In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, equip one primary Spirit to boost your fighter, then use its available slots for support Spirits that add skills. Choose a primary whose type counters the opponent’s when possible, and select support skills for the battle’s rules, stage hazards, and conditions.
What a Spirit does
Nintendo describes Spirits as characters whose abilities boost fighters in battle. A Spirit team has one primary Spirit at a time. The primary raises attack power and physical abilities; support Spirits fill its open slots and add skills. A primary’s slot count determines how much support it can carry, and some support Spirits use more than one slot. Nintendo’s Spirits guide explains the roles and team setup.
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How Spirit types affect a matchup
Primary Spirits have four types. Attack beats Grab, Grab beats Shield, and Shield beats Attack. Neutral has no type advantage or disadvantage. Nintendo recommends choosing a type advantage when it applies; the exact damage multipliers below come from the community-maintained SmashWiki Spirit reference, rather than Nintendo’s guide.
| Your primary type | Advantaged against | Disadvantaged against |
|---|---|---|
| Attack | Grab | Shield |
| Grab | Shield | Attack |
| Shield | Attack | Grab |
| Neutral | None | None |
SmashWiki reports that a type advantage changes damage to 1.3×, while being at a type disadvantage changes it to 0.85×. Those figures are detailed community-reference mechanics; Nintendo’s official page confirms the counter relationship but does not publish the multipliers.
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- New stages and fighters are joined by the combined rosters of every past Super Smash Bros. Game
- Challenge others anytime, anywhere, whether you're on the couch or on the go
- Play any way you want—locally, online, in TV mode, Tabletop mode, Handheld mode, or even with GameCube Controllers
- Fight faster and smarter with new and returning techniques, like the perfect shield and directional air dodge
- Face off in 2-4 player battles, or play against the computer
What attack and defense ratings change
A primary Spirit’s attack and defense ratings affect damage dealt and received. According to SmashWiki’s primary Spirit reference, damage dealt is multiplied by 1 + (attack × 4 / 10,000). For example, an attack rating of 2,500 gives a 2× damage multiplier. Damage taken is divided by 1 + (defense × 6 / 10,000), so a defense rating of 2,500 results in 0.4× damage taken.
SmashWiki says these ratings do not directly change knockback. Treat the formulas as community-maintained mechanical detail, not as figures published by Nintendo.
How to build a Spirit team for a battle
Do not choose only by the largest displayed power. Compare the matchup, your primary’s stats and slots, and the encounter’s specific demands.
- Check the opposing Spirit’s type. If your primary can counter it, that advantage may improve your damage in the battle.
- Compare the primary’s attack and defense ratings. These affect damage output and damage received, respectively.
- Plan around slot costs. Pick support skills that address the fight, then check that their combined slot costs fit the primary. A primary with several slots may still be unable to equip the same number of support Spirits if some use multiple slots.
- Account for stage hazards and rules. Select skills that help with the encounter’s conditions, such as electric or sleep-inducing platforms; Nintendo specifically recommends adapting to hazards.
Support skills can offer passive bonuses, resistances, protection from status effects, or added abilities. Their value depends on the fight: a situational resistance may be more useful than a general boost when the stage or rules create a specific threat.
Rank #3
What happens in Spirit battles
A Spirit battle pits you against a fighter controlled by an enemy Spirit. Battles can have different stages, rules, and conditions. Winning gives you a chance to collect the Spirit; Nintendo says stronger opponents can provide better rewards but does not quantify the difference. See Nintendo’s official Spirits guide for its overview of battles and collecting.
Leveling, Adventure Mode, and cores
Leveling Spirits
Nintendo says Spirits can gain levels from snacks. SmashWiki also reports that primary Spirits earn experience in battle and that some can be enhanced at level 99 into a different, higher-class Spirit with stronger stats; this progression detail is from a community-maintained reference, not Nintendo’s guide.
Rank #4
- International Version. ESRB rated. This game is tied to the USA region and any DLC content is available on the USA regional Nintendo eShop. Works on all systems worldwide. (Middle East / Southeast Asia -- Official Nintendo Product).
- New stages and fighters are joined by the combined rosters of every past Super Smash Bros. game
- Challenge others anytime, anywhere, whether you're on the couch or on the go
- Play any way you want—locally, online, in TV mode, Tabletop mode, Handheld mode, or even with GameCube Controllers
- Fight faster and smarter with new and returning techniques, like the perfect shield and directional air dodge
Adventure Mode activities
Adventure Mode unlocks exploration for treasure and dojo training. These are ways to develop and use Spirits beyond assembling a team for an individual battle, as described in Nintendo’s official guide.
Sending a Spirit back
Sending a Spirit back to its world leaves a core that can be used to summon new Spirits. Consider this when managing collected Spirits: dismissal provides a summoning resource, but removes that Spirit from your available collection.
Best Value
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- New stages and fighters are joined by the combined rosters of every past Super Smash Bros. game
- Play any way you want—locally, online, in TV mode, Tabletop mode, Handheld mode, or even with GameCube Controllers
- Fight faster and smarter with new and returning techniques, like the perfect shield and directional air dodge
Where to play
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a Nintendo Switch game, and Spirits are one of its in-game systems. Nintendo’s Australia game page identifies the platform and describes the game. Availability and editions can vary by region and retailer.
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