User blog:Smasher51/To Smash and To Triumph: Palutena

Hello Everyone. Have you ever tried to play a character, and you just plain sucked with them, and you don't seem to be getting any better (I sure have (Looks over at Mr. Game and Watch and Jigglypuff.))? Well, I'm here for a little... uh, divine intervention (Ok, maybe not divine intervention, I just needed to stick that reference somewhere).

Welcome to the first entry of my Smash 4 strategy guide, To Smash and To Triumph. In this series, I will try to explain the movesets of a character, and how to use each move in a certain character's arsenal effectively. Special thanks to Plasmaster for the idea of a strategy guide. You should check out him and NyanMeowastic's strategy guides as well.

Anyways, let's cut to the chase and present our first character, Palutena, the goddess of light from the Kid Icarus series.



Palutena
Let's start with the normal moves.

Jabs, Tilts, and Dash Attacks
Jab: Palutena's jabs are kind of like a combination of Pikachu's jab and any character with an infinite combo. The jab goes right into the infinite combo, but like Pikachu's Jab, it knocks the opponent away if they're near the end of the orb or the center of it. The key to racking up damage is trying to get the opponent in range so that the enemy will be in between Palutena and the orb. The finisher of jab, as well as the jab itself, has some decent knockback. It won't kill, but it's still good for giving you space.

S-Tilt: This move hits once and has a decent range. It is good for spacing, as the tilt has varying KB depending on the opponent’s damage, but it doesn't have enough to score any KOs.

D-Tilt: Palutena's down tilt is very similar to her side tilt, but its hitboxes are lower and has more range. It can even hit behind Palutena. This is also good for spacing, as it doesn't hit your opponent too far when you use it.

U-Tilt: This is by far the most effective tilt in Palutena's arsenal. The move has a wide set of hitboxes draws enemies in, and hits multiple times. Not only that, but it has decent KB as well, so if the opponent has lower damage, you can use the move multiple times to rack up loads of damage.

Dash Attack: Palutena's dash attack is extremely effective. It has powerful KB, and it can kill at higher damages. The downside to this is that the attack has some lag, and cannot really start any combos.

Smash Attacks
S-Smash: Palutena's S-Smash has fantastic range and KB. The attack also has pushboxes, so if the opponent is out of range, at least the attack is not useless and it can give you some space. If you're quick enough, you can follow up the Reflect Barrier with this attack.

D-Smash: Palutena's D-Smash has a long range and some kill potential, and can help in spacing with its pushboxes. I highly recommend that you do not use this for edgeguarding. The wings she uses for the attack flatten when it hits the ground, and this happens even when it is over the edge. So the D-Smash is a no-go for edgeguarding.

U-Smash: The U-Smash is a super effective move. Not only does the U-Smash have the longest range of any U-Smash in the game (it just passes the top of the top platform of Battlefield), but it has huge amounts of power to back up it's flashy appearance. The best part of the attack is at the beginning of the attack near the bottom. This can also be used as an edgeguarding tool; if an opponent tries to recover high, you can use the attack as an anti-air attack.

Aerials
N-Air: This move is extremely effective when it comes to racking up damage, but also has a little bit of launch at the end of the attack. This move is very effective if it is followed by a down throw.

F-Air: This attack is like Zelda’s forward air, and like it has a sweet spot, but is not as powerful and obvious. This attack is very quick and can catch opponents off guard, and also be repeated quickly after the end of the attack.

B-Air: This attack is decent for getting opponents away from you. It’s strong and quick, but not exactly good for combos or kills. It’s just a really effective spacing and damage tool.

U-Air: Palutena’s U-Air is her most powerful aerial attack. The move hits multiple times, has fantastic KB at high damages, and is great for kills.

D-Air: Palutena’s d-air attack has a meteor smash. It's kind of hard to tell since you can't hear the meteor smash sound effect. It will always meteor smash, as the attack has no sourspot, but the close range will make it hard to pull off in aerial combat. It’s also good for getting opponents into the air if they’re on the ground, though you may want to be careful when doing that, because if the enemy recovers of techs, they’ll be able to punish you due to the lag when you land.

Grabs and Throws
Pummel: A pummel that does decent damage and has some decent speed (It’s not as fast as, say, Lucario’s Pummel, but not as bad as Bowser’s).

F- and B-Throw: I put these in the same place because I have almost exactly the same notes for them. This attack is good for getting opponents off the stage, and occasionally killing them or starting aerial battles.

U-Throw: This attack is good for getting an opponent into the air, but not necessarily over the edge. If you’re lucky, you can start an aerial combo (particularly the U-Air); you can also kill if the enemy has enough damage.

D-Throw: This attack is good for starting aerial combos, specifically the F- or N-Air. Other than that, there’s not much to say about this attack.

Special Moves
Neutral: Autoreticle: This attack is an overall decent attack. It does a moderate amount of damage, can good be for edgeguarding, and has some decent hitstun you can use to your advantage. For example, this attack is good for interrupting attacks such a DK’s D-Special and Bowser and Charizard’s N-Special.

Side: Reflect Barrier: This move is good for spacing and reflecting projectiles (obviously enough). Be warned though; the opponent can roll or go through the shield during the last couple frames of the attack with no ill effects and punish you for it. This move also does minor amounts of damage and KB. It can also be used for edgeguarding if you’re careful, especially if someone is trying recover horizontally (you can use it for vertical recoveries as well, but it’s a lot harder to do and not really worth it).

Up: Warp: Warp doesn’t do damage, and is slightly unpredictable if you're not focused enough. Heck, it's a little unpredictable in general. It’s better to try and recover upwards with the move. Playing mind games with this move isn’t recommended. If you want to do that, just play as Mewtwo.

Down: Counter: Counter works as one would expect. What the key with all counters in general is to catch the attack at the right moment and trigger the move at the right moment as well.

Overall
Palutena is a surprisingly fast and well rounded character, concerning the character’s height. She has some decent ground and air game, but a meh aerial edgegame, depending on how good the player is; her ground edgegame is pretty good, though. Use her tilts and aerials to accumulate damage and finish the job with her Smash Attacks, dash attack, and throws.

I hope you enjoyed this first guide. Tell me your thoughts and what you would like to see for the next guide. I’m probably going to do the next one next year, as the holidays are coming and I got the Mario Galaxy games for my birthday, so I’ll be spending most of my time doing that. I will take requests and work on them, though. Look back here on the 21st for my Christmas/1st anniversary special. Until next time, SEE YA LATER!