Cloud is a very fast and agile character with lots of combo potential. He sacrifices power for recovery and can kill at very early percents! (P.S. Sorry if this guide is kind of bad, I'm kind of young.)
Cloud has some very powerful moves, which have a lot of KO potential.
JAB: (A) Can combo into Side B or Grab at low percents. Does 2%.(AA) Can be good for mix-ups. Your opponent might shield afterwards which will lend you a free grab. Does 2%. (AAA) The full combo! It's very fast and has average knock-back. Does 4%. Overall, the jab does 8%.
DASH ATTACK: Cloud brings his sword forward for a very powerful attack. It has decent range and does 11%.
SIDE SMASH: Cloud's side smash is his best move, having the most KO potential. It's three slashes with his sword, the third being the most powerful. It also comes out relatively quick. Hit 1 does 3%, Hit 2 does 2%, and Hit 3 does a whopping 13%, adding up to 18%!
UP SMASH: Probably the worst of Cloud's smash attacks. It hits in front of him and above him but has a lot of lag. It does 13%.
DOWN SMASH: Cloud's second best smash attack. It comes out very fast and hits on both sides of him. If you hit your opponent with the first hit, they will get knocked behind you into the second hit! Hit 1 does 4% and Hit 2 does 12%.
FORWARD TILT: Cloud slashes forward with his sword, It comes out fairly quickly, but doesn't have that much knock-back. It deals 11%.
UP TILT: One of Cloud's best tilts. It can combo into a lot of things, which I will go over later. Does 8%.
DOWN TILT: Also one of Cloud's best tilts. Similar to Mega Man's down tilt, Cloud slides forward and knocks any opponents in his path up. It has some combo potential. Does 7%.
NEUTRAL AIR: Cloud swings around himself, covering a large area. The move starts behind him, and comes out fast. Can combo into other moves if used while fast falling. Does 8%.
FORWARD AIR: One of Cloud's best aerials. Almost as powerful as a smash attack, and covers as much area as his Nair, not including swinging behind him. It can spike if hit in the sweet-spot. Does 14%.
BACK AIR: Cloud slashes behind him relatively fast. Good for spacing. Does 13%.
DOWN AIR: Cloud's down air looks and functions similar to Link's, except that it doesn't have as much lag. It can spiked if hit at the beginning of the move. Does 15%.
UP AIR: Cloud slashes above him. This moves lasts relatively long and comes out pretty fast. Good for combos. Does 13%.
NEUTRAL SPECIAL: Blade Beam
Blade Beam is a projectile move which can be used either on the ground or in the air, but it more powerful on the ground. It has good range, and deals 6-8%.
SIDE SPECIAL: Cross Slash
Cross Slash is a very unique move. In order to get the full move, you need to actually hit your opponent. It's five hits if you connect it, and it deals 19%.
UP SPECIAL: Climhazzard
This move is better used for offense then recovering back to the stage. It has a low vertical reach and Cloud does not grab the edge on the way up. If you press B twice, you will do an offensive version of this move. You will climb up, and then do a powerful slash back down, similar to Ike's Up Special. Be careful though, if you press B twice while recovering you will go plummeting to your doom! The full combo does 15%.
DOWN SPECIAL: Limit Break
This move has A LOT of properties, so I will cover that in the next segment. Down Special lets you charge up your Limit Meter, which when it's done, will let you unleash 1 powered up special move.
Limit Break is one of Cloud's very unique properties. You can charge it up either with your down special or by hitting or getting hit by other players. When it's fully charged, you'll become slightly faster. But what's really cool about this move is that if you use any of your special moves, it will turn into a powered up version!
LIMIT BREAK NEUTRAL SPECIAL:
A powered up version of Blade Beam. When it hits your opponent, they get trapped in a multi-hit combo, and then get launched at the end. It deals 19%.
LIMIT BREAK SIDE SPECIAL: A powered up version of Cross Slash. Instead of having to hit your opponent to get the full combo, when you use it, it will unleash the whole thing pretty fast. It deals 26%.
LIMIT BREAK UP SPECIAL: I would recommend using your Limit Break for recovering rather than attacking, unless your opponent is 60% or higher. Cloud's Limit Break version of Climhazzard goes 5 times as high as the normal move.
LIMIT BREAK DOWN SPECIAL: Cloud unleashes a huge tornado that covers both sides of him. Does 1% but has incredible launching power if your opponent is about 70%.
PROS:
- Very good neutral game
- Incredibly good mixups
- FastPowerful
- Nimble
- Most moves can be punished
- Bad recoveryNot a lot of guaranteed combos
Cloud doesn't have a whole ton of combos like Ryu or Kirby, so I am going to put some mixups into this section as well after I list the combos. The combos will be rated Easy, Medium and Hard.
EASY:
Down Throw -> Cross Slash (Side B)
A basic combo you can do from around 0-10% before your opponent will airdodge. Does 26%. (WARNING: YOUR OPPONENT CAN SHIELD!)
Down Throw -> Limit Break Cross Slash (Side B)
Good if your opponent has just died and your limit break is fully charged. Does 33%. Be careful, because you can be punished if your opponent shields.
Overall, Cloud is a very unique fighter with a lot of great tools, but he lacks good recovery options. I hope you enjoyed my first guide! :D
- Applicable Games
- Smash 3DS, Smash Wii U
