I wanted to make a write-up of my impressions of Meta Knight in 3.5. I know the game just came out, but I feel like most of this stuff isn't subject to change of opinion as the meta develops. It's mostly facts and numbers coupled with personal opinion.
I'd like to start by saying what this write-up is and what it isn't.
With that out of the way, here are the 3 points I will be making:
1. Meta Knight is now a slower, more powerful character
I will list the relevant changelog entries and show that certain moves have been made slower, but more powerful and that results in a more boring playstyle to me. You can view the entire Meta Knight changelog in an easy to read format here: my Meta Knight 3.5 thread.
It is now slower to act out of Forward Tilt (not doing the full chain) and Down Tilt.
It is now slower to act out of Forward Smash. Up Smash's KNB (knockback growth) has been increased, meaning it will kill sooner. The BKB lowering means it wont send the opponent as far at lower %'s, meaning it will be easier to combo out of.
Neutral Aerial's middle (sweetspot) hitbox damage, BKB, and KBG have been increased. Sourspot BKB has been increased.
Forward Aerial's 1st two hits have increased KBG.
Up Aerial has increased damage.
Down Aerial has changed completely. This reduces his aerial speed in ways. I'll go into this move more in the Movement Options section. I will say that I like the new D-air a lot, but the ending lag might be a little too much.
Down Throw's damage is increased and it is slower to act out of.
Tornado now has more ending lag and less drift control after ending, which makes Meta Knight slower.
Shuttle Loop has increased landing lag and special fall landing lag (slower MK). Edge cancelling is gone. I'll talk about that more in the Movement Options section.
Dimensional Cape is slower, you can't attack out of it as quickly.
All Special moves, when used in the air, now have a little bounce animation when MK hits the ground (down-B doesn't when you re-appear close to the ground), which is increased lag, slowing him down.
Slower to act out of it (endlag increased), active frames reduced.
All of these changes make Meta Knight a slower but more powerful character. He cannot act out of his moves as quickly as he could before, and he has more landing lag. His attacks have more Knockback Growth to send opponents farther away at higher %'s which makes him kill earlier, and some of his damage values have been increased.
2. The removal of movement options / tricks
I will show that many of Meta Knight's interesting movement options and tricks have been removed. This is an especially disheartening change in a game that is focused so much on movement.
Any previously discussed move that had its IASA frames increased also counts as a nerf to MK's movement, since it takes longer to act out of those moves (to do something like jump or dash dance). I won't be discussing them in detail, since that's really all there is to say about them.
To say it again: all Special moves, when used in the air, now have a little bounce animation when MK hits the ground, which is increased lag, slowing him down considerably
So, what movement options / tricks dis MK lose?
3. Meta Knight has been made into a more boring character
This will function as both an introduction of a few new ideas and as a general summary of my previous points.
All the changes I listed above contribute to one central concept: they make Meta Knight as less interesting character to play as (for me at least). Gone is the dynamic down-throw tech chase game, replaced by a flow-chart at low% and a feeling of helplessness at higher% because of the increased lag after the throw. The increase of IASA frames on f-tilt means it is less effective to end it early and dash away or throw out a d-smash or grab. This removes options from MK's play and makes things more static. The added landing lag on all B moves de-incentivizes their use and may lead to a heavily A-button-based Meta Knight. The removal of MK's tricks (particularly down-B) makes him a more straightforward character. A to B to C style gameplay.
In closing, the new Meta Knight might remain high tier. He will almost certainly be very effective at doing his thing. But I will morn the loss of his flavor. He lost his more interesting mechanics / tricks in favor of increased efficiency. To some, that may seem like a positive change. But to me and (I hope) some other people it is a disappointing removal of unique and interesting characteristics.
Thank you for your time.
I'd like to start by saying what this write-up is and what it isn't.
- It is a breakdown of specific changes and why I think they remove a lot of the appeal and uniqueness of 3.02 Meta Knight.
- It isn't a judgement of the changes made in regards to balancing the character, or speculation on how good (or bad) of a character Meta Knight is now.
With that out of the way, here are the 3 points I will be making:
- Meta Knight is now a slower, more powerful character
- The removal of movement options / tricks
- Meta Knight has been made into a more boring character
DMG = Damage
KB = Knockback
KBG = Knockback Growth. This value determines how quickly a hitbox's KB scales with the opponents percent. Damage is also a major factor in determining scaling.
BKB = Base Knockback. This amount of KB is added to the end result of the knockback formula and is most noticeable a low percents.
WDSK = Weight Dependent Set Knockback. As the name impies, this is a type of KB that is set and does not scale with percent, and instead has a set amount that varies only based on the opponents weight. KBG in this instance is used as a multiplier, but is usually set at 100.
IASA = Interruptible As Soon As. This is a long-standing term in competitive Smash that refers to the first frame that a character can interrupt an attack, often before the full animation has completed visually. Generally this will be used to describe endlag increases and decreases.
Hitlag = The amount of freeze frames a character goes into when hit by a hitbox. This term will usually be used to describe a multiplier that increases or decreases the amount of hitlag that a hitbox would normally induce.
SDI = Smash DI, the ability for a player to move around while in Hitlag based on control stick input. This term will usually be used to describe a multiplier that increases or decreases the effectiveness of SDIing an attack.
Angle/Trajectory = This describes the angle at which an opponent is sent flying after being hit by a hitbox. 90 is straight up, while 0 is a purely horizontal trajectory.
361 angle = This angle is used throughout the game as a dynamic replacement to what would otherwise be 45, the go-to "horizontal attack" angle. This angle starts off sending further horizontally than 45 at lower KBs, but quickly scales up to 45 in-game. For all intents and purposes you can imagine the trajectory as simply being 45.
KB = Knockback
KBG = Knockback Growth. This value determines how quickly a hitbox's KB scales with the opponents percent. Damage is also a major factor in determining scaling.
BKB = Base Knockback. This amount of KB is added to the end result of the knockback formula and is most noticeable a low percents.
WDSK = Weight Dependent Set Knockback. As the name impies, this is a type of KB that is set and does not scale with percent, and instead has a set amount that varies only based on the opponents weight. KBG in this instance is used as a multiplier, but is usually set at 100.
IASA = Interruptible As Soon As. This is a long-standing term in competitive Smash that refers to the first frame that a character can interrupt an attack, often before the full animation has completed visually. Generally this will be used to describe endlag increases and decreases.
Hitlag = The amount of freeze frames a character goes into when hit by a hitbox. This term will usually be used to describe a multiplier that increases or decreases the amount of hitlag that a hitbox would normally induce.
SDI = Smash DI, the ability for a player to move around while in Hitlag based on control stick input. This term will usually be used to describe a multiplier that increases or decreases the effectiveness of SDIing an attack.
Angle/Trajectory = This describes the angle at which an opponent is sent flying after being hit by a hitbox. 90 is straight up, while 0 is a purely horizontal trajectory.
361 angle = This angle is used throughout the game as a dynamic replacement to what would otherwise be 45, the go-to "horizontal attack" angle. This angle starts off sending further horizontally than 45 at lower KBs, but quickly scales up to 45 in-game. For all intents and purposes you can imagine the trajectory as simply being 45.
1. Meta Knight is now a slower, more powerful character
I will list the relevant changelog entries and show that certain moves have been made slower, but more powerful and that results in a more boring playstyle to me. You can view the entire Meta Knight changelog in an easy to read format here: my Meta Knight 3.5 thread.
Tilts
- Forward Tilt
- FTilt 1 IASA increased from 21 to 24
- FTilt 2 IASA increased from 24 to 28
- FTilt 3 IASA increased from 29 to 35
- Down Tilt
- IASA increased from 19 to 22
Smashes
- Forward Smash
- IASA increased from 40 to 46
- Up Smash
- BKB lowered from 62 to 40
- KBG increased from 154 to 185
Aerials
- Neutral Aerial
- Middle hitbox damage increased from 8 to 9
- Middle hitbox BKB increased from 0 to 15, KBG increased from 80 to 100
- Sourspot base knockback increased from 0 to 10
- Forward Aerial
- 1st and 2nd hits KBG increased from 0 to 30
- Up Aerial
- Damage increased from 6 to 8, KBG compensated
- Down Aerial
- Divekick replaced with a Brawl-inspired Down Aerial
Forward Aerial's 1st two hits have increased KBG.
Up Aerial has increased damage.
Down Aerial has changed completely. This reduces his aerial speed in ways. I'll go into this move more in the Movement Options section. I will say that I like the new D-air a lot, but the ending lag might be a little too much.
Throws
- Down Throw
- Damage increased from 8 to 9
- IASA increased from 66 to 73
Specials
- Neutral B (Tornado)
- No longer passes current frame from air to ground on landing, now goes into special fall for 30 frames
- Aerial ending has reduced drift control and more horizontal air resistance
- Up Special (Shuttle Loop)
- No longer edge cancels, instead transitions into a non-driftable/interruptable flip animation
- Glide Aerial landing lag and special fall landing lag is increased from 18 frames to 30 frames
- -Down Special (Dimensional Cape)
- Minimum start-up for instant Dimensional Cape slash is now 11 from 7
Shuttle Loop has increased landing lag and special fall landing lag (slower MK). Edge cancelling is gone. I'll talk about that more in the Movement Options section.
Dimensional Cape is slower, you can't attack out of it as quickly.
All Special moves, when used in the air, now have a little bounce animation when MK hits the ground (down-B doesn't when you re-appear close to the ground), which is increased lag, slowing him down.
Others
- Dash Attack
- Endlag increased from 15 to 16
- Active frames reduced from 4-20 to 4-15
All of these changes make Meta Knight a slower but more powerful character. He cannot act out of his moves as quickly as he could before, and he has more landing lag. His attacks have more Knockback Growth to send opponents farther away at higher %'s which makes him kill earlier, and some of his damage values have been increased.
2. The removal of movement options / tricks
I will show that many of Meta Knight's interesting movement options and tricks have been removed. This is an especially disheartening change in a game that is focused so much on movement.
Any previously discussed move that had its IASA frames increased also counts as a nerf to MK's movement, since it takes longer to act out of those moves (to do something like jump or dash dance). I won't be discussing them in detail, since that's really all there is to say about them.
To say it again: all Special moves, when used in the air, now have a little bounce animation when MK hits the ground, which is increased lag, slowing him down considerably
So, what movement options / tricks dis MK lose?
- Down Air
- Meta Knight can no longer use D-air to quickly move straight or diagonally down. He can longer edge cancel it into an immediate aerial.
- Down B (Dimensional Cape)
- Now sends you into special fall no matter where you use it from (ground and air), though it does travel farther
- You can no longer "Cape Bounce" which was a very fun and unexplored advanced technique
- Sends you into freefall when the attack is edge-cancelled, which can happen accidentally and can result in an SD
- Up B (Shuttle Loop)
- Sliding off a ledge or platform now sends you into a somewhat lengthy tumble, you cannot immediately act out of it like before
- The upward angle at which you can travel in glide has been reduced (you can't angle upward as much)
- 4th jump removed
- His other jumps go a little higher now as a bit of compensation, but this change does reduce his movement options so it is included here
3. Meta Knight has been made into a more boring character
This will function as both an introduction of a few new ideas and as a general summary of my previous points.
All the changes I listed above contribute to one central concept: they make Meta Knight as less interesting character to play as (for me at least). Gone is the dynamic down-throw tech chase game, replaced by a flow-chart at low% and a feeling of helplessness at higher% because of the increased lag after the throw. The increase of IASA frames on f-tilt means it is less effective to end it early and dash away or throw out a d-smash or grab. This removes options from MK's play and makes things more static. The added landing lag on all B moves de-incentivizes their use and may lead to a heavily A-button-based Meta Knight. The removal of MK's tricks (particularly down-B) makes him a more straightforward character. A to B to C style gameplay.
In closing, the new Meta Knight might remain high tier. He will almost certainly be very effective at doing his thing. But I will morn the loss of his flavor. He lost his more interesting mechanics / tricks in favor of increased efficiency. To some, that may seem like a positive change. But to me and (I hope) some other people it is a disappointing removal of unique and interesting characteristics.
Thank you for your time.
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