Kill confirm

A kill confirm, also known as a KO setup, is used to refer to a fast and safe attack that can reliably lead into a KO at high percentages. Kill confirms are considered a type of combo, but are different in that kill confirms are used primarily to finish off opponents' stocks, while combos are used to rack up damage. In addition, most true combos only work at low to mid percents, while kill confirms can connect at high percents. 
There are several different types of kill confirms in the Super Smash Bros. series:
*A weak attack (such as a jab or a dash attack) that sends the opponent with weak enough knockback to lead to a guaranteed strong hit (such as a smash attack or aerial) that KOs at high percents.
*A strong throw that can KO on its own (such as Ness's back throw in all games); this includes command grabs (such as Bowser's Flying Slam).
*A weak throw that leads into a guaranteed strong hit (An example includes into in Smash 4 and Ultimate.)
*A tech chase setup (such as ), which forces the opponent into a vulnerable position.
*Most characters can kill confirm by performing a jab reset (in Melee) or jab lock (Brawl onwards) on an opponent who is lying down (commonly after a missed tech), leading in a strong smash attack.
Kill confirms generally work differently based on the opponent's character; they will work at different percentages against each character, depending on their weight, falling speed, and acceleration. They can be significantly harder to connect, or not work at all, on certain characters, and as such, many kill confirms work only on one or a few characters. Their exact timings and percentages can be altered by rage in Smash 4 and Ultimate.
Kill confirms are considered one of the most reliable ways of finishing off opponents in advanced play. Most high-knockback attacks in the Super Smash Bros. games, such as smash attacks, are risky to throw out on their own, since they usually have high startup lag or ending lag, or a small sweetspot that is difficult to land, making them easily punishable if missed. A fast kill confirm circumvents these problems by being much harder to predict and react to. Grab-based kill confirms are especially powerful, because many players will opt to stay in shield more when at high percents, to protect themselves from getting killed by smash attacks and other strong moves; grabbing will ignore an opponent's shield completely and is a natural counter to this playstyle. A character with a reliable kill confirm can see their KOing ability improve significantly, even if the knockback of their finishers is weaker overall, and vice versa. In Melee, is known for having one of the strongest KOing abilities in the game, as he has multiple different combo starters that can all lead to a kill off the side with his Knee Smash. Conversely, is known for having a particularly difficult time KOing his opponents at high percentages without edgeguarding or gimping, as he has no reliable kill confirms, since his throws and aerials all do not link into each other well. As a result, is not uncommon to see opponents, especially floaty characters, survive to 200% and beyond vs. Marth. 
However, some kill confirms are not always guaranteed, depending on the combo DI or smash DI of the opponent. In addition, some popular kill confirms, such as tech chases, require the player to read the action of their opponent, giving them an opportunity to escape. Although some kill confirms are difficult to react to, skilled players will often start their DI inputs before they get hit, which will allow them to escape the combo.
==List of kill confirms==
===In Super Smash Bros. 64===
In the original Super Smash Bros., most characters have several different kill confirms, which can often connect at extremely low percents, due to the game's large amounts of hitstun. Kill confirms are generally less prominent in Smash 64, as a result of the game's more significant punish game, which means characters do not live at high percents in neutral very frequently.
===In Super Smash Bros. Melee===
Character	Description
 	*The first hit of autocanceled can confirm into a knee, or a series of s, ending in a knee. If not properly DI'ed, this can lead to a kill at as low as 50 percent. *His and can lead to a knee on characters with moderate falling speed at high percents, and lead to a tech chase on fastfallers. However, good DI can make the throw to knee combo more difficult to land. *Autocancelled on a grounded opponent can lead into a guaranteed knee on most characters at moderate to high percents.
 	*Donkey Kong's cargo true combos into jump followed by Giant Punch on characters with medium falling speed, such as Marth and Sheik, at mid percents.
 	* and can confirm into for a KO.
 	*A point blank autocancelled aerial laser can combo into almost any fast move, most commonly or . *Falco can combo a shine into at high percents, but the technique must be done extremely quickly to combo successfully. The opponent can also escape the combo by DI'ing to the side when hit by the shine. *An L-canceled (clean or late hit) pops a grounded opponent slightly upward, which can lead to a forward smash. *Falco can shoot a opponent lying down (after a missed tech) with a laser to force a jab reset, which can lead into a charged forward smash.
 	* to is guaranteed on floaty characters, such as Jigglypuff, at moderate to high percents; however, the first hit of Fox's up aerial can be SDI'ed out of. * true combos into at high percents on most characters. * to up smash is a true combo on fastfallers, such as another Fox or Falco, at high percents. *Fox can perform a waveshine into up smash on any character with a weight of 87 or heavier, allowing him to KO these characters at 100 percent or less. However the combo requires high technical proficiency to perform consistently.
 	*The Ice Climbers can land a guaranteed kill off of a grab at any percent using a wobble or handoffs. If wobbling/handoffs are not used or banned, they can land a guaranteed kill off at high percents through desyncing, by grabbing the opponent with Popo and charging a smash attack with Nana.
 	*At mid percents, Jigglypuff can hit an opponent with a series of s and carry them off the stage (known as the Wall of Pain, which will send opponents too far from the stage to recover. * to Rest combos on and at low percents if the opponent doesn't DI. Although the throw is quick, making it difficult to react to, the opponent can escape if they DI the up throw to the left or right. This technique is known as the space animal slayer or hunger strike.
 	* combos into any aerial, most commonly , on fastfallers at moderate to high percents. * and can also combo into any aerial at moderate to high percents.
 	* true combos into on fastfallers at moderate to high percents, allowing him to KO Fox and Falco off of a grab below 100 percent. On stages without platforms, such as , Pikachu can start an up throw chain throw into up smash to land a KO off of a grab at as low as 40 percent.
 	* to is a true combo at moderate to high percents. The semi-spike angle of forward aerial sends many characters too far from the stage to recover, as low as 100 percent. * true combos into forward aerial on non-fastfallers at moderate to high percents, and combos into forward tilt followed by forward aerial on fastfallers (NTSC only).
===In Super Smash Bros. Brawl===
Overall, Brawl has the fewest amount of kill confirms, due to the game's significantly decreased levels of hitstun.
Character	Description
 	*Bowser's Flying Slam is a relatively fast command grab that KOs opponents at high percents.
 	*Tripping an opponent in melee range with a Banana Peel can lead to a free followup at any percent. A Banana Peel to KOs most characters at around 130 percent (though the first hit can be smash DI'ed), and a Banana Peel to KOs most characters at around 150 percent.
 	*Falco can combo an autocanceled aerial laser on melee-range opponents into any grounded move; an autocanceled laser into up smash KOs most characters at around 140 percent.
 	*The Ice Climbers can get a guaranteed kill off of a grab at any percent, by using their handoff techniques to build percentage, and then finishing with a charged smash attack.
 	*King Dedede's can lead to a guaranteed on several heavy characters; this can KO near 180 percent at the edge of the stage. This kill confirm can be easily set up using his down throw chain grab. It can also lead to a guaranteed on , which KOs at an earlier percentage than down tilt.
 	*Meta Knight can cancel the first or second hit of his into a guaranteed , which KOs opponents at high percents.
 	*Ness's KOs most opponents at around 130 percent; this setup is especially powerful because Ness has one of the best dash grabs in the game.
 	*Olimar's with a Purple Pikmin KOs most opponents at around 130 percent. However, this KO setup is unreliable, due to the random nature of Olimar Pikmin pulls, in addition to requiring a Purple Pikmin at the front of his lineup. *Olimar's with a Blue Pikmin KOs near the edge of the stage at 150 percent and above.
 	* to Thunder is a common KO setup off the top of the stage at moderate to high percents; Thunder is particularly difficult to air dodge completely due to its long-lasting hitbox. However, the Thunder can be avoided if the opponent DIs diagonally, and even if the opponent doesn't DI, the Thunder hit is not guaranteed, and can be beaten with a well-timed air dodge.
 	*Snake's sets up a guaranteed tech chase, and if predicted successfully, can lead to an , which KOs most characters at around 105 percent.
 	*Wario's tire throw can true combo into many moves on a melee-range opponent at almost any percent. At high percents, the most common KO combos are tire throw to and tire throw to fart.
 	*Zero Suit Samus's stuns the opponent for around 1.5 seconds, giving her a large amount of time to follow up with a finisher. The most common combo at KO percents is two down smashes followed by a , which KOs starting at around 120 percent. When used on an opponent just off the edge of the stage, a down smash to Flip Jump meteor smash can KO at around 50 percent, and even earlier on characters with poor vertical recoveries.
===In Super Smash Bros. 4===
Character	Description
 	*A successful Witch Time counter can lead to a free KO move at high percents
 	* to
 	*Rapid jab's finisher can KO at around 130-150 percent.
 	* to Knee Smash
 	* to
 	*Dragon Fang Shot projectile to Dragon Lunge
 	*Tripping an opponent in melee range with a Banana Peel can lead to a free KO move at high percents. * to *Diddy Kong's to (known as the "Hoo-hah," was a true combo that could KO at high percents, but was removed from the game in version 1.0.6.
 	*Cargo up throw to
 	*Falling to *Falling to
 	*The landing hit of can be followed up with a running for a KO at high percents
 	*Late hit to
 	* to
 	*A successful Bomb hit can lead into a KO move at high percents.
 	* to KO Uppercut* to Jolt Haymaker
 	*Aura Sphere looping hits to
 	* to
 	*A falling can set up a meteor smash at mid-to-high percents
 	* to sweetspotted
 	* can confirm into Shuttle Loop, or a series of s, ending in a Shuttle Loop.
 	*Stunning an opponent with Disable can lead to a free KO move at high percents
 	* to
 	*Stunning an opponent with Bell can lead to a free KO move at high percents
 	* to Thunder
 	* to is a kill confirm on most characters at around 160 percent.
 	* to Levin Sword *Arcthunder at melee range can lead into any smash attack for a KO at high percents.
 	*Weak to Shoryuken
 	* to Screw Attack
 	*Needle Storm to Bouncing Fish
 	* to Spring Jump to
 	* to *A successful Bomb hit can lead into a KO move at high percents.
 	*Jab to Timber Axe
 	* to or * to * to Farore's Wind
===In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate===
Character	Description
 	*Down throw can be followed up with a series of s, ending with a for a meteor smash KO at the ledge, or Super Jump Punch/ off the ceiling if platforms are available.*Late hit to any smash attack
 	*Aerial Hand Slap to *Aerial Hand Slap to *Aerial Hand Slap to *Burying an opponent with Headbutt can lead to any KO move at high percents*Cargo up throw to up aerial on platforms
 	*A thrown or Z-dropped Remote Bomb can be followed up with most KO moves, such as Spin Attack or * to * to aerial Spin Attack
 	*An uncharged or partially-charged Charge Shot hit can lead into or
 	*An uncharged or partially-charged Charge Shot hit can lead into or
 	* to
 	*The first two hits of can lead into any smash attack* can link into any smash attack if the down tilt trips*Weak to or clean hit
 	*Late hit to *Landing to
 	* to or
 	* can lead to many long combos ending with Super Jump Punch*Down throw can also lead to a or aerial Luigi Cyclone depending on the stage for the latter* or to Super Jump Punch* to Super Jump Punch or offstage
 	* to *PSI Magnet to offstage*PSI Magnet to dragdown to lead into a grab, presumably finishing with a at high percents.
 	*Raptor Boost can confirm into or instant double jump Knee Smash*The first hit of can be followed up with or Knee Smash* meteor smash to or Knee Smash can be followed up with Knee Smash
 	*An autocanceled can link into Rest* to Rest*Late hit to Rest
 	* to *Thrown Vegetable to Peach Bomber or
 	* to *Thrown Vegetable to Daisy Bomber or
 	* to or
 	* to * to or Belay
 	* to Bouncing Fish*Dragdown to *Sweetspotted to sweetspotted * can be followed up with a sweetspotted that can KO at 90%, however this only works if the opponent isn't hit by the landing hitbox.
 	* to
 	* can be followed up with Dr. Tornado at around 45%, or or Super Jump Punch at around 120%* to Super Jump Punch*A Megavitamin can be followed up with any KO move, such as Dr. Tornado or a sweetspotted .*Jab 1 can link into Super Jump Punch
 	* to Thunder* to Thunder* to * to * to
 	* to * can chain into itself, potentially setting up a meteor smash KO at high percents.
 	* to sweetspotted *The first hit of can be followed up with any KO move at high percents.
 	* to *The first hit of can be followed up with any KO move at high percents.
 	* to aerial Spin Attack*Fire Arrow, Boomerang, and Bomb all chain into each other and various other moves at high percents, allowing for confirms into moves such as and Spin Attack.
 	*Late hit to any aerial excluding *Down aerial to or
 	*Confusion to at around 140%*Sweetspotted to *Disable to any strong move, most commonly or
 	*Jab to sweetspotted * to sweetspotted *The first hit of can be followed up with any KO move at high percents.*Up aerial to
 	*Jab to * to *The first hit of can be followed up with any KO move at high percents.*Up aerial to
 	*Burying an opponent with a sweetspotted can lead to any KO move (e.g. ) at high percents.* to Oil Panic can KO as early as 20%, depending on the projectiles absorbed.*Jab 1 can link into Oil Panic at around 100%.
 	* to * to
 	* to * to
 	* can be followed up with Flip Jump at the ledge that can KO at around 60%*Burying an opponent with Flip Jump can lead to a free KO move at high percents* to
 	* to *Late hit to Wario Waft* second hit to Wario Waft* to half-charged Wario Waft on some characters* to Wario Waft
 	* becomes a true followup to at around 160%. The string can KO earlier, but requires chasing the opponent's roll up until that point.
 	* into Aether or *Late hit to * to
 	* to Waterfall
 	* to sweetspotted Vine Whip*Razor Leaf to or sweetspotted Vine Whip
 	* to sweetspotted
 	* to * to * to any smash attack* to
 	* to sweetspotted * to * to
 	*Spin Dash to *Late hit to *Spin Charge to *Early hit Spin Dash to
 	*Aura Sphere's looping hits to * to
 	* to Arm Rotor*Z-dropped Gyro to Arm Rotor*With a Gyro nearby, can link into * can be followed up with , , or
 	* to Wolf Flash* to * to Wolf Flash
 	*The first two hits of can link into *A thrown Metal Blade can link into
 	*Burying an opponent with Jab 3 can lead to any KO move at high percents.* to or *A meteor smash can be followed up with , KOing at around 100% at the ledge.
 	*The back hit of can be followed up with Rising Uppercut or Jolt Haymaker* to Jolt Haymaker or Rising Uppercut at high percents, or even KO Uppercut
 	* to *Late hit can be followed up with buffered out of an instant double jump for a guaranteed KO at mid-to-high percents.
 	*Late hit to *A falling can lead into or Flashing Mach Punch for a KO at around 100%, or a at the ledge* or to Helicopter Kick can KO at around 50% at the ledge if the latter is angled properly* to Thrust Uppercut or Helicopter Kick
 	*A Gale Strike hit can be followed up with any aerial move, most commonly or Hero's Spin*Tilt-thrown Chakram can lead into any move, most commonly
 	*Flame Pillar to fully-charged Charge Blast*Grenade Launch to any move
 	* to or *The first hit of sends the opponent slightly upwards, allowing for followups like , , or to KO at high percents
 	*Arcfire to Levin Sword , Levin Sword , or clean hit Levin Sword *Thunder to
 	*Clay Shooting hits to or
 	*Jab to Shoryuken is a guaranteed combo that KOs at mid-to-high percents
 	*Jab to Shoryuken is a guaranteed combo that KOs at mid-to-high percents
 	*A fast-falled can be followed up with Finishing Touch for a KO at mid-to-high percents
 	*Stunning an opponent with a fully-charged Dragon Fang Shot can lead to any move to sweetspotted aerial Dragon Lunge* to * or to Dragon Fang Shot can KO at mid-to-high percents depending on how long the final hit is charged. However, this requires precise timing and spacing to perform consistently
 	*Late hit to
 	* to *Burying an opponent with Splat Roller can lead to any move at higher percentages, most commonly *First hit of to
 	* to sweetspotted
 	*Holy Water to *Late hit to Uppercut*Late hit Cross to
 	*Holy Water to *Late hit to Uppercut*Late hit Cross to
 	*Burying an opponent with or can lead to any move at higher percentages* to , or upward-angled *Crownerang to or up smash
 	* to clean hit *After Pocketing a powerful projectile (e.g. fully-charged Charge Shot), it can be released after a Fishing Rod down throw for a KO at mid-to-high percents.*Fishing Rod to Lloid Trap
 	* to Darkest Lariat*A 2 frame punish with can be followed up with for a KO at mid-to-high percents.* to * to
 	* to or
 	* to Arsene *First hit of forward aerial into dragdown into either or *A meteor smash from Arsene can be followed up with an Arsene for a KO at mid percents, or Arsene at high percents
 	*Snooze can lead into any move at higher percents.* to can KO at around 50% if the latter scores a critical hit*With Acceleratle active, a successful Frizz hit can be followed up with for a KO at high percents
 	*Burying an opponent with can lead to any grounded move, such as , Wonderwing or any smash attack at high percents; if the opponent escapes from the bury in a predictable fashion, it can lead into a well-timed aerial KO move, such as Wonderwing or at mid-to-high percents*A successful Rear Egg hit can lead into Wonderwing or (or offstage or at high percents) and KO at mid-to-high percents* can lead to or and KO at high percents onstage or mid-to-high percents offstage*A close-range Breegull Blaster can true combo into an up tilt for a highly effective KO confirm that works at a wide range of percentages.
 	* to Power Geyser*Jab 2 to Power Dunk or command input Rising Tackle* to Buster Wolf
 	*Sword of the Creator leads into several KO moves at high percents, such as Areadbhar, , or * to * to can KO at mid-to-high percents, but the timing is incredibly strict** to has a less strict timing, but KOs later and may require an instant double jump on some characters*The landing hit of can lead into and KO at high percents*A landing at the ledge can be followed up with a runoff for a KO at around 65%
 	*With Ramram equipped, Punch can confirm into for a KO at high percents
 	*Jab to * to
 	* to
 	* meteor smash to * to * meteor smash to Prominence Revolt*Jab 3 KOs middleweights at around 110% at the ledge
 	* can combo into a charged Lightning Buster if the looping hits connect, KOing at around 110%; however, this requires precise spacing and timing to perform consistently
 	*Stunning an opponent with can lead to a free KO move at high percents* to * to Devil Wings* to * to * to *Electric Wind God Fist to Devil Wings*Electric Wind God Fist to
 	*Firaga can be followed up with a dashing for a KO at high percents* to * to Aerial Sweep
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