Ranking moves in Characters (Round 21: Discussing Down-Special)

[Samuelwisebaggins]

,, , all have great dash attacks.

, /, , for above average IMO.
, /, for below average

 

[TheGoodGuava]

The good dash attacks are pretty obvious, but which ones are the best is kind of hard to figure out

MK, Samus, Fox, Wario, Gannon, Mewtwo, Palutena, and Gannon have the best dash attacks in the game imo

Fox and Wario have the two fastest dash attacks in the game, coming out at frame 4 making them viable oos options. Fox can combo out of his
MK, Samus, Gannon, and Mewtwo have fast dash attacks that lead into high damage combos
MK has one of the safest and most feared dash attacks in the game. He usually ends up behind you if he hits your shield or can kill as early as 20 with it
Palutena's dash attack is fast, kills, and cannot be traded with


Now the ****ty dash attacks are kinda iffy. Link, Luigi, MM, Kirby, swordies in general, ironically ZSS, and Olimar probably have the worst dash attacks

 

[Flamegeyser]

S should be something like MK, Samus, Ganon, Falcon, and maybe Fox.
Bayo should be D or F, that **** is baaaaad.

 

[Fenny]

Bayo's is T R A S H. F tier imo.

 

[LancerStaff]

Pit's should be A. Long range, big disjoint, comes out extremely fast for said range and disjoint, and good damage. Now it doesn't kill, (which tends to be at least somewhat redundant because most characters can run up and Usmash but I digress,) it doesn't combo into anything, and like most it's not really safe but it's basically everything else you'd want from a DA. If you don't believe it's a big deal... Just watch Earth vs. Tweek.

 

[Zapp Branniglenn]

sort of a worse version of what Ganon, Charizard, and Donkey Kong have. Bowser's comes out just as fast as them, has as many active frames, but the endlag is way longer. I will say the hitbox is really good. It's large and reaches far from the point of generation. It's good for covering landings because of how much space you cover and how the active frames are long enough to catch an air dodge as they land, but there's no limb intangibility, so you trade or lose with aerials like other characters have to (eww). It's also Bowser's only normal move from the ground that doesn't kill at a reasonable percent, and 12-10 isn't especially high damage for him specifically. And as for punishing somebody after a block or whiff, Bowser prefers dash grab a thousand times over for more reward and similarly good range. Compared to other dash attacks it's fine. I would personally rank it above whichever tier holds the "throwaways" that have no good applications. Because Bowser's one application of covering landings is debatably something he does better with his than any other character's. But you don't see him comboing out of it or crossing up shields.

 

[ARGHETH]

Robin's is...decent? 11 active frames (8-18), but it has 32 frames of endlag and the range is kind of small. C tier, I guess.
Corrin's DA is Corrin's DA. D tier.

 

[HoSmash4]

Bayo dash attack has massive range so please don't send it to the F tier.

 

[ARGHETH]

Bayo dash attack has massive range so please don't send it to the F tier.

Spoiler

Ehh...doesn't seem all that big.

 

[adom4]

Nominating 's dash attack for S tier.
It's an incredible move & usually his main combo starter, it's safe on crossup, sweetspot can combo into aerials until about mid % depending on the character, sourspot combos even longer & can confirm into a Fair/Uair kill at certain %, the hitbox is the size of Ganondorf which says everything and it's one of the strongest dash attacks in the game.
But the biggest thing about it is the burst mobility it gives Ganon, this move is the biggest reason he doesn't get absolutely destroyed by camping, if you are in his dash attack range it's incredibly risky to try and camp him with projectile because of dash attack.

 

[Vyrnx]

Pit's dash attack is super good. It's a really fast burst option with a lot of range and disjoint, great for catching landings or just as a fast punish option. I've always been surprised it does 11 damage as well.

Samus and MK have the best dash attacks. Samus already had the best or second best dash attack in the game, and then they buffed it lool. MK's because the move in general is good, but mostly because of the conversions off of it (potential ladder combos).

Ganon's is a really good, strong burst option, Wario's is a free two framer at the ledge, Falcon's has fast startup and a massive hitbox, Fox's has extremely fast startup and good combos as well. Pikachu's can actually kill pretty early for dash attacks, as does Ike's; Cloud's and Yoshi's are pretty okay, and Rosa's. Ness's has so much disjoint it's basically a projectile, but it still has some bad FAF. I don't know if it's really that good. Little Mac's is good.

There are a lot of bad dash attacks, but the ones that stand out as the worst are Dedede, Marcina, and Roy. Most are just so average that any, "pretty good," dash attack will probably be B/A honestly.

 

[Emblem Lord]

Ryu dash attack is average as ****. C tier.

 

[Dee-SmashinBoss]

Kirby's is so trash, literally his only trash move in his moveset. Easily F, can't think of any DA worse than this.
Zelda's is more so average, depending on where most average DAs are, probably C or B.
Peachs is decent, it fits fairly well in B, nothing too much more then an average DA.

I'm curious about Ness, it's got big disjoint, but I'm pretty sure it's somewhat unsafe, and doesn't really kill. I'm not sure if the hits even link properly.

 

[Envoy of Chaos]

I'm curious about Ness, it's got big disjoint, but I'm pretty sure it's somewhat unsafe, and doesn't really kill. I'm not sure if the hits even link properly.

It links correctly. It doesn't kill till the 200's. It has very good range and can lead to a follow up attack till mid high percents, usually a Fair. The main reason you'd use this move is to punish a laggy move as Ness is slow and if the distance is too great this is often all he can get off.

It's main flaw is it's very unsafe on shield. If you space it poorly you will stop right in front of the opponent who is free to do whatever

 

[TheHypnotoad]

Robin's dash attack is meh. It can kill at reasonable percents near the ledge, but it's extremely punishable on shield. C tier.

Rosalina's is very good. Massive hitbox and excellent for punishing landings. It has no followups, but it does put your opponent in a disadvantageous position. B tier at worst, maybe A.

Cloud's is very strong, but also very punishable. I'd say B, maybe C.

Meta Knight for SSS+++++++++++ tier. Pit, Dark Pit, Fox, and Ganondorf for S tier.

 

[Guido65]

Okay so's dash attack. In my opinion it is easily F tier because it lacks much utility and is very laggy, the only thing his dash attack has going for it is how strong it is and it's a huge arcing hitbox and if you need that then his forward tilt is a thing which is 5 frames faster and much safer and a lot harder to punish. Besides that it's easily the worst dash attack in the game. Without a doubt link's worst move.

 

[Kofu]

The good dash attacks are pretty obvious, but which ones are the best is kind of hard to figure out

MK, Samus, Fox, Wario, Gannon, Mewtwo, Palutena, and Gannon have the best dash attacks in the game imo

Fox and Wario have the two fastest dash attacks in the game, coming out at frame 4 making them viable oos options. Fox can combo out of his
MK, Samus, Gannon, and Mewtwo have fast dash attacks that lead into high damage combos
MK has one of the safest and most feared dash attacks in the game. He usually ends up behind you if he hits your shield or can kill as early as 20 with it
Palutena's dash attack is fast, kills, and cannot be traded with


Now the ****ty dash attacks are kinda iffy. Link, Luigi, MM, Kirby, swordies in general, ironically ZSS, and Olimar probably have the worst dash attacks

Mewtwo's dash attack is frame 10, that ain't fast. It does have some decent followup potential but it's not nearly as good as you're making it out to be.

 

[HoSmash4]

Sheik Dash attack although super negative on block, can punish from a long distance away, so if the sheik main knows when an opening is there this has a good use. Also kills at 200% which doesnt sound good but its super fast. C maybe B

 

[LancerStaff]

Lucina's DA is the worst in the game. It's got some disjoint and some but that's it. Marth's is ever-so-slightly better because it can maybe kill at like 170% or something. Honestly they make Roy and DDD's look good.

 

[Poisonous]

Wario has a pretty good Dash Attack

Pros:
+Frame 4 (tied for fastest in the game)
+Travels a fair distance making it a good punish tool and occasionally a burst move as it's also so quick
+Active as **** (frame 4-23)
+Late hit (6-23) trips [Getting hit by the ending frames of dash attack can let Wario get a guarenteed half waft]
+Perfect for catching the 2 frame since it lingers and knocks them downward

Cons:
-Laggy

 

[jet56]

Mac has a pretty good dash attack. B i say for him, MAYBE A depending on who is in A tier. Combo's into itself, good 9%, can kill around 140%. also does it's job as a burst option to punish something fast.

 

[kendikong]

Mewtwo's dash attack is frame 10, that ain't fast. It does have some decent followup potential but it's not nearly as good as you're making it out to be.

The starting frame isn't as important for a dash attack as other moves are. What's more important is how much distance it covers in the amount of time the move takes combined with the character's running speed. For example I would consider Mewtwo's dash attack faster than someone like Ryu's because of the distance it covers even though Ryu's dash attack is frame 7.

 

[NouveauRétro]

I dislike this thread tbh, but it's too interesting a subject for me to resist.
Not gonna put a letter ranking to these, because doing that in a vacuum seems kinda silly

G&W's dash attack:
Pros: 6 frame startup is pretty fast, plus good distance makes it a great OoS attack and catching people off guard. Ends quickly enough to be spammable to punish roll-ins, and catches landings/trades with aerials. Knockback allows for chasing and strings for great damage at low percents and pushing offstage at higher percents. Really good for 2 framing and hitting ledge regrabbers + has a reverse hitbox that stage spikes ala Mario.
Cons:Unsafe on shield unless you crossup, and even then some character with good OoS can still get you. Hitbox is only the head, which sometimes makes it lose to attacks from above, though that's what gives it it's ability to crossup. Blind spot when used too close to opponent because of small hitbox. Has a sourspot but it's not that bad.
Verdict: It's pretty good and worth using, just risky.

Pacman:
Pros: Amazing distance coverage for auto-roll punish, combos at low to mid percents, very safe on whiff due to only ~10 frames endlag. Super spammable, if the opponent respects the last hit and shields you're free to do something else right out of it. Can cross people up for free. Used at ledge the set kb pushes people off at an awkward angle for recovering, and does solid damage just like G&W but more consistently because of lack of sourspot.
Cons: Characters with 6 frame or better OoS can punish between hits 1-2 and 2-3 thanks to hitlag. Doesn't kill and the kb isn't great at high percents. That's pretty much it.
Verdict: AMAZING pressure, escape, and movement tool. No matter what this HAS to be a top tier dash attack.

 

[Zapp Branniglenn]

The starting frame isn't as important for a dash attack as other moves are. What's more important is how much distance it covers in the amount of time the move takes combined with the character's running speed. For example I would consider Mewtwo's dash attack faster than someone like Ryu's because of the distance it covers even though Ryu's dash attack is frame 7.

I think the startup for a dash attack is crucial information. Having a startup of 10 means it's as slow or slower than your dash grab. You also have to consider Usmash, Up B, and aerials that the character can also perform from an initial dash. For Mewtwo in particular, he has four viable moves that can reach the same point in the same 9-11 startup time frame. Dash attack, Dash grab, Usmash, and short hop Fair. Dash attack is the least damaging of the four options, doesn't combo, and doesn't kill. The added horizontal range is good if you need it, but there's nothing stopping him from continuing to run to make up the extra distance for the other choices. He's not Ganondorf where Dash attack is his fastest movement option.

 

[Kofu]

The starting frame isn't as important for a dash attack as other moves are. What's more important is how much distance it covers in the amount of time the move takes combined with the character's running speed. For example I would consider Mewtwo's dash attack faster than someone like Ryu's because of the distance it covers even though Ryu's dash attack is frame 7.

Frame 10 isn't bad, it's just a little lackluster. Having a slow dash attack can be detrimental, it really just depends on the character's other options for covering space and what else they can do out of a dash.

That said, even if a dash attack lacks good burst coverage they can still be useful. Palutena's barely carries her anywhere and it's still a great move, though having invincibility helps a lot in this case.

 

[Nemesis561]

Bowser jrs dash attack is awful.... Pretty similar to corrins... Slow, extremely unsafe and little reward. I guess it can be used to catch bad landings sometimes but kart dash just does it better... Only time i really ever use it is at low %s, kart dash to jump down air to dash atk is guaranteed... Id say D tier

 

[~ Gheb ~]

I can't tell if Diddy's dash attack is legitimately bad or just completely overshadowed by the rest of his moveset but it's certainly not among the better ones in this game.

 

[th3lazy]

I would probably put Puff's dash attack around B-C tier. Not only does it come out relatively fast (Frame 5), it also serves as one of her better punish options when grounded. At higher percents, it acts as a decent kill option. It is honestly one of Puff's better ground moves imo.

However, that is not really saying much. One of the things holding this move back from higher rankings is that it is punishable on hit at lower percents, which hurts any early ground pressure Puff could have despite it being quick. Another thing that holds it back is Puff's own ground speed, which limits the amount of use Dash attack has.

 

[DunnoBro]

Falcons jab isn't a true kill confirm, only a mixup which you can possibly get a kill off of with another mixup

What ledge options does Falcons jab consistently cover? Ledge attack? As long as you have a disjointed fair, certain up airs/dairs, reverse bair, good burst mobility, or a good projectile, you can beat it every time.

And needing Luma to completely **** over most of the recoveries in this game, kills, and does a ****load of damage, all while not needing to worry about getting hit or trading at all isn't enough to bring her lower than Falcons jab who's worse in every way but frame data, and only being 1 frame faster isn't enough to make it better

Little Mac's jab can do the same things Falcons jab does at the ledge, its just seen a lot less often considering the 2 best Mac players are a bit scared of the edge

Where did I say falcon's jab kill confirms? Also his jab covers ledge rising jump, ledge jump, and standard. It does not cover roll or get-up attack.

And no, mac's jab absolutely is not as good on the ledge. Irrefutably inferior for the following reasons:

1: Less lingering frames means it connects less consistently with the ledge options.
2: Smaller, lower hitbox contributes to this issue
3: Angle pops them up instead of straight back out. Far less advantageous. Falcon's both hits them to the ledge and keeps them there. Mac's puts them at a fairly safe anti-pressure angle.

As for luma jab, it's just too inconsistent for me to consider the best. However it's difficult to quantify the overall consistency so I won't refute it completely.

 

[Galaxeon]

is pretty decent, quick but not the fastest, can true combo into stuffs at mid percents and is a mix up at higher percents. It's not really safe on shield (unless you space it perfectly which due to the nature of the move doesn't happen a lot) but it's really not easy to punish it due to very low ending lag (I think only MK's frame data is better for this) and due to crossing up shields. So it has a niche in neutral.
Not great but not terrible. C in my opinion. It's definetly not a "laggy, can't do much out of it" Dash Attack which is enjoyable and refreshing in a game where so many DA feel the same and pretty much suck. So I'd even argue B tier, but it depends on the other dash attacks.

is bad but not trash tier. It can sometimes be the only option to follow up after some combo starters (like paralyser) due to how quick it is and for the great range. Great priority to sometimes catch landings too. So you have reasons to use it in a match. But soooo laggy. D tier is probably right. Doesn't deserve to be bottom tier or its own tier though, just because it's one of a top tier's weaker moves doesn't mean it's terrible or unusable.

on the other hand... just trash. It travels far so you could catch stuff or tech chase I guess but you have basically no reason to ever use it over grounded Side B. If only it killed, then maybe... but no. Bad frame data as well. It lingers but it's weak and you can't hope for anything after it. Definetly F tier. Don't know if there's worst in the game but this is bad.

 

[Funbot28]

Ok here is the preliminary list for Dash Attack:

Spoiler: Dash Attack

Discuss!

 

[TheGoodGuava]

Ok here is the preliminary list for Dash Attack:

Spoiler: Dash Attack

Discuss!

Put Link is F and move ROB up a bit. Other than that yeah I agree with this entirely

 

[Kofu]

Ok here is the preliminary list for Dash Attack:

Spoiler: Dash Attack

Discuss!

What in blazes

Ike's is... probably not A, mainly because of its startup. Is also a little laggy.

Dedede's is definitely not B tier. It's D, potentially F.

Brawler's and Yoshi's should be moved up. Pikachu and Jigglypuff are also contenders to move up, possibly Ness too.

Corrin mains say his DA is bad though IMO it's alright with its disjoint and damage.

Link's should be wherever Dedede's is. They're quite similar. Link's honestly feels better to me because of its anti-air properties.

ROB's needs to go up. I think that Zelda and Falco could too.

Not sure about Sonic's. He has better options and the move does terrible damage and is horribly laggy.

 

[Nidtendofreak]

I'm rather surprised to see Ike's in A but well, considering what everyone else has said about various dash attacks it might be the case just due to its sheer size + killing potential I guess. *shrugs*

Another way to look at it: it compares fairly favourably to Cloud's. But its losing to the other ones in A tier imo. To me those two end up in the same tier, whichever one out of A/B it is.

I would be dropping Link's DA for sure. Its just not good.

 

[kendikong]

Bowser's probably needs to be C. It is really laggy.

Yoshi and jiggs can possibly move up.

I don't see why Falcon would be S. Dash grab always seems like a better option to me.

 

[LancerStaff]

I'd probably drop Ike and Cloud's. They're not really anything special.

You kinda ignored a lot of what we said... Emblem Lord said Ryu's was C, I don't think anybody put DDD's at B, and a couple of us said Marcina's was trash. Honestly, Bayo's might be better then their's just because of the range. Checking Kurogane, I can see that Marth's comes out f13, Bayo's 15. Marth's is 49 frames of commitment, Bayo's is 46 and also a bit less laggy as a result. Marth's has higher damage... And that's about it. Bayo's is redundant because of side B (though really so is Marth's) but unlike Marth's it actually has a use.

 

[jet56]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Mac's dash attack is actually S tier. hear me out please.

So, his dash attack comes out at 7-9, so it is one of the faster dash attacks (like 10-12th fastest). Also, look at this hitbox:

Now, the hitbox by itself doesn't seem too impressive, but because of little mac's AMAZING dash speed, this hitbox moves a good distance horizontally, making it an amazing burst option from mid range (like BF from center stage good). Also, little mac is not going to trade with almost anything, since the hitbox is well in front of his body, so he will more likely beat another attack. His FAF is 34, which is better than foxes, Falcons, Ganons, and Samus's who are all in S tier. In short:

A frame 7 dash attack only beaten by 10-12 characters (and fox being the only one in S tier)
A FAF of 34, which is absuredly low cooldown
A amazing dash coupled with a long reaching hitbox
The ability to kill at around 150% (most dash attacks won't kill till much later)
Combo potential into itself at low percents, and a combo extender (dash attack after ftilt, Dtilt, Gentleman jab)

My thoughts anyways.

 

[Myollnir]

is A, potentially S, for the reasons listed above. A really good move overall, especially considering most Dash Attacks aren't that good.

I agree with and being B tier, they are slightly above average.

D tier for seems good, too. Not useless, but super situational move.

 

[TheHypnotoad]

Jigglypuff's dash attack needs to move up, potentially even to A tier. It comes out lightning fast at frame 5 (beaten only by Fox, and is tied with Sheik and Sonic); the hitbox lasts for a whopping 15 frames, which is absurdly long for a single-hit dash attack (beaten only by Mario, Dr. Mario, and Wario, and is tied with Donkey Kong); it has a FAF of 40, which is pretty decent; and it's a kill move at the ledge. From a frame data standpoint it is one of the best dash attacks in the game, and although it has no followups, it does have kill power. There is no reason for it to be in C tier.

Speaking of Mario and Dr. Mario, they can be moved up. Although not a very good option in neutral, they hit exactly at ground level and last for an insane 19 frames, which means they're spectacular options for landing the 2 frame ledge grab punish.

Also, Link needs to be moved down. Doesn't come out until frame 20 and has a FAF of 57, which is quite frankly atrocious.

 

[Dee-SmashinBoss]

Come on dude....Zelda's shouldn't be D, at worst it's C. I'll brb gotta do something.