In the context of competitive amiibo training, Bayonetta has been suffering for a long time. She wasn’t all that great in Super Smash Bros. 4, and she’s considered one of the worst-ever Figure Players in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. To add to this, her figurines are incredibly rare and expensive and she’s difficult to train. It’s easy to see why trainers tend to avoid this character, then — she has a lot of unsolved problems. Luckily, we’ve got a variety of resources available for those of you looking to train a Bayonetta amiibo of your own: these include a Super Smash Bros. 4 training guide and a Super Smash Bros. Ultimate training guide. Pick your favorite!
Super Smash Bros. 4
FPs in Smash 4 were not good at combos. In fact, the most complicated combos this game’s AI could pull off were simple down throw to up air strings — and even they couldn’t be performed consistently because equipment made most hard-coded combos fail. Bayonetta’s most interesting strength here was her unique ability to utilize somewhat-complicated combos (mostly involving her jab, tilts, and occasionally her side and up specials). Her AI couldn’t do anything too crazy, but it was certainly a step above what we were used to seeing. Her other strengths include large and powerful smash attacks, plus a counter move that slows down time for a moment. Bayonetta’s AI can’t always properly take advantage of slowed time, but activating Witch Time at least gives her a chance to run away from her opponent and reset the situation back to neutral.
Unfortunately, Bayonetta does suffer from a few problems that have a chance of hampering her success. Her smash attacks, while strong, suffer from immense ending lag that leaves her vulnerable if her opponent is able to dodge. The Umbra Witch’s powerful combo-oriented AI occasionally plays against her, too — it may focus on aerial combos a bit too often at times and fail to connect them, leaving her open to incoming danger. Bayonetta is also rather light and has a tall hurtbox, so her durability is most definitely lacking.
Overall, though, Bayonetta accrued decent tournament results and representation. Her amiibo figure was one of the last ones released for Super Smash Bros. 4, so she doesn’t have quite as much history as other characters. Remember, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was released a little over a year later, so Bayonetta only had a year or so to compete whereas other fighters had almost triple that number.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
When Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was released, trainers scrambled to raise every single returning character from Super Smash Bros. 4 to see which ones were more or less viable. And for the most part, almost every fighter benefitted from some kind of positive change — except for Bayonetta, who was completely gutted during the transition between titles. Her few remaining strengths include above-average range on her smash attacks as well as decent matchups against Peach, Daisy, and R.O.B.. The Umbra Witch’s AI has also been seen utilizing full-length ladder combos, though this is quite rare and these strings are often left unfinished.
Think of every flaw a Figure Player could possibly have, and chances are Bayonetta probably does. She suffers from a terrible recovery, slow attacks, a tall hurtbox, light weight, a lack of range, and a lack of options. At first, you might be surprised to hear that Bayonetta’s recovery is terrible — indeed, the AI often fails to use its first Witch Twist and instead goes for a double jump and then Witch Twist (which means it loses out on valuable distance, and this often leads to self-destructs at any percent). Her smash attacks, while strong, are terribly slow and their hitbox placements let fighters like Kirby and Pikachu duck right under them unharmed. As mentioned before, Bayonetta’s AI is capable of performing its ladder combos under certain conditions, but it often fails to complete the string for no apparent reason and then leaves itself vulnerable as it falls back to the ground. Each of these factors combined has led Bayonetta to struggle immensely in matchups against high-tiers and top-tiers, so she is currently ranked among the worst FPs in the game.
As you might expect, Bayonetta hasn’t had much success in competitive tournaments. She only has a few dedicated trainers, and even they struggle to accomplish anything of significance outside of low-tier roster-restricted tours. We do have a fair amount of resources regarding Bayonetta’s FP, and you can check these out below. Be sure to join our community if you have any questions!
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