Lucina (SSBU)

Lucina in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Fire Emblem
Other playable appearance	in SSB4
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Critical Hit

“	Lucina is Marth's echo fighter, so she shares most of her standard and special attacks with Marth. However, while Marth's attacks are more powerful when made with the tip of his blade, Lucina's attacks just as powerful whether you use the tip or the base of the sword.	”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Lucina (ルキナ, Lucina) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. She was confirmed as a playable character on June 12th, 2018. She is an Echo Fighter of Marth, thus being classified as fighter #21ε.

Laura Bailey's portrayal of Lucina from Smash 4 was repurposed for the Engilsh version of Ultimate. Similarly Yu Kobayashis potrayal from the same game was also recycled for the Japanese version.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play VS. matches, with Lucina being the 23rd character to be unlocked.
• Clear Classic Mode with Yoshi or any character in his unlock tree, being the fifth character unlocked after Ganondorf.
• Have Lucina join the player's party in World of Light.

With the exception of the third method, Lucina must then be defeated on Arena Ferox.

Differences from Marth

As in SSB4, the primary difference between Lucina and Marth is that Lucina lacks a tipper, meaning that her sword attacks deal equal damage throughout her blade. She is less effective at spacing than Marth, but in return can rack up damage more consistently. As such, Lucina is more versatile and aggressive, but also less rewarding. Lucina was slightly recloned from her previous appearance in SSB4, as she is no longer shorter than Marth, her up tilt will now move her forward slightly, and she no longer keeps her momentum on her neutral attack and up tilt. Despite losing these somewhat neglible differences, she keeps one other difference from SSB4: her up tilt has a unique sweetspot based on how late into the swing the opponent is hit. This ensures that she can rack up damage more easily with her up tilt as long as she is facing away from her opponent.

While Lucina and Marth have largely identical attacks, mobility attributes and frame data, the lack of a tipper spreads across Lucina's entire moveset. Because of this, she is generally agreed to be one of the more unique Echo Fighters, alongside Ken and her father Chrom. As such, these three are expected to be placed separately from their counterparts on the tier list and allowed to be used with her base during Squad Strike. Lucina has obtained excellent results and representation early in the Ultimate metagame, especially compared to Marth.

Aesthetics

• As with all other Echo Fighters, Lucina has different taunts and victory animations.
• Lucina's on-screen appearance is slightly different from that of Marth, as she removes her mask. She also has a different No Contest animation as well.
• Unlike all other Echo Fighters, Lucina's Screen KO animation is different from Marth's.
• Lucina's victory theme is different from that of Marth, being a remix of the Fire Emblem Awakening song, Id (Purpose).
• Lucina's sword trails are completely opaque, while Marth's are only opaque at the tip of his blade.

Attributes

• Due to the Parallel Falchion lacking a tipper like Falchion, its entire blade deals equal damage and knockback on most attacks, equal to the weighted average of Marth's sweet and sourspotted attacks.
  • Moves that move Lucina forward, such as Dancing Blade, are more effective than Marth’s variants due to the forward movement counteracting with the tipper.
  • Lucina's can rack up damage more easily than Marth, as most of Marth's Falchion is composed of his sourspot.
  • Lucina's damage and knockback are significantly lower than Marth's sweetspots, hindering her KO potential, and making her unable to space as well as Marth.

Ground Attacks

• Lucina's up tilt (named "Anti-air Slash" in the in-game tips) has a unique timing-based sweetspot. On the later half of the slash, the attack does more damage while also having weaker knockback. The combination of less knockback and more damage allows her up tilt to rack more damage than Marth's as long as she is facing away from her opponent.
  • Since the timing-based sweetspot deals less knockback, it can not be used to reliably KO as much as Marth's variant.
• Down tilt has different particle effects.

Special Moves

• Shield Breaker:
  • Lucina's Shield Breaker's animation is different. She leans farther back during its start-up; trembles more exaggeratedly while rearing her arm back; and takes a step forward during its thrust. This marginally improves Lucina's horizontal recovery potential compared to Marth's. This change is also reflected when Kirby copies this.
• Dolphin Slash:
  • Lucina may shout when using Dolphin Slash, whereas Marth does not vocalize when using it.
• Counter:
  • Lucina's Counter's stance is different, She also has different quotes when she counterattacks, saying "My turn!" or "You're mine!"

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Much like with Marth, Lucina highly benefits from the universal changes in SSBU, particularly in terms of aerials and tilts. In addition, the new engine is also a benefit to Lucina's balanced blade, as the faster pace of the game allows her greater close-combat capabilities to be an advantage in certain situations. Unlike most clones, Lucina became slightly more similar to Marth, though a majority of her reclonings were neglible (such as her being slightly shorter, or a few moves not stopping her momentum).

Aesthetics

• As with all veterans returning from SSB4, Lucina's model features a more subdued color scheme. Her clothing now has simple detailing, her hair has been reshaped, and her face appears sharper, with her cheeks now showing a slight pink blush.
• Lucina has several new basic animations. Her idle, crouch, and sidestep all have new animations, and her jump animations have all been changed as well, resembling (but not identical to) Roy's jumps in Smash 4. She also has a new screen KO animation.
• Lucina's victory theme is now a snippet of the Fire Emblem Awakening song, Id (Purpose). [1]

Attributes

• Like all characters, Lucina's jumpsquat animation now takes three frames to complete (down from 5).
• Lucina walks faster (1.5 → 1.575).
• Lucina runs significantly faster (1.785 → 1.964).
  • Lucina's initial dash is significantly faster (1.5 → 2.255).
• Lucina's air speed is faster (1.02 → 1.071).
• Lucina's traction is much higher (0.055 → 0.114).
• Forward roll has less ending lag (frame 31 → 30).
• Forward roll grants less intangibility (frames 4-17 → 4-15).
• Back roll has more startup with less intangibility (frames 4-17 → 5-16), and more ending lag (frame 31 → 35).
• Spot dodge has less ending lag (frame 27 → 26).
• Air dodge grants more intangibility (frames 3-27 → 3-29).
• Air dodge has significantly more ending lag (frame 33 → 53).
• Sidestep does not retain her horizontal momentum anymore. Like Marth, Lucina will stop her horizontal momentum if she sidesteps.
• Lucina is taller, her height matching Marth.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • Neutral attack does not retain her horizontal momentum anymore. Like Marth, Lucina will stop her horizontal momentum if she uses her Neutral attack.
  • The first hit transitions into the second hit faster (frame 19 → 11), allowing it to connect better.
  • The second hit has more knockback scaling (75 → 45), making it slightly more effective at spacing, but slightly less effective for combos.
  • The first hit has altered angles and knockback to keep opponents close to Lucina, akin to other neutral attacks. This allows it to jab lock, but most importantly removes all its guaranteed jab cancel setups, which made it one of Lucina's most potent punishment tools in Smash 4.
  • The second hit has more startup (frame 3 → 4).
  • The first hit has an altered animation where Lucina swings in a more horizontal arc, matching its hitboxes better.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack deals more damage (9.975% → 10.925%).
  • The move has a different animation, with Lucina swinging in a slightly more horizontal arc.
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt deals slightly more damage (10.925% → 11%).
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt does not retain her horizontal momentum anymore. Like Marth, Lucina will stop her horizontal momentum if she uses her Up tilt.
  • Lucina's up tilt now has her move forward just like Marth's. This improves its horizontal range and gives it the same spacing potential as Marth's. However, this in turn makes it harder to repeatedly land her timing-based sweetspot.
• Down smash:
  • Down smash now consistently launches opponents at a horizontal angle, allowing it to set up edgeguards and KO near edges more effectively.
  • It has one frame more ending lag (frame 55 → 56).

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have less landing lag (Neutral: frame 12 → 7, Forward: 16 → 10, Back: 17 → 10, Up: 14 → 9, Down: 24 → 14).
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial's first hit deals more knockback, allowing it to connect into the second hit while rising, and improving its combo potential on landing combined with its lower landing lag.
  • It deals slightly more damage (4.2% → 4.275% (hit 1), 8.5% → 8.55% (hit 2)).
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial deals slightly more damage (11.8% → 11.875%).
• Down aerial:
  • The removal of teching for grounded meteor smashes improves down aerial's combo potential onstage, compounded further by its lower landing lag.
  • It deals slightly more damage (12.3% → 12.35% (non-meteor), 14.2% → 14.25% (meteor)).

Throws/other attacks

• Standing grab has less startup (frame 7 → 6).
• Dash and pivot grab have more startup (frame 8 → 9 (dash), 9 → 10 (pivot)).
• All grabs have increased ending lag (frame 30 → 35 (standing), 37 → 43 (dash), 35 → 38 (pivot)).
• Lucina's throws are no longer weight-dependent. This improves her down throw's combo potential on heavyweights, but reduces it on lightweights.
• All of Lucina's throws except up throw release the opponent slower (frame 15 → 18 (forward), 9 → 19 (back), 16 → 20 (down)), making them easier to DI.
• Pummel:
  • Pummel deals less damage (2% → 1.3%).
• Forward throw:
  • Lucina has a new forward throw, a quick elbow strike to the opponent's chest.
  • Due to the faster knockback physics and reduced hitstun for higher knockback values, it has lost its combo potential.
• Up throw:
  • Up throw deals more damage (4% → 5%), with its knockback compensated.
• Down throw:
  • Down throw deals less damage (5% → 4%), with its knockback compensated.
  • Its animation has been changed slightly, with Marth slamming the opponent onto the ground with a more exaggerated throw.
• Edge attack:
  • Edge attack deals more damage (7% → 9%).

Special Moves

• Shield Breaker:
  • Shield Breaker can now be angled vertically.
  • It now deals 1.15× its regular damage if it hits an opponent's head.
  • Shield Breaker deals slightly less knockback.
  • Shield Breaker now only has the Parallel Falchion glow purple instead of Lucina's whole body.
  • The move triggers Special Zoom upon breaking an opponent's shield.
• Dancing Blade:
  • All swings except the first have less startup (frame 9 → 5 (second, neutral), frame 7 → 4 (second, up), frame 6 → 4 (third, neutral), frame 8 → 5 (third, up & down), frame 13 → 7 (fourth, neutral & down), frame 11 → 6 (fourth, up)), allowing the move to execute faster and connect all hits more reliably.
    • The fourth downward swing's hits after the first are also faster (frame 19, 25, 31, 37 → 10, 13, 16, 19), allowing them to connect better and preventing opponents from jumping out of them at low percents.
  • All swings except the fourth ones deal less hitlag, allowing the move to transition faster and making it harder to SDI out of.
  • The first swing has less ending lag (frame 42 → 40 (grounded), 32 → 30 (aerial)), as does the fourth upward swing (frame 51 → 45).
  • The first two neutral swings have altered knockback, allowing them to more consistently link into the other hits, and granting them the ability to lock.
  • The first swing has more startup (frame 6 → 9).
  • The fourth downward swing has more ending lag (frame 72 → 75).
  • All swings deal less damage (3.325% → 2.85% (first & second), 4.275% → 3.325% (third, neutral & up), 4.75% → 3.325% (third, down), 5.7% → 4.75% (fourth, neutral), 6.65% → 5.7% (fourth, up), 4.75% → 4.275% (fourth, down, last hit)).
  • The fourth upward swing deals less knockback, and can no longer KO at realistic percents.
  • Dancing Blade's neutral swings all have altered animations, except for the third. The first one is now an outward swing similar to her forward tilt, the second is a vertical swing instead of a horizontal one, and the final swing no longer has Lucina spinning before she slashes the opponent.
  • The third downward swing has an altered animation, now being a low outward swing instead of a stab.
• Dolphin Slash:
  • Dolphin Slash has more landing lag (20 frames → 24).
  • It now leaves multiple afterimages of Lucina during the leap.
• Counter:
  • Counter has more ending lag (frame 60 → 65).
  • It now causes a large yellow flash if an attack is countered, and plays the noise from Critical Hit if the counterattack successfully lands.
• Critical Hit:
  • Due to the changes to teching, Critical Hit can no longer be teched.

Moveset

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

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3.325%	Slashes the Parallel Falchion twice in front of herself. The first hit can also jab lock.
			4.75%
Forward tilt			11%	A fast upward swipe while leaning forward. Has a large arc that is useful for spacing.
Up tilt		Anti-air Slash	7.6% (early), 8.075% (late)	Swings the Parallel Falchion in a large arc above her head, with a large hitbox that can hit enemies behind her. Lucina's up tilt has a timing-based sweetspot unlike Marth's version; on the latter half of the swing, Lucina deals more damage but less knockback, allowing her to rack up damage more easily as long as she is facing away from her opponent. Covers platforms very well and is useful for juggling.
Down tilt			8.5%	A quick crouching sword poke. Lucina's fastest tilt, which is useful for interrupting grounded approaches and creating space. Deals semi-spike knockback, making it useful for edgeguarding. Knocks opponents into a tumble around 80%, which can force opponents into a tech chase situation.
Dash attack			10.925%	A quick, running, upward-sweeping diagonal slash. Low knockback. Has notable ending lag and low hitlag, making it rather unsafe against shields. The ability to use the faster and safer forward tilt out of a dash makes this move's use rather niche.
Forward smash		Dragon Killer	15.275%	Rotates her body counter-clockwise with a strong overarching one-handed swing from her head to the ground. Moderately fast startup, but high ending lag. Deals considerably high knockback, KOing middleweights at the edge around 76%.
Up smash		Justice Sword	3% (ground), 14.25% (blade).	A quick, upward thrust. The weak grounded hit can knock nearby opponents into the main attack. Good for aerial protection and chasing down landing opponents.
Down smash			9.5% (hit 1), 14.275%} (hit 2)	Sweeps the Parallel Falchion on the ground toward the front outward then toward the back inward. The back hit has much stronger power, while the front hit is weak. It also has high ending lag.
Neutral aerial			4.275% (hit 1), 8.55% (hit 2)	Two horizontal slashes around herself via an inward slash followed into a full 360° outward spin. The second hit can hit on both sides of Lucina, and can be used to create space by short hopping then fast-falling immediately after using the move in the air. The first hit has low knockback scaling, which, combined with fast falling and the move's low landing lag, allows it to combo into many of Lucina's tilts, and even her forward smash, even at high percentages. The second hit has moderate knockback, KOing middleweights at the edge around 120%.
Forward aerial			10.5%	Does a descending crescent slash in front of her with great coverage. This is Lucina's best tool for air combat, and its reasonably low landing lag makes it very safe when spaced properly. Lucina can also use this move more reliably than Marth's, as it deals relatively high damage and knockback throughout. Around 27%, it begins to knock opponents into a tumble, which can force a tech chase situation. KOs middleweights at the edge around 143%.
Back aerial		About Face	11.875%	An upward crescent slash behind her in an inward swipe. Has the interesting property of turning Lucina around, changing the direction she is facing. Similar use to her forward aerial, although with more knockback and a smaller hitbox. Safe on shield when spaced low to the ground. Rather strong given its speed, KOing middleweights at the edge around 110%.
Up aerial			11.4%	An overhead crescent slash with good coverage, ending in a delayed somersault. Lucina's fastest aerial, it is good for juggling at low percents thanks to its large arc, making it a good anti-air as well, and has moderate knockback. Due to its angle, it makes a reliable combo starter. Compared to Marth's, it loses true combo percent potential sooner due to its greater knockback.
Down aerial			12.35% (non-meteor), 14.25% (meteor)	A downward, wide crescent slash with large coverage. If the attack connects at the middle of the swinging arc (directly below Lucina), it serves as a powerful meteor smash. However, the meteor smash window lasts only one frame (frame 11). Can be useful against cross-ups and as an out of shield option as it starts behind Lucina and covers a wide area below her.
Grab			—	Reaches out with her free hand.
Pummel			1.3%	A knee strike.
Forward throw			4%	An elbow strike with her sword arm.
Back throw			4%	Tosses the opponent over her leg, sending them behind her. Its high base knockback allows her to set up edgeguarding, but it cannot combo or KO reliably.
Up throw			5%	A powerful one-armed upward throw. Lucina's strongest throw, which can KO at around 170%.
Down throw			4%	Throws opponent to the ground with one arm, bouncing them upwards. Her primary throw for follow-ups due to its low base knockback, allowing her to follow up with an up or back aerial at low percentages. However, it quickly loses combo potential due to its high knockback growth, sending opponents too high after medium percentages.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Spins around gracefully and slashes the Parallel Falchion in a circle.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Swings the Parallel Falchion behind, then in front of her before getting up.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Stabs behind her, then slashes in front of herself before getting up.
Edge attack Edge getups			9%	Backflips onto the stage and slashes.
Neutral special		Shield Breaker	8.575% (uncharged), 23% (fully charged)	Lucina assumes a readying stance and charges the Parallel Falchion at chest level before powerfully thrusting it forward. This attack deals massive shield damage even when uncharged, and will instantly break shields at full charge, although it can be safely perfect shielded. The aerial version gives Lucina a very slight horizontal boost, while a fully charged aerial version will thrust Lucina in whatever direction she is facing, giving her a strong horizontal recovery option, albeit with very high startup. Can be angled up or down, though this does not change the damage or knockback. The attack deals 1.15× regular damage if it hits the opponent's head, though this appears to be out-prioritized by any hitbox striking a non-head hurtbox.
Side special		Dancing Blade	Varies (see below)	A sequence of sword slashes with several variations based on directional input. Four slashes total, with each capable of being altered in direction, allowing for eighteen total possible combinations. Standard strikes are trailed red, high strikes are trailed blue, and low strikes are trailed green (see table below for details and limits of the move).
Up special		Dolphin Slash	11% (clean), 7% (late blade), 6% (late body)	Lucina performs a high-speed jumping uppercut slash that can be B-reversed. Has a powerful sweetspot and grants very slight intangibility in the first few frames, which can easily cause stage-spikes under the right circumstances. Grants good vertical distance but is rather lacking in horizontal distance. Does not snap to the edge until after its hitbox is gone.
Down special		Counter	1.2× (minimum 8%)	Lucina assumes a defensive stance and retaliates against incoming attacks. The power of the counterattack scales with the strength of the attack blocked. Starts up on frame 6 and lasts 22 frames. Ineffective against projectiles and attacks with sufficiently long reach, such as many of Shulk's or Simon's tilts and smash attacks.
Final Smash		Critical Hit	60%	Lucina raises the Parallel Falchion skyward, uttering "Time to change fate!", then lunges in one direction, attacking the first opponent she connects. Immense knockback, enough to one-hit KO any character on any roofless stage. Cannot be teched. Pressing the special button again will cause her to stop mid-dash.

Dancing Blade

Hit	Damage	Description
First Hit (Neutral)	2.85%	Does an outward slash. Deals very little knockback even at extremely high percents. Can jab lock. The tip of the sword lifts opponents off the ground slightly, making it combo into the second hit more consistently.
Second Hit (Up)	2.85%	An upwards lifting slash. Has greater vertical reach than the first hit or the second neutral hit. Lifts opponents slightly off the ground, with the tip of the sword pulling them in slightly.
Second Hit (Neutral)	2.85%	Does an inward slash. Has a shorter hitbox than the first hit, which can lead to it sometimes missing if the first hit is landed from too far away. Deals very little knockback, even at extremely high percents. Can jab lock.
Third Hit (Up)	3.325%	Does an upwards slash while turning clockwise. Launches opponents up and away, leading into the upward finisher.
Third Hit (Neutral)	3.325%	Takes a step forward and does a leaning outward slash. May push opponents too far away for the fourth hit to connect at high percents.
Third Hit (Down)	3.325%	Leans in and does a horizontal slash low to the ground. Deals less knockback than the other third hits, which can make it useful for connecting with the neutral finisher at higher percents, when the third neutral hit may send too far away.
Fourth Hit (Up)	5.7%	Twirls counterclockwise and does an upward slash. Launches opponents up, making it useful for starting juggling strings. Has the least ending lag of the three finishers. Fairly low knockback. Has greater vertical reach than any other hit of the move.
Fourth Hit (Neutral)	4.75%	Turns counterclockwise, steps forward, and does very powerful vertical slash downward. This is the strongest finisher in regards to knockback, KOing middleweights near the edge by itself around 118%.
Fourth Hit (Down)	2% (hit 1-4), 4.275% (hit 5)	Does a flurry of five lower stabs. Deals the most damage of the three finishers, wearing down shields well, and can shield poke low shields. Has the highest ending lag of the three finishers.

Idle poses

• Holds her hand to her chest, closes her eyes, and silently takes a breath.
• Brushes her hair out of her face.

Classic Mode: A Path of Heroes

All of Lucina's opponents are Fire Emblem characters. They appear in reverse of the order their respective games were released, likely referencing Lucina travelling into the past in her own game.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Male and Female Corrin	Find Mii	Lost in Thoughts All Alone
2	Chrom	Arena Ferox	Conquest (Ablaze)
3	Male and Female Robin	Reset Bomb Forest	Id (Purpose)
4	Ike	Castle Siege	Eternal Bond
5	Roy	Norfair	Beyond Distant Skies - Roy's Departure
6	Marth	Coliseum	Story 5 Meeting
Bonus Stage
Final	Master Hand	Final Destination	Master Hand	On intensity 7.0 and higher, Crazy Hand fights alongside Master Hand, and the track Master Hand / Crazy Hand plays during the battle.

Role in World of Light

Although Lucina does not appear in the World of Light opening cutscene, she was vaporized and later imprisoned alongside the rest of the fighters (excluding Kirby) when Galeem unleashed his beams of light.

Lucina was one of the many fighters that fell under Dharkon's control upon Galeem's first defeat. She can be found in the area that resembles the remains of a clockwork guarded by the spirit of Omega Ridley.

Alternate costumes

Gallery

• 

  Artwork of all playable Fire Emblem characters and Assist Trophies, as posted on the official Japanese Fire Emblem Heroes Twitter account.

• 

  Screenshot of all playable Fire Emblem characters on Arena Ferox, as posted on the official Japanese Fire Emblem Twitter account.

• 

  Lucina's fighter card.

• 

  Lucina idling on Skyloft.

• 

  Taunting on Skyloft.

• 

  Attacking Shulk on Temple.

• 

  Taunting with Marth on Castle Siege.

• 

  Lucina unleashing Critical Hit on Arena Ferox.

• 

  Lucina taunting with Charizard on Skyworld.

• 

  With all playable Fire Emblem veterans on Coliseum.

Character Showcase Video

<youtube>vQqvKaCne4k</youtube>

Trivia

• Lucina and Dark Pit are the first and only full clones to retain their full clone status for two consecutive games in a row.
• At least two of Lucina's screenshots on the Ultimate site allude to events from Fire Emblem Awakening.
  • The screenshot depicting her alongside Marth alludes to their kinship as descendant and ancestor, respectively.
  • The screenshot of her taunting defensively in front of Charizard alludes to "The Threat of Silence" paralogue from Awakening, in which the Shepherds must protect the draconic Tiki.
• Lucina is the only Echo Fighter to not be the same gender as the character she's based on. In this case Marth, the character she is based on, is male, and Lucina is female.
• In early builds of the game, Lucina's idle animation was unchanged from Super Smash Bros. 4, while Marth received a new one. However, her idle was changed to match Marth's new one in the final build.
• Due to Lucina's height being changed to Marth's height, she stands the same height as her father Chrom, who in the Fire Emblem games is significantly taller than Lucina.
• Despite receiving both new idle and crouching animations, Lucina still reuses the previous animations when holding a small item. She shares this quirk with Marth, Wolf, Pit, Dark Pit, Luigi and Sheik.