by: Luckman, Guest Contributor
Heya! I’m Luckman and I’m the author of this Sephiroth guide! I’ve trained around 30 Sephiroth bins since his release, while also analyzing the Sephiroth CPU before the release of his amiibo to get a better understanding of his AI. I’ve got multiple wins and top 8 placements with Sephiroth and maintain one of the highest rated Sephiroths on Amiibots vanilla and spirits (Big 5 Ban and Anything Goes)! This is my definitive guide on everything I’ve learned thus far. I’m using this document as a means to share my knowledge, in hopes that you can learn and implement some of it in your training!
Shoutouts to Azend_#6743, RAPJM#2073, and fammydamammy#3350 for working with me on pioneering this amiibo! (the sethiyop crew)
Training Methods
I’ve developed a few training methods, each with their different use cases. Please read below and pick the one that suits you best! Note that the general move sets taught will be similar; the main difference between methods is how you teach them.
- Classic Mode
- SOLDIER Training
- The JENOVA Project
Classic Mode
This method is your standard amiibo training method. It’s a 1V1, Sephiroth VS Sephiroth training. Select Sephiroth and train him using the moves listed in the “Moves to Use” section.
SOLDIER Training
This method is designed for those who don’t have the Sephiroth DLC character purchased. While it may seem odd, there are people who have the Sephiroth amiibo and have not purchased Sephiroth as a character in Smash. This method is for you! For this method I used Cloud, but you can really use any character similar to Cloud that you are comfortable with.
I also picked Cloud since his range is a lot shorter than Sephiroth’s. It can be tough to get in, but the short range forces you to stay really close to your amiibo during training, which can help balance aggression and defense and maintain a high Near value. Perfectly spacing attacks with long-ranged fighters or using projectiles cause the Near value to decrease. From my testing, having a high Near value seemed more optimal, since it allowed Sephiroth to get in and attack more instead of running back to space himself. This finding could change as the meta develops, but at the time of writing, this seems to be Sephiroth’s most optimal strategy.
The JENOVA Project
The JENOVA Project takes SOLDIER Training a step further. Like the JENOVA Project from Final Fantasy VII, it requires infusing your amiibo with training. Instead of using Cloud to train your Sephiroth amiibo, use a Cloud amiibo and train it as if it was a Sephiroth amiibo. You can also tweak it as you’d like later on Sephiroth once you see how Sephiroth performs with the infused training.
This method optimizes a couple areas; it has all the benefits of the SOLDIER Training method, but also ensures that your Up Special Air value remains close to or at 0 (if you don’t get hit by it). I’m still testing what causes this, but training with Sephiroth mysteriously causes his Up Special Air value to increase, even when you don’t get hit by it. Further research will investigate why this happens, but for now this method allows you to easily maintain a 0 value for this move.
Another benefit is the ability to easily manipulate your Charger value. Charger affects a few different moves and may be something you want to max or keep at 0 depending on what you’re going for. To my current knowledge and testing, Charger affects your Up Special (the ability to use Octaslash instead of Blade Dash), Side Special (the ability to charge Shadow flare from 1 to 3 orbs) and Neutral Special (the ability to charge Flare to Megaflare and Gigaflare). By training with Cloud, you can increase your Charger value by using Cloud’s Down Special (Limit Charge) without teaching Neutral, Up or Side Special.
Moves to Use
Now that you’ve selected your training style, here are the moves you’ll want to use in your training!
Moves in each category are roughly ordered from highest –> lowest priority
Neutral
- Forward Tilt
- Forward Smash
- Jab
- Grab
- Down Throw
- Up Throw
- Forward Throw (at ledge)
- Side Special (Shadow Flare)
- Dash Attack
Landing
- Back Air
- Down Air (from high up above the stage)
- Neutral Air
- Down Special (Scintilla) [Optional]
Anti Air
- Up Tilt
- Up Smash / Up Air
Offstage
- Forward Air (Returning to stage / Edgeguarding)
- Down Special (Scintilla) (Edgeguarding) [Optional]
Ledge
- Forward Tilt
- Forward Smash
- Up Tilt
- Grab
- Down Throw
- Forward Throw
*Note that Ledgetrapping and staying onstage is the current recommendation. The Edgeguarding section is included if you wish to edgeguard with your Sephiroth.*
If you’re curious to learn more about Sephiroth’s moves, I’ve included a detailed list on each of them. This goes over their viability, use cases and how to incorporate them in training.
Attacks
Jab: A 3-hit jab that connects well. If your amiibo has an Attack Cancel value, he may try to act out of Jab 1 > Jab 2 with another follow up (such as Up Tilt). It’s a good “get off me” move up close that can be used to create space.
Forward Tilt: One of the strongest neutral tools for Sephiroth. It can be angled up and down to catch jumping opponents as well as opponents recovering below ledge. It’s great as a ledge tool, where Sephiroth can endlessly spam and ledge guard opponents with it as the opponent attempts to return onstage.
Up Tilt: Another one of Sephiroth’s most used tools. It’s mainly used as an anti air, but can also be used up close sometimes to pop opponents in the air for juggling. Its sweet spot is at the tip of the blade, and it can KO really early. It’s great on Battlefield, where it can poke through the top-middle platform to secure KOs. If Sephiroth is standing on this platform and uses it up close against an opponent, it can allow for very early KOs. It’s quick, fast and is a two-part attack, which is great for the current meta.
Down Tilt: A good move, although outclassed by his other neutral moves. In addition, Sephiroth will use this move on his own, sometimes out of parry. So there’s no need to teach this move beyond what the AI knows. That being said, it’s still a decent option and can set up anti airs and aerials when it connects. It also has the ability to cross-up shields up close, which is useful in the right situations.
Dash Attack: A good burst option. You’ll want to use this sparingly, but it’s a great combo finisher and catches opponents pretty well. It’s strong and can KO opponents pretty well.
Grab: Sephiroth’s grab is good. He lacks some grab range, but he’s got good combos out of his grabs. Up Throw > Up Tilt and Down Throw > Back Air at low percentages, Down Throw > Forward Air at medium percentages. Forward Throw at ledge can also trigger Down Air or Down Special (Scintilla) at ledge.
*Note: you do not need to train the aerials out of the combo, just make sure to use them when landing.*
Like every character, Sephiroth has the option to pummel opponents while in his grab. It’s not very useful for amiibo due to its low damage output and the fact that amiibo can mash out of grabs frame-perfectly, so it’s best to stick to the throws.
Forward Smash: A good, strong finisher. Another great neutral tool, it’s got great range and kill power. With One-Wing, this attack gains super armor for the sword swing animation. You’ll want to use this move somewhat often in neutral.
Up Smash: Another great attack and anti air. It has a huge range and can cover multiple platforms. It’s a bit slow and misses a lot, but it’s great when it connects, so use it sparingly. With One-Wing, this attack is a deadly anti air option with super armor, which can hit through landing aerials. However, Up Tilt’s speed and consistency outclasses Up Smash as a main anti air option.
Down Smash: A niche option for Sephiroth. Amiibo tend to parry this move often. However, its shield breaking property makes it great for Raid Bosses. With One-Wing, this attack gains super armor. It can be used to poke at opponents offstage, but Forward Tilt outclasses it in this use case. Only use it if you plan to train a Raid Boss.
Specials
Neutral Special (Flare / Megaflare / Gigaflare): A very damaging projectile. Neutral Special at ledge is a hardcoded behavior which Sephiroth will use when taught to stay on stage and ledgetrap. Overall, it’s currently not a great option to use. It’s best to avoid the attack for now, as the amiibo will use it on its own regardless. If you’d like to learn more about each charge, I’ve included descriptions and use cases for each.
Flare has potential use as a projectile when uncharged due to its slow movement pattern, similar to King K. Rool’s Cannonball. This move can cause amiibo to be jumpy or jump right into it. The one thing that holds Flare’s usage back is its low priority. Almost any move can break through the attack easily. Flare’s slow release also makes it difficult to use against other faster projectile users that can spam attacks faster.
Megaflare has a similar issue to Flare, although its wider damage radius makes it a little more useful. Sephiroth tends to use this charge the most when he uses Neutral Special at ledge. He will also use it a lot when he lands a shield break. Most times amiibo will shield the initial hit, but the blast effect can cause them to get damaged if they react to the move by jumping. Still, its even slower startup means this move gets interrupted a lot if prioritized.
Gigaflare is probably the least used of Sephiroth’s Neutral Special usage. Even with a 100 Charger value, Sephiroth tends to release the charge right before Gigaflare, causing him to throw out Megaflares instead. He will sometimes land it after a shield break and even a few times at ledge, but it’s not common to see him fully charging and releasing Gigaflare. Gigaflare is the most damaging of the three charges and can KO opponents at very low percentages. However, the charge leaves Sephiroth very vulnerable to attacks and cannot be stored like Samus’s Charge Shot. While the damage and KO power are good on paper, it rarely gets utilized, so it’s best to avoid Neutral Special altogether and let the AI use it when it decides to.
https://clips.twitch.tv/EnthusiasticRelievedSowTheRinger-7vmbH7U8ISposBa_
Side Special (Shadow Flare): One of Sephiroth’s most underrated tools in amiibo. This move can attach a Shadow Orb to the opponent when used. With a full charge, you can unleash up to three Orbs on an opponent, and as much as five Orbs. Orbs can also hit multiple opponents while circling around the opponent it’s attached to. They can pass through projectiles and other moves as well, which is a useful property. In amiibo, Shadow Flare can cause a lot of havoc. From netting early blast zone kills, to setting up shield breaks, or even interrupting ledgetrapping, this move really punches above its weight in utility. If the Orbs attack the opponent while offstage, they can lead to early KOs by gimping the opponent in situations they would normally have been able to recover. [8] It sets up an edgeguard with no risk of going offstage. Even if shielded, the Orbs do shield damage, which can lead to shield breaks, especially if Sephiroth is following up with an attack as the Orbs connect. [9] That being said, amiibo pick up on Shadow Flare very quickly, so you’ll want to save this move until the end of your training and teach it a few times during your final stocks.
https://clips.twitch.tv/EnthusiasticRelievedSowTheRinger-7vmbH7U8ISposBa_
An example of Shadow Flare KOing an opponent offstage at an early damage percentage. [8]
https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkx1KrRVOW8qmHU6QrGAoZ4fRHGW2kh50Og
An example of Shadow Flare applying shield pressure for a shield break. [9]
Up Special (Blade Dash / Octaslash): A decent move in Sephiroth’s kit, but underutilized due to training restrictions. When taught, he will use the move as a landing option, which can leave Sephiroth vulnerable to free fall. His other aerials outclass this move as a landing option in damage, safety and killpower, so it’s best to avoid this move in training.
Blade Dash itself is a passable move in amiibo. Sephiroth uses it on his own, sometimes out of parries. It can cross-up opponents, allowing him to retreat to a safe distance while still attacking. It also pops opponents up into the air, which can be used for anti air / juggling follow ups. That being said, the move is outclassed by his stronger neutral tools like Forward Tilt and Forward Smash due to damage, killpower and consistency.
Octaslash is a great move, but it has a few issues. At the current point of research, there has been no noticeable way to increase the use of Octaslash. Even with a 100 Charger value, it seems like Sephiroth sticks to using a lot of Blade Dash. On top of this, the move gets shielded sometimes, leaving Sephiroth open for a punish. For some reason, teaching Octaslash in training only increases the Up Special Air value, not the Up Special value, meaning he will use the move as a landing option instead. As new discoveries are made and maybe grounded Octaslash was found to be teachable, this would be a viable grounded option to mix in your neutral.
Down Special (Scintilla): This move can be used as a niche option for landing and at ledge. The AI is also capable of using it offstage when returning to stage or edgeguarding. It’s optional, since Sephiroth’s other moves are more consistent in the situations Scintilla is used in. With that said, it’s a nice way to spice up the gameplay and can KO very early when countering attacks near ledge.
Aerials
Neutral Aerial: A great combo tool and landing aerial for Sephiroth. However, like a lot of Neutral Aerials in amiibo, it can be overused by the AI. It’s got great combo potential into itself and other aerials. Try to teach it a couple times throughout the training, since the AI will tend to use it a lot on its own anyway.
Forward Aerial: A good poking tool when returning back to stage. Forward Aerial has the property to stick to flat surfaces, allowing for recovery mix-ups. While the wall cling isn’t very useful in amiibo, it can be a good mix-up for Raid Bosses. Its very narrow hitbox causes it to miss when landing, so try to use this only when offstage.
Back Aerial: One of Sephiroth’s best landing tools. Its range and killpower allow Sephiroth to land in most situations, while also allowing him to use the move out of grabs like Down Throw to kill opponents at early percentages. Use this as your main landing move.
Up Aerial: A great aerial and anti air option for Sephiroth. Its huge range allows it to catch opponents in a wide radius. It has the potential to juggle but is not as consistent as other amiibo. Up Air’s main appeal is its KO potential. Paired with One-Wing, this move can catch amiibo easily and KO them near the top blast zones.
Down Aerial: A decent landing option for Sephiroth. It has great range and can poke through platforms and stages. By teaching Forward Throw at ledge, Sephiroth can Down Air at ledge, which allows him to spike opponents returning to stage. It has a narrow horizontal hitbox and causes Sephiroth to stall in the air as he falls, so use it above the stage when very high up.
Unique Traits
Sweet Spot Mechanic
Sephiroth has a few unique traits that distinguish him from other fighters. The first property is his sweet spot mechanic. Sephiroth’s sword attacks all have a sweet spot around the middle of the blade (as shown in the image below). Ideally, Sephiroth should space his attacks within this range. However, amiibo don’t exactly know the precise spacing of moves and will generally use a move if it’s within range. Don’t worry about spacing your attacks to “teach” him to space; this is more just general information.
The sweet spot of Sephiroth’s Forward Tilt attack is the center (dark red) polygon area. [3]
Stick to Surfaces
Sephiroth also has the unique ability to stick to surfaces using his Forward Aerial. If close enough to a wall, he can stab it with Forward Air and hang on for a few seconds, before choosing to jump, fall, or freefall from this state. He can only stick three times without touching the ground, after this he must either land on the ground or his sword will not stick to the surface. In amiibo, the AI can use this on occasion, but it’s not particularly useful (in amiibo VS amiibo). Most times in the current meta with Omega / Battlefield stages, he will cling to the stage and hang momentarily. Some fighters can freely punish him for this. For amiibo VS players (like a Raid Boss), this could be used as a fun mix-up option to throw off the opponent.
Sephiroth’s “Wall Cling.” [7]
Scintilla
Unlike other counters, Sephiroth’s Scintilla (Down Special) has a hitbox if the counter is not triggered, meaning it can still be useful as an attack up close. This move only has a trigger hitbox in front of Sephiroth, so an attack that hits behind / around Sephiroth will not activate the counter and cause him to get punished. In addition, the Scintilla can only absorb up to 25% damage before shattering, which puts Sephiroth in a “staggered” state. [10] Scintilla is only a counter, not a reflector, meaning it cannot reflect or absorb projectiles. It also counts as a projectile itself, meaning it can be reflected and absorbed. [10] To make up for this property, Scintilla is one of the strongest counters in the game.
One-Wing Mechanic
The fourth and key-defining feature of Sephiroth is his One-Wing mechanic. One-Wing is activated when Sephiroth is in a disadvantage state. This state is not clearly defined, but having more damage and less stocks than the opponent are two ways to increase this “disadvantage state.” The further in disadvantage Sephiroth is, the faster his wing will activate. For example, if Sephiroth is three-stocking an opponent, his wing will activate at around 110%, whereas being almost three stocks behind allows One-Wing to activate as low as 30%. The exact data is included below for reference. [4]
Disadvantage calculations for Sephiroth’s One-Wing Mechanic. [4]
One-Wing state has a few special properties that make Sephiroth even stronger. The first is the addition of super armor on his Smash attacks. During the release animations of each Smash attack, super armor is added on. This property allows Sephiroth to mow through opponent attacks. In amiibo, Sephiroth is able to muscle through some attacks at ledge (when the opponent is offstage recovering) or landing attacks from an opponent. He can also break through neutral with super armor. [5]
https://clips.twitch.tv/PrettySmallKaleDuDudu-Jm6ZCITePSkBPTKa
An example of Sephiroth using One-Wing super armor to break through an attack. [5]
Another property of One-Wing is the damage and speed increase he receives. One-Wing gives a 1.3x damage multiplier to all attacks (excluding Final Smash and items) and multiple different speed increases as shown below. [4]
Multiplier values for mobility when One-Wing is active. [4]
In addition to all these bonuses, Sephiroth also receives an additional midair jump. This bonus is very useful for recovery purposes, but the AI fails to capitalize on the utility of this move and seems to waste the extra jump on positioning to recover at a specific angle to the ledge.
Like all good things, One-Wing comes to an end. This happens when either of the conditions are met:
- Sephiroth loses his stock
- Sephiroth’s disadvantage is calculated as 0
Disadvantage calculations are based on a point system. Points are awarded based on percent difference and activation percent. The points attributed can be found in the table above this table under “Formula.” Points are subtracted each time Sephiroth deals damage. The damage is multiplied by 0.3x, and then subtracted from the total. Once the total points are less than or equal to 0, One-Wing deactivates. [4]
In amiibo, a majority of Sephiroth’s One-Wing deactivations are due to the first condition. Sephiroth is a featherweight and one of the lightest fighters in the game. He can be KOed very easily at ledge, sometimes around 40-60% to an uncharged Smash attack. Additionally, the AI’s inability to effectively use the additional midair jump and the fact that Sephiroth prioritizes tilts over Smash attacks in the current training meta, Sephiroth doesn’t get to fully use One-Wing to its full potential. Perhaps this will change as the meta develops and new discoveries are made.
Knowledge of the One-Wing mechanic also comes into play with Spirits. Generally, health-restoring spirits like Critical Healing & Metal or Autoheal / Great Autoheal are considered some of the best Spirits in the game (usually included in the top 5 or 7 banned spirits). While they still work well on Sephiroth, they don’t fully optimize One-Wing’s potential. The reason is because healing reduces the magnitude of Sephiroth’s disadvantage state (remember one of the factors disadvantage is calculated by is damage percentage difference). As Sephiroth heals, the percentage difference between him and the opponent is reduced. If he heals enough while doing enough damage, One-Wing will disappear a lot faster. While it’s not the end of the world, it’ll greatly reduce the amount of time Sephiroth can use the Wing mechanic.
Final Smash
Sephiroth’s Final Smash (Supernova) has a unique property compared to other cutscene Final Smashes. The Final Smash can catch up to three fighters and inflicts a random status effect on each opponent on top of dealing around 32% in damage.
Sephiroth activating his Final Smash, Supernova [1]
The following status effects have a random chance of being applied: [2]
- Sleep (8.67 -22 seconds)
- Poison (Flower) (6.67 – 30 seconds)
- Reversed Controls (6.67 – 25 seconds)
- Shield Break (stunned for 6.67 – 20 seconds if not hit)
- Slowness (6.67 – 25 seconds)
- Launched Extra Distance + Darkness Effect
*Note that shield breaks can only occur if the opponent was onstage or above the stage when the Final Smash was triggered.* [2]
Spirits
If you’d like to juice up your amiibo with spirits, I’ve compiled a short list of some solid spirit setups for Sephiroth. As I test more setups, this list will grow. As for Att / Def stats, a 2100 / 2100 even spread will work nicely. However, a more defensive build like 2000 / 2200 or 1800 / 2400 will work well due to Sephiroth’s featherweight status. For Raid Bosses, a slightly more offensive build could work, like 2200 / 2000 or even 2300 / 1900. For now, these setups have been viable:
Spirits (Big 5 Ban)
- Weapon Attack ^ + Weapon Attack ^ + Air Defense
- Weapon Attack ^ + Weapon Attack & Move Speed ^
- Weapon Attack & Move Speed ^^
- Weapon Attack ^ + Critical Healing & Metal
- Weapon Attack ^ + Critical Immunity
- Weapon Attack ^ + Shield Damage ^ + Air Defense
Spirits (Anything Goes)
- Weapon Attack ^ + Armor Knight
- Trade-Off Ability ^ + Armor Knight
- Weapon Attack ^ + Slow Super Armor
- Trade-Off Ability + Slow Super Armor
- Super Armor
- All Spirits B5B Setups
Raid Boss
- All Spirits B5B Setups
- All Spirits AG Setups
- Weapon Attack ^ + Instadrop
- Metal & Giant
- Giant + Transformation Duration ^ / Weapon Attack ^
- Weapon Attack ^ + Trade-Off Ability (Attack for full offense)
- Weapon Attack ^ + Magic Attack ^ + Fire & Explosion ^ (For a Neutral Special focused build)
Miscellaneous
- Trade-Off Attack + Trade-Off Defense + Trade-Off Ability (Automatic One-Wing)
- Weapon Attack ^ / Hyper Smash Attacks + Unflinching Charged Smash Attacks (for a heavy charging Smash Attack Build)
Miscellaneous builds include setups that are not necessarily viable competitively, but can still be fun to play around with!
As mentioned in the Unique Traits section under “One-Wing Mechanic,” Spirits that heal Sephiroth will reduce the amount of time One-Wing can be active for. This is something to keep in mind if you have a build that’s designed to use One-Wing to its fullest potential. While you gain the ability to heal damage, you also underutilize the insane damage multipliers and comeback features One-Wing offers.
Using the reverse of this logic, you can also automatically trigger One-Wing at the start of battle by giving Sephiroth three Trade-Off Spirits. My personal recommendation is listed above in the “Miscellaneous” category. I chose Ability, Attack and Defense since I believe it provides the best balance of Offense and Defense.
Sephiroth’s uncharacteristic featherweight also means any “critical” triggering Spirits may not trigger if he’s KOed too early. It’s recommended to add some defense to him if you’re looking to use these Spirits, to ensure survivability up to those percentages.
How to Train the Sephiroth Amiibo in Smash Ultimate
If you’re having a bit of trouble or you’d like a more practical representation of training, follow these tips and tricks!
- Use Forward Tilt as your main tool in neutral
- Try to get in close and teach him moves up close as much as possible
- Use a 50 / 20 / 20 / 10 split of Forward Tilt / Forward Smash / Grab / Up Tilt
- You can use a bit of Up Tilt up close to initiate juggling (since the move has two parts, the first scoops the opponent right in front of Sephiroth)
- Be very careful with Side B (Shadow Flare) as it can be spammed easily and will give issues KOing; use it a few times from a distance in your final match only
Conclusion and Final Thoughts
So, you’ve made it to the end of the guide! Don’t worry if you feel overwhelmed reading it for the first time. This is an accumulation of months of research and testing. It’s taken me since Sephiroth’s release as a character in Smash to put this all together! I hope this guide has helped deepen your understanding of the Sephiroth amiibo and his AI. If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate and reach out to me on Discord at luckman, formerly Luckman#6859.
Sources
[6]
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMqOsFqC_iQ
[2] https://www.ssbwiki.com/Supernova
[3] https://ultimateframedata.com/sephiroth
[4] https://www.ssbwiki.com/Winged_Form
[5] https://clips.twitch.tv/PrettySmallKaleDuDudu-Jm6ZCITePSkBPTKa
[6] https://twitter.com/sephirothsdoll/status/1602515700421197825
[8] https://clips.twitch.tv/EnthusiasticRelievedSowTheRinger-7vmbH7U8ISposBa_
[9] https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkx1KrRVOW8qmHU6QrGAoZ4fRHGW2kh50Og [10] https://www.ssbwiki.com/Sephiroth_(SSBU)
Amiibo Doctor 