Byleth could be considered one of the most highly-anticipated Figure Players of all time! This is in part thanks to Byleth’s powerful side special, Areadbhar, which can slice through AI opponents over and over again to either rack up damage or KO. Of course, Areadbhar isn’t as strong against human foes, but Byleth has more tricks up their sleeve to make up for it. Before we begin, we’ve got more information on Byleth’s strengths and weaknesses over at their corresponding wiki page. Feel free to check it out! Otherwise, let’s jump right into today’s training!
Spirits
If you’re new to amiibo training and are starting out with Byleth for the first time, good choice! They’re fairly easy to train, and their optimal Spirits are straightforward. If possible, you should finalize your FP’s Spirit set before you start training it, as Spirits actually scramble training data when applied! If you need a run-down on how Spirits work in this game, our in-depth guide is a great place to start. In the meantime, here are some bonus effects that work well on Byleth:
- Banned bonuses: Super Armor is perhaps the greatest bonus a Byleth FP could use. You can only obtain this Spirit effect through the summon-exclusive Gold Mario Spirit, so make sure you have Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, and Metal Mario Spirits on hand. Armor Knight plus Trade-Off Ability ↑ is a good alternative that grants its user immense stat boosts, including 1.15x attack and a whopping 1.8x defense.
- Tournament-legal bonuses: Byleth can make use of many more Spirit effects, including Weapon Attack ↑, Trade-Off Ability ↑, Move Speed ↑, and Shield Damage ↑. With the latter equipped, a Byleth FP’s down smash shatters a full shield in just one hit. You could also use two Weapon Attack ↑ skills, if you like.
- Raid Boss bonuses: You’re welcome to use the aforementioned Super Armor effect on a Raid Boss Byleth, as Raid Bosses typically don’t follow any particular ban list. If not, you can use a setup including Weapon Attack ↑, Move Speed ↑, and Landing Lag ↓ instead.
Regarding stat distributions, any can potentially work on Byleth, but a roughly balanced one (2100 / 2100) is a safe bet. Make sure the FP’s Spirit-type is Neutral so that it doesn’t lose Spirit-type matchups when it finds itself against an opponent who also has Spirits. Once your FP is all set up with its finalized Spirit build, you’ll be ready to move on to training it!
Competitive Training
You’ll want to use walking as your main method of transportation. Generally speaking, you should never dash or jump while training Byleth, except after using an up smash or up tilt to begin an up air juggle. It’s also best for Byleth to shield and parry rather often, as they can use that opportunity to punish an opponent with a variety of potential counterattacks. To easily teach your FP to parry, try shield flickering (which is when you repeatedly press the shield button). Here are all the moves an optimal Byleth uses:
- Areadbhar is Byleth’s side special, and it’s one of their best moves. It’s got range, power, and decent speed. What more could you ask for?! You can input it like a smash attack for even greater range, and it’s strongest when its tip connects.
- Up smash, up air, and up tilt can all be used to juggle. These moves strike opponents multiple times, which makes them great for racking on damage. These three attacks should be prioritized in descending order — use up smash most often, and then up air, and then up tilt least of all.
- Down tilt is a solid combo starter, and can link into a dragdown neutral air and then Areadbhar. This is super helpful for building up lots of damage! Forward tilt is one of Byleth’s faster moves, and it should be used up close every so often.
- Down smash is kind of laggy, but hits extremely hard and covers both sides. Use this move every once in a while when your FP walks up to you. Forward smash has more range than down smash, and it’s got more speed, too! Use this occasionally and try to hit the tipper.
- Sword of the Creator is Byleth’s up special, and it’s actually a fantastic move! Use it when you’re in front of your FP and its damage percentage is between 0% and 50%. After you’ve grabbed your FP and launched it into the air, follow up with an aerial Areadbhar for maximum power. When used correctly, Sword of the Creator is essentially free damage!
- Amyr is somewhat strange. It’s a charged attack that takes time to wind up, but boasts incredible KO power. During Amyr’s swing portion, Byleth is granted built-in super armor. Opposing FPs will often try and attack during this swing; however, it is to no avail, as Byleth’s super armor will prevail and the attack will land anyway. Use Amyr infrequently during training — perhaps at the ledge or to read a roll.
Byleth’s recovery doesn’t grant much horizontal distance, so if they’re launched too far off-stage, chances are they won’t be able to recover back. As a result, you’ll want to teach your FP to stay on-stage. This means you shouldn’t teach it to try and edgeguard opponents with aerials. Fortunately, there aren’t any specific moves to avoid — stick to the ones above, though, and you’ll be good to go.
Raid Boss Training
You’ll have to mirror match your Byleth FP until it reaches Level 50. If you have a Byleth amiibo but not the first Fighters Pass, this creates a complication. You can train an amiibo without mirror matching it, but in most cases, it won’t turn out very well. During your training sessions, keep taunting to a minimum, don’t charge smash attacks, and don’t worry about matchup experience (because FPs don’t save it). Now then, here are all the moves you should be training a Raid Boss Byleth FP to use:
- Forward tilt is a fast neutral option with a good bit of range. Use it up close to rack up damage! Down tilt combos into an up tilt, a neutral air, or an up air; make use of all these combos during your training sessions.
- Forward air and back air are Byleth’s safest poking tools, and they’re especially strong when their sweetspots at the tips connect. If your FP is equipped with the Landing Lag ↓ Spirit effect, these moves become even better! Neutral air can also be used to secure a safe landing.
- Up air is a Raid Boss Byleth FP’s go-to juggling move. Use it against your FP over and over again whenever it’s above you — preferably out of a full hop, since short-hopped aerials only deal 0.85x their normal damage. Up tilt can be used to begin up air juggling chains. Up smash is a bit slow, but has a decent hitbox that shouldn’t be neglected. Don’t prioritize it too heavily, but make sure the FP knows to use it sometimes.
- Areadbhar is riskier against human opponents (as opposed to AI-controlled ones), but it still covers a wide area and boasts lots of firepower. Use it infrequently.
- Forward smash isn’t as useful as Areadbhar, but it is more powerful when the tipper hitbox connects. Use this move to KO!
- Byleth’s grab isn’t very good, but without it, the FP won’t be able to beat human opponents who shield a lot (unless it has the Shield Damage ↑ Support skill). Throw your FP off-stage or use an up throw to lead into up air juggles.
There are several moves you should avoid using or getting hit by during training: up special, neutral special, down special, down air, and down smash. They’re all either laggy or risky, and won’t be very effective against human players. Focus on the moves listed above, and your Raid Boss will be off to a great start! If you need more information on amiibo training, you can also check out our general guide for extra tips and tricks.
Wrap-Up
Thanks so much for reading! Of every Fire Emblem character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Byleth’s optimal competitive training strategy employs the widest variety of moves. Seriously, Lucina’s optimized training is essentially only forward smash, and the other fighters aren’t much more complex. If you have any questions, you’re welcome to join our Discord community and ask them anytime you want. To enter a tournament, you can also check out our setup guide to learn how to participate. As always, if you liked what you read today, we accept and appreciate donations (and Patreon subscribers) to pay for the site’s costly upkeep fees. Until next time — happy training!
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