I think part of CoH's huge problems (After playing him) are that some of Link's really cool bomb dropping tricks are literally obliterated since using z to drop a bomb forces one to also shoot the zair. Some dair stuff is also now almost worthless (putting a dair in front of Falco won't scare anyone if it's not the meteor).
Having played him, I see where he's coming from, but I thinks some of Link's key buffs means that even if he doesn't have some of the tricks he could do in Brawl, he'll end up higher on the tier list because a god-awful recovery won't force him to the bottom.
I think he's net buffed, but for very technical players who put a lot into Brawl Link (not many, but they're definitely there), parts of Smash 4 Link will just be extremely unsatisfying.
Guys, I've been maining link since 64, I've played countless matches and am still going strong.
I think the answer here is actually pretty simple. On paper, link has in fact been buffed. That's not debatable. But IMO there are way too many characters in SSB4 that now have more tools that expose his glaring weaknesses. Yes he's been buffed, but so has most of the cast.
I've said it before on these forums, he's ace at racking up damage, but has very few reliable KO moves that don't leave him exposed. The best I've found are is forward tilt, and the occasional Dsmash.
Spin attack has crap power. Forward smash is extremely slow and whiffs on the second hit more often than not, Usmash can be deadly, but is extremely punishable, and dash attack? Dear god I keep hearing about its increased power and knock back , which is a given, but any advanced player sees it coming a mile away.... It's much MUCH too slow predictable and unreliable.
His aerial game is much improved. But again dealing damage isn't the issue with link, reliable kill moves is.
So you can buff all aspects of his game, sure, but with very few reliable KO options, it's all for nothing.
Then there's the match ups.... Most of the speedier characters in this game are absolute nightmares for Link.... That's what it comes down to.
Sure he's buffed on paper, but in comparison to other fighters, it's relative.
My 2
Spin attack is much improved and is definitely a decent KO move if you get them over ~120% (not what you wanted to hear I'm sure, but that's actually about where it would usually KO in Melee). Dair is a meteor for going offstage with, and as you noted, dsmash can be good. I think uair has potential, but I swear the thing stales like crazy after just one use (reminds me of Snake's utilt to be honest).
I find dash attack easiest to land by using bombs and the rang and rushing to try to dash attack a landing where they airdodged. It can also be used to great effect against offstage characters that don't actually sweetspot (Mac and Shulk come to mind), and spin attack is perfectly fine at knocking others off to set this up. I think it hits low enough that it can hit a character who dropped off and regrabbed and has no invincibility, so that may be worth looking at as well.
That said, setting up dash attack is still very tricky, but easier on some (for what it's worth, you CAN dash attack a Villager if you're very fast when you see them shoot the Lloid - the hitbox on Lloid doesn't activate for over 50 frames). I think Link's dash attack has potential, but I dunno if anyone's gonna find some cool combo for it or if the move will ultimately be like Link's bow in Melee - with some uses, but they are few, far between, and can possibly be replaced with other options to similar effect, such that its use becomes extremely uncommon.
