Trophy DescriptionIn Xenoblade Chronicles, this young lad’s colony is attacked by the Mechon, so he and his friends set off to take them down. In Smash Bros., his Monado Arts let him change his specialization during battle. You can choose to boost a stat—his jump or attack, for example—but other stats might drop as a result, so choose wisely. Statistics
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Smash Attacks
SIDE SMASH
Shulk stabs forward then extends the beam of his Monado sword to hit even farther. This can be aimed up or down.
DOWN SMASH
Shulk spins multiple times while swinging his Monado out in a sweeping motion around. Long range but long recovery as well.
UP SMASH
Shulk slams the Monado into the ground while it points upward. The beam then blasts upward, knocking opponents vertically.
Basic Attacks
Standing Attack
A three-hit attack string with a jab, kick, and then sword uppercut.
Forward Tilt
Shulk swings the Monado sword horizontally.
Up Tilt
A jumping spinning uppercut attack with the Monado sword.
Down Tilt
Shulk crouches down then sweeps the opponent with his sword.
Dash Attack
A horizontal sword slash as Shulk slides forward.
Edge Attack
Shulk returns to the stage with a sweeping sword strike similar to his Down Tilt.
Air Attacks
Neutral Air Attack
Shulk swings his sword upward in a wide arc in front of him.
Up Air Attack
Shulk strikes upward with his sword then extends the beam to hit even farther.
Down Air Attack
With his sword pointed downward to the ground, Shulk extends the beam of the Monado. This attack has a meteor effect.
Forward Air Attack
Shulk swings his sword downward directly in front of him.
Back Air Attack
Wind-up then stab backward behind Shulk. This attack has good range and power but a slow startup.
Special Attacks
Monado Arts (Neutral Special)
Shulk activates one of his five Arts for Jump, Speed, Shield, Buster, or Smash. See sidebar for more information.
Back Slash (Side Special)
A huge forward-leaping sword slash. If you hit the opponent’s back, it deals way more damage. Be sure to land on the stage or Shulk continues downward!
Air Slash (Up Special)
This jumping sword attack launches your opponent into the air. It can be followed up by a second horizontal attack in the air by hitting the Special button again.
Vision (Down Special)
Shulk brings down his sword to counter incoming attacks. The counterattack is a large wind-up sword swing. Shulk can even counter attacks with his back facing the opponent.
Monado ArtsJump—Increases your jump and allows you to move quicker in the air, but you take more damage. Speed—You do less damage and have a lower jump height, but you can move faster. Shield—You have a stronger shield, but you move slower, jump lower, and have lower damage output. Buster—You deal and receive more damage, but cannot launch opponents as far or as high. Smash—You can launch opponents easier and you yourself get launched easier, but you deal less damage. |
Final Smash
Chain Attack
Shulk calls in Dunban and Riki to join him for a devastating chain attack. Stunned opponents are obliterated by the ensuing team combo before returning to the stage and exploding up and away from Shulk. The opponent closest to Shulk takes an extra 10% damage from Shulk’s Neutral Special Jump Art for a total of 40% while everyone else takes 30%. The damage changes during Shulk’s Monado Arts applies to the Final Smash as well: Buster Art does 55% damage and 41% to everyone else; Speed Art does 28% and 21% to everyone else; Shield Art does 27% and 20% to everyone else; and Smash Art does 20% and 15% to everyone else but launches much farther. The range on the initial strike is about 1/4 of the Final Destination stage, so be close to your opponents to use it. If you’re going for a KO, use the Smash Monado Art, but choose your art before even getting the Smash Ball, which makes this a little more difficult to do.
Strategy
Shulk is a sword-based fighter with extreme versatility, thanks to his ability to switch between his Monado Arts. Choosing the right Monado Art at the right time against your opponents is vital to maximizing Shulk’s potential. Shulk has slightly above-average weight with great range and decent damage but slow startup and recovery on most of his attacks. Compared to other swordfighters, he is somewhat of a cross between Ike and Marth. Regardless of Monado Art, his general weakness is the speed and recovery of his attacks, which he makes up for with range and damage output. While he has good vertical recovery, his horizontal recovery is a little lacking. Forward Tilt, Up Tilt, and back throw are also useful in battle. Note that you can also use Shulk’s jab string for up-close battle—you can delay each hit and don’t suffer too much recovery after the first two hits.
Shulk has five Monado Arts to choose from: Jump, Speed, Shield, Buster, and Smash. Hitting the Special button by itself cycles between these options, and whichever one you leave it on last is the one that gets activated. Once a Monado Art is activated, you can cancel out of it by quickly hitting the Special button three times. Once you use a Monado Art, it’s on cooldown and appears gray, leaving you unable to select it again for about 10 seconds. Picking the best Monado Art for the moment depends on many factors: your current damage percent versus the opponent’s damage percent, your mobility versus the opponent’s mobility, and how far ahead or behind you are in a match. Study the strengths and weaknesses of each to make it easier to decide which you need in battle. Back Slash is a good damaging attack, but it can leave you open for retaliation as well. Jump into groups of opponents from behind with this for maximum effectiveness. Air Slash can be useful out of shield against slower attacks and knocks horizontally away with its second hit. The Vision counter has a dynamic window to counter attacks. Each time you use it, the counter window gets smaller, down to a minimum. That counter window slowly gets larger, back to its initial size, as long as you aren’t using it.
In the air, Shulk’s fastest attack is his Forward Air. For you to land his Up Air, opponents need to be very high in the air, but it does good damage and knockback. Down Air is very slow to start up, but it has incredible range below Shulk and also has a meteor smash. Neutral air is a little slow but can hit behind Shulk and covers good space in front of him. Back Air is his best KO option, but again, it requires some time to start up. On the ground, Shulk’s Forward Smash and Up Smash are his best options for KOs. Forward Smash has impressive range, thanks to the beam firing from the tip of the Monado. Hit with this tip for additional knockback. Down Smash is best used to damage groups of opponents who are closing in on you. For edge-guarding, use Shulk’s Forward Smash, Down Smash, Forward Air, and Back Air. Additionally, if you have the Jump Monado Art active, you will be able to chase farther off-stage!
Recovery
Shulk’s recovery options are fairly limited but straightforward. Vertically, you can recover with his Air Slash, but if you miss it, Shulk enters a fall state. Even when deep under a stage, it pushes its way up to the edge. Don’t forget to use both hits of Air Slash, as it can get you that little bit of extra height you might need. You can also aim Air Slash to the left or right a little bit. For horizontal recovery, Shulk can use his Back Slash, but if you miss, you plummet to your destruction! You also need to land on the stage because Shulk does not grab the ledge while using Back Slash. To slow your fall, use his Vision counter. If available, you also have time to activate Shulk’s Jump Monado Art, as it boosts the height on his double jump and Air Slash! This greatly increases your recovery while leaving the more combat-appropriate Monado Arts available when you return to the stage.
