Roy Impressions Thread

[Legato]

Roy definitely has no problem with kills. Down-throw-->bair is a true combo at kill percents so that is a huge plus for him. Up-b oos is an incredible option with good kill potential. He can fthrow-->bair for a jab lock, which promptly was followed up with fsmash and ended up killing the pika player at 34%. He can kill as early as 56% on light characters with fsmash, which comes out pretty quick. Not the best in neutral, but definitely has a great punish game. Utilt kills around 110 on light characters. These %'s are from a Roy without rage. With rage he kills even sooner, which is awesome.

I don't see the unsafe shield options. Double jumping out of fair makes that much safer, nair cancels quick enough for dtilt to come out if an opponent goes for grabs. Nair is also good for cross-ups. Even jab outspaces most characters, and Roy has a one character space grab range, which isn't bad at all. He definitely has a good MU against Rosaluma, but struggles against Sheik. So far, I'd say he's a pretty solid character. I could see Luigi, Pika, and Sheik being the main issues for him.

 

[Legato]

Well, as far as I've known Marth provides a pretty favorable MU against Rosaluma, so I would assume Roy has the upper hand as well (I've seen Ally use Marth on Rosaluma in our weeklies since he hates the Mario/Rosaluma MU so much). Too early in the meta to really tell, but I think Roy will have trouble with Sheik, Pika, and Luigi.

Still, I really think those MU's won't be unwinnable, so Roy may not NEED a secondary. I'd probably suggest a quicker character who is harder to out-camp. Fox or Pika might work (I intend to be a Fox main with Roy secondary and it seems to be working out okay). Luigi, Falcon, or villager also seem like they would be good candidates for secondaries.

I strongly suggest sticking to Roy against Rosaluma. He can kill her very early, as early as 37% with a well placed smash attack. Rosaluma also lacks the tools to effectively punish Roy if you play safe.

 

[Pedker]

Yeah, I think the thing I need to realize most is that nair isn't the breadnbutter. I guess it should be a follow-up from a combo starter, or an OOS option. Fair works nicely because you can jump out of it, etc, but I find that you need to be right on top of them to get a sweetspot, meaning a perfect shield = an up smash to the face.

For DED/DB, I like to think of it as four smash attacks with the B button. try doing it like that if you're not already.

Also, Roy has a stupid amount of potential grab combos. Since Blazer (up B) kills at ~115, I actually wouldn't recommend using a Dthrow>up B unless it would kill. I generally wouldn't stale Blazer unless you want that op super armor.

 

[Fenrir VII]

Spaced dtilt is frame-safe on shield. And like Legato said, he has hit-confirm kill setups out of safe options, and possibly the best killing punish game of all chars.

Also his offstage game isn't nearly as bad as people make it out to be. His upB is safer than Marths because of the hitboxes, and if you connect a fair or bair..... Goodnight.

Idk I think ceiling is top 5 and floor is top 15 honestly.

 

[Chiroz]

Roy definitely has no problem with kills. Down-throw-->bair is a true combo at kill percents so that is a huge plus for him. Up-b oos is an incredible option with good kill potential. He can fthrow-->bair for a jab lock, which promptly was followed up with fsmash and ended up killing the pika player at 34%. He can kill as early as 56% on light characters with fsmash, which comes out pretty quick. Not the best in neutral, but definitely has a great punish game. Utilt kills around 110 on light characters. These %'s are from a Roy without rage. With rage he kills even sooner, which is awesome.

I don't see the unsafe shield options. Double jumping out of fair makes that much safer, nair cancels quick enough for dtilt to come out if an opponent goes for grabs. Nair is also good for cross-ups. Even jab outspaces most characters, and Roy has a one character space grab range, which isn't bad at all. He definitely has a good MU against Rosaluma, but struggles against Sheik. So far, I'd say he's a pretty solid character. I could see Luigi, Pika, and Sheik being the main issues for him.

Down-Throw to B-Air is very easily DIed and it being a true combo at kill %s depends on where on the stage you are since after a bit Down-Throw will send them too high for it to true combo. Jab locking with F-Throw -> Sourspot B-Air doesn't seem to work before 10% and after 30% (On Fox and Sheik) I also assume that other chars have similar specific %s where it works so this seems to be an early game gimmick if you can catch them by the edge (since otherwise I prefer to go for my grab strings/juggle game).

I think Roy is strong, not top 5 strong at all, but definitely top 15.

Spaced dtilt is frame-safe on shield. And like Legato said, he has hit-confirm kill setups out of safe options, and possibly the best killing punish game of all chars.

Also his offstage game isn't nearly as bad as people make it out to be. His upB is safer than Marths because of the hitboxes, and if you connect a fair or bair..... Goodnight.

Idk I think ceiling is top 5 and floor is top 15 honestly.

Marth's Up-B is instant and gives him invincibility. Roy's definitely can't compete with that. The thing Roy's has got going for it is that it can be angled which allows for some mix ups in recovery.

 

[ArikadoSD]

Never know man, too early to tell. I have hope, since Zero is still testing him out and said he would add him to his tournament characters.

Who knows though.

Sincerely doubt that. That video also has plenty of false information.

 

[Hyruled]

Villager is surprisingly perfect, especially with customs.

 

[IWinToLose]

He will struggle horribly against Shiek, Luigi, Pikachu, and even Villager. I think he will struggle against Sonic and even Yoshi.

Floaty characters with fast and safe combo breakers (like Yoshi's/Luigi NAir) do very well against Roy's throw game as their NAir's force a mixup on Roy where Roy takes damage after Roy lands a throw. Let's not even mention the safe projectiles these two characters have.

I'd put him at the bottom of high tier (after Sonic) or at the top of mid tier.

 

[LozNerd]

Why would he struggle against villager?

 

[Trunks159]

Why would he struggle against villager?

Gimps.

 

[NegaNixx]

If I were to look at my personal top 10 (customs on)
I see Roy going:

-2 Vs Pikachu
Roy can be camped out by Thunder Jolt and is barely better than Falcon in disadvantage stats. The only redeeming factor is Pikachu's weight and aerial approaches being beaten by Jab/U-Tilt.

-2 Vs Shiek
Read above

-1 Vs Rosetta & Luma
Roy can definitely be spaced out and Rosalina's weakest defensive position is getting back to the stage which is Roy's weakest offensive position. Roy's Juggle game should make up for it though.

? Vs ZSS

-1 Vs Sonic
Sonic never has to play in Roy's preferred position. I don't see a Roy beating a Seagull, Static or 6WX level Sonic. If they're of equal level. Roy can punish hard on Custom Sonic's Mistakes though because Roy's advantageous state is MASSIVE. Sonic brings Burning Spin Dash and dies to Roy. Hammer Spin Dash is a different Story though.

0 Vs Luigi
Heavy Advantage against Heavy Advantage. Roy runs rings around Luigi in footsies and Luigi can beat Roy for days in Mid-Range and Neutral. Both get massive rewards off of their advantage with Luigi having a combo breaker against a Tech Chasing character so it's of lesser consequence to Roy. Than other characters IMO.

? Vs Diddy

+1 Vs Fox
Lightweight + Fastfaller + Low Range That's what Roy wants in a match up as it increases his advantaged state and while Fox's Advantages state and Neutral is great I'm pretty sure Roy beats him at Footsies and MidRange

+1 Vs Ness
Ness invalidates Shields
Good thing we have a sexy jab to use as defence the bad thing about Ness match up is that Roy can't shield in his initial Dash which last forever so PK fire could cause problems. Ness's over reliance on grabs also means that Blazer OoS is less of a threat but we generally outrage him so... And yay countering PKThunder 2

? Vs Yoshi


Not the best matchup spread against HighTiers even though its just my opinion. And I'm no expert.

We have characters with better theorised match up spreads than Our boy here sitting in upper half of the roster. IMO he's solidly mid

 

[ArikadoSD]

Roy and Marcina play completely differently anyway, but I wouldn't use Lucina as a secondary to Roy.

Marcina play a lot more defensively and are more space-oriented than Roy, who is all about being aggressive and not much about spacing.

I'd say he's more comparable to falcon than he is to marcina.

 

[ArikadoSD]

I literally have no idea what you're talking about.

I was thinking this would be a thread talking about how Roy is the perfect secondary to go with Ganon or something, and was prepared with answers like "Sheik will give you nightmares", then I realized you were comparing Roy to Ganon's younger days or whatever. @_@

 

[Kenith]

Kinda sounds like a Smash Bros. version of Anakin to Darth Vader. Huh.

 

[Chiroz]

I literally have no idea what you're talking about.

I was thinking this would be a thread talking about how Roy is the perfect secondary to go with Ganon or something, and was prepared with answers like "Sheik will give you nightmares", then I realized you were comparing Roy to Ganon's younger days or whatever. @_@

He's just saying that his own image of teenage/young adult Ganon closely resembles how Roy feels in Smash. Honestly I feel like Ganon is much more "magic" oriented and muscly (is this even a word) than Roy's anime like strength and powers. My view of Young Ganon is basically OoT Young Link's Ganon only 4 or 5 years younger.

 

[Legato]

Yeah, Roy struggles hardcore against Sheik. She can definitely combo the crap out of him AND gimp him. I counted 3-4 fairs chaining on me even while DIing away from sheik and spamming air dodge... It looks bleak in that MU, and Sheik is so darn safe it feels helpless. still, I did win 2 of our 5 matches because of Roy's extremely early kill potential.

 

[Sneak Sneaks]

What about Megaman? He can outcamp most light projectiles campers like Luigi

 

[Smash Arena]

Lmao, Roy is number 2 right now on that stupid eventhubs tier list. I laughed out loud.

I know, that's ridiculous and hilarious at the same time. We all know he should be number 1.

 

[SafCar]

Try messing around Marth for a bit and ask yourself these Questions:

1. Do you wish Marth moved faster?
2. Did you wish Marth had better KO options?
3. Dislike Marth's floatiness?

If you answer yes to at least the first two, then he's a good fit. I personally hated the slow movement Marth had, especially when he needs his tippers to be spot-on. The only downside is Roy has a different sort of recovery, but honestly you learn whether or not to use your double jump after practice. He almost never needs his second jump unless he gets hit by a smash attack or hits ~100% damage, his Blazer can reach the ledge easily until then.

 

[Hapajin]

yeah I like the idea of a faster, heavier Marth for more rushdown tactics. Samus is already a slower, floaty character (closer to Marth) so I like the idea of using a contrasting character like Roy to mix things up.

 

[21stSalamander]

I currently main Pit however I've been playing Roy a lot more recently for obvious reasons. Thinking of Roy as a better version of marth gives a good idea of what he's like in terms of movement etc BUT, his recovery is much different. By this I mean the Marth has above average vertical recovery, whereas Roy does not, however has the option to recover horizontally. It does take a lot of getting used to.

 

[Liyrex]

Mid tier. He likely has bad matchups against most of the top tiers. At least he is not garbage like Lucina and Mewtwo.

Lucina isnt garbage, especially with the new buff.

 

[Liyrex]

Well, as far as I've known Marth provides a pretty favorable MU against Rosaluma, so I would assume Roy has the upper hand as well (I've seen Ally use Marth on Rosaluma in our weeklies since he hates the Mario/Rosaluma MU so much). Too early in the meta to really tell, but I think Roy will have trouble with Sheik, Pika, and Luigi.

Still, I really think those MU's won't be unwinnable, so Roy may not NEED a secondary. I'd probably suggest a quicker character who is harder to out-camp. Fox or Pika might work (I intend to be a Fox main with Roy secondary and it seems to be working out okay). Luigi, Falcon, or villager also seem like they would be good candidates for secondaries.

I strongly suggest sticking to Roy against Rosaluma. He can kill her very early, as early as 37% with a well placed smash attack. Rosaluma also lacks the tools to effectively punish Roy if you play safe.

Funny, i struggle against rosa more than any other character, how do you figure. And with or without customs?

 

[Kaneki164]

I just made the switch with Roy and honestly he feels better than Lucina to me. He combos so much better to me and has the power to back him up.

 

[MarioMeteor]

I am thinking like
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

There, that covers 3 out of 4 of the guys you said were better.
And I'd place Villager maybe spot 13, no way he is better than Roy.

Lucas in top 10? Roy above Sonic? No Luigi? FALCON above Sonic? In what dimension? You might wanna rethink that list.
I'd say he's good in the bottom or middle of high tier. Either that, or the very top of middle tier.

 

[IWinToLose]

After some more games with Roy, I believe that he struggles against Sonic, or at least I struggle against Sonic while using Roy.

Roy is very susceptible to spot dodges as his attacks don't have many active frames except for NAir and Side B. However, Side B is extremely punishable and NAir is often punishable as well. You need to go for pretty hard reads to counter spot dodging. You could try to play footsies with him but against chars like Sonic, you will get punished hard for a single bad decision.

 

[Fenrir VII]

idk I kinda think characters aren't susceptible to spot dodges... players are.

I get what you're saying about the lasting hitboxes, but the reverse of this is that Roy's moves are fast and strong... meaning he's also better at punishing a read-dodge than most of the cast.

The fact that run up shield is a decent approach that inherently beats a dodge (by allowing you to punish it) and you're going to get 20-30% or a ~100% kill off a single hit... yeah I don't think this is a Roy problem.

 

[FMHappy]

I know Roy's Nair is known to be be a good approach tool, but for some reason I don't know if I should do a SHNair or a SHFFNair. What is better for approaching? Which one do you guys do and why? Also if you fast fall the nair do you do it asap or after the first hit of nair?

 

[KenMeister]

I know Roy's Nair is known to be be a good approach tool, but for some reason I don't know if I should do a SHNair or a SHFFNair. What is better for approaching? Which one do you guys do and why? Also if you fast fall the nair do you do it asap or after the first hit of nair?

Sh nair for stuffing aerial approaches, shff nair for approaching, though you'll want to do a retreating sh nair if your opponent shields.

 

[ShootingDuck]

I tend to SHFF n-air when I only want to get the first hit of it as it can combo into his kill moves at high percents as I'm pretty sure the first hit either has a set knock back or is just really weak. But generally speaking in terms of approaching n-air shouldn't be your only approach. Heck not approaching at all and baiting out an attack/shield with empty jumps and such then punish is a viable option as most of roy's moves aren't safe on shield.

 

[IWinToLose]

Well, you can compare Roy's options to Shiek or Sonic.

For example:

Shiek's FTilt or Jab are fairly safe even on shield and both beat spot dodges. Likewise, Shiek's SH NAir counts as another mix up and it's fairly safe as well. Most chars can't retaliate to Shiek's NAir on normal shield.

Sonic's SD/SC is safe if the opponent spot dodges through it and it beats mistimed spot dodges/attacks along with back rolls. Either way, if you misread the opponent's actions, Sonic still has a relatively good chance that he won't be punished.

Roy doesn't have these safe shield pressure options. It's an actual mix up with Roy instead of forcing the opponent to shield and not really retaliate like Shiek and Sonic can. You don't have safe moves on shield except for MAYBE SH retreating NAir near the tip and Neutral B. Everything else can be punished unless Roy is at his maximum range. Anything else on whiff through a spot dodge is going to get you punished most likely.

It might just be me but I feel like Roy takes a long time to shield when he starts dashing. And last point, Roy can't consistently land 30% throw combos. However, sometimes you'll end up doing even more than 30% . It really depends on how well you read your opponent once you land the first throw.

All in all, I still think Roy is strong but I don't think he's better than the current top tier characters.

 

[FMHappy]

Sh nair for stuffing aerial approaches, shff nair for approaching, though you'll want to do a retreating sh nair if your opponent shields.

What do you mean by sh nair if my opponent shields?

 

[Nmarf13]

i would put him at A to A- because his attacks get up close and personal and pressures the opponent into playing defensive which roy can use to keep the opponent in a desperate situation. and his power is huge. i've killed opponents at as early as 60-75%. his speed is great at justifying pressure. so those are why i plan on making him my secondary

 

[Brim]

Though I really don't care where he stands on the tier list... I'm more curious about what characters are considered "counter-picks" to him. And bear in mind I'm very used to the PM Roy, and the ideal of Roy's weaknesses pertaining against characters with plenty of armor in their attacks. Like Bowser or DD.
-
As for where he stands on the tier list? I'd place him right next to Falcon solely because his core ideal of gameplay for Roy is identical to Falcon. Has plenty of on-stage dominance with an average recovery and an off-stage risky air game.

 

[Trunks159]

i would put him at A to A- because his attacks get up close and personal and pressures the opponent into playing defensive which roy can use to keep the opponent in a desperate situation. and his power is huge. i've killed opponents at as early as 60-75%. his speed is great at justifying pressure. so those are why i plan on making him my secondary

Roy has no safe moves to approach with, so any impulse from an opponent to play defensive is misplaced. He's not a pressure based character. He's moreso a footsie based character.

 

[SafCar]

Because by retreating, the opponent needs to dash before taking advantage of landing lag. This gives you time to counter with a grab, jab, dtilt, or ftilt

 

[roymustang1990-]

Either,I'm playing the fox match up wrong but roy can't walled out fox that much better than marth can.Fox still has any easy time barging through,even through d tilt.

 

[Luxent]

Peach player here!

I usually have no problem slaying Rosa's, Shiek's, or anyone in the top-tier range...

.... but damn, Roy is something else. T_T
I almost want to say he's broken, but that's an unpopular opinion. (and Im sure the stans will come along to crucify me lol~~)
Anyway, he's so quick to abuse my Peach setups with virtually lagless tilts. Thankfully I can always trump his edgegame, as I find it pretty weak, but like his smashes and tilts are too powerful, too quick, too much range.

Roy blows. (and yes, I say that out of spite)

 

[Darkmoone1]

I actually feel like he's not as good as people seem to think he is. The more I play against a Roy the more I realize how risky the character plays and how wide he leaves himself open whenever he goes for the kill. I'm actually gonna call mid tier to mid-high.

He seems like a character that appears powerful at first impression because of "WOW look at the Damage and knockback and early kills!", but the more you learn about him the weaker he gets.

 

[JohnnyB]

I think Roy is going to at least be high tier. His speed and power combined with his combos/strings justify that i think.

Is he gong to be top tier? Who knows. Luigi didn't seem like much early on and now most people rank him in the top 5.