Q&A The Barracks - Robin Q&A Thread [ASK GAMEPLAY QUESTIONS HERE]

[Royo]

Are there any good tips for a robin user (me) that just started playing him.thanks!

 

[Coolpool2]

Make sure you understand how long it takes for arcfire to come out and the angle it goes, you don't want to use it when your opponent is too close or it will just go over them. Discarded equipment is very useful, practice catching it. Nair is a very good move, it comes out very quick and sends the target at an almost horizontal angle making it good for gimps. Don't neglect to use nosferatu, but do not use it if you are off stage or you will not be able to recover at all. These are just some general tips.

 

[Royo]

Make sure you understand how long it takes for arcfire to come out and the angle it goes, you don't want to use it when your opponent is too close or it will just go over them. Discarded equipment is very useful, practice catching it. Nair is a very good move, it comes out very quick and sends the target at an almost horizontal angle making it good for gimps. Don't neglect to use nosferatu, but do not use it if you are off stage or you will not be able to recover at all. These are just some general tips.

Thanks for the helpful tips!

 

[Bigherolike6]

I'm sure this has been asked before but how do you deal with projectile spammers such as Link or Samus? I can never get my thunder charged up and am having trouble approaching.

 

[The_Cardinal]

I'm sure this has been asked before but how do you deal with projectile spammers such as Link or Samus? I can never get my thunder charged up and am having trouble approaching.

Well it depends on the stage but let's just assume that we're talking about an FD/Omega stage since that's the format in For Glory. When starting the match you probably should just focus on charging to Elthunder. Thoron will take too long to charge and if Arcthunder collide with another projectile it will just detonate in midair. Elthunder, however, can at least be used to get some quick damage in and punish rolls and get ups and landings. Once you're in an advantageous position (like when your opponent is offstage or if your fire jab lands) than you can charge up to thoron and force THEM to approach.

When approaching, take it nice and slow. Place arcfire at a safe distance to either pressure them or put up a wall that absorbs some projectiles such as arrows and missiles. When jumping over projectiles, don't always succumb to the desire to attack your opponent on the way down. That's what your opponent wants. Instead, empty jumping often works better and than you go from there. You also have to show characters like Link and Samus that you're efficient in the CQC game and jab will help you immensely here.

 

[AlienWarhead]

I need help with short hop attacking I can never seem to hit anyone, if I try to short hop retreat to lure someone into an attack I usually get hit. Also I never got the hang of gimping or killing someone offstage, I usually just charge thunder.

 

[Janno]

there are no tips how to hit moves, because there are way tooooooo many situtations in smash where some decisions are better then others
You just have to know your range and lag and the enemy range and lag. Then decide wether you can challenge them or not.

For example being diagonal over Captain Falcon
Our attacking Options: Dair (Pretty Slim Range straight down, huge cooldown)
Cf attacking Options: Uair (Amazing Range diagonal, super fast)
=> do not challenge it

Other example to be super clear, Standing in front of Mario
Our Options: Fair(Huge disjointed Hitbox infront of Robin, no landing lag since the animation is quicker then her shorthop), Nair(Solid disjointed Hitbox infront of Robin, autocancels in a shorthop)
Marios Option: uair(no range, fast), fair(good range, super slow)
=> give him a slap

and so on..

 

[Teshie U]

I encountered a glitch where Robin's custom Distant Nosferatu warped my opponent to me while I was free to repeatedly hit him. The magic continued to hold him but I was free to do whatever I wanted.

Is this known or should I bother to upload a video of it?

 

[AlienWarhead]

there are no tips how to hit moves, because there are way tooooooo many situtations in smash where some decisions are better then others
You just have to know your range and lag and the enemy range and lag. Then decide wether you can challenge them or not.

For example being diagonal over Captain Falcon
Our attacking Options: Dair (Pretty Slim Range straight down, huge cooldown)
Cf attacking Options: Uair (Amazing Range diagonal, super fast)
=> do not challenge it

Other example to be super clear, Standing in front of Mario
Our Options: Fair(Huge disjointed Hitbox infront of Robin, no landing lag since the animation is quicker then her shorthop), Nair(Solid disjointed Hitbox infront of Robin, autocancels in a shorthop)
Marios Option: uair(no range, fast), fair(good range, super slow)
=> give him a slap

and so on..

No tips on how to hit moves, sounds like I'm screwed then because I'm having a hard time hitting people. Lots of time my moves just get beat out, I see the animation happen and it doesn't hit. I don't know what to do hitting someone seems to be luck based and I don't think I can know my range and lag and the enemy range and lag because they can just dodge and attack me anyway.

 

[Royo]

I Know robin is not a big time melee player with his sword and his short grab.but I found myself going all melee(im a marth main but trying to make robin my second main)I'm trying to said I never use arcfire or down special are those helpful?if so how can I use one correctly?thank you so much for your time!

 

[Centicerise]

I encountered a glitch where Robin's custom Distant Nosferatu warped my opponent to me while I was free to repeatedly hit him. The magic continued to hold him but I was free to do whatever I wanted.

Is this known or should I bother to upload a video of it?

Definitely not something that is known about. Usually you are locked into the move until after your opponent is free. It would probably be worth uploading and trying to recreate to understand why it's happening.

 

[Teshie U]

k, ill record it before the patch destroys my replays

 

[Teshie U]

 

[MarthFanatique]

So it looks like the first portion of Nosferatu, the command grab part, creates a similar effect to a shield break. The opponent is helpless. The rest of the attack is the damaging/healing factor. When Auto-reticle tapped Robin it cancelled the damaging/healing part of the attack, but Palutena remained affected by the initial stun of the attack...to see if this is true, we could reduplicate it in a FFA by having a 3rd character hit Robin during Nosferatu...or maybe it's just a glitch..

 

[Froggy]

Hi everyone

Accrding to SMashwiki in regards to Robin's Down b(Nosferatu) http://www.ssbwiki.com/Robin_(SSB4)

"More energy is drained if the player mashes the special button"

I have tried this and nothing changes the more I mash the B button, is there some trick to it or something I am misundestanding or is it false altogether? Please let me know.

 

[Janno]

lol, ive never heard of this

I only know the opponent can mash out of nosferatu to get less damage

 

[timetotipthescales]

I know that four of Robin's aerial moves autocancel to 4 frames of landing lag by performing a short hop with his directionals except for Dair.

However, I want to learn how to Short Hop Fast Fall and do aerials with that. Is it still useful for Robin if her autocancels are faster?

 

[Pegasus Knight]

I'm struggling with certain matchups as Robin. Specifically, extremely fast-to-attack characters such as Mario. Can't zone him out (cape sends your thunder back at you, Arcfire has tremendous end lag so he can just slip past it)... and once he's in close I struggle hard to get him out. Sure, blocking helps for a while but eventually I have to stop and then it feels like he dominates. Trying to beat him on speed is met with his 2 frame jab. Trying to space him out usually just ends in him blocking my sword and moving in to close combat from there. Predicting where he might be after that and tossing out a tilt or smash in that direction likewise just gets beat out.

Against most characters I feel I do well, but Mario and others who output a lot of hitboxes very quickly (such as Pikachu) just seem impossible if the opponent is actually good. What am I missing here?

Edit: Put another way, how the hell do you get these kinds of characters off you once they're in close?

 

[Irisz]

I'm struggling with certain matchups as Robin. Specifically, extremely fast-to-attack characters such as Mario. Can't zone him out (cape sends your thunder back at you, Arcfire has tremendous end lag so he can just slip past it)... and once he's in close I struggle hard to get him out. Sure, blocking helps for a while but eventually I have to stop and then it feels like he dominates. Trying to beat him on speed is met with his 2 frame jab. Trying to space him out usually just ends in him blocking my sword and moving in to close combat from there. Predicting where he might be after that and tossing out a tilt or smash in that direction likewise just gets beat out.

Against most characters I feel I do well, but Mario and others who output a lot of hitboxes very quickly (such as Pikachu) just seem impossible if the opponent is actually good. What am I missing here?

Edit: Put another way, how the hell do you get these kinds of characters off you once they're in close?

I personally play against my Mario main brother all the time, and I find that I use a lot of Arcfire and Nair to zone him out.
Since jab was buffed recently, you can sort of rely on Robin's wind jab to get a few hits in and send him off flying. Apparently my brother hates Robin's fire jab though, so try to apply both jabs when you're close up with them?

I also use a lot of Dtilt, but never to actually hit as there's sort of poor knockback for it. It's just a fast, intimidating option that my brother won't want to approach.

Consider charging up Arcthunder as well - I personally never use Thoron on him (or anyone for that matter). At least with Arcthunder, I can follow up if I'm close. Sort of the same way with Arcfire.

I'll see if I can find a video/replay to show you. ^^

 

[Pegasus Knight]

Thank you. I'll look forward to that. For what it's worth, the merely 'okay' Marios and Pikachus don't bug me. It's the ones who clearly know their character and are very good, able to put out a wall of safe hitboxes.

Edit: Figured out PART of my problem. I'm too used to using d-smash as a get off me move, and that works against bad players. Against decent ones, frame data tells me my move will start up too slow and of course I'm going to eat their bair, their much faster d-smash, etc. 'Course, even when I Jab I seem to get hit.

 

[Marthmario]

As someone who's been trying to learn Robin since launch, how should I approach her diverse moveset? I've had a hard time synching with her moves and general strategy.

 

[Nd_KakaKhakis]

I picked up Robin on game launch but dropped him/her because of a couple of frustrating things.
But now I'm really feeling this multijab buff and love having two kill options (one vertical, one horizontal) off of jab.

My question though is about nair. Its a great move but I'm still not comfortable with it. Is nair pretty much always the right button to land with (when a button is appropriate)? Does nair have less landing recovery than any of Robin's other aerials (even when autocanceled correctly?)

 

[Janno]

Actually Nair has some Ending lag after not autocanceling the move
But short hop Nair just perfectly autocancles it. Its a really good spacing tool with a great trajectory. Its just a super solid move.
You can spam this move quite savely but fair bair and uair have theire benefits as well

 

[RobinOnDrugs]

What stages does Robin have an advantage and disadvantage on?

 

[The_Cardinal]

What stages does Robin have an advantage and disadvantage on?

For starters at least (going by EVO's ruleset) Robin likes Battlefield and Delfino but not FD. For more information, see Raziek's extensive stage guide that is conveniently stickied in the Robin forums.

 

[Lemonade Candy]

Which of robins moves cause trip?

 

[turtle roll]

Hey guys, I'm a pretty decent player (I've placed 4th and 2nd in the last two touneys I've been too, so that's not bad), But I'm looking to up my game. So here are my questions/comments.

I love Robin's D-smash, but I think I get predictable with it. It's a great punish tool, and at times a pretty surprising shield pressure tool, and It looks really cool, and... and.... um.... yeah. I really need to break that habit. Any suggestions on a safer punish move?

So many great aerials, and so many situations to use them, but my offstage game needs work. Sometimes it seems like I go for the spike when I should go for the fair, and vice versa. Any tells or tips I could be overlooking?

Lastly, I know the wind jab can be DIed out of (Though not as easily as prepatch), so I try and go for the fire jab. But sometimes that just sort of comes out to slow, or they are able to shield. Is that normal, Or am I doing that wrong? (generally i just hold the ! button down, as apposed to pressing it 3 times, so I don't accidentally use wind)

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[The_Cardinal]

Hey guys, I'm a pretty decent player (I've placed 4th and 2nd in the last two touneys I've been too, so that's not bad), But I'm looking to up my game. So here are my questions/comments.

1. I love Robin's D-smash, but I think I get predictable with it. It's a great punish tool, and at times a pretty surprising shield pressure tool, and It looks really cool, and... and.... um.... yeah. I really need to break that habit. Any suggestions on a safer punish move?

2. So many great aerials, and so many situations to use them, but my offstage game needs work. Sometimes it seems like I go for the spike when I should go for the fair, and vice versa. Any tells or tips I could be overlooking?

3. Lastly, I know the wind jab can be DIed out of (Though not as easily as prepatch), so I try and go for the fire jab. But sometimes that just sort of comes out to slow, or they are able to shield. Is that normal, Or am I doing that wrong? (generally i just hold the ! button down, as apposed to pressing it 3 times, so I don't accidentally use wind)

Thanks in advance for the help.

Numbered your response for the sake of convenience.

1) It's really hard to say since it just depends on the situation. I like jab as a punish though.

2) For offstage, if they're recovering from below the stage, use Elwind (not Levin Dair, that move should be used sparingly). If coming from the side or a little bit below, then nair.

3) Some people have reported that fire jab is harder to land sometimes post-patch actually. I would recommend trying to press the buttons manually because it seems to give you more control over the timing of when the fire comes out, whether you want it come out right away or delay it a bit.

 

[turtle roll]

Yeah, that was a pretty broad first question, lol. I'll give jab a chance. maybe a shorthopped f/bair could work some times too? I'll have to play and find out! My typical offstage game generally consists of me charging thoron onstage at this point, but I know robin can do better than that. And I didn't know that about the jab ACTUALLY being harder to land, I thought it was all in my head. glad to know I'm not loosing (most of) it.

Thanks for the help and support!

 

[Strider_123]

how do you safely land with robin? any moves that auto cancel? thanks!

 

[The_Cardinal]

how do you safely land with robin? any moves that auto cancel? thanks!

To be blunt, landing with Robin can be pretty hard, especially against certain characters. The only things I can to say to that is 1) be patient and/or 2) try b-reversing.

As for as auto-cancels, rising short hop bair, nair, and fair technically all auto-cancels as long as you don't actually land into the ground with them. You can, however, land with uair with minimal lag. Keep in mind that doesn't necessarily mean they're safe but they're certainly useful.

 

[Strider_123]

To be blunt, landing with Robin can be pretty hard, especially against certain characters. The only things I can to say to that is 1) be patient and/or 2) try b-reversing.

As for as auto-cancels, rising short hop bair, nair, and fair technically all auto-cancels as long as you don't actually land into the ground with them. You can, however, land with uair with minimal lag. Keep in mind that doesn't necessarily mean they're safe but they're certainly useful.

Whats b- reversing?
also ive notice something that really hinders me, when battling Game and watch (or some short character) he is so small a target i can't short hop- attack aerials. In fact he even evades my elfire by an inch by running. Also he somehow blocks the last fire jab. then he buckets everything....sigh is he a hard match up for robin or is it just me? it could be me since i started using robin more often just now. Captain falcon is a pain too but thats just rushdowns in general for her right?

 

[Moydow]

Whats b- reversing?

B-reversing is when you push the control stick in the opposite direction in which your character is facing immediately after starting the neutral B attack, so that they face the opposite direction while still performing the attack. It's most obvious to notice with Captain Falcon and Ganondorf's punches, where they're actually shown turning around while charging the punch. If you do it while moving in the air, you also move slightly in the other direction.

So it's like, if Robin is facing left, press B, then press right on the control stick immediately after pressing B. If you time it properly, Robin should be facing right while charging Thunder. If you mis-time it, s/he'll either do Arcfire, or not turn around.

 

[The_Cardinal]

Whats b- reversing?
also ive notice something that really hinders me, when battling Game and watch (or some short character) he is so small a target i can't short hop- attack aerials. In fact he even evades my elfire by an inch by running. Also he somehow blocks the last fire jab. then he buckets everything....sigh is he a hard match up for robin or is it just me? it could be me since i started using robin more often just now. Captain falcon is a pain too but thats just rushdowns in general for her right?

Unfortunately, hitting small character with short hop aerials can be difficult. But with G&W, I think the match-up is just fine for us. Just don't jump as much and force him to approach and be careful with projectile placements. It helps that we ko him very early.

And yes, rushdown can be difficult for Robin to handle. We actually discussed how to deal with Sheik and Falcon in our relatively new match-up thread. Why not take a look?

 

[Strider_123]

alright thanks!

 

[Royo]

What is the best moment to use he's down b?

 

[The_Cardinal]

What is the best moment to use he's down b?

Personally, I think it's best to use it as a mix-up after you conditioned your opponents to block your aerial attacks, especially if they're on a platform. Having said that, it should still be used sparingly given its slow start-up and the endlag.

 

[Strider_123]

What is the best moment to use he's down b?

ah this i got down very well. use this in the air right before landing if you know-
A) hes expecting you to use a short hop aerial attack. so hes trying to block.
B) hes running at you while trying to land. do it right before he tries to grab or dash attack you and YOU WILL overlap it.

The second scenario is best tbh, because it makes them worried about coming close. But always know your opponent! rolling out of the way is a possibility for them.

 

[Nah]

Does anyone have any tips for fighting Jigglypuff as Robin? They always seem to wreck my ass for some reason

 

[Strider_123]

Does anyone have any tips for fighting Jigglypuff as Robin? They always seem to wreck my *** for some reason

hmm well she is small and floaty....she gets out of elfire quite easily...yeah i think its just a hard matchup. im sorry i don't have any advice