Lucas (PM)

Lucas in Project M and Project+
Universe	EarthBound
Base game appearance	Brawl
Moveset inspiration	Lucas (SSBB)
Alternate costume	Masked Man Lucas

Lucas is a playable character in the Brawl mod Project M. He has been given new options and moves in his recreation from Brawl to Project M.

Lucas ranks 15th out of 41 on the official tier list, near the bottom of the A- tier, a substantial improvement over his 30th out of 38 placement in Brawl.

Attributes

In Project M, Lucas boasts excellent mobility with fast, low commitment neutral tools, versatile combo tools, and insanely powerful smash attacks. His out-of-shield game also grants Lucas good neutral or punishing options, such as his down aerial. His recovery, while risky, is extremely versatile and can travel long distances very quickly using his double jump (which can be cancelled into an aerial or airdodge), z-tether, a fall-decelerator in PSI Magnet which can also be jump cancelled similarly to Fox's Reflector, and his Thunder-looping. PSI Magnet also lets him deal with camping by absorbing energy projectiles, and to help with this he can also access his new neutral special Offense Up. This move increases the power of his already devastating smash attacks, especially useful as it increases the size of his up smash alongside its power.

His ledge options are serviceable, such as stalling with PK Thunder, gaining back his invincibility with a z-tether, threaten at close range with a ledge-hop PSI Magnet, and make use of his passable ledgedash. He also has access to one of the most technically difficult techniques in the game in the "snekdash", which if the demands are met can make some of Lucas' ledge options completely invincible. PK Freeze is a decent projectile that can lead into multiple followups, one of these followups being his extremely dangerous DACUS, which can make it unsafe to be above Lucas and can finish off combos from entire stages. He additionally has ease in hit-and-run combat courtesy of his extremely fast mobility on the ground. To a lesser extent, his double-jump cancelled aerials and b-reverses also give him long-distance mobility. Lucas has excellent shield pressure due to his DJC-aerials, powerful up throw that ignores weight, long wavedash, and jump-cancelled PSI Magnet. All of these build onto his greatest strength: his combo ability. His versatile options across the board, ability to traverse whole stages very quickly, and very early KO moves make it not unreasonable for Lucas to bring someone from 0% to a KO.

However, Lucas also has weaknesses. His subpar tech roll and bad combo weight make it easy to punish and fatally chain Lucas if he makes a mistake. He also has short range and poor edgeguarding abilities, which slightly dampen his stellar combo ability and can make it difficult to secure a KO. His unique double jump also gives him trouble against platform camping, as he can't quickly punish his opponent for doing so. His ability to start combos is also slightly weakened by his tether grab, which doesn't have great range by the standards of tethers but is still rather slow.

Overall, Lucas is a character who can make it very difficult for opponents who have bad out of shield options or moves that are less safe on whiff. His power additionally gives him an upper hand against characters who would otherwise survive longer at early percents. However, he has a hard time dealing with characters who can easily out-range or gimp him and have good tech-chasing options or chaingrabs. Overall, Lucas has significantly better matchups than he did in Brawl, and that has led to above average tournament results and representation.

Changes from Brawl to PM

Lucas' alternate costume.

Lucas was heavily buffed from Brawl to Project M, as he was given many new options to combo and KO opponents on-stage. While it may seem Lucas's recovery has been nerfed due to the shorter distance that his up special travels, the new air dodge and tether mechanics allow him to come back on stage with greater ease than before.

Aesthetics

• Up throw and PK Fire now use freezing graphics instead of PSI and fire graphics, respectively.
• When using Lucas's up taunt, holding the input will actually make him trip, giving him the option to roll or floor attack, allowing situational mindgames.

Attributes

• Lucas dashes faster (1.5 → 1.725).
• Lucas has gained a long wavedash thanks to Project M's new physics and his low traction, greatly improving his approach and positioning.
• Lucas' traction is lower (0.045 → 0.04). This makes it harder for him to punish out of shield but gives him a longer wavedash.
• Lucas now has the option to double jump cancel with the same mechanics as Ness, making his combo game even more deadly.
• Lucas's additional lag from a grounded grab release has been removed; he is no longer vulnerable to grounded grab release followups or infinites.
• Lucas now has a sliding DACUS which is also the longest DACUS in Project M. In Brawl, a DACUS would completely halt his momentum. This significantly improves up smash's approach potential.
• Lucas' fall speed is much higher (1.37 → 2.3) going from the 21st highest out of 39 characters to the 9th highest out of 41. This improve his vertical endurance but makes him more susceptible to combos.
• Lucas' gravity is higher (0.09 → 0.125). This improves his vertical endurance but make him more susceptible to combos.
• Lucas' full hop is much higher now being the second highest in Project M.
• Lucas' air speed is slower (1.05 → 1.0)
• Double jump travels slightly less distance, and can no longer Zap Jump.
• Lucas is significantly lighter (94 → 80) going from the 20th heaviest out of 39 characters to the 33rd heaviest out of 41. This significantly hinders his endurance although it allows him to be knocked down by Fox's shine.

Ground Attacks

• Lucas has a new neutral attack, he creates a spark of PSI in one hand, and then spins around and creates a spark of PSI in the same hand. It is better combo opener than his old neutral attack.
• Forward tilt has less knockback, allowing for easier followups out of it.
• Forward tilt has less range and the sourspot now takes priority over the sweetspot making the sweetspot harder to land.
• Up tilt is now a flash kick in an arc-like fashion in front of him, which has slightly more range in front of Lucas and it has much more utility than his previous up tilt, and it can easily lead-up into combos or a down aerial.
• Up tilt has less vertical range.
• Down tilt pushes back the opponent, resetting the close quarters situation into neutral. It can lead into grab or ftilt if the opponent doesn't react in time.
• Down tilt can no longer infinite.
• Dash attack is much faster and has a longer duration (frames 17-22 → 6-16). It also has less end lag (IASA 42 → 38).
• Weak dash attack has increased knockback and sends opponents at a different angle (75° → 361°). This improves its KO potential but hinders its combo ability.
• Dash attack deals less damage (12% (clean), 10% (sourspot) → 10%/7%). The sweetspot also has less KO potential and has less active frames (6 frames → 3).
• Up smash has decreased startup (frame 28 → 21) and ending lag (IASA 99 → 76). Lucas' improved DACUS also makes it a significantly stronger approach option.
• Up smash has drastically less range and has a shorter duration (28-53 → 21-32). It also no longer has a grounded hitbox slightly reducing the move's maximum damage output (2%-19%/18%/16%/14%/12% → 20%/16%)). It also has slightly less knockback growth (85 → 84).
• Down smash has more active frames for each hit (3 frames (all) → 6 (hit 1), 5 (hit 2)) and has much less ending lag (IASA 65 → 38/55); its second hit is now optional, performed by pressing the attack button again. This allows Lucas to perform a quick smash attack in with a single hit, or punish crouch cancelers and pressure shields with a double hit, while before Lucas was forced to stay in place for a long time due to the attack's long duration.
• Down smash can only hit two times instead of three greatly reducing the move's maximum damage output (42% → 31%). Down smash also has much smaller hitboxes which can no longer hit behind him.

Aerial Attacks

• Neutral aerial links more fluidly and has less hits, while still dealing consistent damage.
• Neutral aerial now has a landing hitbox that deals 4%, improving it's safety. It also has less landing lag (18 frames → 16)
• Neutral aerial has more ending lag (IASA 40 → 47) and autocancels later (frame 27 → 44) no longer being able to autocancel out of a short hop.
• Forward aerial has less startup (frame 9 → 5) and ending lag (IASA 42 → 33).
• Clean sourspot of forward aerial deals less damage (10% → 8%). The sweetspot is also much harder to land.
• Back aerial does much more damage (9%/12%/10%/7% → 12%/15%) and has increased knockback growth (80/90/60 → 100/80) making it a much stronger KO move, and is slightly easier to sweetspot and spikes, these changes make it a more reliable offstage finisher and edgeguarding option.
• Back aerial has less range and more landing lag (15 frames → 20).
• Up aerial has much less ending lag (IASA 42 → 28).
• Up aerial deals less damage (13% → 10%) making it a weaker vertical KO move despite it's increased base knockback (10 → 20). It also has more landing lag (12 frames → 15).
• Up aerial's decreased knockback improves it's juggling potential especially when coupled with it's decreased ending lag.
• Down aerial now only hits three times allowing to connect more reliably, It also no longer changes Lucas's momentum, is much faster, has a strong downwards trajectory on the third hit, and links into subsequent hits more fluidly. It also has less landing lag (28 frames → 18). These changes make it have more utility in combos, either as a starter or finisher.
• Down aerial has less range and deals less damage due to only having 3 hits (20% → 15%).
• Grab aerial now has a damaging hitbox which deals 8%, and is also generally better for recovering, as it can be used after an air dodge and ignores edge-hoggers due to Project M's new tether recovery mechanics. This significantly improves zair's utility as both an offensive and recovery option.
• Grab aerial no longer auto-cancels on landing now having 15 frames of landing lag. It also now leaves him helpless.

Grabs and Throws

• All grabs are faster (frame 13 (standing), frame 16 (dash), frame 15 (pivot) → frame 11/15/13), and have longer durations (1 frame (all) → 4 frames (standing/pivot), 8 frames (dash)) and standing grab has less endlag (frame 70 → 58).
• All throws have been sped up.
• Lucas's new up throw deals more damage (10% → 12%) and has higher KO potential.
• Forward throw has less knockback, which improves its combo utility but hinders its KO ability.
• Down throw has greatly decreased knockback scaling, and is no longer a KO move.
• Down throw's lowered knockback combined with the removal of hitstun canceling significantly improves its comboing capabilities.

Special Moves

• Lucas' neutral special, PK Freeze is replaced with a new special move, Offense Up (a move that Lucas can actually perform in Mother 3), a charging move with storable charge similar to Giant Punch or Needle Storm, that increases the power of Lucas's smash attacks and stays active as long as Lucas connects said boosted attacks. This new addition over the generally competitively non-viable PK Freeze is considered a buff as it can allow stronger Lucas players to gain many quick and efficient KOs.
• PK Freeze is now moved to side special, replacing PK Fire, but functions the same as the latter. Neither Lucas' neutral or side specials have a voice clip anymore.
• PK Freeze inflicts more hitlag and less knockback, giving Lucas better follow-ups out of the move.
• Unlike PK Fire, PK Freeze does not push Lucas backwards, making it less useful for recovering and removing his Magnet Pull technique.
• PK Thunder is now noticeably shorter, and PK Thunder 2's maximum damage was decreased. PK Thunder 2 no longer reliably links into itself, reducing its KO potential greatly.
• PK Thunder has much less startup giving his recovery more safety and allowing him to use PK Thunder 2 much faster.
• PSI Magnet can now be jump-canceled and has more hitboxes above Lucas, giving him a quick and deadly combo option. It also deals damage consecutively for the entire duration of the move, making it less punishable.
• PSI Magnet is less effective at edgeguarding, and its absorbing hitbox's radius was reduced. It also no longer turns Lucas around to absorb projectiles behind him.

Revisions

v2.5b

• PK Thunder no longer disappears when entering the side blast zones, and does not clip stages as easily.
• PK Thunder no longer disappears when Lucas is hit, and instead becomes unfriendly towards any player and continuing in the same direction before he got hit.
• PKT2 ending is not as short and is able to grab the edge backwards.
• PK Freeze has less hitlag and is now SDIable.
• Tether no longer has a hitbox attached to it when it is grabbing the ledge.
• Cliff jump height slightly reduced.
• Air jump animations cleaned up.
• Boost smash window adjusted to be more appropriate for his jump speed.
• Forward smash angled up does slightly more damage while angled down does slightly less.
• Down smash is two parts just like Link's forward smash.
• Neutral air now uses weight dependent set knockback on linking hits and is slightly more SDIable.
• Forward air has normal hitlag.
• Back air now uses the new light element effect.
• Up air has normal hitlag, and now has a sweetspot that uses the new light element effect.
• Grab animations edited to not look as awkward.
• PSI Magnet has an actual start up animation, allowing reversals, but the hit and jump cancel timings remain the same as before.

v2.6b

• Double jump animation tweaked to better evade chain grabs.
• Forward air electric sweetspot hitbox knockback improved to increase its kill potential. Damage is also slightly increased.
• Neutral B while holding Offense Up (OU) now has a quick burst hitbox that retains OU if the hit lands.
• PK Freeze on the ground has reduced endlag.
• PSI Magnet can be released during the absorb lag to go into the end animation afterwards, preventing rapid hitting projectiles like Fox's standing laser that can re-hit before the absorb lag ends from being able to trap him in it.
• PSI Magnet time to act after absorbing a projectile has been reduced.
• Forward smash non-Offense Up has reduced knockback growth.
• Forward smash non-Offense Up projectile reflection active frames reduced.
• Up smash non-Offense Up has reduced knockback growth.
• Jab has been changed to be two hits with minor changes in functionality.
• Up tilt hitboxes slightly tweaked so it makes more sense with the animation, also polished the move aesthetically.
• Down tilt animation angled slightly lower to shield poke better, also removed the sparkle graphic.
• Forward smash Offense Up graphics shrunk.
• Up smash non-Offense Up graphics shrunk to better match the hitboxes.
• Up smash Offense Up electric graphics shrunk to better match hitboxes, also illuminates Lucas.
• Neutral air animation has a more centered axis of rotation about Lucas's body and uses stationary hitboxes for more consistent coverage. Multi-hit trajectories are now location dependent and generate the proper amount of hitstun for their knockback.
• Neutral air landing hitbox tweaked a bit to better reflect the animation, and now sends opponents behind Lucas backwards, instead of forwards.
• Back and down air has been completely revamped to reflect his Brawl animation.
• Dash grab tweaked slightly to have the grab better match the animation.
• Up throw hitboxes now cannot be clanked, fixing a bug that would have him freeze up similar to Diddy's up throw.
• Up throw animation has been improved aesthetically.
• Lucas's upper body cannot be hit during tether reel-in.
• Ledge roll 100+ works properly on edges with steep slopes like Yoshi's Island: Brawl.
• PK Thunder bolt altered slightly so that the tail flinch hits no longer overwrite the head hit.
• PKT2 multi-hits now use fixed knock-back. The hitboxes refresh every few frames but are now always out and active instead of turning off to refresh.
• PSI Magnet time between refresh hits is slightly reduced.
• PSI Magnet refresh hits in the air now pulls an aerial opponent down and towards him.
• PSI Magnet multi-hit range more accurately matches release hitbox range.
• PSI Magnet aesthetically changed to illuminate Lucas while active.
• PSI Magnet release graphic no longer anchored to Lucas.
• Up taunt makes Lucas behave as if he actually tripped if held.
• Fixed a bug with powershield reflect collision size.

v3.0

• PSI Magnet shield damage was significantly reduced.
• PSI Magnet repeating hitbox refresh rate was reduced.
• Fixed a bug that prevented the >100% ledge roll animation from completing.

v3.5

• Up tilt now has a sweetspot and deals less damage around the body.
• Down tilt deals slightly less damage.
• Up smash attack has been weakened overall.
• Forward aerial has a bigger sweetspot.
  • It now deals one percent less damage.
• Back aerial has more endlag.
• Up aerial causes more damage and knockback.
• Down aerial has more endlag.
  • The first two hits of the attack cause less knockback, and are smaller.
• Up throw causes less knockback, weakening its KO potential.
• Down throw causes more knockback.
• Down tilt has been changed to one resembling Lucas' Brawl down tilt.
• When using Lucas' Masked Man costume, forward smash attacks now have sword effects.

v3.6

• Lucas has a Smash Taunt, based off the Osohe Dance performed by Wess in Mother 3.
  • If performed without interruption, the ending pose deals 50% of damage to the opponents with paralysis. After all paralysis clears away from the opponent, the move is a one-hit KO.

Full

• The hitlag caused by his Smash Taunt has been significantly reduced.

Moveset

Up to date as of version 3.6.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3%	Lucas throws out one hand creating a spark of PSI energy, then spins and throws out the same hand, creating another spark of PSI energy. The second hit moves Lucas a small distance forward.
			3%
Forward tilt			11% (sweetspot), 9% (sourspot)	Lucas does a palm thrust that launches a small burst of PSI energy. This move can be angled up or down.
Up tilt			8% (sourspot), 11% (sweetspot clean), 9% (sweetspot late)	Lucas does a back flipkick charged with PSI. Can chain into itself at lower percents.
Down tilt			6% (foot), 4% (leg)	Lucas crouches and spins while sticking his leg out. Hitting at Lucas's foot knocks opponents away, dealing strong set knockback.
Dash attack			10% (clean), 7% (late)	Lucas slides forward, shooting out a burst of PSI energy from his hand.
Forward smash			Normal: 16% Offensive Up: 24%	Lucas attacks nearby foes by swinging his stick (energy sword when using the Masked Man costume) horizontally forward. The tip of the stick launches enemies at a more horizontal angle. Can reflect projectiles. This move can be angled up or down.
Up smash			Normal: 20% (clean), 16% (late) Offensive Up: 30% (clean), 24% (late)	Lucas releases a small burst of PSI that erupts above his head. It has slow start-up and leaves horrid lag afterwards, rendering it very easily punished. It is however compensated by its large knockback and range, which is even stronger through Offense Up. When fully charged, it can KO at 62%, and when fully charged through Offense Up, it can KO as early as 45%.
Down smash			Normal: 17% Offensive Up: 26%	Lucas points at the ground and shoots a burst of PSI energy in front of his feet. It's possible for Lucas to unleash a second burst by pressing the attack button right after the first. It is unlikely that both hits will connect on the same enemy.
			Normal: 14% Offensive Up: 21%
Neutral aerial			2% (hits 1-4), 6% (hit 5), 4% (landing)	Lucas spins in a gyro pattern with PSI energy around him, with the last hit having decent knockback.
Forward aerial			Clean: 12% (sweetspot), 8% (sourspot) Late: 8% (sweetspot), 7% (sourspot)	Lucas kicks one foot forward, launching a burst of PSI energy. Can even be linked into itself or even into a down aerial for a Ken combo.
Back aerial			15% (foot), 12% (body)	Lucas does a backflip and kicks one foot downwards with a stream of small PSI energy. Has good KO potential and spikes if one connects with the final hit during the attack's animation.
Up aerial			10%	Does a quick headbutt that deals low knockback. Has a bit of ending lag.
Down aerial			5% (hits 1-3)	Lucas thrusts his feet downwards and creates several quick flashes of PSI energy. The third hit meteor smashes weakly. Can be followed up with another aerial or an up smash when the opponent bounces off the floor. Can also set up a combo using his down tilt followed by a smash attack, if the opponent doesn't tech the meteor smash. Although it has fast start-up, it possesses considerable ending lag if it is not autocanceled.
Grab aerial			8%	Lucas sends Duster's Rope Snake forward to damage nearby enemies.
Grab			—	Lucas sends Duster's Rope Snake forward to grab nearby enemies. Has noticeable ending lag if it misses.
Pummel			3%	Headbutts the enemy.
Forward throw			10%	Lucas telekinetically tosses the opponent forward.
Back throw			10%	Lucas telekinetically tosses the opponent behind him. Can KO at high percent, especially as a mixup if the opponent is expecting to DI behind for Down throw.
Up throw			1% (hits 1-4), 8% (throw)	Lucas telekinetically whirls the opponent around his head, then throws them straight up. Has very high KO potential. Kill % based on fall speed, not weight.
Down throw			7%	Lucas telekinetically slams the opponent down, then launches them upwards. Hard behind DI will limit Lucas's followups, especially if sent offstage.
Floor attack (front)			6%	Gets up and does a low kick going from back to front.
Floor attack (back)			6%	Gets up and does a low kick going from back to front.
Floor attack (trip)			5%	Kicks with both of his feet from back to front while getting up.
Edge attack (fast)			8% (foot), 6% (body)	Lucas flips onto the stage and does a sweep kick.
Edge attack (slow)			10%	Lucas slowly climbs up onto stage and throws out a punch.
Smash taunt			50%	Performs the Osohe Dance performed by Wess from Mother 3. Lasts for an incredibly long duration (over 1000 frames), but whenever the dance is successfully performed without any interruption, the ending pose produces a shockwave that deals a ton of damage, shocking opponents with paralysis before launching them, being capable on landing a one-hit KO on any character, regardless of damage.
Neutral special		Offense Up	10% (spark)	When the special button is held, Lucas begins channeling psychic power, complete with a weak wind effect that pushes nearby foes. After a few seconds, Lucas's hands glow with power and the next smash attack that he performs deals greater damage, shield damage, and knockback. While Offense Up is charged, Lucas can also press the special button to produce an spark-like attack around himself that can damage foes with little to no startup. Hitting with a smash attack or the spark will allow Lucas to keep the charge, whereas missing will deplete the charge.
Side special		PK Freeze	5%	Lucas shoots out an icy projectile that flies horizontally forward. This move goes about half the distance of Final Destination when used on the ground and can be used to edge-guard.
Up special		PK Thunder	10% (PK Thunder head), 1% (PK Thunder tail) PK Thunder 2: 8% (hit 1), 3% (hits 2-7), 8% (hit 8)	Lucas generates a ball of lightning which can be directed with the the control stick/d-pad. Like Ness's PK Thunder, it can be directed into Lucas to launch him. Unlike Ness's version, however, it does not fizzle out after hitting a foe and instead causes repeated damage. The latter also applies to his PK Thunder 2. As such, using PK Thunder will result in Lucas not being able to move or defend, because the control stick/d-pad is used to aim the projectile. This move can also be used to interrupt recoveries.
Down special		PSI Magnet	2% (loop), 6% (release), heals 1x the damage of absorbed projectiles	Lucas holds out his hand and creates a small electrical field in front of him that absorbs any energy projectiles shot against him, healing Lucas's by the damage the projectile would have normally dealt. As an attack, it does a small amount of damage to enemies that make contact with the orb, and deals more damage and launches them behind Lucas when he releases it. When used in the air, it halts Lucas's falling speed, similar to Fox's reflector from Brawl, but will do so less often after each repeated use.
Final Smash		PK Starstorm	14% (each star)	Lucas calls down a rain of stars from the sky, yelling "PK... Starstorm!"

In competitive play

Notable players

•  Ant - Ranked 13th on the NY/NJ Project M Power Rankings.
•  Frost MI
•  Hyperflame MDVA (PMRank 2016 #8). Currently the best Lucas player in the world, and the first Lucas player to win a National in the history of Project M, doing so at Blacklisted 3.
•  Kaito - The best Project M player in Japan during 3.02.
•  Kip - Ranked 1st on the Georgia Project M Power Rankings.
•  Narq NY/NJ
•  Neon AZ - One of the best Lucas players in the world during 3.02, but still very skilled in 3.6.
•  Scraket - Ranked 8th on the NorCal Project M Power Rankings.
•  Pink Fresh - One of the best Lucas players in the world during 3.02.

Alternate costumes

Lucas has been given an alternate costume based on a segment in Mother 3 where Lucas is mistaken for the Pigmasks' general, the Masked Man, and passes as him for a while. Lucas's costume features no changes to the visual effects of his attacks, other than that his forward smash now uses the Masked Man's energy sword instead of a stick.

Lucas's alternate costumes in PM

Trivia

Lucas's back aerial in previous versions of Project M.

• In previous incarnations, Lucas's back aerial in Project M was replaced with an aerial roundhouse kick (similar to Ness's forward tilt) that dealt great knockback with high knockback scaling, while his down aerial, a guaranteed meteor smash, had him perform a flip kick downwards. While very powerful, they were not considered versatile enough for competitive play, and were later removed for subsequent versions of the mod in favor of their Brawl iterations, but with many new buffs (as described above).
• In 3.6, Lucas holds the record for the longest Smash Taunt, exceeding 1,000 frames.