Shulk Moveset Analysis/Speculation/Discussion (Phase 1/PLEASE READ OP)

[Hokori]

Anyone else think he may be Roy-like with weak hits at the far end, and strong up close?

Not really. If anything, just the damage variance depending on how long the hitbox has already been out, which of course isn't uncommon at all.

 

[DaDavid]

Yeah he already has his "gimmick" in the form of the Monado Arts, so I doubt he'd have something like that implemented as well.

 

[Enyalb]

I just want to point out that his Up Smash has priority over Falcon Kick, before the beam even emits, at the closest frame possible.
Shulk is clearly more OP than I thought he was, and I love it so much more.

 

[Hokori]

I just want to point out that his Up Smash has priority over Falcon Kick, before the beam even emits, at the closest frame possible.
Shulk is clearly more OP than I thought he was, and I love it so much more.

Well, aerial attacks follow a different law of priority compared to ground attacks and projectiles. The law of high/low priority doesn't apply here since their attacks can't collide/clash. At best, a 'trade' situation occurs. If Captain Falcon used Falcon Kick while on the ground, different story.

 

[DaDavid]

I just want to point out that his Up Smash has priority over Falcon Kick, before the beam even emits, at the closest frame possible.
Shulk is clearly more OP than I thought he was, and I love it so much more.

Yeah, that's a pretty great observation... God I hope Sakurai talks about the nitty gritty of some of this stuff starting Monday.

 

[Enyalb]

Well, aerial attacks follow a different law of priority compared to ground attacks and projectiles. The law of high/low priority doesn't apply here since their attacks can't collide/clash. At best, a 'trade' situation occurs. If Captain Falcon used Falcon Kick while on the ground, different story.

Perhaps I should've used that word instead then, thanks for the clarification. I'm still amazed by that near frame perfection though.

 

[MegaLagann]

I have to ask...what are Shulk's custom moves going to be? Especially his neutral special. Shulk still has a few Monado arts unused, plus Jump and Smash weren't Monado arts in the game so they can create more for the custom moves. I just want to see what his custom moves will be. Daddy Sakurai finally gives me the Shulk trailer and I'm already asking for more...

 

[relaxedexcorcist]

I have to ask...what are Shulk's custom moves going to be? Especially his neutral special. Shulk still has a few Monado arts unused, plus Jump and Smash weren't Monado arts in the game so they can create more for the custom moves. I just want to see what his custom moves will be. Daddy Sakurai finally gives me the Shulk trailer and I'm already asking for more...

There's plenty they could do. Increase the power of the buffs but decrease the amount of time its active or increase the amount of time needed to use it again (if that's how the move works). They could also do the reverse, decrease the effect but make it so it can be used more often.

They could also remove certain arts but further buff whatever Monado arts he keeps. Less clutter to have to go through when selecting arts, which helps streamline the playstyle, but you also loss the utility of other arts. Say theres one set up where he only has Smash and Buster, making a Shulk thats designed for full on aggro, and can easily switch between damage output and knockback, but obviously loses defensive options and risks dying faster. Or he could only have Shield and Jump, and he just lives forever and relies on his large range to slowly but surely beat his opponents.

 

[skstylez]

So timing a counter at the last possible second makes it stronger eh? Or was it because he got hit by a more powerful attack?

Who knows, but Shulk is shaping up to be one of the most highly skilled characters with tons of playstyles. I even made a moveset a while back that I thought was great but complicated. Sakurai & his team have added more depth while lowering the complexity, outstanding!

 

[Deleted member]

I'm so glad he has a move that resembles Roy's spinning sword sweep from Project M. That's one of my favorite moves of Roy's in terms of animation. Anyway, assuming art swap is neutral special, then what is Kirby gonna do if he eats Shulk? Will he get art swap? I'm just imagining Kirby with the jump art, and hilarity ensues.

 

[Berserker.]

Betting that his neutral special's cycle can be modified. Like, you can switch the arrangement or hell even replace some of them with new ones

I think

 

[Neo Zero]

I'm so glad he has a move that resembles Roy's spinning sword sweep from Project M. That's one of my favorite moves of Roy's in terms of animation. Anyway, assuming art swap is neutral special, then what is Kirby gonna do if he eats Shulk? Will he get art swap? I'm just imagining Kirby with the jump art, and hilarity ensues.

Kirby could just as easily get BackSlash if they didn't want to program the Art system for him. I'm sure it's fine though

So timing a counter at the last possible second makes it stronger eh? Or was it because he got hit by a more powerful attack?

Who knows, but Shulk is shaping up to be one of the most highly skilled characters with tons of playstyles. I even made a moveset a while back that I thought was great but complicated. Sakurai & his team have added more depth while lowering the complexity, outstanding!

Pretty sure it's the former. Falcon Punch was used for cinematic (and possibly ease of timing) purposes to show it off better.

 

[Gunla]

The Art System is incredibly unique and very faithful to Xenoblade in it's own way.

As Beserker stated earlier, I'd expect neutral special to be his Monado Arts, Vision as a special, Air Slash is likely his up special and another move (Back Slash?)

 

[kro_]

Oh man, am I tired of seeing fighters with counters. How many are there now? Ten?

 

[Neo Zero]

The Art System is incredibly unique and very faithful to Xenoblade in it's own way.

As Beserker stated earlier, I'd expect neutral special to be his Monado Arts, Vision as a special, Air Slash is likely his up special and another move (Back Slash?)

I have it in the OP (a lot of things I found out during my leak hunting tbqh lol)

 

[Berserker.]

You know what would be really nice?

If back slash didn't have that much ending lag. Wonder what would happen if back slash was used in mid-air... Hm...

 

[FlareHabanero]

Oh man, am I tired of seeing fighters with counters. How many are there now? Ten?

Yet other fighting games can have counters as a universal mechanic...

 

[Neo Zero]

You know what would be really nice?

If back slash didn't have that much ending lag. Wonder what would happen if back slash was used in mid-air... Hm...

Probably the same as when Little Mac uses his Side B in the air.

 

[Solfiner]

I'm liking Shulk's counter a lot. Not only does the animations look cool, he also has his Vision quotes from Xenoblade.

I'm thinking that the Shield mode will be amazing at high percentages. I wonder how long he can survive while it's activated.

 

[Hokori]

Oh man, am I tired of seeing fighters with counters. How many are there now? Ten?

Basically Soul Blazer's response, and the fact that Shulk's counter easily takes the cake as being the best...can't even be mad.

I'm thinking that the Shield mode will be amazing at high percentages. I wonder how long he can survive while it's activated.

Let the stock tanking begin. Could be problematic for characters that are poor when it comes to KO potential.

 

[Neo Zero]

Basically Soul Blazer's response, and the fact that Shulk's counter easily takes the cake as being the best...can't even be mad.



Let the stock tanking begin. Could be problematic for characters that are poor when it comes to KO potential.

You have to keep in mind though, Shield slows movement speed. If that includes air speed (or affects gravity) that could be a huge thing if they get you off stage. Course who knows at this point

And yes, it is easily the coolest.

 

[Pokemon-master]

wow his smashes got great reach + with mando smash he could be really viable for competitve smash i expect to see allot of him (90 % in that half naked costume)

 

[Solfiner]

You have to keep in mind though, Shield slows movement speed. If that includes air speed (or affects gravity) that could be a huge thing if they get you off stage. Course who knows at this point

And yes, it is easily the coolest.

There are so many things to test with Shulk when the game is out. I can't even list all of them.

 

[Neo Zero]

There are so many things to test with Shulk when the game is out. I can't even list all of them.

Shulk will be one of my main priorities for gathering data for when the JP release comes out Probably No.1 if a certain Dragon isn't playable so I'll test everything I can

 

[kro_]

I'm just a bit bummed that this game is making characters more unique by adding gimmicks like Monado Arts, Palutena having different powers, Robin having weaponry with limited uses, Rosalina having Luma, and I bet that if Dog Hunt is in, he'll be having a special gimmick, too. I'm not saying gimmicks are bad, but if they're trying to be unique, why not do something about over 25 % of the roster having a counter as one of their specials? I do agree that Shulk's counter looks real good, but other newcomers could have something else.

 

[Hokori]

You have to keep in mind though, Shield slows movement speed. If that includes air speed (or affects gravity) that could be a huge thing if they get you off stage. Course who knows at this point

And yes, it is easily the coolest.

What I'm most worried about are moves like Zelda's D-Smash if Shield affects air speed/gravity.

Shulk will be one of my main priorities for gathering data for when the JP release comes out Probably No.1 if a certain Dragon isn't playable so I'll test everything I can

You better not leave me for Ridley Definitely can't wait to see all of the data though since I plan on spoiling myself

 

[Neo Zero]

A counter that counters in two different ways based on the timing is certainly the most unique to me at any rate.

 

[Solfiner]

Shulk will be one of my main priorities for gathering data for when the JP release comes out Probably No.1 if a certain Dragon isn't playable so I'll test everything I can

You better not leave me for Ridley Definitely can't wait to see all of the data though since I plan on spoiling myself

I second this. We need our fix @ Neo Zero !

 

[kro_]

A counter that counters in two different ways based on the timing is certainly the most unique to me at any rate.

I agree, as I said, Shulk's counter is pretty good, but Greninja could've had something else. Also, three out of four FE characters with counters is not necessary. Ike's counter isn't very good either, so he should get something else, in my opinion.

 

[Gunla]

...Um... I can help with data collection too...

 

[Neo Zero]

...Um... I can help with data collection too...

NO

Everyone can help with data collection, even if it's as simple as asking the people getting it a question of what they want to see

 

[Solfiner]

...Um... I can help with data collection too...

The more the merrier! Since I don't have enough money for a Japanese 3DS + Smash, I'm gonna be hanging around here a lot.

 

[Hokori]

...Um... I can help with data collection too...

Yes, help out fellow Modpon.

I agree, as I said, Shulk's counter is pretty good, but Greninja could've had something else. Also, three out of four FE characters with counters is not necessary. Ike's counter isn't very good either, so he should get something else, in my opinion.

Well, Counter is a big deal in FE, so it doesn't really surprise me honestly. But let's try to avoid the discussion of other characters in here unless they're directly related to the discussion of Shulk's moves In this case, labeling all characters that have a counter doesn't really count.

 

[Headcrab Jackalope]

So uh, is Riki confirmed to be anything yet? I know he's in Shulk's Final Smash, but what was he doing before that? Is he also an Assist Trophy? Or maybe a taunt?

 

[Pokemon-master]

The more the merrier! Since I don't have enough money for a Japanese 3DS + Smash, I'm gonna be hanging around here a lot.

ditto when the game comes out i will practicality be living here and watching youtube vedios of the new charicters

 

[Neo Zero]

So uh, is Riki confirmed to be anything yet? I know he's in Shulk's Final Smash, but what was he doing before that? Is he also an Assist Trophy? Or maybe a taunt?

Not confirmed confirmed. Most are saying AT, but I think it'd be cool if Shulk could bring out Party Members using his taunt. Sorta like Pac Man's.

 

[FlareHabanero]

...Um... I can help with data collection too...

So can I.

 

[Hokori]

Wouldn't surprise me to see party members like Riki included in Shulk's taunts. Perfect excuse for more dialogue anyway

 

[DraginHikari]

I look forward to see the results of what you guys find since I'll be on the waiting boat with the other 95% of us.

 

[FlareHabanero]

I presume Riki is an Assist Trophy, because he preformed some sort of action on Shulk that I think is supposed to be Happy Happy.