SSL Clepsydra
Many myths tell of the creation of the universe, of the gods who spun the world into creation, placing the stars into the heavens to illuminate the world against the dark sky to keep unspeakable things at bay. In truth, the universe’s birth was much more a spontaneous, fleeting thing that defies understanding to those who live on Aether’s surface. And amongst that long lost breath of creation was born a single spark of life, a seedbed of unending motion which birthed stars upon stars in its wake. Then one day, this bed of life gained a soul, and proceeded to watch the land of aether unblinkingly, as if waiting for something to happen… silently…
Or so some stories say
Clepsydra, the Cosmic Watcher, is a mysterious entity from the stars that has been watching aether silently for who knows how long, only now acting as the Abyss encroaches upon the land. What it’s doing here is a mystery, but it’s certainly not a force to be trifled with.
Clepsydra is a hyper floaty rushdown character who bends the stars themselves to run opponents down. Sporting strong normals for aggressive play, Clepsydra comes equipped with a powerful toolkit which allows it to combo opponents relentlessly in the skies, leaving them little room to breathe. Couple that with their extremely low gravity and 2 floaty midair jumps, they are extremely good at sticking to the opponent like glue and chasing them far higher and further than almost anyone else can, while also allowing them to safely recover from very far out without too much commitment. However, Clepsydra is extremely light and floaty, making them very susceptible to dying extremely early and venerable to juggles. It also lacks strong disjoint on literally every attack, resulting it them being extremely susceptible to unfavorable trades and whiff punishes if you’re not careful.
Take advantage of their interstellar movement and combo potential to send opponents into the cosmos.
Clepsydra spins its body around into a swirling vortex, spawning a shooting star which orbits around him for 3 seconds, granting him a long-lasting projectile that he can use to increase the treat of his tools or to do decent chip damage in neutral. This star stuns opponents who are in hitstun, allowing for more potent combo extensions and more lenient kill setups as long as its out. The summon itself launches opponents while it is summoning the star, allowing you to use it as a solid combo starter when coupled with the star. Performing Nattack while the star is active will cause Clepsydra to just perform the spin animation, allowing you to keep using the move as a combo starter or as a movement mixup tool even if it doesn’t summon stars outright. Do be warry though, as while the star cannot be destroyed by normal means, it also cannot interact with other projectiles at all and does no hitstun to opponents who aren’t in hitstun, making it practically useless as a genuine zoning tool.
Clepsydra forms a meteor and swings it in an upwards arc above itself. This acts as a more standard Uair attack as apposed to a recovery move like most SSL characters, making it useful as an anti-air, combo extender, juggle tool, and vertical kill option when coupled with Clepsydra’s strong air mobility.
