Sephiroth was the third character announced for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s second Fighters Pass, and is the only antagonist to appear as downloadable content! His physical amiibo figure has a huge sword, so make sure you’ve got room to display it. In terms of in-game firepower, Sephiroth is kind of just okay, both as a competitive FP and as a Raid Boss. For more information on his metagame presence, feel free to refer to his corresponding wiki page. Otherwise, let’s jump right into today’s training!
Special thanks to Brad for contributing Sephiroth’s training information!
Spirits
If you’re interested in seeing what Spirits Sephiroth puts to good use, this is the section for you! If vanilla training (without Spirits) is more your style, you’re welcome to skip over this section instead. If you’re new to amiibo training, you should definitely check out our detailed Spirits guide for more information on how they work. When you’re done there, remember to come back and review Sephiroth’s best setups:
- Banned bonuses: If playing in tournaments doesn’t concern you, then Sephiroth’s best option is Armor Knight plus either Trade-Off Ability or Trade-Off Defense ↑. You could also go with Great Autoheal or Autoheal plus Move Speed ↑. Sephiroth likes playing keep-away with his sword’s gigantic range, so Spirits that help him stay alive for longer tend to work best.
- Tournament-legal bonuses: Most of Sephiroth’s moves are boosted by either Weapon Attack ↑ or Magic Attack ↑, so having both of these on one Spirit team is common. Sephiroth also does well with Move Speed ↑ — when his wing comes out, he runs really fast. Air Attack ↑ and Air Defense ↑ work well, too!
- Raid Boss bonuses: Of course, any of the Spirits listed above work well for a Raid Boss, but we’d like to put a spotlight on two specific options: Instadrop and Shield Damage ↑. Instadrop helps Sephiroth confuse his opponent and follow up afterward, while Shield Damage ↑ causes his Shadow Flare and down smash attacks to nearly instantly shatter shields. If using Instadrop, we recommend pairing it with Move Speed ↑.
For most fighters, specific stat spreads aren’t terribly important. This isn’t quite true for Sephiroth, though; he struggles in the Spirits metagame due to his lack of weight. As a result, we recommend investing a bit more heavily into his defense stat (2000 / 2200 or 1800 / 2400). Make sure your FP’s stats are within that range, and you’re good to go! Confirm that its Spirit-type is Neutral and then you’re all set and ready to start training.
Competitive Training
Sephiroth’s optimal training is pretty close to what you might expect: use his sword. Here’s a helpful tip: you should avoid off-stage play at all costs. At later levels, Sephiroth’s AI will charge up its neutral special at the ledge, which works just fine. Very few Figure Players can afford to leave the stage to edgeguard, and Sephiroth is not one of them. Here’s what he can do, though:
- At close range, your best moves are forward tilt and forward smash. The former is better for racking up damage, while the latter is best reserved for KOs. Down tilt can be mixed in as well, and can combo into an up tilt, neutral air, up air, or up smash.
- Grabs work too, but at a lower frequency than the moves listed above. When grabbing your FP, simply throw it away from you with a forward or back throw. At higher levels, Sephiroth’s AI will automatically know to combo its down throw into a forward or back air.
- From a distance, mix in some Megaflare projectiles (the second charge). Whatever you do, though, make sure you never land this move against your FP when it’s not on the ground. That’ll cause it to use its neutral special as an anti-air, which isn’t what we want it to do. Be careful!
- Speaking of anti-air, up tilt is generally your go-to. It can also be used directly after a parry, as it can scoop grounded opponents into its sweetspot. You can use neutral air to land when you’re launched upward, or when you’re dropping down from the respawn platform.
- Finally, you can use a tiny bit of dash attack, jab, Shadow Flare, back air, and Scintilla. The AI’s usage of these moves is not particularly impressive, which is why they’re listed as low-priority attacks. Use the ones listed above first and foremost!
There’s just one attack you should never, ever use, and that’s down air. Theoretically, you could use it at the edge to try and spike a recovering opponent. Unfortunately, Sephiroth’s AI occasionally misses the ledge and uses this move to self-destruct, so you should avoid it at all costs. We recommend quitting the match if he successfully hits you with down air.
Raid Boss Training
Training Sephiroth as a Raid Boss is rather straightforward! For the most part, he relies on single-hit moves to deal maximum damage, but there are a few neat combos he can make use of too. Whereas the competitive version wants to walk at all times, the Raid Boss version can afford to dash and run! Just keep rolling and air dodging to a minimum. Here are the moves you should use:
- Grabs work great on a Raid Boss Sephiroth! Down throw can combo into forward air or back air at low percentages, which helps rack on damage. That being said, there’s no need for you to use this combo yourself. When grabbing, simply use a forward throw or back throw without pummeling.
- Sephiroth’s best grounded options are forward tilt, down tilt, and some up tilt. Down tilt is a great combo starter, and at later levels you’ll notice your FP going for follow-ups all on its own.
- Neutral air, forward air, back air, and up air are your best aerial moves. Admittedly, that’s almost all of his aerial moves — but they’re still well worth your time. Use forward and back air for spacing, and then use neutral air to secure a safe landing. Remember, FPs in this game only recognize aerials if you use them while falling. Try your best to only use them after the apex of a jump or short hop.
- Up smash and down smash are great for scoring KOs and shattering shields, respectively. You can also mix in a little bit of Shadow Flare and dash attack from a distance, but be sure to go easy on these moves.
As with the competitive section, you’ll want to stay on-stage (as opposed to leaving it to edgeguard with aerials) and avoid using down airs at all costs. If you’d like to learn more about amiibo training and how it works, feel free to reference our general training guide or our personality guide! Both are very helpful to newcomers.
Wrap-Up
Thank you for taking the time to read all this! Sephiroth is certainly a strange FP; he does well enough in most tiers, but not good enough to be considered overpowered by any means. Remember, his AI changes a lot during training, and he doesn’t get his final product until Level 46 or so. If you notice concerning behavior patterns, that’s okay — just wait it out a little longer. If you enjoyed reading, you’re welcome to check out our Discord community, our Patreon page, and our donation box. Until next time — happy training!
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