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[Guide/SDI] Dealing with Bayonetta's combo specials.

Myollnir

Smash Ace
Joined
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Messages
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Location
Paris, France
Yo, Myollnir here. I'm a Bayonetta/Kirby player from France (currently ranked 4th).
This is my in-depth guide on how to deal with Bayonetta's combos, focusing on UpB and SideB.
I apologize in advance for my English.
Without further ado, let's get right into it.

I / Knowing your ennemy : analyzing Bayonetta's specials

Witch Twist is Bayonetta's Up Special. :GCU::GCB:
It is referred to as WTw.


If Bayonetta uses a double jump, she will be able to use WTw again. WTw can only be used twice without landing, grabbing the ledge or getting hit.


Bayonetta can use WTw during the first 3 frames after double jumping to regain her double jump. This is called the triple jump technique. Since she can use WTw twice, she can have three double jumps in total.


As a result, even after Bayonetta ended a combo and used her second WTw, most of the time she'll have a jump left, allowing her to surprise people with jump U-air for the kill. There are some instances where this is a true combo (depending on %, rage, weight, fall speed), but it can sometimes be airdodged. If you airdodge it she can only hold A to extend the U-air. Bullet Arts U-air won't kill due to its angle (by the time your airdodge ends, you'll have started falling, preventing a death off the top).


In this clip, Ally gets caught by the second jump U-air. Notice how Mistake slightly delays his WTw2 after his double jump to reposition himself while still getting another jump (remember there is a 3-frame window to use the triple jump technique).

During WTw's start-up, Bayonetta takes a small step forward (backward if you B-reversed it, of course). This is pretty important to know as it'll help you understand if she reversed it or not if you're not able to recognize it visually.

For instance, if you were both in the air and you were in her back during a combo, if she hits you with it, that means she reversed it (unless she was litterally inside you and your character is big enough, then even with the small step forward she can hit you without reversing).


WTw has 7 hits : the first, the middle hits and the last hit, for a total of 7%


Credits to KuroganeHammer. http://kuroganehammer.com/Smash4/Bayonetta

Extremely important : the final hit will have a lot less knockback if this is Bayonetta's second WTw. This will be referred to as WTw2. Conversely, the first one will be referred to as WTw1. Only the last hit will change. Everything else is the same.


Notice that the first hit deal 1% less damage if you use an aerial WTw, which means the move will deal 6% if every hit connects. You can only do WTw2 in the air, so it will always deal 6%.


With correct spacing and precision, Bayonetta can hit you with only the first hit of an aerial WTw. This is called Single hit WTw. It has set knockback, meaning that its knockback is only affected by Bayonetta's % (rage).

On the ground, it can be used as a combo starter / kill confirm that isn't affected by SDI (almost, since there is only one hit). It can even be done out of a footstool on some characters like Mewtwo.

However, this is situational. The most important thing to know is that this also works in the air. Notice how high Marth was sent? This is the same knockback on an airborne opponent.

It can be done during a combo if the opponent is close enough. This is why it can kill extremely early.

If you want to know how to do this, you need to land the move with the bottom part of it. There is a hitbox at the bottom of the WTw where Bayo will move faster than the opponent's launch speed. This is hard to pull off in the air, to my knowledge it's almost impossible without doing jump + WTw.

Don't worry, it's usually not something you can plan to do as the Bayonetta player from the start of your combo, you do it instinctively. Good players already use it, the world where Bayonetta players can single hit every time to prevent SDI doesn't exist.

It is significantly harder to hit on smaller characters (actually close to impossible). Unless you're playing a big character, you shouldn't worry about it.

It can be done after an aerial footstool a few characters, but the only character against which Bayonetta can reliably use this is Bowser.


After Burner Kick is Bayonetta's Side Special in the air. :GCR::GCB:
It is referred to as ABK.

Bayonetta's grounded Side Special is called Heel Slide. It's a pretty simple move to understand, just know that Bayo can chose not to do the kick. Also know that if this move hits someone or a shield, its cooldown will be shorter than if whiffed (this is designed to allow Bayonetta to combo without the kick). Moving on.


If Bayonetta hits something* with her ABK, she has a 1-second window to use a second one. ABK can only be used twice without landing, grabbing the ledge or getting hit.


* : It can be any hurtbox, really. A character, a shield, a balloon, a duck... It can even be used again after hitting someone that just respawned (invincibility as opposed to intangibility). However it cannot be used again if Bayonetta bounces on a wall with it (unless it hits a hurtbox as well).


ABK has three different hitboxes, depending on which frame it hits on.


This one deals 6% and sends the opponent towards where Bayonetta will be at the end of the move.

This one deals 7% and sends the opponent slightly up & forward.

This one deals 6% and sends the opponent slightly up & back.

ABK has a short hitstun until mid %, meaning you'll be able to airdodge or use a move before the follow-up. Obviously, the higher your % / Bayonetta's rage, the higher the hitstun.


By doing the true hadouken input, Bayonetta can angle her ABK down. :GCD::GCR::GCB:



This is referred to as dABK. It has no follow-up if the opponent DIs away. dABK shares the same properties as standard ABK when it comes to regaining a second SideB. Whether Bayonetta choses to ABK or dABK it's still limited to two uses (and only one if it doesn't hit).

Then again, nothing hard, just don't DI in. Moving on.
 
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Myollnir

Smash Ace
Joined
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Messages
943
Location
Paris, France
II / Bayonetta & SDI

Unlike its Brawl counterpart, Smash 4 SDI has a pretty limited use, due to the removal of the C-Stick SDI. It is weak and only really helps against moves that have SDI &/or hitlag multipliers.

The two aforementioned moves happen to have both.

ABK has a x2.0 Hitlag and SDI multiplier (x1.5 SDI multiplier for dABK).

That means you have twice as much time to SDI, and every SDI input counts as two inputs.

WTw has a x1.3 Hitlag multiplier on the middle hits and a x2.0 SDI multiplier on every hit.

So. How to SDI? A simple picture helps more than words.


For example, if you want to SDI to the right, roll your joystick between up/right & down/right.

If you want to SDI to a diagonal, this is the same concept.

This is my preferred method for SDIing, but you can also input right and reset your joystick to neutral as fast as you can. I still recommand the other method, it's less exhausting.

A common misconception is that SDIing the first WTw is mandatory to avoid dying. This is entirely wrong. You can eat every hit of every WTw1 and still never die from a combo.


The biggest threat is WTw2. Whether it's single hit WTw with the high set knockback, the opponent popping out due to SDI or just WTw2 into an aerial, this is what causes the most early kills, especially with rage.


U-air is the next biggest kill option, but it will never kill at ridiculously early % if you DI it right (down + away, the same as most U-airs). The only time it can kill pretty early (50-60%) is when you already get hit by an U-air high in the sky and you get caught off-guard by a double jump U-air (I've talked about this earlier, sometimes you can airdodge it and take the bullet arts hit, you won't die).


F-air1 canlead to anything, so you want to avoid being immediatly in front of Bayonetta after she hits you.


What matters the most to avoid her dangerous combos is your character's hurtbox. Against huge targets, Bayonetta will have a lot more options than against small characters. Weight and floatiness also affects her combo game, but it's nowhere near as important (unless you're Fox and you eat F-air1 strings, but that's not the topic).

Extremely important : This is the less important move to SDI. Even if you mess up, you won't die just from one mistake.


Simple, but worth noting : the last hit of WTw1 (WTw2 too I guess? But its knockback is so low...) can be regular DI'd. It makes a pretty big difference, so try to SDI the middle hits, but don't neglect the DI. If you end up DIing towards Bayo, you'll get hit by a F-air or a WTw2 most of the time.

If you get hit by a WTw1 offstage, do not DI in, regardless of your %. At low to mid %, you'll get hit by F-air1, which can be really dangerous and cause some early kills if you get caught close to the blastzone. At high %, Bayonetta will just jump N-air for the kill if you DI in.

If you get hit by a WTw1 close to the ceiling and you DI in, Bayonetta can read the DI and WTw2 with triple jump and follow-up with a U-air, and then jump U-air for the kill. Or WTw2 into early ABK into U-air.

I'll repeat. Do not neglect the regular DI.

Treat WTw like a combo throw, except you can SDI the first & middle hits to reposition yourself before controlling your trajectory.


That being said, this is where you want to mix up your SDI. As a Bayonetta player, this can be extremely confusing and very hard to react to.


It is possible to avoid getting hit by the final hit : if you're really good at SDI you can get out of WTw altogether.
https://twitter.com/noji_nko/status/877531009847238661

Please note that if you end up like DK and Ganon in that video and you get this animation, you're stuck for a while. However if you end up like Bowser, you have little to no hitstun.


To do this, you need to physically escape the hitbox.


If Bayonetta is facing left and you're in front of her, you can SDI left to try and escape the hitbox. If you're successful, you'll be sent upwards.


If you get caught by grounded WTw, you can try to SDI down+away to try and avoid an ABK by ducking beneath it.


You can even try to SDI up as shown in the tweet (warning : extremely hard for most characters).

If you get caught by D-Tilt into jump WTw, you'll be right above Bayo, so you can try going up (or a direction if you're close enough to the edge of the horizontal hitbox.


This is where floatiness & weight comes into effect. Learn how your character works with WTw. Then again, the most important parameter is the size of your hurtbox.


If you SDI up, you'll force her to use her double jump, which means she won't have it anymore (she'll only have her second WTw), reducing her options. Double jump ABK does NOT make her regain her double jump.


At high %, (say around 90%), you can simply SDI & DI down/away to avoid any follow-up (except maybe a Bullet Climax, which is the Neutral B, but it doesn't really matter). The higher the %, the easier it gets.

Here, I am rolling my joystick from the right to the down position, and making sure I DI down/away on the last hit.

This is very simple : ALWAYS SDI away. This way, you'll avoid EVERY WTw2 + aerial.

Important : If Bayonetta is facing the right side and you get caught at the left of the hitbox, you will probably not be able to do that easily, though. You can however get out of the move by SDIing left in that scenario. Remember that you'll receive a knockback similar to single hit WTw. This is the autolink hitbox knockback, and it will kill you early off the top, especially with rage. This is also true for WTw1, as only the last hit changes with WTw2, and we're talking about getting out of the move.

The only time you want to SDI another direction is if for some reason you're already in the ceiling at low to mid % : in that case, do not SDI up or sideways (you'll fall out of the hitbox and die to the autolink hits). SDI down to create as much distance from the blastzone as you can to avoid dying off the top (that should make sense), and DI correctly the U-air (which is why I said low to mid%, since the U-air most likely won't kill unless it crosses you up) and get ready for another jump U-air if the Bayonetta did the triple jump technique and try your luck by airdodging.

This is a situation that you want to avoid at all costs, as you'll most likely die without godlike SDI.

Do not get hit by a combo starter on platforms
. Especially with rage.


The hardest part is recognizing which way Bayonetta is facing to SDI accordingly. If you're not familiar with Bayonetta, I suggest that you play her for a week to get a better understanding of her kit and learn to see which way she uses WTw to SDI accordingly. Don't forget that you can also read which way she'll use it, depending on where your character was before getting hit (remember, she takes a step forward, so the hitbox isn't as big in her back than it is in front of her).

To put it simply : SDI in or down+in (down will also work most of the time). Preferably down+in.

This is a pretty simple, yet counter-intuitive thing to do.

You want to create as much distance from Bayonetta as you can. By SDIing towards the place she comes from, you'll avoid getting hit by F-air1 or WTw2.
http://imgur.com/a/v5w4n
No SDI on WTw1. Here, I DI down+in on the ABK to try and negate the knockback. Here, the second ABK doesn't connect (WTw2 neither, of course), but Bayonetta could've used B-air, but it can be airdodged. However, there is a known Bayonetta frame trap that is done by using B-air on the airdodge, then punishing it with ABK. DIing in on the second ABK (which would be right in that scenario) allows you to avoid any follow-up after that.
http://imgur.com/Jl2MO8m

This is what will happen during most games if you know how to SDI. The second ABK can be airdodged by the way.
When used right before landing, U-air might look like it'll combo into something, but Bayonetta will have too much lag from her specials. Take the U-air and reset the situation. Don't airdodge after the U-air. On the other hand, B-air can very often be airdodged, resulting in Bayonetta frame trapping you with ABK. Regardless of how you took another ABK, DI in again (which would be the other direction you just SDI'd to). This is the same situation as before, except she doesn't have another ABK, which means at worst you eat a B-air and the combo ends here.


SDIing down often works because Bayonetta needs to jump to get her other WTw, so she'll end up too high to hit you, and will probably footstool you (no follow-up possible). I still suggest that you DI in (or down+in, you decide).


PLEASE DO NOT SDI AWAY ON THE ABK. You are ASKING to get hit by F-air1 or WTw2.

http://imgur.com/PmE9uva

We'll ignore the normals before the specials. Ally's did okay on the first ABK, allowing him to avoid any F-air / WTw2. However, he SDI'd away on the second ABK, allowing Mistake to use F-air1 twice. Had he SDI'd to the right, the combo would've ended here with a B-air. He then doesn't SDI away (left) on the WTw2 so he gets hit by the U-air and then dies to the jump U-air (he might've been able to airdodge it, close call). Two big mistakes. (no pun intended).
http://imgur.com/THJLUo7

ZeRo had been consistently getting out of WTw1 throughout the set. He was so focused on that that he didn't SDI the ABK correctly. Here, Salem reads the SDI on his WTw1 and punishes with jump ABK. Had ZeRo SDI'd to the left enough, Salem's WTw2 wouldn't have hit. SDIing up wasn't probably the smartest thing in the first place when you're this high up against rage Bayonetta on T&C. There's a slight chance that if he SDI'd down on the WTw2, he wouldn't have died, but I wouldn't bet my money on it, the ceiling is very low on T&C.
http://imgur.com/IgwsCGI
Salem's first kill during game 3 of GF1 at DHATL17 was also a result of VoiD's poor SDI on the ABK (away).
 
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Myollnir

Smash Ace
Joined
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Messages
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III / Conclusion

If you read everything, good job! :)

I made this guide to help people understand Bayonetta's combos : how they work, and what you can do against them. I want Bayonetta counterplay to develop so that fraudulent kills don't happen as often as they currently do.

If you have any question, remark, or anything, you can :
- Message me here
- DM me on twitter / tweet at me : https://twitter.com/Tilted_as_f*ck (replace * by u)
- Ask me on discord ( Myollnir#4012 )

Thanks for reading.
 
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ぱみゅ

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I would personally just add a little note that SDI isn't entirely required, not as much as knowing what direction you'll be sent next, how DI affects that angle and which followup options does Bayo have available for them (and more importantly, which ones she doesn't).
But hopefully this helps people out.
:196:
 

Myollnir

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I would personally just add a little note that SDI isn't entirely required, not as much as knowing what direction you'll be sent next, how DI affects that angle and which followup options does Bayo have available for them (and more importantly, which ones she doesn't).
But hopefully this helps people out.
:196:
I made gifs to show which direction each specials sends you. How DI affects the angle, that's something you'll find very quickly when facing Bayo.
I'm pretty sure I talked about which follow-ups she has, although it might have gone unnoticed.

Regardless, my goal was to give other players the tools to understand how Bayonetta works so that they're not saying "what the **** is going on" each time they get hit, not to do all the work for them. Bayonetta players get away with a lot more stuff than they should.

PS : Is there a way for me to be able to put more gifs per post?
 
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ぱみゅ

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I tried that but it doesn't seem to work, I think I'm limited to X images / post.
Yeah, tried it myself just now and it shows broken images, this format is probably the best one.

That being said, I think I forgot to mention earlier how thankful I am for the hard work you did there.
:196:
 
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Flamegeyser

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Nice guide, but I would mention one thing. The last hitbox of ABK has fixed knockback that will combo at any% including death. This means that it's imperative to avoid that one in particular.
 

BarSoapSoup

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Really late to this, but wanted to say you did an awesome job on this. As a Bowser main with a Mewtwo secondary, I heavily appreciate this.
 

Myollnir

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Added some sentences to make it more precise (I didn't delete anything, so don't worry there was nothing false that you've already read).
 

DeNikSSB

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You're awesome for making this guide, dude. Now we just need to post this to youtube/reddit to show those crybabies how to beat her :p

Also I know this is a stupid question, but can I still sdi stuff when I'm in witch time?
 

ぱみゅ

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You absolutely can. You should also have more time to do so.
I can't find a video, but you can test it yourself in Training Mode with a Timer item and a move with tons of hitstop like the Knee.
:196:
 
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