SSBU/Dark Pit/Strategy

[[File:SSBU_{{{2}}}_Stock.png|link=SSBU/{{{2}}}|x25px|alt=]] [[SSBU/{{{2}}}|{{{2}}}]]

SSBU/Data

This character is an Echo Fighter. Some information may have been copied from their counterpart's page, which can be found here. Feel free to edit the page if you notice any overlap between the two characters (wrong name, wrong data...)

Gameplan

As a character, Dark Pit heavily relies on fundamentals. As such, most of what is explained here can be applied to everyone else in the cast

Dark Pit is a character that can fit ALMOST ANY playstyle:

• Rushdown Dark Pit is viablePit's advantage state and combo game can encourage players to play aggressively as Pit
• Campy Dark Pit is viableHere, "campy" means "running a hit-and-run playstyle", AKA relying on repeated stray hits in neutral to rack up damage and frustrate the opponent into making a mistake,
• Midrange/swordie Dark Pit is viableMost of Pit's pokes are disjointed, allowing him to wall out characters with shorter range than him
• Grappler Dark Pit is viableSmash doesn't have any traditional grappler outside of maybe Incineroar, but Pit's grab game is good enough for him to use this playstyle
• Many Dark Pit playstyles are viable

You name it, Dark Pit can probably do it. However, his win condition remains the same no matter how you choose to play Dark Pit: make the opponent whiff something in neutral (or condition them to shield for an easier access to Dark Pit's very good grab game)

Whiff punish

Dark Pit is an excellent character when it comes to whiff punishing. All of his buttons (except for Fair and his specials) comes out in 10 frames or less, which lets Dark Pit whiff punish a lot of moves, with varying degrees of reward. Here are his most common whiff punish tools

Whiff punishing toolsNot to confuse with neutral tools!

• Dash Attack

The simplest option, and also the least rewarding. Leads to a juggling situation at mid/high percents, and kills at very high percents. Unsafe on block, however

• Dtilt

Dark Pit's best grounded move, and a good counterpoking tool. Leads to combos on hit, and is safe-ish on block

• Nair _{The Quickplay classic}

Nair, on virtue of being Dark Pit's uncontested top 0 move, is also good at whiff punishing. Also your go-to button against airborne opponents. Just make sure to not whiff, otherwise Dark Pit becomes himself prone to being whiff punished

• Fair

Mostly used after baiting an anti-air. Leads to a kill confirm at high percents, otherwise leads to a grabNot sure about that, I noted it just in case. Feel free to correct if that's wrong

• Dash Grab

Dark Pit's most rewarding option by far, but also the riskiest in virtue of being a grab. Leads to Dark Pit's amazing grab game, and generally guarantees the opponent being sent offstage

How to create a whiff?

Dark Pit makes his opponents whiff by throwing out moves with low endlag (such as a rising Nair or a Dtilt), abusing his very good dash and using general movement. Dark Pit has the privilege of having 3 aerial jumps, which makes anti-airing him trickier than for other characters, as he can easily bait them before punishing with a combo starter

It is worth noting that B reversingAn advanced technique that allows the player to use a special move while inverting his momentum (and direction) his down-B is pretty good in neutral, since the inverted momentum also helps with baiting moves

Defensive play

In MUs such as [[File:Little Mac_{{{2}}}_Stock.png|link=Little Mac/{{{2}}}|x25px|alt=]] [[Little Mac/{{{2}}}|{{{2}}}]], [[File:Luigi_{{{2}}}_Stock.png|link=Luigi/{{{2}}}|x25px|alt=]] [[Luigi/{{{2}}}|{{{2}}}]], [[File:Ken_{{{2}}}_Stock.png|link=Ken/{{{2}}}|x25px|alt=]] [[Ken/{{{2}}}|{{{2}}}]], [[File:Terry_{{{2}}}_Stock.png|link=Terry/{{{2}}}|x25px|alt=]] [[Terry/{{{2}}}|{{{2}}}]] or [[File:Kazuya_{{{2}}}_Stock.png|link=Kazuya/{{{2}}}|x25px|alt=]] [[Kazuya/{{{2}}}|{{{2}}}]], Dark Pit is required to stay at a distance and not enter close range too much, because that'll get him killed. Thankfully, Pit has access to good disjoints that allows him to wall his opponents out with hitboxes

Walling toolsThose also functions as your pokes

• Dtilt

Used to cover grounded approaches. Leads to a combo on hit and is safe-ish on block and whiff

• Fair

Used to cover grounded approaches, as well as short hots. Stays active for a long time, leads to combos on hit and is safe on whiff (less so on shield)

• Bair

Same uses as Fair, but more rewarding on hit. The drawback is that it is way less active, but it is also twice as safe on shield

• Uair

Used to cover approaches from above. Doesn't lead to much things at low percents, but otherwise leads to a juggling situation

• Dair

Mostly used to cover approaches from below, but can also cover grounded approaches. Generally leads to a combo on hitThe spike hitbox can't be followed up until mid-high percents

• Arrow

Contrary to [[File:Pit_{{{2}}}_Stock.png|link=Pit/{{{2}}}|x25px|alt=]] [[Pit/{{{2}}}|{{{2}}}]], Dark Pit can use his arrow more liberally in neutral, thanks to the higher damage and hitstun on them. This allows him to attack or retaliate from far away, which can help him wall out his opponents

Movement

As Pit's air stats are pretty poor, Pit generally wants to stay close to the ground when moving around. However, THIS DOESN'T MEAN DON'T JUMP!!! Pit is still pretty good in the air, he is just way slower than on the ground

Disadvantage

Dark Pit has one of the better disadvantage states in the game. His recovery goes very far, he has an excellent OOS option and his down-B alone makes him one of the best characters in the game when it comes to landing

Recovery

Dark Pit's recovery allows him to go very deep before having to recover. His up-B covers a great distance, so don't be afraid of going deep offstage as Pit. You might find that despite the myriad of options Dark Pit has at his disposal, he can get easily edgeguarded. This is because you need to keep mixing up your recovery options in order to not get predictable. This is very important, because if you don't, Dark Pit suddenly becomes way easier to edgeguard. Here are Dar Pit's general options he can use to recover:

• His 3 aerial jumps
• side-B
• up-B
• down-B

Contrary to [[File:Pit_{{{2}}}_Stock.png|link=Pit/{{{2}}}|x25px|alt=]] [[Pit/{{{2}}}|{{{2}}}]], his arrow is less useful for recovering becaues of it being stiffer

Up-B timing mixups

On stages with walls, Dark Pit can make his up-B go slower by hugging the wall (make your up-B go in the direction of the wall). Change up the timings and angles in order to keep your opponent on their toes when trying to two frameIn SSBU, a character is vulnerable for the first two frames of his ledge hang animation. A "two frame" refers to an attack that hit a character during those two frames you

Landing

As said earlier, Dark Pit is one of the best characters in the game when it comes to landing. On top of having 3 air jumps, he also has the privilege of being the only character in the game to have access to a pseudo-aerial shield

Non-universal landing tools

File:SSBU Dark Pit DarkPitGuardianOrbitars 2.png

• Nair

While having poor downwards reach, Nair is Dark Pit's fastest aerial option, making it good for brute forcing your way to the ground while fastfalling

• Guardian Orbitars _{Forbidden SSBU air shield}

Dark Pit's down-B helps him a lot when landing, because it has the property of blocking physical hits while it's out. This makes landing against characters such as [[File:Ike_{{{2}}}_Stock.png|link=Ike/{{{2}}}|x25px|alt=]] [[Ike/{{{2}}}|{{{2}}}]] or [[File:Corrin_{{{2}}}_Stock.png|link=Corrin/{{{2}}}|x25px|alt=]] [[Corrin/{{{2}}}|{{{2}}}]] much easier than usual.

This attack isn't perfect, however. See, it has a blind spot on Dark Pit's feet (and head). This makes landing against characters with more vertical Uairs such as [[File:Link_{{{2}}}_Stock.png|link=Link/{{{2}}}|x25px|alt=]] [[Link/{{{2}}}|{{{2}}}]], [[File:Young Link_{{{2}}}_Stock.png|link=Young Link/{{{2}}}|x25px|alt=]] [[Young Link/{{{2}}}|{{{2}}}]] or [[File:Toon Link_{{{2}}}_Stock.png|link=Toon Link/{{{2}}}|x25px|alt=]] [[Toon Link/{{{2}}}|{{{2}}}]] harder than usual. Those blindspotsA space that can't be covered by none of a character's options also means that you will sometimes eat projectiles you were supposed to reflect

• If a move hits both Dark Pit's hurtbox and the Orbitars, the Orbitars takes priority.
• Doing a B reverseAn advanced technique that allows the player to use a special move while inverting his momentum (and direction) makes this option even better, since Dark Pit can change his trajectory on the fly without using an air jump

Getting off ledge

Dark Pit can struggle very hard when getting out of the ledge against some characters, due to his poor air mobility. However, this doesn't mean that being at the ledge is a hopeless situation. If Dark Pit wants to use a button when escaping the ledge, here are his smartest options. This won't list universal options such as Ledge Attacks

How to mash out of the ledgeDon't always do this. Remember to use your other ledge options and be creative with them!

File:SSBU Dark Pit DarkPitLedgeAttack 0.png

• Ledge drop > Nair

If done properly, you can safely go back to the ledge while being -6 on shield (which is very safe). Excellent option for characters closer to the ledge, but still risky, as it costs one double jump to perform

If you mess up, Fair should come out. It's stil a good option, but it is kind of outclassed by Nair due to it being faster and safer

• Jump > side-B

A very risky option, that's sometimes not worth going for it (especially at lower percents). Despite being extremely slow (aerial side-B has 21 frames of startup), it can beat mashing due to super armor. If it doesn't work, start thinking on what to do next stock

• Guardian Orbitars

This option is particularly good when coupled with a B reverseAn advanced technique that allows the player to use a special move while inverting his momentum (and direction). On top of protecting Dark Pit from most aerials (such as against most swordiesA character archetype that is focused on playing neutral with disjointed attacks. Most characters in the archetype uses a sword, hence the name "swordie". A prime swordie in SSBU is [[File:Lucina_{{{2}}}_Stock.png|link=Lucina/{{{2}}}|x25px|alt=]] [[Lucina/{{{2}}}|{{{2}}}]]' ledgetrapping tools), he can also invert his momentum on the fly, making going back to the stage safer since the opponent will most likely still be in endlag. Just don't forget about the feet blindspot

Combo breaking

Dark Pit isn't that good at escaping combos. He relies on universal options such as his airdodge or jumping, and his fastest aerial option (Nair) comes out on frame 4, making it not ideal for mashing out of combos

Out of Shield

Out of Shield options

File:SSBU Dark Pit DarkPitNAir 0.png

• Usmash _{6f above, 7f in front}

Usmash is Dark Pit's fastest out of shield option. However, it only hits above Dark Pit, which doesn't make it the most consistent option there is. Still very useful for killing opponents at high percents

• Nair _7f

Despite being one frame slower than Usmash, Nair is Dark Pit's best out of shield option. It grants better reward than Usmash, especially at lower percents since you can combo off of it

Stages

Great

• Placeholder

Good

• Placeholder

Volatile

• Placeholder

Meh

• Placeholder

Bad

• Placeholder

Fighting SSBU

Neutral

Dark Pit's neutral is flawed in two main ways:

• He is mostly grounded due to poor air stats
• His hitboxes are rather short and not that dangerous

These two flaws makes his neutral somewhat predictable, so the opponent can easily play around his options. Most Dark Pit players will try to bait you into whiffing by dashing around before punishing you with one of his combo starters. The opponent can play around this by:

• Throwing out a move that is safe on whiff; at worst, he gets a Dash Attack in
• Not interacting at all and continue to camp him; Dark Pit generally struggles against characters who are very mobile in the air

Overall, your goal is to make Dark Pit whiff at a comfortable range for your character before going ham on him. Here are the moves you need to look out for (in order to whiff punish them):

Nair

You'll see this one A LOT. Especially online

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

Dark Pit's best move, and as such the move you should be wary of the most. This move has two major weaknesses:

• It has short range
• It has a long animation

This makes it particularly vulnerable against whiff punishing. Keep in mind that Dark Pit players might try to autocancel this move in order to bait a punish, so be careful

Dtilt

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

Dark Pit’s best grounded neutral tool, and his main poke at lower percents. Despite having little recovery, you can still whiff punish it, although it is harder to do so on reaction

Arrow

Put the hitbox in full screen in order to see anything

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

Dark Pit's projectile, and this his main way of attacking at long range. Contrary to [[File:Pit_{{{2}}}_Stock.png|link=Pit/{{{2}}}|x25px|alt=]] [[Pit/{{{2}}}|{{{2}}}]], Dark Pit's arrow is particularly useful in neutral, due to the better knockback. The lack of controlability makes this move's main weakness even worse: jumping (or dashing, for the aerial version). Indeed, while Pit can somewhat cover these blindspotsA space that can't be covered by none of a character's options, Dark Pit can't really do that, unless he uses another move. This makes it way more commital at mid/close range

Dash Grab

The mid level Dark Pit's best friend

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

Once Dark Pit thinks he has conditioned you to shield his attacksIn reality, most Dark Pit players will throw this out in neutral, regardless if you've been conditioned to shield or not, he will usually go for grabs more often. Grabs usually are easily punishable on whiff, so take this chance to go ham on him

Advantage

Combos

Mix your DIs up. This is the biggest piece of advice any Dark Pit player can give in the MU against his advantage state. His combo game is heavily DI reliant, so knowing when to mix your DIs will add mental stack in the Dark Pit player's head, which can make them mess up. Of course, this is universal, but this is particularly useful against Dark Pit for reasons cited above

However, if you don't want to do that and stick to a single DI, then DI up and away most of the time. This is Dark Pit's hardest DI to follow, so chances are you'll take less damage after being opened up. Still, remember to change things up if Dark Pit grabs you at the ledge at high percents (it's a DI trap 50/50)

Juggling

Dark Pit isn't as good as juggling as his counterpart, but he can still do some work

A common Dark Pit strategy when juggling is to throw out his Uair in order to bait an airdodge. If the opponent airdodges, Dark Pit can easily hit them out of their airdodge with moves such as Dair. The best solution against this is to either challenge Dark Pit's Uair with one of your own moves (proferably one that outranges him, such as [[File:Ivysaur_{{{2}}}_Stock.png|link=Ivysaur/{{{2}}}|x25px|alt=]] [[Ivysaur/{{{2}}}|{{{2}}}]]'s Dair), or simply move sideways, and potentially grab the ledge

Edgeguard

• Placeholder

Ledgetrap

• Placeholder

Disadvantage

Landing

Dark Pit is one of the best characters in the game when it comes to landing, thanks to his down-B. However, he is also very easy to juggle if he doesn't have access to it. This rarely happens, but if Dark Pit ends up losing his down-B somehow, make sure to capitalize on it when juggling him

For the rest of the time, learn what moves can consistently hit Dark Pit's feet when Orbitars are out. For example, [[File:Link_{{{2}}}_Stock.png|link=Link/{{{2}}}|x25px|alt=]] [[Link/{{{2}}}|{{{2}}}]]'s Uair is a godsend against this move, as it's a purely vertical move. This is a case by case scenario, so this page won't list every single tool each character has. For that, please refer to your character's MU section

Another good countermeasure to Orbitars is to simply treat it the same as you would treat a shield. Contrary to a regular shield, Dark Pit can't cancel its endlag, so he'll always be vulnerable once he drops it. Alternatively, you can also use your Dash Grab if Dark Pit gets close to the ground with Orbitars out

• This solution isn't extremely consistent, due to the presence of windboxesA type of hitbox that pushes the opponent in a particular direction, without inflicting damage nor knockbac to them

Recovering

Dark Pit has a lot of tools to mix things up while recovering. This can make edgeguarding him quite difficult, but that doesn't mean his recovery is flawless. The biggest issue with his recovery is that his up-B doesn't have anything to cover him while moving. A good starting point when edgeguarding Dark Pit is to wait until he's out of options or goes low enough, since these are the two scenarios where he is more likely to use his up-B. Be wary of walls, however, because Dark Pit can use them to his advantage when recovering (angling it the right way makes Dark Pit ascend slower, making two framingIn SSBU, a character is vulnerable for the first two frames of his ledge hang animation. A "two frame" refers to an attack that hit a character during those two frames him a bit harder than other characters (unless the Dark Pit player is being predictable with his angles)

Tips & Tricks

• Trading with Dark Pit is almost always very good for the opponent, since most of his moves are multi hits

Navigation

[[File:SSBU_{{{2}}}_Stock.png|link=SSBU/{{{2}}}|x25px|alt=]] [[SSBU/{{{2}}}|{{{2}}}]]

SSBU/Data Navigation