up, so does the knockback of most moves. When a character is at low damage, the character won't fly far and can return to the stage. However, if the character has higher damage and gets hit with a powerful attack, they will go farther, usually for a K.O.

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.

Each hitbox of a move has two knockback values: a base knockback and a knockback scaling. Moves with high base knockback deal high knockback under any circumstances, such as the swing of a Home-Run Bat. On the other hand, moves with high knockback scaling take less damage to reach KO potential, such as Luigi's forward smash.

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 frame times 1000) 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
15	500	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
165-195	5500-6500	Average KO range
300	10000	Jigglypuff's Shield Jump

Other physics of knockback

If a meteor smash is landed on a grounded opponent, they will be sent upwards with reduced knockback (20% less in Brawl).
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.

Set Knockback

Set Knockback, sometimes referred to Fixed Knockback, is a property of some attacks in the games where the attack will deliver the same knockback, regardless of outside elements, such as damage percentages, Stale Moves Negation and similar factors.

List of set knockback moves

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Super Smash Bros.

Mario Tornado
Fire Flower
Mario's down aerial, when used on grounded opponents
Luigi's sourspotted Super Jump Punch
Yoshi's up and down tilt.

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Many jabs, such as Kirby's, have set knockback.
King Dedede's down throw
Luigi's down taunt
Kirby's Final Cutter (downwards stroke)
Bowser's: up throw
Captain Falcon's neutral air (first hit)
Wolf's Reflector
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
1	Bowser	14724
2	Donkey Kong	14840
3	Snake	14981
4	King Dedede	15042
5	Charizard	15140
6	Samus	15160
7	Ganondorf	15254
8	Yoshi	15261
9	R.O.B.	15286
10	Wario	15296
11	Ike	15399
12	Link	15469
13	Captain Falcon	15514
14	Lucario	15601
15	Ivysaur	15625
16	Mario	15753
17	Wolf	15771
18	Luigi	15777
19	Sonic	15957
20	Ness	15971
21	Pit	15984
22	Lucas	16032
23	Toon Link	16086
24	Diddy Kong	16098
25	Ice Climbers	16109
26	Peach	16186
27	Marth	16380
28	Zelda	16514
29	Olimar	16688
30	Sheik	16755
31	Zero Suit Samus	16847
32	Falco	16857
33	Kirby	16965
34	Pikachu	16980
35	Meta Knight	17008
36	Fox	17201
37	Mr. Game & Watch	17224
38	Squirtle	17327
39	Jigglypuff	17673