What buffs does Kirby need?

[NotMegaMan]

Down+B Start up needs to be quicker and lower % kill throws(more knockback) IMO

 

[Mario & Sonic Guy]

I swear every time I see you post on the Kirby boards you say something about Final Cutter xD
Final Cutter really needs some love tho

It's not very good for Kirby's horizontal recovery though. If Kirby's air speed was at least set to be 1 or 1.04, it would potentially help him conserve his mid-air jumps more.

 

[Quarium]

Kirby needs regular air speed.

 

[TimG57867]

I had a feeling patches weren't done, and looking at what other characters got, I think bumping this thread and making these requests are justified. Even if the devs don't see these threads, I think it helps for Kirby players to know just what are the best things that could help the little guy out so that we can keep our requests focused when posting elsewhere. I had feeling some people were being too enthusiastic when we got the (much needed) Up Throw buff and I guess I wasn't being irrational. Honestly, Kirby is on the final stretch of becoming a tournament threat but he's being held by back several needless flaws. In order for Kirby to be able to work around his inherent weaknesses, he'll need something along the lines of this:

• Cut B-Air's landing by at least 5 frames. 's F-Air and B-Air got made quicker on landing for no reason the former is disjointed so I don't see why Kirby should be left ragged. In a time where his other aerials were trash, B-Air really helped him get by in Brawl.
• Buff his air speed to at least the .85-.9 range just like they did for . That way he could space well and wouldn't need to use FC so predictably to recover.
• Fix the dysfunctional and unsafe mess of a move that is Final Cutter. Seriously, I really pity that technique. With its transcendent and disjoint range and transcendent projectile, the move really wants to make Kirby's approach and neutral better. But it's held back awful frame data and poor range. Fixing this special would actually be a boon for Kirby, unlike the Hammer they seem to be so obsessed with. They were able to fix 's sloppy kit, so there's no excuse to leave Final Cutter the way it is.
• Up Air, F-Air, D-Air, and N-Air all just need to have their speed enhanced in one or more aspects. N-Air should come on Frame 5 or less to help alleviate pressure, Up Air should hit on Frame 6 to improve combo ability, F-Air should hit on Frame 6 to improve approaching and recovery, and D-Air should hit on Frame 13 due its range.
• Make Down B able to break Kirby out of juggle situations.

But if I had to rank all potential changes from most to least helpful and limit it to just five changes, it'd go like this:

1. Buff air speed to .90
2. Make Final Cutter a good move in neutral (cut startup and endlag and restore the projectile distance)
3. Speed up N-Air (Frame 5)
4. Speed up D-Air (Frame 13-14)
5. Fix B-Air's landing lag OR make F-Air faster (Cut landing lag to 12 frames or make F-Air frame 6).

Several patches ago, this would have seemed excessive and look like wishful thinking, but now I feel that's perfectly feasible and needed. Killing was only half of Kirby's problem. He still needed viable options in neutral and he still hasn't gotten those. Plus, going by how they keep buffing knockback on moves, they must want to improve Kirby's reward for getting in, but frankly they're doing it all wrong. It's not the power that's the problem. It's the speed. There are so many incredible combos and strings Kirby could pull off that just aren't possible due to his air speed and slow aerials making his strings unsafe. This may seem excessive but it's really the only way they'll be able to get Kirby to an optimally balanced state. Without these changes, especially the air speed and Final Cutter buffs, he's always gonna struggle at the highest levels of play. But if he got these, his matchup spread would improve exponentially and he'd a be potent tournament pick.