I'm done with diddy. What are the thoughts on Custom Falco? I think he's way more enjoyable with customs on.
I don't have any of Falco's customs aside from his Burst Blaster, so everything else is based on observation. I don't think Burst Blaster's that worth it since it takes away from the hitstun of his default Blaster which can be used to gimp someone's recovery if it hits them while they're jumping and it's decent as an interrupter. Sure, you can rack up damage with Burst Blaster - it does 2% up close and 1% farther out -, but Falco's too slow to get away with the (shorter) end lag; Fox can get off a few shots and run. Explosive Blaster is interesting, but I don't know how you would use it aside from possibly edge-guarding with it and/or interrupting someone's momentum since it pushes people back. The end lag is a concern since if Falco misses, then he's a sitting pheasant. So, of the three, I'd pick between default Blaster and Explosive Blaster for uses while Burst Blaster's just there for rapid fire ***** and giggles.
Falco Phantasm is great as it is since it allows Falco to cover distance, meteor with a good read, and deal some damage. The only issue is that it lacks a hitbox for about half, a third, or a quarter of the distance it travels and I have no idea why. Falco Charge isn't worth it in my opinion since Side Smash can do what it does and the loss in distance and start up just destroys an option for Falco to approach, close the distance, and recover fast. Falco Phase is an interesting move since it is basically an I-frame dash or a giant roll. Like Falco Phantasm and Fox Illusion, it has less end lag if you short hop it and land. Falco Phantasm and Phase are basically play style choice. Do you want damage and another meteor or do you want an I-frame dash allowing Falco to just dash through attacks?
Fire Bird is Fire Bird. Nothing special. Fast Fire Bird essentially turns Fire Bird into Falco Phantasm. The only issue is that it covers less distance meaning Falco can't go as deep vertically off stage, but it means that Falco is less prone to being gimped off-stage. Distant Fire Bird is a bit slower than Fire Bird and travels much further allowing Falco to go even deeper off-stage vertically. All right, if Falco can get someone that deep off-stage, then there's little for him to be gimped, but it's still like Fire Bird which means if he's the one off-stage and the opponent is on-stage, he has a higher chance of being gimped. They're all good, so it's more of a play-style choice as well. Do you stick with what's tried and true, want a faster, but shorter traveling Fire Bird, or do you want a slower and longer traveling Fire Bird?
Reflector is great for what it is. Accele-Reflector speeds up projectiles meaning it could make a full Charge Shot inescapable, but I think it has less active frames since it doesn't reflect when it comes back to Falco. It's also slower; it comes out at frame 9 instead of frame 5 like the default Reflector. For reference, his Ftilt comes out faster at frame 6 and Up Smash comes out at frame 8. So, for spacing purposes, it might not be as safe as the default Reflector. Void Reflector on the other hand, turns Reflector into a kill tool. At center stage and on Mario, it kills at 250%. Now, let's take Falco to the air and near the blast zone. Yeah, that's awesome. Sure, it comes out at frame 13, but Fair comes out at frame 12 and has less range since Falco has to get in closer. Same thing with Uair which comes out at frame 10 and Falco should be underneath or Bair at frame 4. This is basically like a weaker Side Smash in the air. Reflector-wise, Void Reflector just voids energy projectiles and reflects physical ones. Personally, I'd take either the default Reflector or Void Reflector.
So, Falco doesn't "improve" in that sense of Ike or Ganondorf gaining better moves to cover stuff, but rather, they change up his play style in subtle, but dangerous ways. A Reflector that kills or one that makes Link's Arrows travel faster than a blink of an eye, an I-frame dash or a bait and punish dash, a flaming Falco Phantasm or an amazing recovery, or a damage racking Blaster or a strange Blaster that could throw off your game.
Eh, that's my 2 cents on Falco's customs. I never unlocked/used them aside from Burst Blaster, so I can only give impressions on them. Anyway, I'm wondering about Fox's now, especially Wolf Flash since it has the same no helpless mode after using it.
