Earlier this month we reported that Nintendo would be releasing a balance patch along with the Mewtwo DLC this month. Now we’re starting to learn exactly what’s been affected.
The patch, which is expected to go out sometime today, is already out in Japan. Diddy Kong, currently the highest ranked fighter in competitive Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS, which many refer to as Smash 4 for short, is getting nerfed.
Diddy Kong has become a ruthless fighter in Smash 4 because of one move: the “hoo-hah.” It’s a relatively simple combo, in which Diddy Kong will grab an opponent, throw them to the ground and follow up with an up-air attack when they bounce back up.
The move originally would do 7 percent damage with the initial down-throw, and 8 percent damage with the up-air, with quite a bit of knockback. If the player is skilled enough, it’s also possible to do two up-air’s, adding to the percentage.
The move was relatively easy to pull off, but was also relatively hard to escape from, making it a target of lots of criticism. If you were caught in the “hoo-hah” you would take an easy 15 percent damage.
Video has surfaced showing the new “hoo-hah” in action.
The quality isn’t great. But we can tell that the initial down-throw only does 6 percent damage and the subsequent up-air does 6 percent damage. Although it may seem like a menial 3 percent drop in attack power, it’s quite significant to the metagame. If you compound that over multiple “hoo-hah’s,” it can definitely allow the opponent to last longer in battle.
But what about knockback? Even at high percentages, it must still be pretty easy for the new “hoo-hah” to send an opponent off screen? Well, not exactly.
As you can see, even at high percentages, over 140 percent, Diddy Kong’s attack didn’t send Megaman flying off. If that doesn’t seem high, remember that originally the “hoo-hah” could take opponents out at around 90 percent.
It is important to note that the video above shows Diddy Kong and Megaman fighting in practice mode. In this mode, the rage effect in not active. Rage is a mechanic that gives players with higher percentages increased knockback. Even then, at 145 percent, not landing a knockout blow is pretty significant.
This, of course, is just an initial analysis based on what’s been released so far. We’re sure once we start seeing this new Diddy Kong at tournaments, will we have a much better idea of how the character stacks up.
