Long Range/Projectile Characters.

[Will-A-Wisp]

How do people feel about the Projectile fighters of Smash 4? In the past three installments we have had characters such as Link who has had access to Arrows, Boomerangs and Bombs, as the series has continued we have had characters that completely specialized in projectile combat,

So which characters do you feel are the most specialized to projectile smash? R.O.B. and Duck Hunt are both my contenders but there are alot of characters with projectiles which make Long Range smash a key part of there game such as Link and Zelda

Another thing, which one of these smashers do you like the most, and which do you hate the most?

 

[Raijinken]

Megaman, Villager, Olimar, and Duck Hunt are probably the most projectile-dependent. Samus, Link/Tink, and Robin after that. I like 'em all (except Olimar).

 

[Will-A-Wisp]

Megaman, Villager, Olimar, and Duck Hunt are probably the most projectile-dependent. Samus, Link/Tink, and Robin after that. I like 'em all (except Olimar).

I do not know if I would myself call Robin a projectile fighter, I would class him alot like Ness and Lucas

Olimar for me is a really tough character to read, Is it within reason to say he is the most projectile focused character? Megaman and Villager can do combat without there projectiles to some standpoints but without any active Pikmin on the field, Olimars damage output is reduced exponentially

 

[MINUSTHEFIGHTER]

Megaman, Zelda, DuckHunt, Samus, Ness, and Robin live and die by their zoning abilities typically. They can be played without focusing on them sure, but their projectiles are a massive part of their game usually and can help lead them to better situations.

Both Links, Olimar and Villager also benefit greatly from a zone-heavy playstyle though they are less reliant on it imo.

But as with most things it's all about the player behind the controller, there is no dedicated projectile specialist character persay (maybe Megaman, I mean the poor guy has lemons for jabs for crying out loud) its all about the tools and how they are employed.

 

[Raijinken]

I do not know if I would myself call Robin a projectile fighter, I would class him alot like Ness and Lucas

Olimar for me is a really tough character to read, Is it within reason to say he is the most projectile focused character? Megaman and Villager can do combat without there projectiles to some standpoints but without any active Pikmin on the field, Olimars damage output is reduced exponentially

Robin's kill power is far reduced if you lose his tomes and sword, so I'd say it's rather important to use his projectiles to help rack damage. Unlike Ness and Lucas, who can use theirs, but aren't nearly as dependent upon theirs for damage or killing.

Olimar is very projectile focused, but it's worth noting that Megaman only has six non-projectile moves (Flame Sword, Slash Claw, Slide, Mega Upper, Spark Shock, and Flame Blast). Olimar has all aerials, all tilts, and his jab that aren't projectiles. So while he's very pikmin-dependent, not all pikmin attacks are projectiles.

 

[Will-A-Wisp]

Megaman, Zelda, DuckHunt, Samus, Ness, and Robin live and die by their zoning abilities typically. They can be played without focusing on them sure, but their projectiles are a massive part of their game usually and can help lead them to better situations.

Both Links, Olimar and Villager also benefit greatly from a zone-heavy playstyle though they are less reliant on it imo.

But as with most things it's all about the player behind the controller, there is no dedicated projectile specialist character persay (maybe Megaman, I mean the poor guy has lemons for jabs for crying out loud) its all about the tools and how they are employed.

I guess its really hard to really define a True Projectile Character. Mega Man and Olimar would be my two picks right next to Duck Hunt Duo but at the same time I've seen characters like Villager and Megaman play super close and personal without once using a Loid Rocket or a Crash bomb, Maybe it is all about the players playstyle,

 

[JayFresh]

I guess you could consider Rosalina, wii fit, and Bowser Jr Semi projectile dependant as well

 

[Mario & Sonic Guy]

If custom specials are involved, Rosalina can also be a projectile spammer with Shooting Star Bit. It's fast, and can be a nuisance to anyone who's lacking a reflecting/absorbing move.

Of course, Rosalina needs her Luma to use Shooting Star Bit, or else she can't spam the attack.

 

[Zylach]

There are several characters that are highly dependent on their projectiles to be played at the highest level. Link/Tink are great examples of this because they rely so much on their 3 projectiles as well as a long-range zair to zone out opponents, however, when opponents get in on Link/Tink, they suffer from lackluster normals (Tink less so than Link imo). They can be played without relying heavily on projectiles but this strategy will probably be annihilated by high level players since these characters don't do nearly as well up close as they do when they control the opponent with their amazing zoning games. The same goes for Duck Hunt and Megaman though their normals are still decent (Megaman's slide and flame sword are actually great melee moves as well as Duck Hunt's jab, tilts, and fair).

One projectile heavy character that is slowly losing the ability to be a projectile heavy character is Samus. Her missiles are ridiculously laggy now and her charge beam has always been relatively easy to see coming though it was buffed from brawl. The only things she has to zone are morph ball bombs which are also relatively laggy and her zair. Meanwhile, her normals got a speed buff in sm4sh allowing her to be played up close now though she's still not a great character because she doesn't have kill potential (still...).

@OP, you mentioned Zelda as a projectile reliant character which isn't ultimately true. Her "projectile" game is probably the worst projectile game of the entire projectile-character roster though Din's and Phantom are still useful for zoning and forcing the opponet to make mistakes which is what she is so reliant on. Using her "projectiles" should be done with caution because they really aren't that good. Hell, Dedede probably has a better projectile game than Zelda does lol.

 

[Kraetyz]

Very surprised not seeing Pacman mentioned. Hydrant/Fruit traps is like 90% of his game.

 

[FalKoopa]

ROB is also dependent on his projectiles tp play effectively. Robo beam is useful for harassing/forcing to approach. Gyro's primary use is stage control though.

 

[RBreadsticks]

ROB is probably one of the most dependent. Maining ROB myself I can say gyro and laser are 2 of his most valuable tools. Gyro is key for zoning with ROB and it just goes to show how difficult it is to play ROB without gyro if you go up against a villager who knows what they're doing and keeps your gyro in his pocket the entire match. ROBS gyro can also stop other projectiles like samuses charged shot. ROBS Laser beats DHDs gunman can and frisbee if timed right.