The Spirits mechanic can seem pretty complicated at first, so here are some suggestions.
One of the new features in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is Spirits, which are non-playable characters that can increase stats or offer other abilities to playable characters in the game’s Spirits mode. There are a ton of Spirits in the game, so deciding which ones to use can be tricky.
As you make your way through Super Smash Bros. Ultimate‘s adventure mode, World of Light, you’ll fight tons of Spirits, and use your own to help you in those battles. Each Spirit has a Pokémon-like type that is weak against and strong against other types. There are four types of Spirits: Attack, Shield, Grab, and Neutral. Attack is strong against Grab, Grab is strong against Shield, and Shield is strong against Attack. Neutral isn’t strong or weak against anything. When fighting a Spirit, you’ll probably want to see what type they are and then choose a Primary Spirit that is strong against it. If you don’t have a strong Spirit that’s strong against the one you’re fighting against, it would be smarter to use either a strong Spirit of the same type or a strong Neutral Spirit, so that you’re at least not using a Spirit that’s weak against your opponent.
The other thing to take into consideration is the special effects that the Spirit you’re fighting might be using. For example, you might be fighting a Spirit that causes the floor to turn into lava. If this is the case, try to counter by equipping a Spirit that reduces the damage you take from lava, or nullifies it altogether. There are tons of effects that an enemy Spirit might pull on you, from poisoning you at the beginning of a battle, to moving faster than normal, to changing the fight to a stamina battle, etc. It can be hard to keep track of all your Spirits and what each of them does, so if all else fails, you can go to your Spirit selecting screen and press Y to have the game auto-select Spirits for you, which will usually result in the game choosing Spirits for you that will have the best effect on your opponent. The game won’t always pick the best Spirits for each scenario, though, so make sure you check its selection before just jumping into a battle.
The other thing to consider when choosing Spirits in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is how strong each Spirit is. Different Spirits have different amounts of strength, so to defeat your opponent easily, you’ll likely want to stick with the strongest Spirits you have. Spirits can be made even stronger by leveling them up. It’s also worth considering that you’ll get a bigger reward for winning battles if the Spirits you use are weaker, so if getting better rewards is of concern to you, this might be something you want to try out.
If nothing else, you can always just choose Spirits that have effects that may not be advantageous in specific battles, but that you just like. If you main as Lucario, you might want to equip a Spirit that increases the damage of aura attacks. If you like attacking opponents from above, maybe you’ll want to equip a Spirit that increases the amount of damage you dish out from air attacks. There are a lot of Spirits and a lot of effects they provide, so figure out what works best for your playstyle, and if you’re having trouble coming up with a Spirit team, you can always just return to your old faithfuls.
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