I made a list of changes that I would like to see for Shulk but aren't entirely necessary. The character is in a good place as he is, but would need a few things here and there to become a top tier threat while retaining the key elements of his design:
+ Jab 1 has lowered and larger hitboxes, adjusted angle and adjusted knockback to hit smaller characters and jab reset grounded foes
Jab and grab are Shulk's only quick attacks so the fact that they can whiff vs certain characters at certain points really serves to hurt this character quite a bit in certain matchups. The ability to jab reset conveniently would also help his ground level tech chase game, allowing for a quick and effective punish against missed techs.
+ Jab 1 made two frames faster (frame 5 to 3)
Despite the fact that Shulk's jab is his fastest move it's still not particularly fast for a jab especially considering its mediocre range. Making it two frames faster may not seem like much of an improvement, but alongside hitbox buffs it would serve to improve the move a fair bit.
+ Jab 2 has adjusted knockback so that Jab 3 can hit floatier characters properly (currently whiffs vs Kirby, Jiggs, Peach, Rosalina and Zelda)
This isn't really too big of a deal to be honest considering against all of these characters barring Kirby (who can either throw out a hard to punish aerial or Down B and break your shield) it's safe to just shield after Jab 2. Nonetheless it would be nice to have while still retaining the potential mix-ups after Jab 2 vs these characters.
+ Dash Attack to come out 5 frames faster (frame 15 to frame 10) and hit at a lower angle
Currently Shulk's dash attack is by far his worst normal. It's essentially a bad version of FSmash that hits at a worse angle. Startup is far too slow for how unrewarding it is, and it's incredibly unsafe both on block and on whiff making it completely unviable as an approach option compared to most dash attacks in the game. Lowering the angle of the attack and making it come out a little faster would improve this move's viability as both an approach and a mid range punish.
+ Angleable FTilt
Another flavour thing for the most part, though it would genuinely help as another grounded anti-air to cover angles that UTilt can't as well as a tool for hitting opponents on the ledge, improving Shulk's overall zoning capability.
+ Slightly less endlag on FSmash to make spaced FSmash safer on block
Thankfully FSmash for the most part is a pretty good move but horribly unsafe regardless of how well it's spaced. I personally feel that an FSmash that's spaced at maximum/near maximum range should at least allow you to get a shield in after. For the most part though the move should remain unsafe due to it's relatively fast startup and power.
+ Adjusted priority on FSmash and USmash to make them not clank with jabs
This honestly drives me nuts. These attacks are both strong yet they trade with everything. The fact that a character like Captain Falcon can hold jab, trade with my smash and then punish me while I'm in rebound animation because none of my moves are fast enough to contest him is silly. Maybe give the first hits of FSmash and USmash the same sort of priority Mac's ground normals have so they're able to beat out weaker moves.
+ Adjusted timings and knockback of first hits of FSmash and USmash to make them connect more reliably
This is more cleanup than a proper buff. They were cleaned up in the 1.0.4 patch but still aren't entirely reliable, with down angled FSmash being the largest offender.
+ NAir, FAir and BAir all made 3 frames faster (frames 13, 14 and 18 to 10, 11 and 15 respectively)
This is a pretty huge buff and one that I'd be cautious about. On one hand it would help to alleviate some of the issues he has dealing with pressure in the air and would improve his OoS game (it would still be a weakness which is a good thing). On the other hand this would also improve his combo and neutral game quite a bit, possibly more than necessary.
+ Adjusted autocancel windows for BAir, UAir and DAir such that they can autocancel on full hop
This serves as both a buff and a polish. Currently the autocancel timings for these moves is absurdly late to the point where they don't make sense visual or practical. BAir is the worst offender. He literally already has the sword back on his back again before placing it down to suffer 21 frames of landing lag even though he was already super vulnerable in the air. In terms of buffs this would improve his aerial spacing with BAir, his anti air capability with UAir and his ability to cross up with DAir.
+ Added lingering sourspot hitboxes for UAir and DAir that last for 5 frames
Again both a buff and a polish. The beam for the Monado lingers out for a while, yet the hitboxes are out for pretty much a frame or two each which again doesn't make visual sense. This would give these moves utility somewhat more like Link's UAir and DAir but with less linger and greater range/disjoint as UAir and DAir are currently his least useful aerials by a significant margin due to skewed risk/reward ratio.
+ Back Slash damage buffed from 9/10 sourspot 14/16 sweetspot to 13/14 sourspot 22/24 sweetspot
Back Slash is Shulk's signature offensive Art in Xenoblade Chronicles and remains one his best arts all the way up until the endgame. The fact that it's arguably one of his worst moves in Smash is rather sad. I still believe it's utility should remain the same, serving as a rare punish off of a good read but I believe the damage should be increased to allow for a better risk/reward ratio. Currently the move is incredibly unsafe but also still weaker than his FSmash and USmash even when sweetspotted when imo it should be his strongest attack.
+ Vision adjusted to come out slightly faster and hit more reliably in the air
Shulk's counter is a weirdly polarised one. It's either the most absurd counter ever created or it simply doesn't work. This serves as an attempt to normalise it somewhat, bringing it more in line with other counters in the game.
- Vision knockback reduced significantly
The only nerf of the group for the same reason as above. The fact that this can kill at 80-90 from countering a jab is pretty absurd. It should be a powerful punish off of getting a good read (which is why I feel the damage should remain the same), but I feel it's too rewarding considering how little precision it requires to use.
This is all for default Shulk. Not sure what to say about customs, though the adjustments made for Vision above would also apply to its customs at least. And again, most of this is more "nice" than truly necessary. I'd like it to happen but it's not too big of a deal if it doesn't and to be honest I don't expect it to. I expect Shulk won't receive many changes realistically speaking.
