In other fighting games (only rarely in Super Smash Bros. discussions), the term “recovery” refers to the end lag of an attack, in essence winding-down animations. In this guide (and in almost all Smash community discussions) this term is used to refer to a particular phase of a match: when a player is thrown offstage and is trying to drift back to either grab on to a ledge or land on solid ground (either of which restores aerial-mobility options, while grabbing a ledge the first time also grants temporarily intangibility). In the recovery phase, the player protecting the ledge, trying to prevent recovery, is edge-guarding. While defending a ledge, this aggressor has a big position advantage. The recovering player is at risk of being knocked out, since they’re closer to a side blast zone and hovering above a sheer drop, all but forced to use predictable moves (usually midair jumps, side specials, up specials, and directional air dodges) to return to solid ground.
Recovery is an essential concept since most knockouts scored revolve around the game of recovery versus edge-guarding. All fighters have at least one special that helps them reach for a ledge—often there are two—and some fighters have more midair jumps available than usual, or special moves that can pass as extra midair jumps. Some fighters are more effective at recovering, and some fighters can be very predictable. Some fighters are kind of bad at fighting but are so good at recovering that they still make worthwhile fighters. But whether a fighter has above-average recovery tools or not, everyone is forced to play the recovery game, so it’s important to approach every time you’re forced to recover as a learning opportunity, and a chance for tiny victories (snagging the ledge and going intangible with well-aimed up special or directional air dodge, for example; or beating out your attacker air-to-air when they chase you over the drop, then making it back to the stage to boot).
See also defense, edge-guarding, ledge-hanging, and movement.