I whiffed an Usmash and my opponent was able to get off his gannon punch. It went through me without damage. I've had projectiles do the same (which is what invincibility means), but the "nerf" has reduced the amount of punishable moves players can use against a missed Usmash.
The one thing no one realizes is the hitbox has not changed size. It was simply moved down. Usmash now hits grounded opponents or opponents standing next to you because the hit box is lower.
Personally, I think the "nerf" was a "buff."
Interesting about the hitbox shift for Usmash! That actually does help out a lot more than I realized... I've also been told that Zelda from the waist up is how much invincibility she has, which is pretty sweet.
Now the question is, when do the invincibility frames start and end? Would it be for as long as the Usmash hitboxes are out?
Zelda's shaping up to be a pretty nice character now. She will have her revenge for all the low-tierness from before! Mwahahaha!
The funny part is, I don't think she's considered top 10 right now, but I have a feeling she's getting closer.
I doubt any more changes will happen to Zelda anymore, as she seems pretty well tuned up already. Though you never know I suppose?
Looking over her move set as of now and some of my opinions...
Jab
Great. It was changed to be much more reliable in terms of getting all this hits to link properly.
If your opponent is close enough to your back, it can actually hit them and put them almost straight in front of you (though this doesn't happen to often) which can lead to another jab or another move.
This is also good for poking shields as it's pretty disjointed and has very low cool down. Just be careful of it's slightly slow speed as it comes out at 11 frames.
Ftilt
Okay. It originally came out on frame 12, but was changed to have 1.2x speed which makes it come out at frame 10 (12 x 0.8 = 9.6 = 10 rounded up) and the IASA frame would go from 40 to 32.
I assume 1.2x speed is for the whole move, as it doesn't mention it being only the start up... though someone will have to clarify that one.
Ftilt is alright, though I find it particularly annoying to land because of the linearity/coverage of the move. It does have some interesting combo capabilities at lower % but at high % merely becomes a move to put your opponent in a bad position as follow ups become impossible afterward due to the increased knock back.
It also has a strange 2nd knock back angle where if you hit the opponent too close up, it sends them rather horizontally forwards rather than the normal backward, upward diagonal. Sometimes that might be good, sometimes not so just be aware of your relation to your opponent while doing this.
It's not amazing, but it's not terrible either. Probably doesn't warrant any real changes.
Fsmash
Great. One of her best moves! It was changed to have all it's hits connect properly
upon connection 99% of the time (sometimes if your opponent is in a weird position as you start it, it'll just do 1%, but this is extremely rare).
I mean, what can you say about Fsmash? It has good range, non-punishable on block, stays out from frame 16 - 24, has pretty low cool down (IASA is 40) and has the dreaded transcendent priority. With the fix to it as well, it's a very reliable and solid move for Zelda.
The only thing to watch out for is trades, as she will lose out a majority of the time because of its multi-hit nature. Also it will be less effective against people that can out range it, so just be careful not to get baited into using it against those opponents who you know can out range you (ZZS, DK, Marth etc).
Dtilt
Great. Another one of her best moves! I believe the only change to it was her IASA frame went from 25 to 26... a barely noticeable change really, but might as well note it in case.
Now because of the increase hit stun compared to vBrawl, it is possible to seriously link Dtilts together with a lot of ease. Once your opponent has a bit of damage built up, Dtilt > Dtilt becomes a combo practically against a lot of people (I believe it's weight dependent however). Also, people who don't DI out of this quickly are gonna get really hurt! This also starts to pop up opponents at higher %, which can lead to a killing combo of either Utilt for vertical kills (or Usmash if they move too far from you) or Fsmash for side kills once they're high enough (however this also depends on their gravity, as some characters might fall too fast to the ground for Zelda to catch them with these moves and tech). A damage racker and a good starting combo to kill move at later %, it's pretty awesome.
Though it does have slightly short range, and the hitboxes are pretty low on the ground so a well placed jump is all it takes to dodge and counter attack with an aerial if they can predict it. Also, strangely enough this is one of the few moves Zelda has that can clash with other attacks and stop projectiles even; though this is pretty rare and probably shouldn't be used with those things in mind... another thing is if opponents have a fast enough attack, they can interrupt some Dtilt combos if they're low enough %, so just be careful and mindful of who you're facing (characters like Marth or Sheik etc).
It can also spike, for the lulz.
Overall though, a very good move and basically her "jab" in common terms (frame 5 is fairly fast after all).
Dsmash
Good! I don't think this got altered in Brawl+ at all as it's already pretty good as it is already.
Dsmash is her fastest attack to come out (frame 4) making it a nice move to use for speed. The knockback is decent, and the knockback angle is pretty horizontal as well making it a decent kill move, though she does have better options for killing... however if you need the speed, then for sure go for it. It's also a good "get away!" move, as it covers both sides of her. Sometimes too, if your opponent is slightly inside Zelda's body, the first hit will smack them into the second hit of DSmash, 'causing almost 20% damage instantly (though this doesn't occur too often, it's very nice when it does).
Also, this is a good follow up after Dtilt if you know your opponent's going to escape out of it and you can't follow up with more Dtilts.
If you really want to kill with Dtilt > Dsmash, be sure to charge the Dsmash a bit as the Dtilt sometimes knocks the opponent a little higher than the hitbox if you follow-up right away at higher %.
Dsmash has its obvious uses, however don't get too spammy with it because it is extremely punishable on shield block if you hit with the first hit box (frame 4 hit > 40 IASA, ouch) and it will most likely get you grabbed or something because of it's rather low shield pushback. In general too, if you consider the first hit only covering her front, she's completely open from the front as she performs her second hit from frame 12 to 40 IASA. Definitely something people might want to bait out of you, so just be careful.
Utilt
Good. I used to think this might require some sort of change, but now... I'm not too sure. It is definitely more powerful than Usmash, though Usmash in general has a much larger utility. However the power of this should not be ignored, and probably doesn't deserve that much of a change. This is also excellent for trading against people who may want to use aerials against you, which is funny for Zelda (1% trades anybody?) just as long as the attack isn't too disjointed.
Some things that might be annoying is how slowly she waves her arm over her, which means if you miss you're probably gonna get hurt. Though this has a good side too, as it can sometimes catch people out of an airdodge or maybe a roll that strays too close to Zelda; however doing this takes a bit of practice and probably better to use Usmash anyway if that happens simply because it's easier to land and has a more constant and faster coverage (not to mention a whole bunch of other things). The knock back angle can sometimes be a bit finicky as well, since it depends on which part of the Utilt you hit them with and this is a lot more DI-able than Usmash. Though if they mess up a DI... it's gonna be ugly. Like Snake Utilt ugly (Oh, to have that angle
).
If there was one thing I'd want to change for this, it would be the knock back angle. Though I'm doubtful it warrants a change, that'd be the first change I'd want~
Usmash
Great. So many changes were done to this thing... but from what I know now, it's slightly weaker than vBrawl's Usmash, had it's hitboxes lowered and has added invincibility on a portion of Zelda for a certain period.
Usmash is pretty much a very evil move to punish aerials with. Because of it's decent range and new invincibility which is from Zelda's waist up, aerials that might normally trade just get totally stopped in their tracks if they overlap right. It's great at catching people coming down if they don't have good options to hit you from below, plus the partial invincibility helps a ton for this. It's a pretty decent kill move too and combo move at lower %. I believe this also has transcendent priority to add on top of all of this. It has a lot going for it! Personally, I'd need to experiment more with it but it seems to be a pretty dang solid move for her.
The things to be careful about though: pretty easy to punish if it hits shield as it has rather low shield pushback, so watch out for that. Another thing is getting baited into using it, as the afterlag is long (Frame 57 IASA), so don't get too jumpy with it and be patient.
Mm, I'll do her other moves later. Gotta pack for school and stuff :x
So far so good though with her moveset!
P.S. Good lord this is way longer than I thought. Sorry!
