Patch 11.0.0 for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate added Pyra & Mythra as DLC and made some pretty significant adjustments to the balance of the game. Characters like Captain Falcon, Ganondorf, Pichu, King Dedede and Byleth have received some die-hard lovers. Meanwhile, some fighters like Palutena, Joker, Wario and Zero Suit Samus have been left a little nervous.
However, it turns out that one of the most influential lovers is not even listed in Nintendo’s patch notes. One of Wii Fit Trainer’s best attacks, the Header, has received a significant reduction in its landing recovery. It may be even more accurate to say that the landing repair has been completely removed.
Before plastering 11.0.0, Wii Fit Trainer would need about 9 repair frames after landing from her Header – which always makes her move in the air. The latest update has made it so that the Wii Fit Trainer’s only landing recovery framework is now determined by the game’s universal hard landing recovery framework – which is 4 frames. This means that the Wii Fit Trainer now always cancels her header automatically.
In other words, Wii Fit Trainer will now recover in 4 frames after landing from her Header special instead of 9 frames. When used close to the ground, the Wii Fit Trainer will now recover 5 frames faster than before.
Since Wii Fit Trainer’s Header is such an important part of her game plan, this single lover is likely to have a significant impact on Wii Fit Trainer’s meta in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
In addition to enhancing Wii Fit Trainer’s zoning options, she can now use her Header special in her combinations more easily. With the right setup, these header combinations and conversions can be extremely damaging. Wii Fit Trainer also has brand new kill confirmations thanks to the lover.
so um 🤭 pic.twitter.com/0XPbTbN3gO
– Ħ | Big Tea 🍍 (@BigTeaTV) 5 March 2021
I’ve not been able to find the right thing to do, I’m going to be a jerk, I’m going to go to a place where I’m going to be a fan, I’m going to be a fan, I’m going to be a fan, I’m going to go, I’m going to go
飛 び 道具 か ら 飛 飛 び で ー ー ス ス 撃 撃 墜
ま あ 次 の 調整 で で ど な pic.twitter.com/QETIvoggIS– b ラ ゴ リ】】 / 【͡ ° •• ͡ °】 (@ bFEpTdvFZ5CGFEN) 5 March 2021
😅💦✋ pic.twitter.com/wKOX1771q8
– kam よ い い さ ん ん だ け は す す ん な よ (@ kamotter2905) 5 March 2021
Why was this change made in the first place? According to Invy, members of the Japanese Wii Fit Discord presumably with the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate development team got in touch and made them aware of a certain bug regarding Wii Fit Trainer’s Header.
This error apparently eliminated Header usage when Wii Fit Trainer landed while canceling Sun Salutation of Deep Breathing. It turns out that the solution was to completely eliminate the recovery from the step.
While this is a big proponent of Wii Fit Trainer, the frame data of the move is not entirely nonsensical due to this change. Wii Fit Trainer’s Header runs as fast as possible and now requires 48 frames instead of 53 frames while standing on flat ground. Of course, it can be accelerated a bit more with Deep Breathing active and with the Header special stall.
However, performing the ‘fast version’ of the Header will hit the ball high in the air, making it more ideal for swinging aerial approaches. To hit the ball low, Wii Fit Trainer users have to slow down the ball by about 3-4 extra frames from the fastest possible start-up time.
At the moment, it is unknown whether this is a change that will remain, or that it will be repaired in a future patch. As head of Wii Fit Trainer, I hope it’s here to stay.
Sources: Invy, Big tea, bFEpTdvFZ5CGFEN and Kamotter2905.