Key foods
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has a diverse roster for tournament play, with compatible characters and consistent balance patches.
- Characters like Joker, Roy, and Palutena have shown potential and consistency in competitive play despite changes in the meta.
- Fighters like Kazuya, Mr. Game & Watch, and ROB have maintained a high status with their unique strengths and diverse play styles.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate It has the largest list of viable campaigns to play in tournaments. Each character is designed with great stats while being limited by certain flaws. Sometimes, even the worst characters can get higher ranks, though not always consistently.
As the game progresses, some characters will adapt to the meta, while others will be left behind. While balance patches significantly shift characters in tier lists, others retain their relevance in recent matches. After the end of support Super Smash Bros. Ultimatesome fighters still showed their potential with acceptable consistency.
12 the joker
The unstoppable thief
The Joker was the first broken DLC character to matter globally finalMeta is changing. His moveset offers several options for distance and boxing. He can zone well with his gun and eiha magic to chip away at the opponent's health. His combo game is quick and consistent, giving him an infinitely tough and KO-confirmed streak.
Undoubtedly, Arsene is one of the best mechanics in the game. Revealing his mask or glasses greatly increases each attack, dealing extra hit, damage, and range. He still moves as smartly as Sheik, but he hits a lot harder than Ganondorf. Even his special moves change when he releases his character.
His peak performance at Evo 2019 was shown by World Player of the Year MKLeo. His broken moveset was hit with several update patches, which removed the weapon's ugly range, character meter, and low weapon special counter. These changes were heavy, but did not invalidate his personality and tools. MKLeo, the best player in the world, still uses him with newer power when necessary.
11 Roy
Royal Rape
On the full implementation of an aggressive style of play. He is designed with a strong preference for close range with his sweet spotted sword hilt. Unlike Marth, who needs to be mid-range for a sweet spot draining sword, Z's most damage is in the breath range. His fast speed greatly helps him to maneuver around attacks and projectiles before taking down his target with a devastating blow.
His basic game plan remains the same at launch, only making small changes in balance to maintain his hitting consistency. Despite the sheer number of players trying to outrun him, projectiles mean nothing with his speed and quick reactions. Kola is a great example of Roy's aggressiveness that outlasts elite players like Light.
10 Palutena
divine neutrality
Palutena's design reached its angelic peak at launch Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. His normal attacks are consistent and mesh well with steady strikes like Nair. They cover good areas around him with quick and ranged breaks, especially his invincible barren and dash attack. His specials are effective at long range, whether he's zoning with his neutral and side special or using the special to mix up his landing with teleport.
He gained a huge competitive presence in previous tournaments. His essential moves were reduced through several balance changes, tightening up his combo paths while making his attacks risky. His overall strategy was affected, though he didn't let any players down. He still does very well as a neutral for guys like Chug, who places high in tournaments like S Factor 11 and Battle of BC 6.
9 Didi Kong
Slip through the meta
Didi Kong was a first-class veteran who grew over time from an average level to his current position today. Compared to his predecessor at launch, he was much weaker in KO power. He is still very fast with his movement specials and offers combos using his special command. Despite the decent damage build, he had trouble finding the fatal blow.
Major visual issues with KO options and inconsistent hitboxes were mitigated during dev support. These modifications greatly helped the character to reach at least a high level. His potential was seen through several Diddy networks such as Ryuoh and Tweek. Tweek even won Get On My Level X with Diddy this year, revealing his high level skills.
8 the snake
The explosive power of the Brawl veteran
Snake is a tall and heavy fighter who rarely changes his game plan between matches. He maintains his superior form by trapping the stage with his signature tool, the grenade. They are always a concern because they deal a lot of damage while being a Snake's frame escape option from combos. Even though the snake damages itself with explosives, the heavier weight allows it to survive at a higher percentage. His game is still complex and risky as he has to remember his explosive traps and react accordingly.
Worse yet is dealing with other Snake tools in distress. Players like ApolloKage and Hurt show how impossible it is to avoid his traps, as they can cover multiple options, such as his C4 low and mortar. There are also the large and persistent Close Quarter Combat Snake hitboxes to keep in mind. These highly beneficial options have kept it at the top since launch.
7 the cloud
Soldier in his range
Abar is one of the best swordsmen Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Thanks to his giant Buster sword and impressive techniques. His moves are more nervous compared to his past high-level iterations, though still very effective. His attacks are fast with decent range and low risk, especially his barren and fair. Although the limit has been nerfed, it is still his most powerful tool as it increases his stats and one of his specials when maxed out. This helps him a lot in his tougher matches like Snake and Donkey Kong.
Cloud started out worse than the setup due to a few issues, including getting KO'd and recovering to the edge. Over time, he's faced better ledge recovery and more lethal options like the arrow attack and uppercut. Spargo was one of the pro players who got noticed in online tournaments before he took part in the offline scene. Although he still uses other mainnets, Cloud still has room to challenge the current meta.
6 Kazuya
Hell incarnate
Kazuya is what every ideal DLC character would want to be, designed to instill fear when closing. Since he's a fighting game character, he has auto-rotate, which makes him always face his opponent, even when spamming an attack. His attacks increase several attributes, including invulnerable attacks, paralysis, high shield damage, and knockback. He even has awesome armor attacks like forward kicks, including Bowser's passive.
One move that every player hates is the infamous Electric Wind God Fist, a tough yet valuable starter. If executed correctly, it gives Kazuya plenty of time for combos, leading to various zero-to-death paths. The move cannot be challenged as Kazuya is invincible during it. Despite its great advantage, its complexity forces players to practice gaining experience. He needs limited inputs and proper approach methods to achieve his winning strategy. Kazuya is best seen in networks like Riddles, and has shown a dominant role in the meta with high placements in Riptide 2024 and Get On My Level X.
5 Mr. Play and watch
The rise of the two-dimensional fighter
Mr. Game & Watch was confused when it was released compared to its predecessor Super Smash Bros. For Wii U. His previous change could spam him forward while having high air as a consistent KO option. His new version weakened both options with low priority and crushing. He seemed to have a bad neutral until players like Maister and Miya revealed the character's true strengths.
What makes him strong since launch till now is his smooth and lag-free movements. Despite his small size, his attacks such as hammer, turtle, chair, key, and others give him decent range with little risk. These attacks are not only harmless. They can trap the opponent for their damage juggles or KO confirmations such as their aerial, neutral, and low kicks. He has the easiest and most effective traps in the game, with his neutral attributes limiting the opponent's decisions.
4 Robb
Spin to win
ROB is one of the best heavy zoners that is a neutral winner in any desired playstyle. His zoning relies on two simple projectiles that cover the stage horizontally and in the air, a laser and a gyroscope. ROB can be difficult to approach as he can choose when to shield himself while charging. If things get too hot, he can fight up close with his fast rotor arm. He even has a simple zero to death that works on the entire cast.
None of his essential moves were significantly affected during developer support. The only major patch removed his instant gyro cancel, which improved his mixup potential. Another small change increased his lateral specific consistency and made shots connect better. This made his zero-to-death combo even better without the opponent falling. In the current meta, he is still a threat to face in tournaments. Players like Zomba and MKBigBoss took top spots with ROB in crowded tournaments like Kagaribi 12 and Riptide 2024.
3 sonic
Very slow hedgehog
Sonic shows the entire roster why he is the fastest hedgehog with his versatile play style. He can be very aggressive with his hit-and-run tactics or defensive with his amazing bait-and-punish game. His attacks are fast and very large, allowing him to challenge various moves. His special features always relate to the opponent, as he can choose when to approach. A mistake can lead to an opponent's stock.
Sonic just improved on the balance patch, resulting in more consistent damage and less lag on his quick attacks. Very few matches can challenge his speed, making him almost untouchable when he's in the race. He can't take too much damage due to his low weight, though switching out his kickbox should help alleviate that concern. Sonic mainstays like Sonix and Wrath show his menacing power in offline and online matches, taking down strong players like Spargo and Esam.
2 Aegis
Replace Rex
Aegis are really broken due to their effective mechanics. This character is actually two characters designed with the same normal attacks but different stats. Mythra is faster with comparable speed to Sonic, but her attacks are weaker. Pyra is generally slower, though her attacks are much stronger. The two cover each other's weaknesses while increasing their strengths by trading off, similar to Pokemon Trainer or Zelda and Sheik in Super noise brothers melee. The most impactful update nerfed Mythra's intangible frames on airdodge, making her more vulnerable to attacks. This didn't change her special ability to dodge combos, similar to Bayonetta's Bat's Within.
Most agree that the Aegis is in the top three fighters Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The switching special gives players great opportunities in any scenario, whether they want to push quickly with safe normals or take the opponent's stock. Matchups from several main Aegis mains such as Shuton and Cosmos have proven to be a bit of a problem. Even MkLeo and Spargo play them.
1 Steve
Block meta
Due to his blocking mechanics, Steve was the most underrated and broken fighter during his release. Creating platforms and walls on the stage opened up many possibilities, including performing aerial attacks and creating traps. He can cover multiple options of the opponent and give him the best advantage in the game. Steve hasn't changed much since his release, especially since the pandemic limited his offline presence. This moment allowed Steve to explore advanced techniques such as Elytra Enhancement and Spin Block Cancel.
Players like Onin and Akola showed how strong Steve is in the meta and shaped it under his skill. They easily picked up several majors like Super Smash Con 2023 and Get On My Level X. Steve's players became annoying and constant threats in competitive play, causing the community to question a similar ban on Bayonetta. Super Smash Bros. For Wii U.
