The Future of Robin

[Tectrix]

I've honestly been feeling a little disheartened about Robin as a character lately(not enough to even consider switching, I will be tipping the scales until the bitter end) as as I've been getting better and better, the flaws of the character are becoming more and more pronounced, and general outlook on the character among the community seems to be getting more and more grim. So, I ask to you good tacticians of the Robin board, what do you think of our character's future? Looking at the characters that are our hardest match-ups, it seems to mostly be faster, more technical characters who likely have a lot of potential to grow in the meta as players improve, whereas all of Robin's good match-ups seem to be the kind of characters that are only going down, and s/he's generally had relatively limited success, even with very skilled players like Nairo and Trela giving them a lot of attention. Do you think Robin has much of a future in the meta game? Do you think they have some untapped potential? Obviously its too early to tell anything for sure, but I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts.

 

[Wintropy]

Well, yeah, except we've got @ Raziek . If we're going down, we're going down in style.

Nah, but for srs, I think it's way too early to tell how the Robin meta will shape up. With balance patches and custom rulesets being considered, there's a lot of depth that we as a community have yet to dig into; hell, we've barely scratched the surface of what can be done with these characters.

Top-tier warriors like Sheik and Diddy may dominate the results threads right now, and relatively disregarded characters like Robin may get jilted, but that can definitely change. The issue we have right now is that very few people are really making an effort to explore what Robin can do and advance the meta. Our community is making great efforts to counteract that, and we have some very talented players in our roster, but we have to make an even more concerted effort to get Robin recognition in the big-name events. I know ol' Raz suggested a routine fly-by to attend dem good things in the US of A - that may be a good first step for getting the word out there about our friend Rufure.

All in all: baby steps. You cannot expect the meta to change overnight. Threads like these, even small and humble ones, are a good step in the right direction. We've got the tools and we've got the determination, all we have to do is rally the troops and something something tip the scales!

 

[Nah]

Yeah, I think that "it's too early" is the key thing here. Smash 4 hasn't even been out for a year yet, and metagames, at least in my experience, usually don't stagnate for long, especially this early in the game's lifespan. There's still probably a fair bit about Smash 4 in general and Robin (and many other characters) in particular to be figured out. There's really no way to tell how thing's will be a year or 2 from now.

 

[LIQUID12A]

The metagame is barely a year old. Mewtwo was considered the worst in Melee before rising due to the changing metagame. There's absolutely no reason that Robin couldn't rise with some effort, and people like Raziek are making an effort to push for that change and recognition for this character.

 

[Froggy]

As long as people keep blindly follow what Nairo used to do Robin's meta won't advance anywhere.

 

[Wintropy]

As long as people keep blindly follow what Nairo used to do Robin's meta won't advance anywhere.

The same could apply to any character, of course. There's a difference between unpragmatically aping what a top player does and learning by example.

As a Pit main, watching Nairo has taught me a lot of interesting tricks, yet I know that just doing what he does will not yield adequate results. You've got to have a dynamic variety to keep things fresh and encourage original thought. That's why I'm glad we've got players like Raziek in our midst, and even non-professional players like False Sense and Delta Fist have a lot to contribute. It's a great community, we've just got to be willing to do our own thing and help each-other learn and go on.

 

[Raziek]

Well, yeah, except we've got @ Raziek . If we're going down, we're going down in style.

Nah, but for srs, I think it's way too early to tell how the Robin meta will shape up. With balance patches and custom rulesets being considered, there's a lot of depth that we as a community have yet to dig into; hell, we've barely scratched the surface of what can be done with these characters.

Top-tier warriors like Sheik and Diddy may dominate the results threads right now, and relatively disregarded characters like Robin may get jilted, but that can definitely change. The issue we have right now is that very few people are really making an effort to explore what Robin can do and advance the meta. Our community is making great efforts to counteract that, and we have some very talented players in our roster, but we have to make an even more concerted effort to get Robin recognition in the big-name events. I know ol' Raz suggested a routine fly-by to attend dem good things in the US of A - that may be a good first step for getting the word out there about our friend Rufure.

All in all: baby steps. You cannot expect the meta to change overnight. Threads like these, even small and humble ones, are a good step in the right direction. We've got the tools and we've got the determination, all we have to do is rally the troops and something something tip the scales!

Serious answer, I think this is largely correct.

However, I do have to qualify that opinion with my own opinion on where Robin will eventually fall.

<POTENTIAL FUTURE PATCHES NOTWITHSTANDING>

Robin, at the end of the day, is a mid-tier character. She has a lot of strong tools, but is ultimately limited by one main key factor: mobility.

Smash is and always has been a game dominated by mobility. Space control is everything. You either need the movement and mobility to control space effectively, or access to dominating boxing tools (like Snake, for example) if your mobility is lacking. Robin doesn't really fall into either of those categories.

She has strong space control, especially with access to customs, but she doesn't have a 'full retinue' of options to deal with close-range boxing. For the most part, she is limited to a few specific options (Jab, D-tilt, F-tilt, primarily) that aren't nearly as powerful as like, Sheik jab or Diddy d-tilt.

Can you win with her? YES, absolutely. Is the character worth playing? AGAIN, YES! I think Robin is a solid mid-tier character with excellent tools and the ability to mostly compensate her own weaknesses through creative use of those tools. (Hello Elwind anti-juggles)

But I don't have any delusions that we'll see Robin become ridiculously popular like Sheik, Diddy, ZSS, Falcon, Fox, etc. It's just unlikely to happen, due to the character design.

I'm gonna rep her as strongly as possible at EVO though.

 

[Matty89]

One thing I get really see other Robin's do, is play very conservative. You'be got so many tools, especially projectiles. Especially grabbing tomes that he tosses as well as the Levin sword. Tome throws to arcthunder or arcfire are great set ups. And I don't see a lot of players making use of trapping people into Nosferatu. Such an amazing move. Gotta use everything you have to win.

 

[Froggy]

Robin is really only a strong character with customs on imo. The character shouldn't be used at customs off tournaments.

 

[False Sense]

Robin is really only a strong character with customs on imo. The character shouldn't be used at customs off tournaments.

Actually, I've found that default Robin is often the best, barring the use of Speed Thunder for certain matchups. The base specials are all really good and are key to Robin's gameplan. The customs are generally either preferable against specific characters, or are simply inferior.

 

[Froggy]

Actually, I've found that default Robin is often the best, barring the use of Speed Thunder for certain matchups. The base specials are all really good and are key to Robin's gameplan. The customs are generally either preferable against specific characters, or are simply inferior.

As Raziek pointe out Robin is a character with glariing weaknesses, her customs more so that perhaps any other character help her account for her weaknesses. Fire wall for character who easily pentrate your zone, and and Arc Fire+ against chracters who projectice camp. Robin falls apart in too many matchups without customs.

 

[Raziek]

As Raziek pointe out Robin is a character with glariing weaknesses, her customs more so that perhaps any other character help her account for her weaknesses. Fire wall for character who easily pentrate your zone, and and Arc Fire+ against chracters who projectice camp. Robin falls apart in too many matchups without customs.

You're twisting my words a bit there.

Can you win with her? YES, absolutely. Is the character worth playing? AGAIN, YES! I think Robin is a solid mid-tier character with excellent tools and the ability to mostly compensate her own weaknesses through creative use of those tools. (Hello Elwind anti-juggles)

I said she can mostly compensate for her weaknesses, and when I said that, I was also talking primarily about (default) Elwind, though also about Speed Thunder + Fire Wall. I do not think that default Robin is helpless without customs to any degree. I think default Elwind solves a lot of her perceived problems if used correctly. (particularly her issues landing)

Secondly, I think 'falls apart' is simply inaccurate, though she certainly has a harder time with some characters. (Luigi comes to mind as a really difficult one without customs)

And finally, Arcfire+ is a pretty useless move. If you're playing anti-projectile, you're playing Speed Thunder and spamming them with either Thunder, Elthunder or Thoron.

 

[Goesasu]

I have spent a lot of hours in robin (not over 300 like shulk but over a 100 maybe?)

Speed thunder, gliding elwind and fire wall cover all robins weaknesess so he can go toe to toe with speed characters, even sheik. Thats IMO the optimal set.

Speed thunder fills the pressure, firewall is the keep away move that protects you even from aerials, gliding elwind is faster and safer to use to recover (just like shulks Advancing air slash that has similar recovery angle) and also has more offensive uses that arent obvious at first glance. Smash attacks and book throwing to seal the stock or a aerial thorn, regular Nosferatu for punish.

Probably you wont be killing anyone before 100% but you can keep hitting them and keeping them away from you avoiding harm. He is a strategist after all.

 

[Deleted member]

It's a little too early to say where he will lie.

I do think that his customs will definitely help him in the long run. I found that having Fire Wall makes fighting Luigi, a character who excels at punishing, a bit easier. But his defaults aren't too bad at all, but his customs will affect a lot of match ups to help him in the long run (that is, if we will continue to have a meta with customs in it).

Robin will be a character that will take some dedication to. He's all about strategy; when to use the Levin Sword, Tomes, and even purposefully break the tomes to create projectiles and break out of potential combos. He isn't a very easy character to master and he might not even be easy to use.

I do find Robin to be underrated as he has a lot of great setups (especially with regular Arcfire and Arcthunder), aerials thanks to the Levin Sword, and zoning with Thunder and Arcfire and he does have a great gimping tool with nair and a pretty disrespectful meteor smash with Elwind.

Where will his future be, though? It's... hard to say. I think that he will be mid-tier at least. I bet more will be found in the future; I bet there is some very useful technique for him that will be uncovered. For now, he will struggle against the more speedy characters and maybe even ones with good punish games, but his customs will definitely help him in the long run.

 

[Pazzo.]

Robin has his/her limits to be sure... We've got a long road ahead, but there's plenty of us to attempt some similitude of success.

So here's to the future... May we be always three steps ahead.

 

[C0rvus]

Robin loses to all the currently perceived best characters (Falcon, Fox, Sheik, ZSS, etc.) so no matter how you slice it, it's a hard road for the sluggish tactician. Above all, I think playing Robin requires a patient, composed mindset and caters to players who are good at playing their opponent as a player, but also the character they play. Robin will need serious matchup knowledge, mindgames, and high level tactics. How true to form he is. I used to be super into this character, but I doubted him, and still kind of do. There is always much to be improved on, and I look forward to watching the meta grow. Robin will likely stay in mid tier, barring some balance patch magic. Maybe I should stop being a quitter and pick up the ol' torch again, but when everyone at your local plays Shiek, Mario Bros, Ness, Fox, and Diddy, it may not be much fun.

 

[TheHypnotoad]

Honestly? Robin's future is grim. The rise of Sheik means that Robin will be essentially worthless. Even against other characters beside Sheik, Robin's poor speed and laggy attacks means that Robin is at a severe disadvantage in close-combat. And the lack of a hitbox above him/her when recovering means that he/she is easily gimpable. People have been putting Robin low on their tier lists for a reason, and while I don't think Robin is low tier, I do think he/she is low-mid tier. Robin is the character you use in friendlies or when sandbagging, not in a serious tournament match.

 

[Froggy]

And finally, Arcfire+ is a pretty useless move. If you're playing anti-projectile, you're playing Speed Thunder and spamming them with either Thunder, Elthunder or Thoron.

Dude try keeping up in the projectile war with Toon Link or Duck Hunt using just Speed thunder alone, you'll lose. Robin does not need to get in on campy characters, you can beat them from afar, but Thunder alone isn't going to cut it.

You do not know what you are talking about.

 

[Raziek]

Dude try keeping up in the projectile war with Toon Link or Duck Hunt using just Speed thunder alone, you'll lose. Robin does not to get in on campy characters, you can beat them from afar, but Thunder alone isn't going to cut it.

You do not know what you are talking about.

Do you have videos? Because I have numerous videos of fighting Duck Hunt with Speed Thunder, while you continue to blow smoke out your ass with no actual backing evidence.

 

[Froggy]

Do you have videos? Because I have numerous videos of fighting Duck Hunt with Speed Thunder, while you continue to blow smoke out your *** with no actual backing evidence.

I do actually. I'll upload a match from winners finals of a tournament from recently when I get home today. Robin vs Duck Hunt, watch how much utility I get from Arcfire+.

 

[Meneil]

100% agree with what Raziek said (in terms of Robin's future). Smash4 has been out long enough. Robin is a mid-tier character. He does well against the majority of the cast, but suffers against high tiers. That's a common life for a mid tier. If you can't get out of a high tier's pressure ... don't. Instead focus on keeping the momentum, forcing your opponent in bad positions, instead of trying to think of a way to get out. Robin definitely has the tools to pressure in this game.

I would recommend picking up a high tier secondary. Not necessarily to play tournament in, but just a break from Robin. You can decide later if you want to do anything more serious with your high tier, or not. For me personally, playing other characters both renews my interest in the game, and makes me think of faults both with Robin + that respective character.

 

[TurdyBird]

I feel like Robin's kit is overall pretty good. I feel like what really puts him/her back is how slow the character is. Maybe a buff to fall speed or running speed would help.

 

[PK Gaming]

It's bleak, but Robin does a have a future. I see him/her has a low tier character who might get their second wind as the meta progressives, not unlike several low tier characters who rose in Brawl (ie: Sonic). His/her future is mainly predicated on Sheik, as she completely and utterly shuts down Robin. Nerfs directed towards her will help along with the existing nerfs to several of the staples.

In the end, time will tell but we'll just have to endure things for now.

 

[Brinzy]

How can you protect Robin if you can't protect yourself?

Keep your gameplay tight and your heads up, Robin players.

 

[Suiko]

In my opinion Robin can be very good against a lot of characters- even high tiers like Sheik, Diddy, ZSS, Fox, Falcon, among others. One just has to be patient but Robin can tip the scales of a match easily, Robin has extremely good stage influence and can control characters with this. Robin's mobility doesn't limit him that much- in my opinion he doesn't need it. He has good mixups and safe options. I feel like his meta is just not fleshed out because he's a neglected character. I'd put him somewhere in A tier.

 

[xStarLordx]

i don't care if she goes in low tier,i will never stop using her.
Never give up,good tacticians!

 

[Izayoi]

If Grima's fate is of any indication.... then yeah, we're all gonna wake up one day with Chrom telling us that there's better places to take naps than on the ground.

 

[TheSquirrelKid]

Until Robin figures out how to deal with rush down characters, Robin will never unleash the potential (s)he has available in his/her move set. Most of the top tier characters are rush down (Shiek, Luigi, Ness, Sonic, etc.), so Robin is not seen as a good character, as most players in the current meta play these characters. But, outside these poor matchups, Robin us a great character. Good Robins can beat rosalina and many zone-heavy characters. But until Robin can beat the rushdowns, Robin does not have a chance to be a great character, and unleash the enormous potential he/she has to offer.

 

[Tattles]

I don't think Robin has any problems dealing with certain rushdown characters that don't have extremely strong approach options; particularly Captain Falcon, and now Roy. They also don't have an answer for Robin charging Thunder, besides running at you and dance around you to scare you into your shield.

What I think we need to work on is breversing Thunder for momentum shifts (Robin has very few ways to deal with people below him/her, so it's a really good mixup to help assure landings), and Tome eject setups.

 

[Suiko]

I don't think Robin has any problems dealing with certain rushdown characters that don't have extremely approach options; particularly Captain Falcon, and now Roy. They also don't have an answer for Robin charging Thunder, besides running at you and dance around you to scare you into your shield.

What I think we need to work on is breversing Thunder for momentum shifts (Robin has very few ways to deal with people below him/her, so it's a really good mixup to help assure landings), and Tome eject setups.

I highly agree with this. Robin can deal with rush-down characters when using his options properly.

 

[Tectrix]

Until Robin figures out how to deal with rush down characters, Robin will never unleash the potential (s)he has available in his/her move set. Most of the top tier characters are rush down (Shiek, Luigi, Ness, Sonic, etc.), so Robin is not seen as a good character, as most players in the current meta play these characters. But, outside these poor matchups, Robin us a great character. Good Robins can beat rosalina and many zone-heavy characters. But until Robin can beat the rushdowns, Robin does not have a chance to be a great character, and unleash the enormous potential he/she has to offer.

I think customs Robin has massive untapped potential. It's baffling to me that Robin is always ranked lower with customs, when fire wall and speed thunder actually give them tools to deal with strong rushdowns, removing their biggest weakness. I think since their custom moves aren't straight up improvements, everyone disregards them, even though they help them massively in their more troublesome match ups, and can simply be turned off in match ups Robin can already handle. I wouldn't be surprised to see customs Robin make upper mid tier(as opposed to the lower/middle mid spot I'd generally place Robin in).

 

[WindHero]

I have to agree with a lot of the things said in this thread, as a former Robin main who still subs him often enough to almost be a main. There are a lot of tricks up Robins sleeve that are very easy to forget. Right when I was ready to completely put aside Robin, this video helped me see it wasn't a lost cause, I was merely not playing her like a pro:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUqPF4QssYc

B-reversing is covered there, and I always forget that tech. I do think, however, that effective Robin playing will entail treating her more like a Palutena in that customs are a key part of strategy. Do we leave Robin with the same Bronze Sword and Thunder tome for all of FE: Awakening? Heck no, we change the equipment in order to stay three steps ahead. (That said, Sheik is way more of a threat than a clumsy Risen.)

I myself have restricted myself to playing vanilla Robin, since the Smash scene in Hawaii hasn't tended toward customs yet. As a result, I often find myself choosing Robin only against a select few opponents. However, I am fairly comfortable fighting Greninja (a borderline rushdown character, not quite there) with Robin, so that says something about her potential. And Robin is still with me, as my current main is Shulk, who also requires strategy. Tacticians forever, eh?

In any case, to answer the topic question...
"The future is not written!"

 

[PK Gaming]

I don't think Robin has any problems dealing with certain rushdown characters that don't have extremely strong approach options; particularly Captain Falcon, and now Roy. They also don't have an answer for Robin charging Thunder, besides running at you and dance around you to scare you into your shield.

What I think we need to work on is breversing Thunder for momentum shifts (Robin has very few ways to deal with people below him/her, so it's a really good mixup to help assure landings), and Tome eject setups.

I will say from experience that it's rather difficult to keep the Cap out. He has to approach, but it's not a big deal when his shield will beat out most of our options at mid and close range. His dash grab literally punishes everything we do, and if he gets us in the air, we're eating a ton of damage.

The matchup isn't as bad as Sheik and Sonic, but it's still pretty bad.

BTW, I wouldn't classify Roy as rushdown

 

[Tattles]

I will say from experience that it's rather difficult to keep the Cap out. He has to approach, but it's not a big deal when his shield will beat out most of our options at mid and close range. His dash grab literally punishes everything we do, and if he gets us in the air, we're eating a ton of damage.

The matchup isn't as bad as Sheik and Sonic, but it's still pretty bad.

BTW, I wouldn't classify Roy as rushdown

Falcon has no answer for charging Thunder besides run at you and scare you into your shield. If he attacks you, he eats at LEAST 15% from a Wind Jab. Robin also has Tome and Levin Sword ejects that break combos out of nowhere. In addition to a Nair that is good at the same thing.

I think it's a pretty heavily Robin favored matchup, as is vs Roy (regardless of his classification).

 

[Nah]

It's not terribly difficult for Falcon to jump over your (rather laggy) Arcfire or El/Arc/Thunder, and his dash grab is kinda ridiculous.

I think he's more manageable with customs on though. Speed Thunder and Firewall, baby

 

[Tectrix]

I think the Falcon match-up is about 50/50, if not slightly tilted in Cap's favor. Cap has trouble getting in in general, and Robin is pretty good at walling enemies out, but when falcon is in Robin is perfect size and weight for getting comboed. In addition, if Robin ****s up, falcon can punish hard. Basically you have to play carefully and defensively, which is something a Robin should be used to, but I certainly wouldn't call it one of their hardest match ups.

 

[Dathx]

Robin does well against Sheik (at least compared to the rest of the cast), Luigi, and Sonic by the way. You have to play literally every MU different, and Robin has all the tools to adapt to most MUs, you just have to use them.

Ex #1: Against Sheik (45-55): NEVER Arcfire in neutral, arcthunder is important for getting her off when she is close, and space with aerials/jab and go for trades. You pretty much pretend you're a rush-down character, abusing auto-cancels and disjoints.

Wish I had a more recent match to post, since this was about a month ago, right when I started figuring out how to deal with Sheik. Definitely some adjustment made by the Sheik player (Ed), but the idea is the same, get just right at the tip of your range, spam moves and jab.
http://www.twitch.tv/vsgc/v/5302835

Ex #2 Against Luigi (60-40): Use thoron whenever Luigi attempts a non-jump approach like fireball or roll, arcfire when he just runs up, or you have space and force him to jump, when he does, outrange him with amazing air game. You have to abuse your amazing gimping tools, off-stage Luigi is super susceptible to anything, even just an elwind to send him back FORCES his double jump.

No sound and minimal commentary because for some reason the stream equipment was working, but me vs. probably the best Luigi in SFL (Lancelot):
http://www.twitch.tv/arcadeodyssey/v/6117046?t=1h07m21s

As a side note, anyone know how to deal with ROB?

I think Robin takes a lot of hard work to understand how to play every MU, but she has the tools to do it. So she is not a top tier where you literally do the same amazing option again and again, and she is not a low tier where she just straight loses MUs. My vote is around #20, which would be the top of mid-tiers. So don't lose hope!

 

[Raziek]

Robin does well against Sheik (at least compared to the rest of the cast), Luigi, and Sonic by the way. You have to play literally every MU different, and Robin has all the tools to adapt to most MUs, you just have to use them.

Ex #1: Against Sheik (45-55): NEVER Arcfire in neutral, arcthunder is important for getting her off when she is close, and space with aerials/jab and go for trades. You pretty much pretend you're a rush-down character, abusing auto-cancels and disjoints.

Wish I had a more recent match to post, since this was about a month ago, right when I started figuring out how to deal with Sheik. Definitely some adjustment made by the Sheik player (Ed), but the idea is the same, get just right at the tip of your range, spam moves and jab.
http://www.twitch.tv/vsgc/v/5302835

Ex #2 Against Luigi (60-40): Use thoron whenever Luigi attempts a non-jump approach like fireball or roll, arcfire when he just runs up, or you have space and force him to jump, when he does, outrange him with amazing air game. You have to abuse your amazing gimping tools, off-stage Luigi is super susceptible to anything, even just an elwind to send him back FORCES his double jump.

No sound and minimal commentary because for some reason the stream equipment was working, but me vs. probably the best Luigi in SFL (Lancelot):
http://www.twitch.tv/arcadeodyssey/v/6117046?t=1h07m21s

As a side note, anyone know how to deal with ROB?

I think Robin takes a lot of hard work to understand how to play every MU, but she has the tools to do it. So she is not a top tier where you literally do the same amazing option again and again, and she is not a low tier where she just straight loses MUs. My vote is around #20, which would be the top of mid-tiers. So don't lose hope!

So, first of all, good post. I agree with almost* everything you said here.

Second, would I be correct in assuming you are the same Dath that I heard about doing well at CEO? I would guess so, given that you mention playing against Ed, who I know is FL. If so, congrats, and I would like to get some dittos with you at some point. :3

The only real issue I have with your post on theory stuff is the number you come to as your conclusion on Luigi. Granted, I say this without having had a chance to watch the vid you posted (about to leave for work), but what world are you living in where you have time to charge Thoron for every time Luigi approaches AND edge-guard him aggressively? There simply isn't time to do BOTH of those things unless the man's control stick is broken and he can only walk at you. I also think Arcfire is not fantastic against Luigi and I usually run Fire Wall. So while what you say is correct, I don't think it works out to a 6-4 in practice because you can't do all of those things at once.

As for how to fight ROB:

I don't have full time to type an explanation at the moment, but here are 2 of my most recent sets vs. Drake. He's our local ROB main, and current #3 on the PRs. (I am number 2, my record vs. him is currently 7-3 in tournament.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nva1xllQL68
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4U7I3dTkPY

 

[Meneil]

Yeah I saw one of your sets on stream at CEO, grats on doing well with Robin.

Just to make sure I got your post right, are you saying that Robin has a 60-40 advantage over Luigi? A good Luigi has more tools against us I'd think. Thunder definitely gives us more options, but Luigi is pretty comfortable both further than Rabin's traditional neutral zone, and also closer with those dreaded grabs. In general I feel Robin has slight disadvantages against most the high tier cast, but it's close to even so I don't mind it much.

I haven't actually watched Raziek's posted videos yet, but vs Rob I usually try to hold on to his gyro if he throws it, and just... keep it. It's a major tool in his arsenal, and we still have zoning options between arcfire / thunder / z-dropped nairs (to keep the gyro). I'm a lot more comfortable camping him / making Rob approach when all he has is a laser for long range.

 

[Pegasus Knight]

We would also do well to actually play seriously. You might think that sounds obvious, but you would be surprised by the sheer number of Robin players I've met lately who don't do this. Including one who was at about 180% while I was at 60%, and they just sat there blocking my Hadoukens until time ran out. One might think this is 'cute' or 'clever', until it is noted that no reasonable tournament acknowledges Sudden Death and playing matches intentionally trying to go to Sudden Death is thus pretty stupid; I am not going to change my playing habits to account for having to use For Glory Mode as a poor substitute for a local scene. Don't waste your time, and your opponent's time, with this kind of stupidity. It just means a one-way trip to the Block List.

Not everyone here does this, but I've had it happen enough times that apparently the future of Robin does hinge on "please do not hand your opponent the win by standing there doing nothing useful when you're down by that much. Go in and at least try to salvage the situation."

More helpfully, I agree with those pointing out we should be using Arcfire a little less. It's really easy to dash under the move on prediction, or jump over it on reaction and whack Robin for the trouble. A little more work on close-combat skills and nerves might do us all a lot of good. Kind of like that line in the 1980s movie "Top Gun", where an instructor notes that dogfighting skills declined significantly as people became reliant on homing missiles.

That Robin is so slow she can't effectively run away from pretty much anyone just seals the deal. I plan to work on calming my nerves and being willing to stand my ground more as Robin soon.