What Are Move Stats in Super Smash Bros. Melee and How Do You Read Them?

Updated

Move stats are the frame-by-frame numbers attached to a single attack in Super Smash Bros. Melee: when its hitboxes first appear, when they disappear, and how long the whole animation lasts. You read them by matching three numbers — first active, last active, and total frames — to the situation you're in. On FightCore, each move is listed with exactly that set, for example a Down Air with "First active 5, Last active 27, Total frames 49," so you can judge a move's speed and commitment before you ever load the game.

The three numbers that define a move

Every move entry on FightCore is built from the same fields. Here is what each one tells you:

Field What it measures Why it matters
First active The first frame a hitbox exists How fast the move can hit after you input it
Last active The last frame a hitbox exists How long the move stays dangerous
Total frames The full length of the animation How long you're locked in the move before you can act again

The gap between the first active frame and the last active frame is the move's active window. The gap between the last active frame and the total frame count is the recovery portion, where the hitbox is gone but you still can't act.

Reading a move's timeline

Take the Down Air listed on FightCore with first active 5, last active 27, and total frames 49. Read it in three steps:

  1. Startup: frames 1–4 have no hitbox. If you input this move, nothing can connect for the first four frames.
  2. Active window: frames 5–27 can hit. This move stays out for 23 frames, which is unusually long — it covers a lot of time and space.
  3. Recovery: frames 28–49 have no hitbox but you're still committed. That's 22 frames where you can be punished if the move whiffs.

Now compare it to a Forward Air on the same site with first active 4, last active 7, total frames 33. Its startup is one frame faster, but its hitbox only exists for four frames, and it still locks you in for 33 total frames. Same character, very different risk profiles: the Down Air is a long-lasting coverage tool, the Forward Air is a quick poke with a long tail.

Comparing moves with the same dimensions

To compare moves fairly, hold the dimensions constant and change only one at a time:

  • Same startup, different total frames: the move with fewer total frames lets you act sooner, so it's safer on whiff.
  • Same total frames, different active windows: the move with the longer active window is more forgiving to time and covers more options.
  • Same active window, different startup: the faster-starting move wins in close-range scrambles.

A concrete example: if you're choosing between two aerials to throw out as a landing option, the one with first active 4 beats the one with first active 5 in a tie, because it can hit one frame earlier. But if the frame-4 move has 40 total frames and the frame-5 move has 30, the slower-starting move may still be the better choice when you expect to miss, since you recover ten frames sooner.

Common pitfalls when interpreting move stats

  • Confusing total frames with endlag. Total frames is the entire animation, including startup and active frames. Endlag is only the portion after the last active frame. A move with 49 total frames and last active 27 has 22 frames of recovery, not 49.
  • Assuming first active means "hits on frame X." First active is when the hitbox appears, not when it connects. Spacing, hurtbox position, and whether the opponent is in range all still decide the hit.
  • Ignoring the active window length. Two moves can share a first active frame but differ wildly in how long they threaten. A one-frame active window demands precise timing; a 20-frame window does not.
  • Reading one move in isolation. A move's stats only mean something relative to the rest of the kit and to the opponent's options. A slow move can still be correct if it covers a space nothing else does.

Where to look up move stats

FightCore (fightcore.gg) presents Melee frame data with interactive hitbox visualizations and a search bar — the page suggests queries like "fox upsmash," "marth fsmash," "peach dsmash," and "rest," and lists the most-viewed moves with their first active, last active, and total frame counts. Use the search to pull up a specific move, then read the three numbers against the situations above. The site also offers a crouch cancel calculator and ASDI down percentages, which matter once you start comparing how moves interact with defensive options rather than just how fast they are.

If you want to go from "this move is frame 5" to "this move is the right choice here," the workflow is: look up the move, note startup, active window, and recovery, then compare it to the alternatives you're actually choosing between in that moment.