So here is the data from Tourney Locator's fantastic Smash 4 Invitational, put on the always-excellent Infinity and Bwett among others.
Kill Percents:
Average: 121%
Note: This is post-hit kill percents, after taking damage. If you want pre-finisher kill percents (the level people have to be at before you can kill them), subtract around 15-20%.
2-stock Match Length:
Average: 2:38
Average per Stock: 1:19
80-second stocks are pretty tame.
3-stock Match Length:
Average: 4:27
Average per Stock: 1:29
We again see 90-second stocks. Games with more stocks are very slightly longer, due to additional possibility for comeback gameplay and spending slightly more of the match having a player at very high %s.
-----------
All fears of excessive game length at high level play is purely imaginary.
It's a new game. Some moves kill sooner, some moves kill slower.
As we get better at the game (both controls and understanding), we will have less SDs and better DI, but also more gimps, better kill setups, superior edgeguarding, and faster offensive play. Improved mastery of entire movesets also keeps moves fresher and makes stale moves benefit kills more often than hinder. Match length is more likely to decrease than increase, though only slightly.
Let's cut the hysteria and move on.
Kill Percents:
Code:
0%
4%
11%
23%
35%
37%
39%
42%
46%
47%
47%
47%
48%
48%
50%
54%
57%
58%
62%
63%
63%
64%
65%
67%
70%
70%
71%
71%
71%
71%
74%
77%
82%
85%
86%
88%
89%
91%
91%
91%
92%
93%
93%
94%
94%
98%
99%
99%
99%
100%
100%
101%
101%
102%
103%
103%
104%
105%
105%
105%
105%
106%
106%
106%
108%
108%
109%
110%
110%
110%
111%
111%
111%
111%
113%
113%
114%
114%
114%
115%
116%
116%
116%
117%
117%
118%
118%
119%
119%
119%
119%
120%
120%
120%
120%
120%
121%
121%
122%
122%
122%
122%
123%
123%
123%
123%
123%
123%
124%
124%
124%
124%
124%
126%
126%
126%
127%
127%
128%
128%
128%
128%
129%
129%
129%
129%
129%
130%
130%
131%
131%
131%
131%
132%
132%
133%
134%
135%
135%
136%
136%
137%
137%
137%
137%
137%
137%
137%
138%
138%
139%
139%
139%
140%
140%
140%
141%
141%
142%
142%
142%
144%
144%
147%
148%
149%
150%
150%
151%
151%
151%
152%
152%
152%
153%
155%
155%
155%
156%
157%
157%
158%
158%
158%
159%
159%
160%
160%
161%
161%
162%
162%
162%
163%
165%
165%
166%
168%
169%
169%
171%
172%
172%
173%
174%
177%
178%
180%
182%
182%
184%
185%
186%
190%
195%
197%
199%
202%
219%
Note: This is post-hit kill percents, after taking damage. If you want pre-finisher kill percents (the level people have to be at before you can kill them), subtract around 15-20%.
2-stock Match Length:
Code:
0:57
1:24
1:25
1:26
1:32
1:38
1:38
1:40
1:41
1:41
1:43
1:55
1:59
2:05
2:10
2:11
2:14
2:20
2:20
2:20
2:22
2:22
2:28
2:34
2:34
2:37
2:39
2:42
2:43
2:46
2:49
2:51
2:56
2:58
3:02
3:04
3:06
3:08
3:11
3:15
3:18
3:21
3:26
3:28
3:30
3:30
3:35
3:36
3:44
4:02
4:21
4:40
Average per Stock: 1:19
80-second stocks are pretty tame.
3-stock Match Length:
Code:
1:14
3:04
3:08
3:28
3:43
4:08
4:21
4:21
4:33
4:35
4:36
4:39
4:59
5:03
5:29
6:22
8:00 (remaining: 1-stock 38% vs. 1-stock 101%)
Average per Stock: 1:29
We again see 90-second stocks. Games with more stocks are very slightly longer, due to additional possibility for comeback gameplay and spending slightly more of the match having a player at very high %s.
-----------
All fears of excessive game length at high level play is purely imaginary.
It's a new game. Some moves kill sooner, some moves kill slower.
As we get better at the game (both controls and understanding), we will have less SDs and better DI, but also more gimps, better kill setups, superior edgeguarding, and faster offensive play. Improved mastery of entire movesets also keeps moves fresher and makes stale moves benefit kills more often than hinder. Match length is more likely to decrease than increase, though only slightly.
Let's cut the hysteria and move on.
Last edited: