Gravity

Gravity is a measure of how fast a falling character reaches their maximum falling speed. A character with high gravity does not necessarily have a fast falling speed; they simply reach their top falling speed faster. Gravity also affects how high a character is able to jump; two characters with the same initial jump velocity will not jump the same height if they have different gravity. Naturally, a character with higher gravity would jump lower than a character with lower gravity (assuming they have the same initial jump velocity). Gravity is measured in units/frame².
Gravity does not take a direct effect on vertical knockback in Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee, although since a fighter's falling physics remain intact during hitstun, fighters with a combination of high falling speed and gravity will effectively resist vertical launch distance. From Super Smash Bros. Brawl onward, vertical knockback's velocity suffered by characters is now based on both their weight and their gravity (once they enter tumble); the formula to determine the gravity penalty is (g - 0.075) x 5 . This causes higher-gravity characters to be launched at a higher velocity, but horizontal launch speed is not directly affected. This reduces the natural effect of gravity on launch distance, keeping characters with low weight but high gravity (most notably Fox) from having disproportionally high vertical endurance, and in fact results in their endurance being slightly worse than a fighter with lower gravity, due to the formula overcompensating while not considering falling speed. Despite horizontal launch speed being unaffected, fighters with higher gravity also tend to have poorer horizontal endurance, due to the way the game decays launch speed. Fighters' total launch speed decays over time, with the horizontal and vertical components decaying such that they both reach 0 at the same time, and as such, when vertical launch speed is increased, horizontal launch speed decays more slowly. An example that shows the effect on gravity with knockback is with and in Melee and Brawl. In both games, Zelda and Sheik have the same weight and in Melee, Zelda and Sheik have the same horizontal endurance but Sheik has better vertical endurance due to her higher falling speed and gravity. In Brawl however, Zelda has better endurance both horizontally and vertically due to her lower gravity (although Sheik has slightly better vertical endurance with momentum canceling).
Gravity also affects how difficult the character is to combo - gravity does not take effect on knockback if a character is not put into tumble. By applying slightly more knockback to characters that more quickly fall into the next attack, it slightly normalizes the effect of setup and multi-hit moves on the cast. Particularly with non tumble knockback, characters with low gravity will be sent higher, while characters with high gravity will be sent lower. After getting hit by an attack, a character (on the ground) with low gravity may end up in the air after an attack, while a character with high gravity will land while they are in hitstun. The overall impact this has depends on the game. In Smash 64, Smash 4 and Ultimate, characters suffer a similar (or identical) amount of lag if they land during hitstun, with this affect usually altering possible followups, depending on where the opponent ends up after hitstun. A character with low gravity may only be vulnerable to certain upwards hitting attacks, while a character with high gravity could be vulnerable to numerous ground attacks. In Melee, the character will go into their normal landing animation if they land during hitstun, which can result in a character suffering from much less lag after an attack than they would have if they do not land. In Brawl, a character will go into their hard landing animation once hitstun ends, regardless of when they land during hitstun. This means that higher gravity characters will suffer from more lag from various attacks than characters with low gravity, putting them at a disadvantage.
A notable effect this difference in knockback has is that higher gravity characters are considerably more vulnerable to chain grabs in Brawl, and in Brawl and Smash 4, it makes moves with low knockback chain into themself and other moves longer on characters with higher gravity, especially when combined with Brawl removing DI against moves which do not put opponents into tumble (an example of this being Sheik's , which can easily chain into itself multiple times).
In Melee and Brawl, gravity also affects how high a character will travel if they are aerial grab released. A character with high gravity will gain little height and will land quickly while a character with low gravity will gain a lot more height. Characters with very high gravity are at an advantage, especially in Brawl, as they will land before their grab release animation ends (although this puts them in a worse position if the grab release puts them offstage). Characters with very low gravity are also at an advantage as they will be released much higher into the air, making it harder for characters to chase them and followup in Brawl. Gravity no longer affects how high an opponent is air released as of Smash 4, however, gravity still determines when an air released opponent will land.
In Super Smash Bros. 4, a character's gravity can be altered by using the equipment bonus effects, Thistle Jump or Anchor Jump, with Thistle Jump decreasing it, while Anchor Jump increases it. However, both bonus effects also alter a character's falling speed.
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, while gravity still plays a factor on determining knockback, for launch angles between 70° and 110° characters now use a different gravity value that is linearly correlated to their weight, with lighter characters using a lower gravity value, and heavier characters using a higher one; though a few exceptions to this exist. As a result of this change, moves that deal vertical knockback are generally easier to survive compared to Brawl and Smash 4, thus making vertical survivability among the cast much more consistent than in both previous games. Additionally with non tumble knockback, this also makes it harder to combo characters who usually have high gravity, as they are sent much higher. Particularly, certain moves cannot chain into themselves nearly as many times against characters with high gravity. Conversely, Ultimate has the largest range of gravity stats in the entire series, including Melee, and as a consequence, the effect on horizontal launch distance is still significant. This can even lead to counter-intuitive results, such as Fox dying earlier horizontally from near the ledge than Jigglypuff, despite the former's weight being 9 points higher than the latter.
==Super Smash Bros. gravity values==
Compared to the later Smash games, Smash 64 has very low gravity values for all characters and as with most attributes, Smash 64 uses a different scale to measure gravity.
Source: 
JPN
Rank	Character 	Gravity
N/A 	Metal Mario 	4.8
N/A 	Giant Donkey Kong	4
1 	 	4
2 	 	3.4
3 	 	3.2
4-5 	 	3
4-5 	 	3
6-7 	 	2.7
6-7 	 	2.7
8-9 	 	2.4
8-9 	 	2.4
10 	 	2.1
11 	 	2
12 	 	1.9
NA/PAL
Rank	Character 	Gravity
N/A 	Metal Mario 	4.8
N/A 	Giant Donkey Kong	4
1 	 	4
2-3 	 	3.4
2-3 	 	3.4
4-5 	 	3
4-5 	 	3
6 	 	2.8
7 	 	2.7
8-9 	 	2.4
8-9 	 	2.4
10 	 	2.1
11 	 	2
12 	 	1.9
*All Fighting Polygons share their gravity values with their original Japanese counterparts in all versions.
===Version differences===
====NTSC-U====
*
*
==Super Smash Bros. Melee gravity values==
Melee significantly increased the gravity for all characters and it is largely the main factor as to why Melee is a less floaty game than its predecessor. Melee also uses an alternate scale to measure gravity which would be reused in later games.
Rank 	Character 	Gravity
N/A 	Giga Bowser 	0.25
1 	 	0.23
2 	 	0.17
3-5 	 	0.13
3-5 	 	0.13
3-5 	 	0.13
6 	 	0.12
7 	 	0.114
8-11 	 	0.11
8-11 	 	0.11
8-11 	 	0.11
8-11 	 	0.11
12-13	 	0.1
12-13	 	0.1
14-16	 	0.095
14-16	 	0.095
14-16	 	0.095
17 	 	0.093
18 	 	0.09
N/A 	Fighting Wire Frames (Male) 	0.09
19 	 	0.085
20 	 	0.082
21-22	 	0.08
21-22	 	0.08
23 	 	0.073
N/A 	Fighting Wire Frames (Female)	0.073
24 	 	0.069
25 	 	0.066
26 	 	0.064
N/A 	Sandbag 	0.05
==Super Smash Bros. Brawl gravity values==
Much like with falling speeds, every character's gravity (aside from 's) was decreased. Brawl also introduced the gravity penalty where gravity would be added into the knockback formula for vertical knockback causing characters with higher gravity to suffer from increased knockback once they enter tumble.
Rank 	Character 	Gravity
N/A 	 	0.1975
1 	 	0.175
2 	 	0.1409
3 	 	0.13
4 	 	0.112
5 	 	0.1067
6-8 	 	0.1027
6-8 	 	0.1027
6-8 	 	0.1027
9 	 	0.0956
10 	 	0.092
11 	 	0.09
N/A 	Wario Man 	0.09
12 	 	0.089
13 	 	0.0884
14 	 	0.087
15-16	 	0.085
15-16	 	0.085
17 	 	0.0842
18-19	 	0.0837
18-19	 	0.0837
20 	 	0.081
21 	 	0.08
22 	 	0.077
23 	 	0.07505
24-25	 	0.075
24-25	 	0.075
N/A 	Fighting Alloy Team	0.075
26 	 	0.07347
27 	 	0.0711
28-29	 	0.07
28-29	 	0.07
30 	 	0.06715
31 	 	0.067
32-33	 	0.065
32-33	 	0.065
34 	 	0.0632
35 	 	0.0625
36 	 	0.061
37 	 	0.06
38 	 	0.058
39 	 	0.05056
===Notes===
*In Melee and Brawl, Captain Falcon, Ganondorf, and Bowser have all shared the same gravity values.
*Sheik is the only veteran to have her gravity increased from Melee to Brawl.
==Super Smash Bros. 4 gravity values==
Much like with falling speeds, gravity was increased across the board with most characters having higher gravity.
Rank 	Character 	Gravity
N/A 	 	0.198
1 	 	0.19
2 	 	0.18
3 	 	0.15
4 	 	0.13
5-8 	 	0.12
5-8 	 	0.12
5-8 	 	0.12
5-8 	 	0.12
N/A 	Giga Mac 	0.12
9 	 	0.114
10-12	 	0.11
10-12	 	0.11
10-12	 	0.11
13 	 	0.107835
14 	 	0.1071
N/A 	Wario-Man 	0.1071
15-16	 	0.105
15-16	 	0.105
17 	 	
18 	 	
19-20	 	0.096
19-20	 	
N/A 	(Fighting Mii Team)	0.096
21 	 	0.095
22-25	 	0.092
22-25	 	0.092
22-25	 	0.092
22-25	 	0.092
26-29	 	0.09
26-29	 	0.09
26-29	 	0.09
26-29	 	0.09
N/A 	(Fighting Mii Team)	0.09
30 	 	0.089
31 	 	0.087885
32-34	 	0.08715
32-34	 	0.08715
32-34	 	
N/A 	(Fighting Mii Team)	0.087
35 	 	0.08505
36 	 	
37 	 	0.084
N/A 	Mega Lucario 	0.084
38 	 	0.082
39-40	 	0.081
39-40	 	0.081
41-43	 	0.08
41-43	 	0.08
41-43	 	0.08
44 	 	0.079
45 	 	0.078
46-47	 	0.077
46-47	 	0.077
48 	 	0.076
49-51	 	0.075
49-51	 	0.075
49-51	 	0.075
52 	 	0.072
53 	 	0.071
54-55	 	0.068
54-55	 	0.068
56 	 	
57 	 	0.062
58 	 	0.053088
===Update history===
====1.1.5====
*
==Super Smash Bros. Ultimate gravity values==
Gravity values were once again generally increased across the board. Gravity values have also been notably changed for moves which send opponents at an angle between 70° and 110°; with heavier characters using a higher gravity value than lighter characters when being hit by moves with vertical knockback.
Rank 	Character 	Gravity	During vertical knockback
1 	 	0.23 	0.067872
2 	 	0.18 	0.071568
N/A 	Giga Bowser	0.175 	0.0924
3 	 	0.169 	0.073584
4 	 	0.15 	0.068208
5-6 	 	0.14 	0.062832
5-6 	 	0.14 	0.079632
7 	 	0.137 	0.072912
8-9 	 	0.13 	0.069552
8-9 	 	0.13 	0.072912
10 	 	0.128 	0.0672
11 	 	0.127 	0.073248
12 	 	0.126 	0.080976
13-14	 	0.125 	0.08736
13-14	 	0.125 	0.07224
15-20	 	0.12 	0.076944
15-20	 	0.12 	0.06888
15-20	 	0.12 	0.072576
15-20	 	0.12 	0.076608
15-20	 	0.12 	0.076608
15-20	 	0.12 	0.069216
21-22	 	0.114 	0.07392
21-22	 	0.114 	0.07392
23-26	 	0.11 	0.06888
23-26	 	0.11 	0.080976
23-26	 	0.11 	0.077616
23-26	 	0.11 	0.076944
27-29	 	0.108 	0.081648
27-29	 	 	
27-29	 	0.108 	0.079968
30-31	 	0.107 	0.077952
30-31	 	0.107 	0.076272
32 	 	0.106 	0.0756
33 	 	0.105 	0.086688
34-36	 	0.098 	0.076944
34-36	 	 	
34-36	 	 	
37 	 	0.097 	0.084672
38-39	 	0.096 	0.076944
38-39	 	0.096 	0.071568
40 	 	0.095 	0.068544
41 	 	 	
42-44	 	0.092 	0.077952
42-44	 	0.092 	0.078288
42-44	 	0.092 	0.074928
45-51	 	0.09 	0.073584
45-51	 	0.09 	0.070896
45-51	 	0.09 	0.077616
45-51	 	 	
45-51	 	0.09 	0.071232
45-51	 	0.09 	0.077952
45-51	 	0.09 	0.078288
52-53	 	0.089 	0.07392
52-53	 	0.089 	0.074592
54-56	 	0.087 	0.074928
54-56	 	0.087 	0.074928
54-56	 	0.087 	0.073584
57-59	 	0.085 	0.084672
57-59	 	0.085 	0.077952
57-59	 	0.085 	0.077952
60 	 	0.084 	0.072912
61 	 	0.083 	0.074592
62-64	 	0.082 	0.072912
62-64	 	0.082 	0.068544
62-64	 	0.082 	0.074256
65-67	 	0.081 	0.074256
65-67	 	0.081 	0.074256
65-67	 	0.081 	0.072576
68-70	 	0.08 	0.076944
68-70	 	0.08 	0.0672
68-70	 	0.08 	0.077616
71-72	 	0.078 	0.072912
71-72	 	0.078 	0.074928
73 	 	0.077 	0.073584
74 	 	0.076 	0.070896
75-78	 	0.075 	0.078288
75-78	 	0.075 	0.078288
75-78	 	0.075 	0.07224
75-78	 	0.075 	0.07224
79 	 	0.072 	0.07392
80 	 	0.071 	0.07056
81-84	 	0.07 	0.071904
81-84	 	0.07 	0.071904
81-84	 	0.07 	0.071568
81-84	 	0.07 	0.072912
85 	 	0.068 	0.068544
86-87	 	 	0.068544
86-87	 	0.064 	0.07056
88 	 	0.062 	0.069552
89 	 	0.053 	0.064848
==Trivia==
*Not counting Giga Bowser, Fox holds the distinction of being the character with the highest gravity value in all games.
*Lucas is the only character from the transition from Brawl to Smash 4 to have his gravity value kept the same. Similarly, fellow DLC veterans Roy and Mewtwo's gravity values are the same as in their last appearance in Melee.
*Sheik is the only character to debut in Melee whose gravity has been increased in Brawl and Smash 4.
==See also==
*Air acceleration
*Air speed
*Falling speed
*Weight
Category:Game physics
Category:Character attributes