Xaqwais
Smash Rookie
NOTE: I ended up writing a lot more than I initially thought I would for this post, but I've been thinking about this and discussing it with my training partners quite a bit. I don't think this should be thought of as a guide! I'm just an average player looking for discussion/advice/etc. Please post your thoughts!
This Saturday I will be going to my first Smash 4 tourney. I'm practicing my character control, my reactions, general awareness, and specific tech for ROB but in my preparation I thought of something I think would make for interesting discussion.
What do you guys think as the best stages for ROB? I think as a character, ROB is pretty well rounded and doesn't hate any stages in particular. But you always will and should have preferences. Don't be complacent and go to Smashville over and over because it feels fair, you want to get an advantage any time you can!
The way I approach the idea is to think about what ROB likes and dislikes about stages. Then you can compare to the legal stage list and see where your priorities lie.
What ROB likes
-Low Ceilings: With uair, uthrow, and usmash all getting quicker kills, I think this is obviously a great advantage for ROB in most matchups.
-Long Stages: ROB's zoning game is strong and he wants the room to deal with characters who like to rush him down or are forced to approach.
-Options for coming down: It's passable, but ROB's options when coming down to the stage after being launched upwards are limited. In my experience faster characters with a good juggle game can make life difficult for ROB.
-Platforms: ROB's aerials, as well as utilt and usmash, can hit people on platforms pretty well. Some characters do this better, so it may be match up dependant. There's also uthrowing up to a higher platform for slightly earlier kills.
-Thin stages: Being able to uair through stage is a nice bonus.
Dislikes
-Small stages: ROB can fend for himself, but in general you don't want a good portion of characters that close to you
-Walls: With no wall jump, ROB doesn't get much from walls. Coming in from under the stage is usually a solid option for ROB to avoid Bowling Balls, Gordos, a character coming in with Dair, etc.
-Projectile Blocks: It's never fun having your gyro get blocked.
I probably missed a lot! Feel free to post about anything else you think should factor into stage selection.
When I look at the generic starter list for Smash 4, one stage sticks out: Lylat Cruise.Lylat's ceiling feels unreasonably low when you are used to playing on Smash 4 stages. I haven't tested specifics, but uthrow should kill much earlier here, especially if you raise up to a platform.
The other benefit of Lylat is that ROBs recovery allows imprecision. Many characters have to be very careful with their recovery due to not being able to ride up the bottom of the stage and snap to the ledge. ROB won't bonk on the stage, and can get to the ledge pretty easily. Higher level opponents will be good enough to not mess their recovery up, but it's still an advantage for ROB as you can anticipate their recovery better since they have fewer options. Lylat is also thin enough that you can uair people through the stage.
The tilting of Lylat does not seem like a weakness to me. Laser tilts enough that you won't be hitting the floor if you don't want to. Gyro can travel the whole length of the stage if you are on the high side. It's less useful when you are on the lower side of the ship but you will at least be able to pick it up even sooner this way. Maybe in actuality the tilting is bad for ROB, but I have not found it prolematic.
I honestly think Lylat Cruise will be banned by most opponents in a heartbeat as it's probably ROBs best stage. (Feel free to prove me wrong!)
The other starters are less clear. I think majority of matchups ROB will prefer the longer stages. Maybe this makes Battlefield a stage you strike. With Final Destination, I think you are probably fine with it against most characters.
Between Town and City and Smashville, I'm at a loss. I think I would slightly lean towards TnC as the platforms are more varied and I feel ROB likes those more. This is a gut feeling that's not backed by much real logic. I personally need more time on each stage in more matchups before I think I could say which one is better.
Counterpicks seem less set in stone (I actually quite like @Amazing Ampharos's Stage System), but I'll talk about the ones that stick out to me.
Halberd seems strong for ROB because of it's low ceiling. Aside from that, I'm not entirely sure if a pass through stage is useful for ROB. His recovery lets you control your landing through the stage pretty well, so in theory it checks out.
Castle Siege, on the other hand, is a stage I'll probably try to stay away from more than any other stage. The first layout is cramped and doesn't give ROB the space he likes having. The second layout isn't the worst, but gyro become much less effective.
And speaking of counter picks, I think if you ever want to counter pick Final Destination, you should head to Omega Lylat. It has the same advantages of normal Lylat in terms of character recovery.
So that was a lot of text dropped all at once, sorry about that! I'd love to hear @ChiboSempai's opinions on stages, but not even just him, any player should feel free to reveal your knowledge/tech.
EDIT: Bias is pretty crazy, I thought for sure that I was killing earlier on Lylat and attributed it to Brawl Blast zones, simlar to Halberd. Turns out I'm totally wrong and ROB uthrow kills at the same damage as FD!
This Saturday I will be going to my first Smash 4 tourney. I'm practicing my character control, my reactions, general awareness, and specific tech for ROB but in my preparation I thought of something I think would make for interesting discussion.
What do you guys think as the best stages for ROB? I think as a character, ROB is pretty well rounded and doesn't hate any stages in particular. But you always will and should have preferences. Don't be complacent and go to Smashville over and over because it feels fair, you want to get an advantage any time you can!
The way I approach the idea is to think about what ROB likes and dislikes about stages. Then you can compare to the legal stage list and see where your priorities lie.
What ROB likes
-Low Ceilings: With uair, uthrow, and usmash all getting quicker kills, I think this is obviously a great advantage for ROB in most matchups.
-Long Stages: ROB's zoning game is strong and he wants the room to deal with characters who like to rush him down or are forced to approach.
-Options for coming down: It's passable, but ROB's options when coming down to the stage after being launched upwards are limited. In my experience faster characters with a good juggle game can make life difficult for ROB.
-Platforms: ROB's aerials, as well as utilt and usmash, can hit people on platforms pretty well. Some characters do this better, so it may be match up dependant. There's also uthrowing up to a higher platform for slightly earlier kills.
-Thin stages: Being able to uair through stage is a nice bonus.
Dislikes
-Small stages: ROB can fend for himself, but in general you don't want a good portion of characters that close to you
-Walls: With no wall jump, ROB doesn't get much from walls. Coming in from under the stage is usually a solid option for ROB to avoid Bowling Balls, Gordos, a character coming in with Dair, etc.
-Projectile Blocks: It's never fun having your gyro get blocked.
I probably missed a lot! Feel free to post about anything else you think should factor into stage selection.
When I look at the generic starter list for Smash 4, one stage sticks out: Lylat Cruise.
The other benefit of Lylat is that ROBs recovery allows imprecision. Many characters have to be very careful with their recovery due to not being able to ride up the bottom of the stage and snap to the ledge. ROB won't bonk on the stage, and can get to the ledge pretty easily. Higher level opponents will be good enough to not mess their recovery up, but it's still an advantage for ROB as you can anticipate their recovery better since they have fewer options. Lylat is also thin enough that you can uair people through the stage.
The tilting of Lylat does not seem like a weakness to me. Laser tilts enough that you won't be hitting the floor if you don't want to. Gyro can travel the whole length of the stage if you are on the high side. It's less useful when you are on the lower side of the ship but you will at least be able to pick it up even sooner this way. Maybe in actuality the tilting is bad for ROB, but I have not found it prolematic.
I honestly think Lylat Cruise will be banned by most opponents in a heartbeat as it's probably ROBs best stage. (Feel free to prove me wrong!)
The other starters are less clear. I think majority of matchups ROB will prefer the longer stages. Maybe this makes Battlefield a stage you strike. With Final Destination, I think you are probably fine with it against most characters.
Between Town and City and Smashville, I'm at a loss. I think I would slightly lean towards TnC as the platforms are more varied and I feel ROB likes those more. This is a gut feeling that's not backed by much real logic. I personally need more time on each stage in more matchups before I think I could say which one is better.
Counterpicks seem less set in stone (I actually quite like @Amazing Ampharos's Stage System), but I'll talk about the ones that stick out to me.
Halberd seems strong for ROB because of it's low ceiling. Aside from that, I'm not entirely sure if a pass through stage is useful for ROB. His recovery lets you control your landing through the stage pretty well, so in theory it checks out.
Castle Siege, on the other hand, is a stage I'll probably try to stay away from more than any other stage. The first layout is cramped and doesn't give ROB the space he likes having. The second layout isn't the worst, but gyro become much less effective.
And speaking of counter picks, I think if you ever want to counter pick Final Destination, you should head to Omega Lylat. It has the same advantages of normal Lylat in terms of character recovery.
So that was a lot of text dropped all at once, sorry about that! I'd love to hear @ChiboSempai's opinions on stages, but not even just him, any player should feel free to reveal your knowledge/tech.
EDIT: Bias is pretty crazy, I thought for sure that I was killing earlier on Lylat and attributed it to Brawl Blast zones, simlar to Halberd. Turns out I'm totally wrong and ROB uthrow kills at the same damage as FD!
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