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

[LIQUID12A]

All players, from the humble novice to the seasoned veteran, should be able to pick up at least a few characters and really feel them.

Fixed such awkward wording before the Shulk smiley

 

[Strider_123]

I deleted your previous thread. Just so you know, I would have been able to move it here for you, for future reference.There's only so much you can do.

Some people are best at playing a specific kind or a narrow range of characters, like myself, while others consider like half of the roster their "main". All I can really advise is to have a grasp of how to best play the character, formed of your own views amd ideas, as well as augmented by the example of others. If you naturally harness the strengths of a character and obey their shortcomings, they will naturally play differently from each other. For instance, should you feel compelled to chase people down as Robin? If they are a much faster character and they are just scrambling away from you, you can be playing a fool's war. Instead, if you begin charging your Thunder tome, they have all the reason to want to come to you. Put control over the match in your hands.

Robin and Pit are very different characters, which is all the more reason why you should just keep trying to play both if you genuinely like them. That is, do you actually like Robin? Is Robin fun for you? Generally something about how the character functions should click if you hope to have any enjoyment. For instance, I don't play rushdown characters because that's not playing to what I am good at, and it's not playing at my ideal game experience. I love characters like Falcon and Marth with all my heart with who they are, but not how they play. They're a shoe of the wrong size.

All that said, if you genuinely enjoy playing as Robin, then all you can do is practice alternating play between Robin and Pit. All players, from the humble novice to the seasoned veteran, should be able to pick up at least a few characters and get real for them.

i like them both for different reasons. i do enjoy playing robin and honestly don't mind the tomes wasting but every time im getting better with one i find myself regressing with the other. there are 2 types of characters in fighting games that fit my playstyle "ranged" people such as axl from guilty gear and Mina from samurai showdown. At the same time i also enjoy characters that rush down the opponent like nakoruru from showdown and the dog characters

 

[ThisIsIt]

is it just me or on the wii u version when the levin sword is about to break in two or one uses it no longer flashes?

 

[Ultimastrike]

is it just me or on the wii u version when the levin sword is about to break in two or one uses it no longer flashes?

The Levin Sword does flash, I believe. Try using the sword 8 times and wait until it begins flashing around 6-7 uses.

 

[Raziek]

is it just me or on the wii u version when the levin sword is about to break in two or one uses it no longer flashes?

Merged your post into Q&A thread.

 

[ThisIsIt]

i believe it doesnt flash anymore though can someone confirm

 

[Raziek]

i believe it doesnt flash anymore though can someone confirm

You're..... actually correct, on further examination! It doesn't seem to flash in the Wii U version.

 

[LIQUID12A]

You're..... actually correct, on further examination! It doesn't seem to flash in the Wii U version.

Maybe it's a visual nerf to force us to be more alert?

 

[Ultimastrike]

Maybe it's a visual nerf to force us to be more alert?

Well I'll be damned. That means we have to count how many times we use our Levin...though, I'm glad Books are noticable still. If those weren't Robin would've had a nerf on that altogether.

 

[ShineAF]

So what do you guys think about putting tilts on the C-Stick? I think it really benefits Robin aerial game. You don't even use her smashes very often anyway. Also, <3 diagonal NAIRs.

My question is how does the Cstick work when set to tilts for her different types of aerials? I haven't had time to mess with it yet...

 

[Raziek]

If you aren't using her Smashes often, you aren't using enough D-Smash.

 

[LIQUID12A]

DSmash is best Smash. It covers so much range around Robin and is just a safe attack in general.

 

[Trifroze]

Anyone tried grab release into thoron? Might work on some characters. Only able to watch videos, getting the game this week.

 

[Ultimastrike]

Anyone tried grab release into thoron? Might work on some characters. Only able to watch videos, getting the game this week.

Afaik grab release is gone. The only grB release that mattered before was Wario's, but that's thrown out now.

 

[Roy-Kun]

--Sorry for commenting what's probably obvious guys, I just got to play Smash Bros. for Wii U and tried to main Robin. From what I see, most of the time starting with Elfire is great to keep some distance between the opponent. By comments, I'm taking that Robin's Down Smash is their most reliable kill move.

For building damage, I suppose it's better to not use that many Smash attacks, and depend more on tilts and aerial attacks, alongside the tomes

In the end I found myself using Elfire a lot more often than any other spell. I don't really see much use to Up Smash, it's pretty hard to hit with it (specially the tip), and not to mention it's predictable.

 

[Trifroze]

I'd argue that uair (speaking of levin sword of course) is definitely Robin's best kill move, with bair, dsmash, thoron and fair behind probably in that order. It's not easy to say since some are easier to land than others but in return have less knockback and all have their own situations, but uair is definitely the most useful one especially since you can do it as a follow-up from elfire. Same with fair and bair but uair is the most reliable one.

 

[Raziek]

Uair, Bair, and D-Smash I would say are the most reliable.

Fair would be more reliable if it wasn't always stale because of how important it is as a damage racker.

 

[Scarf Wynaut]

Elwind spiking kills so early its ridiculous. Lots of players tend to recover from below due to robin's ability to easily knock them far away with nair or fair so a simple dash off stage followed up with a QUICK up-b nets so many kills for me. I say quick because if im too slow then the opponent either airdodges or I whiff which in turn can follow up into a punish by the opponent. This works especially well on characters with poor vertical recovery like Mario, DK, Luigi, Bowser, Little Mac (Especially little mac because good macs will try to wall jump to help out with their terribly recovery), Zero Suit and regular Samus. Kirby, Jigglypuff and Yoshi may fall into this category depending on how many jumps they have used in their attempt to recover.

sry for this long post idk if its even relevant but i hope i helped someone

 

[Hapsby]

Hello everyone.

I love Fire Emblem and Smash Brothers and have been playing Smash on the 3ds since its release. I have wanted to pick up Robin from the beginning but he feels very different from any other character I have played up to this point. I have listed some questions below, if any of you seasoned Robin players can help me out, that would be great. I have compared his gameplay to Lucina because she is the character I have played the most recently, but I am sure they do not play the same so tell me how to change my gameplay approach.

1. How do I consistently use the Levin Sword for aerial attacks? Do I have to have used a smash attack previously on the ground? Can I use an aerial that will always be Levin Sword if it is available?

2. With Lucina, a common, safe engagement tool is to dash up to the enemy, jump, and fair or nair away from them. This move is safe on sheild. I find myself trying to do this with Robin, but he is much slower and his aerials without Levin sword don't seem to have the reach. What are some common safe engagements? Do I need to play more defensive and use ArcFire and Thunder?

3. Again with Lucina, most of my kills came from offstage aerial damage, impairing my opponents recovery due to great aerial priority. Does Robin do well with offstage play? Should I focus on landing smashes to finish off opponents or a mix of aerials offstage and smashes?

4. So far playing against Robin I usually feel that being hit with an ArcThunder with a follow up Levin Sword usually hurts a lot more than a Thoron. Should I focus on getting out my ArcThunders in 1 on 1?

Thanks for taking the time to answer. If I have more questions I'll update!

 

[genesis_SOC]

1. Do a smash in the air to use Levin.

2. Robin is very defensive and has no safe approaches.

3. Robin is one of the worst off stage characters in the game. Focus on charging Thoron instead.

4. Thoron is almost always better as long as you hold B as you cast Thoron for extra damage and knock back.

 

[Hapsby]

I would not have known that about Thoron. Any other quirks on her moves?

 

[genesis_SOC]

I'm not sure, I think there's something that makes down B better but I can't find anything consistent.

 

[Hong]

@ Hapsby Merged your thread into Q&A.

@ genesis_SOC covered Levin Sword aerials, but I would refute a number of his opinions.

2) Robin can go in with Arcfire and Arcthunder. In addition, the butter knife (or bronze sword, your tilts) is great for pokes and frame-traps if you get a good feel for it. That aside, Robin does indeed have a poor aggressive game.

3) Robin off-stage play is actually just fine. Not good, but not bad either. Robin is really floaty and has good recovery in terms of distance, so you can be ambitious. I can't tell you if you should always go off the stage for an edge guard or if you should stay on stage and charge Thoron. Knowing when there is an opportunity is just a basic element of being a Smasher.

A lot of the better Robin players have had great success with off-stage play. Elwind spikes at Robin's hands when you cast it, for instance. You can also dunk people with LS dair. I'm not too crazy about LS fair off stage at low %s because it has such a high launch trajectory, but at high % both LS fair and bair will eventually KO.

Off-stage, nair can be a great option at low %s for the sole reason that the launch trajectory is almost strictly horizontal. Thus, while it doesn't hit as hard as LS fair or LS bair, it endangers your opponent a lot more since they are sent further away from the stage.

That aside, you really just need to have the intuition to know when to take the fight off stage. If you are going to be on stage, charging your Thunder is nice. You can also throw Arcfire onto the ledge or waste some Nosferatu castings to get that throwable tome sooner. Your on-stage KOs will probably come from LS uair and dsmash. Arcthunder, Thoron and back throw can also eventually KO.

4) Generally, you charge up your Thunder tome as much as you can. Compared to the others, Arcthunder and Thoron are about equal in value, but Thoron is easier to hit with since it can catch a landing or air dodge.. That said, take what you can get. When you charge up to Arcthunder, it's perfectly fine to store that for the time being. Elthrunder is also a great spell against rushdown fighters, since it comes out so fast and it's quick to charge.

 

[Tattles]

Outside of moves that force the Butterknife (jab, tilts, etc.), what uses does the bronze sword have with aerials (if any)? I understand how the Levin Sword works with the C-Stick, but i'm not entirely sure why I would want the Butterknife with my aerials.

 

[Hong]

Outside of moves that force the Butterknife (jab, tilts, etc.), what uses does the bronze sword have with aerials (if any)? I understand how the Levin Sword works with the C-Stick, but i'm not entirely sure why I would want the Butterknife with my aerials.

Not a whole lot. I've seen some Robins use the butter knife aerials at low %s to either conserve the Levin Sword or go for followups, but IMO it's better to just use it up and wait for it to recharge if you are not going to KO any time soon.

Maybe as we evolve we will implement more bronze sword to Levin Sword combos.

 

[Aunt Jemima]

I can't B-Reverse Thoron... I've been trying for a while and I can't get the timing right.

Master Robin's, help me!

 

[Hong]

I can't B-Reverse Thoron... I've been trying for a while and I can't get the timing right.

Master Robin's, help me!

For whatever reason, the timing window to B-Reverse Thoron seems to be tighter than the lesser Thunder spells. It is certainly doable; you can practice at 1/4 speed to get a feel for it. It's the same as any other B-Reverse in terms of input, being smashing the control stick, letting it go to neutral, and pressing B. Just seems to be more strict.

Not sure if it's actually easier to B-Reverse charge the lower levels, or if it's just me.

 

[Funkermonster]

Robin's answer to people roll spamming? Thinking of switching to him if Lucina quits working for me.

 

[Raziek]

Down-Smash and Arcfire both ruin rolls. So does Pivot Grab if they're trying to roll into you.

 

[Funkermonster]

Cool, thanks! Will definitely work on that next time. But whenever I try to pivot grab, I end up doing a pivot tilt instead (I'm using the Wii U gamepad if that matters) most of the time. Is there a way to work around that?

 

[Ticker]

Is it possible to do the foxtrot style dash-dance with robin? I was able to get the timing down with my other mains, Greninja and Tink, but no matter what timing I use it won't work.

 

[Raziek]

Is it possible to do the foxtrot style dash-dance with robin? I was able to get the timing down with my other mains, Greninja and Tink, but no matter what timing I use it won't work.

Merged your thread with the Q&A thread.

Are you referring to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRAUs6egG2s&feature=youtu.be

Or do you mean something different?

The former was discussed in this topic and the conclusion is that it really isn't useful, but if you're thinking of something different and can show me a video example, I could potentially give you a better answer.

 

[Ticker]

Or do you mean something different?

The former was discussed in this topic and the conclusion is that it really isn't useful, but if you're thinking of something different and can show me a video example, I could potentially give you a better answer.

Yea it's diffrent from that, I'll try to get a video if I can

 

[Raziek]

If you mean the 'dash out 'dash in' thing that like, Marth did in Brawl, and Diddy does in Smash 4, that's not useful for us because our dash start up and acceleration is AWFUL.

 

[Ticker]

If you mean the 'dash out 'dash in' thing that like, Marth did in Brawl, and Diddy does in Smash 4, that's not useful for us because our dash start up and acceleration is AWFUL.

Yea that might be it.

 

[Pazx]

For whatever reason, the timing window to B-Reverse Thoron seems to be tighter than the lesser Thunder spells. It is certainly doable; you can practice at 1/4 speed to get a feel for it. It's the same as any other B-Reverse in terms of input, being smashing the control stick, letting it go to neutral, and pressing B. Just seems to be more strict.

Not sure if it's actually easier to B-Reverse charge the lower levels, or if it's just me.

I'm unable to B-Reverse Thoron, however I think the reason it's easier to B-Reverse Arc/El/Thunder is because it's a lot easier to B-reverse the charge than the shot itself. Also, the inputs you described are for a Turnaround-B rather than a B-Reverse. Curiously, I can Turnaround-B Thoron with ease however it usually ends up as the weak Thoron (as if I wasn't holding down B). Can anyone confirm if it's actually possible to B-Reverse or Wavebounce?

 

[Trifroze]

I wasn't able to B-reverse it, however I always get the strong version when I turnaround-B it and hold the button.

 

[CHOMPY]

Since Robin has a poor aggressive game, how do I go about fighting against a campy character, like DHD?


I'm trying to learn how to play Robin, but I feel like I'm using him for the wrong reasons. So here goes.

1) Are there any good follow up moves that I could use with Robin?

2) What are the benefit in using Thunder and Elthunder?

3) When you grab the player, what direction should I be throwing the character?

4) How do I activate the Levin Sword?

5) Are there certain moves I should stay away from using?


Thanks!

 

[Hong]

Since Robin has a poor aggressive game, how do I go about fighting against a campy character, like DHD?

First of all, do you understand the fundamentals of fighting Duck Hunt across all match-ups?

For instance, are you knocking the can back? In addition, the Wild Gunman only has 5% health, so it is easily countered by Arcfire and Elthunder. Since the Clay Pigeon as well is easily diverted and has low health, Duck Hunt's range game can be shut down if you play reactively and remain patient until you can get in.

1) Are there any good follow up moves that I could use with Robin?

Well you have a wide array of followups off of Arcthunder and Arcfire. With the latter, it's suitable for your LS (Levin Sword) aerials.

Aside from that, Robin isn't really a combo-heavy character. There's strings and juggles involving dthrow, utilt, and uair at early %, but anything horizontal in nature is hard to follow up on due to Robin having the slowest run speed in the game.

2) What are the benefit in using Thunder and Elthunder?

The Thunder spells are not really meant to be compared to each other, and are on different tiers for a reason. Use what you can get. If you can charge up to Thoron, it's probably worth it to charge up to Thoron, but that doesn't always happen.

Thunder and Elthunder are good because they are accessible. In particular, they are good at controlling fast-moving fighters. Elthunder in particular not only moves fast, but deals 9% damage (only 1% less than Arcthunder).

3) When you grab the player, what direction should I be throwing the character?

Back throw is our best kill throw, and also deals the most damage. Aside from that, if you want you can use fthrow if you are near the edge to get stage control or dthrow at low %s for followups, but that's about it.

4) How do I activate the Levin Sword?

Your Levin Sword is drawn with smash attacks. Robin is the only character in Smash Bros who can smash in the air, and the method is the same as it is on the ground (so you use the C-stick or smash the stick in the direction).

While Robin is holding the Levin Sword, all aerials except nair will still use the Levin Sword, so you don't need to worry about smash inputs. If you jab, tilt, nair, or don't use the Levin Sword for a short bit, Robin will automatically revert to the bronze sword.

5) Are there certain moves I should stay away from using?

Robin certainly has moves that are better than others, but little in the way of things you shouldn't use. The uthrow is the only thing that comes to mind, which I've only seen used at a very high level to throw off DI.

But you should have discretion with some moves.

For instance, at lower %s while off-stage, it might be better to hit the recovering opponent with nair instead of LS fair. The LS fair is tempting because it is the stronger attack, but it has an upward diagonal launch trajectory where as the nair has a strictly horizontal launch trajectory, making it better for gimping. Elwind is another move that's good, but you need to be discrete about using it on stage. It's neither good nor bad, but highly punishable if you are predictable.

 

[The_Cardinal]

Since Robin has a poor aggressive game, how do I go about fighting against a campy character, like DHD?

To add to what was already said above, for DHD at least, you can just camp and charge thunder if you're both at opposite ends of the stage. Also, all of DHD's projectiles are slow and you can easily react to them by shield amongst other things. When fighting campy projectile characters in general, just know that thoron will rip, or at least pass, through, basically everything. Now while you obviously won't always have the time to charge up to thoron, the moment you are able to, your opponent has to respect your options in the far range game. It is ridiculously easy to react to an opponent's projectile with thoron and I have won dozen of games by punishing campy opponents who foolishly fired a projectile with thoron.