- Game Versions
- Smash 3DS, Smash Wii U
Contents
-Intro to Character
-About the Author
-Standard Attacks
-Aerials
-Grabs
-Specials [With Bike Tricks]
-Taunting
-Follow ups
-Other Nuances
-Matchups
-Footage of my Wario
-Conclusion
Intro to Wario
So glad you decided to check this out! This guide was made to fully inform you about all the tricks Wario is capable of doing. It is a compilation of all the critical points in the Wario boards and huge credit goes to TheReflexWonder for discovering all the nitty gritty technical stuff behind Wario that you will soon learn about.
Wario is not like most of the characters. He's got the 4th best air speed, and survives for quite a while thanks to being the 8th heaviest character. A big part of Wario's metagame is his waft, which is one of the most powerful moves in the game! This and many more make him seem enigmatic to the other fighters, so lets get on with the show!
About Boost4u
I played melee and brawl casually. I never learned about the competitive side of the games until late 2012, where me and my cousin entered a local brawl tournament and got slaughtered by a diddy kong. Ever since, my cousin has been picking up on the competitive side of brawl, learning about chain grabs and what not, while I fall behind considerably.
Later on, Smash 4 comes out and its given me a chance to start things right. I've stuck to my Brawl main for Sm4sh since day 1 of its release. The new mechanics have greatly benefited my playstyle and through the months I continue to learn more and more things about Wario.
I still wouldn't consider myself as good as Reflex, but most of my fame locally and online comes from the big successes I've had with Wario. I've been to a couple tournaments locally and online, with good placings all around (xcept my last one XP) and starting to become familiar with my local scene. Other characters I use in order from most confident to decent is Dark Pit, DK, Palutena, Link, Bayonetta, Bowser, Lucina, Lucario, and Ganondorf.
Now let's start! Usefulness will be on a scale of 1 to 10 (Opinion-based).
Standard Attacks
Jab 1
Hitbox: 8-9
Damage: 4
Usefulness: 4
Jab 2
Hitbox: 4-5
Damage 5
Usefulness: 4
A bit of a mediocre jab, this move doesn't have much merit, as frame 8 jabs barely pass viability. At high percents, Jab 2 might even fail to hit. What you can do, is Jab 1 -> Grab at low percents. Jab 1 -> Fair will also work at much higher percents too. Jab 2 does have good-ish range that can catch rolls sometimes.
Forward Tilt
Hitbox: 12-15 (all angles)
Damage: 14 (angled up) / 13 (normal) / 12 (angled down)
Usefulness: 6.5
This meaty punch has decent reach, good damage and killing power. Good for hitting opponents that like to throw out hitboxes after your dtilt. KO's by the ledge can be seen around 122%. It can't be thrown out so freely however, so it is best used for reading opponents while not leaving you too open if you miss.
Up Tilt
Hitbox: 12-14 (Head and hands intangible 5-23)
Late Hitbox: 15-23
Damage: 10 (Late damage: 6)
Usefulness:7
A great move for stuffing aerial approaches thanks to those intangibility frames. It has much more range than you would expect. At mid-early percents, you can follow up with Uair. The sourspot of this move also allows for potential follow ups that might require a small read. It can beat some character's short hop aerials such as
bair/dair, dair, fair/bair, nair/fair, and many more
Down Tilt
Hitbox: 5
Damage: 4
Usefulness: 9
Dtilt accomplishes what other characters' jabs do: set up for a grab. It is one of Wario's safest options due to the low startup and end lag. A good spacing tool, and works well with a tomahawk (advancing empty hop). Its so good that it has been observed more closely than other moves.
The hitbox on Wario's glove pops opponents up at a 46 degree angle, while the hitbox at the tip of his finger pops them up at 67 degrees. This is important because some characters can buffer a command before touching the ground depending on which part of the dtilt you hit them with. If they try to shield, grab, or roll, they will accidentally do an airdodge, which gives you 20 more frames to punish them. These are characters that can fall for said scenario from the glove hitbox or the tip:. These are characters that can fall for said scenario from the tip only: (non jump) . Other characters can buffer a command after getting hit by the tip only when they have reached a certain percent. They are listed as: (100+)(65+)(75+)(95+)(54+). Remember this is 20 extra frames to punish. Free Fsmash.
At mid percents and without rage (for most characters), Dtilt can link multiple times or you can even go dtilt -> half waft!
If its too much to absorb, you can settle for a grab, dash attack, or forward air follow ups after dtilt.
Dash Attack
Hitbox: 4-5
Damage: 7
Sourspot hitbox: 6-23 (Always trips opponent)
Damage: 4
Usefulness: 8
An epic bursting attack with an interesting sourspot. The sweetspot is Wario's fastest move, not to mention it also has decent range for a stubby man. The spotlight however goes to the sourspot of the dash attack, which lingers for quite a bit. It is very weak but unpunishable if it lands thanks to its tripping effect. It is one of three moves that Wario can use to jab lock.
One of the patches removed its ability to hit airborne targets but later on another patch brought it back! Note that hitting airborne targets with this puts them behind you. You can ledge guard with the sourspot, as the lingering frames can catch people recovering low on their 2 frames of vulnerability. This can juke them out if they're not ready, because they will need to up-b again to grab the ledge. You can do this versus the entire roster, with some exceptions beingbecause you end up trading blows. have up-bs that simply don't allow you to dash attack by the ledge. Also it instakills Bowser's children.
Forward Smash
Hitbox: 18-19
Damage:19
Usefulness: 5
Its not the shoulder bash, its an even meatier punch! Save this for the reads as it is pretty slow in terms of startup and endlag. It does have amazing killpower however, cleaning out almost half the entire roster from center of battlefield around 93% without rage!
Up smash
Hitbox: 11-13 (Head intangibility 8-14)
Damage: 16 (13 on frame 13)
Usefulness: 5
Another powerful smash attack with bad endlag. Use this on improperly spaced aerials. It comes out one frame sooner than up tilt, but has more endlag. It comes down to what you need.
Down Smash
Hitbox: 8-17 (early) 18-27 (normal) 28-36 (late)
Damage: 13 / 10 / 5
Usefulness: 6.5
Comes out as fast as your jab, which is neat. The lingering hitboxes are also a plus for catching rolls. It also bops people hanging onto the ledge without their invincibility. The problem is that it doesn't kill quite as quickly as his other smashes, and it's cooldown is still not good. Wario received the short end of the stick when it came to Mario Bros smash attacks.
Aerials
Neutral Air
Hitbox: 4
Damage: 6.5
Sourspot hitbox: 15-38
Damage: 4
Usefulness: 8
With high aerial mobility and 12 frames of landing lag, this move is very powerful in the neutral game. Short hop to immediate Nair can hit any character and even some crouching opponents. Full hop Nair can hit a standingas well as anything else taller than him. Doing full hop immediate Nair without fastfall will allow you to do one more sweetspot Nair before you hit the ground. It is relatively safe on shield and has great synergy with chomp. You can hit many of the prominent tournament characters with both the sweetspot and the sourspot for a nice 11.5 damage. This works around 42% and works earlier with more rage. Hitting people with only the sourspot can allow for aerial follow ups in mid percents.
Forward Air
Hitbox: 5-6
Damage: 7
Sourspot hitbox: 7-17
Damage: 4.5
Usefulness: 8
This move is pretty useful. Comes out fast and the sourspot can effectively jab lock at low to mid percents. Good for follow ups and spacing. Using one at a full hop will still leave you time to make another command! One of wario's many edge guarding tools. Trying to attack out of a combo and nair isn't cutting it? Try fair because of its extra range in front of you. It's not as spammy as shiek fairs though.
It's only flaws are it's lack of range and killpower.
Back Air
Hitbox: 9-11
Damage: 12
Usefulness: 8.5
Edge guarding or not, this is Wario's reliable KO move. This meaty skull bash can also be autocancelled if its used immediately after a short hop, so you can space with it. Keep in mind that it's landing lag is atrocious, and it can actually jab lock after a dthrow at 0 percent (8% if you include dthrow damage). Wouldn't consider it a reliable jab locking option since the percent window is ridiculously small.
Up Air
Hitbox: 8-9
Damage: 13
Usefulness: 7
The overhead clap isn't as powerful as it used to be, but it has great combo potential when falling (good hitstun and only 12 frames of landing lag). The range on it is decent and the damage is nice. At low to mid percents falling Uair can link to another Uair or if you're bold, a waft. This move makes for a great follow up after an up throw or low percent wheelie crush.
Down Air
Hitbox: 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19
Damage: 1.3
Final hitbox: 21
Damage: 4 (total 11.8)
Usefulness: 7.5
This move has so much uses, however they tend to get risky (landing lag) if your opponent catches on. Due to being a multi hit move, this makes a great ledge guard move always catching them on their 2 frames of vulnerability. It also serves as a decent ko move and can be thrown out from a full hop to autocancel. However, some characters such as don't get sucked in by a FH Dair. This can be remedied with an immediate short hop -> double jump -> Dair. This sequence also allows you to use an Uair just before you land. If you have issues with falling Uair combo starters, give this sequence a try.
Landing incomplete dairs (no final hit) can allow for some follow ups that are more doable with higher rage, and gives you more frame advantage on lighter characters. On 100% rage, you can do incomplete dair -> half waft which works on most characters bar lightweights. For those, you can almost consistently land an up smash. Lastly, you can perform a semi spike with dair by clashing with another move. The opponent needs to be hit from your head, not the tip, as that is where the downward angle hitbox is. This makes a really good edge guard tool for characters with incompetent recoveries.
Grabs
Forward Throw
Damage: 12
Usefulness: 7.5
Wario is one of those rare characters with a killing forward throw. Another good ledge gaurding move in tandem with an upwards bike throw. This is used for KOing, stage control, or if you really need it, damage.
Up Throw
Damage: 11
Usefulness: 7
Its generally a bad thing if you are above your opponent. Wario's up throw pretty much does that, setting up for up air / juggles. A throw option at any percents.
Down Throw
Damage: 8
Usefulness: 7.5
This is a throw that I've looked into a lot. It is full of follow ups, that can only happen with one read. Many successful follow ups have included Bike, Bair, and Uair. Especially vs fast fallers or heavies you might want to consider this throw. Failing the read however may put you at a disadvantage state, or just reset the match back to neutral.
Back Throw
Damage: 7
Usefulness: 6.5
Not as amazing as other back throws, and there is not much merit to using it. It does kill around 150% by the ledge, and it does knock Rosalina's Luma away. The main purpose is just to get your opponent offstage to set up for an edge guard.
Specials
[Neutral B] Chomp
Hitbox: 8 (can hold up to 48)
Damage: 5 (mash B to deal more damage)
Usefulness: 8.5
Arguably one of the best command grabs, it can be used to punish rolls or mispaced fsmashes, dash attacks, and grabs. You can also use this as a mixup to your fair/nair/bair bombardment to make your opponent think twice when they hold up their shield. Great for snagging people who shield on a platform above you, which is a common defensive tactic. Watch out for the mild endlag.
When the opponent is hanging on the ledge, you can hold the chomp in front of them to cover three options: Ledge Jump, Getup Attack, and Normal Getup. Even some mispaced Fairs will get caught in Wario's toothy maw. The opponent can only wait or roll get up but the former is punished by dash attack, Dsmash, Dtilt, Jab 1, and Waft, while the latter is punished by Ftilt, any smash attack, Grab, and Waft.
Lastly, you can even eat projectiles! You can see all the things he can eat right here. Note that eating items is as fast as frame one and therefore has priority over fighters. Projectiles that heal him also reduce the waft charge time by 1.5 seconds! This is very important in some matchups.
[Side B] Wario Bike
Hitbox: 20-??
Damage: Varies
Usefulness: 8.5
Wario's bike is very interesting. So much, that it gets its own section. Now you can just Side B on the ground, and run people over at full speed for 10%. Popping a wheelie as soon as you hit them adds another 8%, but makes you forfeit any potential follow ups. Performing wheelies also better protect you from projectiles! The damage output decreases the slower you move your bike. Though turning the bike is punishable, sweeping the foe with the turn like that deals 7%, has more knockback, and the stream of hitboxes turn it into a good shield pressure tool. During the startup frames of the move, Wario floats a bit to make room for the bike to spawn underneath him. This animation allows you to dodge some down smashes! There are more tricks than just the wheelie, and here they are!
Wheelie Crush: After performing your wheelie, the bike has to slam back down to its original position. If you hit them during this animation, airborne or not, it will deal 13% and launch them vertically. Not to mention its kill power is ridiculous, KOing Bowser at 98% without rage. Is the startup too long? You can get rid of this by starting the bike on a platform and do a wheelie as soon as you become airborne. This will make the bike slam down as soon as it lands.
Projectile Bike: If you jump out of your bike from the ground, the bike will still damage foes by 3.5%. Not much, but it can throw them off. If they shield it on instinct, then you can punish with chomp. The bike can't be pocketed by villager until it loses its hitboxes. The bike follows your momentum so if you are hit out of it, the bike might suddenly move the other way and hit your opponent, which may cause some crazy follow ups. The bike always has your back.
Jump Boost Bike: Using the bike in the air gives you an extra lift in the air, making it super useful for recovery. Just be wary that once you spawn a bike in the air, you won't be able to spawn another one until you touch the ground or do a ledge jump. Starting side b on the ground and driving offstage will still allow you to use side B one more time, just wait for the bike to leave the stage.
Ledge Boost Bike: To do this trick, you need to run off stage. As soon as you leave the ground, input Side B towards the stage, and your bike will hop over the edge and travel at an extra higher speed. This is good for a surprise attack of speed, and it combos into Fair, Nair, and Waft. The timing is very strict. If you are too late, you perform the next trick.
Ledge Drop Bike: Whenever you hit a wall, you instantly get off while the bike tries to move a little more. Hitting the lip of the edge will cause the bike to rest by the ledge. All you have to do is use your double jump to get back on stage, and prepare for some heavy edge guards. Also known as ledge cancel bike.
You can waft on your resting bike to extend the waft's hitbox duration. Using a full waft on the bike extends it by 20 frames! This gives you an easier time at hitting people during their 2 vulnerability frames. If waft is on deck, and they recover low. It's usually gg to their stock. Any hit on the bike has their hitbox duration extended so feel free to do half waft or up smash reads with it if you can.
Sandbag Bike: Hitting a fallen/thrown bike also stales your moves! So if you have time, hit the bike with moves you don't find useful at the moment to unstale your other moves. The Bike also can soak up projectiles whether you're riding it or not. This helps with your approach options in some matchups. However it can't take too much hits. If you are riding it when it takes ~18%, the bike will blow up and you will get launched, taking 5% damage. Using the bike as a sandbag wall can stop projectiles such as Lucario's Aura sphere, Luigi's Fireball, ZSS's Paralyzer, Samus' Charge Shot, and many more.
Bike Throws: Edge guarding and you don't like spending waft? You can throw your bike upwards and it will stop the ledge options the chomp stops with the added bonus of ledge hop aerials. It will bounce three times. They may wait it out or roll, but both options are very easy to read. With the right spacing, you can smash dthrow the bike the instant your opponent grabs the ledge. It stuffs jumps, waiting it out, get up attack, normal get up (usually), and sometimes even ledge hop aerials.
The active hitboxes on Wario's bike throws depends on whether you are facing left or right when you throw it. In Dthrow's case, thrown right it bounces once and is slightly safer, thrown facing left it bounces twice. Wario's Uthrow facing left can hit much lower in the beginning than Uthrow facing right. If you want to throw it horizontally, you should typically go for a back throw, as it floats upwards less.
Wario's pick up animation takes 11 frames. An up / down throw bike has its hitbox active on frame 11, while a Forward / Back throw have its hitbox active frame 16. The pick up animation frames change depending on how canonically strong the character is. Most hover around 12 frames, but there are some outliers which include(both 17 frames) and (20 frames).
Wario can crouch over some character's forward bike throws (his crouch is useful?!!). These characters include and . Some character's forward bike throw is so high you can run past it. These are and. Make them pay for trying to give you a taste of your own medicine!
Because a thrown bike has fixed knockback that is almost nonexistent, it is Wario's third jab locking option. Other things two note are that it has a good amount of hitstun, allowing for Dtilt, Grab, Uair, or even half waft follow ups. The bike throw itself deals major damage if you input the throw as a smash attack. However, only on the first active frame. Damage decreases the longer the bike has been thrown in the air. Throwing the bike offstage for a gimp is not a crazy idea either because it beats out most Up Bs.
Optimal Bike Healing: You can eat the bike whole for 1%, or eat the parts one by one for probably 3% at best. However, there is a way you can maximize Wario's chomp capacity. By doing ledge cancel bike -> Sweetspot Fair on the bike -> Hard Dthrow facing left, you can follow where the bike explodes (on its second bounce) and eat 4/5 parts in one go! That's a quick 4% and 6 sec waft charge! Another pattern would be soft up throw -> Fast Fall Up Air -> Chomp on the bike's landing, but the window of execution is a bit tighter. Remember it stales moves.
[Up B] Corkscrew
Hitbox: 6-7, 8-11, 12-15, 16-19, 20-23, 29-30
Damage: 5 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 4 (Total 13)
Usefulness: 7
Not really an excellent recovery move but it gets the job done most of the time. It is a good out-of-shield option, with decent knockback. Nothing too spectacular here. The hitstun on this is actually pretty great, you can do incomplete Up-B -> ledge snap -> Waft.
[Down B] Wario Waft (stage 1)
Hitbox: 16-18 (100% Trip chance)
Damage: 0
Usefulness: 1
Its there for farts and giggles. Possible follow up taunt after KOing with the fully charged waft. Too much cooldown for a tech chase, unless the opponent has bad reaction time.
Wario Waft (20 seconds)
Hitbox: 10-11
Damage: 12
Usefulness: 3.5
It does have some kill power but nothing too amazing plus poor range. Just wait for 30 more seconds.
Wario Waft (55 seconds)
Hitbox: 5-8
Damage: 20
Usefulness: 8
AKA Half Waft. It has amazing kill power and comes out faster than the fully charged waft, making this your best charge for follow ups. You can combine this with a down throw Bike at a point-blank shielding opponent and you will get a guaranteed shield break.
Wario Waft (110 seconds)
Hitbox: 9-10 (Super Armor 5-10)
Damage: 27
Usefulness: 8
AKA Full Waft. The kill power on this move is mesmerizing. It kills lightwieghts as early as 35% with no rage from the center of battlefield! Due to this, Wario always has that comeback factor about him, and opponents will need to stay on their toes mentally. Landing this is as simple as punishing a laggy move, edge guarding with a ledge cancel bike, sourspot nair setup, or even falling uair setups. The super armor makes sure that you won't get interrupted by meager attacks.
Taunting
Just because Wario is a very obnoxious character, you can do many things that might rustle the jimmies of the foe. Your 3 taunts are quite annoying and side taunt is fast enough where it is unpunishable on respawn or after a chomp/Fsmash.
Wario can also taunt on his bike for more salt. You can’t change bike speed during the animation, but note that it has unlimited uses in the online mode of sm4sh (unless you used all three taunts on the ground already). Other taunts that are annoying for their unnecessary noise or uncanny animation is Wario's dtilt, utilt, and 0 sec waft.
Follow Ups
These aren't guaranteed (they are follow ups) unless highlighted green. Most of Wario's follow ups are a one-two hit combination, if it goes further than two hits, it will be indicated with ---> instead of ->. Note that Bike follow ups assume traveling at max speed and you can pop a wheelie for extra damage. On jab locks, your best tools are FF Up air, SP Nair, and Incomplete Dair, since they all lead to Full/half waft or even cause another footstool (except dair) ---> FF SP Fair jab lock. You could just combo with a raw waft, partially charged Fsmash, or grab if you feel the need for minimum error. Remember Rage always affects the results
SP = Sourspot
FF = Fast Fall
FH = Full Hop
DJ = Double Jump
Not recommended = Very situational
Low Percent
Jab 1 -> Jab 2
-> Grab
Up Tilt -> Up Air
-> Up Tilt
-> Up B (Final hit doesn't link unless really low percent)
-> Up Smash (Really Low %)
Dtilt -> Dtilt ---> Grab
-> Chomp
-> Dash Attack
SP Nair -> Any Aerial
-> Chomp
-> Half Waft
-> Full Waft
-> Footstool ---> FF SP Fair jab lock
Falling Nair -> Down Tilt
-> Dash Attack
-> Grab
Fair -> Fair
Falling Up Air (Best when fastfalled) -> Up Air
->Up Tilt
-> Up B
-> Up Smash (Really Low %)
-> Half / Full Waft
*MOST THROW FOLLOW UPS AVOIDED BY JUMPING*
Forward Throw -> SP Dash Attack Jab Lock (on missed tech)
-> Bike
-> Half / Full Waft (Not Recommended)
Up Throw -> Up Air
Down Throw -> Dash Attack
-> SP Dash Attack Jab Lock (on missed tech, but timing is strict)
-> Bike (even if teched in place or teched away)
-> Any Aerial (Dair not recommended, Nair requires full hop fastfall on a missed tech, SP Fair can jab lock)
-> Half / Full Waft (Not Recommended)
Chomp -> Bike
-> FH/DJ Fair (If they jump)
-> FH/DJ RAR Bair (If they jump)
Wheelie Crush -> Up Air
Mid Percent
Jab 1 -> Jab 2
-> Grab
-> Dash Attack
Up Tilt -> Up Air (mid-low percents)
Dtilt -> Dtilt ---> Grab
-> Fair
-> Chomp
-> Ftilt
-> Fsmash (only if dtilt is tippered and opponent buffers an attack or shield)
-> Dash Attack
SP Up Tilt -> Nair
-> Half / Full Waft (Full not recommended)
-> Chomp
-> Up Smash
-> Up Tilt
SP Nair -> Any Aerial
-> Chomp
-> Half Waft
-> Full Waft
-> Footstool ---> FF SP Fair jab lock
SH Fair -> Fair
-> Full waft (on missed tech or tech in place. Can get tech away/toward with the correct read)
FH Fair -> FF SP Fair jab lock (on missed tech)
-> Full Waft (Same as above)
FF SP Fair -> Down Tilt (preferred)
-> Chomp / Grab / Jab / Down Smash (all come out on frame 8)
Mid air SP Fair (while drifting towards target) -> Fair
-> Nair
-> Chomp
-> Half Waft
Falling Up Air-> Footstool ---> FF SP Fair Jab Lock
-> Up Air
-> Up B
-> Half / Full Waft
*MOST THROW FOLLOW UPS AVOIDED BY JUMPING*
Down Throw -> Dash Attack
-> SP Dash Attack Jab Lock (on missed tech, but timing is strict)
-> Bike (even if teched in place or teched away)
-> Any Aerial (Dair not recommended, Nair requires full hop fastfall on a missed tech, SP Fair can jab lock)
-> Half / Full Waft (Not Recommended)
Chomp -> Bike (not recommended)
Ledge Boost Bike (Or jump boost bike) -> Half/Full Waft
-> Fair
-> Nair
-> Up Air
-> Dair
High Percents
Jab 1 -> Fair
Dtilt -> Grab
-> Fair
-> Ftilt
-> Dash Attack
-> Ftilt
-> Fsmash (are you feeling lucky?)
SP Up Tilt -> Nair
-> Half Waft (not recommended)
Falling Up Air -> Full Waft (Hit them with the uppercut headbutt)
*MOST THROW FOLLOW UPS AVOIDED BY JUMPING*
Down Throw ->Same things as mid percent except everything is not recommended as the opponent will have a bigger reaction time window. You can still go for stuff if you want...
Any logical percent
Incomplete Down Air (Wario at 100% rage) -> Half Waft
-> Up Smash
-> Full Waft
Incomplete Up B (Snap to ledge) -> Ledge Hop Bair
-> Ledge Hop Up Air
-> Ledge Hop Full / Half Waft
-> Ledge Hop Up B
-> Chomp (might need to be B-reversed, also not recommended you might commit Wariocide)
Assume the bike is thrown up and is falling. The bike hit pushes them to the left or right according to where they are when they get hit. If they get hit by the left side of the bike, they get pushed left and vice versa. You typically would want the bike to push them back to you. There are numerous follow ups with a falling bike, but these are my favorites.
Dtilt -> Bike Hit ---> Dtilt ---> Bike Hit ---> Grab
Up Throw -> Bike Hit ---> Up Smash
Dtilt -> Bike Hit ---> Forward Smash
Other Things to Know
Wario is defensive, hit-and-run kind of guy. Due to his air mobility, he can weave in and out as well as camp out a few characters for that waft charge. Remember that the key is to bait and punish, you can capitalize on that when you are in the air. Most swordfighters will force you to play grounded though (so watch out). Some people aren't used to a campy projectile-less character, and use that to your advantage. Get them offstage and watch the percentage rise as you apply Wario's multitude of edge guarding tools.
There are 2 advanced techs that you should consider implementing a lot as Wario: Run Turnaround Cancel (RTC), and Roll Cancel Grab. RTC is when "you just hold a direction until you start running (when you're past your initial dash), then hold the other direction to get your character to try running in a different direction." -Reflex
This allows you to slide a bit forward in the new direction while being able to do all of your standing still options e.g. grabs, tilts, smashes. This is very important to get some pokes in or throw people off.
A Roll Cancel Grab (or Boost Grab) is when you move in a direction, press shield, and then quickly press A. This will cancel your roll into a grab, and Wario is one of few characters who experience a much needed grab range boost when performing it.
Grounded-State Glitch: (Credits to TheReflexWonder again for this) If you jump out of the bike while it is still on the ground, Wario will be in a grounded state until he jumps out of the bike in midair. This will persist even after Wario gets KO'd. What this means is that Wario becomes immune to hitboxes that only hit aerial opponents, and he can be hit by moves that only hit grounded opponents even when he is in the air. If that's hard to understand, than how about I tell you that most dairs will fail to meteor you anymore because you are immune to aerial hitboxes. Sadly, Patch 1.1.4 fixed it out.
Warioman Combos! A final smash with such good frame data, you might as well abuse it to the max! Guaranteed combos are things like 5 fairs, 3 uairs to upb, and 4 bairs. All deal over 50% damage and the last hit can be subbed in for a full waft (still guaranteed) to bring the damage output to the 80% range! An epic combo (credit to Little Z) is chomp to SP Nair to bike to Dair to Waft. Go nuts.
Matchups
Vs.: Fox has got great ground speed, which allows him to challenge Wario's air speed and chase him down. Wario is also heavy, which makes him combo food for things like SP Nair -> Usmash, Utilt -> Uair / Bair, Fair -> Uair. He can also pester Wario with his lasers, which make camping sub-optimal, and he has enough time to react and stop shooting if you try to approach with bike. He has enough kill options to keep you on your toes. Thankfully, Fox is very frail, allowing him to die super early to half / full waft, or just give Wario an easier time at closing stocks. His fast falling speed allows Wario to string some of his follow ups more easily, and Fox's side b and fsmash get stopped by chomp for the most part. Offstage is Fox's biggest weakness, and Wario's strength. You can punish his very predictable recovery options with SP Dash Attack by the ledge, or just nuke him with an extended waft. In general Fox's throws aren't golden, so its important to hold that shield up for the incoming Nairs, Dash Attacks, and Usmashes (which you shouldn't challenge with chomp). As long as you watch out for the occasional tomahawks, and don't get overwhelmed by his linear speed, you should be able to hear his piercing KO cry.
Vs.: Rob has quite the range for a non-sword fighter. Once again, Rob has no problem stringing a few moves together due to Wario's weight.His dsmash is scary quick too. The bike is almost obsolete as an approach tool in this matchup, as Rob's laser, gyro, and nair effortlessly knock you off. He can space very well with Nair, get a Dthrow to Uair kill confirm, or if you are at quite high percents, an Uthrow will finish you. Wario isn't doomed however. He does a very great job with uair juggles because ROB is big and doesn't have a fast hitbox underneath him. Once again, Rob heavily struggles offstage. SP Nair trips by the ledge, Bike throws, and chomp are all tools in depleting Rob's fuel. What's even better is that once Rob uses up b, he can't air dodge unless he throws out an aerial. This means you can land wafts very easily offstage. You can still simply do an extended waft by the ledge and if he chooses to recover high, you can bair or uair. Eat the gyro for health / waft charge or grab it whenever possible. Perfect shields are critical for stopping Rob's onslaught, and mixing up your bike recoveries will make sure you don't get sniped off. You'll have to fight extra hard to gain the advantage but when you do, it's lights out for Rob.
Vs.: Mario gets a lot of credit with his combo game, which works on a wide range of percents. He's got many reliable kill options, and his incredible up smash makes Incomplete-Dair -> Half waft (or Nair approaches) super risky. Mid air fireballs, Nair, and bair quickly knock Wario off his bike, and finally, his dash attack beats out chomp. Due to Bike, Wario can't be edge guarded too hard by Mario because you can recover high/across the map to avoid any attempts, unless you leave yourself open while spawning the bike. Your Utilt / Usmash does an excellent job at stopping Nair, Bair, and Dair approaches. Also in very close quarters, Ftilt is a good move for stuffing Mario's Jab. Finally you can edge guard him fairly well. If you throw the bike up, watch out for cape. You typically would want to space with fairs/bairs and wait for an opening which is when Mario whiffs a smash or grab. The matchup is only slightly in Mario's favor due to superior frame data, but hey, rivals were meant to be tough and were meant to be overcomed.
Vs.: Another very agile character that can chase you down. His combo game is good, and he has a jab that is quick enough to hit you out of any dtilt follow ups. He also isn't short of kill options. Other than that, Wario actually has a lot of things going for him. Chomp beats out most of his attacks, and the captain's fast falling allows for easier follow ups. Hit him with one dtilt, then simply roll behind him to get past his jab combo breaker. Bike also beats most of his attacks, if not, trades. Leaving the bike on the ground and staying near it is an excellent way of shutting down the Captain's Jab (He will accidentally pick it up) if you're still struggling to deal with it. Finally offstage once again is where Wario will most likely get the KO. With a very predictable recovery, you can SP Dash attack by the ledge and KO him by gimp if he isn't ready. Other gimps include Dair, bike throws off stage, or just flat out KO him with extended waft. Don't get predictable, and you should have the edge on him.
Vs.: Shulks that space well can be a nightmare to deal with. Punishing his aerial landing lag is very difficult and sometimes even a perfect shield won't give you enough time. The monado's Fair, Nair, Bair, and Utilt make aerial approaches incredibly hard to pull off. The aerials also stop Bike approaches. That range also stops chomp! Buster/Smash mode also press Wario on time if he gets hit, as in he can jeopardize you before waft will save you. Shield mode can even survive the Waft at high percents. Lastly, Jump Shulk can avoid or edge guard you pretty well and has more longevity via recovery. He can even catch your high recovery and get a stylish Air Slash kill! Now what can Wario do? You have your great edge guard game. Other than that, keep an eye out for mispaced attacks. Fast moves such as Dtilt, Fair, and Dash attack will help out a lot. Wario can also heavily camp out Shield Shulk. You will generally want to be playing a bit more grounded than usual. Observe what they do after landing with an aerial. This info comes from my experiences with my sparring partner who is a Shulk main.
Vs.: His aerials are quite terrifying to challenge and you often end up making sloppy trades with him. He's got great anti airs in Usmash and Utilt, so you can't be too predictable in the air. Ryu generally has an easier time killing thanks to True Shoryuken. Finally, his Up B is deceptively hard to gimp. Ryu's projectiles isn't too bad. You can eat it or bike through it (red hadouken gives 1-2% though), but don't let it condition you to approach. To keep your footing with Ryu, space with SH Bairs or FH Fairs, that you make OK trades or can retreat better respectively. Chomp, Dtilt, and Dair are important for up close fights, where Ryu shines. These moves are also needed to throw him out of his Down B armor. Wario's mobility and waft threat forces Ryu to approach so make him do so or Ryu will get camped hard. Off stage you have a multitude of gimps that will greatly help you minus the dash attack ledge trip. Hopefully this knowledge will put you one fist ahead.
Tournament Footage of me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcFTFjo99Do This was my second tournament ever. Online tournament. Very old (customs in this BEWARE), but this was a grand finals set out of 16 people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsLtwmaYHKA I started going into locals filled with seasoned players. I made quite a splash by making 7th I'm my first try. This video was my second try. The day after I was invited to join a crew.
Be sure to check out other Wario main's tournament footage they are all veterans of the character. These people include Wreck-it-Mundo, Iota, TheReflexWonder, and Nasubi. There are definitely more out there, sorry if I didn't mention you!
Conclusion
Thank you for taking the time to read this! I hope is was clear and concise to the point where you'll be picking up Wario in the 2016 year with style. Patience is key, especially for a character that doesn't function like the popular demand. Many thanks to TheReflexWonder, who provided lots of information on certain moves, as well as KuroganeHammer for providing frame data, damage and stats for the character. Credit also goes to Little Z for a few follow up ideas.
So long!
-Intro to Character
-About the Author
-Standard Attacks
-Aerials
-Grabs
-Specials [With Bike Tricks]
-Taunting
-Follow ups
-Other Nuances
-Matchups
-Footage of my Wario
-Conclusion
Intro to Wario
So glad you decided to check this out! This guide was made to fully inform you about all the tricks Wario is capable of doing. It is a compilation of all the critical points in the Wario boards and huge credit goes to TheReflexWonder for discovering all the nitty gritty technical stuff behind Wario that you will soon learn about.
Wario is not like most of the characters. He's got the 4th best air speed, and survives for quite a while thanks to being the 8th heaviest character. A big part of Wario's metagame is his waft, which is one of the most powerful moves in the game! This and many more make him seem enigmatic to the other fighters, so lets get on with the show!
About Boost4u
I played melee and brawl casually. I never learned about the competitive side of the games until late 2012, where me and my cousin entered a local brawl tournament and got slaughtered by a diddy kong. Ever since, my cousin has been picking up on the competitive side of brawl, learning about chain grabs and what not, while I fall behind considerably.
Later on, Smash 4 comes out and its given me a chance to start things right. I've stuck to my Brawl main for Sm4sh since day 1 of its release. The new mechanics have greatly benefited my playstyle and through the months I continue to learn more and more things about Wario.
I still wouldn't consider myself as good as Reflex, but most of my fame locally and online comes from the big successes I've had with Wario. I've been to a couple tournaments locally and online, with good placings all around (xcept my last one XP) and starting to become familiar with my local scene. Other characters I use in order from most confident to decent is Dark Pit, DK, Palutena, Link, Bayonetta, Bowser, Lucina, Lucario, and Ganondorf.
Now let's start! Usefulness will be on a scale of 1 to 10 (Opinion-based).
Standard Attacks
Jab 1
Hitbox: 8-9
Damage: 4
Usefulness: 4
Jab 2
Hitbox: 4-5
Damage 5
Usefulness: 4
A bit of a mediocre jab, this move doesn't have much merit, as frame 8 jabs barely pass viability. At high percents, Jab 2 might even fail to hit. What you can do, is Jab 1 -> Grab at low percents. Jab 1 -> Fair will also work at much higher percents too. Jab 2 does have good-ish range that can catch rolls sometimes.
Forward Tilt
Hitbox: 12-15 (all angles)
Damage: 14 (angled up) / 13 (normal) / 12 (angled down)
Usefulness: 6.5
This meaty punch has decent reach, good damage and killing power. Good for hitting opponents that like to throw out hitboxes after your dtilt. KO's by the ledge can be seen around 122%. It can't be thrown out so freely however, so it is best used for reading opponents while not leaving you too open if you miss.
Up Tilt
Hitbox: 12-14 (Head and hands intangible 5-23)
Late Hitbox: 15-23
Damage: 10 (Late damage: 6)
Usefulness:7
A great move for stuffing aerial approaches thanks to those intangibility frames. It has much more range than you would expect. At mid-early percents, you can follow up with Uair. The sourspot of this move also allows for potential follow ups that might require a small read. It can beat some character's short hop aerials such as
bair/dair, dair, fair/bair, nair/fair, and many moreDown Tilt
Hitbox: 5
Damage: 4
Usefulness: 9
Dtilt accomplishes what other characters' jabs do: set up for a grab. It is one of Wario's safest options due to the low startup and end lag. A good spacing tool, and works well with a tomahawk (advancing empty hop). Its so good that it has been observed more closely than other moves.
The hitbox on Wario's glove pops opponents up at a 46 degree angle, while the hitbox at the tip of his finger pops them up at 67 degrees. This is important because some characters can buffer a command before touching the ground depending on which part of the dtilt you hit them with. If they try to shield, grab, or roll, they will accidentally do an airdodge, which gives you 20 more frames to punish them. These are characters that can fall for said scenario from the glove hitbox or the tip:
. These are characters that can fall for said scenario from the tip only: (non jump) . Other characters can buffer a command after getting hit by the tip only when they have reached a certain percent. They are listed as: (100+)(65+)(75+)(95+)(54+). Remember this is 20 extra frames to punish. Free Fsmash.At mid percents and without rage (for most characters), Dtilt can link multiple times or you can even go dtilt -> half waft!
If its too much to absorb, you can settle for a grab, dash attack, or forward air follow ups after dtilt.
Dash Attack
Hitbox: 4-5
Damage: 7
Sourspot hitbox: 6-23 (Always trips opponent)
Damage: 4
Usefulness: 8
An epic bursting attack with an interesting sourspot. The sweetspot is Wario's fastest move, not to mention it also has decent range for a stubby man. The spotlight however goes to the sourspot of the dash attack, which lingers for quite a bit. It is very weak but unpunishable if it lands thanks to its tripping effect. It is one of three moves that Wario can use to jab lock.
One of the patches removed its ability to hit airborne targets but later on another patch brought it back! Note that hitting airborne targets with this puts them behind you. You can ledge guard with the sourspot, as the lingering frames can catch people recovering low on their 2 frames of vulnerability. This can juke them out if they're not ready, because they will need to up-b again to grab the ledge. You can do this versus the entire roster, with some exceptions being
because you end up trading blows. have up-bs that simply don't allow you to dash attack by the ledge. Also it instakills Bowser's children.Forward Smash
Hitbox: 18-19
Damage:19
Usefulness: 5
Its not the shoulder bash, its an even meatier punch! Save this for the reads as it is pretty slow in terms of startup and endlag. It does have amazing killpower however, cleaning out almost half the entire roster from center of battlefield around 93% without rage!
Up smash
Hitbox: 11-13 (Head intangibility 8-14)
Damage: 16 (13 on frame 13)
Usefulness: 5
Another powerful smash attack with bad endlag. Use this on improperly spaced aerials. It comes out one frame sooner than up tilt, but has more endlag. It comes down to what you need.
Down Smash
Hitbox: 8-17 (early) 18-27 (normal) 28-36 (late)
Damage: 13 / 10 / 5
Usefulness: 6.5
Comes out as fast as your jab, which is neat. The lingering hitboxes are also a plus for catching rolls. It also bops people hanging onto the ledge without their invincibility. The problem is that it doesn't kill quite as quickly as his other smashes, and it's cooldown is still not good. Wario received the short end of the stick when it came to Mario Bros smash attacks.
Aerials
Neutral Air
Hitbox: 4
Damage: 6.5
Sourspot hitbox: 15-38
Damage: 4
Usefulness: 8
With high aerial mobility and 12 frames of landing lag, this move is very powerful in the neutral game. Short hop to immediate Nair can hit any character and even some crouching opponents. Full hop Nair can hit a standing
as well as anything else taller than him. Doing full hop immediate Nair without fastfall will allow you to do one more sweetspot Nair before you hit the ground. It is relatively safe on shield and has great synergy with chomp. You can hit many of the prominent tournament characters with both the sweetspot and the sourspot for a nice 11.5 damage. This works around 42% and works earlier with more rage. Hitting people with only the sourspot can allow for aerial follow ups in mid percents.Forward Air
Hitbox: 5-6
Damage: 7
Sourspot hitbox: 7-17
Damage: 4.5
Usefulness: 8
This move is pretty useful. Comes out fast and the sourspot can effectively jab lock at low to mid percents. Good for follow ups and spacing. Using one at a full hop will still leave you time to make another command! One of wario's many edge guarding tools. Trying to attack out of a combo and nair isn't cutting it? Try fair because of its extra range in front of you. It's not as spammy as shiek fairs though.
It's only flaws are it's lack of range and killpower.
Back Air
Hitbox: 9-11
Damage: 12
Usefulness: 8.5
Edge guarding or not, this is Wario's reliable KO move. This meaty skull bash can also be autocancelled if its used immediately after a short hop, so you can space with it. Keep in mind that it's landing lag is atrocious, and it can actually jab lock after a dthrow at 0 percent (8% if you include dthrow damage). Wouldn't consider it a reliable jab locking option since the percent window is ridiculously small.
Up Air
Hitbox: 8-9
Damage: 13
Usefulness: 7
The overhead clap isn't as powerful as it used to be, but it has great combo potential when falling (good hitstun and only 12 frames of landing lag). The range on it is decent and the damage is nice. At low to mid percents falling Uair can link to another Uair or if you're bold, a waft. This move makes for a great follow up after an up throw or low percent wheelie crush.
Down Air
Hitbox: 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19
Damage: 1.3
Final hitbox: 21
Damage: 4 (total 11.8)
Usefulness: 7.5
This move has so much uses, however they tend to get risky (landing lag) if your opponent catches on. Due to being a multi hit move, this makes a great ledge guard move always catching them on their 2 frames of vulnerability. It also serves as a decent ko move and can be thrown out from a full hop to autocancel. However, some characters such as
don't get sucked in by a FH Dair. This can be remedied with an immediate short hop -> double jump -> Dair. This sequence also allows you to use an Uair just before you land. If you have issues with falling Uair combo starters, give this sequence a try.Landing incomplete dairs (no final hit) can allow for some follow ups that are more doable with higher rage, and gives you more frame advantage on lighter characters. On 100% rage, you can do incomplete dair -> half waft which works on most characters bar lightweights. For those, you can almost consistently land an up smash. Lastly, you can perform a semi spike with dair by clashing with another move. The opponent needs to be hit from your head, not the tip, as that is where the downward angle hitbox is. This makes a really good edge guard tool for characters with incompetent recoveries.
Grabs
Forward Throw
Damage: 12
Usefulness: 7.5
Wario is one of those rare characters with a killing forward throw. Another good ledge gaurding move in tandem with an upwards bike throw. This is used for KOing, stage control, or if you really need it, damage.
Up Throw
Damage: 11
Usefulness: 7
Its generally a bad thing if you are above your opponent. Wario's up throw pretty much does that, setting up for up air / juggles. A throw option at any percents.
Down Throw
Damage: 8
Usefulness: 7.5
This is a throw that I've looked into a lot. It is full of follow ups, that can only happen with one read. Many successful follow ups have included Bike, Bair, and Uair. Especially vs fast fallers or heavies you might want to consider this throw. Failing the read however may put you at a disadvantage state, or just reset the match back to neutral.
Back Throw
Damage: 7
Usefulness: 6.5
Not as amazing as other back throws, and there is not much merit to using it. It does kill around 150% by the ledge, and it does knock Rosalina's Luma away. The main purpose is just to get your opponent offstage to set up for an edge guard.
Specials
[Neutral B] Chomp
Hitbox: 8 (can hold up to 48)
Damage: 5 (mash B to deal more damage)
Usefulness: 8.5
Arguably one of the best command grabs, it can be used to punish rolls or mispaced fsmashes, dash attacks, and grabs. You can also use this as a mixup to your fair/nair/bair bombardment to make your opponent think twice when they hold up their shield. Great for snagging people who shield on a platform above you, which is a common defensive tactic. Watch out for the mild endlag.
When the opponent is hanging on the ledge, you can hold the chomp in front of them to cover three options: Ledge Jump, Getup Attack, and Normal Getup. Even some mispaced Fairs will get caught in Wario's toothy maw. The opponent can only wait or roll get up but the former is punished by dash attack, Dsmash, Dtilt, Jab 1, and Waft, while the latter is punished by Ftilt, any smash attack, Grab, and Waft.
Lastly, you can even eat projectiles! You can see all the things he can eat right here. Note that eating items is as fast as frame one and therefore has priority over fighters. Projectiles that heal him also reduce the waft charge time by 1.5 seconds! This is very important in some matchups.
[Side B] Wario Bike
Hitbox: 20-??
Damage: Varies
Usefulness: 8.5
Wario's bike is very interesting. So much, that it gets its own section. Now you can just Side B on the ground, and run people over at full speed for 10%. Popping a wheelie as soon as you hit them adds another 8%, but makes you forfeit any potential follow ups. Performing wheelies also better protect you from projectiles! The damage output decreases the slower you move your bike. Though turning the bike is punishable, sweeping the foe with the turn like that deals 7%, has more knockback, and the stream of hitboxes turn it into a good shield pressure tool. During the startup frames of the move, Wario floats a bit to make room for the bike to spawn underneath him. This animation allows you to dodge some down smashes! There are more tricks than just the wheelie, and here they are!
Wheelie Crush: After performing your wheelie, the bike has to slam back down to its original position. If you hit them during this animation, airborne or not, it will deal 13% and launch them vertically. Not to mention its kill power is ridiculous, KOing Bowser at 98% without rage. Is the startup too long? You can get rid of this by starting the bike on a platform and do a wheelie as soon as you become airborne. This will make the bike slam down as soon as it lands.
Projectile Bike: If you jump out of your bike from the ground, the bike will still damage foes by 3.5%. Not much, but it can throw them off. If they shield it on instinct, then you can punish with chomp. The bike can't be pocketed by villager until it loses its hitboxes. The bike follows your momentum so if you are hit out of it, the bike might suddenly move the other way and hit your opponent, which may cause some crazy follow ups. The bike always has your back.
Jump Boost Bike: Using the bike in the air gives you an extra lift in the air, making it super useful for recovery. Just be wary that once you spawn a bike in the air, you won't be able to spawn another one until you touch the ground or do a ledge jump. Starting side b on the ground and driving offstage will still allow you to use side B one more time, just wait for the bike to leave the stage.
Ledge Boost Bike: To do this trick, you need to run off stage. As soon as you leave the ground, input Side B towards the stage, and your bike will hop over the edge and travel at an extra higher speed. This is good for a surprise attack of speed, and it combos into Fair, Nair, and Waft. The timing is very strict. If you are too late, you perform the next trick.
Ledge Drop Bike: Whenever you hit a wall, you instantly get off while the bike tries to move a little more. Hitting the lip of the edge will cause the bike to rest by the ledge. All you have to do is use your double jump to get back on stage, and prepare for some heavy edge guards. Also known as ledge cancel bike.
You can waft on your resting bike to extend the waft's hitbox duration. Using a full waft on the bike extends it by 20 frames! This gives you an easier time at hitting people during their 2 vulnerability frames. If waft is on deck, and they recover low. It's usually gg to their stock. Any hit on the bike has their hitbox duration extended so feel free to do half waft or up smash reads with it if you can.
Sandbag Bike: Hitting a fallen/thrown bike also stales your moves! So if you have time, hit the bike with moves you don't find useful at the moment to unstale your other moves. The Bike also can soak up projectiles whether you're riding it or not. This helps with your approach options in some matchups. However it can't take too much hits. If you are riding it when it takes ~18%, the bike will blow up and you will get launched, taking 5% damage. Using the bike as a sandbag wall can stop projectiles such as Lucario's Aura sphere, Luigi's Fireball, ZSS's Paralyzer, Samus' Charge Shot, and many more.
Bike Throws: Edge guarding and you don't like spending waft? You can throw your bike upwards and it will stop the ledge options the chomp stops with the added bonus of ledge hop aerials. It will bounce three times. They may wait it out or roll, but both options are very easy to read. With the right spacing, you can smash dthrow the bike the instant your opponent grabs the ledge. It stuffs jumps, waiting it out, get up attack, normal get up (usually), and sometimes even ledge hop aerials.
The active hitboxes on Wario's bike throws depends on whether you are facing left or right when you throw it. In Dthrow's case, thrown right it bounces once and is slightly safer, thrown facing left it bounces twice. Wario's Uthrow facing left can hit much lower in the beginning than Uthrow facing right. If you want to throw it horizontally, you should typically go for a back throw, as it floats upwards less.
Wario's pick up animation takes 11 frames. An up / down throw bike has its hitbox active on frame 11, while a Forward / Back throw have its hitbox active frame 16. The pick up animation frames change depending on how canonically strong the character is. Most hover around 12 frames, but there are some outliers which include
(both 17 frames) and (20 frames).Wario can crouch over some character's forward bike throws (his crouch is useful?!!). These characters include
and . Some character's forward bike throw is so high you can run past it. These are and. Make them pay for trying to give you a taste of your own medicine!Because a thrown bike has fixed knockback that is almost nonexistent, it is Wario's third jab locking option. Other things two note are that it has a good amount of hitstun, allowing for Dtilt, Grab, Uair, or even half waft follow ups. The bike throw itself deals major damage if you input the throw as a smash attack. However, only on the first active frame. Damage decreases the longer the bike has been thrown in the air. Throwing the bike offstage for a gimp is not a crazy idea either because it beats out most Up Bs.
Optimal Bike Healing: You can eat the bike whole for 1%, or eat the parts one by one for probably 3% at best. However, there is a way you can maximize Wario's chomp capacity. By doing ledge cancel bike -> Sweetspot Fair on the bike -> Hard Dthrow facing left, you can follow where the bike explodes (on its second bounce) and eat 4/5 parts in one go! That's a quick 4% and 6 sec waft charge! Another pattern would be soft up throw -> Fast Fall Up Air -> Chomp on the bike's landing, but the window of execution is a bit tighter. Remember it stales moves.
[Up B] Corkscrew
Hitbox: 6-7, 8-11, 12-15, 16-19, 20-23, 29-30
Damage: 5 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 4 (Total 13)
Usefulness: 7
Not really an excellent recovery move but it gets the job done most of the time. It is a good out-of-shield option, with decent knockback. Nothing too spectacular here. The hitstun on this is actually pretty great, you can do incomplete Up-B -> ledge snap -> Waft.
[Down B] Wario Waft (stage 1)
Hitbox: 16-18 (100% Trip chance)
Damage: 0
Usefulness: 1
Its there for farts and giggles. Possible follow up taunt after KOing with the fully charged waft. Too much cooldown for a tech chase, unless the opponent has bad reaction time.
Wario Waft (20 seconds)
Hitbox: 10-11
Damage: 12
Usefulness: 3.5
It does have some kill power but nothing too amazing plus poor range. Just wait for 30 more seconds.
Wario Waft (55 seconds)
Hitbox: 5-8
Damage: 20
Usefulness: 8
AKA Half Waft. It has amazing kill power and comes out faster than the fully charged waft, making this your best charge for follow ups. You can combine this with a down throw Bike at a point-blank shielding opponent and you will get a guaranteed shield break.
Wario Waft (110 seconds)
Hitbox: 9-10 (Super Armor 5-10)
Damage: 27
Usefulness: 8
AKA Full Waft. The kill power on this move is mesmerizing. It kills lightwieghts as early as 35% with no rage from the center of battlefield! Due to this, Wario always has that comeback factor about him, and opponents will need to stay on their toes mentally. Landing this is as simple as punishing a laggy move, edge guarding with a ledge cancel bike, sourspot nair setup, or even falling uair setups. The super armor makes sure that you won't get interrupted by meager attacks.
Taunting
Just because Wario is a very obnoxious character, you can do many things that might rustle the jimmies of the foe. Your 3 taunts are quite annoying and side taunt is fast enough where it is unpunishable on respawn or after a chomp/Fsmash.
Wario can also taunt on his bike for more salt. You can’t change bike speed during the animation, but note that it has unlimited uses in the online mode of sm4sh (unless you used all three taunts on the ground already). Other taunts that are annoying for their unnecessary noise or uncanny animation is Wario's dtilt, utilt, and 0 sec waft.
Follow Ups
These aren't guaranteed (they are follow ups) unless highlighted green. Most of Wario's follow ups are a one-two hit combination, if it goes further than two hits, it will be indicated with ---> instead of ->. Note that Bike follow ups assume traveling at max speed and you can pop a wheelie for extra damage. On jab locks, your best tools are FF Up air, SP Nair, and Incomplete Dair, since they all lead to Full/half waft or even cause another footstool (except dair) ---> FF SP Fair jab lock. You could just combo with a raw waft, partially charged Fsmash, or grab if you feel the need for minimum error. Remember Rage always affects the results
SP = Sourspot
FF = Fast Fall
FH = Full Hop
DJ = Double Jump
Not recommended = Very situational
Low Percent
Jab 1 -> Jab 2
-> Grab
Up Tilt -> Up Air
-> Up Tilt
-> Up B (Final hit doesn't link unless really low percent)
-> Up Smash (Really Low %)
Dtilt -> Dtilt ---> Grab
-> Chomp
-> Dash Attack
SP Nair -> Any Aerial
-> Chomp
-> Half Waft
-> Full Waft
-> Footstool ---> FF SP Fair jab lock
Falling Nair -> Down Tilt
-> Dash Attack
-> Grab
Fair -> Fair
Falling Up Air (Best when fastfalled) -> Up Air
->Up Tilt
-> Up B
-> Up Smash (Really Low %)
-> Half / Full Waft
*MOST THROW FOLLOW UPS AVOIDED BY JUMPING*
Forward Throw -> SP Dash Attack Jab Lock (on missed tech)
-> Bike
-> Half / Full Waft (Not Recommended)
Up Throw -> Up Air
Down Throw -> Dash Attack
-> SP Dash Attack Jab Lock (on missed tech, but timing is strict)
-> Bike (even if teched in place or teched away)
-> Any Aerial (Dair not recommended, Nair requires full hop fastfall on a missed tech, SP Fair can jab lock)
-> Half / Full Waft (Not Recommended)
Chomp -> Bike
-> FH/DJ Fair (If they jump)
-> FH/DJ RAR Bair (If they jump)
Wheelie Crush -> Up Air
Mid Percent
Jab 1 -> Jab 2
-> Grab
-> Dash Attack
Up Tilt -> Up Air (mid-low percents)
Dtilt -> Dtilt ---> Grab
-> Fair
-> Chomp
-> Ftilt
-> Fsmash (only if dtilt is tippered and opponent buffers an attack or shield)
-> Dash Attack
SP Up Tilt -> Nair
-> Half / Full Waft (Full not recommended)
-> Chomp
-> Up Smash
-> Up Tilt
SP Nair -> Any Aerial
-> Chomp
-> Half Waft
-> Full Waft
-> Footstool ---> FF SP Fair jab lock
SH Fair -> Fair
-> Full waft (on missed tech or tech in place. Can get tech away/toward with the correct read)
FH Fair -> FF SP Fair jab lock (on missed tech)
-> Full Waft (Same as above)
FF SP Fair -> Down Tilt (preferred)
-> Chomp / Grab / Jab / Down Smash (all come out on frame 8)
Mid air SP Fair (while drifting towards target) -> Fair
-> Nair
-> Chomp
-> Half Waft
Falling Up Air-> Footstool ---> FF SP Fair Jab Lock
-> Up Air
-> Up B
-> Half / Full Waft
*MOST THROW FOLLOW UPS AVOIDED BY JUMPING*
Down Throw -> Dash Attack
-> SP Dash Attack Jab Lock (on missed tech, but timing is strict)
-> Bike (even if teched in place or teched away)
-> Any Aerial (Dair not recommended, Nair requires full hop fastfall on a missed tech, SP Fair can jab lock)
-> Half / Full Waft (Not Recommended)
Chomp -> Bike (not recommended)
Ledge Boost Bike (Or jump boost bike) -> Half/Full Waft
-> Fair
-> Nair
-> Up Air
-> Dair
High Percents
Jab 1 -> Fair
Dtilt -> Grab
-> Fair
-> Ftilt
-> Dash Attack
-> Ftilt
-> Fsmash (are you feeling lucky?)
SP Up Tilt -> Nair
-> Half Waft (not recommended)
Falling Up Air -> Full Waft (Hit them with the uppercut headbutt)
*MOST THROW FOLLOW UPS AVOIDED BY JUMPING*
Down Throw ->Same things as mid percent except everything is not recommended as the opponent will have a bigger reaction time window. You can still go for stuff if you want...
Any logical percent
Incomplete Down Air (Wario at 100% rage) -> Half Waft
-> Up Smash
-> Full Waft
Incomplete Up B (Snap to ledge) -> Ledge Hop Bair
-> Ledge Hop Up Air
-> Ledge Hop Full / Half Waft
-> Ledge Hop Up B
-> Chomp (might need to be B-reversed, also not recommended you might commit Wariocide)
Assume the bike is thrown up and is falling. The bike hit pushes them to the left or right according to where they are when they get hit. If they get hit by the left side of the bike, they get pushed left and vice versa. You typically would want the bike to push them back to you. There are numerous follow ups with a falling bike, but these are my favorites.
Dtilt -> Bike Hit ---> Dtilt ---> Bike Hit ---> Grab
Up Throw -> Bike Hit ---> Up Smash
Dtilt -> Bike Hit ---> Forward Smash
Other Things to Know
Wario is defensive, hit-and-run kind of guy. Due to his air mobility, he can weave in and out as well as camp out a few characters for that waft charge. Remember that the key is to bait and punish, you can capitalize on that when you are in the air. Most swordfighters will force you to play grounded though (so watch out). Some people aren't used to a campy projectile-less character, and use that to your advantage. Get them offstage and watch the percentage rise as you apply Wario's multitude of edge guarding tools.
There are 2 advanced techs that you should consider implementing a lot as Wario: Run Turnaround Cancel (RTC), and Roll Cancel Grab. RTC is when "you just hold a direction until you start running (when you're past your initial dash), then hold the other direction to get your character to try running in a different direction." -Reflex
This allows you to slide a bit forward in the new direction while being able to do all of your standing still options e.g. grabs, tilts, smashes. This is very important to get some pokes in or throw people off.
A Roll Cancel Grab (or Boost Grab) is when you move in a direction, press shield, and then quickly press A. This will cancel your roll into a grab, and Wario is one of few characters who experience a much needed grab range boost when performing it.
Grounded-State Glitch: (Credits to TheReflexWonder again for this) If you jump out of the bike while it is still on the ground, Wario will be in a grounded state until he jumps out of the bike in midair. This will persist even after Wario gets KO'd. What this means is that Wario becomes immune to hitboxes that only hit aerial opponents, and he can be hit by moves that only hit grounded opponents even when he is in the air. If that's hard to understand, than how about I tell you that most dairs will fail to meteor you anymore because you are immune to aerial hitboxes. Sadly, Patch 1.1.4 fixed it out.
Warioman Combos! A final smash with such good frame data, you might as well abuse it to the max! Guaranteed combos are things like 5 fairs, 3 uairs to upb, and 4 bairs. All deal over 50% damage and the last hit can be subbed in for a full waft (still guaranteed) to bring the damage output to the 80% range! An epic combo (credit to Little Z) is chomp to SP Nair to bike to Dair to Waft. Go nuts.
Matchups
Vs.
: Fox has got great ground speed, which allows him to challenge Wario's air speed and chase him down. Wario is also heavy, which makes him combo food for things like SP Nair -> Usmash, Utilt -> Uair / Bair, Fair -> Uair. He can also pester Wario with his lasers, which make camping sub-optimal, and he has enough time to react and stop shooting if you try to approach with bike. He has enough kill options to keep you on your toes. Thankfully, Fox is very frail, allowing him to die super early to half / full waft, or just give Wario an easier time at closing stocks. His fast falling speed allows Wario to string some of his follow ups more easily, and Fox's side b and fsmash get stopped by chomp for the most part. Offstage is Fox's biggest weakness, and Wario's strength. You can punish his very predictable recovery options with SP Dash Attack by the ledge, or just nuke him with an extended waft. In general Fox's throws aren't golden, so its important to hold that shield up for the incoming Nairs, Dash Attacks, and Usmashes (which you shouldn't challenge with chomp). As long as you watch out for the occasional tomahawks, and don't get overwhelmed by his linear speed, you should be able to hear his piercing KO cry.Vs.
: Rob has quite the range for a non-sword fighter. Once again, Rob has no problem stringing a few moves together due to Wario's weight.His dsmash is scary quick too. The bike is almost obsolete as an approach tool in this matchup, as Rob's laser, gyro, and nair effortlessly knock you off. He can space very well with Nair, get a Dthrow to Uair kill confirm, or if you are at quite high percents, an Uthrow will finish you. Wario isn't doomed however. He does a very great job with uair juggles because ROB is big and doesn't have a fast hitbox underneath him. Once again, Rob heavily struggles offstage. SP Nair trips by the ledge, Bike throws, and chomp are all tools in depleting Rob's fuel. What's even better is that once Rob uses up b, he can't air dodge unless he throws out an aerial. This means you can land wafts very easily offstage. You can still simply do an extended waft by the ledge and if he chooses to recover high, you can bair or uair. Eat the gyro for health / waft charge or grab it whenever possible. Perfect shields are critical for stopping Rob's onslaught, and mixing up your bike recoveries will make sure you don't get sniped off. You'll have to fight extra hard to gain the advantage but when you do, it's lights out for Rob.Vs.
: Mario gets a lot of credit with his combo game, which works on a wide range of percents. He's got many reliable kill options, and his incredible up smash makes Incomplete-Dair -> Half waft (or Nair approaches) super risky. Mid air fireballs, Nair, and bair quickly knock Wario off his bike, and finally, his dash attack beats out chomp. Due to Bike, Wario can't be edge guarded too hard by Mario because you can recover high/across the map to avoid any attempts, unless you leave yourself open while spawning the bike. Your Utilt / Usmash does an excellent job at stopping Nair, Bair, and Dair approaches. Also in very close quarters, Ftilt is a good move for stuffing Mario's Jab. Finally you can edge guard him fairly well. If you throw the bike up, watch out for cape. You typically would want to space with fairs/bairs and wait for an opening which is when Mario whiffs a smash or grab. The matchup is only slightly in Mario's favor due to superior frame data, but hey, rivals were meant to be tough and were meant to be overcomed.Vs.
: Another very agile character that can chase you down. His combo game is good, and he has a jab that is quick enough to hit you out of any dtilt follow ups. He also isn't short of kill options. Other than that, Wario actually has a lot of things going for him. Chomp beats out most of his attacks, and the captain's fast falling allows for easier follow ups. Hit him with one dtilt, then simply roll behind him to get past his jab combo breaker. Bike also beats most of his attacks, if not, trades. Leaving the bike on the ground and staying near it is an excellent way of shutting down the Captain's Jab (He will accidentally pick it up) if you're still struggling to deal with it. Finally offstage once again is where Wario will most likely get the KO. With a very predictable recovery, you can SP Dash attack by the ledge and KO him by gimp if he isn't ready. Other gimps include Dair, bike throws off stage, or just flat out KO him with extended waft. Don't get predictable, and you should have the edge on him.Vs.
: Shulks that space well can be a nightmare to deal with. Punishing his aerial landing lag is very difficult and sometimes even a perfect shield won't give you enough time. The monado's Fair, Nair, Bair, and Utilt make aerial approaches incredibly hard to pull off. The aerials also stop Bike approaches. That range also stops chomp! Buster/Smash mode also press Wario on time if he gets hit, as in he can jeopardize you before waft will save you. Shield mode can even survive the Waft at high percents. Lastly, Jump Shulk can avoid or edge guard you pretty well and has more longevity via recovery. He can even catch your high recovery and get a stylish Air Slash kill! Now what can Wario do? You have your great edge guard game. Other than that, keep an eye out for mispaced attacks. Fast moves such as Dtilt, Fair, and Dash attack will help out a lot. Wario can also heavily camp out Shield Shulk. You will generally want to be playing a bit more grounded than usual. Observe what they do after landing with an aerial. This info comes from my experiences with my sparring partner who is a Shulk main.Vs.
: His aerials are quite terrifying to challenge and you often end up making sloppy trades with him. He's got great anti airs in Usmash and Utilt, so you can't be too predictable in the air. Ryu generally has an easier time killing thanks to True Shoryuken. Finally, his Up B is deceptively hard to gimp. Ryu's projectiles isn't too bad. You can eat it or bike through it (red hadouken gives 1-2% though), but don't let it condition you to approach. To keep your footing with Ryu, space with SH Bairs or FH Fairs, that you make OK trades or can retreat better respectively. Chomp, Dtilt, and Dair are important for up close fights, where Ryu shines. These moves are also needed to throw him out of his Down B armor. Wario's mobility and waft threat forces Ryu to approach so make him do so or Ryu will get camped hard. Off stage you have a multitude of gimps that will greatly help you minus the dash attack ledge trip. Hopefully this knowledge will put you one fist ahead.Tournament Footage of me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcFTFjo99Do This was my second tournament ever. Online tournament. Very old (customs in this BEWARE), but this was a grand finals set out of 16 people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsLtwmaYHKA I started going into locals filled with seasoned players. I made quite a splash by making 7th I'm my first try. This video was my second try. The day after I was invited to join a crew.
Be sure to check out other Wario main's tournament footage they are all veterans of the character. These people include Wreck-it-Mundo, Iota, TheReflexWonder, and Nasubi. There are definitely more out there, sorry if I didn't mention you!
Conclusion
Thank you for taking the time to read this! I hope is was clear and concise to the point where you'll be picking up Wario in the 2016 year with style. Patience is key, especially for a character that doesn't function like the popular demand. Many thanks to TheReflexWonder, who provided lots of information on certain moves, as well as KuroganeHammer for providing frame data, damage and stats for the character. Credit also goes to Little Z for a few follow up ideas.
So long!
