Data Smash Ultimate Character Survival Ranking & Momentum Cancel

[Luigi player]

Hey guys! Just like my old thread in Smash 4 (https://smashboards.com/threads/character-survival-rankings.400617/), it's time for one of the new game again.

Just like in Smash 4 there are more factors that help a character survive than just looking at their weight, so this is where this thread comes in handy.

So for surviving these things are factors:
- weight
- gravity (only vertical; each char has their own gravity) (not 100 % sure about fallspeed being a factor, but probably)
- hurtboxes play a role (chars with big hurtboxes or stretched out limbs/whatever touch the blastzone earlier)
- moves that shift hurtboxes (to not touch the blastzone)
- airspeed (only horizontal; can help momentum to the side)

( ! ) For the vertical ranking it seems like the weight is more important now than it was in Smash 4.

I'll probably reformat the survival numbers for the chars from highest to lowest for easier viewing later (horizontal ranking).

Horizontal Survival Ranking:

Spoiler: horizontal ranking

Testing method:
KO-% of characters when Mewtwo bthrows them (on the left side of Final Destination), in Training Mode (no staleness, no rage)
I always DI'd 0°/360° (might not be 100 % perfect DI to survive)
AD = Airdodge (I always mean directional airdodge at an angle that is about 320° (~280° might also work and might be easier) | keep in mind that it feels kinda difficult to get the correct angle and if you input a bad angle you could even get KO'd sooner than you would if you didn't do anything but DI)

Super Heavy
1. Bowser - 149 (AD: 150 | upB: 151 | jump: 156 | attacks don't help | no DI: 111)
2. K. Rool - 154 (nothing helped to survive longer | no DI: 112)
3. DK - 148 (jump: 150 | fair: 145 | no DI: 110)
4. Dedede - 146 (attacks don't help | jump: 145 | no DI: 110)
5. Ganondorf - 137 (jump: 142 | jump+fair: 143 | no DI: 103)
6. Incineroar - 138 (fair: 139 | jump: 142 | no DI: 102)
6. Charizard - 135 (fair: 138 | downB: 141 | downB+fair: 142 | jump: 142 | no DI: 100)

Heavy Weight
8. Samus - 136 (jump: 137 | downB: 137 | no DI: 103)
8. Dark Samus (same values as Samus)
10. Simon - 131 (AD: 134 | jump: 136 | no DI: 100)
10. Piranha Plant - 132 (B: 135 | jump: 136 | no DI: 91)
10. Ike - 132 (jump: 136 | attacks don't help | no DI: 100)
10. ROB - 136 (can't do anything at 136 | no DI: 93)
14. Bowser Jr. - 130 (jump: 135 | attacks don't help | no DI: 100)
14. Snake - 129 (fair: 130 | airdodge: 131 | jump: 135 | no DI: 100)
16. Yoshi - 134 (nothing helped | no DI: 98)
16. Richter - 128 (AD: 133 | jump: 134 | no DI: 99)
16. Wario - 132 (AD: 134 | jump: 134 | attacks don't help | sideB: 121 | no DI: 96)
16. C.Falcon - 130 (uair: 131 | jump: 134 | no DI: 96)
20. Ryu - 126 (AD: 129 | jump: 131 | jump+fair: 133 | sideB: 133 | no DI: 95)
20. Ken (same values as Ryu)
22. Ridley - 131 (jump: 132 | no DI: 97)
22. Link - 128 (AD: 129 | jump: 132 | no DI: 95)
22. Megaman - 129 (jump: 132 | no DI: 96)
25. Cloud - 127 (jump: 130 | jump+fair: 131 | no DI: 96)

Mid Weight
26. Corrin - 125 (uair: 126 | AD: 126 | jump: 130 | no DI: 96)
26. Mario - 126 (fair: 127 | jump: 130 | no DI: 96)
26. Dr. Mario - 125 (fair: 126 | jump: 129 | jump+fair: 130 | no DI: 96)
29. Luigi - 125 (dair: 126 | jump: 127 | jump+f/dair: 129 | AD doesn't help | no DI: 96)
29. Shulk - 124 (jump: 128 | jump+fair: 129 | no DI: 94)
* shield - 384 (jump: 392 | jump+fair: 394 | didn't test AD | no DI: 327)
* speed - 125 (jump: 128 | jump+fair: 129 | no DI: 92)
* buster - 121 (jump: 125 | jump+fair: 126 | no DI: 91)
* jump - 120 (jump: 125 | jump+fair: 126 | no DI: 87)
* smash - 81 (jump: 84 | jump+fair: 85 | no DI: 56)
29. Robin - 125 (AD: 126 | dair: 126 | uair: 128 | jump: 129 | no DI: 95)
29. PacMan - 126 (jump: 128 | fair: 129 | no DI: 97)
33. Pit - 126 (jump: 128 | upB: 128 | attacks don't help | no DI: 96)
33. Dark Pit (same values as Pit)
33. Wii Fit - 124 (f/uair: 125 | jump: 128 | no DI: 94)
33. Ivysaur - 126 (downB: 128 | jump: 128 | attacks don't help | no DI: 97)
37. Roy - 122 (upB: 124 | jump: 126 | jump+fair: 127 | no DI: 92)
37. Chrom - 122 (jump: 126 | jump+fair: 127 | no DI: 92)
37. Ness - 124 (jump: 126 | jump+fair: 127 | no DI: 94)
37. Lucas - 123 (bair: 124 | jump: 127 | no DI: 93)
41. Inkling - 124 (jump: 126 | attacks don't help | no DI: 94)
41. Ice Climber - 125 (jump: 126 | attacks don't help | no DI: 93)
43. Wolf - 123 (AD: 124 | jump: 125 | attacks don't help | no DI: 89)
43. Villager - 121 (jump: 125 | sideB: 125 | no DI: 91)
43. Lucario - 122 (jump: 125 | uair: 125 | no DI: 93)
43. Palutena - 124 (jump+fair: 125 | no DI: 89)
43. Toon Link - 121 (jump: 124 | jump+fair: 125 | no DI: 92)
48. Marth - 121 (fair: 122 | jump: 124 | no DI: 92)
48. Lucina (same values as Marth)
48. Diddy - 119 (fair: 120 | jump: 124 | no DI: 88)
51. Peach - 122 (jump: 123 | attacks don't help | no DI: 92)
51. Daisy (same values as Peach)
51. Isabelle - 120 (jump: 122 | jump+fair: 123 | no DI: 90)
51. Young Link - 119 (jump: 123 | attacks don't help | no DI: 89)
55. Greninja - 120 (jump: 121 | jump+f/uair: 122 | no DI: 82)
55. Little Mac - 118 (jump: 122 | sideB: 122 | no DI: 91)
57. Duck Hunt - 118 (jump: 121 | attacks don't help | no DI: 90)

Lightweight
58. Zelda - 116 (fair: 117 | jump: 120 | no DI: 90)
59. Sonic - 116 (fair: 119 | jump: 119 | no DI: 88)
60. Rosalina - 116 (jump: 118 | fair: 118 | no DI: 89)
60. Falco - 116 (jump: 118 | upB: 118 | no DI: 84)
60. Bayonetta - 115 (AD: 116 | jump: 118 | no DI: 84)
60. ZSS - 116 (jump: 117 | downB: 118 | no DI: 85)
64. Kirby - 116 (no DI: 86)
64. Pikachu - 115 (jump: 116 | no DI: 86)
64. Sheik - 113 (jump: 114 | fair: 116 | downB: 116 | no DI: 80)
64. Meta Knight - 114 (jump: 116 | attacks don't help | no DI: 83)
68. Mewtwo - 112 (fair: 115 | jump: 115 | sideB doesn't help | no DI: 87)
69. Olimar - 113 (jump+fair: 114 | no DI: 85)
70. Fox - 111 (fair: 112 | jump: 113 | no DI: 72)
70. Mr.GaW - 113 (jump and attacks don't help | no DI: 85)
70. Squirtle - 111 (fair: 112 | downB: 112 | jump: 113 | no DI: 80)

Feather Weight
73. Jigglypuff - 106 (jump: 109 | attacks don't help | no DI: 81)
74. Pichu - 99 (jump: 101 | dair: 101 | no DI: 72)

Missing:
Mii Gunner
Mii Swordfighter
Mii Brawler

Vertical Survival Ranking

Spoiler: vertical ranking (Mewtwo Uthrow)

Testing method:
KO-% of characters when Mewtwo uthrows them (on Final Destination), in Training Mode (no staleness, no rage)
I always DI'd 0°/360°
Note: no hurtbox-shifting values for the vertical ranking, because not a single character could start any action before getting KO'd

Bowser
1. Bowser - 178 (no DI: 174)

Super Heavy
2. K. Rool - 170 (no DI: 167)
3. Dedede - 169 (no DI: 166)
3. DK - 169 (no DI: 165)
5. Ganondorf - 162 (no DI: 159)
6. Incineroar - 161 (no DI: 158)

Heavy Weight
7. Charizard - 159 (no DI: 156)
8. Samus - 155 (no DI: 152)
8. Dark Samus (same values as Samus)
8. Ridley - 155 (no DI: 153)
8. Simon - 155 (no DI: 152)
8. Richter (same values as Simon)
8. Piranha Plant - 155 (no DI: 152)
14. Ryu - 154 (no DI: 151)
14. Ken (same values as Ryu)
16. Snake - 153 (no DI: 150)
16. Ike - 153 (no DI: 150)
16. C. Falcon - 153 (no DI: 150)
19. ROB - 152 (no DI: 149)
19. Bowser Jr. - 152 (no DI: 148)

Mid-Upper
21. Link - 150 (no DI: 147)
22. Wario - 148 (no DI: 145)
22. Yoshi - 148 (no DI: 145)
22. Megaman - 148 (no DI: 145)
22. Cloud - 148 (no DI: 145; limit doesn't change anything)
26. Corrin - 145 (no DI: 142)
26. Shulk - 145 (no DI: 142)
* shield - 437 (no DI: 431)
* speed - 145 (no DI: 142)
* buster - 142 (no DI: 139)
* jump - 142 (no DI: 139)
* smash - 97 (no DI: 95)
28. Mario - 144 (no DI: 141)
28. Dr. Mario - 144 (no DI: 141)
28. Roy - 144 (no DI: 141)
28. Chrom (same values as Roy)
28. Robin - 144 (no DI: 141)
33. Luigi - 143 (no DI: 140)
33. Pit - 143 (no DI: 140)
33. Dark Pit (same values as Pit)
33. WFT - 143 (no DI: 140)
37. Ivysaur - 142 (no DI: 139)
38. Ness - 141 (no DI: 138)
38. Wolf - 141 (no DI: 139)
38. Lucario - 141 (no DI: 139)
38. Lucas - 141 (no DI: 138)

Mid-Lower
42. Pacman - 140 (no DI: 137)
42. Inkling - 140 (no DI: 137)
44. Villager - 139 (no DI: 137)
44. Ice Climbers - 139 (no DI: 136 | Nana: no DI: 123)
44. Palutena - 139 (no DI: 136)
44. Marth - 139 (no DI: 136)
44. Lucina (same values as Marth)
49. Toon Link - 138 (no DI: 135)
49. Peach - 138 (no DI: 135)
49. Daisy (same values as Peach)
49. Young Link - 138 (no DI: 135)
49. Little Mac - 138 (no DI: 135)
54. Diddy - 137 (no DI: 135)
54. Isabelle - 137 (no DI: 134)
56. Greninja - 136 (no DI: 134)
56. Sonic - 136 (no DI: 134)
56. Duck Hunt - 136 (no DI: 133)
59. Zelda - 134 (no DI: 132)
59. Bayonetta - 134 (no DI: 131)
61. ZSS - 132 (no DI: 130)
61. Rosalina - 132 (no DI: 129)
61. Falco - 132 (no DI: 129)

Lightweight
64. Kirby - 129 (no DI: 126)
64. Olimar - 129 (no DI: 126)
66. Meta Knight - 128 (no DI: 126)
66. Fox - 128 (no DI: 126)
66. Sheik - 128 (no DI: 125)
66. Mewtwo - 128 (no DI: 125)
70. Pikachu - 127 (no DI: 125)
71. Squirtle - 124 (no DI: 122)
72. Mr.GaW - 123 (no DI: 121)

Feather Weight
73. Jigglypuff - 120 (no DI: 118)
74. Pichu - 114 (no DI: 111)

Missing:
Mii Gunner
Mii Swordfighter
Mii Brawler

Spoiler: vertical ranking (Luigi UpB) - less accurate

Testing Method:
Character KO-% when Luigi upBs them (no DI).

char - FD (- BF - TaC - SV - YI(M) - YI(B) - Kalos - DL64 - PS1 - PS2 - Unova)
___________________________________________________________________________________
Super Heavy
1. Bowser - 67 - 71 - 70 - 70 - 67-69 - 67-69 - 71 - 71 - 67 - 67 - 70
2. K. Rool - 65
3. Dedede - 63
3. DK - 63

Heavy Weight
5. Ganondorf - 59
5. Charizard - 59
5. Incineroar - 59
8. Piranha Plant - 57
8. Bowser Jr. - 57 (51 non-clown)
10. Samus - 56
10. Dark Samus - 56
10. Richter - 56
10. Simon - 56
10. Ridley - 56

Mid High
15. Ike - 55
15. Wario - 55
15. Snake - 55
15. ROB - 55
15. C.Falcon - 55
15. Ken - 55
15. Ryu - 55
22. Link - 54
22. Yoshi - 54
22. Megaman - 54
25. Cloud - 53 (limit too)

Mid Weight
26. Mario - 52
26. Dr.Mario - 52
26. Shulk - 52
29. Corrin - 51
29. Luigi - 51
29. Pit - 51
29. Dark Pit - 51
29. WFT - 51
29. Ivysaur - 51
29. Roy - 51
29. Chrom - 51
29. Robin - 51
29. Pacman - 51
39. Ness - 50
39. Lucas - 50
39. Inkling - 50
39. Wolf - 50
39. Villager - 50
39. Lucario - 50

Mid Low
45. Palutena - 49
45. Toon Link - 49
45. Lucina - 49
45. Marth - 49
49. Diddy - 48
49. Peach - 48
49. Daisy - 48
49. Isabelle - 48
49. Greninja - 48
49. Young Link - 48
49. Little Mac - 48
49. Duck Hunt - 48
57. Sonic - 47
57. Zelda - 47
59. Falco - 46

Lightweight
60. Ice Climb - 45
60. Rosalina - 45
60. Bayonetta - 45
60. ZSS - 45
60. Olimar - 45
65. MetaKnight - 44
65. Kirby - 44
65. Pikachu - 44
68. Sheik - 43
68. Fox - 43
70. Mewtwo - 43
71. Mr.GaW - 42
71. Squirtle - 42

Feather Weight
73. Jigglypuff - 39
74. Pichu - 37

Missing:
Mii Gunner
Mii Swordfighter
Mii Brawler

Updates:
February 21, 2019:
- added Piranha Plant (horizontal rank: 10 | vertical rank: 8)

December 29, 2018:
- posted new vertical ranking (with Mewtwos Uthrow)
- updated all of Pokemon Trainers Pokemon for the horizontal ranking with: downB (it can help them to survive a bit more than just DIing)

 

[Sinister Slush]

Airdodging, Double jump, nor Egg roll momentum cancel helps Yoshi survive longer?
Weird.

 

[Nidtendofreak]

Nice to see this information being provided again!

I'm just going to point out here that with the datamined information in Richter and Simon, they should have identical survival percentages. They have identical weights/fall speed/gravity, etc. Only difference found was in the Holy Water element. The difference of 2 is a bit weird. How many times did you test those two against each other?

 

[arbustopachon]

Can pokemon trainer use pokemon switch to cancel momentum and keep their jump?

 

[Luigi player]

Airdodging, Double jump, nor Egg roll momentum cancel helps Yoshi survive longer?
Weird.

The thing with Yoshi is that he can already survive without them... and when he actually get's KO'd he has no time to start any action, so in this case there was no way for any of these things to help him. It's possible that they could help him if we'd use weaker or stronger moves to test with.

Nice to see this information being provided again!

I'm just going to point out here that with the datamined information in Richter and Simon, they should have identical survival percentages. They have identical weights/fall speed/gravity, etc. Only difference found was in the Holy Water element. The difference of 2 is a bit weird. How many times did you test those two against each other?

I tested each character a lot. A character took usually about 5 minutes to test. Shulk with his Monados alone took about 45 minutes. You can be sure I did test a lot of stuff and everything more than once.
I'm guessing it has to be Richters animation that's different and making him touch the blastzone earlier. The only other thing that could be possible is him having a bigger hurtbox, but I doubt it. The tested values are definitely correct. I even retested them after having them already finished just to make sure again.

Can pokemon trainer use pokemon switch to cancel momentum and keep their jump?

Thanks for asking, I tested these again (even though I'm sure I tried testing it at some point, but maybe just at their already maxed out values and not for all Pokemon or I didn't test enough to get the right timing), and it can help to survive, but not longer than the max survival numbers I already had for them.

Squirtle: downB helps it to survive at 111, so it lives 1 % longer than with just DIing (so it helps Squirtle as much as fair), but 1 % less than doublejumping.
Squirtle can still downB at 112, but Ivysaur instantly gets KO'd when coming out.

Ivysaur: downB helps Ivy to survive even at 127, but it can't downB anymore at 128 (or at least I wasn't able to have it come out), so it's as good as jumping and better than just DIing.

Charizard: seems to be able to survive with just downB until 140 (at 141 Squirtle comes out but dies shortly after), but if you use fair with Squirtle it can survive at 141 (doublejumping with Squirtle didn't help surviving). At 142 I didn't get downB to come out anymore, so that seems to be the max.

Keep in mind downBing is a bit more difficult than just doublejumping, since you have to hold to the stage at first and then downB in the last few frames. But in case you don't have a doublejump anymore you should probably try it since it can help (I updated the OP with the new downB numbers as well)!

 

[Sinister Slush]

The thing with Yoshi is that he can already survive without them... and when he actually get's KO'd he has no time to start any action, so in this case there was no way for any of these things to help him. It's possible that they could help him if we'd use weaker or stronger moves to test with.

So none of the options that helped in previous games does for Smash Ultimate. That's good to know so it'll keep me from using my one directional airdodge cause I thought it helped Yoshi at least.

 

[Luigi player]

Finally updated with Piranha Plants %s:

Horizontal ranking:
10. Piranha Plant - 132 (B: 135 | jump: 136 | no DI: 91)

Vertical ranking:
8. Piranha Plant - 155 (no DI: 152)

Piranha Plants neutral B stops all horizontal momentum it seems. If the plant's at 136 % it dies before/when changing animation to neutral B. I do see upB come out (but it doesn't help and dies a few frames after), so neutral B is executed, but the hurtbox seems to put it directly into the blastzone I guess.

So none of the options that helped in previous games does for Smash Ultimate. That's good to know so it'll keep me from using my one directional airdodge cause I thought it helped Yoshi at least.

I said "in this case there was no way for any of these things to help him".

There are instances were characters get launched really far (not from the edge of a stage, but e.g. from the other side) and can act early, but still suffer tons of momentum to a side. In this case they would probably help.

I know this makes all of my testing a little ambiguous. I guess you could say "if you would barely die all of this should apply". Though in Smash4 there were instances were even just a different move or angle (idk) would change this a little bit (there were instances were moves didn't help anymore, but others suddenly did - maybe it's because of the timing of the hurtbox shifting, idk). So just keep in mind that it isn't set in stone like that.

If you're really unsure you'd get KO'd try doing an action that would help you survive. Maybe even test this out in friendlies too if you want to.
- If there's no harm (-> you live longest by doing a move you don't lose) then just do it.
- If you'd lose your doublejump or something, then well, try it or not.
- If you suffer really strong knockback and fly over the whole stage try some more momentumcancelling methods (in Yoshis case sideB? or doublejump) to stop it if you must.