Lucas (SSB4)

Lucas in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	EarthBound
Other playable appearances	in Brawl in Ultimate
Availability	Downloadable
Final Smash	PK Starstorm
Tier	C (28-29)

“	Lucas Comes Out of Nowhere!	”
—Introduction Tagline

Lucas (リュカ, Lucas) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. Initially absent as a playable character, Lucas' reappearance to the series was announced during a Nintendo Direct on April 1st, 2015. He was then made available as downloadable content on June 14th, 2015, alongside Roy and Ryu. Lani Minella reprises her role as Lucas' voice actor; however, she does so via recycled voice-clips from Brawl, some of which have been slightly sped up.

Lucas is ranked 28th/29th out of 54 on the tier list, tied with Ness at the bottom of the C tier. This is a significant improvement over Lucas' low-tiered placement in Brawl, where he was ranked 30th out of 38, and is his best placement in the series. Like Ness, Lucas is no longer plagued by 10 additional frames of lag upon getting grab released and early hitstun canceling, which were major detriments to his endurance and combo game, respectively. Aside from those gameplay-based changes, Lucas retains his quick attacking speed, disjointed hitboxes, useful projectiles, disproportional KO potential and damage output despite his weight and size, and impressive combo game.

However, Lucas' overall damage output, knockback, and range all received various reductions. When coupled with the loss of several of his more advanced techniques from Brawl, it is questionable whether his buffs or nerfs are more prevalent. Lucas also retains his sub-par grounded mobility and mediocre frame-data, giving him a lackluster neutral game, poor approaching options, and a recovery that is occasionally susceptible to gimps and edgeguarding. While his throw game is powerful, his grab is one of the slowest in the game, while his grab game is limited exclusively to KOing, with only down throw being useful for combos. Finally, Lucas' lack of landing options and short range allows characters with disjointed ranges, especially swordies (such as Marth and Cloud), to give him a hard time landing and easily outrange Lucas.

Initially, Lucas was poorly regarded when he was first released, but the buffs he received from game updates have allowed him to achieve decent results. This has been most evident with the efforts of Taiheita, who has many notable placings, such as 17th in singles and 1st in doubles with Lucas at Super Smash Con 2016, along with several high placings at Sumabato and Umebura tournaments. Towards the end of Smash 4's competitive life, however, Lucas's declining results in regionals and Japan, Taiheita's retirement, and Japanese Ness players earning results in Japan that have surpassed Lucas' achievements, such as 17th at EVO Japan 2018 and 17th at The Big House 7 being credited to Gackt and taranito respectively, led some smashers to question whether Lucas should retain his position or not.

Attributes

Lucas' attributes remain overall intact since Brawl. He is a short middleweight who has the 4th slowest walking speed, slightly below average dashing speed, average gravity, above average air speed, and below average falling speed. However, his air and fast falling speeds have become faster since Brawl, both of which somewhat improve his aerial mobility. While Lucas' mobility is rather unimpressive, his attacking speed compensates for it; notable examples include his neutral attack, which comes out on frame 2, and his down tilt, which comes out on frame 3 and is tied with Ness, Little Mac, R.O.B., and Meta Knight's down tilts for being the fastest down tilt in the game. As a result, Lucas' attacks are useful for damage-racking and initiating combos, while several of his grounded attacks are safe in severaal situations due to their minimal ending lag. In addition, most of his moveset are boosted with great KO potential, making his power comparable to that of heavyweights.

Despite his short stature and lack of a weapon outside of his forward smash, Lucas possesses good range courtesy of disjointed hitboxes. All of his smash attacks, nearly all of his aerial attacks and some of his grounded attacks are disjointed, which can be further supplemented by his projectiles. In addition to their disjointed hitboxes, Lucas' smash attacks are among the strongest in the game. Like in Brawl, his up smash is among the strongest up smashes in the game while also possessing both a large disjointed hitbox and the ability to KO as low as 54% when fully charged (or 70% for heavyweights). The first hit of his down smash is also one of the strongest in the game and is an intimidating edgeguarding option, while his forward smash has decent speed, good KO potential and can even reflect projectiles.

However, Lucas' greatest strength is his grab game. Despite possessing the shortest-ranged tether grab in the game, Rope Snake has the lowest amount of ending lag among all tether grabs and respectable range, while he also possesses arguably the strongest set of throws in the game. Lucas' up and back throws are among the most powerful of their kind in the game, making them two of his best KOing options. His forward throw is tied with Bowser's for the strongest of its kind, although it is significantly weaker as a KOing option in comparison to his up and back throws. His down throw benefits significantly from both the considerable reduction to its knockback and the changes to hitstun canceling, both of which have re-purposed it into a reliable combo starter that can be followed up with his neutral and forward aerials from 0% up until high percents (even up to the early 90% range for neutral aerial), while its combo into up aerial is a confirmed KO set-up until 100%. While these changes have removed his down throw's KO potential, this is completely mitigated due to his up and back throws' aforementioned power. Lastly, his pummel is tied with Ness, Kirby and Fox's as the third-fastest in the game, which makes it ideal for quick damage-racking before a throw.

Lucas also boasts a strong zoning game that is essential to his success. PK Fire and grab aerial are both powerful spacing tools with their own specific uses, the latter being able to lead into a grab or forward tilt. Lucas' combo game is also dominating: his down tilt is a good combo starter, as it can combo into itself, neutral attack, and most importantly, his grab. His neutral and forward aerials can combo into themselves at low percents, while the former can also do so into other aerials (excluding his back aerial) at low percents.

Like Ness, Lucas' special moveset boasts versatility in the form of PSI-based attacks, three of which are projectiles. PK Freeze can freeze his opponents, has very minimal ending lag and is viable, yet situational, as an edgeguarding option. While Lucas' PK Fire does not repeatedly hit opponents and potentially trap them like Ness' PK Fire, Lucas' deals decent knockback and can be used to give Lucas some space as it also provides a minimal amount of recoil, both on the ground and in the air. It can also be useful for sniping offstage opponents and KOing near the horizontal blast lines. PK Thunder does not disappear like Ness' PK Thunder when it hits opponents, but instead hits them multiple times alongside boasting tighter control, while PK Thunder 2, grants Lucas farther distance. Lastly, PSI Magnet allows Lucas to deal with camping opponents that carry powerful, absorbable projectiles. However, its defensive utility also extends to Lucas' recovery, thanks to its ability to stall his descent. Unlike Ness', it also has offensive utility, thanks to it dealing damage and being a semi-spike.

However, Lucas suffers from a few noticeable flaws. Due to his aforementioned sub-par mobility, speed demons (such as Zero Suit Samus and Sonic) can easily outspeed Lucas. This is further compounded by his often predictable approach, since Lucas has reliance on his zoning tools (which can be overcome) to do so. Lucas also suffers from the lack of anti-pressuring options. While he has a powerful pressuring game and can force opponents in a disadvantage state fairly easily, Lucas, himself, suffers from a horrible defensive game. Because Lucas lacks a quick grab, up smash and/or up special, while none of his aerials hit before frame 7, his out of shield game is among the worst across the cast. By extension, he also struggles when put high above his opponents, as he lacks a good hitbox under him to force landings and being floaty makes him extremely vulnerable to juggling, while Lucas is nearly incapable of escaping juggles against characters with great juggling abilities (such as Mario or Mr. Game & Watch) due to him lacking a useful combo-breaking move. As such, Lucas overall has a terrible disadvantage state and one single mistake can potentially cause him the loss of a stock rather quickly.

In addition, Lucas suffers occasionally from poor range in spite of his tether grab and disjointed hitboxes, which causes him to flounder against characters with superior disjoints, especially swordies (like Cloud or Shulk). Some of his moves require precision at times; his up aerial, whose hitbox is significantly smaller than it was in Brawl, can miss even opponents with large hurtboxes, like Bowser. Another prominent example is his down smash, whose three hits are all mutually exclusive and thus gives opponents a perfect opportunity to punish Lucas if they manage to shield it. Lucas can also have problems scoring KOs despite his smash attacks' impressive strengths and his otherwise impressive KO potential, as they primarily require effective reading and should be used wisely as a result due to either being burdened with short range and/or considerable lag. Although Lucas has a reliable tether recovery, his other method of recovery is also gimpable because of it having much slower priority than Ness, and it can be still be reflected or absorbed, most infamously by Rosalina & Luma. Like his fellow DLC characters, Lucas lacks a custom moveset, which limits him in tournaments that allow character customization.

Altogether, like Ness, Lucas' strengths outweigh his weaknesses by a fair degree. He has an excellent damage-racking game along with some good approaching options, though his approach in general is predictable and can be faulty at times. He can also often have difficulties KOing opponents outside of edgeguarding, and his effectiveness can be halved when his zoning tools can be nullified. While Lucas' initial tournament representation was poor like most of his fellow DLC characters, it has improved over time after he received buffs in game updates, to the point that he currently has both above-average representation and results, both of which are fair improvements from how he fared in Brawl.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. Brawl

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Lucas was considered a lower mid-tier character. While he had a numerous amount of fairly solid attacks, a solid recovery, strong and effective special moves (including a strong projectile in PK Fire and a powerful and surprisingly versatile absorption-move in PSI Magnet) and a whole bunch of useful advanced techniques, he suffered from possessing short range, an unspectacular grab, limited/difficult to land KO moves and he was very exploitable to follow-ups out of a grab release. His grounded grab release was 10 frames longer than almost every other character, making him vulnerable to inescapable chain grabs and KO setups, while his aerial grab release was also fairly exploitable. As a result, Lucas struggled with a majority of the cast (especially since numerous characters simply outclassed him) and he overall saw limited success within the singles meta, although he was much more effective in doubles, as his grab release was less exploitable and when paired with the right teammate, PSI Magnet became an incredibly powerful and abusable tool. In Super Smash Bros. 4, Lucas received a mix of buffs and nerfs during the transition from Brawl. While he did receive more nerfs overall, Lucas is considered to be buffed, due to the game's numerous universal changes drastically benefitting him, along with him receiving some very useful buffs as well.

Arguably Lucas' most striking improvement came from the removal of the 10 additional frames on his grounded grab release animation, which was one of his most significant flaws in Brawl. This is further supplemented by the removal of chain grabbing, which was a huge contributor against his extremley explitable grab release. Lucas' recovery, outside of advanced techniques, has been improved, as both PK Thunder 2 and Rope Snake now cover more distance. Rope Snake has also received more utility as a zoning option due to it receiving a hitbox when performed as a grab aerial. Lucas has also been indirectly buffed from the changes to Smash 4's mechanics. This is not only due to the removal of chain grabbing, but also because of the changes to hitstun canceling combined with the weakening of DI, which has granted him a dominating combo game that is most evident with the modifications to his down throw having resulted in it becoming one of his best combo starters. A few of his moves also have improved KO potential (most notably up aerial which also has greater juggling potential) and the introduction of rage only further improves his KO potential.

However, Lucas has seen a plethora of nerfs as well, with his direct changes outside of his shorter grab release animation nerfing him overall. He can no longer perform the "Zap Jump" or the "Magnet Pull" exploits, which were his two most pivotal techniques in Brawl, although the aforementioned buffs to PK Thunder 2 and Rope Snake can somewhat compensate for this offstage, at least in terms of recovery. In addition, several of his attacks have received various reductions to their damage output, knockback and range, while some of them have received expansions to their startup/ending lag. This is especially prevelant with his aerials: his neutral, forward and up aerials lost their ability to auto-cancel in a short hop (although the landing lag of both is minimal), his down aerial has increased start-up lag and is no longer able to reliably set up for the infamous down tilt-lock, and his up aerial has drastically less range while also being slower and possessing a stationary hitbox, all of which amplifies the retained issues within approaching and landing. Additionally, Lucas has a slightly harder time KOing because of various of his previous KO options, including his forward and up smashes, as well as his forward tilt and down throw, receiving reductions to their knockback (although down throw has access to KO setups to compensate), alongside the loss of his advanced techniques. Finally, Lucas' grounded mobility is slower relative to the cast, as he is one of the only returning veterans whose dashing (and walking) speed has been remained intact. As well, his falling speed and gravity have also been reduced relative to the cast due to remaining intact, although this has both positives and negatives.

Overall, Lucas has not drastically improved since Brawl, as his moveset has been burdened with several direct nerfs. However, he greatly benefits from Smash 4's mechanics and most of his flaws from the previous game have been either addreesed or removed altogether, like his grab release, resulting in him fairing better in Smash 4 overall. He was initially worse upon being first released, but as of update 1.1.3, he is considered to be moderately better than when he was initially released in SSB4, due to the buffs he received up to and including that update. He also fares better against Bayonetta than a decent portion of the entire cast, which also boosts up his viability. By extension, his current ranking on the tier list is a reflection of that perception.

Aesthetics

• Lucas' design has changed. He is slightly taller and has a slightly larger head shape; slightly longer hair; a slightly smaller nose; a sharper jawline; and his eyes no longer have a blue tint. Additionally, Lucas' shoes are smaller, and each of his shirt's stripes are equally horizontal. Lastly, the aesthetic used in SSB4 has resulted in Lucas having a sleeker design, and his overall color scheme being more vibrant.
• Lucas' blue, green, and purple alternate costumes have been updated. The blue costume's white stripes are now orange, instead of white. The green and purple costumes are now jungle green and purple, respectively; feature a sprite of Boney's head and a baby Drago as their designs, respectively; and have a single white stripe on each sleeve. Lucas has also received two new alternate costumes. The first is based on the Masked Man, and the second is based on Duster.
• Lucas is more expressive and, unlike in Brawl, significantly less depressive. He now consistently smiles, and scowls during some attacks.
• Many of Lucas' animations have been changed to match Ness'.
• PK-based attacks have updated visual and sound effects.
• Side taunt's animation has slightly changed. Lucas now keeps his eyes open while using it, instead of closing them.
• Due to the aesthetic used in SSB4, Rope Snake's skin is of a significantly higher visual quality than in Brawl.
• Lucas' previously unused damage-based yells from Brawl's Sound Test are now heard when receiving high knockback.

Attributes

• Lucas' air speed is faster (1.05 → 1.1).
• Lucas' fast falling speed is faster (1.918 → 2.192), although relative to the cast, it has gone from the 19th lowest out of 38 characters to the 16th lowest out of 58.
• Lucas' grounded grab release has less ending lag (FAF 41 → 30), now matching the rest of the cast. When combined with the removal of chain grabbing, this significantly improves his endurance, as he is no longer vulnerable to guaranteed follow-ups or chain grabs after a grab release.
  • Much like the rest of the cast, Lucas' aerial grab releases also have less ending lag (FAF 51 → 40), making him much less susceptible to follow-ups out of an air release.
• Rolls have less ending lag (FAF 32 → 31).
• Rolls have less intangibility (frames 4-19 → 4-17).
• Air dodge has less startup (frame 4 → 3) and ending lag (FAF 49 → 34).
• Spot dodge has more startup lag with less intangibility (frames 2-20 → 3-18) and it has more ending lag (FAF 26 → 28).

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • Neutral attack's first two hits' mid and far hitboxes now launch opponents at higher angles (40°/80° → 66°/87° (hit 1), 60°/80° → 70°/88° (hit 2)) with altered set knockback (20/10 → 18/16), allowing them to connect more reliably into the later hits.
  • The first two hits deal less damage (3% (both) → 2.5% (hit 1)/2% (hit 2)).
  • The first hit has smaller hitboxes (3.5u/3.5u/4u → 2.8u/2.8u/3.5u).
  • The second hit's near and mid hitboxes are smaller (3.5u/3.5u → 3.2u/3.2u).
  • The third hit launches opponents at a less favorable angle (361° → 48°).
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 6-9 → 7-9).
  • Forward tilt has more ending lag (FAF 23 → 26).
  • The sourspot deals less damage (9% → 7.5%) and has much less knockback scaling (100 → 60), making it much weaker.
  • The sourspot now out-prioritizes the sweetspot (ID# 2/3 → 0), making the move harder to sweetspot with.
  • The sourspot now consists of one small extended hitbox (3.5u/3.5u → 2.2u) and the body hitbox has been removed. This significantly reduces the move's range behind Lucas.
    • However, this does make the sweetspot easier to land, considering the fact that the sourspot now takes priority.
  • The sweetspot now consists of a static hitbox. This gives it more consistent range in front of Lucas, but hinders its ability to hit opponents who are far into the Z axis.
  • The sweetspot deals less knockback (12/16 (base), 100 (scaling) → 30/75).
  • The sweetspot has increased hitlag (0.5x → 1x), making it easier to DI.
  • Forward tilt now only has one sweetspot hitbox (4u/4u → 4.7u), with the further away sweetspot being removed. This noticeably reduces the sweetspot's range.
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt has less ending lag (FAF 40 → 37).
  • Up tilt's first hit has a shorter duration (frames 4-6 → 4).
  • The first hit deals less damage (3% → 1.5%).
  • The first hit's hitboxes are positioned closer to Lucas (z offset: 7.5/-7.5 → 6.5/-6.5), reducing their range.
  • The second hit's clean hit has a longer duration (frames 7-9 → 7-10).
  • The second hit's clean hit has larger hitboxes (5u/4.5u → 5.5u/5u).
  • The second hit's clean hit launches opponents at a slightly more favorable angle (95° → 93°).
  • The second hit's clean hit has more base knockback but less knockback scaling (40 (base), 105 (scaling) → 50/100).
  • The second hit's head hitbox has been removed, giving the move less range below Lucas.
    • In addition to this, the late hit's leg hitbox has also been removed, greatly hindering its range below Lucas.
  • The second hit's clean hit's spark hitbox has increased hitlag (0.5x → 1x).
  • The second hit's late hit deals more damage (4% → 5%) and has increased base knockback (10 → 50).
  • The second hit's late hit now consistently launches opponents towards Lucas (90°/93° → 100°).
  • The second hit's late hit has a shorter duration (frames 10-17 → 11-14).
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt's near and mid hitboxes deal more knockback (6 (base), 22 (scaling) → (18/10)/(50/45)) and have altered angles (0° → 76°/40°). This makes the move much safer on hit and it grants it followup potential.
    • However, this also removes their ability to lock, making Lucas' down tilt lock-setups more precise, as he now has to lock with the far hitbox. This is further exacerbated by down tilt's reduced damage and the new three-hit lock limit.
  • The near hit now typically launches opponents in the direction Lucas is facing, allowing it to lead more reliably into followups.
  • The far hit deals more knockback (6 (base), 22 (scaling) → 8/40).
    • This makes it safer on hit at higher percents.
    • However, this also hinders its ability to potentially chain into itself.
  • Down tilt now has weight independent knockback.
  • Down tilt has more ending lag (FAF 14 → 16).
  • Down tilt deals much less damage (6% → 3%).
  • Down tilt has increased hitlag (0.4x → 0.7x).
    • Altogether, these changes combined with the changes to shields (primarily the homogenisation of shielding hitlag based on attacking hitlag) noticeably hinder the move's safety on shield, with the move no longer being completely safe on shield.
  • Down tilt has smaller hitboxes (3.5u/3.5u/3.5u → 2.8u/2.8u/2.8u), with the far hitbox also being positioned closer to Lucas (x offset: 8 → 7.2), reducing its range.
  • The far hit no longer has a extra tripping chance (40% → 0%). This prevents the far hit from tripping opponents right up until beyond Sudden Death percents, greatly hindering its followup potential.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack has less startup lag (frame 17 → 15), with its total duration subsequently reduced (FAF 42 → 40).
  • The sweetspot deals more damage (12% → 13%).
  • The sourspot has much more knockback scaling (40 → 76).
  • Dash attack now always launches opponents in the direction Lucas is facing.
  • Dash attack's hitboxes have swapped positions, with the sweetspot now being further away from Lucas than the sourspot, rather than the sweetspot being closer to him than the sourspot.
    • The sourspot is positioned closer to Lucas compared to the previous sweetspot (z offset: 6 → 1.2), giving the move more range inside of Lucas.
    • However, the sweetspot is positioned closer to Lucas compared to the previous sourspot (z offset: 15 → 12), giving the move less range overall.
  • The sweetspot launches opponents at a lower angle (75° → 46°).
    • This improves its KO potential near the horizontal blast zone.
    • However, this also hinders its overall KO potential, even from the centre of tournament-legal stages.
  • The sourspot is positioned slightly higher (y offset: 5 → 5.5).
  • Dash attack has a shorter duration (frames 17-21 → 15-16), reducing its range.
  • Dash attack has smaller hitboxes, especially the sourspot (6u/5u → 5.8u/2.5u), although the sourspot now uses an extended hitbox, which mostly compensates for its horizontal range.
  • The sweetspot has decreased knockback scaling (76 → 70), slightly hindering its KO potential despite its higher damage.
  • The sweetspot has increased hitlag (1x → 1.2x).
  • The sourspot deals less damage (10% → 9%).
  • The sourspot now out-prioritizes the sweetspot (ID# 1 → 0), making the move harder to sweetspot with.
• Forward smash:
  • Forward smash's reflector has less startup lag with a longer duration (frames 12-18 → 10-19).
  • Forward smash produces a bat cracking sound effect when it connects rather than a kicking sound.
  • The far hit deals less damage (15% → 14%) and has decreased base knockback (60/55 → 50), hindering its KO potential.
    • However, the far hit now has lower priority than the near hit (ID# 0/1 → 1), which overall helps the move, as the near hit now acts as a sweetspot, as opposed to a sourspot.
  • Forward smash now consists of two smaller extended hitboxes rather than four normal hitboxes (4.5u/4.5u/4.5u/4u → 3.7u/3.7u). This gives the move less range overall, both in front of and behind Lucas.
• Up smash:
  • Up smash's second hit's clean, early mid and mid hitboxes have been positioned higher (y offset: 10/16/23 → 14/19/25). This gives them more range above Lucas, but less range below him.
  • The second hit deals less knockback (50/45/40/35/30 (base), 85 (scaling) → (48/42/37/32/27)/77), hindering its KO potential.
  • The second hit has smaller hitboxes (14u/13u/12u/10u/10u → 12u/11u/10u/8u/6.5u).
    • When combined with the higher placement of the second hit's clean/early mid/mid hits, this means that the first hit can no longer reliably lead into the second hit against edge-hanging opponents.
• Down smash:
  • Down smash has less ending lag (FAF 64 → 60).
  • The first hit has increased base knockback (40 → 43), slightly improving its KO potential.
  • Down smash has smaller hitboxes (10u/12u/14u → 8u/9.8u/12u), reducing its range, both in front of and behind Lucas.
  • Down smash now has one hitbox which simply despawns and respawns with altered properties rather than possessing three separate hits. This means that the move can now only connect once, greatly reducing its maximum damage output (42% → 17%).
    • This also makes the move easier for shielding opponents to intercept, as they can now run through the later hits if they shield the first hit.
  • Down smash no longer has an extra tripping chance (40% → 0%), making the later hits trip opponents much less reliably.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial has less landing lag (18 frames → 13).
  • Neutral aerial now typically launches opponents in the direction Lucas is facing, making it more consistent. This noticeably benefits the move, as it is a multi hitting aerial.
  • The loop hits now utilize an autolink angle (105° → 367°), allowing them to connect more reliably.
  • The loop hits now consist of one hitbox with a rehit rate, rather than multiple separate hitboxes. This makes the loop hits consistently active (frame 5/8/11/14/17/20/23 → 7-23).
  • The final hit deals more damage (3% → 4%).
  • Neutral aerial now consists of static hitboxes, and their position was not fully compensated (y offset: 0 → 5). This gives neutral aerial more range below and in front of Lucas, but less range above and behind him.
  • The final hit has decreased base knockback (70 → 40) and launches opponents at a higher angle (361° → 60°). This grants its combo potential, but hinders its KO potential.
  • Neutral aerial has more startup (frame 5 → 7) and ending lag (FAF 40 → 45).
  • Neutral aerial has a new and more exaggerated animation. This new animation is much longer (44 frames → 71), increasing the amount of time Lucas cannot grab ledges after performing the move.
  • Neutral aerial auto-cancels later (frame 28 → 37), no longer doing so in a short hop, led alone almost straight after the hitboxes are no longer active. This noticeably hinders neutral aerial's approaching potential and safety.
  • Neutral aerial no longer has an initial auto-cancel window (frames 1-4 → 0).
  • Neutral aerial now only has four looping hits instead of seven, considerably reducing its maximum damage (17% → 12%).
  • The looping hitboxes are smaller (6u → 5.3u).
  • The looping hits have an increased hitlag (0.5x → 1x) and SDI multiplier (1× → 2×).
    • However, despite this, neutral aerial is still more difficult to escape due to the loop hits now possessing an autolink angle.
  • The final hit deals much more hitlag (0.5x → 1.5x). This makes neutral aerial much easier to DI and while this would make it noticeably benefit from the introduction of frame canceling, neutral aerial cannot be frame cancelled, making the increased hitlag detrimental overall.
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial has less landing lag (15 frames → 12).
  • Forward aerial has a slightly altered animation with altered hitbox placements, giving it more range.
  • The sweetspot has a longer duration (frames 9-10 → 9-12).
  • The sweetspot deals more knockback (10 (base), 100 (scaling) → 30/97), improving its KO potential.
  • Forward aerial has increased hitlag (0.5x (sweetspot)/0.5x/1x (sourspot) → 1.2x/0.8x). This makes it benefit from the introduction of frame canceling, but this also makes it easier to DI.
  • Forward aerial now typically launches opponents in the direction Lucas is facing.
  • Forward aerial no longer has a late hit, shortening its duration (frames 9-10 (clean)/11-15 (late) → 9-10 (sourspot)/9-12 (sweetspot).
  • Forward aerial auto-cancels later (frame 32 → 38), no longer doing so in a short hop.
  • Forward aerial has a shorter initial auto-cancel window (frames 1-4 → 1).
  • Forward aerial deals less damage (12%/10% → 11.5%/9%), without compensation on the sourspot's knockback, hindering its KO potential.
  • Forward aerial has smaller hitboxes (5.5u/4.5u/3.5u → 5u/3.3u), with the move covering less of Lucas' body.
  • The sweetspot launches opponents at a higher angle (361° → 46°), making it more susceptible to DI and hindering its overall KO potential, despite its increased knockback.
  • The sourspot now out-prioritizes the sweetspot (ID# 1/2 → 0), making the move harder to sweetspot with.
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial's grounded sweetspot deals more damage (10% → 12%), improving its KO potential.
  • The sweetspot is larger (4u → 4.5u).
  • The removal of meteor canceling significantly improves back aerial's reliability.
  • Back aerial now always launches opponents in the opposite direction Lucas is facing.
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial launches opponents at a higher angle (62° → 80°), improving its juggling and KO potential and making it much less susceptible to DI.
  • Up aerial has increased hitlag (1× → 1.1×).
  • Up aerial now utilizes a static hitbox, rather than being attached to Lucas' head. The hitbox is positioned higher to compensate (y offset: 4 → 14).
    • This gives up aerial more vertical range overall, and gives it more consistent vertical range.
    • However, this also greatly hinders its horizontal range and coverage below himself, making it much harder to connect against grounded opponents.
  • Up aerial has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 5-9 → 7-9).
  • Up aerial auto-cancels much later (frame 25 → 38), no longer doing so in a short hop.
  • Up aerial has a longer animation (45 frames → 54).
  • Up aerial has a smaller hitbox (7u → 5.2u).
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial has less landing lag (28 frames → 24).
  • The lower looping hits have decreased base knockback (50 → 43), allowing it to connect more reliably into the rest of the attack.
  • The changes to locks significantly improve down aerial's utility, as the final hit's lower hitbox can now lock opponents, greatly improving its follow-up potential in certain situations.
  • Down aerial has much more startup lag (frame 4/11/19/27 → 10/18/26/34), with a longer total duration (FAF 55 → 57).
    • However, its total duration was not fully compensated, giving it less ending lag.
  • Down aerial has a longer animation (54 frames → 60).
  • Down aerial auto-cancels later (frame 35 → 47), even considering its increased startup lag. This hinders down aerial's safety and followup potential.
  • Down aerial no longer has an initial auto-cancel window (frames 1-3 → 0).
  • Down aerial has smaller hitboxes (7u/5u → 5u/3.5u (hits 1-3), 8u/6.5u → 6.9u/5u).
  • The looping hits less damage (5% → 3.5%), noticeably reducing its maximum damage potential (20% → 15.5%).
    • However, the lower damage subsequently reduces the lower hitbox's knockback, making it connect more reliably into the rest of the attack.
  • The loop hits have increased hitlag (0.5x → 1x). As down aerial cannot be frame cancelled, this hinders the move overall.
• Grab aerial:
  • Grab aerial has received a hitbox that deals damage (4% (clean)/2.8% (late)), launches opponents horizontally (45°) and deals knockback (60 (base), 30 (scaling)), granting it spacing and combo potential.
  • Grab aerial has increased range as a tether recovery.
  • Grab aerial no longer auto-cancels on landing, instead possessing 8 frames of landing lag, making it more punishable.

Throws/other attacks

• All grabs have less startup lag with longer durations (frame 13 (standing)/16 (dash)/15 (pivot) → 12-19 (standing/pivot)/14-21(dash)).
• Standing and dash grabs have much less ending lag (FAF 70 → 45 (standing), FAF 80 → 55 (dash)).
• Pivot grab has more ending lag (FAF 50 → 56).
• Pummel:
  • Pummel has less ending lag (FAF 13 → 10).
  • Pummel has increased range (y/z offsets: 6/6 → 8/8).
  • Pummel deals less damage (3% → 1.2%), hindering its damage-racking potential despite its decreased ending lag.
  • Pummel has decreased set knockback (40 → 30).
• Up throw:
  • Up throw deals more knockback (80 (base), 65 (scaling) → 78/69), slightly improving its KO potential.
• Down throw:
  • Lucas now aesthetically buries opponents headfirst upon performing his down throw.
  • Down throw deals much less knockback (75 (base), 100 (scaling) → 78/51).
    • This combined with the changes to hitstun canceling/DI greatly improves its combo potential. It can lead into devastating aerial/footstool combos at lower percents and at higher percents, it can lead into an up aerial for a KO.
    • However, this also significantly hinders its KO potential, no longer being Lucas' strongest throw.
  • Down throw deals less damage (7% → 6.5%).
• Floor attacks:
  • Floor attacks have less startup lag (frame 19 (front)/20 (back) → 17).
    • The second hits also have less startup lag (frame 25 (front)/24 (back) → 21 (both)).
  • Floor attacks have less ending lag (FAF 50 → 46).
  • Floor attacks deal more damage (6% → 7%) and shield damage (1 → 8) per hit, without full compensation on their knockback scaling (50 → 48).
  • Floor attacks launch opponents at a higher angle (361° → 48°).
  • Floor attacks have less intangibility (frames 1-26 (front)/1-25 (back) → 1-23).
  • Floor attacks now use one extended static hitbox rather than multiple normal hitboxes attached to Lucas' body, which covers less range.
• Front floor attack:
  • Front floor attack now starts in front of Lucas, rather than from behind.
• Edge attack:
  • Edge attack has less startup lag (frame 24 → 20) with its total duration subsequently reduced (FAF 56 → 52).
  • As with other edge attacks, edge attack no longer has set knockback (110 (set), 100 (scaling) → 90 (base)/20).
  • Edge attack now deals consistent damage (8%/6% → 7%).
  • Edge attack now uses one extended hitbox rather than multiple normal hitboxes, which gives the move less range.
  • Edge attack has less intangibility (frames 1-26 → 1-17), with Lucas no longer being intangible while the hitboxes are active.
  • As with other edge attacks, edge attack now always launches opponents in the direction Lucas is facing, removing its ability to set up edgeguards.
• Trip attack:
  • Trip attack has less ending lag (FAF 60 → 50), now matching other trip attacks.
  • Trip attack deals more shield damage (1 → 8) per hit.
  • Trip attack now has transcendent priority.
  • Trip attack has less intangibility (frames 1-8 → 1-7).
  • The front hit has more startup lag (frame 28 → 29).
  • Trip attack now consists of one extended hitbox rather than multiple normal hitboxes, which noticeably decreases the move's disjoint.

Special moves

• PK Freeze:
  • PK Freeze has less startup (frame 7 → 5) and ending lag (FAF 40 → 32) when released.
  • PK Freeze can be released sooner (frame 45 → 35), reducing its startup lag when uncharged (frame 51 → 40).
    • However, this does reduce uncharged PK Freeze's damage (10% → 9%).
  • PK Freeze is larger when it is created (0.3 → 0.45) and its size increases at a faster rate (1.45 → 1.6).
  • PK Freeze has increased base damage (4% → 5%), which charges at a faster rate (0.23 → 0.255), resulting in the fully charged version dealing more damage (19% → 22%).
  • Lucas' gravity is lower when using PK Freeze (0.02 → 0.012), making it safer for usage in the air.
  • PK Freeze launches opponents at a higher angle (70° → 80°) and it has more base knockback, but less knockback scaling (50 (base), 40 (scaling) → 80/21).
  • PK Freeze has a shorter duration (2 frames → 1).
  • PK Freeze gains less height (1.4 → 1.2). This notably prevents Lucas from being able to fully charge the move when using it on the ground.
• PK Fire:
  • PK Fire has less ending lag (FAF 54 → 53).
  • The sweetspot pillar deals more damage (5% → 6%), increasing PK Fire's overall damage (8% → 9%).
  • The pillar's hitboxes have adjusted positions (y/z offsets: (3/9)/(0/7) → (2/8)/(2/9)).
  • Using PK Fire straight after a double jump no longer gives Lucas a huge vertical boost. This removes Zap Jumping, significantly hinders PK Fire's vertical approach and recovering potential.
• PK Thunder:
  • PK Thunder's head has an increased hitlag multiplier (0.5x → 1x), allowing it to lead into the tail much more reliably.
  • The tail has a much faster rehit rate (48 → 6), allowing it to connect multiple times more reliably.
  • The tail has a marginally larger hitbox (2.46u → 2.5u).
  • PK Thunder's visual effects have changed. It is now violet, instead of blue, in addition to being visually larger.
  • PK Thunder has more ending lag (FAF 60 → 70).
  • PK Thunder has a higher SDI multiplier (1.5x → 2x).
  • The head deals much less damage (10% → 2.5%), making it much weaker.
    • However, this allows it to lead into the tail more reliably.
  • The head has a smaller hitbox (5.5u → 3.8u).
  • The tail deals less damage (1% → 0.75%).
  • The removal of edge momentum shifting hinders PK Thunder's utility.
• PK Thunder 2:
  • PK Thunder 2 has less ending lag on the ground (FAF 75 → 66).
  • PK Thunder 2 no longer decelerates in the air (0.071 → 0). This causes it to cover more distance, as Lucas retains his momentum for much longer, despite its lower initial speed (4 → 2.5), improving its recovering potential.
    • However, PK Thunder 2 now decelerates after hitting an opponent (0 → 0.071), slightly reducing its distance after hitting an opponent.
  • PK Thunder 2 can now be reused immediately after Lucas bounces off of a wall, significantly improving its safety and recovering potential.
  • The looping hitboxes now consistently utilize the autolink angle (365°/361° → 365°), making them connect more reliably.
  • The looping hits now typically launch opponents in the direction Lucas is facing, making them more consistent.
  • The loop hits now deal consistent knockback (30/0 (base), 0/20 (set), 50/100 (scaling) → 30/50).
  • The final hit now typically launches opponents in the direction Lucas is facing.
  • PK Thunder 2 has less intangibility (frames 1-17 → 1-9).
  • When Lucas lands with PK Thunder 2 before entering free fall, he will now go into his full ending animation of PK Thunder 1, rather than a short version of his charging animation. This significantly increases PK Thunder 2's ending lag in this situation, and prevents Lucas from being able to auto-cancel the move with strong spacing.
  • When Lucas performs PK Thunder 2 into the ground, he will now go into an untechable rebound, rather than continuing to use the move, hindering its approaching potential when performed from above.
    • However, this also prevents Lucas from potentially self-destructing if he performs PK Thunder 2 downwards close to an edge.
  • The first hit has smaller hitboxes (10u/10u → 9u/9u).
  • The loop hits deal less damage (3% (hits 2-6)/2% (hits 7-11) → 2%/1.5%), reducing PK Thunder 2's maximum damage potential (43% → 35.5%).
  • The loop hits are smaller (7.2u/7.2u → 4.3u/6u (hits 2-6)/4u/5.7u (hits 7-11).
  • The loop hits deal more hitlag (0.3x → 0.5x).
  • The loop hits have a drastically higher SDI multiplier (0.2x (hits 2-6)/0.1x (hits 7-11) → 2.5x), making them much easier to SDI despite the weakening of the mechanic.
  • The final hit launches opponents at a higher angle (361° → 50°), hindering its KO potential, and making it more susceptible to DI, despite its increased knockback scaling (70 → 74).
• PSI Magnet:
  • PSI Magnet is visually larger.
  • PSI Magnet's animation has slightly changed. Lucas now keeps both eyes open during it, instead of closing one of them.
  • PSI Magnet deals less damage when released (9% → 8%).
  • PSI Magnet has a smaller hitbox when released (4u → 3.5u). When combined with the orb being visually larger, this results in PSI magnet now having a deceptively small hitbox.
  • PSI Magnet grants much less forwards momentum in the air (3 → 1). This essentially removes Lucas' Magnet Pull, greatly hindering PSI Magnet's utility (and PK Fire's utility by extension).
  • PSI Magnet now swirls absorbed projectiles for a moment, creating a slight delay before Lucas can actually be healed.
  • PSI Magnet's absorption bubble is smaller (16u → 12.8u). This gives it less range to absorb projectiles, despite its orb being larger and the absorption bubble being moved further forwards (z offset: 10 → 11.8).
    • These changes also mean that the move can no longer reliably absorb projectiles behind Lucas, hindering its safety.
  • PSI Magnet now only heals half the amount of damage from absorbed teammates' projectiles, significantly hindering its effectiveness in doubles. This is exacerbated even further by PSI Magnet's reduced range.
• PK Starstorm:
  • PK Starstorm now functions identically to Ness' PK Starstorm. It deals 6% less damage per hit (14% → 8%), but the falling stars are now fired in a line that can be aimed in a fanning motion from the top-center of the stage. While this gives it blindspots, it results in a more consistent damage output when the stars do hit.
  • PK Starstorm now has a flame effect, instead of an electric effect.
  • PK Starstorm's animation and visual effects have changed. Lucas now strikes the same pose during it, and the falling stars are now sky blue, instead of whitish yellow. These changes make it appear virtually identical to Ness' version.

Update history

Lucas has been buffed via game updates. Update 1.1.0 has received reduction to all of his grabs' ending lag, as well as subtle range-improvements to his forward and down tilts, though neither of those beneficial changes match up to his range in Brawl. The changes to shielding mechanics in updates 1.1.0 and 1.1.1 have been considered a double-edged sword for Lucas; the changes make his sourspotted attacks less safe on shield, but his sweetspotted attacks safer on shield. Lastly, update 1.1.3 gave Lucas a number of noticeable buffs: his standing grab, dash grab, and forward aerial all received reductions to their lag, his neutral aerial's damage output was increased, and forward tilt's sweetspot had its size increased. As a result of these buffs, Lucas is considered better than during his initial release in SSB4.

1.1.0

• Forward tilt's sweetspot and sourspot hitbox sizes increased: 4u (sweetspot)/2u (sourspot) → 4.4u/2.2u.
• Forward tilt's horizontal displacement decreased: 1.6 → 0.
• Down tilt improved. Its displacement increased: 0 → 3.5; its horizontal displacement increased: 2.7 → 3; and its far hitbox's horizontal displacement increased: 7 → 7.2.
• Down tilt's knockback altered: 10 (base)/50 (growth) → 18/45.
• Down tilt's close and middle hitboxes angles' altered: 70° (close)/0° (middle) → 76°/40°.
• Sourspotted forward aerial deals 1% more damage: 8% → 9%.
• Forward aerial's vertical displacement increased: 1 → 2.9.
• Forward aerial's sourspot hitbox size decreased: 3.8u → 3.3u. This makes it easier to land the sweetspot, but hinders its range.
• All grabs' ending lag decreased: frame 56 (standing)/frame 66 (dash/pivot) → 51/61.
• Grab's early and late grabboxes' sizes increased: 2.5u (early)/2.4u (late) → 3u/2.8u.
• PK Thunder's hitbox size increased: 3.5u → 3.8u.

1.1.3

• Forward tilt hitbox size: 4.4 → 4.7.
• Neutral air looping hits damage: 1% → 2%.
• Forward air landing lag: 15 frames → 12
• Standing grab and dash grab had their ending lag decreased by 5 frames: 50/60 → 45/55.
• All grabs have sped up animations.
• PSI Magnet heals half damage from absorbing teammates' projectiles.

Moveset

For a gallery of Lucas's hitboxes, see here.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2.5%	A right-legged roundhouse kick, followed by a right-legged hook kick, followed by a left-legged reverse roundhouse kick. The last hit has slightly more range. The first hit activates on frame 2, rendering it Lucas' fastest ground attack, and it can combo into his dash attack at low to medium percents. The first and second hits can jab lock, but might miss on characters with very thin hurtboxes, like Zero Suit Samus.
			2%
			4%
Forward tilt			11% (sweetspot), 7.5% (sourspot)	Twirls with his arm extended to emit a small blast of PSI energy from his hand. It can be angled and has a disjointed hitbox, although its sweetspot is located inside of the blast. It has overall low lag, disjointed range, and the ability to be angled, all of which make it extremely useful for 2-framing opponents. In addition, its sweetspot is powerful enough to KO reliably, as it can KO middleweights at around 158% at the edge of Final Destination, whereas its sourspot can lock opponents at low percents. It also has fast startup lag, hitting on frame 7 with low ending lag. Due to these traits, it is one of Lucas' best KO options, and is generally considered one of the best forward tilts in SSB4. This move's sourspot can lock opponents at low percents.
Up tilt			1.5% (hit 1), 8% (clean hit 2), 5% (late hit 2)	Telekinetically tilts himself upside down to perform a vertical scissor kick that emits a blast of PSI from his foot. The first hit activates on frame 4, which along with its low ending lag and the second hit activating on frame 7, makes it disproportionately quick for a tilt attack. It can juggle and combo into itself, a neutral aerial or an up aerial at low to medium percents.
Down tilt			3%	A legsweep. Although weak, it is quick and reliable for either racking up damage or chaining into itself, a neutral attack, a forward tilt or at higher percents even a forward aerial and a grab. Due to hitting on frame 3, it is tied with Ness, Little Mac, R.O.B., and Meta Knight's down tilts for being the fastest down tilt in the game. The edge of down tilt can lock opponents at low to medium percents.
Dash attack			13% (sweetspot), 9% (sourspot)	A dashing palm-thrust that emits a blast of PSI energy from his hand. It slows down Lucas' grounded mobility for a moment. Its sweetspot is powerful enough to KO at reasonable percents, KOing middlewieghts at 68% at the edge of Final Destination without DI, which makes it disproportionately powerful for a dash attack, although it has noticeable start-up (frame 15) and ending lag. It deals more damage the farther the opponent is from Lucas.
Forward smash			14% (base), 15% (tip), 1.5× (reflected projectiles)	Swings a stick in front of himself. The stick's tip deals more damage and knockback. Lucas' stick also has the ability to reflect projectiles. In comparison to Ness' forward smash, it has less start-up and ending lag, but deals less damage, knockback and has a lower damage multiplier when reflecting projectiles. It is one of the strongest forward smashes in the game, especially when sweetspotted, KOing even the heaviest of characters at around 61% at the edge of Final Destination. While it has rather quick startup due to hitting at frame 14, its considerable ending lag makes it punishable without wise usage.
Up smash			2% (hit 1), 19%, 18%, 16%, 14%, or 12% (clean to late hit 2)	Emits a large blast of PSI energy above his head. Despite in-game tips saying it is the most powerful up smash in the game and can attack opponents hanging on the edge, neither of these tips are true; it is only the fifth strongest up smash in the game, and completely whiffs most edge-hanging characters unless their head pokes above the edge. It is a "high-risk, high-reward" attack; it has an extreme amount of ending lag, which makes it very punishable if missed, but it is strong enough to KO at 80% when uncharged and at 54% when fully charged. It also has other positives, as it renders Lucas invincible on frames 1-4, grants intangibility to his head on frames 15-29 and has a very large hitbox, making it a good anti-air attack if used correctly. It appears to be based on PK Love, Lucas' signature PSI attack from Mother 3.
Down smash			17% (clean), 14% (mid), 11% (late)	Aims his arm diagonally downward and emits three consecutive blasts of PSI energy towards the ground while holding his hand in a fingergun-gesture. With each consecutive blast, its range increases at the expense of progressively reduced damage and knockback. It is one of the strongest down smashes in the game when clean, as it is able to KO middleweights as low as 60% near the edge of Final Destination depending on the opponent's DI. If it is timed well, it can also catch recovering opponents before they grab the edge. Has a bit of start-up lag, but low ending lag. Despite seemingly being composed of three distinct hits, it can only strike an opponent once due to how its single hitbox is coded unlike in Brawl, making it somewhat unsafe on shield.
Neutral aerial			2% (hits 1-4), 4% (hit 5)	Tumbles while emitting blasts of PSI energy around his torso. Each hit has numerous freeze frames and it has good combo potential, despite being susceptible to SDI. The final hit can KO middleweights at around 91% near the horizontal blast lines. The hitboxes' long durations also make it decent for edgeguarding. It has fast startup lag (frame 7), low ending and landing lag (13 frames).
Forward aerial			11.5% (sweetspot), 9% (sourspot), 8% (late)	A flying kick that emits a blast of PSI energy from his foot. It has the lowest landing lag of Lucas' aerials (12 frames), along with being quick (frame 9) and disjointed, making it a good offstage option and one of Lucas' better spacing options in his kit. Its sweetspot deals the most knockback and can KO Mario at the edge at 109% on Battlefield. This move's sourspot can lock opponents at early percents.
Back aerial			12% (sweetspot), 9% (sourspot), 7% (late)	A backflipping bicycle kick that emits a trail of PSI energy from his foot. It can meteor smash at the tip of his foot and has disjointed reach, with its weakest hitbox being at the tip. The meteor smashing hitbox can KO rather early offstage and is useful for edgeguarding. The last hitbox of this move can lock opponents at early percents.
Up aerial			13%	An upward-arcing headbutt. Its hitbox has become smaller since Brawl, and is now static and misleading with a noticeable blindspot in front of and under him (even missing characters with large hurtboxes, such as Bowser). However, it deals respectable high damage and knockback render it one of the strongest up aerials in the game, as it KOs middleweights at around 113% near the upper blast line. At 70% and lower, it is an effective juggling and combo tool, as it leads into itself and other aerials upon landing.
Down aerial			3.5% (hits 1-3), 5% (hit 4)	An alternating series of stomps, with each stomp emitting a small blast of PSI energy from his feet. Like his back aerial, it is disjointed and has a meteor smash hitbox below himself on the fourth and last hit. The move itself is also difficult to successfully connect all hits into each other on smaller grounded opponents, such as Pikachu and Kirby. The last hitbox of this move can lock opponents at low percents.
Grab aerial		Rope Snake (ヒモヘビ)	4% (clean), 2.8% (late)	Unfurls Duster's Rope Snake in front of himself. It can damage opponents and function as a tether recovery.
Grab		Rope Snake (ヒモヘビ)	—	Unfurls Duster's Rope Snake in front of himself. All grabs have relatively long range at the expense of long ending lag, and Lucas' standing grab is deceptively quick for a tether grab (frame 12), although his dash and pivot grabs are very slow. In addition, Lucas' grabs have overall short range relative to the other tether grabs.
Pummel			1.2%	A headbutt. Tied with Ness, Kirby and Fox's pummels as the third-fastest pummel in the game. However, it is tied with Lucas, Fox and Samus' pummel for being the second-least damaging pummel in the game, surpassed by Lucario at 0% aura.
Forward throw			10%	Telekinetically throws the opponent in front of himself. It is the third-strongest throw in the game, surpassed by only Bowser's and Wario's. It KOs around 100%-160% near the edge of Final Destination depending on the opponent's weight and DI. Aside from killing, it is also effective at setting up an edgeguard.
Back throw			10%	Telekinetically throws the opponent behind himself. It is Lucas' strongest throw and the third-strongest back throw in the game (like his forward throw), being surpassed only by Ness and Villager's, respectively. It can KO even the heaviest of characters at 158% near the edge of Final Destination without rage. Similar to forward throw, it is also effective for setting up edgeguards.
Up throw			10%	Telekinetically whirls the opponent around his head, then throws them directly overhead. The third-strongest up throw in the game, being surpassed only by Mewtwo and Charizard's, as it KOs around 120%-180% depending on the opponent's weight and DI.
Down throw			6.5%	Telekinetically slams the opponent into the ground head-first. Lucas' primary combo starter, as it can lead into all of his aerials at a wide range of percentages, depending on DI. His up aerial specifically becomes a viable KO combo after using down throw. Additionally, it inflicts 6 frames of hitlag on the opponent upon releasing them. Although the opponent appears buried, this is purely aesthetic.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Legsweeps around himself in a circle while getting up.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Legsweeps around himself in a circle while getting up.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Performs a dropkick behind himself and then in front of himself with both hands planted on the ground while getting up.
Edge attack Edge getups			7%	Performs a low-angled sweep kick while climbing up.
Neutral special		PK Freeze	9%-22%	Emits a snowflake-shaped blast of PSI energy from his head that freezes opponents. The direction of the blast's path can be controlled, it can be made stronger by holding the special button and it can be concluded at a deceptively quick speed. A notoriously effective edgeguarding tool, as it launches opponents forwards with great maneuverability, as well as possessing a large hitbox. However, it renders Lucas helpless if performed in the air.
Side special		PK Fire	3% (lightning), 6% (fire)	Thrusts both of his hands forward to release a lightning bolt-shaped PSI projectile from his hands. Unlike Ness' PK Fire, Lucas' PK Fire results in a brief, fiery explosion of PSI energy that launches the opponent forwards, rather than a long-lasting pillar of fiery PSI energy. It is further differentiated from Ness' PK Fire in that it flies straight ahead regardless of whether it is performed on the ground or in the air, as well as causing a minimal amount of recoil both on the ground and in the air, making it more effective as a spacing and horizontal recovery tool than Ness' PK Fire.
Up special		PK Thunder	2.5% (projectile head), 0.8% (projectile tail, rapid hits), 8% (PKT2 initial), 2% (PKT2 rapid hits 1-5), 1.5% (PKT2 rapid hits 6-10), 10% (PKT2 last)	Emits a streaming, electrical ball of thunder from his head. It can be directed into Lucas to launch him at a high speed. It doesn't disappear after hitting an opponent and instead hits multiple times, giving it damage-racking and gimping potential. This effect also applies PK Thunder 2, with Lucas hitting an opponent multiple times upon colliding with them before launching the opponent with high knockback. Deals immense damage if all of PK Thunder 2's hits connect, making it one of the most damaging up specials in the game. It is also a versatile recovering option if the projectile collides with Lucas, as it covers great distance while being hard to properly counter itself due to its multi-hitting and intangible properties.
Down special		PSI Magnet	8% (ending), heals 2.5× the damage of absorbed projectiles (maximum 30%)	Thrusts his arm forward to emit a glowing orb of PSI energy around his outstretched hand, which comes out quicker and absorbs more damage than Ness' variant. If absorbing energy-based projectiles, it will heal him. When a projectile hits him from behind, Lucas will turn around and heal from it, but not as consistently as in Brawl. It also has offensive utility, due to it being safe on shield, dealing damage and launching at a semi-spike against opponents inside of it when it dissipates.
Final Smash		PK Starstorm	8% (per hit)	Summons a shower of falling stars to repeatedly annihiliate his opponents. The stars that descend in a column from the top-center of the stage and can be angled in a fanning motion throughout its duration.

Stats

Stats	Weight	Dash speed	Walk speed	Traction	Air friction	Air speed	Air acceleration	Gravity	Falling speed	Jumpsquat	Jump height	Double jump height
Value	94	1.3 – Initial dash 1.5 – Run	0.82	0.045	0.014	1.1	0.01 – Base 0.085 – Additional	0.09	1.37 – Base 2.192 – Fast-fall	5	29.41 - Base 16.652296 - Short hop	34.48

Announcer call

This article could use additional or higher-quality audio files. The editor who added this tag suggests: Needs announcer calls from other languages. If you have a good audio file for this article, upload it here.

• English/Japanese/Chinese

On-screen appearance

• Rides in on a Mr. Saturn-style coffee table, then hops off. The table is based on the one that Lucas rides in order to reach Saturn Valley in Mother 3.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Trips, falls on his bottom, shakes his head, and gets back up.
• Side taunt: Duster's Rope Snake taps Lucas on the shoulder and has a brief conversation with him, as Lucas shrugs at it.
• Down taunt: Angrily positions his right hand up to his forehead and grunts while generating small bursts of PSI energy from his index and middle fingers, then swings his hand down to emit a trail of PSI energy.

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Idle poses

• Taps the toes of his shoes on the ground.
• Cowardly shakes his fists in front of his face.

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Lu-cas!	Ryuuu-ka!
Pitch	Female	Female

Victory poses

A flourished, sped-up remix of a portion of EarthBound Beginnings' theme song.

• With his back toward the screen, Lucas crouches while poking at something on the ground with a large stick. After the camera zooms in, he then turns his head around to face the screen, questionably saying "Huh?" while briefly sporting a surprised expression, then smiles.
• Forcefully pulls one of the Seven Needles out of the ground, sending it flying off-screen while Lucas looks toward the screen in a battle-ready pose.
• Bends down on a single knee and waves his right arm in from himself while releasing blasts of PSI energy from his index and middle fingers.

In competitive play

Tier placement and history

During his release, Lucas was considered to have improved from Brawl due to the beneficial changes to the the game's physics. However, it would very soon become clear Lucas had lost most of his benefits from Brawl, and would go on to be considered among his previous game's ranking. Following the buffs to his attacks, as well as decent tournament representation and results (the latter point especially being due to Taiheita), he would be ranked 36th in the first 4BR' tier list, as a low-tier character. However, players would prove that Lucas' buffs had indeed benefited him a lot and that he was now a capable character with reliable combo potential and KO power. Due to receiving notable results from Taiheita in 17th place at Super Smash Con 2016, Lucas rose up in the second tier list to 33rd, officially rendering him as a mid-tier.

His positive perspective from Taiheita and his ongoing potential would led Lucas to a very slight rise to 32nd on the third, and then to 28th/29th on the fourth tier list and final tier list, now tied with Ness for the bottom of high-tier. While lacking as much tournament representation as other mid/high-tier characters, his results have been good enough to secure his current ranking. Despite this, Lucas' current ranking on the final tier list is still debatable, Lucas' results and representation began to show a series of decline in Japan ever since Taiheita's retirement. Since Taiheita's last tournament, several other players were unable to match Taiheita's success. Towards the end of the metagame, while the Lucas meta in Japan began to decline, his fellow EarthBound fighter, Ness, on the other hand, rose in Japan. Gackt and taranito, two of the top Ness players, have started to place better and achieved milestones. Such achievements include Gackt's 17th placing at The Big House 7 and taranito's 17th placing at EVO Japan 2018 with both of them defeating multiple top players such as Abadango, komorikiri, and ANTi. Due to these factors, players believe that Lucas should be ranked noticeably lower, citing his waning meta combined with Ness' more energetic developments. The other smashers, on the other hand, advocate that Lucas' strengths remain potent in spite of these points, and that his current ranking on the tier list is accurate.

Most historically significant players

Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the PGR 100, which recognizes the official top 100 players in Super Smash Bros. 4 of all time.

See also: Category:Lucas players (SSB4)

•  Agehasama - One of the best Lucas players in Japan. Placed 13th at Sumabato 19, 17th at Sumabato 20, and 25th at Umebura 32 with wins over players such as Sigma, Oisiitofu, and Gomamugitya. Ranked 110th on the JAPAN Power Rankings.
•  Genarog - Co-mained Lucas alongside Bayonetta and is one of the best Lucas players in Europe. Placed 3rd at Nemiex Pro Tournament II, 5th at ICARUS II and Nemiex Pro Tournament I, and 7th at Respawn 6 and ICARUS IV. Ranked 3rd on the Italian Power Rankings.
•  Hakadama - One of the best Lucas players in Japan. Placed 1st at HST 13, 2nd at both HST 14 and HST 22, 4th at Sumabato 24, and 9th at HST Final with wins over players such as komorikiri, Suinoko and Sigma. Ranked 82nd on the JAPAN Power Rankings.
•  Luco - Co-mained Lucas alongside Ness and was the best Lucas player in Australia. Placed 2nd at Poi Poundaz, 3rd at both Battle Arena Melbourne 9 and DI Another Day 2, and 5th at Expand Gong 3 with wins over players such as Keitaro and Ghost. Ranked 10th on the Australian Power Rankings.
•  Mekos - The best Lucas player in the world by the end of the game's active lifespan. Placed 13th at MomoCon 2016 and Glitch 2, 17th at 2GG: Hyrule Saga, and 25th at both 2GGC: Greninja Saga and DreamHack Atlanta 2017 with wins over players such as Nairo, Saj, and ScAtt.
•  NovaPixl - Placed 9th at WTFox 2, 13th at MomoCon 2016, 17th at MomoCon 2018, and 33rd at MomoCon 2017 wins over players such as Pink Fresh, ScAtt, and NickRiddle. Formerly ranked 8th on the Georgia Power Rankings.
•  Taiheita (#58) - The best Lucas player in the world throughout most of the game's lifespan. Placed 3rd at Sumabato 16, 5th at both Sumabato 8 and Umebura S.A.T., 13th at Umebura 23, and 17th at Super Smash Con 2016 with wins over players such as Abadango, Marss, and Ranai. Formerly ranked as high as 16th on the JAPAN Power Rankings.

Trophies

Lucas comes with matching character trophies, which are unlocked as usual. However, his "(Alt.)" trophy will also be automatically granted upon booting up the version. His existing non-fighter trophy remains in the game, completely unchanged; both it and the Classic trophy are simply labeled as "Lucas" in-game.

3DS Classic Mode trophy

Wii U Classic Mode trophy

Lucas

The younger of the twin brothers from Nowhere makes his triumphant return to the game of Smash. Hailing from the Japan-only game Mother 3, Lucas's specialty is psychic projectile attacks. He can use these PSI attacks to do things like absorb enemy projectiles and deal supernatural damage!

Lucas, the younger of twin brothers from Tazmily, comes originally from the Japan-only game, Mother 3, and now makes his triumphant return to Super Smash Bros.! Here he makes great use of his PSI powers with lots of projectile attacks, and can use his faster attacks on anybody who gets too close.

: Mother 3 (2006 (JP))

3DS All-Star Mode trophy

Wii U alternate trophy

Lucas (Alt.)

Lucas's up special PK Thunder can hit enemies multiple times, but if you hit yourself with it, you can then tackle and launch opponents! Lucas's up smash has the strongest launch power of any fighter's up smash. The range for this attack is wide, and it's strongest right after Lucas unleashes the attack.

Lucas's up special, PK Thunder, can either hit enemies multiple times, or hit Lucas himself to push him into a powerful charge attack. Meanwhile, his up smash attack is the most powerful launching move in the entire game, so make good use of it! It's a wide-range attack that has the most effect right after Lucas unleashes it.

Lucas's up special, PK Thunder, can either hit enemies multiple times, or hit Lucas himself to push him into a powerful charge attack. Meanwhile, his up smash attack is the most powerful launching move in the entire game, so make good use of it! It's a wide-range attack that is most effective right after Lucas unleashes it.

: Mother 3 (2006 (JP))

PK Starstorm (Lucas) trophy

PK Starstorm (Lucas)

You can adjust the direction of the shooting stars in this attack! Rain stars down on multiple fighters at once, or be mean and pick on a single fighter. The choice is yours! If a star connects, it will deal ongoing fire damage, making it hard for opponents to return to the stage.

Lucas uses his PSI powers to summon a stream of shooting stars, the angle of which you can control. It's good for attacking an entire group during a free-for-all...or if you want to make things tougher for a single person. Even if the attack only hits once, it deals ongoing fire damage, making it harder to get back to the stage.

3DS Lucas trophy

Wii U Lucas trophy

Lucas

Before adventuring, Lucas was a timid, cautious boy. His journey has made him a stronger person. Maybe he met someone to spend his life with... Hang on—we're moving way too fast! For now, remember that Lucas and Ness are favorites in the hearts of EarthBound fans.

: Mother 3 (Japan)

Once upon a time, Lucas was a bit of a cry-baby. You might even say he was a wimp. But then, well...he had more than his fair share of rough times and toughened up a bit. Who knows what he's up to now? Whatever he's doing, his story – much like Ness's – lives on in the hearts of all Mother series fans.

: Mother 3 (2006 (JP))

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Lucas' splash art.

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  Lucas' amiibo.

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  Lucas' unlock notice in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U after downloading him from the Nintendo eShop.

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  Using his forward aerial.

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  Using PK Thunder against Falco.

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  Lucas' on-screen appearance.

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  Using his down taunt alongside Ness' down taunt.

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  Using PK Fire against Bowser alongside with Ness using PK Fire against Sonic.

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  One of Lucas' idle poses alongside Wii Fit Trainer and Villager.

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  Using PSI Magnet to heal himself.

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  All of Lucas' alternate costumes.

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  Lucas on Magicant with another Lucas wearing the Claus alternate costume.

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  Using his side taunt.

Trivia

• A few aspects regarding Lucas' status in SSB4 tied in to a number of significant dates for the EarthBound series:
  • He was confirmed in the same month that his origin game, Mother 3, was first released.
  • The announcement details for Lucas and update 1.0.8 were revealed on the same day as EarthBound's 20th anniversary.
  • The day he became available to purchase was the same day that EarthBound Beginnings was released internationally for the Wii U Virtual Console.
  • His amiibo's release date in Japan was the same day that Mother 3 was released on the Japanese Wii U Virtual Console.
• Lucas' dashing animation is similar to his running animation in Mother 3.
• Due to his non-fighter trophy using his character model from Brawl, Lucas is the only character who has both his Brawl and SSB4 character models in the same game.
• Lucas is the only starter character and newcomer from Brawl to be available as downloadable content.
  • He is also the only DLC character with a tether grab.
  • He is also the only character to be initially unplayable in the next installment before regaining his playable status due to DLC.
• Prior to Ultimate, Lucas and Wario were the only characters to debut as a starter character, but have a different availability in a future title, as Wario has to be unlocked and Lucas has to be purchased as DLC.
  • Coincidentally, both are Brawl newcomers.
• As Lucas' down throw technically does not bury opponents and instead forces them into a unique position, if the character being thrown flinches lightly, they will snap back to their original position. In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, the skirts of Peach's, Zelda's and Rosalina's dresses cannot catch up with the velocity change and will remain up. This technical oversight leads to odd results. However, this oversight does not occur in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
• Lucas' amiibo description on the official amiibo website is a combination of his Classic Mode trophy descriptions from Brawl and SSB4.
  • Oddly, his amiibo description carried over his Brawl trophy's mistranslation of his home, Tazumili Village, rather than its correct translation, Tazmily Village.
• Lucas is the only veteran DLC character to have recycled voice-clips.
  • He is also the only veteran DLC character to not have his voice actress in the DLC credits. His voice actress, however, was in the original credits before his return, as Larry, Morton, Wendy and Lemmy, and Lyn retain her portrayals from New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Brawl, respectively.
  • He is also the only DLC character to speak English in the Japanese version of the game, though Bayonetta can be technically included if her "A Witch With No Memories" alternate costume is counted.
  • Additionally, he is the only DLC character whose Final Smash is not showcased in his reveal trailer.
• Oddly, Lucas' forward aerial has a hitbox that will load, but will then be deleted at the same time it appears. This hitbox deals 6% and has a punching sound effect on contact. However, it can be restored via modding.
• Lucas has unused references to custom moves.
  • Additionally, he has unused behavior for his PK Thunder that functions just like Ness' PK Thunder.
• According to an interview with Sakurai, Lucas' alternate costumes were all chosen by one of the game's designers.
• Lucas is the first and only DLC character who was released alongside others that were revealed later.