One of the main things that sets Super Smash Bros. Ultimate apart from other installments in the saga is how interesting the DLC characters are: Most of the characters have been additions from different franchises that have caught the attention of fans. The DLC additions to the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's already considerably big roster have made the game much more competitively complex.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is known for having a widely diverse set of fighters available. The game includes characters from a myriad of franchises that range from classic video games like Metroid, all the way to the Wii Fit's Trainer. Although fans might not get Rayman in the next challenger pack, there is still a pretty impressive DLC roster for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate enthusiasts to enjoy.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's Huge Roster
All of the characters from previous Super Smash Bros. titles were brought back for this installment, making every single character added in DLC a newcomer, each their own exciting addition. So far, Nintendo has released two volumes of the fighter pass; The first one included five new characters, while the second consists of six challenger packs, of which two have not been revealed yet. This has fans speculating about who the two remaining characters of SSBU's last DLC will be.
In addition to the characters available on both Fighters Pass volumes, Piranha Plant from Super Mario was released for a limited time when purchasing the digital version or by registering the physical version of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on MyNintendo. Piranha Plant can still be bought separately as well.
Although fans would really appreciate a third DLC pass with more challenger packs, Masahiro Sakurai has confirmed that Fighters Pass Vol. 2 will be the last. However, some fans have speculated that the second volume of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's DLC will have a seventh character instead of the six that were announced originally.
The Two Fighters Pass Volumes
The first DLC was announced in 2019 and it included five additional characters. The first character to be released was Joker from the Persona universe which was available in April. The remaining characters were released every other month after that. Each of these characters came with an additional stage from their corresponding franchise. By the time the last character was released, the second DLC was already available.
The second DLC was released in 2020, overlapping with the first volume. Just as in the previous pass, the second volume includes characters that have been announced throughout the year together with a stage from the character's video game. The latest couple of characters, Pyra and Mythra from Xenoblade Chronicles, were announced together during this year's Nintendo Direct and have been available since March 2021. There are still two more challenger packs to be revealed as part of this Fighters Pass, but the characters that will be released still remain a mystery.
Competitive vs. Casual
Even though all characters are technically eligible for competitive play, some of them work better than others. There are fighters whose moves are too unpredictable to make a strategy in competitive tournaments, but who would make excellent fighters for casual playing. For instance, Hero's gameplay did cause the fighter to be banned from tournaments in Australia since the critical hits are random.
Because of how different the priorities are for competitive and casual players, it is hard to make a definite list that will accommodate every single player's need. However, there are some DLC characters that have proved to be superior because of how easy and fun it is to play with them. All in all, here are the DLC characters ranked from best to worst.
- Joker
- Sephiroth
- Terry
- Steve
- Pyra/Mythra
- Hero
- Byleth
- Min Min
- Banjo and Kazooie
The reason Banjo and Kazooie are the last on the list is that although the character might be more fun to play than Min Min, they're not good enough for competitive play. Min Min ranked lower than Byleth because of how repetitive the moves of the character are. Although Hero is a fun character, their unpredictability can sometimes affect the gameplay for the worse. Pyra/Mythra, Steve, and Terry are all reasonably good characters that can be played both casually and competitively. Lastly, Joker and Sephiroth took the lead as both can deal great damage and are fun to play.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is available now on Nintendo Switch.
