Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Patch 4.0 Breakdown: The Hero Arrives
Nintendo surprised everyone by releasing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate patch 4.0 today on all Nintendo Switch copies of the game around the world. If you are reading this right now, you can go ahead and download the update for your game and enjoy everything that it has to offer.
The patch was officially unveiled and released at the same time during the mini video presentation Direct that was shown off today. The video presentation was mainly for the new DLC character (more on him in a bit) but it also made a point to reveal new details about the latest patch.
In addition to revealing new info about what the patch contains, it also revealed that the patch is available today, Tuesday, July 30 and everyone can begin installing it now. With the update, comes some massive changes and additions to the game, making it easily the biggest one yet beyond the initial day one patch.
For starters, there is a brand new character for players to play as, new online functionality for players to enjoy, other content additions, changes, and more. We’ve got all of the important details that you need to know about this latest update. Without further ado, let’s take a look at all of the changes in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate patch 4.0.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Patch 4.0: Dragon Quest Hero Arrives
By far, the biggest addition and the most exciting one is the addition of the second paid DLC character ever for the game as part of the season pass. The game launched well over six months ago and still we only had one new character added from the season pass during that time.
That character was Joker from Persona 5 and it has since been several months since his release as well. Thankfully, that all changes today as the Hero from the Dragon Quest series is now available for all versions of the game around the world. If you own the season pass for the game, you can download and have him right now.
If you don’t own the season pass, you won’t be able to enjoy playing as this unique Hero until you do. The season pass is available in the Nintendo eShop and includes all five of the DLC characters as they are released for a discounted price. There is an alternate option when it comes to getting him, though.
If you just want to have the Hero as a DLC character and don’t care too much about the other four or so DLC characters that are going to be releasing for the game soon, you can purchase him separately as well in the eShop. It is worth noting, though, that purchasing him this way does cost more money than if you were to buy the whole season pass so only do this if you don’t want all of the characters.
The Hero from the Dragon Quest series works rather differently than other characters in the game thus far, in fact, he’s incredibly unique in a similar way when he released. Other characters in the game have eight skins that you can choose from and Hero does, too, but his work a little bit uniquely.
For starters, four of the skins aren’t just color swaps but entirely different characters from the series. Instead of just including one protagonist from the series in this game, Nintendo and Square Enix opted to include four of them. They are the heroes of four respective games including the upcoming Switch title Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age.
Then each of the four heroes has one alternate costume that you can pick for them, and these aren’t throw away skins either. All four of the alternate costumes are based on another character from the series. As of right now, it doesn’t seem like there’s any gameplay difference between the four different heroes.
But the Hero himself does play differently than anyone else to date. His main weapon is a sword and his combos seem to be like those of other sword fighters including Link and Lucina. He also carries a shield that is used when you hold down the R button to block.
The shield is able to block incoming projectiles and keep the player safe. For the most part, his basic attack combo and shield are largely similar to what we know. But what makes the Hero stand apart is the fact that he has an actual MP gauge that you have to manage and the most moves out of any character period.
Like in the traditional JRPGs that the Hero hails from, you have an MP gauge that maxes out at 100. Your special attacks are mostly magic spells that consume varying points of the MP gauge and requires time for MP to recharge. There are spells like fire ones that deal damage from afar.
There are also spells like electric ones that will zap enemies and one final spell that is also your recovery. Interestingly enough, all three of these special abilities (including your recovery spell) are able to be charged for stronger use and more MP cost. You can even charge them up and save them for using instantly later.
The final special ability that Hero has is a crazy one. If you use your down and B attack, a traditional turn-based menu will appear on your character’s icon. On it, will be four random spells pulled from the massive list of abilities that the Hero has available to him.
There are a ton of abilities that can randomly appear on the menu and it’s always randomized. Though there is some RNG factored into this DLC character, the spells are mostly useful all around. There’s a spell that turns you into a metal statue that is invincible for a bit of time.
There’s even a spell that counters that one in case you are fighting another Hero and lets you instantly KO the metal character no matter what their damage is at currently. There are spells that will put your enemies to sleep, slow you down, speed you up, create a massive explosion, and more.
One spell even allows you to kill yourself to set off a huge explosion all around you. There is a lot of versatility to the Hero that will give players plenty of depth to experience and figure out. Given how complex he can be, be sure to check back here in the future for a full in-depth guide on how to use him in the near future.
But the release of Hero isn’t the only thing that arrived as part of the season pass today. Like with the other four DLC characters that are coming with the season pass is a new stage for players to play on, both offline and online. The new playable stage is the Yggdrasil’s Altar map that is from the Dragon Quest series.
The new stage, Yggdrasil’s Altar
It is, specifically, from the upcoming Switch release of Dragon Quest XI S. It is based on the world of that game and actually has the players on the map travel around a vast portion of the land with its locations and large, central tree visible throughout the stage.
The stage is mostly a floating platform that moves around the world with smaller, additional platforms that appear during the match randomly. There is even the possibility of finding chests on the platforms that, when opened, give out items for the player or potentially traps.
With a new character and stage, that means there is new music for players to check out, too. Though the stage is only focusing on the latest game in the long-running JRPG series, the new music features tracks for the games respective to each of the four protagonists that you can play as with the Hero.
There are also some new Mii Fighter costumes that are available based on the series and its characters. Unfortunately, these costumes aren’t part of the season pass, though, so you will need to buy them separately in the Nintendo eShop if you want to equip them on your Mii in the game.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Patch 4.0: Replays Made Incompatible
Not all of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate patch 4.0 news is positive, though. The release of this update makes any replays in the game that were made prior to the previous version 3.1.0 incompatible moving forward. If you have important replays you don’t want to lose, don’t update the game just yet.
You will want to open up the game now and head to the Vault. From there, you will want to select the replays and find the replay data. Then you will want to convert the replay data to video and save it on your system. If you don’t do this, you will lose those replays from before 3.1.0 when you update.
Once you have saved them as videos, you are good to go as you can then keep them permanently on your system or share them on social media sites. From there, you can save them on your computer for safekeeping or share them on YouTube and other sites out there. Just be sure to save those replays before installing the update.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Patch 4.0: New Online Tournament Event Mode
There is a new mode that has been added to the game for players to enjoy. You can now participate in online tournaments with other players from around the world. It will put you into a bracket against others to see who comes out on top.
This is a welcome move that many fans have been wanting for some time since there are tournaments available offline when you are playing by yourself or with other friends on the system. Having an online tournament mode makes it easier for friendly tournaments to pop up for players.
Additionally, Nintendo promises that there will be limited time special tournaments that will appear occasionally in the future. The rules for these tournaments are set at this time but they will change up often enough to keep things exciting. As always, you’ll need an online membership to enjoy the new online tournament mode.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Patch 4.0: Prediction & Spectate Features
The online tournament mode isn’t the only new addition, though. There is a new spectator feature that you can use when you aren’t feeling like playing any matches yourself. While you are spectating a match, you can predict who you think will win the entire match at no cost.
If you end up being right, you will earn some awesome rewards to use in the game. This isn’t a gambling feature in any way so you don’t lose anything at all if you happen to be wrong on who wins the whole match. It’s a nice new feature that provides more incentive for spectating.
This makes finding your favorite streamers and players and supporting more fun than ever before. You can watch your friends play and bet on them to win the match. This feature will only expand the community and make it more fun to sit back and watch rather than feel like you have to fight, too.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Patch 4.0: Other Major Changes and Additions
There are a few other major additions and changes to the game with the release of version 4.0. Beyond the usual bug fixes that will fix many of the issues with the game, there is an expansion of the video editing software within the game itself. You can now use videos and screenshots in it.
When you are editing clips together, you can use both videos and screenshots to enhance the video you are making. This is useful if you have a certain expression or hilarious pose that you want to insert into the video that you are making.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate patch 4.0 contains some general changes to gameplay as well. When you get your final Smash available to you during a match, it will time out after a certain period of time even if you aren’t hit and lose it. There will be a gauge at the bottom of your character icon to show you how much longer you have to use it.
Players who are still enjoying the Adventure mode or want to try it out for the first time will find a new difficulty mode available. There is now a very easy difficulty option for those who want an easier experience or just want to blow through the story mode to see it to the end.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Patch 4.0: Will Hero Be at EVO 2019?
With the release of this latest version, it begs the question of it will be playable during EVO 2019. The major fighting game tournament is one of the most important and biggest of the year, taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada. Unfortunately, it won’t be using the new version 4.0.
The tournament organizers have already confirmed that they will be using 3.1.0 as the base for the event. This is unfortunate for those participants who wanted to use the Hero in the upcoming event and see how he measures up against the rest of the roster.
This is especially unfortunate since Joker was popular at recent tournaments and actually did quite well for players who used him. It seems that we will have to wait to find out how Hero does in the esports scene for a bit longer. This also means that any fighter and gameplay adjustments from 4.0 will not be featured at EVO 2019 even though it is the biggest game there.
For more on the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate patch 4.0 notes, be sure to check out the full list of changes that are available right here.
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