ROB Q&A!! Read this before asking questions...ALL OF IT!

[Tesh]

How do I achieve maximum air time with ROB? I remember reading he can hover for 17 seconds before having to land.

 

[Apollo_asa]

Ask, and ye shall receive.

That's basically it. Ask about matchups, strategies, what have you, and I'll answer if I can.

My question is.....does this do R.O.B justice? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7rOc_rL3aw

 

[Tesh]

this is gonna make quite a victory theme

 

[Mr.E]

The biggest boost from Up-B comes from the initial activation and doesn't really use any fuel, so spam FAir to exit your boosting state and continually reactivate it.

 

[Tesh]

Fair? I didn't think of that, I thought bair/dair did something to make me fly. Is there some video comparison I could take a look at? I'm really interested in ROBs ability to stall off stage.

 

[Mr.E]

If you just want maximum airtime, sure use Dair and make sure you aren't burning fuel while using it. FAir has the shortest lag time, so you can Up-B again to re-boost sooner.

 

[Bouffaloof]

I'm having a lot of trouble wavebonce gyro canceling with ROB. Is there any easy way to do it?
Also, what are some mix up games you guys do? I need to learn to be a little less predictable

 

[dettadeus]

First learn how to wavebounce with gyro.
Once you can do that, press shield in reaction to seeing yourself turn around. That's about the timing I use iirc.

 

[Mister Eric]

I'm having a lot of trouble wavebonce gyro canceling with ROB. Is there any easy way to do it?

I'm assuming that when you say "wavebounce" you mean to simply reverse momentum and direction of ROB.
This is called B-reversing. It gets confusing I know. Wavebouncing is a form of B-reversing and it's a bit harder than a normal B-rev.
Let's focus on B-reversing for now:
First I want you to note that there are 8 notches (vertices) on your stick that create an octagon.
Let's split this octagon in half by creating a line from the south notch to the north notch like so:

So now let's say we're traveling to the right and want to B-rev our momentum to the left with a gyro cancel. The trick is, when we input the down+B, make sure we start it on the right side of our octagon like so:

And then as soon as you press B, you need to circle your control stick to the left side of the stick, like so:

And press shield to cancel.

Try this out. Let me know if you have any more questions.

Also, what are some mix up games you guys do? I need to learn to be a little less predictable

There's a lot of different scenarios where mix ups can occur. You give me a specific scenario and I'll paint you a picture.

 

[Wuchtbrumme]

How is the ROB Pica MU
and
how is it Played?

 

[Tesh]

how exactly do I reflect stuff with side B, I've had 0 success.

 

[Bouffaloof]

I'm assuming that when you say "wavebounce" you mean to simply reverse momentum and direction of ROB.
This is called B-reversing. It gets confusing I know. Wavebouncing is a form of B-reversing and it's a bit harder than a normal B-rev.
Let's focus on B-reversing for now:
First I want you to note that there are 8 notches (vertices) on your stick that create an octagon.
Let's split this octagon in half by creating a line from the south notch to the north notch like so:

So now let's say we're traveling to the right and want to B-rev our momentum to the left with a gyro cancel. The trick is, when we input the down+B, make sure we start it on the right side of our octagon like so:

And then as soon as you press B, you need to circle your control stick to the left side of the stick, like so:

And press shield to cancel.

Try this out. Let me know if you have any more questions.



There's a lot of different scenarios where mix ups can occur. You give me a specific scenario and I'll paint you a picture.

Thank you so much for actually taking the time to demonstrate all of this. I've been practicing a lot and I almost have it down. It's significantly improved my game and mind game abilities.
I love the ROB smashboards, it's like a giant family haha

 

[Sharky]

how exactly do I reflect stuff with side B, I've had 0 success.

you have to line up the projectile with his hands

 

[Mister Eric]

Thank you so much for actually taking the time to demonstrate all of this. I've been practicing a lot and I almost have it down. It's significantly improved my game and mind game abilities.
I love the ROB smashboards, it's like a giant family haha

Not a problem xD I wish you the best with it. Perfect it, but don't get to carried away. Never forget your fundamentals.

how exactly do I reflect stuff with side B, I've had 0 success.

Only the startup reflect. Shouldn't be used for reflecting unless you absolutely want to take a risk. Better off using to boost your jump, riding up slants, catching ppl in the air, etc.

 

[MaizE]

ROB we got diz <3

 

[Mister Eric]

If I began accepting ROB videos to critique, would people be interested in submitting? People that know me know that I give pretty thorough reviews. Not sure if this is the place to ask but I'll start here. I know we have a critique thread but it seems pretty dead. I may start a new one up if there's enough interest.

 

[Tesh]

I've just picked up ROB and I'd definitely submit a bunch of videos (enough to keep you busy if no one else participates!).

I love ROB and with MK out of the picture for my next major , I'll be maining him over Sonic most likely.

 

[MEOW1337KITTEH]

I too would have videos to be critiqued.

And making a new thread would probably work better, just for the convenience of being able to edit the front page.

 

[Mister Eric]

Okay, be compiling what you have. This project won't be able to begin until summer hits. So give me 2 weeks.

 

[PrinceZane]

I miss Zane too. Sadly, the old Memphis scene is pretty much dead.

On another note.. i miss PrinceZane and KishPrime

Is 5 years later too late to offer some love? <3

 

[MookieRah]

No, no it's not xD. But now I live half-way across the world so I still won't be able to hang out : (.

 

[PrinceZane]

I think I remember seeing something about that. Congrats on your new milestones. One day...! :D

 

[T0MMY]

How do I achieve maximum air time with ROB? I remember reading he can hover for 17 seconds before having to land.

Scientifically speaking, we would need to start with a point of reference. One may think that the point of reference would be R.O.B., but we are actually going to make a point in relation to the Stage, this is because the Stage is where the in-game camera is focused and the stages used for competitive play are designed around this principle, (i.e. where blast zones are located, etc.), Now, if we made a point of reference on R.O.B. instead of the stage then technically we find that R.O.B. resides in infinite "spacetime" as a sort of unmoving mover with all objects moving when we try to move R.O,B. (and at this point we find R.O.B. becomes G.O.D.).

Now that we have a point of reference we can examine the game structure to define "air time"; note that from here on out we are going to be ignoring Einstein's theories (which were generally developed by much brighter men than he).

Air-time, as defined in the game as far as I know is the measurements, in seconds, a character is not on the "ground" (I believe the game mechanics utilize collision areas and subroutines which measure the time a character's collision area is colliding with a ground area, thus being "on ground").
To literally answer your question, achieving maximum air time would require there to be no ground , no obstacles such as "blast-zones" and no timer, which would terminate the round.

But I am going to assume that you are asking about maximizing your air time in the usual "tournament round". In that case we look at all the mechanics that keep R.O.B. from touching the ground (please note that "Up" is a direction predefined in the Smash Bros. community and is denoted with a "+" symbol, whereas "Down" is the opposite direction denoted with a "-" symbol).
Rounds will start with characters on the ground (opposed to Melee that could start you in the air), from there you have the options of Jump, Robo Burner (U-Spec), running off stage/platform, and being launched.
For purposes of maximizing airtime duration I would suggest a Jump from the ground, as a launch from an opponent is most likely going to cost you some damage %, which is not desired (but do make note of it).
There are two options of Jump you may take at this point, a "Jump" and a "Small Jump" (as described by Smash designer Masahiro Sakurai). The jump that gives you most distance from the surface you have jumped from would be a full jump, not a Small Jump, thus holding the jump button (usually "X" or "Y" unless otherwise mapped) for ~10 frames will give you the full jump you are looking for.
But if being launched by an attack isn't a problem for you then you would be looking for an attack which launches you to the edge of the "blast zone" without actually knocking you out, depending on the Stage used this could be at various distances, but the point will always be adjacent to the Blast Zone.

From the option of jumping/launched you will have a number of options available:
Mid-air Jump
Down-Air Attack
Back-Air Attack
Robo Burner (i.e. Up-Special)
Arm Rotor (i.e. Side-Special)
Velocity-shift Gyro (i.e. B-reverse Down-Special)
Footstool Stomp

This nomenclature of options will exhaust as the options are utilized and we will find we have fewer and fewer options until, ultimately, we find our only option is to allow R.O.B. to free-fall to the Stage or Blast-zone.
But, at this time, the best option would be to utilize your Footstools. You may perform 5 Footstools in succession with each successive Footstool distance being roughly halved. This series of Footstools is reset whenever your character touches the ground.
After the full amount of successive Footstools are exhausted, the next option of choice would be to "stall" (that is, to cause a (+)movement, thus keeping R.O.B. airborne longer), my method of choice is generally Down-Air attacks since those give longest + vertical duration
Depending on distance of a lower Blast-zone and R.O.B.'s (-)Velocity this can stall out for an undetermined amount of time, but once R.O.B. exists in the closest adjacent location nearest the Blast-zone you have a few more options to choose from:

Mid-air Jump
Robo Burner
Down-Air Attack

The Down-Air here at the point of a Blast-zone would seem most appealing as it does not exhaust, but at this point the lag (duration of animation before any further player input could be executed) would result in a Knock Out ("KO"), which is one stipulation we wish to avoid.
My advice would be to choose the Robo Burner and conserve the Jump in case you need immediate action with more tactical options (e.g. air-dodging with (+)velocity). If your opponent is actively looking for an offensive action against you, note that you will have some lag with the initial execution of the Robo Burner and may wish to opt for that mid-air jump instead.

After the Robo Burner you will have a few more options to choose from:
Continue the momentum of the U-Spec (either by holding "up" on the control stick, or the Jump Button).
Cancel the activation of Robo Burner (Forward-Air Attack is quickest, U-Air has most range, B-air has horizontal movement, and D-Air has (+) movement).

If you choose to continue the Robo Burner you should tap the jump button or control stick to give "bursts" of (+)velocity, holding the button/stick in position to continue will waste "fuel" that R.O.B. uses (a variable of set quantity which counts down if the Robo Burner is being used), once that fuel is used up you will need to cancel the move with an Attack in order to have R.O.B. respond to more inputs (otherwise he'll simply fall).

Finally, you will find that after your Robo Burner and mid-air jumps have been used all you will have left to stall with are:
Down-Air Attacks

There are options of being hit by an opponent/teammate to give you more (+)movement and could result in an "Ukemi" option if you are hit against a wall/ceiling/ground, but barring that scenario R.O.B. will drop at a set acceleration (determined by variable quantities in conjunction with the game's gravity physics) until you hit the lowest Blast Zone.

Due to a variety of situational options, there is a long variable of duration that provides a maximum airtime, but I hope all this information gives a greater understanding of options and duration of R.O.B.'s movement.

How is the ROB Pica MU
and
how is it Played?

I've played a number of Pikachu players in my day, I'd like to discuss this at some point, but am running out of time to post here, so I'm making note of this now to come back to.

how exactly do I reflect stuff with side B, I've had 0 success.

Sounds like you have enough understanding of the Arm Rotor to know not to use it very often.
My advice is to only use it on the "obvious" attacks, such as bouncing Gordos, and for those Lucarios that should know better.

I've just picked up ROB and I'd definitely submit a bunch of videos (enough to keep you busy if no one else participates!).

I love ROB and with MK out of the picture for my next major , I'll be maining him over Sonic most likely.

I'd suggest maining R.O,B. over sonic even with Meta Knight in the picture. R.O.B. is so much more fun and Sonic really won't help out against the Meta Knights anyway - the matchup is bad for both of them.

I'm having a lot of trouble wavebonce gyro canceling with ROB. Is there any easy way to do it?
Also, what are some mix up games you guys do? I need to learn to be a little less predictable

Mister Eric provided a great illustration of the B-reversal techniques. As with most any advanced techniques in any Smash Bros. game there really are no "easy" way to do things, it's the practice we invest that gives us the results.

Some good mix-up games you can incorporate with the B-reversal is canceling the Gyro-charge with a Throw instead of a Shield. This can result in reversing your movement right into your opponent and Grabbing them before they can react - it has worked great for me against high-level players, so it should work out well on practically anyone (try B-reversing after running off a platform on Battlefield with your opponent below and to the side, it is instinctual that they put up their Shield to protect from an attack like a B-air and find they are Grabbed right out of their Shield).

Other good B-reversal mixups involve using the Robo Burner out of a dash and flying back towards your opponent and over their heads. Send out D-airs, N-airs, and B-airs and you will find you are in a much safer position as you rocket away when you hit a shield or whiff - and if you hit them, all the much better (though you should probably not attempt a follow up, just fly to a safe position).

B-reversing the N-spec and F-spec really don't offer much use though. Bu you can play around with them and find some niche situations.

 

[Mister Eric]

Haha, nice write-up, t0mmy, it's good to see you around and I hope with Smash 4's release I get to see more of you.

How do I achieve maximum air time with ROB? I remember reading he can hover for 17 seconds before having to land.

I will briefly follow up Tesh's question as well with how I would have answered it. t0mmy's answer is correct for what was asked, but I feel as if that may have not been exactly what he was looking for.
If you are looking to save fuel and create safer options to recover then there are a few techniques I do that really help. When being projected to either corner of the stage, (near the northeast and northwest blaszones), I like to turn ROB's back to where he's facing the stage and then begin down-airing backwards (he gets more momentum behind him since he dairs at an angle). This will save you gas, keep you from falling as quickly, and create a few options to help juke your opponent. From the down air, you can then back air to completely shift your momentum. This require zero b-reversals. But, if they catch on to that, you can then b-rev back in the direction you were originally travelling to give you more of a zig-zaggy approach. I can demonstrate with a video if requested.
Also, as t0mmy mentioned, tapping the up+special saves more fuel than just holding down the special.
Jumping and pressing side-special at the same time also gives you a jump boost. Not sure why. Maybe R.O.B. really believes he's a helicopter for a brief moment.
"Master" b-reversing
And lastly, save your jump. I don't care if you can fly. If you recover with the mindset that your recovery is as fragile as other bad recovery characters, then you will find more careful and creative ways to get back to the stage.

 

[Tesh]

Is there something that will help be survive without using my double jump to momentum cancel? I see its VERY useful when coming back vs more aggressive characters like MK, Sonic and Toon Link.

Also I just use Sonic because for me its alot of fun to be able to go anywhere in under a second. I also feel pretty helpless against MK once I'm knocked out of a neutral position with ROB, although I feel pretty powerful when I'm on the ground. Its nice to have quick moves with long reach as well as 3 solid (but slow) options to stop an obvious tornado.

 

[dettadeus]

Generally Fair > Arm Rotor does pretty well for momentum cancelling IIRC.

 

[Mister Eric]

R.O.B. is one of the worst at Momentum Cancelling (MC). Side b is supposed to help when you have time to use side b. I would stick with fair for MC, save your jump, work on b-rev mixups, utilize dair and bair.
You can actually do a lot with those tools.

 

[Tesh]

So does side B help? I thought the move made you lighter, like fox/snake fair and thus would kill you earlier if used.

 

[Mister Eric]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Rqxx74MclI

 

[pikmin.org]

How do you instantly snap to the ledge with R.O.B out of a dash? I don't know how to do it consistently. He's one of those awkward characters that doesn't automatically snap to the ledge, right?

Also, what's the trip rate on d-tilt?

Alsoalso, can R.O.B platform cancel with down on the C-stick or does he have to use the down + shield method? The C-stick method just seems to get lag from his down air, although maybe that's just because I'm doing the D-air before R.O.B's level with the platform??

 

[Mister Eric]

How do you instantly snap to the ledge with R.O.B out of a dash? I don't know how to do it consistently. He's one of those awkward characters that doesn't automatically snap to the ledge, right?

Yeah, he is a bit more difficult than a lot of the cast.
Practice running off and as soon as you leave the stage, rotate your stick from the direction you are running 180 degrees, in a downwards direction, towards the stage.

Also, what's the trip rate on d-tilt?

Couldn't tell ya. I feel like it happens around 1/3 or 1/4 times on low to mid-low %s.
You can follow a trip into a dash attack and if they DI poorly, into an up-tilt and then a tech chase.
Also you can get a fully charged gyro out of a trip, or a grab, or f smash. I prefer the first option I mentioned tho. Seems to create more opportunity.

Alsoalso, can R.O.B platform cancel with down on the C-stick or does he have to use the down + shield method? The C-stick method just seems to get lag from his down air, although maybe that's just because I'm doing the D-air before R.O.B's level with the platform??

Back air is the easiest way to do it by a long shot. Now this is if you want to keep running while you're platform canceling btw. So, while running towards SV platform, jump and then hold down which will help you to snap onto the platform, and then get your timing right, while holding down of course, and execute your bair.

If you want to snap to the ledge with shield. Just do the same as with bair.

If you want to snap without shielding or running, jump towards the platform, hold down, and when you time the snap, do a quarter circle to either the left or right direction. Doesn't matter as long as you are holding down initially.

Lastly, if you want to Ramin cancel which means to snap but immediately drop under the platform (which allows you to do this over and over), then jump and when you would be ready to snap, input down and shield at the same time.

If you have any questions, let me know.

 

[pikmin.org]

Thanks for the response! Can d-tilt ever truly combo when it doesn't trip (e.g. Into itself)?

 

[Mister Eric]

I have a reallllly bad habit of auto dtilt > dash attack even if a trip doesn't occur.
Oh to answer your question, no true combo. But you don't need it.
Back to what I was saying, after a dtilt, the most common response is to shield. So a lot of the time I end up dtilting, no trip happens, and I dash attack a shield when I should be getting a free grab.
So if you get a dtilt on someone and they don't shield afterwards, go for a grab.