Are there any actual safe neutral options besides Nair and Gyro?

[Rajikaru]

So I've been starting to go to local Sm4sh tournaments with my friends - I used to play a lot of different characters but I've been focusing on ROB since I got back into the game - and I'm having a lot of fun maining ROB! The Gyro is really reliable for neutral and the nair if auto lag spaced is incredibly safe, but it seems like when people learn how to counter it, there's nothing else to use for engage and I get outspaced. This happened in my latest tourney - facing a Marth that I had played before who stomped me as Pikachu. We went 1-1 and the last game was close, but it felt like I could do nothing as he could outspace my nair with his Marth range, and the Ness I had faced before him just combo'd me to death. I love ROB, he's fun and has a unique playstyle that blends Diddy's item manipulation and the projectile mindgames of Villager/Link/Megaman/etc, but I feel like as soon as people learn how to shield when you're Gyroing and counter your Nair, you can only get so far. I get combo'd hard because of how floaty and at the same time heavy I am, my only reliable airgame is Nair, it feels like that's all that's left for ROB barring Gyro mindgames. At first I thought it was just my playstyle that was resulting in mostly losses, but then I saw a Sm4sh competitive stream and the only ROB in the pool was 2 stocked in both of his matches.

Is it time for me to move on to a new main? Am I just not using all of ROB's specialties? I wouldn't lie and say I know absolutely everything there is about ROB, I learned about how good his auto lag cancel NAIR and downtilt shield poke are only yesterday, but at the same time it feels like he's not high tier for a reason and that I'd be better off just learning somebody else if I did want to actually win consistently, like Cloud. Not that I don't play to have fun, of course.

So, are there other neutral options for ROB besides Nair and Gyro/lazer abuse? Or am I just gonna get stomped by higher tier characters most of the time?

 

[Mr Purple]

A liberal use of Rob's retreating F-air is required to win against good aggressive players i've found. Rob seemed much more viable once I got good at this.

 

[Crome]

You're describing an incredibly bare bones R.O.B, he's one of the most complex characters in the game. However from what I've noticed, it's easy to get into habits when shooting projectiles or using nair. Next time you play, think incredibly hard about your actions.

Another thing to keep in mind is the gyro, much more can be done than just being shot from the hip. Staying still charging isn't a great option most of the time, due to his short grab range and lacking oos options. But gyro in hand is an amazing item, your mind games increase ten fold when you have the gyro readily available like that.

Now, to answer your individual questions

Is it time for me to move on to a new main? Am I just not using all of ROB's specialties? I wouldn't lie and say I know absolutely everything there is about ROB, I learned about how good his auto lag cancel NAIR and downtilt shield poke are only yesterday, but at the same time it feels like he's not high tier for a reason and that I'd be better off just learning somebody else if I did want to actually win consistently, like Cloud. Not that I don't play to have fun, of course.

So, are there other neutral options for ROB besides Nair and Gyro/lazer abuse? Or am I just gonna get stomped by higher tier characters most of the time?

R.O.B is not an easy character. I play R.O.B because, to me, he is the most god damn satisfying character in the game to play. R.O.B is not a top tier character. He does lose quite a few match ups (Pikachu is believed to be one of his worst, but that's a discussion for later). So if you want to have an easier time and get better results, switching is a good options.

However you're still incredibly new. I've been playing R.O.B for 2 years and I still have **** to learn. R.O.B is much more than just shooting projectiles. I'm sorry for not going into great detail, this is just the super basics. Feel free to ask me any more questions or for any resources, we have plenty of guides here for AT's and match ups, as well as some social media groups for discussion. These boards themselves are pretty dead.

 

[kraftyrob]

Gyro tricks such as z-dropping and recatch aerials are useful for mix-ups with the gyro. IGC down-tilts are also a good approach option that can lead to a grab (if it trips) or another down-tilt or gyro.