EnGarde
Smash Ace
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2014
- Messages
- 654
- 3DS FC
- 4914-3671-9440
This is a basic listing of general stats and techs for Pit and Dark Pit’s side special moves. All of these work exactly the same for both Pit and Dark Pit. Special thanks to @LoreLes for helping with the recordings. All gfycats were recorded with patch 1.0.6.
1. Frame Data
This is extrapolated from the frame data collected by @bluecrow 's Pit Frame Data Thread and Dark Pit Frame Data Thread and by @Thinkaman 's hitbox and frame data master thread.
Grounded
Note that the arms blink and dim after the super armor wears off.
(unknown substate 0x250 in Thinkaman’s datasheet)
Startup: 16 Frames (Super Armor Active starting frame 11)
Travel with super armor active: 22 Frames
Travel with super armor inactive: 8 Frames
Cool Down: Currently Unknown
Aerial
It is harder to tell with this version, but the arms blink and dim after the super armor wears off here too.
(unknown substate 0x258 in Thinkaman’s datasheet):
Startup: 19 Frames (Super Armor Active starting frame 11)
Travel with super armor active: 19 Frames
Travel with super armor inactive: 8 Frames
Cool Down: Currently Unknown
Landing Lag: Currently Unknown
2. Ledge Snap and Ledge Cancel
When spaced properly, Pit/DP’s side special will auto-snap to the ledge. This does not depend on horizontal distance away from the ledge, only vertical height relative to the ledge. At the highest auto-snap spacing, if your opponent is too close to the edge of the stage, the 2nd hitbox will come out and hit your opponent before you auto-snap to the ledge. Because you auto-snap to the ledge, it is still safe on shield. This is a good way to deter edgeguards, however you also need space the super armor properly against characters with fast disjoint dtilts, like Marth.
If you are slightly too low, you’ll auto-snap to the ledge without having the 2nd hitbox activate. So long as you space the super armor correctly, this is difficult to punish.
If you are too high, however, you will not auto-snap to the ledge, and can be punished by disjointed or fast dtilts. However, this is still risky for many characters, as the 2nd hitbox for Pit/DP’s side special can still activate.
3. Landing Cancel (Gimmick)
This tech is heavily limited because Pit/DP’s side special has 2 layers of endlag, cool down and landing lag. It is possible to cancel the cool down on the 2nd upperdash hitbox by landing, however you’ll still have landing lag. Because of this, it is not safe to hit on shield.
Also, the effectiveness for this is dependent on your OPPONENT’S spacing. Therefore, if your opponent is properly spaced further in on the stage, Pit/DP will shout, signifying that the 2nd hitbox is supposed to activate, but the 2nd hitbox will not come out at all, and will instead be cancelled, leaving you in punishable landing lag.
It is still possible to space slightly lower, so that the cool down of the 2nd hit is not cancelled, thereby hitting the edgeguarding opponent. However, don’t do this at low percents, as many top tier characters like Sheik, Diddy, and Captain Falcon will exit hitstun fast enough to punish you on hit with a fast aerial. This is no longer a problem at higher percents, where your opponent is knocked far enough away to prevent followups. This is not safe on shield, but depending on your spacing, can be difficult to punish if you fade back during the cool down of the 2nd hitbox.
Using Pit/DP’s side special from higher spacings is not recommended unless your opponent is actively pursuing you offstage, as the higher you are, the easier it is to punish this move, and the more endlag you’re likely be trapped in.
4. Slide Onstage
What happens if you use this spacing when your opponent is not in range to activate the 2nd hitbox? Pit/DP will slide onstage, skipping the cool down phase and transitioning directly into landing lag. This is interesting because momentum from the side special attack will be maintained, and Pit will slide onstage. This is can be a good way to quickly regain stage control.
5. Grounded Autocancel
@Kiram made a good video tutorial to explain this tech. This works with Quickdash and Quickshock Arms (Custom #3) with different spacing, but does not work with Interception and Electrocut Arms (Custom #2), as these do not give any forward momentum when used.
6. Slope Dash
wingedkoopa67 created a good video demonstration of this tech. This works with all of the Pit/DP’s custom side specials, but they travel a shorter distance than the default version, with Interception and Electrocut Arms (Custom #2) traveling slightly farther than Quickdash and Quickshock Arms (Custom #3).
A Note on Custom Side Special #3: Quickdash and Quickshock Arms
I also have footage of most of these techs recorded for quickdash/quickshock arm, however, my computer is currently facing technical difficulties, so I haven’t been able to process it for gfycats yet. I should be able to do so in the near future. I’ll update the thread when I can. The raw footage of me derping around with the moves (all 9+ minutes of it lol) is available on Lore's youtube channel in the meantime.
Thanks for reading! Comments and feedback is appreciated.