CovetedTerminus
Smash Rookie
I’ve been playing a lot with Rosalina and Luma lately and have been trying to get more creative with my playstyle with her. I’d show videos of my play but I don’t have any recording devices unfortunately, but I still need to practice my fundamentals more anyway.
I’ve been noticing that in tournament play, especially for players like Dabuz, they will detether Luma but will do so very rarely. Now, I don’t know how hard it is to keep Luma alive in tournaments (as I don’t play competitively) but I’ve been finding that Luma actually stays alive longer when detethered, compared to when combined with Rosa. Reason being is that having them separated allows RosaLuma to play significantly more mind games and forces the opponent to have to choose between one or the other instead of attacking them both at one spot. Luma’s AI is a lot better than one might think, especially if you get decent at controlling her movement when detethered. For instance, if Rosa and Luma are on opposite sides of the stage and Rosa jumps, Luma is likely to jump too (especially if the opponent is above them, as Luma does change her movement based on the enemy’s location). So you can make Luma jump into them and attack while Rosa is nowhere nearby. Can also use Luma’s side+B to throw off your opponents attacks and make it harder for them to get in on Luma. I’ve also ran off the stage with Rosa before in order to hit the opponent off the stage with Luma, then recover before they do to get stage control.
That said, however, the best way to protect them both is to keep them detethered but still near each other so that they can cover one another whenever the enemy gets in close. That way if they go after Luma, Rosalina is right there to sweep in for a free hit/grab and vice versa for if they go after Rosa, Luma is close enough to get a punish off. Especially if they try to grab Rosa, they have to be quick on their throw or they’re likely to be hit out of the grab. I’ve done that multiple times and have even hit Bowser out of his side+B grab slam attack once. He tried landing on Luma in order to hurt Rosa while killing Luma but instead, Luma got an up+tilt attack off which saved Rosa from taking any damage and despite Luma dying, it hurt Bowser while putting him in a position of having to retreat from a Rosa aerial attack. I’ve noticed that Luma can get hits off more easily when detethered while Rosa is grabbed or in hitstun, as opposed to when combined. Luma is less inclined to act independently when tethered to Rosa. However, when detethered, Luma will more easily get hits off even when Rosa is hitstunned. Same for after Rosa uses her up+b, Luma can attack while Rosa can’t, so I like to use her up+b to fly past Luma in order to cover an approach from the opponent. Not really sure why this is, but from my experience if Rosa gets grabbed or stunned while Luma is tethered, Luma takes longer to attack or won’t do so at all.
Luma also has somewhat deceptive movement when detethered. If the opponent is focusing purely on Rosa and not paying enough attention to Luma, she will often come in behind for a flank and a free punish (or to force the opponent to move away from Rosalina by going after Luma, or to retreat entirely, or force them into a premature attack against Rosa), even if the opponent is in the air or on a platform. Luma will still go after them up there, especially if Rosa is airborne. I’ve even had Luma intentionally swap positions with me, so I’ll drop down from a platform while Luma moves up onto it to be in the opponent’s face, and vice versa to cover their movement better (as it allows you to hit both on the ground and on the platform at the same time) and get easier reads, as well as for the AI to protect Rosa better and keep your opponent guessing. This is what I mean when I say that the AI is a lot smarter than you’d initially assume. This forces the opponent to have to pay attention to the both of them, as Luma when away from Rosa while tethered isn’t inclined to move at all unless straight back to Rosa’s arms which limits her usefulness. As when tethered, Luma is strict on making sure to follow orders and only act or move when told to. Basically, a lot of it comes down to not only knowing how to control Luma, but to also trust the AI to get your back without having to control her the entire time.
Their detethered idle position is also really good, as I’m sure most people already know, as Luma spaces herself just right so that the middle section between them is easily covered. If you’re charging a forward smash and the opponent is running in, they’ll either get hit by Luma or run past her and get hit by Rosalina, as an example. This is useful for edgeguarding, as you can have Luma sit on the edge while Rosa sits a little bit away and charge a down smash. You can cover both getups and rolls, so they have to either jump away from or attack Luma since she’s right there (or time their roll/getup just right). As it not only hits every spot in the middle of the two of them, but also hits the outside of their position as well. And if they have a habit of attacking Luma, you can bait them into doing so while running in with Rosa for a punish. It’s a great way to figure out how your opponent likes to move while staying relatively safe and still having the chance to get in hits.
The whole playstyle is more defensive than it is aggressive and relies heavily on mindgames, reading your opponent, and forcing them to make a choice, then punishing them for making it. Need to make both Rosalina and Luma feel alive and keep the opponent from knowing which one of them is going to hit them, on top of never feeling like attacking either of them is free by punishing them for going after either of them. This is particularly useful if you’re good at baiting and reading who your opponent wants to attack. Bait them into going after one while the other gets in position to attack when not expected. Such as Luma behind Rosa while Rosa is fighting the opponent, then having Rosa run away through Luma while Luma runs in and is there to punish if the opponent tries to chase Rosa (Luma will usually move towards the opponent when you attempt this, which makes it work rather well because then from the opponent’s perspective, it’s like Luma just shows up out of nowhere). It essentially turns the game into a 2v1 match of trying to prevent them from knowing where you’re going to attack from while pressuring them into feeling like they need to figure out which one of you to go after (especially if they’re sandwiched between the two). Especially when Rosa’s down+B stops a lot of projectile games against her (not to mention shooting Luma at them to apply pressure without having to go in), so it’s hard for the opponent to switch it around by trying to force you to come to them, as that often doesn’t work.
Not only that, but Luma seems to have a lot of priority on her attacks, so even if they’re going after Luma you can pretty much fight them 1v1 with only Luma if you get your reads and timing right. Especially since Luma can’t be grabbed, on top of her mixing them up with her side+B projectile. For instance, if they expect Luma to attack left they may try to roll past her attack in order to run after Rosa instead but if you read it, you can punish their roll by attacking right instead of left (which is even easier with the side+b as it’s a longer ranged attack with hitstun). The two of them will basically fight while Rosalina just sits back watching their opponent take damage at no risk. Could even read the roll, hit them right which knocks them into Rosalina, who then hits them left back into Luma. You can play a hacky sack type combo until they manage to get out of it. Those are easily the most satisfying combos I’ve had in this game so far.
Another bonus to this style of play is that even if Luma dies, you’ll be extremely used to using Rosalina without having Luma next to her, so it doesn’t throw off the way it feels to you and you can play relatively the same whether Luma is alive or dead. They actually have a great amount of kill power even when separated; I’ve launch killed opponents with Luma by herself and with Rosa by herself at decent percentages, as they both have power and range even when not using a combined attack. So you don’t need Luma tethered or even there at all in order to kill or intimidate. Plus, you can also use Luma’s death to read your opponent’s movement better (people often get more aggressive when Luma dies) and Luma dying essentially just gets you even more in your opponent’s head.
With that said, you can also bring them together to throw off what your range feels like to your opponent, as well as changing up your attack patterns. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I swear their combined forward smash has Luma launch forward a little for more range, wherein she doesn’t do that when detethered. If that’s true, it’s an even better way to throw off your opponent with deceptive changes in range. Also a good way to protect Luma if you’re losing the fights with her a lot, then throw her back out when the opponent is used to you two being together. So basically you bring them together not only for a more standard play, but also as a means of keeping your opponent from knowing exactly what you’re going to do.
I know I typed up a lot to read and there’s probably even things I’ve missed, but I wanted to try and share as many tactics and Luma habits as I could think of to give people something to experiment with. I don’t know how much of this is already known, nor how much of this is new. I don’t know how viable in tournaments it is, but I do know one thing. It’s one of the most fun styles I’ve played in a smash game. I intend to try and make it work if I can, but I also want other people to experiment with it and find ways to make it more viable. I feel like RosaLuma has a lot of untapped potential that we haven’t even started to touch on yet and I want to have her limits unlocked. I really want to encourage people to try her out with these types of tactics and playstyles, or others that they can think of because of this. So if there’s any of you out there who prefer more defensive styles based on intuition, reading your opponents, coming up with on-the-go tactics without much reliance on speed, I recommend trying out RosaLuma while mixing up how often you keep Luma tethered. I personally think Luma is a lot more effective detethered, only tethering her for mix ups and at times where it feels like the better option. Basically to play her the opposite of how most people seem to now, where the focus is more on protecting Rosa than it is on protecting Luma.
Luma is basically a permanent projectile until killed, at which point she respawns anyway. She makes a great bodyguard and gives Rosalina more of a puppetmaster feel. She reminds me of the character Kankuro from Naruto, if any of you ever watch it. That’s how it feels to me whenever I play as her and I gotta say, it’s a lot of fun. If any of you try this out, let me know how it works out for you. And if you come up with any new tactics, tech, or anything else, feel free to share it here. I’m very eager to discuss this character. It was actually the main reason I made an account on here just now, other than that I want to get better at the games.
I’ve been noticing that in tournament play, especially for players like Dabuz, they will detether Luma but will do so very rarely. Now, I don’t know how hard it is to keep Luma alive in tournaments (as I don’t play competitively) but I’ve been finding that Luma actually stays alive longer when detethered, compared to when combined with Rosa. Reason being is that having them separated allows RosaLuma to play significantly more mind games and forces the opponent to have to choose between one or the other instead of attacking them both at one spot. Luma’s AI is a lot better than one might think, especially if you get decent at controlling her movement when detethered. For instance, if Rosa and Luma are on opposite sides of the stage and Rosa jumps, Luma is likely to jump too (especially if the opponent is above them, as Luma does change her movement based on the enemy’s location). So you can make Luma jump into them and attack while Rosa is nowhere nearby. Can also use Luma’s side+B to throw off your opponents attacks and make it harder for them to get in on Luma. I’ve also ran off the stage with Rosa before in order to hit the opponent off the stage with Luma, then recover before they do to get stage control.
That said, however, the best way to protect them both is to keep them detethered but still near each other so that they can cover one another whenever the enemy gets in close. That way if they go after Luma, Rosalina is right there to sweep in for a free hit/grab and vice versa for if they go after Rosa, Luma is close enough to get a punish off. Especially if they try to grab Rosa, they have to be quick on their throw or they’re likely to be hit out of the grab. I’ve done that multiple times and have even hit Bowser out of his side+B grab slam attack once. He tried landing on Luma in order to hurt Rosa while killing Luma but instead, Luma got an up+tilt attack off which saved Rosa from taking any damage and despite Luma dying, it hurt Bowser while putting him in a position of having to retreat from a Rosa aerial attack. I’ve noticed that Luma can get hits off more easily when detethered while Rosa is grabbed or in hitstun, as opposed to when combined. Luma is less inclined to act independently when tethered to Rosa. However, when detethered, Luma will more easily get hits off even when Rosa is hitstunned. Same for after Rosa uses her up+b, Luma can attack while Rosa can’t, so I like to use her up+b to fly past Luma in order to cover an approach from the opponent. Not really sure why this is, but from my experience if Rosa gets grabbed or stunned while Luma is tethered, Luma takes longer to attack or won’t do so at all.
Luma also has somewhat deceptive movement when detethered. If the opponent is focusing purely on Rosa and not paying enough attention to Luma, she will often come in behind for a flank and a free punish (or to force the opponent to move away from Rosalina by going after Luma, or to retreat entirely, or force them into a premature attack against Rosa), even if the opponent is in the air or on a platform. Luma will still go after them up there, especially if Rosa is airborne. I’ve even had Luma intentionally swap positions with me, so I’ll drop down from a platform while Luma moves up onto it to be in the opponent’s face, and vice versa to cover their movement better (as it allows you to hit both on the ground and on the platform at the same time) and get easier reads, as well as for the AI to protect Rosa better and keep your opponent guessing. This is what I mean when I say that the AI is a lot smarter than you’d initially assume. This forces the opponent to have to pay attention to the both of them, as Luma when away from Rosa while tethered isn’t inclined to move at all unless straight back to Rosa’s arms which limits her usefulness. As when tethered, Luma is strict on making sure to follow orders and only act or move when told to. Basically, a lot of it comes down to not only knowing how to control Luma, but to also trust the AI to get your back without having to control her the entire time.
Their detethered idle position is also really good, as I’m sure most people already know, as Luma spaces herself just right so that the middle section between them is easily covered. If you’re charging a forward smash and the opponent is running in, they’ll either get hit by Luma or run past her and get hit by Rosalina, as an example. This is useful for edgeguarding, as you can have Luma sit on the edge while Rosa sits a little bit away and charge a down smash. You can cover both getups and rolls, so they have to either jump away from or attack Luma since she’s right there (or time their roll/getup just right). As it not only hits every spot in the middle of the two of them, but also hits the outside of their position as well. And if they have a habit of attacking Luma, you can bait them into doing so while running in with Rosa for a punish. It’s a great way to figure out how your opponent likes to move while staying relatively safe and still having the chance to get in hits.
The whole playstyle is more defensive than it is aggressive and relies heavily on mindgames, reading your opponent, and forcing them to make a choice, then punishing them for making it. Need to make both Rosalina and Luma feel alive and keep the opponent from knowing which one of them is going to hit them, on top of never feeling like attacking either of them is free by punishing them for going after either of them. This is particularly useful if you’re good at baiting and reading who your opponent wants to attack. Bait them into going after one while the other gets in position to attack when not expected. Such as Luma behind Rosa while Rosa is fighting the opponent, then having Rosa run away through Luma while Luma runs in and is there to punish if the opponent tries to chase Rosa (Luma will usually move towards the opponent when you attempt this, which makes it work rather well because then from the opponent’s perspective, it’s like Luma just shows up out of nowhere). It essentially turns the game into a 2v1 match of trying to prevent them from knowing where you’re going to attack from while pressuring them into feeling like they need to figure out which one of you to go after (especially if they’re sandwiched between the two). Especially when Rosa’s down+B stops a lot of projectile games against her (not to mention shooting Luma at them to apply pressure without having to go in), so it’s hard for the opponent to switch it around by trying to force you to come to them, as that often doesn’t work.
Not only that, but Luma seems to have a lot of priority on her attacks, so even if they’re going after Luma you can pretty much fight them 1v1 with only Luma if you get your reads and timing right. Especially since Luma can’t be grabbed, on top of her mixing them up with her side+B projectile. For instance, if they expect Luma to attack left they may try to roll past her attack in order to run after Rosa instead but if you read it, you can punish their roll by attacking right instead of left (which is even easier with the side+b as it’s a longer ranged attack with hitstun). The two of them will basically fight while Rosalina just sits back watching their opponent take damage at no risk. Could even read the roll, hit them right which knocks them into Rosalina, who then hits them left back into Luma. You can play a hacky sack type combo until they manage to get out of it. Those are easily the most satisfying combos I’ve had in this game so far.
Another bonus to this style of play is that even if Luma dies, you’ll be extremely used to using Rosalina without having Luma next to her, so it doesn’t throw off the way it feels to you and you can play relatively the same whether Luma is alive or dead. They actually have a great amount of kill power even when separated; I’ve launch killed opponents with Luma by herself and with Rosa by herself at decent percentages, as they both have power and range even when not using a combined attack. So you don’t need Luma tethered or even there at all in order to kill or intimidate. Plus, you can also use Luma’s death to read your opponent’s movement better (people often get more aggressive when Luma dies) and Luma dying essentially just gets you even more in your opponent’s head.
With that said, you can also bring them together to throw off what your range feels like to your opponent, as well as changing up your attack patterns. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I swear their combined forward smash has Luma launch forward a little for more range, wherein she doesn’t do that when detethered. If that’s true, it’s an even better way to throw off your opponent with deceptive changes in range. Also a good way to protect Luma if you’re losing the fights with her a lot, then throw her back out when the opponent is used to you two being together. So basically you bring them together not only for a more standard play, but also as a means of keeping your opponent from knowing exactly what you’re going to do.
I know I typed up a lot to read and there’s probably even things I’ve missed, but I wanted to try and share as many tactics and Luma habits as I could think of to give people something to experiment with. I don’t know how much of this is already known, nor how much of this is new. I don’t know how viable in tournaments it is, but I do know one thing. It’s one of the most fun styles I’ve played in a smash game. I intend to try and make it work if I can, but I also want other people to experiment with it and find ways to make it more viable. I feel like RosaLuma has a lot of untapped potential that we haven’t even started to touch on yet and I want to have her limits unlocked. I really want to encourage people to try her out with these types of tactics and playstyles, or others that they can think of because of this. So if there’s any of you out there who prefer more defensive styles based on intuition, reading your opponents, coming up with on-the-go tactics without much reliance on speed, I recommend trying out RosaLuma while mixing up how often you keep Luma tethered. I personally think Luma is a lot more effective detethered, only tethering her for mix ups and at times where it feels like the better option. Basically to play her the opposite of how most people seem to now, where the focus is more on protecting Rosa than it is on protecting Luma.
Luma is basically a permanent projectile until killed, at which point she respawns anyway. She makes a great bodyguard and gives Rosalina more of a puppetmaster feel. She reminds me of the character Kankuro from Naruto, if any of you ever watch it. That’s how it feels to me whenever I play as her and I gotta say, it’s a lot of fun. If any of you try this out, let me know how it works out for you. And if you come up with any new tactics, tech, or anything else, feel free to share it here. I’m very eager to discuss this character. It was actually the main reason I made an account on here just now, other than that I want to get better at the games.
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