R.O.B. Combos/Competitive Strategies

[vinerd]

R.O.B. was a main of mine in the old days of Brawl, but I later dropped him. But now I want to return to the Robot. So does anyone know of any good competitive strategies?

 

[DJ3DS]

D-Throw to U-Air seems guaranteed at least at low percentages. Gyro to laser seems to combo as well.

 

[Green Spiny]

^ I would say the above are the two main combos. If you launch the gyro at someone and it knocks them down, run and pick it up right away. You're almost guaranteed to hit them with it again as they stand up (even if they roll), and laser them after. Down tilt is fast and can trip for combos. It can sometimes lead into Ftilt or laser, but I'm not 100% sure.

 

[1FC0]

D-Throw to U-Air seems guaranteed at least at low percentages. Gyro to laser seems to combo as well.

I have had a lot of people succesfully DI'ing to the side against me to avoid it though.

 

[dettadeus]

dthrow > uair isnt actually guaranteed if you vector upwards, even at super low percents it's generally avoidable. but then you also have to consider that you're now super high up against a character who has massive hitboxes and good air speed, and a lot of the time you can still get uair from reading an airdodge

 

[GroundZero996]

dthrow > uair isnt actually guaranteed if you vector upwards, even at super low percents it's generally avoidable. but then you also have to consider that you're now super high up against a character who has massive hitboxes and good air speed, and a lot of the time you can still get uair from reading an airdodge

If you double jump right away it will hit more often that not even when they get out of the % sweetspot.

As for ROB strats I think the best way to play him is to use laser/ gyro/ nair for spacing and force him to approach you on your terms. From there he has fairly good aerial options.

 

[dettadeus]

no... no it won't lmao. it literally should not combo after like 30-40 if the opponent vectors straight up

 

[1FC0]

Sometimes I use bair or fair instead of uair which sometimes hit them if they DI'ed to the side to avoid the predicted uair.

 

[GroundZero996]

no... no it won't lmao. it literally should not combo after like 30-40 if the opponent vectors straight up

No need to be a ****, just reporting what I've done personally online. It may not be a true combo but if they don't airdodge you will catch them.

 

[dettadeus]

i'm stating the fact that vectoring straight up makes dthrow send people further than you can combo with uair. if this isn't your personal experience then the randoms you play with on for glory don't know how to vector ROB's dthrow, just like 99% of players because he's an uncommon character and vectoring is a new mechanic that people aren't abusing fully yet.

 

[GroundZero996]

i'm stating the fact that vectoring straight up makes dthrow send people further than you can combo with uair. if this isn't your personal experience then the randoms you play with on for glory don't know how to vector ROB's dthrow, just like 99% of players because he's an uncommon character and vectoring is a new mechanic that people aren't abusing fully yet.

Plenty of for glory player understand Vectoring, especially the JP ones.

 

[dettadeus]

there's a difference between understanding a mechanic and abusing it

if they're not vectoring out of dthrow > uair by 40% then they're not abusing it

 

[CCCM89]

no... no it won't lmao. it literally should not combo after like 30-40 if the opponent vectors straight up

I have replays that say otherwise. down throw into Uair at 100%+ for the kill is surprisingly effective. it's a lot like Diddy's back throw into Bair and/or Uair. as long as you're fast on the double jump, even if you miss the first hit or two of the Uair, you will still hit and likely kill.

 

[SAX]

I have replays that say otherwise. down throw into Uair at 100%+ for the kill is surprisingly effective. it's a lot like Diddy's back throw into Bair and/or Uair. as long as you're fast on the double jump, even if you miss the first hit or two of the Uair, you will still hit and likely kill.

Not if the opponent is holding up... lol

 

[dettadeus]

I am not joking. Ask a friend to hold up when you use d throw at like... 50 even. Then at 100. Take note of how far up they go.

 

[CCCM89]

trust me, it works well enough.

 

[dettadeus]

dude. i am not going to trust some random on the internet over my personal experience that literally holding up causes the combo to not work. will you please stop being stubborn and try it yourself?

i am not denying the combo works if you DON'T hold up, like if you vector to a side or downward, but holding up makes it not combo anymore. this is an undeniable fact.

 

[dettadeus]

Welp, apparently vectoring got removed in 1.0.4 so maybe it does actually work now LMAO

 

[GroundZero996]

Welp, apparently vectoring got removed in 1.0.4 so maybe it does actually work now LMAO

You can still Air Dodge out of it and UpAir is so laggy that ROB can't really abuse the landing lag of Air Dodge.

 

[dettadeus]

that's why you read the airdodge and punish the ending lag

since it's guaranteed that they'll be at least in range, it comes down to rock paper scissors basically.

 

[Lunix7]

Some good combos for R.O.B are Dgrab --> Uair (works at low percentages and later can be used after you bait an air dodge), Dash attack --> Fair --> Dtilt , 2-3x Dtilt --> gyro and gyro --> laser. Those seem to work very well. Also with R.O.B. I tend to find an opening and punish the opponent or use lasers to allow the opponent to come to me.

 

[1FC0]

I think that Dash Attack can combo into Dash Attack on some characters on low percentage.

 

[Blue Ninjakoopa]

One of the hits on R.O.B.'s up aerial meteors your opponent into you (as do almost all multi-hit moves), and landing with it seems to get you a free grab or down smash. I'm not entirely sure because I haven't been successful with it yet, but Chibo did it (it looks like it was by accident) in a match against Dabuz at Collision X. He didn't successfully follow-up (which is why I think it was an accident), but it looks like you can punish if your opponent does a panic air dodge (I think down smash might be fast enough to punish even if they don't though). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foMZgtCSftE @ 8:56

 

[BlueXenon]

8bitman told me that Rob's uair to dsmash/grab can be shielded and punished. @ Blue Ninjakoopa

 

[Blue Ninjakoopa]

Damn.

 

[Rajikaru]

Comboing Dthrow into uair using upb instead of jumping has seemed to work better for me at higher percentages, probably because it's a constant momentum instead of two separate, short momentums.

Also dash-dancing for enemies that DI left or right and then meeting them in the air with the Uair could work well depending on how well you can read them.

 

[UkeNicky]

At lower percentages, Back Throw -> Dash Attack works and is pretty good in some of the more situational combos.
D tilt (Trip) -> Grab (Pummel) -> Back Throw -> Dash Attack -> F air
This one is really good but kind of situational since the D tilt needs to trip them, also it's not very effective at higher percentages >w<
The Dash Attack -> F air does seem to work at slightly higher percent though, F air seems to be the best follow up to Dash Attack period.

The other situational one is:
Short Hop N air -> Grab (Pummel) -> Back Throw -> Dash Attack -> F air
Alternatively, you can just do Down Throw into Up Air off of these starters but I like the back throw set up to switch things up

 

[Mister Eric]

-low % nair > fair > grab > one pummel > dthrow > u-air (might have to bait an airdodge at this point)
-utilt > utilt > uair or
-utilt > utilt >usmash
-dtilt > grab (even if they dont trip, most of them will sit in shield)
-if they do trip: dtilt > dashattack > utilt (if no di) > uair/usmash
-if they di the dashattack > follow up and shield grab if they land or go for a fair.
-utilt > jab 1 > grab > dthrow > ... you get it xD

if using up+custom (3), downthrow to u-air at higher %s can kill. will have to bait an airdodge.

idk, rob has a bunch.

 

[UkeNicky]

idk, rob has a bunch.

That's why Rob is so awesome
I really like how he seems to have a tool for every kind of read. Is there any way to combo into his Side B?

 

[Mister Eric]

That's why Rob is so awesome
I really like how he seems to have a tool for every kind of read. Is there any way to combo into his Side B?

A lot of these will "combo" into side b. Def at low %s. It's a good way to catch landings

 

[Ze Diglett]

Interestingly enough, I've found that Fthrow/Bthrow -> Robo Beam is actually a really good combo if you can read where your opponent will DI out of it. At full charge, you might have to aim a little lower/higher depending on how your enemy reacts, but below full charge, the laser is pretty much guaranteed to hit if you can aim it. It's a good way to get some clean damage off, get your opponent off the stage, and edgeguard them effectively. Depending on where your foe ends up and what recovery options they have, you can follow this combo up with an aerial or by throwing a Gyro at them while they're still offstage. Anyone else found this combo to be of any use, or is it just me?

 

[UkeNicky]

Interestingly enough, I've found that Fthrow/Bthrow -> Robo Beam is actually a really good combo if you can read where your opponent will go. At full charge, you might have to aim a little lower/higher depending on how your enemy reacts, but below full charge, the laser is pretty much guaranteed to hit if you can aim it. It's a good way to get some clean damage off, get your opponent off the stage, and edgeguard them effectively. Depending on where your foe ends up and what recovery options they have, you can follow this combo up with an aerial or by throwing a Gyro at them while they're still offstage. Anyone else found this combo to be of any use, or is it just me?

Ooh yes! I like to use that. Charged gyros and Robo Beam make for good read options as opposed to going for combos that might miss if you mess up something. It seems that reading the enemy is far more effective than going for combos in this game.
Not only that, but the above strategy you listed allows you to rush right back in and pressure, it would certainly be good for throwing them off if they are getting used to the usual

 

[Mister Eric]

Since R.O.B. does not have a good bair option when running off the stage to gimp someone recovering low, another option is to b-rev gyro cancel > fair. (How to b-rev gyro cancel: http://smashboards.com/threads/important-gyro-cancelling-tip.383117/). Or to simply b-rev and gyro shoot them instead (much easier, but possibly less priority against recovery moves).

While trying this out, I found out that ROB can bounce his gyro off BF and catch it allowing him to hand himself his own gyro. This also works on FD but is much harder to time. See below for example:

 

[Rajikaru]

While I was practicing the stage Gyro bounce, I learn you can do a faux Gyro cancel by just constantly pressing down-A with the Gyro in your hands. It won't ever immediately disappear unlike other projectiles, so you can infinitely fake out throws, which may be useful to fake out your opponent, or it may be useful for something like edgeguarding.

 

[Mister Eric]

While I was practicing the stage Gyro bounce, I learn you can do a faux Gyro cancel by just constantly pressing down-A with the Gyro in your hands. It won't ever immediately disappear unlike other projectiles, so you can infinitely fake out throws, which may be useful to fake out your opponent, or it may be useful for something like edgeguarding.

oh you mean like the down throw dribble?

 

[Rajikaru]

oh you mean like the down throw dribble?

Yeah, basically. It's fun to do as a faux taunt, at least, and the item sounds are adorable. But yeah, to my knowledge the Gyro is the only spawnable item that doesn't immediately disappear after a random amount of throws, meaning it's possible to perform item infinites/combo with it if any are discovered (like Mega Man's JC toss combo).

 

[Mister Eric]

ROB's u-tilt reaches further horizontally (a few pixels I'm assuming) when facing backwards to his opponent than when facing his opponent.

ROB's horizontal reach from up tilt has been nerfed from Brawl to 4, so use this knowledge to your advantage when you can.

 

[PowerHungryFool]

Tossing a gyro at your feet out of shield can stop grab attempts I believe. And discourges attacking your shield.

 

[PowerHungryFool]

Going to look into this edge pivot dash stuff tonight and see how it can be applied to edgegaurds. Might post a potato quality vid if it's useful.

 

[Mister Eric]

Tossing a gyro at your feet out of shield can stop grab attempts I believe. And discourges attacking your shield.

There's no grab armor in Smash 4, so that should work fine.