OFFICIAL ITEM IMPRESSIONS:
These are the results of item testing that the ‘Item Standard Play’ project has been working on for the past two months. The goal of the project is to create standardized and accepted formats for item play in tournaments and in order to do this, certain criterion were established. For the sake of understanding, I will set out these criterions now:
Preservation of Risk/Reward: The basic concept of ‘punishment’ in a fighting game. Every move has a risk/reward value that affects its usefulness and effectiveness in any given situation, and acceptable items must preserve this vital relationship. If an item has too little risk for too much of a reward, then the item is to be deemed ‘broken’ and must be disabled from play; conversely, if an item has too much risk for a very small amount of reward, then the item shall be deemed ‘redundant’ and should be removed from play in an attempt to condense item listings (this is not as important as removing ‘broken’ items, however).
Acceptable Counter Systems in Place: Every move must have a counter; if there is no counter, than strategically there is no reason not to use it at all times. For an item to be considered ‘balanced’ it must always have at least one counter at all times. If an item does not have at least one global strategic counter, then it shall be deemed ‘broken’ and banned from play.
Acceptable Level of Effect on Match Outcome: Applicable to both items and stages. If an item has a dramatic effect on battle to the extent that an entire match can ride on the item’s use, then the item should be considered ‘broken’ and banned from play. This criterion has the most grey area because items in and of themselves are designed to effect the outcome of a match. Thus, acceptable levels of interference must be maintained; small changes in match dynamics are acceptable, while items promoting ‘spawn camping’ and like strategies should be banned. As a corollary to this, we must also take into account if an item forces its effects on a player (for instance, by spawning on top of a player); items of lower effect can have more leeway on this rule, while items with vast effects must only be usable by player decision.
A recent addition to this list is the ‘counterpick’ list of items; previously, items were either deemed ‘approved’ or ‘banned’. This allows for a few very important changes to item play. Introductory matches in a set must maintain a certain level of integrity, and having an approved ‘neutral’ list of items, much like in the case of neutral stage picks and double-blind character selection, ensures that a significant advantage is not enjoyed by either competitor during the first match. This also allows for greater congruency with established tournament play, further bridging the divide between ‘casual’ players who are looking to enter the tournament scene and seasoned tournament players looking for new and fresh competition (both players and styles).
Using these criterions, these are the ‘ISP’ project’s impressions on each of the 49 items available for Brawl tournament play. These are, by no means, set in stone, at least for now; however, because I wished to make a decision on each of the items at least once, I have laid out our impressions below. There will be three possible outcomes for any given item: Neutral (and accepted for round 1 play), Counterpick (and thus only available in round 2 and onward) or Banned (unavailable for the entirety of the set).
As of 7/3, this list will apply to both 1v1 and 2v2 play. Many of the items function more or less the same, regardless of ruleset. There are, however, a few key items that have significant functional differences when used in 2v2 play. In these cases, I will have a supplementary paragraph following the standard 1v1 ruling for 2v2 play. For all 2v2 rulings, assume that Friendly Fire is active. If there is not a separate paragraph for any item, assume the ruling is the same for 2v2 as it is for 1v1.
Please feel free to contest any of the below impressions with solid data that does not contradict the above stated criterion:
Smash Ball [BANNED] - Unfortunately, there isn’t much that can be said about Smash Balls in 1v1 play. With most items, regardless of the character you are using, the effect of the item remains the same; Smash Balls were not designed with this in mind, however, and as such are not balanced in such a way as to give each character an equally powerful or effective Final Smash. This, in combination with frames of varying invincibility, wildly differing ranges, and the ability to change the outcome of a match in a single fell swoop renders Smash Balls out of the question for 1v1 play.
Smash Ball 2v2 [COUNTERPICK] – Smash Balls actually function quite differently in 2v2 play than in 1v1, and the reason is that you are now able to hit your teammate. The biggest flaw with Smash Balls in 1v1 was that there is little to no downfall to activating a Final Smash at any time; if all else fails, one could simply activate the move to gain invincibility frames in order to dodge a hit, and even if the move misses, nothing is really lost. If a teammate and Friendly Fire is added in, things become more complicated. No Final Smash is unable to be dodged, but many of the more ‘overpowered’ Final Smashes are quite hard to dodge indeed; this, however, counts for both your enemies and your friends, meaning that if a team isn’t well coordinated a badly placed Final Smash can (and probably will) seriously injure a teammate (the Landmaster is an excellent example of this). As noted earlier, however, every Final Smash, be it DK’s or Marth’s, is able to be dodged, so a team that has practiced around each other’s Final Smashes is at a significant advantage; even Pit’s or Dedede’s Final Smashes (which now homes in on teammates due to Friendly Fire) can be easily dodged if one practices his timing enough. It is for these reasons that we move Smash Balls to the counterpick list for 2v2 play.
Assist Trophy/Pokeball [COUNTERPICK] / [BANNED] - I wanted to keep these items separate in this assessment, but I just couldn’t; they work the same, have the same faults, and affect the match in the same way. Assists and Pokeballs break all three of the criterion for a balanced item: there is no risk to using them (as all you have to do is pick them up and you gain their effects), the Assist/Pokemon summoned is invincible and in many cases can chase you down, and a single Assist/Pokemon can net even low % kills (especially in the case of the Legends and Isaac). It should be noted, however, that Assist Trophies and Pokeballs have a very distinct difference in activation methods, namely that Assists are activated upon acquisition (and thus have an accompanying animation), while Pokeballs double as a mid-strength projectile. Because of this difference, a player activating an Assist Trophy can be punished in a way that a player throwing a Pokeball cannot; this makes Assist Trophies a little less broken than Pokeballs. [As it stands, there are a few Pokemon and Assist Trophies that are vastly more powerful than the rest (the Legends and Issac come to mind), but as Keits demonstrates, even the more powerful Assists are able to be dodged. It should be noted that these overpowered Pokemon/Assists are very rare, indeed; this does not excuse them from our balance criterion, however, which is why we have decided to make them counterpick pending further tournament evidence; if it is demonstrated that uber Pokemon/Assists degenerate item play, they will be disabled. Current item players must remember that these items will not be active unless they are activated by a player, however, so whoever activates them takes these risks into account willingly. Keeping this in mind, though, powerful Pokemon spawn more frequently than powerful Assists, so Pokeballs remain banned.]
Containers [BANNED] - This refers to the Crate, Barrel, Capsule, and Party Ball items collectively. These items, on the surface, seem to be balanced. There is a large risk to using the Crate, Barrel, and Party Ball items because of the drastic movement reduction received while holding them, the only reward being another item (possibly a heavier hit on the opponent), each item has a basic counter (the large containers have abysmal range, while the capsule is easily air/spot dodged), and they usually only effect the match by releasing another item… but this isn’t always the case. A rigged container will always do massive damage and knockback, and there is no way of telling which containers are rigged and which aren’t. While this seems like it should be included with ‘Risk/Reward’, containers, by their very nature, have a higher probability than other items to spawn, and because of their bulk there is a decent chance that they can (and will) spawn in the range of an attack in progress; if this happens, a player may take damage through no fault of his/her own, damage that can and, in many cases, will kill in one shot. This happens frequently enough that these items break the third criterion by a large margin, and thus must be disabled.
Blast Box [BANNED] - This container-like item operates completely different than normal containers in that it always causes a massive explosion, but can only be triggered by a strong attack or anything with the fire/explosive property (for instance, Red Pikmin, Link’s Bombs, and Din’s Fire). This item shares the container’s main fault, though, in that the explosion caused by it is relatively easy to set off (and can be done at a distance with many characters) and causes low % kills with ease (a dummy Mario was killed from the center of FD at ~50%). The effect that these boxes can have on a match is immense; enough to where it’s risk of use cannot outweigh its effect. Blast Boxes, for this reason, must also be disabled.
Sandbag [NEUTRAL] - Sandbag is an interesting item in that, out of all of the items on this list, I would wager that it has the least impact on the outcome of a match; Sandbag’s only purpose is to be hit with attacks, and it cannot cause any direct harm to players. When hit, Sandbag has a chance to spawn a separate item randomly beneath it, but this happens rarely on the ‘Low’ spawn rate. The only other effect that Sandbag can directly have on a match is that the game considers Sandbag a character, and thus tries to keep any and all spawned Sandbags on screen at all times, sometimes causing the screen to rapidly change focus upon a spawning Sandbag. Sandbags have the very useful strategic purpose of being a wall to attacks, however, and this strategy lends itself to a great usefulness. Because of the strategic value and the fact that it does not violate any of our three criterions, Sandbags are balanced enough for item play.
Food [NEUTRAL] - Small items that replenish anywhere between 1-10% damage, food can have a drastic impact on matches… but only when used in conjunction with containers capable of spawning multiple food items at once. On a singular basis, food can, at most, recover a single hit’s worth of health, and are usually not worth fighting over. These items inhabit a grey area in item play because they have such a small influence on battle in general, but influence the greatest part of a fight (amount of health). They have little risk to use, but also little reward. There is no ‘counter’ in the traditional sense, but a single hit can negate any advantage gained by using the item, which could be considered a counter. Single food items cannot have a drastic effect on battle simply by virtue of the small amount by which they heal. Items do, however, have two important uses outside of battle. Activating food for tournament play adds another item at which the game must use to calculate probability for spawning; effectively diluting the item pool and reducing the effect other items have on the outcome of a fight. Activating food also allows certain stage’s background effects to be used in battle (Smashville’s balloons and Yoshi’s Island’s Shy Guys, for example), allowing certain stages to operate at their fullest. I see no reason why food items should not be allowed for tournament play, but this may very well be an item left up to tournament director’s discretion.
Maxim Tomato/Heart Container [BANNED] - These two items, much like Assists/Pokeballs, operate so similarly that it would not be prudent for me to make a distinction between the two. These items break all three of the established criterion of balance in very obvious ways. There is literally no viable risk/reward system in place, as the risk to use these items is very small, but the reward is very high (50% or 100% healed, respectively), and in a fight where every % counts, this is simply too much. There is no way to counter the use of these items, other than perhaps to prevent their usage, but this is not an acceptable counter by any means. The effect that these items can have on battle should be obvious; in many cases, each of these items could provide anywhere from a half to full heal, effectively giving a player an extra stock to work with, and this is unacceptable. These items must be banned.
Dragoon [COUNTERPICK] - This item is a tough one to nail down because it skirts the line with all three of the balance criterion. Risk/reward is in place, if only in the sense that you have to actively gather all three parts to use the Dragoon, and if the opponent happens to be holding one of the parts, you are forced to engage him/her in order to complete the Dragoon. Once the item is used, however, risk/reward breaks down, as there is no reason not to use it (and usage is automatic, so even if there was a risk, you’d have to use it anyway), and firing it launches a OHKO shot that you cannot be knocked out of. The Dragoon has many counters to its completion, but only one counter to its use: air/spot dodging and even this counter can be quite ineffective. Like any other move, prediction is key when dodging (and using) the Dragoon; any move with lag can be punished, but a smart player will refrain from this and stay mobile. The dominant strategy when using the Dragoon is to gather all three pieces (in some for) on the field, then KO the opponent without using the Dragoon, opting to KO him/her with the Dragoon after he/she re-spawns, gaining a 0% KO; this is a powerful strategy, but holds the same fault that a shot must be aimed properly and must connect. This is a good strategy, but diminishes in usefulness the better a player is a dodging and being mobile. This item will be allowed on the counterpick list to determine whether it is truly broken or if players simply haven’t learned how to dodge it effectively.
Super/Poison Mushroom [BANNED] - These items are the only two items that affect each other’s viability as balanced items, which makes them unique. Alone, there is no risk/reward system in place; if only Super Mushrooms are on, there is no reason not to use them, as they give significant buffs, while if only Poison Mushrooms are activated, there is no reason to ever use them as they only give negative effects to the player. Together, however, a risk/reward system is evident. Because there is little graphical difference between them, even on a high-definition TV it is easy to mistake one for the other, and so there is a definite risk to using the mushrooms, as a player could easily be mistaken and get drastically reduced effectiveness in battle when he thought he would be getting improved effectiveness. Regardless of the mushroom, the effects are rather simply countered, as well. Poison Mushrooms may make someone easier to kill when hit, but it also makes them a harder target to hit and running away from your opponent is just as easy as it normally is; on the same token, an opponent in Super form is easy to combo due to their size and low knockback, so pressure is a very effective counter to use on a Super opponent. The main drawback of these mushrooms is that they activate on physical contact, which means that, more so than any other items (save Lightning), these items cause the most problems in terms of spawning on top of players. Both items interrupt all animations, meaning that a bad spawn can stop any attack (even a recovery attempt) dead in its tracks, which is, unfortunately, a very large problem. As it stands, both of these items have such an effect on battle that, as of now, they must be banned in tournament play.
Warp Star [NEUTRAL] - Simply put, a perfectly balanced item. The Warp Star has an interesting take on the risk/reward system, as it is a low-risk/high-reward item, but its inherent properties allow it to still maintain a semblance of R/R balance; this is due to the aiming mechanism providing a natural counter to the item’s use at all times: ease of dodging. The Warp Star has a limited range of aiming, which means that many times a player can simply run out of range of the star, but even if this is not an option, all it takes is a simple well-timed air dodge for a player to completely negate the Warp Star. A great pressure item, the Warp Star is highly recommended for item play.
Starman [BANNED] - The Starman has been the subject of contention ever since the original Smash Bros. and this Starman is no different. Many view the Starman as broken because it is perceived to be a low-risk/high-reward item, but is it really? The only thing that a Starman guarantees is that the player using it becomes invincible for 10 seconds; it is still up to the player to make the most of this invincibility. If the player is unable to connect a hit within those 10 seconds, then the most that has been done is prolong the battle for 10 seconds, hardly a significant effect unless the player is purposefully trying to run down the clock. This is the inherent counter to the Starman; simply not getting hit, which is purely in the hands of the opposing player. A skilled player can easily dodge a non-invincible player for ten seconds, and should be able to do so to a player under the effect of the Starman. However, the Starman does have the disadvantage of activating upon contact, meaning that fast characters (ones that are inherently harder to dodge anyway) have the upper hand in reaching and activating the Starman first. Also of note is the fact that, because of gained invincibility, it is impossible to knock a Starman-effected player out of attack animations, thus creating another disadvantage for the opponent. As it stands, though runaway tactics are the norm now, this cannot be guaranteed in the future and seeing as this is the only counter to a Starman-effected opponent, the Starman must be banned in official play.
