SSBU/Sora/Combos

= Intro = The purpose of this guide is to teach players the general combo tree of Sora's combos. Sora's combo structure relies on a few key moves, and he can follow up, extend, or shorten combos in multiple ways. Damage scales with how good your execution is. This page is an attempt of displaying Sora's combos in comprehensive manner regardless if they are simple or advanced. This is to make it easier to not only execute the combos, but also understand where you may fail.

If you are a novice or not confident in learning Sora because of his skill ceiling, don't concern yourself with what you should or shouldn't learn. Take things one step at a time, get comfortable with the character, and slowly develop how much you push your Advantage and combo/punish game. The character is flexible in playstyles, and many players with different playstyles have all seen success playing how they want to push the character.

If you want a general overview of how Sora combos tend to operate, watch Dusty_Carpets combo video. It is a well made, cohesive piece of information on Sora's combo game that can give you a visual idea of where to start. You can find his video in the resource tab under "videos".

Still here? Alright.

Terminology
Here is some common terminology you should familiarize yourself with:


 * This is referring to the first of three s
 * This refers to the second of the three
 * Refers to the third and final.


 * This is referring to the first of three s
 * This refers to the second of the three
 * Refers to the third and final.

For the sake of clarity, this page won't use this type notation. "Fastfall" will be mentioned whenever it occurs. Just keep this in mind when discussing this with other Sora players when communicating through other forums, chats or discord. The exact same applies for: and, including dragdowns
 * /: Refers to hitting both and . When these are coupled together like that in notation, it is often implied that you will be fast falling unless stated otherwise. It is very common to say "Nair12-> UpSmash". it impossible to gain enough frame advantage from doing  and  rising from a SH just to normal fall into an  for a true combo. You need proper timing from  too  and fast fall within a certain timeframe.

An example of the aforementioned combo "Nair12->UpSmash" It will be written as: >FF>


 * Aerial Sweep: Up B


 * Sonic Rave: Side B


 * IDJ: IDJ:, or Instant Double Jump. Very important to learn if you want to push this character to its limit.


 * FF: FastFall, when using this symbol it is always assumed for this page that Sora will land before he can do anything else.


 * FS: Footstool. For this page, Phantom footstool will just be referred to as "Phantom-FS"


 * FH: Full Hop


 * SH: Short hop

Note for SHR: Most of the SHR starters can also be interpreted as just landing from a platform, or from doing grounded footstools. The most common timing to use are the SHR starters, and inconsistencies may lie in using the other two.
 * SHR or FHR: Refers to rising short hop or rising full hop.


 * SHA or FHA: Refers to when doing the move at the apex of a specific jump.


 * SHL or FHL: Landing. Will mostly be used in regards to notations when landing occurs as a requisite. Fastfalls count as landing, and for the sake cluttering, combo notations will not include L and FF right next to eachother. L is used for cases when just normal landing. When landing from specific heights without fastfall, that's where SHL or FHL will come into play.

In addition, most combos will have difficulty levels. They range from Beginner, Easy, Medium, Hard, and Godlike difficulties. Some of these combos are very unintuitive to learn at first, but a lot of people have gotten these combos at least once or twice. The sky is the limit.

= Combos =

Core Moves
{{TheoryBox
 * Title     =
 * Oneliner  = Combo Tools to be Aware of
 * Difficulty =
 * Anchor    =
 * Video     = Sora_Nair_gaming.gif
 * Recipe    =
 * content   =

Combo Starters
is Sora's core combo tool. This move enables not only a great punish game, but also a great neutral game. Any part of can start a combo, what combo you can start depends on a number of factors that will be covered later.

while falling can lead into other aerials such as, or into  itself. At high percents, this loses its combo potential and becomes a kill option instead.

Is another important combo tool that helps to complete certain combos that would otherwise be impossible. It is less flexible than, but that doesn't make it less impactful. Mastering this move is just as important as mastering. This is the move Sora uses to dragdown his opponents for certain combos. This is also a common combo finisher that is very good for unstaling moves.

like Nair, will often lead into the imagination. Low percent combos, Kill Confirms, this move can do it all. Just be wary of how the opponent DI's, as it will change what combos you can go for.

at low percents is useful as it pops the opponent up in place for a rising or  at medium percents, which then can be extended upon as seen fit. At medium it can still consistently combo into. Will kill at high perecent if the opponent DI's in.

Firaga's first hit leaves the opponent in significant amount of hitstun, enough for a and. Sometimes you can even connect this into  or. This is only true from the first fireball, since the second in succession will have significant less hitstun.
 * Firaga

Combo Finishers
Up Smash is one of Sora's most important combo finishers. A lot of extenders sends the opponent upwards, making this a good option for taking stocks.

Sora's strongest knockback move. If you can confirm into this, you can take stocks earlier than usual.

Flexible confirm option. Although DI can make this move kill later, Aerial Sweep is a consistent Combo Ender that can be routed into easily.

}}

Combo Theory
But to understand more deeply, look at this image made by WhyDo (@WDBTHtGP on Twitter) that could make things easier to understand.
 * As mentioned above, is one of Sora's core combo tools. You could almost say it is the "key" to his combos.  spins his sword all around him, and it shines for a multitude of reasons. Because the move has a lot of hitstun, you can both rise and fall with  and get a follow up afterwards. Second, because of the moves range and relative safety on shield along with mixups of how you land on the opponents shield, the can be used in neutral with below average risk. There are a lot of combo starters in this game that are not great neutral tools because of their lack of safety or inflexibility. Sora's  is able to satisfy both of these conditions.



For reference, "Nooping" is the art of looping someone with just over and over again. "Foops" also exist, but are even more niche.

The point of the image is that there is a world of difference between each hitbox. Technically, there are way more hitboxes with different values in angles, hitstun and knockback other from just these. The hitboxes displayed have actually the least amount of hitstun out of any of the other hitboxes in, and that is 18 remaining hitboxes! WhyDo's image highlights a "garbage hitbox". This hitbox is typically unfavorable due to its low knockback angle and low hitstun preventing it from confirming into certain moves, like.

In terms of hit advantage, at low percent (i.e having no rage), against an opponent with 0 percent, the hilt hitbox in WhyDo's visual is 18 frames, 17 frames at the tip, and 12 frames in the middle. The remaining hitboxes after the first frame of are between 19-23 frames. These values are hit advantage from landing right after you connect them. Even if you connect with the "garbage hitbox" you can still connect with, the question is if you can get the timing and spacing right, both for reacting properly with and connecting it so you can get the desired followup. As mentioned, how you land these hits will determine the followups.

There is also an important thing to consider regarding execution of the combos. Rage and opponent percent are equally important to consider. Some combos get easier and harder the higher these factors are. WhyDo is correct that you can't DI Sora's at frame 1. There are a lot of similarities with as well, there are exceptions though, since some parts of the move does send into tumble. Some, like the back hit of will always send into tumble, and others like parts of  will only send into tumble at high percent and rage.

As a general rule of thumb. Unless you are familiar with Sora, avoid hitting hitbox 2 as much as possible. There are cases where it can be useful, but they are not the norm. It is also not easy to avoid it at all times, since it is in a very convenient spot to hit with. Now that we have learned some intricacies of, it's time to move to its cousin,

, while not as versatile as, it is still very important. It is because of it's ability to dragdown the opponent. When mentioning dragdowns it's also very important to mention that not all hitboxes have the same angles, and the one you are looking for is the tipper hitbox which is hard to hit against some characters. Sometimes it's okay to hit the middle hitbox of for some characters. The reason why dragdowns are important for Sora, is that most of his moves send the opponent up. With a way to bring the opponent back down, you could almost "loop" the opponent in a way for extra damage. The most difficult, and high damaging combos Sora can do builds on this principle. A simple way is just to use after a dragdown, or even  them. Both of these leads into high damage. But what if you can do >FF after ? The most common way to get >DD>FF is from first landing >FF. So if we can somehow land >FF after >DD>FF, then it will be a neverending, non-DI'able combo, right? That is correct, but there is one problem. When Sora hits an opponent with his he does a bounce, and with a shorthop, his "lowest jump" he is still way to high to get any meaningful hit advantage after hitting. This would be a dead end if IDJ didn't exist, and it does. What's ironic is that Sora's DoubleJump, or "DJ" is better suited for combos rather than mobility. It's unsure if this is an oversight or not, but that's not why you are here. If you employ an IDJ before, you will be just slightly above the ground. And if done correctly, you will have enough hitstun for a bunch of his options. This includes. As mentioned before, it isn't easy to land the tipper hitbox of, but with IDJ it becomes a lot easier. The only issue again is that you will be hitting "too high" with and will whiff in some cases. That's fine, because again, IDJ will remedy that issue. (IDJ) will be able to hit in most cases since then the startup of the is closer to the ground. Reason for that phrasing is because there are exceptions. This is the "peak" or most "godlike" thing you can do with Sora. Doesn't mean its the only thing.

To summarize:
 * Certain hitboxes have different purposes
 * dragdown combos. IDJ for optimal dragdowns
 * You need to adjust to certain timings and spacings
 * Certain characters are more prone to certain combos than others.
 * Despite DI being a non factor, not all combos will work on everyone.

BnB's
These combos are pretty easy, and are excellent at teaching you the timing of when to FF after using. You want to fall for a while, enough so that the keyblade has almost turned 450 Degrees (360 + 90) before inputting the >FF. You can also look at other part of Sora's animation and come up with your timing in response to an animation. Looking at his shoes, where his head is, are also ways to figure out when to fast fall. When this becomes second nature, along with getting the and, you can start implementing  as a combo ender, or even extend with  by dragging them down to the platform with the right spacing and timing. Floaties are harder, or impossible to dragdown on platforms.

When you start getting more comfortable with Sora's Nair and how to hit it, Sora can start going for slightly more advanced combos. These are still not fairly difficult, but they lead to more damage and kills at earlier percent's and should be prioritized if possible.

Common Kill confirms
When rising, normal or fastfalling, Sora's or  make him bounce on the opponent. However, when fast falling within startup, these moves don't bounce. Usually Falling has enough hitstun for either  or, it mostly depends the angle they are being sent at. Get familiar with the angles! Front, low and back hit of ! If you are unsure on hitting either, you can always use. This move has a lot of coverage, and will still kill at high enough percent. If you land this and just want damage, is another way of confirming for easy damage. It still sends far, so it can help setup a good situation for minimal effort. Keep in mind, when landing with, you need to be aware if you are hitting the "worse" hitbox or not. It is the only one lacking in significant hitstun! You also don't have enough frames to react when you get the hit because of 2 frames of hitlag, so you have to preemptively guess!

There are also confirms for starting with rising > FF >. Technically you can also start these confirms with, and then do a followup or a straight kill move like /. Results do vary on which hitbox you are getting!

Platform extensions
Because Sora pops his opponents up, if you are under a platform the opponent will sometimes land on the platform in combos. This is not a problem, as Sora can continue the combo by Full Hopping with onto the platform. This allows Sora to threaten kills both on flat stages and on platform stages. Because of the added height, Finishers like, and  will kill earlier. Sometimes even is possible. You can use the example in the box below, and replace the with whatever is more rewarding while having decent successrate.

What makes some of these combos more difficult than than grounded combos is that you have to adjust to the timing of Fullhops for FHR > or FHR >.

Firaga
Sora's most versatile spell. It is also fantastic for combos. Firaga can both extend and start combos or confirms. Most important thing to understand is that it mostly true combos with only the first fireball, each fireball in succession has the same, but less hitstun than the first. To get the better hitstun back, you need to rotate back to it through Thundaga and Blizzaga.

Firaga > is the fastest confirm you have from Firaga, and it is true at all percents. In terms of similar simplistic inputs, Firaga > is it's cousin which can be used while in the air. It does true combo, deals more damage when connecting all hits, but it is slower. You can get or  if you are close enough, or if you dash and jump in after the Firaga. You can even get Firaga>. Some of these combos become more or less possible due to being able to drift in the air while using Firaga. When you use Firaga in the air, you can drift slightly back and forth. Some of these, like, may require this drift in to work. There is also the case of initial dash, where you may only want to dash in for less than 5 frames and not 6 (where you will be stuck in the dash animation, and only able to jump or ).

Throws
Sora has a pretty good set of Throws. Down Throw can true combo into Nair at 0 and from low to middle percents. can set up for offstage play near the ledge. DI matters against throws a lot, for example: Good DI for is poor DI for  and vice versa. This is mostly specific to by ledge in particular (since then the option selects are less useful)  will be a kill confirm when the opponent chooses to DI in with FHR>. starts taking stocks by ledge at around 130 to 140 percent on Middle weights. killing most middle weights at around 180 percent.

Side B
can confirm into some interesting setups. All thought niche, it is also a combo starter at high percent at the late hit of. It can also combo into the other parts of, but sometimes will fail to connect because of a lack of range due to proper DI or improper spacing.

IDJ Up-Air
As mentioned earlier, Sora's is a combination of kill power and a combo tool. No one thought it could be this versatile without the double jump. As you can see on the visual to the right, there are a bunch of combo enders. Some of these does vary from dealing damage, to actually killing depending on stage, characters and percent. The recipe above is the most consistent way of getting a hit after the IDJ, but it will whiff in certain scenarios as shown. It is still the safest option since even if you do whiff the first hit, there is still chance for a followup.

The other options are more tight. It is important to remember that is active for 9 frames, and hitting the later parts will give you more hit advantage. DI also plays a very large role, if you mess up your drift in the initial stages of the double jump, you will get 0 true followups. Some of these confirms also become impossible if the opponent has competent DI. If you see the opponent mash SDI, and it is not away or in, you can try to exploit it by doing this combo instead of another combo.

The simple variation, and a way of getting the kill confirms more consistently, is to hit the top or back hit of by hitting a tech option after setting up a tech situation on a platform. When you do it this way, you are much more in control how much time you have, since doing SHR>>>FF>IDJ> can often make you hit an unsuspecting hurtbox that can mess up your hit advantage and make your ender whiffing.

For instance, you don't want to whiff, especially at kill percent.

Alternatively, you can use to get back to stage more quickly. Sometimes you can hit your opponent with it while they are airdodging and set up a strong presence after.

Sora_IDJ_Up_Air_sheet.png

Ars Arcanum
Not discovered, but primarily explored and optimized by Limon (@Limon1211zzz at twitter). Ars Arcanum is Sora's deadliest combo route. There are technically 3 variations of Ars Arcanum: Mostly, when people refer to "Ars Arcanum, Ars, Ars Arc, Arshu Arcanum, or AA (this one is within Soracord mostly, since AA means Anti-Air otherwise)" they are referring to Version 3. All of the versions have their own place in terms of education, execution and development/discovery history. For the sake of continuiety and clarity, "Ars Arcanum" in this wiki page will be referring to the version 3 variation.
 * Ver1: No IDJ's
 * Ver2: IDJ on
 * Ver3: IDJ on both and

The reason for this is because that while harder, Version 3 has a higher chance of connecting if you are good at doing the combo. If you combine the percent, Rage and hitboxes together, it's sometimes harder to get the Version 2 right than Version 3. Version 2 still works on some characters, but it's more encouraged to learn version 3 due to it's consistent nature.

What's more is that IDJ removes the SH multiplier. Meaning that more dealt will be dealt. So it is more rewarding to learn in terms of damage output for the same opportunities.

There are other variations in terms of what extensions or enders that come when you end a chain, and they will just share a common name right next to "Ars Arcanum". This are some examples: Ars Arcanum - Platform extension Ars Arcanum - Smash attack ender

There are also some characters, like that allows you to slingshot>SHR> in order to not run out of space. You can go from one part of the stage to another part with this combo. This is not the same for most characters.

What makes this combo hard is a series of micro movements along with IDJ at every rising aerial. You always need to be moving forward in this combo. Sometimes you need to be precise depending on what extension you want to have and whatever is possible.

As explained before, The IDJ's are the glue that holds this combo together. It makes landing faster possible, and possible to hit certain hurtbox shifting.

Some finishers are:
 * can be used after an IDJ >FF if the opponent is low enough to the ground
 * can be used either after an IDJ >FF or IDJ >FF.
 * can be used after both >FF and will typically start killing at higher percents.
 * IDJ>>. While it is hard to get this true sometimes, and often is escapable with good DI, it is hard to DI properly since good DI vs is terrible DI vs IDJ>>

Please refer to the chart for possibilities. It is mostly correct. Some possibilities, have yet to be experimented upon. The chart provided here created by Dusty_Carpet and Limon, two of the most prominent and impactful Sora labbers.

To elaborate on the tiers:
 * "No" refers to Characters that cannot be comboed with Ars Arcanum or IDJ> properly. You may be able to get other easy enders such as or.
 * The one above, are just characters with f1 escape options, and require the Sora player to be very precise. There are excersizes that are for non-trainingmodpack users that allow you to practice Ars Arcanum, even for characters with f1 escape options. There will be a link in the resources tab.

Sora_Ars_Arcanum_Chart.png

= Other parts of Sora's advantage/punish game =

Edgeguarding

 * Because of his recovery capabilities, Sora excels at Edgeguarding. His Aerials all have general hitboxes and are good from stopping the opponent from getting back onto the stage. All of Sora's aerials can be used offstage for different results. You can also use the initial hits of and  and choose not to use the Finisher to force them into guessing games. Kill powerwise,  is his best tool for finishing stocks, while  is a close second. For overall coverage,  is the way to go, while if you want to be actionable as soon as possible, then    is better.


 * Magic is also an option for edgeguarding. All three spells suspend your air movement, allowing you to float in the air even more while sending out projectiles for the opponent to navigate around. This is limited to once per spell, after that you will fall (this also goes for shooting Firaga twice in a row). All three spells can gimp the opponent, and will matchup check the opponent if they don't know how to play around them. Firaga, again is the most flexible tool for edgeguarding. This is due to its low endlag, the way it makes Sora float in contrast to his other spells, and being open to use Firaga again. There are also ways to effectively use Firaga at certain angles when going offstage, please check the tech page for ledgeslip Firaga.

The other downside is that the counter doesn't cover directly below him. However, if a hitbox hits Sora's hurtbox and the detection hitbox at the same time, the counter will still activate. The counter is also coded in a way to attack the source of the attack, so characters attacking him from behind are still not safe. They still need to be in range for the counter. Some times the counter pull the opponent in strange ways, and will barely whiff. This is mostly the case with very disjointed attacks, like  (Octoslash version) or  The counter is strong, against some recoveries it means a stock, or setups a powerful situation for Sora to exploit after. This is especially true after their doublejump is gone.
 * Unlike most counters, Sora's counter actually stops the opponents attack on contact and stuns them before attacking. This makes it much better at stopping moves that continue past other counters like  and  ,  , and   and   . The detection hitbox of counter is ALWAYS in front of Sora, he CANNOT-B Reverse this move. There is a tech to work around with this limitation in Tech tab discovered by Ferps, and if you struggle to get Down-B working against certain recoveries, then checking it out is neccessary.


 * can kill opponents that are close to the Blast Zone, or high enough percent so that it doesn't matter. If you manage to connect, then you will usually get back to stage first with . See the resource tab for optimal recovery distance of

Edgeguarding without going offstage/2 framing
Sora's options for edgeguarding without going offstage are different in nature. If we start with some of the previous options: For other grounded options there are:
 * Counter can hit certain recoveries because they hit above the ledge. There are work around for every character against this, but some have more options than others, like in comparison to.
 * All of Sora's magic is just as viable onstage just as offstage. It merely depends on the context of the situation.
 * and can hit ledge hangs, and 2 frame. These are mostly used for catching regrabs since they are quite slow on startup. The reward is crazy for landing them, since  and  confirm into
 * has a very long lasting active hitbox and is also disjointed, making it good for covering drift in to ledge or Air dodge to ledge. Contrary to popular belief, is not as great for 2 framing, since the hitbox extends away from the ledge and barely hits underneath for a lackluster amount of frames. It also gives Sora a hurtbox inbetween his legs as he, making him more susceptible to certain recoveries.
 * In design, it seems like was made for the purpose of 2 framing certain recoveries. It's active for 4 frames, and will kill (unless the opponent is allowed to tech) at very early percent. This move can contest some of 's planking mixups due to its intangibility frames and hitbox. This move puts Sora in significant lag, and is not great against recoveries that can adjust their timings very efficiently like tether recoveries like   and 's  + jump mixups. It can be effective against slow startup but more timing based recoveries like.

Ledgetrap

 * Sora has many different options he can rotate while Ledgetrapping to force the opponent into picking certain options. All of his aerials with the exception of is great for ledgetrapping.  allows Sora to cover multiple getup options, and even cover ambigious ones. The only down side is that he is stuck in lag and does leave him open to ledge getups with significant range like . Magic is usually when you want an option that can frame trap the opponent at range instead of risking them counter attacking when you do an option coverage with.

Common Set-ups

 * is solid when the opponent is at middle to high percents. Hitting this while the opponent has imperfect DI will allow Sora to pull some powerful mixups. If they miss the tech on a platform, Sora can confirm into or  depending on matchup and stage. This heavily depends on DI, and if they expect this (with proper DI) they can often counter attack due to the amount of endlag you are in. This depends on Rage and opponent percent, as well as whether Sora gets late or early hit of . Stops being a setup at very high percent (150%).
 * Similar to, can setup a good situation on platforms. If they do not tech, you can get a  combo starter, or a kill confirm with DJ >  > . This setup is less common if the opponent is aware of Sora's mixup options and has proper DI, but it is still a mixup option against some matchups. Unlike the  setup,  works even if they tech on the platform because of its less endlag. At high percent, this will stop being a setup.

Escape options charts
These charts are here just to provide a visual in terms of difficulty when it comes to executing combos/strings and



WIP:

Need more video examples Fix chart PNG's Check grammar Make better headers/titles Video examples for all combos More Ars Arcanum Variations Ars Arcanum training mode video with no modpack

Ken and Kazuya pages contain a lot of structured info on structure. Use those formats? What about others?