Smash Ultimate formula predicts likelihood of most-requested DLC fighters

Michael Gwilliam
Dante and Sora in Smash Ultimate

With only four spots remaining in Super Smash Bros Ultimate’s Fighters Pass Volume 2, there’s no shortage of potential candidates. However, some characters may have a better chance of being possible additions than others, according to a math formula.

YouTube channel ‘Backseat’ came up with a formula to see whether or not certain characters have a good chance at making the cut.

By looking at the current roster and extracting certain elements – like whether a character originated in the East or West, their era, genre and more – they were able to create a chart that can be applied to potential fighters.

It should be noted that this only works when assuming the next roster picks continue the trends Nintendo has already established.

Smash Ultimate DLC criteria
There’s a lot of data that goes into determining “Smash Math.”

The twenty-five characters in question that Backseat went over were determined by a poll by Source Gaming, which featured literally thousands of candidates.

Going over some big names on the list, one very popular character is Team Fortress 2’s Heavy, which topped several other polls. However, he fails several categories that Backseat believes are imperative to have a good chance at being future DLC.

Meanwhile, Ninja Gaiden’s Ryu Hayabusa, who has been rumored for a long time, is “math certified” to join the roster thanks to his origin and era.

Another popular candidate, Waluigi, received a “caution,” not completely ruling the Mario character out. The main issue with him, according to Backseat, is the era he comes from.

Perhaps the biggest Western character, Halo’s Master Chief, was the least mathematically likely out of the top ten characters in the poll due to his origin, genre and era.

Devil May Cry’s Dante and Kingdom Hearts’ Sora, two Japanese candidates, were both given a caution due to their era of origin.

Master Chief behind bars
Master Chief may not be finishing the fight.

Moving onto the third most-requested in the form of Doomguy, he too was ruled out due to his origin and genre.

Luckily, for supporters of Super Mario RPG’s Geno, Backseat found him to be math certified as well, which should really get the puppet’s fanboys very excited.

Finally, Crash Bandicoot was given a caution only because of the sizable amounts of Western fighters already in the game. Though, with the character rumored to join the cast in 2021, it’s still possible that we end up seeing him in the future.

Geno certified for Smash Ultimate
Geno meets the criteria to be in Fighters Pass Volume 2.

Of course, just because the video ruled out claimed some characters have a better chance than others, doesn’t mean it’s a sure thing they’ll be in Smash.

It will be interesting to see how many of the predictions end up coming true as more fighters are released.

About The Author

Michael Gwilliam is a senior writer at Dexerto based in Ontario, Canada. He specializes in Overwatch, Smash, influencers, and Twitch culture. Gwilliam has written for sites across Canada including the Toronto Sun. You can contact him at michael.gwilliam@dexerto.com or on Twitter @TheGwilliam