Well that's great. I get to put up a moveset after Junahu and n88 put up their newest ones? Talk about getting swept under the wrong.
And I worked so hard on this, too. I'll get to actually talking about them later, as they're no doubt worth the re-
Oh wait Jun's is a MYMini. Never mind.
EDIT: Finished reading through Malazath or Chodegath or whatever his name was, I'm not too privy on League of Legends, and from what I can tell, he's a zoning character who wants to set up as much between him and his opponent as possible while limiting their mobility at the same time. However, one part about Malazahar I really liked is his mobility options; between portals and several attacks revolving around them, you make a lot of his mobility revolve around them without giving your opponents an incidental use for them. I do admit that the silence effect on Null Zone is kind of useless due to SSBB being more of a visual fighter but I digress. I think it's a well done moveset.
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By the time I’ve started this, it will be before Rocket Raccoon footage for Ultimate MVC3 is released. So if there are any similarities between this set and that one, just know that I came up with it first.
So, what do you do if you’re playing as an anthropomorphic raccoon? Do you start playing like every other Star Fox character, run away, and use stuff that they’ve never actually used in games before other than the blaster? Do you play like some sort of pathetic Pokemon under the control of an omniscient and unseen trainer? Well you know what Rocket Raccoon does?
Well reader, you stand there and say, “Gee, Rocket Raccoon, I’m so glad you brought that unfeasibly large cannon with you…” And then he goes like this:
Whoops, looks like he accidentally shot Junahu. In the head.
Yeah, don’t worry, I’m not too sure how many people will miss him anyway.
Anyways, onto the actual **** of the hour. Rocket Raccoon is the result of sentient robots giving intelligence and awareness to animal companions left by their human creators. The raccoon was one of these creatures left behind to guard a galactic insane asylum by the robots and the psychiatric diary left by physicians became an “indecipherable icon” called Gideon’s Bible. However, when someone tried to steal the bible, Rocket Raccoon stopped the thief. After a war in which the patients at the asylum became self-aware, Rocket Raccoon and his animal/robot friends launched an expedition to explore the galaxy. After being liberated from the Skrulls, Rocket Raccoon became a part of Starlord’s Guardians of the Galaxy, proving to be an essential member due to his fearlessness, loyalty, genius intellect, military intelligence, and skill with weapons.
In the comics, Rocket possesses the same abilities as Earth raccoons- an acute sense of smell and sharp eyesight. However, Rocket is also a starship pilot, able marksman, skilled hand-to-hand combatant, and intelligent military tactician. While these things don’t necessarily translate to the world of Smash very well, Rocket has another thing going for him- he has a metric ton of weapons at his disposal, with equal proficiency in using all of them. Also interesting are his rocket skates that allow him to fly short distances and that he can carry at least one other animal with him. While Rocket certainly isn’t the most well known Marvel hero in the business, he’s garnered enough attention from his inclusion in Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3. How he will perform in that game is anyone’s guess but for now, I’m creating Rocket as a Smash character, regardless of how poor that game is creativity wise.
However, before I do, I doubt any of the previously mentioned things outside of relevance to Smash gameplay matter to you since… well, you don’t know who Rocket Raccoon is. So I’ll give you comparisons. Rocket Raccoon is short, crafty, bad@ss, and smart enough to outwit even Thanos, a titan who had control of most of what comprises our realm. He’s Star Fox but he fights tougher foes, he is Howard the Duck combined with The Punisher, he is a Tanuki combined with Guts from Berserk or Walter from Hellsing. He is just that awesome. And now you’re about to see what Rambo Raccoon has to offer.
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STATS AND OTHER COOL STUFF (On a 1-5 ranking basis)
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Ground Speed: 4 (Being a raccoon, Rocket already has naturally high agility. Combine that with his rocket skates and you have a skittering combat veteran with the adorability factor of being a raccoon.)
Aerial Speed: 2 (Even though he is a raccoon, Rocket still has some fall speed to him since he likes heaving around heavy weaponry. He’s still pretty light regardless of what he’s packing, however, so he’ll fall at a slow pace.)
Aerial Control: 3 (Realistically, it would be a five given the rocket skates but for balance’s sake, we’ll give Rocket decent control over his aerial movements.)
Power: 2 (Most of Rocket’s attacks mostly come from strength in numbers. With a wide variety of weaponry at his disposal, they mostly end up on the weaker quadrants. This does not mean Rocket lacks dangerously strong attacks; it’s just that most of the time, expect to pepper the opponent over time rather than cripple them instantly.)
Attack Speed: 4 (Again, it would be a five due to being a raccoon with naturally enhanced speed/agility. However, some of Rocket’s attacks can be very slow to come out so for the sake of accuracy, Rocket’s attacks mostly range in the swift speed department.)
Jump Skills: 4 (His rocket skates do help with getting a higher jump into the air, although his recovery move isn’t spectacular. Rocket does get some helpful weapons while airborne, however, so keep that in mind.)
Weight: 1 (Rocket is 55 pounds. That is very, very light. So he’s going to get knocked out of the ring as easily as Mr. Game & Watch or Jigglypuff regardless of what he’s carrying on him.)
Height: 1 (Rocket is also only four feet. To be fair, Jigglypuff is a little over one foot and Olimar can be argued to be the size of a penny. So for the sake of adaptation, Rocket is as small as Olimar, making him a very difficult target to hit.)
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You don’t mind me aiming my unfeasibly large gun at you, do you?
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B (Rocket Barrage): Rocket pulls out a large missile launcher that fires up to eight rockets depending on how you tap the special button. During the move, Rocket remains completely stationary, although the rockets have a homing tendency so he doesn’t need to worry about this move being a one trick pony. Each missile deals 15% damage per rocket as well as a good amount of knockback, often killing the heaviest foe at 120%. Each missile is the size of an Aura Sphere and travels at the speed of Samus’ homing missile. Unlike most projectile, however, every missile won’t stop until they hit something, be it the stage, an enemy, or even Rocket. Yes, that’s right- a crafty foe can maneuver the homing mechanism of the missiles into Rocket’s direction, causing a complete reversal of situations- Rocket is stunned, damaged, and open for punishment. That doesn’t change the fact that the Rocket Barrage is immensely helpful for Rocket’s primary strategy: keeping the bad guys away.
The amount of missiles Rocket CAN shoot out can be as few as one but as many as eight, depending on how often you tap the special button. The firing rate steadily increases the more missiles you send out, however, totaling the time required for maximum carnage to one and a half seconds, not counting the beginning (one quarter of a second) and ending (half a second) lags. You can’t just mash the special button to send out more missiles either; you’ll have to rhythmically tap the special button every time the muzzle flash appears on the missile launcher or you’ll drop the combo and Rocket will put away the missile launcher. The one primary use this move has is in heavily damaging the opponent from afar. However, it does this extremely well enough to act as Rocket’s most reliable long-range death dealer.
B^ (Rocket Skates): Rocket clangs his two rocket skates together to activate their capability to increase movement. Rocket then enters a aerial movement state similar to ROB’s in that the skates give Rocket complete freedom of movement; he can move in any direction at the same speed as ROB and can even hover over the opponent to cause continuous damage (Although the damage is small, about 1% per quarter of a second) and minor stun, although the small hitbox requires Rocket to be above and close to them, which is something that not every match-up should recommend. Still, as a recovery move, Rocket Skates are pretty damn good. The hovering state lasts for two and a half seconds during which multiple things can be done other than recover.
Rocket can cancel out of his recovery state with an aerial attack or an air dash. Whenever you come out of his recovery mode with an air dash, Rocket’s skates let out a brief burst of energy, pushing Rocket forward or backward depending on the direction you tap twice. Anyone behind Rocket during the opening animations of the air dash is knocked away and given 10% damage, although the hitbox for the burst is even more situational than the recovery mode. You only have access to one air dash once you leave the ground, so use it wisely. Like Robo Burner, Rocket Skates run off fuel and take a little over two seconds on the ground to recharge should Rocket want to use this move again, and the skates cannot recharge while in midair. However, Rocket can attack and dash out of the recovery state, wait for the animation to end, and then use the remaining time Rocket had left in his recovery state to recover. And unlike Wings of Icarus, Rocket CAN use this move again if he is hit during the recovery state.
BV (Good Boy, Cosmo): A dog in a space suit appears behind Rocket, the latter taken by surprise at first. However, this is no ordinary dog- it’s Cosmo, resident of Knowhere and one of the most powerful telepaths in the Marvel universe. Fortunately for his friend’s foes, Cosmo is only here to defend Rocket and not attack anyone. When Cosmo appears directly behind Rocket, the dog uses his telepathic powers to create a defensive shield that completely surrounds Rocket for five seconds. Cosmo then disappears before Rocket gives thanks to the dog. You can’t summon Cosmo when you already have a shield up and there is a time minimum of ten seconds when your shield disappears. The shield knocks back any enemy for 7% damage and absorbing any projectile thrown at it, converting said projectile into energy that helps the shield last longer. It helps to know that you can’t activate this move in the air and during the full second it takes to activate the shield, any wary foe can attack Rocket or Cosmo to stop the shield from coming up, although Cosmo takes no damage and simply blocks the attack before disappearing.
While the shield does surround Rocket completely, keep in mind that Rocket is a small target anyway- the shield isn’t large enough to threaten anyone and Rocket should maintain his runaway game. It is helpful against anyone who plays aggressively with projectiles or heavily defensive characters, requiring them to switch up their game plans. However, Rocket must stand still while Cosmo summons the shield, leaving the opponent to quickly adapt and run away until the shield falls and leaves Rocket open. The biggest flaw in this move, however, is that if Rocket tries to jump while he still has the shield, the protective barrier will instantly disappear, as Cosmo made the shield to only function while Rocket was ground-bound. This is due to balance issues; if Rocket had access to a protective barrier that he could freely move around in while airborne, even without access to the highly mobile rocket skates, it would just encourage a game plan that Rocket wasn’t exactly suitable for. While I’m all for finding strategies for characters who don’t necessarily suggest them, a highly offensive Rocket Raccoon would be difficult to use just based on his heavily projectile and movement focused attacks.
B> (Tesla Coil Trap): Rocket reaches into a pouch on his belt for a small electromagnetic orb and drops it in front of him, with the orb floating in place. The orb is very difficult to see, as it’s roughly the size of a deku nut, and can actually be camouflaged with the background if the stage corresponds to the coloring. However, the orb itself is unimpressive- if an enemy happens to be very close to it, the orb lashes out with an electric chain that keeps them in place for one second, deals continuous damage over time for 15%, and lets them fall to the ground. While a single orb is a half-decent tool, it won’t shine on its own. Luckily, Rocket can set up two of these and if he does so with each orb in close proximity, the two orbs create an electric line spanning up to six Mario-distances all around. Otherwise, the second orb is released and the previous orb disintegrates.
The use for this move is limited only by the player’s imagination. You could set up a perfectly vertical line to force the opponent to stop whatever they’re doing just to focus on taking down the electric line either with a projectile or themselves, in the situation they don’t have projectiles. Alternatively, you can set the two balls at the same level to force your opponent into approaching via the air, sometimes condemning them to Rocket’s anti-air moves if said opponent is bad in the air. You could even pack them together if you need a quick escape. The Tesla trap is unique in that while it deals the same amount of damage to everyone (13%), as well as aesthetic electric damage, the knockback of the move is proportional to the weight of the victim. That means Bowser suffers much more knockback than Jigglypuff. However, if the trap is properly set up, that means the balls’ natural ability to shock a nearby opponent are gone and depend entirely on the foe crossing the electric line, which disappears after being hit by an enemy, projectile, or item.
FINAL SMAAASH (Penultimate Nullifier): Rocket concentrates all the energy into his laser pistol and… stores it. But that’s not the entire move, no; whenever Rocket uses his neutral attack, instead of firing a single laser, he releases a very large (Think as large as Petey Pirhana’s head) blast of mystic energy that will travel through anything, including the stage, straight in the direction Rocket was facing. The blast travels at the speed of a Light Arrow and deals 35% damage to anything it hits, destroys all projectiles, and commonly kills opponents at 50%. Lighter characters are instantly killed and everyone else is dealt some heavy damage. Rocket can position himself so that the projectile will have the greatest chance at hitting the opponent. However, if anyone is knocked off-stage by this projectile, they will find it very difficult to recover considering the projectile’s unique attribute.
Said attribute is negating any of your victim’s special attacks from being used, including their recovery move, for ten seconds. This can totally cripple some characters such as ROB, Pit, Wario, and other characters who have an amazing recovery on account of their special moves. It doesn’t just include recovery moves; Pokemon Trainer won’t be able to switch his Pokemon out at will and if his Pokemon’s stamina is low, he’ll be in a very difficult position. While this doesn’t ensure Rocket a 100% chance at victory, he’ll find it much easier to chip at his opponents from range and even pressure them with projectiles some folk would easily counter or absorb. The one thing to note, however, is the period between Rocket firing the penultimate nullifier and his recovery- the recovery time is immense, taking a second and a half. This means that anyone who does avoid it can handily beat Rocket down for trying to hinder his enemy.
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Never doubt a raccoon.
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A (Pistol Barrage): Rocket fires off one, two, or three lasers from his pistol that travel the length of the main Battlefield stage before disappearing. They travel at the speed of Lucario’s Aura Sphere but are the same size as a Wolf’s blaster shots. The player can shoot up to three lasers at one time by rapidly tapping A; however, if you do fire three shots successively, Rocket takes one full second to reload his pistol. Luckily, he is still able to move around while he does so, even able to jump to avoid any attackers. Each laser deals a pitiful 2% damage, with minimal knockback to keep them stunned for long. The lasers will dissipate whenever they make contact with a solid object; they can travel through soft objects such as pass-through platforms and wieldable items such as Beam Sword. The Pistol Barrage acts as Rocket’s main masrepellant for anyone looking to ruin Rocket’s day by rushing in, which is ideal considering Rocket’s tendency to easily be killed. While the damage is poor, the firing rate is certainly good, as is the recovery for when you fire two shots; the beginning lag is non-existent and the ending lag for two shots is almost instant.
A> (Rocky Hop): Rocket briefly leaps into the air in front of him, activating his rocket skates to leap off the head of anyone in front of him for three Mario-distances. This is helpful for Rocket’s runaway game since the hop WILL go through shields and deals 4% of damage, with the knockback mainly putting the opponent onto the ground instantly. Outside of that, it’s great to mix this up with Rocket’s regular dodge to put foes on their toes, since the hop starts faster than the dodge and leaves you completely safe from low attacks. Heck, you can even cancel out of the hop with an aerial attack, although Rocket keeps his forward momentum and could possibly be screwing himself over. However, it lacks the total invincibility of the dodge and if whiffed, leaves Rocket open since the recovery takes half a second while the raccoon stumbles on the ground trying to regain his balance. Still, it’s a very reliable move for when Rocket is under pressure due to the quickness of this move coming out beating several other moves.
A^ (Cluster Bomb): Rocket quickly reaches into his right waist pouch for small bombs and tosses them into the air above him, briefly stunning enemies and damaging them for 2% damage, before exploding and causing varying damage depending on how close you are to the cluster. Do note that the stun is long enough to keep the opponent in range for the ensuing explosion that follows up less than one-tenth of a second later. The damage on the explosion can range from 6% to 20%, although the knockback will always be the same- light, normally killing at 125%-200% depending on the character. Rocket tosses the bombs a fair distance above him and the explosion itself is small, similar to a Cracker Launcher explosion. Rocket also remains perfectly still during On the bright side, there are several bombs that Rocket tosses and they can’t be picked up from out of the air. The blast pattern also covers 300 degrees above Rocket, ensuring that the hitboxes above and behind him remain safe. It even blocks some of the hitbox in front of him. Not to mention the explosion lasts long enough to briefly hurt anyone with the intent to dodge and counter Rocket. The recovery is also short, forcing Rocket to take less than a quarter of a second to recover. All in all, the Cluster Bomb is a great anti-air for any aerially inclined opponents or anyone looking to approach the air in general.
AV (Pteromyini Pterabomb): A flying squirrel hops out of Rocket’s left waist pouch, left open to give his various animal friends to breath, carrying a small explosive on its back. Once released, it scuttles around the stage toward the nearest foe, even flying small distances to reach them even if they fail. If it manages to go to far off the stage or reaches a gap, they automatically drop their bomb at the end of the stage and return to Rocket. Once they reach their target, they like to run directly into the foe and put down the bomb directly next to them before scuttling back to Rocket’s pouch. If the foe is hit by the squirrel, he takes 1% damage and automatically trips; if they are hit by the bomb, however, they are knocked back a good distance and takes 10% damage. The bomb, after being dropped, takes half a second to explode and has a blast radius the size of Bowser. Anyone against Rocket: keep in mind that damaging the squirrel with a single attack before it drops the bomb causes it to prematurely drop it and send the squirrel crying back to Rocket. Otherwise, the squirrel will forever remain on the field until its hurt, reaches an impasse, or reaches its quarry. The squirrel also has a bonus attribute- if there are any items on the stage, the squirrel will make the effort, after it has dropped the bomb of course, to retrieve the item for Rocket. It is a little funny to see the squirrel slowly move along a barrel for Rocket, only to see it crash into an unwary opponent and secure the win. The squirrel can even retrieve airborne items such as Smash Balls and drag them towards Rocket.
Dash A (Covering Fire): This is probably the strangest move Rocket has in comparison to a regular dash move. Keeping his pace, Rocket slightly turns his head to face whatever is behind him and fires four times- twice from each of his laser pistols, each for 2% damage- and KEEPS running in the direction he was running in. The lasers travel the same distance as the neutral version; heck, they technically travel at a longer distance since Rocket actually makes distance between him and the direction he is running from. And unlike the neutral lasers, Rocket fires each laser at a different angle to cover his retreat; he makes sure to keep any pursuing foes off his tail by firing off lasers directly behind him and at 45, 20, and 60 degree angles relative to where Rocket is standing. Not only does this move make an excellent zoning and defensive tool, but it’s completely safe assuming you’re running away from someone. It does have one quirk that prevents it from being too overpowered- if Rocket runs into any solid object/item during his covering fire, he will stop in his tracks, take 5% damage, be momentarily stunned and open for punishment for one second, and fall to the ground. So be sure to use this whenever you’re running away, since the ending lag is quick enough to be spammed while retreating. While this is his strangest move, it’s also his most helpful; since Rocket is a runaway character at heart, this move no doubt secures his spot as one of the most defensive characters in the roster.
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Time for a new strategy! Running!
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Fsmash (Trick Cannon): Rocket spins around counterclockwise and when he turns back in the direction he was facing, he suddenly has The Unfeasibly Large Cannon For A Raccoon (TULCFA) propped on his shoulder. After a quarter of a second- taking three-fourths of a second in total to activate this move- he fires the TUCFA, releasing a dozen of high caliber shots at once, decimating anyone in front of Rocket in a four Mario-distance radius. The shots spread, however, and can deal as little as 5% damage or as much as 30%; it all depends on how close the opponent is to Rocket. Distance also affects how large the knockback is as well; point blank will annihilate Bowser at around 60%. However, the shots travel the entirety of the stage in different directions, so the foe is going to get hit if he isn’t hiding behind something. The opponent is also stunned during the spin and takes 3% damage The start-up lag IS a bit long, however, and the ending lag is even worse- it takes Rocket a little over a full second to recover from the recoil TULCFA causes; it’s so much that the entire mechanism crumbles on Rocket’s shoulder as he withdraws his two pistols. You can slightly adjust the aim of the TULCFA during the spin phase depending on which direction you tilt the movement stick in. This is, without a doubt, Rocket’s best killing/gimping move and despite Rocket’s heavy emphasis on runaway tactics (as you could probably guess by his normal moves), this move alone makes foes hesitate to rush you, since you may have this move hidden up your sleeve.
Usmash (Rocket Retreat): Rocket briefly crouches down to place an obscured object on the ground before quickly leaping into the air, using his rocket skates to quickly boost Rocket about the same distance as Zelda’s recovery move. By holding the movement stick in the direction you so desire, Rocket can angle his ascent. He also knocks away anyone in his path for 7% damage. However, once he leaves, you can see what he left behind- a subterranean bomb that explodes, sending riveting shockwaves that shoot up from the ground. Each shockwave’s appearance is that of the ground shooting up from the floor; it’s as wide as Bowser and as tall as Ganondorf. There are four shockwaves per direction that branch out left and right once the bomb activates, causing 10% knockback for each shockwave and dealing quite a bit of knockback. However, it’s significant enough to ensure all eight won’t hit but he will at least take damage from two or three, depending on size. Four if you’re lucky. Not to mention the shockwaves will disappear if they reach an edge, prematurely ending the shockwave barrage. Nonetheless, this is a great anti-pressure tool for Rocket since the start-up is quick enough for Rocket to make a clean escape while leaving the bomb behind, which takes half a second to detonate and less than a quarter of a second for each shockwave to secede the last.
Dsmash (I Am Groot): Rocket starts stumbling in place a little before a Bowser-sized tree-like super hero pops out of the ground, inadvertently knocking Rocket into the background. This is Groot, the Abbot to Rocket’s Costello, and announces his name loudly before summoning two wooden branches from the ground beside him that drill into anything in their way. This lasts for half a second before Groot goes back into the ground and Rocket into the fight, during which he yells out, “Thanks Groot!” Rocket is completely invincible during the ending lag, meaning he cannot take damage or stun. He’s also technically invincible while Groot is out, with Groot taking all of the damage without fail. In fact, physical attack made on Groot will only result in the attacker getting knocked back for no damage and any projectile, no matter the charge, connecting with Groot vanishes. The drills Groot summons rapidly hit the opponent for 15% total damage with decent knockback. Do keep in mind that Rocket is wide open if the move whiffs anyway, since the opponent has a chance to set up their next attack. The drills themselves are as large and wide as Captain Falcon but unlike the Usmash bomb, do not spread out. Unlike the Usmash bomb, however, the branch drills can attack if directly next to an edge; instead of appearing from the ground, the drills jut out the side of the stage. While the placing is difficult, the drills act as an excellent gimping tool for the characters with wall cling or tether recovery. The biggest disadvantage in using this move is the beginning lag, however; Rocket takes a whole second to leap into the background for Groot to pop out and even then, Groot takes half a second to announce his presence and summon the drills. Regardless, it’s an excellent defensive maneuver, but not necessarily a good escape move.
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20 megawatts range. Powerful enough to melt your face off.
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Nair (Circle of Death): Rocket spins around in a circle while aiming a plasma machinegun outward, firing a barrage of bullets in almost every direction. Due to the nature of this move, it’s got one of the largest ranges of any sex kick as well as one of the largest hitboxes- Rocket is covered in a 360 degree radius so it’s pretty much safe for Rocket to use this move whenever he is fighting an aerially inclined opponent. Any Rocket user should be wary, though; the start-up lag takes half a second and leaves Rocket open for pre-emptive punishment before his circle can begin. The ending lag for when you land on the ground is also immense, taking a full second to holster the machinegun and taking out his two pistols. The barrage of bullets act as smaller yet more plentiful projectiles that deal considerably less damage, a measly one percent, and much less knockback. And since this is barrage of bullets and not a single projectile, the machinegun rounds disappear much more quickly than his laser shots. While the damage output may put you off, keep in mind that this is a rapid firing attack, meaning the foe will commonly take 8% damage if they are grounded, more so if they are airborne. Despite the glaring flaws that seasoned players can exploit to their advantage, it’s great for Rocket players with a good sense of what to bait and expect.
Fair (Bail Bonds): Rocket reaches into a sack on his back then quickly swings a long plasma rope ahead of him. If the rope makes contact with an enemy, said enemy takes about 5% damage and Rocket lets go of the rope as the entire tool wraps itself around the enemy, dragging them straight downward into the ground. The enemy is unable to break out of this and is essentially screwed if attacked during recovery. The range of the initial swing is also good, reaching forward for a little over one and a half Mario-distances, with a lenient-enough hitbox to ensure that this move is more than a niche gimp tactic. However, there are a few things that prevent this move from being broken despite its inescapability; due to the fast falling rate of the opponent in bonds, which is equal to that of an aerial Falcon Kick, Rocket is unable to appropriately follow up when the opponent is bonded. Additionally, the ending lag is rather lengthy, nearly taking a full second for Rocket to holster the rope back into place. As such, this move is great for making your foes think twice before jumping in at Rocket.
Bair (Daily Grind): Using his rocket skates and light weight, the raccoon uses his boosting capabilities to flip himself so that he’s upside down and facing the direction opposite he was facing. However, during the maneuver, Rocket managed to retrieve a large weapon on his back; a Rampart Arms Phasic Cannon usually reserved for large mechanical suits that shoot cold fusion particles in the twenty mega-watt range. In layman’s terms, it’s powerful enough to melt faces off but in this case, it’s a quick burst of power released from yet another one of Rocket’s unfeasibly large weapons. After a quarter of second for aiming, Rocket fires the RAPC , releasing a Bowser-sized blast of energy that knocks enemies away and damages them heavily for 20% damage. Before I get into anything else, let me tell you this; the Daily Grind is the only one of Rocket’s moves that gives him super armor. During the frames when he is holding onto the RAPC, he cannot be flinched until he actually fires the projectile. As for the projectile itself, it acts as a large and slow-moving fireball that beats out every other projectile in the game, including charged ones, and crashes through a majority of moves. Hell, the projectile will still keep traveling until it hits a truly solid object such as a foe or the stage. The projectile itself travels in an arc, slowly traveling at a downward slope before fully going into a fully vertical descent after a second of travel. When Rocket fires the RAPC, the weapon itself explodes due to Rocket setting the cannon to full power, resulting in Rocket flying in the direction he was facing before he activated the move. There is one con to this move that is partially covered by the sheer mass of the projectile, however- Rocket takes a full second to fully go upside down and during that period, he is open to any punishment. However, if he manages to reach his super armor state, anyone close enough to attack him will trade with the projectile. One last fun fact; anyone hit by the projectile is hit with a blue flame aesthetic effect.
Uair (Trochilidae Terrorizer): Another one of Rocket’s animal friends, the hummingbird, finds its way out of the left waist pouch, opened on purpose to give the resident animal friends some air. This move is similar to the squirrel one in that Rocket summons an A.I. controlled animal friend to help him in the fight. Except instead of delivering indirect damage via bombs, the hummingbird flies a little over the opponent’s head, swooping down and briefly stunning the victim and dealing 1% damage. However, the hummingbird only swoops when its designated foe tries an attack and even then, it waits between swoops for at least three seconds to prevent this move from being too powerful. The hummingbird can be attacked and, as a result, sent back to Rocket prematurely. Then again, that is the only way to get rid of the hummingbird momentarily. Otherwise, the pest stays out in the field for as long as possible. However, any worried anti-Rocket fighter can be rest assured that the priority on the hummingbird’s swoop is terrible and there will rarely be a negative trade involved. Rocket mains should note that you can have the squirrel and hummingbird out at the same time, giving your opponent more to worry about- if they try to attack the squirrel, their move may be too slow to beat out the hummingbird’s counter. If they focus too much on the animal friends then Rocket gets precious seconds to run away or set up more problems for his foes. Like the squirrel, the hummingbird will also go out of its way to retrieve items for Rocket to use, although it will bring them at a considerably slower pace than the squirrel.
Dair (Raccoon Cling): Rocket stops in mid air for a moment before fastfalling toward the ground at a slight angle in the direction he was facing. If Rocket manages to land on any unlucky foe beneath him, even if they are shielded, he stubbornly clings to their head, forcing the victim into a similar movement limitation as the spicy curry. In other words, the opponent can only dash and use dash attacks due to the raccoon on their head. Rocket can even shoot from his newfound “cover” by tapping the normal attack button, using the same attributes as his standing normal attack. The aim will be a little off, however, due to your opponent constantly moving due to a raccoon being on their head. Even better is that Rocket cannot be knocked off his victim’s head by the victim; the only way that Rocket can be removed from his foe’s head is if the victim suicides, killing Rocket in the process, or if Rocket leaps off the opponent’s head into any of the eight directions by tapping the movement stick in the corresponding direction. Once you do, Rocket briefly activates his rocket skates and leaps off the front or back of the opponent’s head, causing some minor damage (3%) and no knockback. In multi-man matches, Rocket can even jump from foe to foe in a cling chain. However, there IS a time gap between landing the cling and being able to leap- you’ll have to cling to your foe’s head for a minimum of two seconds. This move is far less useful on three or four player matches, as Rocket CAN be knocked off if someone else attacks his victim or Rocket himself. Worse still, Rocket takes three-fourths of a second to recover if his cling fails to land, as the raccoon stumbles around a bit before recovering. An interesting thing about the cling is how Rocket instantly stops his momentum to instantly fall to the ground; despite the recovery time, Raccoon Cling is still useful for coming back to the ground if you intend to run under an airborne foe.
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Does anyone have a gun?
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Pummel (Raccoon Gnaw): Rocket quickly unleashes his plasma rope used in his Fair to wrap the opponent and pull them closer as Rocket simultaneously leaps onto his opponent’s face. Tapping the A button causes Rocket to bite his opponent’s face, dealing 2% damage for each time he gnaws at his opponent. Needless to say, Rocket’s grab is ranged, much like Link’s grab and Samus’ grab. However, separating this one from the others is the plasma rope’s ability to pull nearby foes out of the air and dragging them to the ground. While Rocket can hardly be classified as a close combat character, this does increase his capability of defending himself against nearby enemies. One thing to note, however, is the grab’s low recovery rate- while it’s not nearly as crippling as other tether grabs, Rocket takes three-fourths of a second to recovery, giving his adversary more than enough time to counterattack. Rocket can also use this in the air as a tether recovery and quick poke or in mindgames, switching up your tether with your Fair to confuse the opponent. However, with such a good recovery like Rocket Skates, why would you use this for recovery?
Fthrow (Drag & Drop): Rocket flips over his opponent’s head, still holding onto the grip of his plasma rope, and slams the opponent into the ground in front of him headfirst. However, Rocket isn’t done- while the opponent’s head is rooted into the ground, keeping them stiff and upright, Rocket pulls out a heavy-looking shotgun, aims at the opponent’s back, and fires it. All the pellets landing in the opponent’s back cause a total of 17% damage, making this Rocket’s most reliable grab when it comes to keeping your opponent out of your face. Note that the slam and shot have area of effect damage, although anyone caught in the ensuing carnage takes far less damage than the victim actually caught in the grab. Regardless, this grab is definitely Rocket’s most favored, as it puts the opponent out of Rocket’s range and deals some heavy damage at the same time.
Bthrow (Evasive Maneuvers): Rocket drops to the ground, still keeping his rope wrapped around the opponent, and slides into the foe’s legs, knocking them to the ground. With the rope still binding the opponent, Rocket drops a land mine onto their back, unwrapping the rope before diving away. As soon as he dives, the mine explodes, dealing a bit less damage than D&D (15%) while dealing the same amount of knockback. The grab takes a longer time to come out than his Fthrow, although this grab is very helpful near edges when Rocket’s back is against the wall. Better yet, if Rocket is interrupted before he can dive, the mine can still blow up and at least damage the victim and whoever interrupted the move, along with Rocket. Still, if you have a choice between this move and Fthrow when you’re not near an edge, go with Fthrow. However, if Rocket’s back is to the death zone and you’ve got the chance, go for the Bthrow.
Uthrow (Screw Gravity): Rocket tosses a strange looking grenade into the air above his opponent before leaping away from his quarry, unsheathing the rope and causing the opponent to spin for a bit. The grenade activates, revealing an anti-matter field, drawing the opponent into it. Rocket chuckles before pulling a trigger, causing the anti-matter to burst and shoot the opponent upwards. While this move causes more damage than his Fthrow (19%), it causes less knockback, let alone vertical-only knockback, and still leaves Rocket’s opponent in range to keep the pressure going. On the bright side, this grab is the shortest out of them all, taking a measnly three-fourths of a second to fully finish. While it’s handy for when both Rocket and his nemesis are at high elevations, it’s still a better idea to stick with his horizontally inclined throws. During multiple man battles, however, the anti-matter bomb becomes considerably better. It will draw in anyone within a four Mario-distance radius and knock him/her in the direction they came from, and deal the same amount of damage as the victim in the grab. It becomes a much better crowd control device, assuming someone isn’t careful enough to get caught in Rocket’s grab.
Dthrow (Rocket Roll): Rocket tightens his grip on his plasma rope and jumps away, causing his opponent to spin around rapidly for a total of two seconds while dealing 7% damage. However, that’s the end of it- it takes Rocket half a second to land and the opponent spins for two seconds, with an extra half a second to recover. This gives Rocket ample time to either run away, knock his opponent away with a smash attack, or anything else the player happens to scheme. To prevent this move from dominating, however, there are a few limitations to what you can do while your opponent spins. First, a spinning/recovering foe cannot be grabbed in order to prevent infinites. Second, the opponent takes half the amount of damage from any attack during the spinning and recovery. Third, any one that tries to run into or push a spinning opponent near an edge is knocked back for no damage, although this may be fatal to Rocket if he’s at a high health percentage. Lastly, any attack that impairs movement via clinging such as Rocket’s dair or Diddy’s side special instantly stops the spinning but keeps the attacker in an unsuccessful attack motion. As such, Rocket Roll is definitely best for making strategic retreats or to finish your opponent off. It’s important to keep the damage nerf in mind for when you want to attack a spinning foe, as some of your weaker attacks deal significantly less damage.
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And he’s Groot!
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Gameplay:
Judging from what you’ve read thus far, it’s easy to identify Rocket Raccoon as a keep-away character with plenty of options for zoning, long-range damage, and lack of reliable options outside of his grab. With his homing rockets, animal friends, and coil traps, Rocket can do his job very well, and when it comes to avoiding or keeping the opponent out of your face, Rocket’s cling, hop, and dash attacks also serve him very well. Even Cosmo’s shield can protect him against fellow zoning characters. With his moveset, Rocket is very capable of keeping a lot of characters out, whether it’s someone who relies on range or an offensive attacker.
That doesn’t mean Rocket has no flaws; it just means he’s very difficult to deal with if you have no idea how he works. Fighters with several wide-hitting attacks can easily beat his animal friends if they happen to swarm and enemies with excellent movement options such as Jiggs and Wario can run circles around Rocket’s traps. Characters with counter attacks also stuff a lot of what Rocket has to offer and reflecting/absorbing attacks can make Rocket’s ranged game a living hell.
All in all, Rocket is someone who requires some practice; he’s not a beginner’s character due to his strict gameplay and combat limitations. His weight and lack of close range options force him into a runaway game, although he is very capable at doing so with the tools at his disposal. He’s got options that let him gimp, pester, and annoy, along with a handful of truly reliable KO moves at higher percentages. If you’re willing to use a character that’s excellent at range, versatile in several situations, but troubled whenever someone is in his face, this raccoon is for you.
Costumes: Black spacesuit with red stripes (Thanos Imperative/Red Team), Light green shirt/pants with white gloves (Original Appearance/Green Team), Blue battle armor with white stripes (Major Victory/Blue Team), Iron helmet with orange eyes/mouthpiece with accompanying battle shirt with white flame emblazoned on chest (Star-Lord), Black musclesuit with golden pauldrons, waistbelt, and greaves (Nova)
Taunt 1: Rocket takes out a nut from his right waist pouch, bashes it against his head a couple times, and eats it before getting back into his combat stance.
Taunt 2: Groot pops out of the ground behind him as Rocket turns to face him. Groot yells, “I am Groot!” while Rocket proclaims, “And I’m Rocket Raccoon!” They both high five as Groot withdraws back into the ground and Rocket gets back into his combat stance.
Taunt 3: Rocket spins both his guns around his index fingers while performing a one second monologue, “I’ve got Star-Lord’s legacy to live up to! The Guardians of the Galaxy’s legacy!” As he says Galaxy, he stops revolving his guns and gets back into combat stance.
Victory 1: Rocket sighs and whistles, as a large mech drops down from the top of the screen. Rocket uses his rocket skates to leap into the cockpit, giving a quick salute to the players as the mech boosts to the top of the screen and out of the player’s sight.
Victory 2: Rocket is seen juggling four grenades for one second before briefly tossing them toward the screen. As soon as he tosses the last grenade toward the screen, Rocket quickdraws his pistols and fires four shots, one for each grenade, causing each one to blow up. Rocket chuckles and holsters his pistols.
Victory 3: Rocket has his fists to his waist and is laughing. However, he fails to see the titan Thanos behind him. Rocket suddenly stops laughing, looks behind him, and runs toward the screen before Thanos can stomp on the raccoon. Rocket jumps off the screen toward Thanos’ face and starts biting at it, causing the titan to stumble around and fall over, with Rocket hopping off and wiping his hands clean of any titan blood. Thanos can still be seen moving around in pain.
Loss: Instead of applauding, Rocket can be seen attempting to crack a nut against the ground, briefly sniffing at it every three/four cracks, before getting back to work.
Unlock Method: Fight in 1200 Brawls, unlock him in SSE, or perform 1000 projectile attacks that are special moves.
SSE Role: After the credits role, stay for the post credits scene- you see a cryogenic pod land on the cliff all the fighters were standing on. The pod doors slowly open as a tiny, shadowy figure jumps into the sky. As he lands, we see him a bit more clearly, revealing that it’s Rocket Raccoon. However, unlike several other fighters, you don’t fight him in SSE- as soon as you view the cutscene, he is unlocked.
Entrance: A small cryostasis pod drops from the sky and crash lands. Rocket immediately hops out of the pod, kicking the door down and landing just as the pod flies away.
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!!!SNAKE CODEC!!!
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S: Otacon, I think I’ve met my match this time…
O: Don’t say that, Snake! You’ve fought entire platoons before, I know you can-
S: I’m fighting a raccoon. With, like, twice as much combat experience as me.
O: A… raccoon? Oh, you must mean Rocket Raccoon! Yeah, he’s a feisty weapons expert with a genius intellect. But don’t worry Snake, he’s similar to you in terms of loadout! Just outgun him and-
S: A giant anthropomorphic tree just popped out of the ground, Otacon!
O: Just calm down- that’s Groot, Rocket’s teammate. You don’t have to worry about him as much as-
S: Otacon, he just fired off eight rockets and they’re all headed towards me!
O: Snake, find some cover! Just get out of there alive, okay?
S: I don’t know- those pincers look like they could tear a tank apart!
O: … Pincers? What???
