SSBU/Palutena/Combos

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Combos

General Notes

Because Smash Ultimate's combos are very freeform, the following strings aren't full combos (unless stated otherwise). Think of a Smash combo as a LEGO building, in which you assemble different strings of moves in order to achieve a big combo. Here's a few things to keep in mind:

Rage isn't taken into account for percentages
Unless stated otherwise, all these combos assumes Palutena doesn't use platforms to extend combos

Combo Theory

Any of Palutena's non-throw combos will invariably require hitting an opponent with an aerial, then fastfalling to the ground and hitting with another move (including other aerials) before the opponent's hitstun ends. Getting comfortable with the timing of Palutena's aerials and jumps is necessary to string moves together.

All of Palutena's aerials other than Bair and Dair are decent combo filler and have their own general uses during combos. Bair and Uair are the most common combo enders depending on whether the combo is more horizontal or vertical.

This table lists Palutena's combo starters, likely her most varied type of combo move when compared to fillers (usually Fair or Nair) or enders (Bair, Uair, Fair, and Dash Attack). Remember that the viable followups will vary depending on the percent of the opponent. The followups are very generally listed in order of usefulness and consistency. Mind the common setup into RARReverse Aerial Rush: quickly turning around and jumping to move forward in the air while facing away from the direction of movement. Bair as these are usually the most important to get down.

Starter	General Percent Range	Potential Followups	Notes
Nair	low - mid	Nair, RAR Bair, Fair, Uair	Extremely versatile and very common. String Nair into itself until the opponent is far enough away, then end with the aerial of choice.
Landing Fair	low - mid-high	Dash Attack, Grab, RAR Bair, Fair, Nair	Easy conversion into Grab at lower percents, and serves as combo filler for Nair combos.
Dthrow	low - high	RAR Bair, Fair, Uair	Respectable combo starter at lower percents, becomes very nuanced at higher percents. See the Setplay page for more on this move.
Landing Bair	low - mid	Dash Attack	Bair is an excellent poke to throw out while landing but its combo potential is lacking; no reason not to take the Dash Attack though.
Dair (grounded opponent)	low - mid	Bair, Grab	Easy two-piece combo for the occasional situation where Dair is used. At low percents, confirms into Grab.
Dtilt (aerial opponent)	mid - high	RAR Bair, Dash Attack, Fair	Aerial Dtilt happens when 2-framingCatching a character's 2 frames of vulnerability when they grab the ledge from below, and confirming it into Bair for a kill is very potent. Uair may also work if the opponent DIs the Dtilt inward. At lower percents, the opponent is popped upward too low to connect a Bair, so reset the edgeguard with Dash Attack instead.

Example Combos

Keep in mind that this list is in no way comprehensive - Palutena excels at low-percent combos that can be started or filled with various moves. Remember that in between any two aerials Palutena must touch the ground again for the combo to continue.

Landing Fair > Dash Grab > Dthrow > Bair

File:SSBU Palutena Combo 1.mp4

BnB example off of a landing Fair at lower percents, as well as a good combo to get used to RARs with - if the timing is off you'll often end up using Fair instead, which also works in Bair's place. If you're uncertain whether the Dash Grab will connect, finish the combo with Dash Attack for a quick two-piece reward for a neutral win.

Nair > (...) > RAR Bair

File:SSBU Palutena Combo 2.mp4

The most basic BnB Palutena has, and prime example of her low-percent horizontal combos. Replace "(...)" with more Nairs as necessary to extend the combo, then end with the RAR Bair before the opponent drifts far enough away to drop the combo.

Nair > (...) > Uair > (fastfall, land on a platform) > Uair

File:SSBU Palutena Combo 3.mp4

Variation of the above using platform extensions to convert the horizontal combo into a vertical one. The second Uair can be replaced with a Nair or Bair to send horizontally once again.

Kill Confirms

Dthrow -> Bair

File:SSBU Palutena Dthrow Bair.mp4

Infamous kill confirm, but can be heavily dependent on DIDirectional Influence: the direction someone holds on the control stick when getting launched by a move. Effects the angle of knockback., RageThe passive increase in knockback a character gains as they reach higher percents., and weight. RAR Bair in general is extremely useful for Palutena so getting the timing down is important. See the Setplay page for a lot more information on Dthrow in general.

Dtilt (aerial opponent) -> RAR Bair

File:SSBU Palutena Dtilt Bair.mp4

Extremely potent kill confirm to capitalize on Dtilt 2-frame punishesCatching a character's 2 frames of vulnerability when they grab the ledge from below.. If the opponent is at high enough percent, Fair will kill off the side and has no risk of missing a RAR.

Nair (first hit, grounded opponent) -> Utilt

File:SSBU Palutena Nair Utilt.mp4

The very first hit of Nair pops grounded opponents upwards with set knockback, and while this can be used to start combos it sets up perfectly for Utilt to kill around 130% or so.