Smash Bros Ultimate: How to Play Hero (Moves, Strengths, Weaknesses, Strategies)

The second set of DLC characters for Smash Bros Ultimate finally brings the Dragon Quest franchise to the fighting game, adding the hero from Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age. Here’s how to play hero (Moves, Strengths, Weaknesses, Strategies) in Smash Bros Ultimate.

Of course, one of the character’s coolest features is that his alternate colors are actually heroes from past Dragon Quest games, but with a complex new character, you’re probably wanting a bit of help learning how to play him.

How to Play Hero (Moves, Strengths, Weaknesses, Strategies) in Smash Bros Ultimate

Attacks and Special Moves

Hero is yet another sword fighter in Smash Bros Ultimate, but his special moves really separate him from the rest of the roster. All of his special moves are themed around an MP gauge, with each one taking a bit of that gauge away.

Before we get to special moves, however, let’s talk about Hero’s basic attacks. The Hero’s smash attacks have a 1/8 chance to cause a critical hit, again referencing the turn-based combat of the series. This means that you should be focusing on using smash attacks, as they can cause the maximum damage.

All of Hero’s basic attacks have a good amount of range behind them, so he’s a good character to play at medium range. Now let’s dive into special moves.

Neutral Special – Frizz/Frizzle/Kafrizzle – Charges up a long-range fireball that shoots straight ahead. There are three levels of charge and, like Samus’ energy ball, you can stop and start charging it. Damage is 9%, 18%, and 31% accordingly.

Up Special – Woosh/Swoosh/Kaswoosh – Creates a whirlwind underneath the hero that launches him upward, can be charged twice for greater effect. The whirlwind will also shoot away enemies that hit it.

Side Special – Zap/Zapple/Kazap – Shoots an electric bolt from the Hero’s sword, and can also be charged twice. The third charge, Kazap, has super armor and can’t be interrupted, having the hero hit enemies with a bolt and then swing his sword in both directions around him.

Down Special – Command Selection – Brings up a JRPG-style menu with commands to choose from. Each command has a different effect/attack, and there are a ton of options that will be selected from randomly. If you cancel out of the menu and use it again, the command list will reload with new options. Below you can find the whole list.

• Ooomph – Temporarily boosts the Hero’s attack power, but slightly reduces his defense.
• Snooze – Sends a projectile forward that puts enemies to sleep. Can even be used against aerial enemies.
• Bounce – Gives the Hero a barrier that reflects projectiles.
• Flame Slash – A forward slash with a flame effect.
• Kackracle Slash – A forward slash that can freeze enemies.
• Kaclang – Covers the hero in metal and locks him in place unable to move. However, during this time he won’t take any damage or be knocked back.
• Zoom – The Hero flies up from anywhere on the stage and is able to land on the stage again. If he hits a ceiling the moves is interrupted.
• Kamikaze – The Hero self-destructs causing massive damage in a small radius, but also killing him in the process.
• Sizz – A flame projectile that shoots forward.
• Sizzle – A larger flame projectile that shoots forward and up from the ground.
• Psyche Up – Dramatically increases the knockback effect on the Hero’s next attack.
• Heal – Heals a small percentage of the Hero’s HP.
• Acceleratle – Temporarily buffs the Hero’s speed, but makes him easier to knockback.
• Bang – A small projectile that shoots forward then explodes.
• Kaboom – A larger version of Bang that causes more damage.
• Hatchet Man – A strong physical slash that zooms in during the strike.
• Whack/Thwack – A sword slice that has the chance to instantly KO an enemy. The chance goes up the more damage an enemy has.
• Metal Slash – Instantly KOs any metal opponent, but does a measly 1% damage to anyone else.
• Hocus Pocus – A spell that adds random effects that can be good or bad.
•  Magic Burst – Expends all the Hero’s MP to launch a massive blast in a radius that hits multiple times. The spell is stronger the more HP you have.

Hero’s Strengths and Weaknesses in Smash Bros Ultimate

Strengths 

• Has more unique moves than any character in the game.
• Medium range with his sword gives him an advantage over close-range characters.
• Special moves can cause a ton of damage.
• 1/8 critical chance makes Hero very dangerous against characters with high damage.
• Can use Heal to heal himself, and doesn’t have to get items.
• Has fantastic recovery.

Weaknesses

• Special moves all use MP, meaning they’re totally useless once you’re out of MP. MP does restore, however, at about 1 MP per second.
• Hero is fairly easy to launch, as he’s not that heavy.
• Can’t recover if you’re out of MP

Hero Strategies and Tips

Like we said before, playing as the Hero is entirely focused on using special abilities. He’s a fine, if not exceptional character, in all of his other moves, but specials are what really make him unique.

Frizz and Zap are both super useful abilities that you can use to cause serious damage to enemies, and the fully charged versions have good launching power as well.

The Hero’s biggest strength, though, is the unpredictability of his down special. Because there are so many different moves to use, it can be hard for opponents to really predict what you’re going to use.

Of course, at the same time, it can be hard for yourself to predict what you want to use too, as the special menu is random each time you use it.

Still, it’s a good idea to get some practice in with Hero and learn how each and every special move works, so you can adapt on the fly and use whatever you might have access to.

Even with such powerful moves, it’s a good idea to pace yourself and not blow through the Hero’s MP in one go, as it will leave you at a severe disadvantage. MP does recover, but make sure to save at least a little bit so you can use Swoosh to recover when knocked off the stage.

Speaking of Swoosh, the move is also a great way to do some edge guarding. When an opponent is recovering, if you time the move right you can drop a whirlwind just before they’re able to grab the edge, catapulting them downward to certain death.

The Hero’s Final Smash is also super powerful and quite easy to grab more than one enemy in. He slashes in an arc upward to start the Final Smash, so just try to get close to multiple enemies before you launch into it.

As a final tip, the Hero’s shield can also deflect incoming projectiles, just like Link’s can, so try and keep that in mind while playing as well.

That’s everything you need to know about how to play hero (Moves, Strengths, Weaknesses, Strategies) in Smash Bros Ultimate. For even more tips and help you can take a look at our Smash Bros Ultimate guide wiki. 

We also have a bunch of other how to play characters guides, like how to play Inkling, Incineroar, and Joker.