Monado Arts
| Monado Arts | |
|---|---|
 Activating the Smash art | |
| User | Shulk |
| Universe | Xenoblade |
Monado Arts (モナドアーツ, Monado Arts) is Shulk's neutral special move.
Overview
Shulk has access to five arts. Each art is represented by a kanji character and a color. Shulk will also perform a pose when activating each art, although the art will be activated without a pose if Shulk is in the middle of another animation. When the special button is pressed, a kanji character will appear, beginning with Jump and following the order of Speed, Shield, Buster, and Smash for each consecutive press. While an art is activated, Shulk gets a buff to certain stats while also hampering certain others, each art giving him a different advantage and disadvantage. To activate an art, the special button must not be pressed for a few frames until the colored aura appears on Shulk. If a kanji character is behind Shulk, he will be unable to perform any of his other special moves until an art is activated.
| Symbol | Monado Art | Color | Affected stats | Activation pose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 翔* | Jump (ジャンプ) | green |  Jump height, Air Slash height Damage taken |
Holds his hand in the air |
| 疾* | Speed (スピード) | blue | Movement speed Jump height, Damage dealt |
Leans forward, ready to run |
| 盾 | Shield (シールド) | yellow | Knockback reduction, Damage reduction, Shield longevity Jump height, Movement speed, Damage dealt |
Crosses his arms in a defensive pose |
| 斬* | Buster (バスター) | purple | Damage dealt Knockback dealt, Damage taken |
Holds the Monado in front of him, much like his down taunt |
| 撃* | Smash (スマッシュ) | red | Knockback dealt Damage dealt, Knockback taken |
Points the Monado to the sky |
*Barring "shield", all of the Japanese kanji are stylized in different English translations than what they actually translate to.
Also, for all arts in the Japanese version, Shulk yells out for each respective one: 跳ぶ (Jump/Jumping!), 走る! (Run/Running!), 守る! (Protect/Protecting/Defend/Defending!), 叩く! (Thrash/Thrashing!), 打っ飛ばす! (Blow away/Fly away!)
Once an art activates, that art cannot be activated again until 10 seconds has passed. Before then, its corresponding kanji character will be grayed out when selecting another art. The cooldown on all Monado Arts is reset when Shulk is KO'd. Each art lasts for 15 seconds before stats return to normal. No two Monado Arts can run at the same time; if one is active, and a different art is chosen, the previous art gets overwritten. Monado Arts can be cancelled by pressing the special button three times, or by holding down the special button for one full second.
To indicate which art is running, a colored aura appears in areas relevant to the effect itself. For example, Jump and Speed have an aura around Shulk's shoes, while Buster's aura will appear around the Monado. Shield's aura will appear around Shulk's chest and Smash's aura will be at Shulk's hands. Also, in the Wii U version, when under the effects of a Monado Art, the corresponding symbol appears at the top left corner of Shulk's portrait.
Although each art both boost and hampers Shulk's stats, some stat nerfs are not necessarily bad: Speed lowers his jump height as a hindrance for example, but allows Shulk to perform short hop aerials much easier, giving him a wider range of approach options while the art is active. In the same sense, Buster makes it almost impossible to launch opponents, but lowers knockback so much that Shulk's throws can lead into many intricate and damaging combos. Knowing what each art can and cannot do is therefore one of the fundamentals to Shulk's gameplay.
Kirby is able to copy Monado Arts with his Inhale and can receive effects from these Arts when he uses this copy ability, though any effect will deactivate as soon as the copy ability is discarded.
Customization
Special Move customization was added in Super Smash Bros. 4. These are the known variations:
- Decisive Monado Arts: Arts last for 5 more seconds and recharge 5 seconds sooner, but once an Art is activated, it cannot be cancelled or changed for another Art.
- Hyper Monado Arts: Both positive and negative effects of Arts are amplified, but the Arts have a shorter duration time of 5 seconds. Recharging will also take 5 seconds longer.
Origin
The Shield, Speed, and Buster arts are three of the arts that are available in Xenoblade Chronicles. Shulk would learn each art automatically as the story progresses. Shield created a barrier around each of the party members that can block physical talent arts as long as the strength of the shield is at least that of the incoming attack. Speed increases the target's agility, allowing him or her to dodge attacks more easily. Buster is a powerful slash attack that extends the beam produced by the Monado as well as the damage caused by the slash, and it deals extra damage to Mechon. The Jump and Smash arts, however, are unique to SSB4, with the Smash art being named after the game.
The fact that each Monado Art cannot be selected again for a short time after use reflects a mechanic in Xenoblade Chronicles, in which arts have cooldown times before they can be used again. How long the cooldown lasts depends on the art.
Gallery
Shulk's pose upon activating the Jump Art.
Shulk's pose upon activating the Speed Art.
Shulk's pose upon activating the Shield Art.
Shulk's pose upon activating the Buster Art.
Shulk's pose upon activating the Smash Art.
Trivia
- This is the only neutral special move that cannot be performed while on a revival platform.
- It is also the only special move in the entire series that cannot be performed from a revival platform that can be performed in the air.
- Despite having a copy of the Monado equipped, Kirby does not use it for any direct attacks when he copies Shulk from an inhale.
