Lloyd (Super Smash Flash 2)

Lloyd is playable starter character in Super Smash Flash 2. He utilizes the same sprites he had in SSF, meaning he didn't get any new sprites. Most of his special attacks involve him using techs ("artes") from Tales of Symphonia.

Lloyd currently ranks 4th on the tier list; a large leap from his 14th place position last demo. Lloyd has good combo ability, good reach in all of his attacks, a good grab game and kill moves in his down and up smash, forward aerial, forward tilt and Sonic Thrust. He is a edge guarder so breaking his guard will be tough.

However, Lloyd suffers from a poor recovery. Due to his below average weight he is easy to knock off the stage and KO horizontally. He has problems finishing off his opponents unless they are at really high percentages.

Lloyd's pros greatly outweigh his cons and that is why he is ranked close to the top.

Attributes
Lloyd is a very offensive character. The reach in his attacks combined with how fast they're gives him great combo ability and good follow ups. He has a projectile in Demon Fang which he can spam to stop the opponent's approach, zone and can help lead into his combos. He has KO moves in his down and up smash, forward aerial, forward tilt and Sonic Thrust. He has an amazing grab and throw game, possessing the longest non-ranged grab in the current demo that is low in start up and ending lag, and is one of the few characters to have all of their throws be useful. His forward, down and back throws can chain grab the majority of the cast and his up throw can be followed up with his excellent juggling ability. He has a good aerial game with the majority of his aerials having long reach and fast start up. Grave Blade is useful for preventing opponents from camping, tech-chasing and edge guarding when the opponent is hanging onto the ledge.

However, due to his below average weight, he is easy to knock off the stage and be unable to recover due to his poor recovery. Lloyd lacks any true reliable horizontal recovery options outside of his down aerial which is situational, Tiger Blade covers little vertical distance which leaves Lloyd vulnerable to edge hogging and also gives him one of the smallest ledge sweet spots, distance wise, in the game. Demon Fang has low-priority and can be easily canceled out by other attacks or reflected. Grave Blade is useless if Lloyd and his opponent are not on the same platform or if Lloyd is in the air.

Ground attack

 * Standard attack 1: Slashes forward with the Vorpal Sword.3%
 * Standard attack 2: Slashes upward with the Vorpal Sword.5%
 * Down tilt: Stabs out in front of him with the Flamberge.9%
 * Down smash: Sword Rain (JP: Chirisazame, 散沙雨 "Scattering Sand Rain"). Stabs forward several times with the Flamberge, yelling "Sword rain!". One of Lloyd's best KO moves and one of the strongest down smashes in the game. 15% uncharged, 21% fully charged
 * Side tilt: Stabs forward with the Vorpal Sword. 10%
 * Forward smash: Beast. 14% uncharged, 20% fully charged. Stronger in the intial frames of the move.
 * Up tilt: Slashes upward quickly with the Vorpal Sword. 9%
 * Up smash: Stabs upward with the Flamberge, yelling "Take this!".14% uncharged, 20% fully charged
 * Dash attack: Stabs forward with the Flamberge. 10%

Aerial attacks

 * Neutral aerial: Tempest (JP: Rekkūzan, 裂空斬, "Rending Sky Slash"). Spins in a circle several times, whipping both swords around himself while yelling "Tempest!". 18% if all hits connect. Tempest can be canceled by using any special move. Canceling will leave Lloyd unable to use Tiger Blade, but he can still use his midair jump if he didn't use it already.
 * Forward aerial: Slashes Flamberge out in front of him. Lloyd's strongest aerial in terms knockback, although it is not the most reliable one due to its slow start up. 11%
 * Back aerial: Begins to slash Flamberge like in his Forward Aerial but then quickly stabs behind him. 10%
 * Up aerial: Slashes over his head with the Vorpal Sword. It is very similar to his Up Tilt. Very useful for juggling. 10%
 * Down aerial: Rising Falcon (JP: Hitenshōku, 飛天翔駆, "Fly Soaring Dive"). Lloyd rises into the air a bit, then dives downward at an angle with both swords in front of him, yelling "Rising Falcon!" The move meteor smashes opponents, sending them diagonally downward, dealing 8 hits, with the last hit having the most knockback. This attack can gimp enemies at very low percentages, but is rather predictable. Similarly to Falcon Kick, it can also help aid his horizontal recovery when he is above the platform, but doesn't give him an extra aerial jump. It however, allows you to use Tiger Blade again for a short period after the attack a Lloyd and Black Mage player. 24% if all hits connect.

Grabs and throws

 * Grab: Lloyd stabs the Vorpal Sword out and "spears" foes on the end. Very good grab, as it's long ranged and has few start up or ending lag.
 * Pummel: Stabs enemy with the Flamberge.  2% per hit.
 * Forward throw: Stabs the opponent once with the Vorpal Sword, then again with the Flameberge. 6% for the first stab, 7% for the second one. Can chain throw.
 * Back throw: Slashes the opponent backwards behind himself with Flamberge. Can chain grab. 7%
 * Up throw: Slashes over his head with the Vorpal Sword like his Up Tilt, then stabs upward with Flamberge like his Up Smash. 6% for first hit, 7% for second hit.
 * Down throw: Stabs four times with Flamberge. 12%. 3% for each stab. Can chain throw.

Other

 * Ledge attack: Rolls up and slashes forward with the Vorpal Sword. 10%
 * 100% ledge attack: Rolls up and stabs with Flamberge. 10%
 * Floor attack: Swings his Vorpal Sword in an upwards arc.6%

Misc.

 * Entrance: Teleports using the Eternal Sword.
 * Taunts:
 * Standard: Swings his sword around and says: "This is gonna be a piece of cake!".
 * Side: Same as standard.
 * Down: Takes a battle pose, holding both swords out saying: "Here we go!"
 * Fanfare: Remix of Victory fanfare from Tales of Symphonia.
 * Wins: Swings his sword around, then says: "It just wasn't your day"
 * Loses: Crouches down as if he is injured.

Changes from v0.9a
Lloyd has mainly received nerfs even though he was considered a mid tier character last demo. Lloyd has mainly received nerfs to his KO options and his grab & throw game. However, Lloyd is seen as a more effective character this demo due to advances in his metagame.

Tier placement history
From tier lists demos v0.6 Lloyd was seen as a high tier character ranking 4/5(tied with ) in the first list and was ranked 5th in the second list; both in B tier. In demos v0.7a and b; Lloyd was seen as mid-low tier character ranking 13th at the bottom of C tier in v0.7a and 11th of D tier in v0.7b. In demo v0.8b; Lloyd was seen as a low tier character where he ranked 13/14(tied with ) of D tier. Lloyd would remain ranked 14th on the tier list for demo v0.9a where he is seen as a mid tier character. However, in demo v0.9b is when Lloyd finally rises to S tier where he is ranked 4th and is now seen as a top tier character.

Trivia

 * In his return into Super Smash Flash 2, Lloyd, alongside all the Sonic playable characters, didn't receive a sprite change, meaning he is staying with his Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 3 ' s sprites that were seen in his Super Smash Flash ' s appearance.
 * Prior to version 0.2b if the SSF2 Demo, Lloyd's Falcon's Crest attacked the enemy with multiple explosions instead of the second move which involves Lloyd trapping the enemy and hitting them with a powerful 2-hit explosion.
 * Prior to version 0.5a if the SSF2 Demo, Lloyd's side special move was Sonic Thrust instead of Beast. Sonic Thrust, however, wasn't cut out of Lloyd's moveset after that because was turned into his third standard attack, although less powerful. Ironically, Sonic Thrust became Lloyd's side special move again in v0.6 of the SSF2 Demo, while Beast became his side smash.
 * Lloyd is the only swordsman in the game so far to wield two swords in battle; Fire Sword (Flameberge) and the Ice Sword (Vorpal Sword).
 * Lloyd along with ,  and are the only characters so far to wear their default costumes in team battle when they are on the red team.
 * Lloyd uses his sword in all of his attacks with the exception of Demon Fang and to an extent his forward smash.
 * Lloyd's standard and side special used to be chargeable until in v0.9.
 * Lloyd, along with, , , and , is one of the few characters to have a "Defeated/No Contest" pose.
 * Lloyd is the only character in Super Smash Flash 2 whose weapons don't flip when he changes directions--Flamberge always being held in his left hand and the Vorpal sword in his right.