Following on from the release of version 3.0 and the addition of the Joker to Super Smash Bros Ultimate, Nintendo have given the playing public a chance to see exactly what has been tweaked and balanced in the latest update, too. The current trend is for publishers to release detailed notes on balance changes, and while some of the language in the notes is vague the Japanese giant has followed along.

With the release of Joker and his Gun in mind, the most significant change may be the sweeping alteration to projectile shield damage, with a massive number of characters having that reduced in the latest notes. Exceptions do exist, with Diddy Kong’s Peanut Gun being buffed instead, but it seems Nintendo feel that shields were a little weak vs projectiles and have moved to remedy that.

3.0 error messages

Players were having a lot of fun using the new character, with TSM’s Leffen tweeting that he may even main Joker, but not all was rosy with his release. There are currently multiple reports on social media that if you finish a single player game with Joker’s ‘All-Out Attack’, or Final Smash move, it will soft-lock your console, which is annoying to say the least. There were also plenty of users reporting 3.0 errors, trouble downloading the update and problems accessing Nintendo servers.

Nintendo helps you use protection

In terms of global changes, Nintendo listed three, although the exact wording makes it tough to know the exact nature of the changes. It seems as though defensive options were the main focus of the update, with two of the three ‘All Fighters’ changes relating to shields, and the third spot dodging, but the company has given with one hand and taken away with the other.

Shields will no longer parry multi-hit moves when the inputs are only registered once, which obviously should make them worse, but the facts projectiles have been made weaker combined with the reduction of downtime when parrying a projectile is actually a big buff for the whole ‘parrying’ mechanic. Unfortunately there doesn’t appear to have been any improvement to the online services, so your timing will still count for little when lag and latency are factored in, but it’s the thought that counts.

You can check the full patch notes above of course, but some characters seem to have received more love than others, including the likes of Corrin, Kirby and Mewtwo. In a slightly strange move, Nintendo have also removed some of the differences between Peach and Daisy, which theoretically reduces the amount of variety in the game, and means the latter is essentially just another set of skins for the former.