- Game Versions
- Smash 3DS, Smash Wii U
Hi. My name is Riley, my Smash Tag is Tiberius.
I'm a competitive Smash 4 Player, and currently Ranked Top 15 in the state of Utah. I main Robin and Marth. This will be a competitive guide for my, hands down, favorite character in the game, Robin. I will be talking about his best Neutral, Offensive, and Defensive options, and his Combos.
Robin is my favorite character in all of Smash, and my personal best. There's quite a story that goes with my reason for liking Robin, but I'll spare you my stories. I've been wanting to do a guide for him for ages.
Sections
1: Pros.
2: Cons.
3: Tome/Levin Sword Durability System, and Tome/Levin Sword Discard usage.
4: Neutral.
5: Offense.
6: Defense.
7: Combos.
Section 1: Pros
Robin has many good, unique things about him, from his Neutral-B that changes with how long you charge, to his Godly Aerial Smash Attacks.
Pro #1: Neutral-B, this move is INSANELY versatile.
Thunder is a small, quick projectile that can stuff a lot of approaches and even some characters short hops are beaten by Thunder. Thunder also has a deceivingly big hit box from how it looks. If it had a bit more range, it would be awesome.
El-Thunder is a big, powerful, fast moving hit box, with great range, that is good for stuffing approaches, edge guarding, and even killing. No complaints about El-Thunder.
Arc-Thunder (in my opinion) is Robin's best form of Neutral-B. It stuffs approaches, it's a massive powerful hit box, it starts off moving slow but then shoots off like a missile. It has multiple multi hits, gives robin multiple follow ups. This is just one of his greatest tools, and you should be trying to find ways of catching your opponent with it at almost all times. I'll go into more detail about this move in the "Combos Section" later.
Thoron, It goes ALL the way across the screen, is really fast, has multiple big powerful hit boxes through out the beam, and actually has a few "True Combo" kill set ups with it. The only bad part is that it uses up a lot of your lightening tome.
Pro #2: Grab Game, though it be short, it be fierce.
Robin's grab is notoriously short ranged, but when he gets the grab he can dish massive punishment. Back Throw is a kill Throw and deals good damage (Around 10%-12%) so use it as a damaging throw. Down Throw+Up-Air=CHECKMATE (I'll go into more detail about JUST how good that Combo is later), and Forward Throw can Combo into Thoron at Mid%-High% (Mainly for Heavies and Fast Fallers) aaaaaannnnd Up Throw is completely useless, seriously, NEVER use Up-Throw. Good ways to get a grab are through Arc-Fire, Arc-Thunder, Roll-Cancled Grab (RC-Grab), and Tomahawking. What is a "Roll-Cancled Grab"? An RC-Grab is performed when you (From a Standing or Walking position) input a Roll, and IMMEDIATELY input Grab. When I say Immediately, I mean IMMEDIATELY, within mere frames. What's good about the RC-Grab? It will bolt Robin a great distance across the Stage and slightely increase his Grab range during the animation. Learn it, Master it, Use it.
Pro #3: Arc-Fire is an amazing pressure tool. You can pressure a Shield to force a reaction, you can set platform traps, and this move is an INCREDIBLE ledge trapping tool. Learn the angle and spacing for it to land it RIGHT on the lip of the ledge and you can make your opponent sweat as they "try" to get back on stage. Also, if your opponent ends up getting stuck or gets launched by Arc-Fire, follow up with a Smash Aerial. Main use, LEDGE TRAPING!! If you land Arc Fire right on the Ledge, it covers Neutral Getup, Getup Attack, Ledge Jump, and Ledge Hang, and if they roll, you should ALWAYS be able to punish, and if they drop ledge, they no longer have invincibility.
Pro #4: El-Wind is a very far reaching recovery, and coupled with Robins good Air Speed, you can drift around quite a bit while soaring with El-Wind. The 2 Wind blades that shoot from El-Wind shoot straight down. The first Blade has a spike effect if you hit the opponent with the start up frames, but if you don't hit with the start up it will hit them and just kind of hold them there, and the second Blade will launch them in the opposite direction you are facing.
Pro #5: Nosferatu. Most Robin mains don't use this move to the best of it's potential, or sometimes just not at all, and I honestly don't see why. It's a command grab that can be used on the ground or in the air, which is AMAZING. It recovers Robin's % while dealing % to your opponent, the amount of % in which you recover and deal is dependent on how much more % you have built up compared to your opponent. So if your % is higher than your opponents, you'll deal more damage and recover more damage. Also, Nosferatu deals and recovers more % if you get the opponent from behind. Note that your opponent can mash out of the animation of Nosferatu, just like a grab.
Pro #6: His Smash Aerials. This is special to Robin. He has 2 variants of all his aerials (except his Neutral Air) one where he uses his Bronze Sword, which has less power and range, and one where he uses his Levin Sword (his Smash Aerials), which has more range and damage. His Smash Aerials are terrifying, they can kill super early, and deal a lot of shield damage, mix this with his pretty good Air Speed and you have a scary Air Fighter. If someone holds Shield on you a lot, just 3 Smash Aerials and that Shield is broken. Robin is a Rage Abusing MONSTER, with Rage, His Smash Aerials can kill at some Absurdly early Percents. Note Down Air should only be used to spike or the Ignis Combo and ONLY if you think you can get Them. DON'T be greedy. Another Note, learn the "Auto Cancel Windows" for his Aerials, that's ESSENTIAL!!
Pro #7: Holy S**t, Holy S**t Robin's Jab is Amazing. Specifically is 1-2-3 Jab is awesome.
It Kills, deals a good %, great boxing tool, amazing "get off me tool", great disjoint, safe on shield at max range. Use it, abuse it. Multi Jab is really good against FastFallers/Heavies.
Section 2: Cons
Robin has some things about him that are unique, but those same things that are are AMAZING for him can also get him killed. Robins Godly Smash Aerials, versatile Lightning and Fire Tomes, far reaching recovery, and the ability to recover damage, all great tools, but they are all limited. Robin has a unique negative factor and that's his "durability system". This system applies to ALL his moves, except for those involving the Bronze Sword.
Cons involving his Swords. His Levin Sword is amazing, having great range and dealing insane damage, but he can only swing the Levin Sword 8 times, then it goes away for 7 seconds. While his Levin Sword is gone, he uses the Bronze Sword, which has less range and damage over all, though the Bronze Sword does have unlimited uses.
Cons involving his Recovery. Robin's Recovery reaches really far both Vertically and Horizontally, but it does not have a Hit Box above you, so you can be easily edge guarded, and to make matters worse, it can only be used 9 times, and then it's gone for 5 seconds, and trust me when I say it will be the longest 5 seconds of your life.
Match Up Cons. If Robin gets out spaced, or your opponent finds a way around, or how to deal with your Tomes, Robin can really struggle.
Extra Cons. His ground speed sucks and his Grab Range is horrible, basically to get a grab you need to be "point blank".
Section 3: The Durability System and Discards
I will now list all the Usage Point Limits of each Tome and the Levin Sword and recharge time for all the Tomes and the Levin Sword.
Lightening Tome: 20 Usage Points. (Thunder: 1 Use. El-Thunder: 3 Uses. Arc-Thunder: 5 Uses. Thoron: 8 Uses.) 10 Seconds to Recharge.
Fire Tome: 6 Usage Points. (Arc-Fire: 1 Use. 1-2-3 Jab Finisher: 1 Use.) 10 Seconds to Recharge.
Wind Tome: 18 Usage Points. (El-Wind: 1 Use per Wind Blade, so 9 uses total. Multi Jab: 1 use every 7 hits and the Finisher.) 5 Seconds to Recharge.
Dark Tome: 4 Usage Points. (Nosferatu: 1 Use.) 40 Seconds to Recharge
Levin Sword: 8 Usage Points. (1 Use per Swing of the Levin Sword) 7 Seconds to Recharge.
Discards: After Robin uses up all the Usage Points on one of his tools he'll "Discard it", when he does this, he'll throw the item behind him. If you're quick to it (and it's really easy to be quick to it) you can catch the discarded item and chuck it at your opponent. Congrats, you are throwing literal garbage at your enemy. The discarded Levin Sword is "ok" as a throwing item, but the discarded Tomes hit like a truck when you throw them, they even can kill around 100%. Make good use of the Discarded Tomes, as they are Powerful throwing items and straight up beat out all but the STRONGEST of Projectiles, its also really tiny and can be hard for the enemy to see sometimes. Use the discarded items in tandem with Arc-Fire and Arc-Thunder to deal massive damage or even kill. Get good at Re-grabbing discards when they bounce off someones Shield. Also, mixing Z-Drop re-grab Aerials with this is very strong, hard to pull off, but good. Also, sometimes if one of your tools is nearly out and you're getting comboed, spam that specific tool, it can pop out of your hand and knock them away mid-combo. That's a little bit of Jankiness from Robin having the Discard/Durability System.
Section 4: Neutral Game
You could compare Robin's Neutral game in Smash4 to Jigglypuff's Neutral game in Melee, keep your opponent out of your comfort zone. Robin is amazing at zoning and forcing the opponent to approach, and then stuffing out their approach. To play Robin's Neutral, you'll have to get good at spacing, with his Sword, Arc-Fire, and his various Lightening Magic. Another bit of Robin's Neutral revolves around his Grab, I know, his grab range is bad, but Robin is great at forcing an opponent to stay in their shield. Using a mix of Auto Canceled Aerials, Arc-Fire, and Arc-Thunder, you can pressure an opponent to stay in Shield as very few things can actually challenge any of the 3 options I just listed. Using these tools, you can guarantee a Grab which can lead to big damage. Robin's Jab is amazing, I mentioned this earlier. His Jab is an Amazing Boxing tool, his 1-2-3 Jab is fast and kills, and his Multi Jab does a lot of Damage against FastFallers/Heavies, and if they don't SDI out of it, it can kill. Another depth to Robin's Neutral, you need to keep track of the Usage Points remaining on Robin's tools, especially his Wind Tome since that's your recovery. Keeping good track of your Usage Points, you know when, where, and how you should use up your tomes, and sometimes intentionally using up a tool just to get a discard is good, since it will give you a good throwing item. Over all, Robin is a very Defensive-Pressure based Character who utilizes very effective Zoning and Trapping.
With Trapping, put them to the Ledge as much as you can, when Robin can corner someone, he can Crush them with his incredible Ledge trapping game.
One quick VERY IMPORTANT NOTE!!
Learn to B-reverse, helps with landing and baiting.
Section 5: Offensive Game
Robin's Offense is very so-so compared to his Defensive game, but it's still there, and it's still amazing. Like I mentioned before, Robin is very good at Pressuring, just dropping right in front of someone and throwing out Arc-Thunder is a good way to get a grab or even a Shield Break. Well we're on that note of Shield Breaking, Robin can do it, and do it well. Arc-Fire and Arc-Thunder pressuring can dwindle there Shield, and if you're ever able to trap them in a Arc-Thunder while they're in their Shield, run up and Down Smash on their Shield and it will disintegrate their Shield. I can't tell you how many Shields I've broken doing that. For Shield Breaking, Dash Attack, Forward Smash, Down Smash, or any of his Smash Aerials can also break the shield if it's lower, Down Smash is the best though since it does the most Shield damage. Another good Offensive tool are Robin's Auto Canceled Short Hop Aerials. No Lag nearly, hits hard, great range to stay away from your opponent, enough said, am I right.
Section 6: Defensive Game
Hands down Robin's specialty is being Defensive. Using Arc-Fire, El-Thunder, Arc-Thunder, and Auto Canceled Aerials, you can keep your opponent out at all times. Robin's great at forcing his opponent to approach and with all these great walling tools, as they "attempt" to approach you can just keep denying them "Nope...nope...aaannnd...nope" just keep swatting them away like the fly they are. Be sure to play patient, and space your Aerials as well as you can, and don't be repetitive on how you wall them out, or they'll catch on. Mix up how you keep them out, and when they least expect it, RUSH THEM!!! Get that Grab, and take that stock. Play Defensive and build up their damage, then go on the Offense to finish them off...just don't get reckless. As you're being aggro, be sure to still be spacing your attacks and be patient, wait for the opening.
Section 7: Combos
:There is a Video Showcasing Robin's Combos at the end of this Section:
Robin's Combo Game is better than people think or give him credit for.
1: Arc Thunder Combos. Arc Thunder is amazing, I've said this before, it pressures Shields, and can guarantee a Grab if it hits your Opponents Shield. If your opponent Shields Arc Thunder, just run up and Grab, or even Nosferatu if you need/want to, but be weary, there is a Window between the last Multi-hit and the Final Hit of Arc Thunder where they can SpotDodge, keep an eye out. If your opponents Shield is very slightly damaged and you are close enough, Down Smash will break their Shield. If they DO end up being caught in the hits of Arc Thunder, you can Garb, Nosferatu, throw a Discarded Tome at them, hit them with a Smash Aerial (D-Air Ignis Combo) or if you're close enough, a Smash Attack.
2: Arc Fire. For Combos, Arc Fire works similar to Arc Thunder, pressures Shields, can lead to Grabs or Aerial Smash Attacks, but it is easy to avoid, and leaves Robin in a lot of end Lag, Arc Fire is better used to pressure the Ledge and Jabs. If your opponent gets hit by the final explosion of Arc Fire, you need to improvise, mainly just with F-Air, B-Air, and Up-Air.
3: Forward Throw > Thoron. This is a good mix up, and is mainly for killing Heavies and Fast Fallers surprisingly early. To do it, have Thoron charged (You don't say), get a grab, and input Forward throw, and as FAST as possible, launch Thoron. If it's not true comboing, it will be a 50/50, but you can really throw off your opponent by quickly doing a Short Hop to Thoron.
4: Down Throw > Jab (At low %)
Works on all characters.
FastFallers/Heavies, MultiJab for more damage.
5: Bronze Up-Air > Levin Up-Air.
I've dubbed this CheckMate 2.0.
Simple, connect a Landing Bronze Up-Air, Quickly Double Jump up to your Opponent, and do a Levin Up-Air.
This one takes a bit of practice, but it'a worth it.
It kills roughly 10%-20% earlier than CheckMate.
Here is a list of Percents for this Combo
PLEASE read the description at the top of the notes!!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pFxl5ylMTjpjYBB9hcNwTC-JI1Yj3MmU/view?usp=drivesdk
6: Ignis! (Arc Thunder > D-Air)
The Ignis Combo is weird. It needs you to land an Arc Thunder, not on the Shield, ACTUALLY hit them. Now, you should Never bank on Arc Thunder hitting BUT, it does Shield Poke farley consistantly, keep and eye out and be quick.
Now, normally I would not suggest a Combo so hard to get, but its worth learning when you can kill someone at 60% or even lower.
THIS COMBO ABUSES RAGE LIKE NO OTHER!!
Note: This Combo will never spark the Red Lightening. Also, if this Combo doesn't flat out Kill, it sends them at a Terrible angle for recovering. This Combo is Incredibly hard to DI.
7: CHECK MATE!! Easily the GREATEST Thing that ever happened to Robin was the change to his Down Throw. It has lower Knock back and more Hit Stun. With these changes from about 70%-140% (Depends on the Character Weight and Fall Speed) Robin can True Combo Down Throw > Up-Air. Arc Thunder and Arc Fire really help with this since Robin needs to get a Grab. When doing Check Mate I suggest setting one of your shoulder buttons to Jump and your C-Stick to Attack so you can buffer an Up-Air from a jump after the Down Throw as fast as possible. Sounds like a simple Combo, it is, and it's AMAZING. Practice it against various Character Weights and get as fast and precise as possible at executing it. Also, a big note for CheckMate, THIS COMBO F***ING ABUSES RAGE!!
https://youtu.be/pCcrCgPUYTY
Extra Stuff
Thanks for taking the time to read all this.
I'm a competitive Smash 4 Player, and currently Ranked Top 15 in the state of Utah. I main Robin and Marth. This will be a competitive guide for my, hands down, favorite character in the game, Robin. I will be talking about his best Neutral, Offensive, and Defensive options, and his Combos.
Robin is my favorite character in all of Smash, and my personal best. There's quite a story that goes with my reason for liking Robin, but I'll spare you my stories. I've been wanting to do a guide for him for ages.
Sections
1: Pros.
2: Cons.
3: Tome/Levin Sword Durability System, and Tome/Levin Sword Discard usage.
4: Neutral.
5: Offense.
6: Defense.
7: Combos.
Section 1: Pros
Robin has many good, unique things about him, from his Neutral-B that changes with how long you charge, to his Godly Aerial Smash Attacks.
Pro #1: Neutral-B, this move is INSANELY versatile.
Thunder is a small, quick projectile that can stuff a lot of approaches and even some characters short hops are beaten by Thunder. Thunder also has a deceivingly big hit box from how it looks. If it had a bit more range, it would be awesome.
El-Thunder is a big, powerful, fast moving hit box, with great range, that is good for stuffing approaches, edge guarding, and even killing. No complaints about El-Thunder.
Arc-Thunder (in my opinion) is Robin's best form of Neutral-B. It stuffs approaches, it's a massive powerful hit box, it starts off moving slow but then shoots off like a missile. It has multiple multi hits, gives robin multiple follow ups. This is just one of his greatest tools, and you should be trying to find ways of catching your opponent with it at almost all times. I'll go into more detail about this move in the "Combos Section" later.
Thoron, It goes ALL the way across the screen, is really fast, has multiple big powerful hit boxes through out the beam, and actually has a few "True Combo" kill set ups with it. The only bad part is that it uses up a lot of your lightening tome.
Pro #2: Grab Game, though it be short, it be fierce.
Robin's grab is notoriously short ranged, but when he gets the grab he can dish massive punishment. Back Throw is a kill Throw and deals good damage (Around 10%-12%) so use it as a damaging throw. Down Throw+Up-Air=CHECKMATE (I'll go into more detail about JUST how good that Combo is later), and Forward Throw can Combo into Thoron at Mid%-High% (Mainly for Heavies and Fast Fallers) aaaaaannnnd Up Throw is completely useless, seriously, NEVER use Up-Throw. Good ways to get a grab are through Arc-Fire, Arc-Thunder, Roll-Cancled Grab (RC-Grab), and Tomahawking. What is a "Roll-Cancled Grab"? An RC-Grab is performed when you (From a Standing or Walking position) input a Roll, and IMMEDIATELY input Grab. When I say Immediately, I mean IMMEDIATELY, within mere frames. What's good about the RC-Grab? It will bolt Robin a great distance across the Stage and slightely increase his Grab range during the animation. Learn it, Master it, Use it.
Pro #3: Arc-Fire is an amazing pressure tool. You can pressure a Shield to force a reaction, you can set platform traps, and this move is an INCREDIBLE ledge trapping tool. Learn the angle and spacing for it to land it RIGHT on the lip of the ledge and you can make your opponent sweat as they "try" to get back on stage. Also, if your opponent ends up getting stuck or gets launched by Arc-Fire, follow up with a Smash Aerial. Main use, LEDGE TRAPING!! If you land Arc Fire right on the Ledge, it covers Neutral Getup, Getup Attack, Ledge Jump, and Ledge Hang, and if they roll, you should ALWAYS be able to punish, and if they drop ledge, they no longer have invincibility.
Pro #4: El-Wind is a very far reaching recovery, and coupled with Robins good Air Speed, you can drift around quite a bit while soaring with El-Wind. The 2 Wind blades that shoot from El-Wind shoot straight down. The first Blade has a spike effect if you hit the opponent with the start up frames, but if you don't hit with the start up it will hit them and just kind of hold them there, and the second Blade will launch them in the opposite direction you are facing.
Pro #5: Nosferatu. Most Robin mains don't use this move to the best of it's potential, or sometimes just not at all, and I honestly don't see why. It's a command grab that can be used on the ground or in the air, which is AMAZING. It recovers Robin's % while dealing % to your opponent, the amount of % in which you recover and deal is dependent on how much more % you have built up compared to your opponent. So if your % is higher than your opponents, you'll deal more damage and recover more damage. Also, Nosferatu deals and recovers more % if you get the opponent from behind. Note that your opponent can mash out of the animation of Nosferatu, just like a grab.
Pro #6: His Smash Aerials. This is special to Robin. He has 2 variants of all his aerials (except his Neutral Air) one where he uses his Bronze Sword, which has less power and range, and one where he uses his Levin Sword (his Smash Aerials), which has more range and damage. His Smash Aerials are terrifying, they can kill super early, and deal a lot of shield damage, mix this with his pretty good Air Speed and you have a scary Air Fighter. If someone holds Shield on you a lot, just 3 Smash Aerials and that Shield is broken. Robin is a Rage Abusing MONSTER, with Rage, His Smash Aerials can kill at some Absurdly early Percents. Note Down Air should only be used to spike or the Ignis Combo and ONLY if you think you can get Them. DON'T be greedy. Another Note, learn the "Auto Cancel Windows" for his Aerials, that's ESSENTIAL!!
Pro #7: Holy S**t, Holy S**t Robin's Jab is Amazing. Specifically is 1-2-3 Jab is awesome.
It Kills, deals a good %, great boxing tool, amazing "get off me tool", great disjoint, safe on shield at max range. Use it, abuse it. Multi Jab is really good against FastFallers/Heavies.
Section 2: Cons
Robin has some things about him that are unique, but those same things that are are AMAZING for him can also get him killed. Robins Godly Smash Aerials, versatile Lightning and Fire Tomes, far reaching recovery, and the ability to recover damage, all great tools, but they are all limited. Robin has a unique negative factor and that's his "durability system". This system applies to ALL his moves, except for those involving the Bronze Sword.
Cons involving his Swords. His Levin Sword is amazing, having great range and dealing insane damage, but he can only swing the Levin Sword 8 times, then it goes away for 7 seconds. While his Levin Sword is gone, he uses the Bronze Sword, which has less range and damage over all, though the Bronze Sword does have unlimited uses.
Cons involving his Recovery. Robin's Recovery reaches really far both Vertically and Horizontally, but it does not have a Hit Box above you, so you can be easily edge guarded, and to make matters worse, it can only be used 9 times, and then it's gone for 5 seconds, and trust me when I say it will be the longest 5 seconds of your life.
Match Up Cons. If Robin gets out spaced, or your opponent finds a way around, or how to deal with your Tomes, Robin can really struggle.
Extra Cons. His ground speed sucks and his Grab Range is horrible, basically to get a grab you need to be "point blank".
Section 3: The Durability System and Discards
I will now list all the Usage Point Limits of each Tome and the Levin Sword and recharge time for all the Tomes and the Levin Sword.
Lightening Tome: 20 Usage Points. (Thunder: 1 Use. El-Thunder: 3 Uses. Arc-Thunder: 5 Uses. Thoron: 8 Uses.) 10 Seconds to Recharge.
Fire Tome: 6 Usage Points. (Arc-Fire: 1 Use. 1-2-3 Jab Finisher: 1 Use.) 10 Seconds to Recharge.
Wind Tome: 18 Usage Points. (El-Wind: 1 Use per Wind Blade, so 9 uses total. Multi Jab: 1 use every 7 hits and the Finisher.) 5 Seconds to Recharge.
Dark Tome: 4 Usage Points. (Nosferatu: 1 Use.) 40 Seconds to Recharge
Levin Sword: 8 Usage Points. (1 Use per Swing of the Levin Sword) 7 Seconds to Recharge.
Discards: After Robin uses up all the Usage Points on one of his tools he'll "Discard it", when he does this, he'll throw the item behind him. If you're quick to it (and it's really easy to be quick to it) you can catch the discarded item and chuck it at your opponent. Congrats, you are throwing literal garbage at your enemy. The discarded Levin Sword is "ok" as a throwing item, but the discarded Tomes hit like a truck when you throw them, they even can kill around 100%. Make good use of the Discarded Tomes, as they are Powerful throwing items and straight up beat out all but the STRONGEST of Projectiles, its also really tiny and can be hard for the enemy to see sometimes. Use the discarded items in tandem with Arc-Fire and Arc-Thunder to deal massive damage or even kill. Get good at Re-grabbing discards when they bounce off someones Shield. Also, mixing Z-Drop re-grab Aerials with this is very strong, hard to pull off, but good. Also, sometimes if one of your tools is nearly out and you're getting comboed, spam that specific tool, it can pop out of your hand and knock them away mid-combo. That's a little bit of Jankiness from Robin having the Discard/Durability System.
Section 4: Neutral Game
You could compare Robin's Neutral game in Smash4 to Jigglypuff's Neutral game in Melee, keep your opponent out of your comfort zone. Robin is amazing at zoning and forcing the opponent to approach, and then stuffing out their approach. To play Robin's Neutral, you'll have to get good at spacing, with his Sword, Arc-Fire, and his various Lightening Magic. Another bit of Robin's Neutral revolves around his Grab, I know, his grab range is bad, but Robin is great at forcing an opponent to stay in their shield. Using a mix of Auto Canceled Aerials, Arc-Fire, and Arc-Thunder, you can pressure an opponent to stay in Shield as very few things can actually challenge any of the 3 options I just listed. Using these tools, you can guarantee a Grab which can lead to big damage. Robin's Jab is amazing, I mentioned this earlier. His Jab is an Amazing Boxing tool, his 1-2-3 Jab is fast and kills, and his Multi Jab does a lot of Damage against FastFallers/Heavies, and if they don't SDI out of it, it can kill. Another depth to Robin's Neutral, you need to keep track of the Usage Points remaining on Robin's tools, especially his Wind Tome since that's your recovery. Keeping good track of your Usage Points, you know when, where, and how you should use up your tomes, and sometimes intentionally using up a tool just to get a discard is good, since it will give you a good throwing item. Over all, Robin is a very Defensive-Pressure based Character who utilizes very effective Zoning and Trapping.
With Trapping, put them to the Ledge as much as you can, when Robin can corner someone, he can Crush them with his incredible Ledge trapping game.
One quick VERY IMPORTANT NOTE!!
Learn to B-reverse, helps with landing and baiting.
Section 5: Offensive Game
Robin's Offense is very so-so compared to his Defensive game, but it's still there, and it's still amazing. Like I mentioned before, Robin is very good at Pressuring, just dropping right in front of someone and throwing out Arc-Thunder is a good way to get a grab or even a Shield Break. Well we're on that note of Shield Breaking, Robin can do it, and do it well. Arc-Fire and Arc-Thunder pressuring can dwindle there Shield, and if you're ever able to trap them in a Arc-Thunder while they're in their Shield, run up and Down Smash on their Shield and it will disintegrate their Shield. I can't tell you how many Shields I've broken doing that. For Shield Breaking, Dash Attack, Forward Smash, Down Smash, or any of his Smash Aerials can also break the shield if it's lower, Down Smash is the best though since it does the most Shield damage. Another good Offensive tool are Robin's Auto Canceled Short Hop Aerials. No Lag nearly, hits hard, great range to stay away from your opponent, enough said, am I right.
Section 6: Defensive Game
Hands down Robin's specialty is being Defensive. Using Arc-Fire, El-Thunder, Arc-Thunder, and Auto Canceled Aerials, you can keep your opponent out at all times. Robin's great at forcing his opponent to approach and with all these great walling tools, as they "attempt" to approach you can just keep denying them "Nope...nope...aaannnd...nope" just keep swatting them away like the fly they are. Be sure to play patient, and space your Aerials as well as you can, and don't be repetitive on how you wall them out, or they'll catch on. Mix up how you keep them out, and when they least expect it, RUSH THEM!!! Get that Grab, and take that stock. Play Defensive and build up their damage, then go on the Offense to finish them off...just don't get reckless. As you're being aggro, be sure to still be spacing your attacks and be patient, wait for the opening.
Section 7: Combos
:There is a Video Showcasing Robin's Combos at the end of this Section:
Robin's Combo Game is better than people think or give him credit for.
1: Arc Thunder Combos. Arc Thunder is amazing, I've said this before, it pressures Shields, and can guarantee a Grab if it hits your Opponents Shield. If your opponent Shields Arc Thunder, just run up and Grab, or even Nosferatu if you need/want to, but be weary, there is a Window between the last Multi-hit and the Final Hit of Arc Thunder where they can SpotDodge, keep an eye out. If your opponents Shield is very slightly damaged and you are close enough, Down Smash will break their Shield. If they DO end up being caught in the hits of Arc Thunder, you can Garb, Nosferatu, throw a Discarded Tome at them, hit them with a Smash Aerial (D-Air Ignis Combo) or if you're close enough, a Smash Attack.
2: Arc Fire. For Combos, Arc Fire works similar to Arc Thunder, pressures Shields, can lead to Grabs or Aerial Smash Attacks, but it is easy to avoid, and leaves Robin in a lot of end Lag, Arc Fire is better used to pressure the Ledge and Jabs. If your opponent gets hit by the final explosion of Arc Fire, you need to improvise, mainly just with F-Air, B-Air, and Up-Air.
3: Forward Throw > Thoron. This is a good mix up, and is mainly for killing Heavies and Fast Fallers surprisingly early. To do it, have Thoron charged (You don't say), get a grab, and input Forward throw, and as FAST as possible, launch Thoron. If it's not true comboing, it will be a 50/50, but you can really throw off your opponent by quickly doing a Short Hop to Thoron.
4: Down Throw > Jab (At low %)
Works on all characters.
FastFallers/Heavies, MultiJab for more damage.
5: Bronze Up-Air > Levin Up-Air.
I've dubbed this CheckMate 2.0.
Simple, connect a Landing Bronze Up-Air, Quickly Double Jump up to your Opponent, and do a Levin Up-Air.
This one takes a bit of practice, but it'a worth it.
It kills roughly 10%-20% earlier than CheckMate.
Here is a list of Percents for this Combo
PLEASE read the description at the top of the notes!!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pFxl5ylMTjpjYBB9hcNwTC-JI1Yj3MmU/view?usp=drivesdk
6: Ignis! (Arc Thunder > D-Air)
The Ignis Combo is weird. It needs you to land an Arc Thunder, not on the Shield, ACTUALLY hit them. Now, you should Never bank on Arc Thunder hitting BUT, it does Shield Poke farley consistantly, keep and eye out and be quick.
Now, normally I would not suggest a Combo so hard to get, but its worth learning when you can kill someone at 60% or even lower.
THIS COMBO ABUSES RAGE LIKE NO OTHER!!
Note: This Combo will never spark the Red Lightening. Also, if this Combo doesn't flat out Kill, it sends them at a Terrible angle for recovering. This Combo is Incredibly hard to DI.
7: CHECK MATE!! Easily the GREATEST Thing that ever happened to Robin was the change to his Down Throw. It has lower Knock back and more Hit Stun. With these changes from about 70%-140% (Depends on the Character Weight and Fall Speed) Robin can True Combo Down Throw > Up-Air. Arc Thunder and Arc Fire really help with this since Robin needs to get a Grab. When doing Check Mate I suggest setting one of your shoulder buttons to Jump and your C-Stick to Attack so you can buffer an Up-Air from a jump after the Down Throw as fast as possible. Sounds like a simple Combo, it is, and it's AMAZING. Practice it against various Character Weights and get as fast and precise as possible at executing it. Also, a big note for CheckMate, THIS COMBO F***ING ABUSES RAGE!!
https://youtu.be/pCcrCgPUYTY
Extra Stuff
- Learn How to B-Reverse Robin's Lightening Charge, it helps with Baiting, Landing, and General Mix Ups.
- Learn the Auto-Cancel Windows for all his Aerials.
- Robin's Levin D-Air can work a lot like Cloud's D-Air because of the Spark that happens at the end frames, learn when in Auto-Cancels.
- Learn the Spacing for the Arc-Fire Ledge Trap.
- Don't be afraid to Swing your Levin Aerials, it's a powerful Neutral tool, and it comes back after 7 Seconds
- Robin is very good at Sharking Landings, learn it, abuse it.
- Roll Canceled Garb.
- Ledge Jump Canceled Nosferatu.
Thanks for taking the time to read all this.
