In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

Global Smash Power, (世界戦闘力, World Combat Power) abbreviated GSP, is the online ranking system found in Super Smash Bros. 4 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Announced during the Super Smash Bros. Direct, GSP is a version of an Elo rating system that ranks all players' scores on a numeric scale, with the number being related to how many players that player outranks.

Overview

When a copy of a either Smash 4 or Ultimate is first tied to an account, the GSP of that account is effectively 0. As the player starts using the various game modes, various factors are inputted into a formula that calculates said player's GSP. The number that is displayed to the player is the amount of players they officially outrank on the global leaderboard. For example, a player with a rank of 251,357 would have a better score than 251,356 other players. The system is unusual for being an inverse ranking system; whereas other games would feature 1 as the best player, Global Smash Power ranks 1 as the worst player (meaning that the player is better than 0 other players). This system was developed with the intention of a more friendly scale to players of lower skill, using "your score is better than X players" instead of "your score is worse than X players" as a metric. Global Smash Power rankings are updated whenever the player goes online. If they have not yet been online at all, Global Smash Power is not displayed.

There are pros and cons to this system compared to others. The major advantage is that it taps into the idea of "numbers go up" being inherently satisfying to humans. Low GSP players have a clear, easy to understand goal of climbing the ranks and receiving a larger number, and high GSP players have the satisfaction of knowing exactly how many players the game considers them better than. The major disadvantage is that players cannot measure how far they are from the top-ranked player, and that the top-ranked player cannot even know that they are the top-ranked player without hard data on player count. When players realize there is no endgame in sight, they might experience goal fatigue and simply stop trying to be competitive.

In Smash 4, Global Smash Power is used only for solo play modes (and separately for their co-op equivalents), and not for multiplayer matches. However, according to Masahiro Sakurai, there is "some sort of matchmaking" during online play, though this matchmaking system is not visible to players.

In Ultimate, Global Smash Power is officially used for multiplayer matches where the game will match players with as close of GSP as possible with respect to proximity, acting as a simple form of skill-based matchmaking. GSP is also used to determine whether a player's character is allowed to participate in Elite Smash. Those within Elite Smash need to maintain their relative rank to stay, and are kicked back into regular quickplay if they fall below the threshold. The value of Global Smash Power is not set, and rises as more people meet the threshold.

This mechanic was overhauled in Sakurai's next game, Kirby Air Riders, and renamed to Global Win Power (GWP). In addition to players winning and losing points depending on their amount of wins, there is now a rank system available for each game mode and only affects the frequency of events in these modes rather than filtering players by their ranks.

Scores included

The following modes feature Global Smash Power rankings:

• Classic Mode
• Home-Run Contest
• Target Blast
• Multi-Man Smash
• All-Star Mode
• Trophy Rush
• Smash Run

In each of these modes, Global Smash Power is displayed for each individual high score as well as for the player's total high score (i.e. the sum of their high scores with each character). Global Smash Power is also shown during gameplay and rises along with the player's score, allowing them to see how many other players they have already outranked before finishing.

Update history

1.0.7

• Fixed an issue where the game erroneously interpreted Global Smash Power as invalid data and becomes unable to connect to the Internet after using Mewtwo in the following game modes: Classic, All-Star, Stadium, Trophy Rush, and Smash Run.

1.1.0

• Global Smash Power will now be displayed in online modes as part of the day one patch.

3.0.0

• It is now easier to be matched with players who have a similar Global Smash Power in Quickplay.

8.1.0

• The way initial values for Global Smash Power are calculated has also been adjusted to allow more players into Elite Smash.

9.0.0

• Adjustments have been made to the way Global Smash Power is calculated.

13.0.3

• Fixed an issue in which Global Smash Power would not return to appropriate levels when the connection was disrupted with specific timing at the end of a match.
  • The winning player will now still gain GSP and their opponent will still lose GSP if said opponent attempts to ragequit.

Trivia

• Masahiro Sakurai stated in a YouTube video that he created Global Smash Power to obscure the player's distance from the best in the world to give them a more positive grinding experience and keep them motivated.^[1]
  • This system also makes cheaters more obvious, such as GSP growing by impossibly high amounts or GSP being gained by players without actually playing. This allows moderators to more easily detect and exclude invalid data and accuse players of cheating with absolute certainty.
  • Sakurai is also not particularly concerned with the possibility of low player counts affecting matchmaking, as the Smash series is among the best selling video game franchises of all time with an active competitive community.

References

• Online play
• Single-player modes
• Co-op modes