The Byleth update for Smash Ultimate has polarized fans, with some saying that he’s too slow, and others appreciating his zoning strong hit attacks.
Whether or not you were looking forward to the Byleth update, you cannot deny that the Ashen Demon is once again, a very different character from any of the other swordies in the Smash Ultimate roster.
He has four weapons, a mega-powerful warlock punch, and a tether with tech exclusive to his playstyle. Slow and heavy-hitting like a heavy, but with the midweight of other Fire Emblem characters, Byleth packs a surprise punch.
Related: How to play as Byleth and all of the DLC characters in Smash Ultimate
Byleth works best in an offensive state, as his defensive capabilities for out of shield options are limited. His grab range is one of the worst in the game, but his punish game is some of the best.
From his wonky specials to all of the neat little touches that make him a unique Smash Ultimate fighter, here are the fan reactions to the Byleth 7.0.0 update.
‘Smash Ultimate’ Byleth update fan reactions
As soon as he released, fans were immediately labing Byleth’s combo game.
I'M EXTREMELY FAST I KNOW, BUT THESE WERE TESTED WITH TWO CONTROLLERS, DON'T KILL ME AAAHHHH NO SLEEEEEP!
BYLETH Bread and Butter combos (Beginner to Pro)
Love ya'll so much <3 Gonna work my ass off on this char ๐ Such a cool character good god!!@ArmadaGG #ForTheFleet pic.twitter.com/JcKmAjmNY6
— Armada | Frenzy Light (@FrenzyLightYT) January 29, 2020
Byleth’s tether up b has amazing range, and can help him pull off deep recoveries. It can help him footstool an opponent, grab a wall (or under the stage), leading into a wall jump and yet another tether.
BRO BYLETH UP B CAN GRAB THE BOTTOM OF THE STAGE AND RECOVER?!!! #SuperSmashBros pic.twitter.com/7Ib7OAvEd5
— Mandy ๐ (@MandyTowa) January 29, 2020
Check out this ridiculous tether work on PS2, which will give him access to unlimited stall tactics against characters like Cloud, Shulk, and Wii Fit Trainer.
We are ALWAYS banning PS2 against Byleth #ssbu #ssbu_byleth pic.twitter.com/PmY633sxoo
— ใ NaviGamer ใ@ Joycon Boy Forever (@navigam3r) January 29, 2020
A particularly nasty combo seems to 0-to-kill on Donkey Kong specifically. It involves down tilt, then tethering the opponent at 0, nairing, and then another up b followed up by another nair.
I KILLED DK AT WHAT PERCENT??!!! I DID WHAT WITH WHO???!! BYLETH BROKEN??? THIS IS GOING TO BREAK THE GAME pic.twitter.com/FjCzC4F15y
— squerk (@Squerk_) January 29, 2020
Depending on DI, his tether can confirm into a side b kill at high percents. While not true, it has the potential to trip up opponents.
Lets go! #SSBU_Byleth pic.twitter.com/EL1wm28lqm
— Josi Saberhagen (@JosiSaberhagen) January 29, 2020
Playing as Byleth takes some…adjustment.
Oh no!! Byleth is approaching!!! Gotta do something!! pic.twitter.com/FsKzoxKbWp
— HPT | ATATA (@ATATAness) January 29, 2020
His slowness is immediately turning off players that were expecting a more well-balanced character.
Me after playing 5 matches with Byleth. pic.twitter.com/jW6EvMh7gY
— โญ๏ธ Bandana Dee Brigade โญ๏ธ (@BandanaDeeSSBU) January 29, 2020
He really is that slow.
Byleth's air and ground speed are basically the same as Ganondorf…LOL
— ๐ Liquid | Dabuz ๐ โ๐บ๐ฉ (@DabuzSenpai) January 29, 2020
He may just be viable, says Ultimate world champion MKLeo, while also commenting on Joker’s Arsene timer and mid-air bullet nerfs.
Byleth is definitely worth trying. Also, jokers nerfs arent that bad so we good
— FOX | MkLeo ๐ (@Mkleosb) January 29, 2020
Landing his down b is surprisingly easy to pull off, at least on day one. It breaks shields, and his fully charged neutral b arrow nearly does as well.
Smug Byleth #SmashBros pic.twitter.com/PrwlnmXI8j
— ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐๐๐ (เธ โขฬ0โขฬ)เธ ๐ฟ (@ChaoticSphere27) January 29, 2020
Always the teacher, Byleth’s “let the lesson begin” taunt matches amazingly with Pit’s star K.O. voice clip.
FINALLY, IVE WAITED SO LONG
NOW THAT BYLETH'S HERE
I CAN DO THIS pic.twitter.com/NFZIdh3Tc2
— Gungear? Symphovolt? (@Chromakaze) January 29, 2020
See, I thought his side special sounded like he was saying “bear claw,” but now I can’t unhear Airpod.
Now that I've told you Byleth sounds like she's saying "AIRPOD!" you'll never unhear it. pic.twitter.com/1QXOenw7TW
— FADEL – Master Of Hype (@YuYuKamii) January 29, 2020
Showing off all of his weapons, Byleth’s win screen is earning praise.
at least Byleth has one of the sickest victory animations in the game#ssbu_byleth pic.twitter.com/7Rya5hjeme
— Skides (@TheSkidesZ) January 29, 2020
Byleth officially marks the eight Fire Emblem character in Ultimate, a move that upset most fans. “Another swordie?” and “another Fire Emblem character?” is the common sentiment here.
WOW!!! Byleth is finally here!!!! If you could only go back in time and show this to me when I was a kid, way back in the smash 64 days, I can just imagine I would be like
โwho are any of these peopleโ pic.twitter.com/S7vvBgly2h
— TAHK0 โ๏ธ (@TAHK0) January 29, 2020
For detailed updates on all of the other characters, refer to Nintendo’s support page for the buffs and nerfs in 7.0.0.
7.0 TLDR:
Byleth is REALLY slow, but has lots of neat moves.
Lots of characters had shield fixed
Small Palu/Joker/ZSS nerfs
Ken, Ryu, Young Link, and Cloud might be scary now
Zelda, Doc, and Toon Link less bad
Pikachu and Peach are very happy about this patch.
— Griffin Miller (@FatalityFalcon) January 29, 2020
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