Ike (PM)

Ike is a playable character in the Brawl mod Project M. Since Ike's first appearance in the series is as a fighter in Brawl, his general speed has been significantly increased to fit the mechanics of Project M. In particular, Ike has improved combo-starting abilities, such as a more versatile Quick Draw, a less laggy back aerial, and a quicker up aerial.
Ike ranks 25th out of 41 on the official tier list, at the top of the C tier, a marginal drop from his position as 23rd out of 38 on the Brawl tier list. On the Project+ , he is ranked 14th in the A tier, a significant improvement over his placement in either Brawl or Project M.
==Attributes==
As a swordsman, Ike has many long distance attacks with disjointed hitboxes. As a result of this advantageous attribute, he can carefully space between his opponents, while simultaneously dealing high knockback and damage. Ike is a heavyweight (being the heaviest swordsman, not including , who only uses his sword for his down taunt that he can attack with) with, as a result of his buffed mobility, a decent dash speed, an average air speed, and an average falling speed. Ike's attacks are among the most powerful in the game, especially his ground attacks, with many dealing immense knockback that can reliably KO around mid percentages, especially when sweetspotted, located at the middle of the sword's blade. His Eruption is an effective edgeguarder functioning similarly to 's Flare Blade, as it inflicts high vertical knockback when charged at any stage, OHKOing when fully charged and repelling the opponent at a semi-spike angle at a fast speed. 
Ike's recovery has been buffed from Brawl, as his Aether goes a bit further horizontally. Quick Draw has been improved as well. The move charges faster, can be cancelled, and even OHKOs if fully charged. The changes to these two moves give Ike several recovery options he did not have previously. 
Ike's greatest strength, however, is his jab attack. Arguably the best move in his arsenal, it possesses great reach, is fast, deals high damage, and can be jab canceled for quick setups. While the jab's power was nerfed from Brawl, it remains one of the most powerful jabs and is especially vital in Ike's metagame.
Ike's aerial game is above average. As with his ground attacks, his aerial arsenal consists of powerful attacks that possess great KO potential, even when not sweetspotted. Ike is capable of juggling characters, especially floaty characters (ie , , and ), with his up air. His back and forward aerials are effective horizontal finishers against light characters. Ike's down aerial, when sweetspotted, is a powerful spike that is capable of effectively KOing opponents around mid-high percentages, even when grounded. Even when not sweetspotted, the move is still a meteor smash, provided that Ike lands the clean hitbox, making it a strong finisher with decent utility regardless.
Ike's primary flaw lies in his very laggy attacks, especially his ground attacks. While these attacks are powerful, their slow speeds and long start and end lag render Ike vulnerable to many combo setups and punishes. His tall height is also considered a drawback, as it makes his hurtbox quite large and thus making him easy to hit and combo, which is compounded by his heavy weight. Additionally, while Ike has above average options for horizontal and vertical recovery, he lacks any diagonal means of getting back onto stages. Besides that, his existing recovery moves are arguably predictable and can easily be gimped.
==Changes from Brawl to PM==
Ike has been significantly buffed from the transition from Brawl to Project M. His ground speed has been increased and many of his attacks have decreased startup and ending lag greatly increasing his overall speed and making his attacks far less punishable. All of his aerials have greatly decreased ending lag and they can now all auto-cancel in a short hop which when combined with the introduction of L-canceling greatly improves their safety. The hilt of his sword is now stronger on all of his attacks giving his attacks more strength when used at close range.
Ike has also seen some nerfs. The most significant nerf he received was to his spacing ability. The tip of his sword is now weaker than the rest of his sword making many of his attacks weaker when spaced. This forces him to approach in order for him to effectively use his attacks which leaves him more vulnerable. Asides from this, his general KO potential has been decreased especially outside of the hilt of his sword and his jab is noticeably weaker and has less jab canceling potential (although it is still one of his best tools). Lastly, his aerials no longer have transcendent priority making it easier for his opponents to challenge his aerials.
Overall, Ike's weaknesses are far less detrimental than they used to be and he is overall a more effective character as a result.
===Attributes===
*
*
*
*
* 
*
*
*
*
*
*
===Ground Attacks===
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
===Aerial Attacks===
*
* 
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
===Throws/other attacks===
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
===Special Attacks===
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
==Changes from PM to P+==
==Revisions==
===v2.1===
*
*
===v2.5===
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
===v2.6===
*
*
*
===v2.6b===
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
===v3.0===
*
*
===v3.5===
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
===v3.6===
*
*
*
*
*
==Moveset==
Up to date as of version 3.6.
 	 	Name 	Damage 	Description
Neutral attack 	Neutral attack 	 	4% 	Ike throws out his left fist, kicks his right foot forward, then swings Ragnell down.
Neutral attack 	Neutral attack 	 	3% 	Ike throws out his left fist, kicks his right foot forward, then swings Ragnell down.
Neutral attack 	Neutral attack 	 	7% (blade mid), 5% (blade hilt), 5% (blade tip) 	Ike throws out his left fist, kicks his right foot forward, then swings Ragnell down.
Forward tilt 	Forward tilt 	 	15% (blade mid), 13% (blade hilt), 11% (blade tip) 	Leans forward and swings Ragnell horizontally forward. Has decent range, but with slight ending lag. This move can be angled up or down.
Up tilt 	Up tilt 	 	Clean: 14% (blade mid), 12% (blade hilt), 10% (blade tip)Late: 11% (blade mid), 10% (blade hilt), 8% (blade tip) 	Ike holds Ragnell out parallel to the ground and raises it to above his head in a bunny hop motion. A decent move to use as a punish to juggles at low percents and as a KO move at higher percentages. Ike's right arm is intangible while the hitboxes are active.
Down tilt 	Down tilt 	 	14% (blade mid), 12% (blade hilt), 10% (blade tip) 	Ike crouches and swings Ragnell horizontally across the ground. Can be interrupted fairly early and does good knockback at low-mid percentages. Connecting at the middle of Ike's sword meteor smashes opponents.
Dash attack 	Dash attack 	 	Clean: 14% (blade mid), 12% (blade hilt), 10% (blade tip)Late: 10% (blade mid), 9% (blade hilt), 7% (blade tip) 	Ike takes a step forward and swings Ragnell upward.
Forward smash 	Forward smash 	 	(blade mid), (blade hilt), (blade tip) 	Ike slowly heaves Ragnell over his head before striking with a heavy downwards slash.
Up smash 	Up smash 	 	(blade mid), (blade hilt), (blade tip) 	Ike holds Ragnell on his left hand before swinging it 180° over himself. Sends the opponent upward.
Down smash 	Down smash 	 	(blade mid), (blade hilt), (blade tip) 	Ike swings Ragnell forward on the ground, launching opponents behind him. If the attack button is pressed again, he will follow up with a back hit. Both hits can connect into each other at low percents.
Down smash 	Down smash 	 	(blade mid), (blade hilt), (blade tip) 	Ike swings Ragnell forward on the ground, launching opponents behind him. If the attack button is pressed again, he will follow up with a back hit. Both hits can connect into each other at low percents.
Neutral aerial 	Neutral aerial 	 	Clean: 14% (blade mid), 12% (blade hilt), 10% (blade tip)Late: 11% (blade mid), 10% (blade hilt), 8% (blade tip) 	Ike swings Ragnell in an arc below his body. The attack is shorter ranged than most of his aerials, but covers almost 360°. Sends opponents at an angle depending on Ragnell's position.
Forward aerial 	Forward aerial 	 	16% (blade close), 13% (blade mid & body), 10% (blade tip) 	A powerful, overhead swing downwards. Relatively fast and has high KO power, but has some startup, like most of Ike's aerials,
Back aerial 	Back aerial 	 	17% (blade mid), 15% (blade hilt), 12% (blade tip) 	Ike quickly swings Ragnell behind him with great reach. Works like most other back aerials, and is Ike's fastest aerial.
Up aerial 	Up aerial 	 	Clean: 15% (blade mid), 13% (blade hilt), 11% (blade tip)Late: 17% (blade mid), 15% (blade hilt), 12% (blade tip)	Ike slowly twirls Ragnell in a helicopter motion above his head. Useful for netting some vertical KOs.
Down aerial 	Down aerial 	 	Clean: 17% (blade mid), 14% (blade hilt), 12% (blade tip)Late: 10% (blade mid), 9% (blade hilt), 7% (blade tip) 	Ike performs a downward slash between his legs. Connecting with the center of the blade spikes opponents while connecting elsewhere (hilt and tip) is a meteor smash, provided all hits are clean.
Grab 	Grab 	 	— 	
Pummel 	Pummel 	 	3% 	Ike headbutts the opponent.
Forward throw 	Forward throw 	 	2% (hit 1), 4% (throw) 	Ike punts the enemy forward by kicking them. A good throw for starting combos.
Back throw 	Back throw 	 	2% (hit 1), 4% (throw) 	Ike throws the enemy behind him before quickly kicking them away.
Up throw 	Up throw 	 	2% (hit 1), 4% (throw) 	Ike plants Ragnell into the ground and uppercuts the enemy into the air. This throw can chain grab some fastfallers at low percents, but as it has very high knockback scaling, being virtually useless at mid-percents.
Down throw 	Down throw 	 	2% (hit 1), 4% (throw) 	Ike throws the opponent on the ground and stomps on them.
Floor attack (front)	Floor attack (front)	 	6% 	Gets up and slash both sides of himself.
Floor attack (back) 	Floor attack (back) 	 	6% 	Gets up while doing a rising spin slash.
Floor attack (trip) 	Floor attack (trip) 	 	5% 	Does circular swing while getting up.
Edge attack (fast) 	Edge attack (fast) 	 	8% 	Ike quickly leaps up and does an upward swing with Ragnell.
Edge attack (slow) 	Edge attack (slow) 	 	10% 	Ike slowly gets up and does a horizontal slash with Ragnell.
Neutral special 	Neutral special 	Eruption 	10-38%, 50% (fully charged) 	Ike holds Ragnell above his head before slamming it into the ground, creating a blue explosion. The damage of the explosion increases the longer the special button is held. At full charge, Ike produces a massive explosion that deals high damage and knockback, a one-hit KO on any character, but receives 10% recoil damage. If uncharged, there is an extremely small hitbox at the tip of the sword that can meteor smash opponents. Aesthetically, the move involves blue fire, which technically uses the aura effect as opposed to the flame effect. While this is mostly a purely cosmetic change to match Ike's origins more (as only gains any effect from aura attacks), it does mean it no longer interacts with Flame stickers, frozen characters, Blast Boxes, or Red Pikmin.
Side special 	Side special 	Quick Draw 	Normal: 7-12% (fully charged)Overcharged: 4% (flames), 23% (sword), 50% (OHKO) 	Ike readies himself into a stance and lunges forward when the special button gets released while charging. When the attack button is pressed while Ike is dashing, he will perform a horizontal slash. Charging this move increases the power and the distance Ike travels forward. The maximum charge can be heard with a ring, but it can also be overcharged. Overcharging will make Ike lunge forward, creating a trail of fire that damages anyone who come in Ike's path. If the attack button is pressed the moment Ike come in contact with an enemy, he will perform a powerful sword strike that gives the enemy massive freeze frames until Ike plants his sword on the ground and says "You're through!", which then launches the enemy upwards, being a one-hit KO. Ike can simply jump out of the dash by pressing the jump button, but only works if he is on the ground or if he goes off a ledge—in which then he will perform a midair jump. Using the move while airborne will cause Ike to become helpless.
Up special 	Up special 	Aether 	6% (hit 1), 2% (hits 2-6), 3% (hit 7), 6% (hit 8) 	Ike throws Ragnell upward, launching nearby fighters in the air. Ragnell spins in place, dealing several hits. Then, Ike jumps up and grabs Ragnell, followed by a downward slam. Any opponents caught at the start will be knocked up and any opponents caught during the downward slam will be meteor smashed.
Down special 	Down special 	Counter 	1.3x damage of countered move (min 10%) 	Ike holds up Ragnell in a reverse gripped parry position. If Ike is hit shortly after the move begins, he strikes back with his own swing.
Final Smash 	Final Smash 	Great Aether	5% (hit 1), 3% (hits 2-8), 2% (hits 9-10), 3% (hits 11-14), 5% (hits 15-16), 12% (hit 17) 	Ike performs a fiery upward slash with Ragnell. If he catches anyone, Ike throws Ragnell into the air along with the opponent, jumps after them, catches Ragnell, and unleashes a devastating combo of slashes and kicks before driving them down to the ground. The impact creates a massive explosion which launches the victims and any bystanders towards the upper blast line.
==In competitive play==
===Most historically significant players===
See also: :Category:Ike players (PM)
* - Ranked 1st on the Ontario Project M Power Rankings. Placed 7th at Frozen Phoenix 2017. Notable inactive on PMRank 2023.
* - The second best Ike player in the world; placed 2nd at We Tech Those 2; ranked 11th on PMRank 2018.
* - Formerly ranked 1st on the Colorado Project M Power Rankings. Placed 4th at Nemesis.
*-Placed 9th at Smash 'N' Splash 2. Ranked 5th on the Michigan Project M Power Rankings.
* - Placed 1st at The Big House 2, double eliminating , and placed 9th at Smash 'N' Splash 3 over 4 years later. Currently one of the best players in Illinois and ranked #22 on PMRank 2023.
* - The best Ike in the world. Ranked #17 on PMRank 2023.
* - Placed 5th at Frozen Phoenix 2017. Ranked 0th on the Alberta Project M Power Rankings.
==Alternate costumes==
===Project M===
Ike received a set of alternate costumes in 3.5. They are based on the armor worn by from Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade. 
					
					
					
The recolors of the Hector costume reference other characters in the Fire Emblem games who, like Hector, are heavily armored. Each of these characters is related to either Ike or Hector.
*Red (Hector): Based on , Ike's rival in his games.
*Green (Hector): Loosely based on , Hector's elder brother.
*Black (Hector): Based on the Black Knight, the sinister alter ego of Zelgius.
In all of its color schemes, the Hector costume also changes Ike's sword into its counterpart, . In both Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, Alondite is the weapon of choice of Zelgius/the Black Knight.
===Project+===
In Project+, Ike received another new set of alternate costumes based on his father, Greil. It has recolors inspired by characters in the Tellius series such as Titania, Shinon, and Zihark.
Secret costumes:
*Z-Secret Costume: A Lord Ike recolor that uses the colors of Ike's promotion in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.
*R-Secret Costume: Ike Climber (from PMDT's 2014 April Fools video).
==Gallery==
HectorArmor.jpg|Several of Ike's recolors, based on Hector.
==Trivia==
*Alongside and , Ike is one of the three characters whose down aerial is able to both meteor smash and spike. The spike hitbox has since been removed in V3.0.1 of P+.
*Ike's render in P+ emulates his render as depicted in official artwork for Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.
==External links==
*Ike's page at the Project M website
*Labbing Discord Tech Post
Category:Ike
Category:Characters (PM)