Template:SSB4 to SSBU changelist/Shulk

From SmashWiki, the Super Smash Bros. wiki
Jump to navigationJump to search

Aesthetics

  • Change As with all veterans returning from SSB4, Shulk's model features a more subdued color scheme. In addition to losing most of the glossy sheen from his clothes and hair, Shulk's clothing now features simple detailing, his face is more defined, and his hair is somewhat less tousled.
  • Change Shulk's alternate costumes now alter his hair color to match each party member they represent.
    • Change His hair colors are now dirty blonde, black, auburn, black, silver, and orange for the palette swaps of Fiora, Dunban, Reyn, Sharla, Melia, and Riki respectively.
  • Change Shulk's muscles are more prominently defined in his shirtless alternate costume.
  • Change Shulk's idle stance has been slightly altered, as his chest now visibly moves as he breathes.
  • Change The Monado's blue glow during certain moves (such as the first hits of up smash and up aerial) has been made brighter and more noticeable.
  • Change Shulk's second jump freefall animation has been altered, with his limbs no longer being straightened out. This brings it closer to how Shulk jumps in Xenoblade Chronicles.
  • Change During Shulk's hip-posing victory pose, the Monado now glows with a sword trail when swung, and Shulk gives a wide grin at the end.
  • Change Shulk now grins when applauding the winner after a match.
  • Bug fix The Monado's beam blade no longer becomes misaligned on stages with a 2D effect, like Flat Zone X.
  • Bug fix Shulk's armorless costume no longer causes his neck to extend during certain animations, although it still causes the Monado Arts' symbols to flash above Shulk's neck during hitstun.

Attributes

  • Buff Like all characters, Shulk's jumpsquat animation takes 3 frames to complete (down from 5).
  • Nerf Shulk is lighter (102 → 97), bringing him down from a semi-heavyweight to a middleweight, tied with Luigi and Byleth. This worsens his endurance.
  • Buff Shulk walks faster (1.1 → 1.155).
  • Buff Shulk runs faster (1.52 → 1.672).
    • Buff His initial dash is much faster (1.5 → 1.87).
  • Buff Shulk's air speed is faster (1.06 → 1.113).
  • Change Shulk falls faster (1.5 → 1.58).
  • Change Shulk's gravity is higher (0.085 → 0.098). This improves his vertical mobility and leaves him less vulnerable to juggles, but worsens his horizontal endurance.
  • Change Shulk's jump height is lower (34.8 → 33.5), slightly hindering his vertical recovery, but further agilizing his aerial game.
  • Buff Shulk's traction has been increased (0.044 → 0.094), improving his ability to punish out of shield.
  • Buff Forward roll has less ending lag (FAF 31 → 30).
  • Nerf Forward roll grants less intangibility (frames 4-17 → 4-15).
  • Nerf Back roll has more startup with less intangibility (frames 4-17 → 5-16), and more ending lag (FAF 30 → 35).
  • Buff Spot dodge has less ending lag (FAF 28 → 26).
  • Nerf Spot dodge grants less intangibility (frames 3-18 → 3-17).
  • Buff Air dodge grants more intangibility (frames 3-28 → 3-30).
  • Nerf Air dodge has significantly more ending lag (FAF 34 → 50).

Ground attacks

  • Neutral attack:
    • Nerf The first hit has an altered animation where Shulk doesn't lunge forward as far decreasing its range, and the second hit has been changed to a full roundhouse kick.
    • Buff The first and second hits have altered angles (70°/60°/88° → 361°/180° (hit 1), 66°/70°/80° → 361° (hit 2)) to keep opponents on the ground, akin to other neutral attacks. They also no longer use set knockback, but deal less knockback until very high percents (40 set/100 scaling → 35/25 base/10 scaling (hit 1), 52 set/100 scaling → 40/35 base/10 scaling (hit 2)), and have gained hitstun modifiers (0 → 2 (hit 1), 5 (hit 2)). This allows them to connect much more reliably and jab lock.
    • Buff The first hit transitions faster into the second hit (frame 12 → 11).
    • Buff The third hit has less startup (frame 12 → 6). In combination with the aforementioned changes, this allows it to connect much better from the second hit, no longer requiring specific timing against floaty or highly-damaged opponents.
      • Nerf However, its total duration remains the same, increasing its ending lag.
    • Buff The third hit is placed farther horizontally (Z offset: 12.8u-7.8u → 14u-10u (clean), 12.8u → 14u (late)) and higher (Y offset: 9u → 10u), with the late hit also stretching more vertically (Y offset: 15u-12u → 16.5u-12u), increasing its range.
    • Nerf All hits except the late third hit deal less damage (3.5% → 2% (hit 1), 3.5% → 1.5% (hit 2), 5.3% → 5% (hit 3, clean)). This greatly reduces the move's total damage (12.3% → 8.5%), no longer being the most damaging non-infinite neutral attack in the game.
    • Nerf The first and second hits have a shorter hitbox duration (frames 5-6 (hit 1), 5-7 (hit 2) → frame 5).
    • Nerf The first and third hits have a higher hitlag multiplier (1× → 1.4× (hit 1), 2× (hit 3)), making the former easier to SDI and the latter easier to DI.
    • Nerf The first hit uses four hitboxes instead of three, which are smaller (3u/2.5u/3.5u → 1.8u/1.8u/2u/2u). In combination with its altered animation, this noticeably reduces its range.
    • Nerf Consecutive uses of the first hit are slower (12 frames → 15).
    • Nerf The second hit's middle hitbox is larger (3u → 3.2u), but the farthest hitbox is smaller (4u → 3.4u), reducing its range overall.
  • Up tilt:
    • Buff Up tilt deals more damage (8.5%/7.5% → 10%/9%), with knockback scaling compensated (90/85 → 80/75).
    • Buff The move's ending animation has been altered, with Shulk crouching lower, allowing him to duck under some attacks like certain rising aerials.
  • Dash attack:
    • Buff Dash attack has less startup (frame 15 → 12) and much less ending lag (FAF 53 → 41).
    • Buff It has a sweetspot near the base of the Monado, much like Shulk's other moves that use it, which deals more damage (11.5% → 12.5%) and is larger (3.2u → 3.7u).
    • Buff It launches at a higher angle (60° → 65°), improving its juggling ability.
    • Buff Due to the changes to jostling, the move can no longer miss opponents at point-blank range.
    • Nerf It does not propel Shulk as far forward, reducing its range.
    • Nerf The sourspot deals less damage (11.5% → 11%) and is marginally smaller (3.2u → 3.1u).
    • Nerf It has less knockback scaling (80 → 68), hindering its KO potential despite its higher launch angle and the sweetspot's higher damage.
  • Up smash:
    • Buff The first hit launches at angles more towards Shulk (92°/105° → 92°/95°/112°) and is weight-independent, with the ground-only hitboxes also having lower set knockback (110 → 92). This allows it to connect more reliably into the second hit.

Aerial attacks

  • Buff All aerials have less landing lag (10 frames → 6 (neutral), 16 → 10 (forward), 19 → 11 (back), 15 → 9 (up), 23 → 14 (down)).
  • Buff All aerials auto-cancel earlier (frame 80 → 54 (neutral), 57 → 42 (forward), 79 → 43 (back), 79 → 53 (up), 78 → 52 (down)). This allows back aerial to auto-cancel in a full hop, and all aerials except forward aerial to auto-cancel before their interruptibility frames.
    • Buff Additionally, all aerials have gained initial auto-cancel windows (frames 1-2 (neutral, back, down), 1-4 (forward), 1-3 (up)).
  • Neutral aerial:
    • Buff Neutral aerial has significantly less ending lag (FAF 71 → 60), making it safer to use offstage.
    • Change The animation executes faster with no change in hitbox duration. This allows the move to hit more effectively around Shulk and cover a full 360 degrees, no longer possessing a blindspot directly behind him, but makes it less effective for keeping out opponents in front of him.
    • Change The sweetspot and sourspot's placements has been swapped, with the former being located on the Monado's base instead of the beam blade, much like Shulk's other moves. This increases the move's damage output at close range, but reduces it from a distance.
  • Forward aerial:
    • Change Forward aerial can no longer send opponents behind Shulk. This improves its consistency for edgeguarding, but removes some of its combos and situational stage spiking ability.
  • Back aerial:
    • Nerf Back aerial has more startup (frame 18 → 19). Coupled with the changes to the Speed Monado Art, this makes short hop back aerials more timing-specific in the Speed Art, as Shulk has to perform the back aerial immediately out of a short hop.
    • Nerf The hitbox is set to a static position behind Shulk instead of following the Monado, and is smaller (5.5u → 3.6u (clean), 4u → 2.6u (late)). This reduces its horizontal range, and removes its ability to hit in front of Shulk.
    • Change The hitbox has been adjusted to be parallel to the ground instead of slanted upward, making it less likely to overshoot grounded opponents, but easier to avoid by jumping.
  • Up aerial:
    • Buff Up aerial has less ending lag (FAF 60 → 55).
    • Buff Both hits have a longer duration (frames 14-15 → 14-16 (hit 1), 24-25 → 24-26 (hit 2)).
    • Buff The first hit has received an additional hitbox on the Monado, with the previously existing two being larger (6.2u/6u → 6.5u/6.3u), and they launch at angles more towards Shulk (100°/96° → 102°/111°/104°) with lower set knockback (80/60 → 60/60/40). This allows it to connect more reliably into the second hit.
    • Nerf The second hit's sourspot stretches a slightly shorter distance vertically (Y offset: 40u-15u → 39u-15u), reducing its vertical range despite the hitbox being larger (3.8u → 4u).
  • Down aerial:
    • Buff Both hits have a longer duration (frames 14-15 → 14-16 (hit 1), 23-24 → 23-25 (hit 2)).
    • Buff The first hit's hitboxes are larger (5u → 5.3u), and the aerial-only hitbox launches at a lower angle (172° → 215°) with lower set knockback (20 → 15). This increases its range and allows it to connect more reliably into the second hit.
    • Buff The second hit's meteor hitbox and sweetspot have more base knockback, especially the latter (10 → 15/50), improving the move's KO potential.
    • Buff The second hit's sourspot is larger (3.5u → 3.7u).

Throws and other attacks

  • Grabs:
    • Nerf All grabs have more ending lag (FAF 30 → 37 (standing), 37 → 45 (dash), 35 → 40 (pivot)).
    • Nerf They have reduced horizontal range (Z2 offset: 9.5u → 9u (standing), 11.5u → 10.7u (dash), -16u → -15.3u (pivot)).
    • Nerf Dash and pivot grab have more startup (frame 9 → 10 (dash), 10 → 11 (pivot)).
  • Pummel:
    • Buff Pummel deals more hitlag (8 frames → 14), but has less startup (frame 5 → 1) and significantly less ending lag (FAF 27 → 7), noticeably shortening its duration. This makes it much more reliable for racking up damage.
    • Nerf It deals much less damage (3% → 1.3%).
  • Forward throw:
    • Nerf The throw portion deals less damage (8% → 5%; 11% total → 8%), with knockback scaling not fully compensated (70 → 95), slightly hindering its KO potential.
  • Back throw:
    • Nerf The throw portion deals less damage (9% → 6%; 12% total → 9%), with knockback scaling not fully compensated (63 → 83), slightly hindering its KO potential.
  • Up throw:
    • Nerf Due to the new knockback speed up effect decreasing hitstun for higher knockback values, up throw has lost its KO setups into up aerial at high percents with the Jump Art active.
  • Down throw:
    • Buff Down throw launches at a higher angle (50° → 60°), allowing it to combo into a forward tilt at mid percents with the Buster Art active.
    • Nerf The throw portion deals less damage (4% → 2.5%; 7% total → 5.5%) and knockback (75 base/115 scaling → 85/105), making it significantly weaker overall. Notably, it is no longer the strongest down throw in the game by a large margin with the Smash Art active.
    • Nerf Due to the new knockback speed up effect, it has lost its true combos into forward aerial at low to mid percents with the Speed Art active.
    • Change It has a snappier animation, with Shulk physically thrusting the Monado into the ground with both hands and performing a short jump before the main hit.
  • Edge attack:
    • Buff Edge attack deals more damage (7% → 9%).

Special moves

  • Monado Arts:
    • Buff Monado Arts possess a new feature, where all Arts appear in a wheel around Shulk if the special move button is held, then can be selected by tilting the control stick in the appropriate direction and releasing the button. The Arts are mapped to the following directions: up for Smash, upper left for Jump, lower left for Speed, upper right for Buster, and lower right for Shield. The previous method of selecting Monado Arts can still be used by tapping the button.
      • Buff This new method allows Shulk to select and activate Monado Arts significantly faster, as well as switch them without needing to cancel the current one. This opens up more flexibility in using the different Monado Arts, making them an even more important aspect of Shulk's moveset. Additionally, if the original method to select Arts has been initiated, it can be canceled by activating the wheel without tilting the control stick in any direction, preventing accidental activations of Arts.
      • Buff Due to Monado Arts being usable out of hitstun, this faster method allows Shulk to escape combos and disadvantage much more effectively by using the intangibility from activating the Arts, then he can select either the Shield Art to survive potential KOs or the Buster/Smash Art to punish the opponent.
    • Buff When calculating knockback, Monado Arts no longer take their damage multiplier into account for the opponent's final percentage. This overall benefits them, allowing Speed to fully preserve knockback instead of marginally reducing it, and further improving Smash's KO potential, while Shield and Buster have lower knockback multipliers that render this effect negligible.
    • Change Arts that are on cooldown have a gradually regenerating bar under them to indicate how much time is left until they can be used again. Likewise, a gradually depleting bar appears below the active Art in Shulk's damage meter to indicate how much is left until it deactivates.
    • Buff Monado Arts activate significantly faster when selected individually.
    • Change [[Monado Arts#Monado Art landing lag cancel#{{{2}}}|{{{2}}}]]ing can still be performed, though it has a different window due to the faster activation time. Additionally, its usage to reduce landing lag is negligible due to the universal reduction to landing lag.
      • Buff The addition of selecting Arts through the Art wheel allows Shulk access to MALLC at any time, without having to time landings with his jumps. It also grants access to the [[Monado Arts#dial storage#{{{2}}}|{{{2}}}]] technique.
    • Change The kanji graphics are stylized and shown in solid colored, thick-outlined text. Upon activation, the kanji flashes with a cartoon-styled burst.
    • Change Highlighted Arts display their name in addition to the kanji, like in Shulk's damage meter.
    • Bug fix Switching or deactivating Arts immediately resets Shulk's movement attributes. For example, he no longer has increased run speed if he is running when the Speed Art expires.
      • Nerf This removes some advanced techniques such as Monado Art run cancel, Monado Art buffered deactivation, and MonaDACUS.
    • Change Monado Arts have significantly amplified strengths and weaknesses, alongside much shorter durations and longer cooldowns, making the move similar to one of Shulk's previous custom moves, Hyper Monado Arts.
    • Jump Art:
      • Buff It grants higher air speed (1.5× → 1.7×), falling speed (1.22× → 1.4×), and gravity (1.3× → 1.4×), making it far more effective for aerial movement.
      • Nerf It lasts significantly shorter (16s → 6s) and has a longer cooldown (10s → 18s).
      • Nerf It increases damage taken even more (1.22× → 1.3×).
    • Speed Art:
      • Buff It grants Shulk higher initial dash and run speeds (1.7× → 2×), and a higher air speed (1.3× → 1.4×). Combined with the reduced landing lag of Shulk's aerials, Speed is a more effective aerial rushdown and spacing tool.
      • Change Shulk's gravity is now increased by 1.2x. This increases Shulk's overall mobility even further, but also worsens his endurance due to the gravity penalty. Furthermore, it shortens the duration of his midair jump, weakening his recovery.
      • Nerf It lasts significantly shorter (16s → 8s) and has a longer cooldown (10s → 16s).
      • Nerf It lowers damage dealt even more (0.8× → 0.7×).
      • Nerf The reduced jump height makes it even worse for recovering vertically.
    • Shield Art:
      • Buff It further reduces damage taken (0.67× → 0.5×) and knockback taken (0.78× → 0.6×). This allows Shulk to survive almost any KO move even at high percents, and punish opponents more effectively after getting hit at low percents.
      • Buff Due to the new selection method for Monado Arts, it can be activated inbetween most multi-hit moves and combos. This allows Shulk to break out of a variety of situations, including potential game-ending strings.[1]
      • Buff It has increased shield health and shield regeneration rates (1.5× → 2×).
      • Nerf It lasts significantly shorter (16s → 6s) and has a longer cooldown (10s → 18s).
      • Nerf It lowers damage dealt even more (0.7× → 0.5×), and reduces knockback dealt by 0.8×, considerably hindering Shulk's KO potential while active.
      • Nerf On top of the Art's reduced duration, its meter depletes faster if Shulk takes damage. This removes its ability to stall matches for a noticeable period of time.
    • Buster Art:
      • Buff It lowers knockback dealt even more (0.68× → 0.65×), allowing combos for longer.
      • Buff With the usage of dial storage, it grants Shulk KO setups, such as a Buster neutral aerial into Smash Air Slash.
      • Nerf It lasts significantly shorter (16s → 10s) and has a longer cooldown (10s → 14s). However, it is the longest-lasting and quickest-charging Monado Art.
      • Nerf It increases damage taken even more (1.13× → 1.3×).
      • Change Opponents hit by Shulk with Buster active glow briefly with a purple tint.
    • Smash Art:
      • Buff It further boosts knockback dealt (1.18× → 1.25×), improving Shulk's KO potential even more.
      • Nerf It lasts significantly shorter (16s → 8s) and has a longer cooldown (10s → 16s).
      • Nerf It lowers damage dealt even more (0.5× → 0.3×).
      • Nerf It further increases knockback taken (1.07× → 1.2×), giving Shulk the worst endurance in the game while Smash is active.
      • Change Opponents hit by Shulk with Smash active glow briefly with a red tint.
  • Back Slash:
    • Buff Back Slash's distance can be adjusted slightly by tilting the control stick after it is initiated.
    • Buff It can grab ledges from frame 49 onward, giving it situational use offstage.
    • Buff Due to characters no longer turning around when hit from behind with high enough knockback, the back-hitting sweetspot is easier to land.
    • Nerf The front-facing hitboxes have less knockback scaling (100 → 80).
    • Change Back-hitting Back Slash causes a yellow burst effect, similar to the graphic shown when a party member successfully lands an Art's bonus effect in Xenoblade Chronicles (in this case, hitting the back of an enemy).
  • Air Slash:
    • Buff The first swing grabs ledges earlier (frame 41 → 21 (front), 31 (back)), improving its safety for recovering.
    • Buff The second swing has less startup (frame 15 → 9), allowing it to connect more reliably from the first swing.
    • Nerf The first swing can no longer grab ledges before the hitboxes come out, preventing Shulk from grabbing them out of a rising jump.
  • Vision:
    • Buff Both counterattacks have noticeably larger hitboxes, especially their sweetspots (8.5u/5.5u → 12u/7u (normal), 11u/7u (forward)).
      • Change They do not stretch as much horizontally (Z offset: 24u~5u/31u~2u → 28u~20.5u/33u~9.5u (normal), -29u~-12u/-37u~-8u → -24.5u~-15u/-28.5u~-3u (forward)), greatly improving the normal counterattack's range in front of Shulk, but reducing both variants' horizontal range behind him.
    • Buff The normal counterattack has a longer hitbox duration, with the aerial version having less startup (frame 45-46 → 45-47 (grounded), 40-42 (aerial)), and both versions have less ending lag (FAF 97 → 88 (grounded), 83 (aerial)).
    • Buff Aerial counterattack intangibility now starts earlier and has a longer duration (frames 9-40 → 1-40).
    • Buff The normal counterattack's sourspot deals more minimum damage (7% → 9%).
    • Nerf The counterattacks are no longer unblockable.
    • Nerf Both counterattacks have less knockback scaling (84 → 80 (normal), 94 → 90 (forward)), slightly hindering their KO ability. However, the forward-held version is still the strongest counterattack in the game with the Smash Art active.
      • Nerf The slowdown from the forward-held version now lasts slightly longer, leaking into the period after the opponent is launched, which due to a glitch slightly reduces the move's launch distance.
    • Change Vision's backdrop is significantly brighter.
    • Bug fix Vision Sliding has been removed.
  • Chain Attack:
    • Change Mecha-Fiora appears during Chain Attack, attacking with Shulk in addition to Riki and Dunban. Camera angles have been adjusted to accommodate for her, and Shulk has gained an additional voice clip that calls out her name. Additionally, Riki and Dunban have more detailed models.