Opinions on R.O.B?

[Nebulous_Nava]

Hello, this is my first time starting a thread, but I had a question that I've been pondering about.
Is R.O.B cheap? Everytime someone asks me, what's my main and I say R.O.B. They say it's a weird main, because "he's easy." I don't find it so, I mean, I really love playing R.O.B

 

[Crome]

On a casual level, a little bit. I like to compare him to ganon. He really ****s with people who are bad, except ROB uses projectiles instead of fists.

 

[KCsmash]

No character is cheap in my opinion. The cheap label is more of a thing at casual levels like Crome is saying.

 

[Lunix7]

Hello, this is my first time starting a thread, but I had a question that I've been pondering about.
Is R.O.B cheap? Everytime someone asks me, what's my main and I say R.O.B. They say it's a weird main, because "he's easy." I don't find it so, I mean, I really love playing R.O.B

R.O.B. isn't cheap since he has a lot of weaknesses such as being floaty, gets juggled due to his heavy weight and size, his recovery is very predicable and can be easily edge guarded and he struggles with rush down characters (such as , , etc). This isn't to say that R.O.B. is a terrible character...far from it actually as he has very good tools and is a amazing character. My point is that you should stick to using him since you like using him and the people who say he is "easy to use and cheap" should learn to adapt to the character and to your playstyle.

 

[Diamond DHD]

If by cheap you mean a character that is easy-to-use and win with at a low-level, then yes, he's cheap. He is very easy to use, simple recovery, simple KO options, simple throw follow-ups, simple approach, but the issue with ROB is that if another player can truly take advantage of ROB's weakness, that's when difficulty comes in to play. He's got his weaknesses and is quite difficult to master.

 

[Dream Cancel]

R.O.B. is devastating in the right hands. Basically what I see when I play against him is that whoever maintains the initiative on offense is going to win the game.

What I see R.O.B. typically do is flip-flop between his laser/gyro harassment game and his grab-setup combo game. (This applies more to R.O.B. than anyone else, since his laser and gyro must recharge) Since he covers his weaknesses with his harassment, once he can't harass anymore he must immediately approach behind his laser/gyro and get damage and combos in. (Typically done by shield-locking opponents or forcing opponents to jump, where he excels at anti-aerials)

He can't sit back and wait on his gyro and laser to recharge because he will lose momentum in the match because he's giving his opponent the green light to do whatever they want, be it rushdown or use their own spacing/zoning. This is why he must follow behind his projectiles. (This is where the match is decided) Yes, he does expose his weaknesses here but it's also where he can win the game through combos. Plus while his using his aerials, his laser is recharging while he can recharge his gyro when his opponents are out of his reach. (There's a chess term called tempo which is an apt description of this situation)

Spoiler: Definition of Tempo with examples from R.O.B. and Ike

Tempo:

In chess, tempo refers to a "turn" or single move. When a player achieves a desired result in one fewer move, the player "gains a tempo"; and conversely when a player takes one more move than necessary, the player "loses a tempo". Similarly, when a player forces their opponent to make moves not according to their initial plan, one "gains tempo" because the opponent wastes moves. A move that gains a tempo is often called a move "with tempo".

I can describe tempo with R.O.B.. While he's in a grab combo after using his laser, he is gaining tempo. This is because he is damaging his opponent and charging his laser at the same time. His opponent isn't moving any slower, it's just R.O.B. is moving faster. Tempo is similar to covering options or forcing an opponent to make a certain move.

Another example is Ike. If his opponent is on the ledge Ike space himself just outside of get-up attack range and begin to charge an up-smash, Ike isn't gaining any tempo, (well, he technically is) but he's forcing his opponent to lose tempo. If his opponent uses any option that will get-up on the stage, (get-up, get-up attack, jump, or roll) they will get hit by the Up Smash and Ike will win the trade. The only option his opponent has is to drop off the ledge, but in this case Ike still has more tempo. Why? Because his opponent no longer has ledge invincibility and is vulnerable to attack.

On the other hand, playing against R.O.B. is typically a matter of breaking his zone. This is done through negating the gyro, either by grabbing it or leaving it on stage to where R.O.B. can't use it anymore) and dealing with the laser.

A good example is Marth. If Marth can stay is his zone (his sword/tip range), he's going to win. Why? Because it's not safe for R.O.B. to use his projectiles because, if he misses, he will get punished and his physical attacks are not in range or they will meet the tip of Marth's sword, which is bad news for R.O.B.

TL;DR An excellent R.O.B. player is on par with Diddy Kong, and a poor R.O.B. player is on par with off-stage Little Mac.

 

[Syde7]

^ Enjoyed the use of the chess analogy in the above post

 

[Dream Cancel]

^ Enjoyed the use of the chess analogy in the above post

Thanks! I'm not a very good chess player, but the chess mindset can easily be applied to Smash, albeit much faster. If you play chess with 10 seconds per turn or Smash at 1/4 speed, you can get a feel for it.

For example, gambits. They are high-risk plays, so you need to get a good feel of what your opponent is going to do, like a hard read in Smash, because if you whiff that fully charged F-Smash, you're going to get punished with a grab at the very least.

Although, tempo is my favorite chess term, and I think of it all the time in Smash. Another example is perfect shielding. You take no shield damage, completely negate the projectile, and, if you're a character like Little Mac or Captain Falcon, perfect shielding carries some of your horizontal momentum so you can close the distance on your opponent. At the very least you're playing 2-3x faster than your opponent in this situation. (Assuming their opponent doesn't lose any tempo from being closer to them)

Yay for Smash theory.

 

[1FC0]

My opinion on R.O.B. is that he is awesome and I main him in every Smash that I play and has him in it and will probably continue to do so no matte rhow OP or bad that he gets.

That being said he is not cheap by any means. His options are IMO easy to use making him easy to pick up, But they are not very effective unless you outplay your opponent with them so you will still have to be the better player when using R.O.B.
He is not like SSBB MK where you can pick 1 move that beats almost everything.