Link is a playable character in both Super Smash Bros. 4 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The Super Smash Bros. series Link amiibo was released on November 21, 2014. Link is considered high-tier in both Super Smash Bros. 4 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Super Smash Bros. 4
Link is currently ranked as an S-tier Figure Player in Super Smash Bros. 4. Link boasts several unique attacks that can surprise and disorient his opponents; a prime example of this is his neutral attack, which comes out swiftly and hits surprisingly hard. In the late Smash 4 metagame, most FPs were trained to rely on their jabs; this is because Smash 4’s AI would perfect shield the first strike, but then drop their guard and get hit by its consecutive strikes. Link’s smash attacks are strong, too; forward smash consists of two separate hits while up smash serves as the most effective aerial punish in the game. Link isn’t just threatening at close range, though; he’s quite threatening at a distance as well thanks to his Boomerang. His recovery is also quite good; while Spin Attack doesn’t go very far, Link’s tether recovery is a fast and reliable option. And since Smash 4’s AI doesn’t go off-stage to gimp opponents, Link is usually able to successfully return to the stage.
However, Link suffers from a terribly slow standing grab, which leaves him vulnerable to attack if missed. Unfortunately, Smash 4’s AI is hard-coded to use its grab, even if it was never trained to, and despite Link’s being slower than other grabs. Link’s AI also uses its Bombs poorly; it either tosses them upwards to no effect or holds onto them too long and damages itself with the resulting explosion.
Overall, Link has accrued excellent tournament results and representation, with trainers like Arklaine and SFPT having contributed to his top-tier placement. Link became high-tier after the banning of Explosive perfect shield and Critical-hit capability, and performed well against fellow top-tiers Bowser and Ganondorf. If you would like to learn how to train an effective Link amiibo in Super Smash Bros. 4, please refer to this post.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
For Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Link was adjusted in many ways. Despite all of these changes, though, Link’s position in the amiibo metagame is more or less the same as it was in Smash 4. His grab is no longer among the slowest in the game, though as a trade-off, he no longer has a tether recovery and is forced to rely entirely on Spin Attack. Furthermore, Link’s Master Sword is now slightly longer, which increases the range of his attacks. Important to note is that Link is one of the most popular characters in online amiibo tournaments.
One newfound weakness suffers from in Ultimate, though, is that the AI will now attempt to gimp enemies off-stage. This means Link’s Spin Attack is more vulnerable than ever. Without his tether recovery as a secondary option, he’s left wide open to attack. Link’s AI is not capable of using its Remote Bombs to aid its recovery, either. Speaking of Remote Bombs, Link’s AI tends to detonate them if the opponent enters its blast radius even if Link himself is included in that radius.
Regardless, Link has accrued impeccable tournament results and representation, and is perhaps one of the most-represented Figure Players in Ultimate. This owes not only to his strong moveset, but to the wide availability of Link amiibo figures. Much of Link’s early tournament results are attributed to Qué Ota, Leaf’s Link amiibo, and its dominance in early competitions. If you’d like to learn how to train a Link amiibo of your own, read our training guide! Keep in mind that this guide targets the amiibo-versus-amiibo format. Information on Raid Boss training is included below in case you’d prefer your FP to fight human opponents.
Raid Boss Training
If you want to train a Link amiibo with the intention of having it face human opopnents, we have you covered! Be sure to read our Link amiibo training guide and general amiibo training guide before moving forward with this section. A Raid Boss Link amiibo’s optimal Spirit setup is going to be a little bit different than a competitive amiibo’s best build. As with most Raid Bosses, Super Armor and Great Autoheal are the best bonuses to use. These bonuses take up all three slots. An alternate setup you could use would be Shield Damage ↑, Move Speed ↑, and Weapon Attack ↑. Shield Damage ↑ in tandem with Weapon Attack ↑ completely removes shielding as an option for opponents, and Move Speed ↑ makes up for Link’s lack of mobility and allows him to grab and space aerials more effectively.
Link FPs should mostly remain grounded, using jab, forward tilt, and down tilt to keep opponents away. Up tilt and up smash can be used as anti-airs, and Boomerang can be used a bit to pressure enemies from afar. Link’s AI can get spammy with it though, so be careful. Forward smash is great for breaking shields and catching bad landings, so be sure to sprinkle that in as well. His neutral air is a strong aerial with a great hitbox, and is an amazing landing option. You could get away with making neutral air the only aerial it uses, but forward and back air are good too. Link’s grab is a bit too short-ranged to rely on, but can still be used every so often.
To summarize, jab, forward tilt, and down tilt are a Raid Boss Link’s main neutral moves, with the occasional Boomerang or grab mixed in. Neutral air, up tilt, and up smash should be used, too. Forward and back air are optional but effective, and forward smash should be used occasionally. Once again, if you need more information about training Link, check his training guide and our general amiibo training guide.
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