Brawl+ Character Guide

~- Lucas+ -~

~- Overview -~
Say goodbye to the Lucas you knew in Brawl, and hello to the Lucas you're going to get to know in Plus. Due to the change in physics, Lucas has become less of a floaty character (though still very capable of aerial mindgames and performance), and more of a speed driven powerhouse. The faster fall times give you less chance to perform specials and aerials, but at the same time, they allow you to work your aerials into your game in a way nearly impossible in Brawl. On the ground, Lucas has gained running speed, but at the same time, suffered in a few departments, while being enhanced in others. He is still an all around fighter with devastating specials, but in Plus, it's about how you use your moves in harmony with one another.

~- Normal Attacks -~
Lucas' normal attacks have stayed relatively true to the original for the most part, and to the untrained eye, look and function exactly the same. However, for anyone expecting to succeed as Lucas, these changes have to become apparent.

Firstly, the dash attack, the simplest of all attacks outside of the normal A combo. In Brawl, Lucas' dash attack was slightly more powerful than you would expect out of something as quick as it was. It came bundled with reasonable knockback, good damage output, and for the most part, little chance for your opponent to punish you upon a successful hit. In Plus, Lucas' dash attack has lost almost all of its knockback, yet kept the same damage. Instead of being a quick and easy move to push your opponent around, it's become a great combo starter, yet at the same time, a prepared opponent will be able to take advantage of its ending lag, which has been reduced by a few fractions of a second. As with all moves, it's all about timing and knowing when to use it.

The second move that has received major changes is Lucas' Up Smash. It's known by many names, and according to some, can cure cancer. Plus has not at all changed these two facts, and has instead made the attack even greater than it was before. Once again, it's a barely noticeable change to anyone unfamiliar with Lucas, but to Lucas mains and people who find themselves often against a good Lucas, it's almost as obvious as Final Destination being a likable stage. To begin, the ending lag has changed an almost insignificant amount, and by almost insignificant, I mean completely insignificant. Missing with this attack is still a bad idea, and if it weren't, this would be called "Super Noob Bros Brawl", not "Brawl+". However, the beginning lag has been greatly diminished, leading to a faster executed attack, and speed in performing the move is what it's all about. It kept the same amount of damage and knockback, if not gaining a bit of knockback in the transition. A slight hint for anyone who may have never noticed in Melee, this attack actually hits twice if done close enough to an opponent, and as such, can cancel Peach's Toad counter. It is, unfortunately, unable to cancel Marth and Ike's counter, or Lucario's Double Image.

What would Lucas be without his forward smash? The answer? Nothing. He wouldn't have even made it past Chapter 4 of his own game without that stick, and he most certainly wouldn't be able to take care of as much business as he does in Smash. But is there even a way that the stick could be made better? It was fast, strong, and had one of the longest hitboxes in the game. Of course you can't make it better, so the next best thing that can be done is to make it slightly worse. That's not to say at all, however, that the stick has become useless, not by any means. It retains almost exactly the same amount of knockback and damage, but its hitbox has been decreased to reflect the size of the stick. Strangely enough, the stick's hitbox still appears behind Lucas in most of the frames, so you can still hit someone who is standing directly behind you, perhaps trying to roll around you for an easy hit.

The up tilt. Two words describe Lucas' new uptilt: Combo Nation. Any time that you can catch your opponent in the uptilt, take full advantage of it. At 0%, the small amount of knockback and relatively fair amount of hitstun will keep your opponent locked up at least to +/-40%, and if you're facing someone stupid, 65%. Most characters with a quick uptilt like this will find themselves able to do this, but since Lucas' hits twice (like many of his other moves), it gets the job done in less time.

~- Specials -~
Lucas' specials, though only two can truly be called viable for offense, have received a major buff, and when your character revolves around having projectiles to spam occasionally, this is a great thing.

First off, everyone's favorite WMD, PK Fire. The beginning and ending lag have been almost completely removed, making PK Fire pretty much a semiautomatic gun. With good timing, PK Fire can be spammed from the ledge to offstage to completely deny recoveries, and like the uptilt, can be one hell of a combo. As with the original PK Fire, the knockback isn't all too great at low percentages, so juggling an unprepared opponent across the stage is a viable option. As long as you're within PK Fire range, you'll be able to rack up damage to 50-60% in no time.
Protip: The ZapJump and WaveBounce are still very possible to do, and perhaps even easier now than before because of how fast PK Fire is fired. It could even be possible to Wavebounce a second time, given that you could fire PK Fire again before you have a chance to hit the ground. I have not personally tested this, so I have no idea if it's possible.

PK Thunder has seen a fair share of changes too, none too great, but none too insignificant, either. It still works to turn Lucas into a human missile, and that part of the attack has seen almost no changes, if any. PK Thunder itself, however, has been buffed up quite a bit. For starters, I think it lasts longer than 3 seconds now, which is quite an improvement, though I could be (and probably am) wrong about this. What I can be certain of is that the knockback of PK Thunder itself has been increased dramatically, and is now capable of easily KOing an opponent who found themselves off the side of the stage.

PSI Magnet has seen no real changes, and is still a great defensive and mindgame tool.

PK Freeze still sucks. Its use is completely situational and should only be used when you're extremely sure you're going to make contact with someone.

~- Changelog -~
Since Brawl+ isn't gold yet, many characters could easily change from build to build, and as such, a changelog is pretty much required. If I do come in and change anything, I'll make sure to list it here, and for what build I've changed things to. I will keep the older build's information intact, so that anyone who enjoys that build more than another can easily find what they're looking for.