Blaster

The Blaster (called Blaster Shot in Super Smash Bros.) is Fox's, Falco's, and Wolf's Neutral B special move in all three Smash Bros. games. The attack consists of firing shots from a laser gun to damage far away opponents. All three fighters have different variations of the Blaster.

Origin

Fox has been pictured with a gun since Star Fox 64, but it hasn't been until Star Fox Assault (excluding the original Super Smash Bros.) that Fox would actually use one (in Star Fox 64, if the ability to play as the pilot on-foot in multiplayer was unlocked, he would use a Rocket Launcher, and in Star Fox Adventures, it is mentioned near the beginning of the game when Fox had to land on a peaceful planet, so he was forbidden to use a blaster). His basic Blaster has unlimited ammo, and is capable of charging a rather powerful Charge Shot. In lieu of high powered weapons like a Rocket Launcher, a fully charged Blaster shot would be the only thing Fox had to damage enemies with shielding.

Fox

File:BlasterBrawl.jpg

Fox's Blaster.

In SSB, the Blaster shoots a pink laser beam that travels slower than a standard Ray Gun shot, does 5-6 damage, and has good knockback for how quick it is. The Blaster has increased fire rate while Fox is airborne allowing Fox to short hop double laser. Fox overall is considered to have the best projectile in SSB due to its hitstun and damage. This is one of the main points for why Fox is such a high tier in SSB.

In SSBM, however, Fox's Blaster is quite different from the original; it has a faster rate of fire and traveling speed is drastically increased, but the Blaster has absolutely no knockback and does 1%-3% damage per shot. This is one of the few moves in the game that can never, under any circumstances, provide a KO, except for stealing other players' KO's. It is mainly used from long range (As short hop lasers or short hop double lasers) to camp and help bring up damage for an up throw up air combo or up smash. It should never be used while standing as there is ending lag.

In SSBB, Fox's Blaster has once again changed: the range of the Blaster now travels roughly half of its previous distance, and he cannot cancel the lag of putting his Blaster away simply by landing. His blaster inflicts 3% per shot before move decay sets in. Fox is also now capable of a short hop triple laser, allowing him to inflict more damage on opponents who are falling to the stage. It is similar to SSBM in extent to what it can be used as it is used to camp. It is also used after auto-canceled aerials to reduce landing lag and after f-airs usually or after jumping up from the ledge.

Fox's Special Moves
	64	Melee	Brawl	3DS/Wii U	Ultimate
Standard Special	Blaster
Side Special	—	Fox Illusion
Up Special	Fire Fox
Down Special	Reflector
Final Smash	—		Landmaster		Team Star Fox

Falco

Falco's Blaster.

The Blaster is Falco's Neutral B special move in his Melee incarnation, which, like Fox, shoots a laser gun to damage faraway opponents. It is significantly different from that of Fox's: the Blaster has a slower firing rate and longer end lag, (though it fires faster in the air, but not as fast as Fox's), and each beam stuns the opponent in addition to doing damage. Falco's Blaster closely resembles Fox's Blaster as it appeared in the original Smash Bros. The end lag can be skipped if used during a short hop. Falco's Blaster is mainly used from long range to help build damage for later KO attempts, and as an aid in approaching. It has set knockback. It is also used for setting up kills, especially versus Captain Falcon and Ganondorf, as it can be fired numerous times off the ledge to force these characters to recover the same way each up b.

In Brawl, the beams from Falco's Blaster travel farther than the beams from Fox's, and they are blue instead of red. They appear to do some electricity-based damage, and do not appear to have set knockback. They are very similar to Fox's lasers from Super Smash Bros outside of doing less damage. It is considered to be one of the best projectiles in the game as it has VERY high priority (goes through every and any attack sans reflectors, shields, and PSI Magnet and Oil Panic) and cancels out approaches from virtually everyone below the "A" tier. This is by exploiting short hop double lasers to shoot one laser in the air and one in the ground. Combined with Falco Phantasm and throws, this is a common Falco approach. It is also be used to Lock commonly after a Jab Cancel, and can "combo" at various percents into a Boost Smash or f-smash. Also, similar to Melee but to a lesser extent, Falco's lasers can also be used to set up edgeguards.

Glitch

A small glitch with Falco's Blaster is that if used at the right range, the shots will stick into some platforms and remain damaging until it expires. It can most easily be done on New Pork City (or any custom stage with a specific type of ramp), when you stand where the bridge begins and fire at the platform to the left. It can also be done in Brawl's Temple, on the ramp to the far upper-right of the stage, if you stand in a certain spot and fire, and in Corneria if the player stands on the engines, jumps and fires at the tip of the wing.

Also, this is not a glitch, but characters can become trapped in a tumble animation, called Laser Lock, if hit repeatedly with Falco's Blaster just before they hit the ground while free-falling. The laser lock may also be done after a dair by falco toward the ground if the opponent does not roll off the floor. The laser lock does not work on all characters. The thinner characters will lie under the laser just barely.

The glitch.

Falco's Special Moves
	Melee	Brawl	3DS/Wii U	Ultimate
Standard Special	Blaster
Side Special	Falco Phantasm
Up Special	Fire Bird
Down Special	Reflector
Final Smash	—	Landmaster		Team Star Fox

Wolf

Wolf's Blaster

Wolf's Blaster (クローブラスター "Claw Blaster" in the Japanese version) is his Neutral B special move in Super Smash Bros Brawl. It is a gun with a bayonet attached beneath its barrel, that fires green projectile lasers. Its firing rate is much slower than that of Fox and Falco's counterpart weapons, as Wolf is animated drawing and holstering it for each shot, and its range is the shortest, with lasers that travel about two-thirds of the length of Final Destination. However, its shots deal a small amount of knockback that is not set, and 5-6% damage, the most damage of all three blasters. The blaster also serves as a melee weapon, delivering an extra 5% damage and considerable knockback to foes if it contacts them. When fired from the ground, the vertical range of the lasers' hitboxes make contact with the floor, and will hit any ducking or crawling opponent, and detonate any landmines that Snake may have laid. It should be noted that the damage dealt by each laser lessens slightly as it travels forward.

Wolf's Special Moves
	Brawl	Ultimate
Standard Special	Blaster
Side Special	Wolf Flash
Up Special	Fire Wolf
Down Special	Reflector
Final Smash	Landmaster	Team Star Wolf

See Also

• Short Hop Laser
• Laser Glitch