Smash Bros. Ultimate v13.0.0: Dr. Mario & King K. Rool buffed, Kazuya’s loop combo adjusted

Publication date of the original Japanese article: 2021-10-19 11:18 (JST)
Translated by. Ryuki Ishii

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate update version 13.0.0 is now live. Sora joins the battle, and numerous balance changes were made to existing fighters.

First of all, Kazuya’s side B loop combo has been adjusted, but not by making changes to Kazuya himself. The game “made it so opponents that fall down in place due to Kazuya’s side special cannot be stepped on when jumping.”

Overall, characters that have not had much presence in online matches or competitive scene were buffed, notably Dr. Mario, Zelda, Little Mac, King K. Rool, Isabelle, and Incineroar. On the other hand, popular characters have been left untouched across the board.

Dr. Mario received a major enhancement. His recovery is low tier and attack range is short, making it difficult to take advantage of his attack power. However, the newest update made the following changes. He should now be able to compete better in aerial fights.

Neutral Air Attack: Extended launch distance for the high-damage window.
Up Air Attack: Increased attack power and maintained launch distance.
Down Air Attack: Increased attack speed.
Side Special: Increased the amount of time hit detection lasts.
Down Special: Increased the speed that super armor activates when using the move on the ground.

King K. Rool’s presence is also somewhat limited at the moment. Now, things might change with the following adjustments:

Up Tilt Attack: Increased power. Extended launch distance.
Side Smash Attack: Increased the amount of time hit detection lasts. Increased the range at the beginning of the move.
Forward Air Attack: Reduced vulnerability.
Up Throw: Extended launch distance.

Little Mac was also buffed, mainly the Neutral Special. It’s not an adjustment made to compensate the weaknesses, so it’s unlikely to change the gameplay feel of the fighter.

As for Zelda, launch distance for Up/Down Smash Attack was extended. Isabelle saw the duration of the high-damage part of Side Smash extended. Launch distance for Down Smash/Forward Throw was extended as well. She wasn’t particularly good with finishing off the opponents, but this update addresses that weakness.

Incineroar’s Up Air Attack and Up Special were buffed with increased attack power, further improving the fighter’s strong point.

You can check out the full patch note from here.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has a reputation for being a well-balanced game despite the large number of fighters. Each fighter has their own strengths, and the fighters used in online/offline tournaments tend to change over time. The newest update seems to keep the existing balance while strengthening fighters that haven’t had much of a presence in the competitive scene lately.

With Dr. Mario becoming stronger in aerial combat and King K. Rool gaining multitude of buffs, it will be interesting to see how the competitive scene will change in the future.