As fans bemoan the inclusion of yet another Fire Emblem character in Smash, Nintendo also made sweeping changes to the Smash roster. In the latest Super Smash Bros Ultimate patch notes, Sakuri overhauled the stats of nearly half the roster. While most of the changes involve shield buffs, Sakuri performed major buffs and nerfs to several fan favorites. Twitter user @PopiSSB summarized the latest update in the image below:

The Details

First of all, let’s discuss the “nerfs”. While fans scoff at the idea of a less powerful Joker, Zero Suit Samus, and Palutena, most of the nerfs pertain to range and distance.

• Palutena – Shortened the launch distance for her neutral air attack.
• Joker – Reduced the range for his neutral special and the amount of summon time for Arsene.
• Zero Suit Samus – Shortened the time opponents are trapped in her down special.

That’s it. While these are major changes for the characters’ speed and range, the damage output is still in tact. Now for the buffs:

• Samus – Extended launch distance for up and down smash as well as up throw. Applies to Dark Samus as well.
• Sheik – Multiple changes including reduced vulnerability for specials as well as increased attack speed for down smash and grab range.
• Zelda – Exact same buffs as Sheik.
• Dr. Mario – Increased attack power of side and down tilt attacks as well as neutral air attack.
• Young Link – Increased attack speed for neutral attack and extended launch distance for up smash, up air, and forward throw attacks.
• Cloud – Increased speed of up and down special and extended launch distance for dash and up smash attacks.
• Toon Link – Increased power of down air attacked, speed of back air attack, launch distance of down smash, and reduced vulnerability of dash attack.
• Ryu – Adjusted launch angle of down tilt attack, granted the ability to cancel down smash into a special, increased number of hits for Hadoken attack, and increased power of side special.

The remainder of characters received a shield buffs that extended the duration of the move. A full list of the buffs and nerfs can be found on Nintendo’s official website.

Conclusion

While the reveal of Byleth is uninspiring, the massive overall of roster stats is interesting. As Nintendo continues to release new fighters the next two years, Sakurai needs to continue assessing the roster in future Super Smash Bros Ultimate patch notes.

But we want to know what you think. Are you excited about the second wave of Smash DLC fighters? Do you think Sakurai will be able to balance the strengths and weaknesses of 86 characters? Let us know in the comments below or the social media links on the right. Be sure to check out our other news items on Pokemon, Modern Warfare, Capcom, Blizzard and more.

Also, be sure to follow us on Twitter to stay on top of all the latest Smash news. Until next time, enjoy!