R.O.B. (SSB4)

R.O.B. in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	R.O.B.
Other playable appearance	in Brawl
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Super Diffusion Beam
Tier	C (33)

R.O.B. (ロボット, Robot) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. After initially being leaked on August 19th, 2014 as part of the ESRB leak, his return to the series was officially announced on October 15th, 2014. R.O.B. reuses his mechanical sound effects from Super Smash Bros. Brawl as his "voice", although they have been edited to sound quieter.

R.O.B. is currently ranked 33rd out of 58 on the tier list, placing him in the lower portion of the C tier. This is a slight drop from his placement in Brawl, where he was ranked 18th out of 38. R.O.B. retains several of his strengths from Brawl: he has a strong zoning game courtesy of Robo Beam and Gyro, an excellent recovery courtesy of Robo Burner, a strong air game courtesy of all but one of his aerials having disjointed hitboxes, great mobility for a heavyweight, and a good grab game. In addition, R.O.B.'s once poor KO potential has been significantly improved, thanks to receiving a number of strong KOing options.

However, R.O.B.'s ground game lacks range compared to his air game, which is most apparent with his grabs having the shortest ranges in the game. While it is still strong, his zoning game has also been somewhat toned down, as Robo Beam is slower and Gyro deals significantly less damage. Like in Brawl, R.O.B. also remains susceptible to combos because of his heavy weight and large size. Lastly, his newfound KOing options are hindered by considerable amounts of start-up lag.

Overall, R.O.B. has become somewhat more viable since Brawl, thanks to largely retaining his strengths and having noticeably improved KO potential. To reflect this, he has achieved overall average tournament results, and gained a number of dedicated players to his credit.

How to unlock

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

• Play 70 VS Matches.
• Collect 200 unique trophies.

After completing one of the two methods, R.O.B. must then be defeated on PictoChat 2.

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

• Play 60 VS Matches.
• Play through 10 rounds of Crazy Orders and defeat Crazy Hand.

After completing one of the two methods, R.O.B. must then be defeated on Wrecking Crew.

Attributes

R.O.B. is the tenth heaviest character in the game, yet he possesses great mobility despite his weight class. This is courtesy of his average walking and dashing speeds, above average air and falling speeds, slow air acceleration, high traction, low gravity, and high jumps. These attributes allow R.O.B. to not only outmaneuver some of his fellow heavyweights, but also allow him to be almost as fast as a middleweight, and even possess greater jumping prowess than most characters of either weight class.

Like in Brawl, R.O.B. is a zoning-oriented character with a very useful projectiles to keep his opponents at bay. Robo Beam enables him to attack from considerable distance and becomes stronger when left idle for more than 14 seconds. While Robo Beam can interrupt opponents faster, Super Robo Beam deals more damage and knockback, which make it capable of scoring KOs unlike Robo Beam. Gyro is an auto-chargeable projectile that becomes an item when fired. It has a better angle for disrupting opponents, while also being more manipulable as a projectile and having higher KOing potential, especially when smash thrown as an item. Aside from his offensive prowess with projectiles, R.O.B. also does not face problems against projectiles, courtesy of Arm Rotor's ability to reflect incoming projectiles with greater strength than they initially had. In addition to its reflection ability, Arm Rotor now boasts KO potential due to its finishing hit having significantly increased knockback growth. While R.O.B.'s zoning game is his greatest strength, it has been hindered somewhat in SSB4, with Gyro in particular being the most adversely affected of his projectiles. Despite this, it is still strong when compared to the majority of other characters' projectiles.

R.O.B.'s air game is also strong, as he possesses many aerial attacks with excellent and sometimes disjointed ranges. His neutral aerial has a large, disjointed hitbox that can help zone out opponents and covers his hurtbox from incoming attacks. His up aerial is one of his best moves overall due to its usefulness in harassing airborne opponents by either juggling them or KOing them. His back aerial is his most damaging aerial, has the greatest KO potential out of his aerials, and has a huge hitbox. In addition to its offensive capabilities, it and can also slightly aid R.O.B.'s horizontal recovery without rendering him helpless. His down aerial has also a huge hitbox and can be used after an edge trump if the opponent re-grabs the edge. Finally, his forward aerial is arguably his worst aerial due to its much shorter range and its lack of a disjointed hitbox. However, it is his fastest aerial, it can be used to space out opponents thanks to its ability to SHFF, and it is a decent edge-guarding option.

R.O.B.'s grab game has also improved. His forward and back throws are still limited in regard to utility, but are still capable of being used to keep opponents away and set up edge-guards. In comparison, his up and down throws are much more useful: his up throw is his most damaging throw and a viable KOing option, especially under the effects of the rage mechanic, while his down throw deals impressive damage and is a reliable combo starter, especially when used in sync with his up aerial.

Unlike in Brawl, R.O.B. now boasts respectable KO potential. Like his up aerial, back aerial, up throw and Arm Rotor, R.O.B.'s smash attacks now boast KO potential, due to having been buffed in various ways. Although forward smash deals less damage, its hitboxes have become larger and its sweetspot deals slightly more damage and knockback. Up smash and down smash deal more damage overall and have been tweaked for the better: up smash now has hitboxes on R.O.B.'s arms that launch the opponent into its sweetspot, while down smash is now a semi-spike, which also grants it potential for edge-guarding or setting up edge-guards.

Although he possesses a number of useful traits, R.O.B. does have some noteworthy shortcomings. While his previously poor KOing ability has been drastically improved, landing his KOing options can still be problematic due to them either being laggy or requiring R.O.B. to grab or read the opponent accordingly. His close-range game, which has also been noticeably improved, suffers from somewhat poor range, particularly on his grounded attacks, while his grab range is notably the shortest in the game, which somewhat offsets his capable throw game. While R.O.B.'s moves have respectable damage outputs, his combos are somewhat hard to land. R.O.B. also loses some of his zoning capabilities if the opponent steals his Gyro, and he has a difficult time dealing with most characters that have reflectors (such as Fox and Falco), better projectiles (such as Sheik) or both (such as Villager). While he is no longer glaringly susceptible to juggling, R.O.B. is now susceptible to combo-oriented characters such as Luigi and Zero Suit Samus due to his lack of a fast aerial attack outside of his forward aerial, which has short range and only hits in front of himself.

R.O.B.'s custom moves can alleviate many of his weaknesses. Both variations of Robo Beam and Gyro slightly improve his zoning game, with the former ones due to their utility and the latter ones due to their higher damage outputs. High-Speed Burner considerably improves R.O.B.'s recovery speed and allows him to combo easier. Lastly, Reflector Arm reflects projectiles much stronger than before. Even so, his custom moves have some issues. Both variations of Robo Beam have slightly lower damage outputs. Both variations of Arm Rotor remove one of R.O.B.'s options to pressure the opponent. High-Speed Burner must be used much more wisely due to its lower fuel. Fire Gyro is more punishable due to its higher ending lag, while Slip Gyro deals less damage when fired normally and is more predictable since it does not bounce from the stage.

Overall, R.O.B. is a defensive character that still possesses a strong zoning game, but now wields an improved close-range game should he go on the offensive. While R.O.B. now has to use close quarters combat more frequently due to his playstyle being slightly adjusted to be less reliant on his projectiles, he can now effectively KO opponents without having to rack up an outstanding amount of damage, as well as take on most types of opponents. As a result, he has become a more potent character than he was in Brawl and has some dedicated and noteworthy mains to his credit, such as Holy, Mister Eric and 8BitMan.

Changes from Brawl

R.O.B. has received both buffs and nerfs in the transition from Brawl to SSB4. The most prominent buff was to his KOing ability; many of his KOing options in Brawl have become more powerful and/or slightly easier to land, while other moves have been strengthened to the point of possessing KO potential, such as his up aerial and up throw. R.O.B. also benefits from the re-balancing of other characters who countered him in Brawl, most infamously Meta Knight, and he has become slightly better equipped to handle the new characters that are commonly seen in the competitive scene.

R.O.B. also received some nerfs, however. His powerful zoning game has been hampered due to SSB4 removing glide tossing, while his projectiles and spacing tools having been made slower and/or given shorter ranges. This makes approaching more important, as R.O.B. is now less capable at projectile trading. When combined with his aerials' effectiveness being toned down since Brawl, R.O.B. is largely forced to engage in a mix of zoning and close quarters combat in order to score KOs. His recovery was also slightly toned down, as it is now slower and easier to punish.

Aesthetics

• R.O.B.'s design has slightly changed. His overall appearance is more glossy, his head is very slightly smaller, and his eyes are more defined. Altogether, these changes make him appear in line with his real life appearance. In addition, R.O.B. is more expressive than in Mario Kart DS and Brawl. He now displays angry eyes while using his up smash, down smash and Arm Rotor, as well as sad eyes when he is grabbed.
• As of update 1.1.6, R.O.B. does not emote in any way in Versus Mode. However, he emotes properly in single-player modes, such as Training Mode.
• Arm-based attacks now emit visual trails, which change color depending on R.O.B.'s costume.
• R.O.B. now faces the screen at an angle, rather than straight forward like in Brawl. Additionally, he will always turn to the right when performing all of his taunts, regardless of where he is facing.
• R.O.B. is less vocal.

Attributes

• R.O.B. is larger. This improves most of his overall range, but makes his hurtbox larger.
• R.O.B. walks faster (1.1 → 1.122).
• R.O.B. dashes faster (1.5 → 1.568).
• R.O.B.'s air speed is faster (0.89 → 1.08).
• R.O.B. falls faster (1.2 → 1.6). This improves his vertical endurance, but makes him more susceptible to combos.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack has updated sound effects.
• Forward tilt has decreased range.
• Up tilt has significantly decreased horizontal range and its side hitboxes no longer launch opponents into its main hitbox. These changes significantly hinder its utility.
• Up tilt has slightly increased vertical range.
• Dash attack deals 2% more damage (6% (arms)/5% (arms' tips) → 8%/7%) and has increased range.
• Forward smash deals less damage (13% (mid)/12% (tip) → 11.5%/6%) and has increased start-up lag (frame 14 → 16).
• Sweetspotted forward smash deals 1% more damage (14% → 15%) and has slightly increased knockback, improving its KO potential. Forward smash's hitboxes' sizes have also increased, improving its range.
• Forward smash's animation has changed. R.O.B. now leans forward and positions his arms downward for support in order to fire the optical energy blast, while his head will rotate when it is charging. It also has updated sound effects.
• Up smash deals 3% more damage (12% (base)/13% (mid)/14% (tip) → 15%/16%/17%) and R.O.B.'s arms have received hitboxes which launch opponents into the sweetspot. These changes significantly improve its KO potential and reliability, and grant it out of shield potential.
• Up smash's thruster hitboxes have increased start-up lag (frame 13 → 14) and shorter durations (frames 13-18 → 14-18).
• Down smash deals 2% more damage (2% (hits 1-4)/5% (hit 5) → 4%/7%) and is now a semi-spike, significantly improving its KO and edge-guarding potentials.
• Down smash has increased start-up lag (frame 4 → 7).

Aerial attacks

• Back, up, and down aerial auto-cancel later (frame 26> → 46> (back), frame 36> → 40> (up), frame 27> → 45> (down)). Back and down aerials can also no longer auto-cancel with a short hop.
• Neutral aerial deals 3% less damage (10% → 7%) and has significantly decreased knockback, significantly hindering its KO potential.
• Forward aerial deals less damage (10% (clean)/6% (late) → 7%) and has significantly decreased knockback, removing its KO potential. Additionally, its duration (frames 7-17 → 6-7) and range are shorter, due to the removal of its late hitbox. Lastly, it has increased ending (FAF 33 → 36) and landing lag (12 frames → 15), while R.O.B.'s faster falling speed also removes its ability to be used twice with a short hop.
• Forward aerial has decreased start-up lag (frame 7 → 6).
• Back aerial no longer deals consistent damage (11% → 12% (clean base)/10% (clean tip)/6% (late base)/4.5% (late tip)) due to consisting of clean and late hitboxes.
• Back aerial has increased base knockback (30 → 32) and propels R.O.B. slightly farther, slightly improving its KO and recovery potentials.
• Back aerial has increased start-up (frame 11 → 19), ending (FAF 41 → 53) and landing lag (12 frames → 22).
• Up aerial's loop hits deal less damage (4%-5% → 1.5%), decreasing its overall damage potential (19%-20% → 10%).
• Up aerial's SDI multiplier has decreased, which allows its hits to connect together better. It's ending hitbox also deals more damage (3% → 4%) and has more knockback (60 (base)/120 (growth) → 45/180). These changes improve its combo and juggling potentials, and grant it KO potential.
• Down aerial's hitboxes now reach slightly below a stage's edge. When combined with the new edge mechanics, this makes it easier for R.O.B. to meteor smash opponents who re-grab the edge without renewing their edge invincibility.
• Down aerial's meteor smash hitbox deals 2% less damage (13% → 11%) and only the base of R.O.B.'s thrusters is a meteor smash. It also received a late hitbox that deals 8% and less knockback.
• Down aerial has a longer duration (frames 20-25 → 20-26).

Grab and throws

• All grabs have significantly decreased ranges, resulting in R.O.B. now having the shortest overall grab range in the game.
• Standing and pivot grabs have increased start-up lag (frame 6 → 7 (standing), frame 10 → 11 (pivot)).
• Forward throw deals 2% less damage (10% → 8%) and has slightly decreased knockback.
• Up throw deals 2% more damage (10% → 12%) and has significantly increased knockback growth, improving its KO potential.
• The changes to hitstun canceling improve down throw's combo potential.
• R.O.B. has a new edge attack, a fiery blast from his thrusters.

Special moves

• Robo Beam deals 1% less damage (5% → 4%).
• Uncharged Robo Beam and Super Robo Beam deal more damage (5% (uncharged)/9% (Super) → 7%/10%).
• Robo Beam and Super Robo Beam travel slower.
• Super Robo Beam charges faster, is wider, and has slightly increased knockback.
• Super Robo Beam's visual effects have changed. It is brighter and its color scheme now consists of crimson, yellow and blue in a layered style, with yellow as the inner portion, blue as the outer portion and crimson in between.
• Arm Rotor deals less damage (1%-2% (loop)/3%-4% (last) → 1%/3%).
• Arm Rotor's SDI multiplier has decreased, which allows its hits to connect together better. Its last hit also has increased knockback, improving its offensive and defense potentials, and granting it KO potential.
• Arm Rotor can now cover a considerable distance when moved forward and/or backward, for a possible total distance of up to half of Final Destination's length. This significantly improves its approach potential and safety.
• Robo Burner's horizontal movement speed is slower and repeated bursts cover less distance, hindering its recovery potential.
• Fully charged Gyro deals 8% less damage (18% → 10%) when fired and its firing range has decreased.
• Gyro's animation has changed. R.O.B. now slightly recoils when failing to pull a Gyro from his base. Compared to the previous animation, it is noticeably laggier, to the point that it leaves R.O.B. vulnerable.
• Gyro has updated sound effects. It now emits a whirring sound while being spun on-stage.
• R.O.B. has a new Final Smash, Super Diffusion Beam. Compared to Diffusion Beam, Super Diffusion Beam deals less damage overall and has a shorter duration, but deals more knockback and has more range. Unlike Diffusion Beam, Super Diffusion Beam forces R.O.B. to be stationary throughout its duration.

Update history

R.O.B. has received only a couple of nerfs from game updates, although the one to his up throw was significant. His up throw was considered the most powerful up throw in the game prior to Mewtwo's return to the series, but after its knockback was reduced in update 1.0.6, its KO potential was noticeably weakened.

However, R.O.B. has been indirectly buffed due to the changes to the shield mechanics brought about by updates 1.1.0 and 1.1.1. While his up smash has become slightly more situational as an out of shield option, the high hitlag of several of his attacks and the increased shieldstun make up for it. Additionally, Arm Rotor is now better at damaging shields, making him slightly better at pressuring. As a result, R.O.B. is slightly worse than he was during the game's initial release.

1.0.5

• Fixed a glitch where throwing Gyro upward while using Robo Burner could cause the flames to continue emitting from R.O.B.'s base after Robo Burner concluded.

1.0.6

• Up throw's knockback decreased: 70 (base)/72 (growth) → 60/70, hindering its KO potential.

1.1.4

• Trip invincibility and all trip followups except floor attack have one less frame of invincibility.
• R.O.B.'s hurtbox sizes have been increased and adjusted.

Moveset

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3%	Two alternating hooks. Both hits are very fast, due to coming out on frame 3, and it is a useful anti-pressuring option. The first hit has almost nonexistent base knockback, average knockback growth and launches at 100°, all of which allow it to jab cancel. Its most reliable follow-up is down tilt due to it also coming out on frame 3, although it can also jab cancel reliably into forward tilt, smash attacks, or a grab. The tilt attack follow-ups can be performed up to high percents, while the smash attack and grab follow-ups can be performed on lightweights and middleweights beginning at 80%-85% and heavyweights beginning at 110%-115%. However, it cannot jab cancel reliably against fast-fallers.
			3%
Forward tilt			8% (arm tip), 6%/5% (arm)	A lunging hook. It can be angled and is decent for spacing beginning at 50% when hitting with the tip of R.O.B.'s arm.
Up tilt			3% (early), 5% (clean tip), 6% (clean base)	Thrusts his arms upward. It is good for starting combos into itself, up smash and up aerial from low to medium percents, or functioning as an anti-air attack. However, it has very minimal horizontal range, which forces R.O.B. to practically stand next to a grounded opponent in order to land it.
Down tilt			5%	Thrusts his arms at a low angle. It comes out on frame 3, making it tied with neutral attack as R.O.B.'s fastest attack. When coupled with its potential to trip opponents, it is an excellent set-up option.
Dash attack			8% (arms), 7% (arms' tips)	A double forearm club. It can lead into forward aerial if the opponent's reaction is read properly.
Forward smash		S3	15% (base), 11.5% (mid), 6% (tip)	An optical energy blast, similar to the uncharged Robo Beam. It can be angled and has a sweetspot at the base of the blast, which KOs at 109% near the edge. Conversely, the middle portion of the blast KOs at 136% near the edge. However, it has short range and high ending lag, while the blast's tip has virtually no KO potential.
Up smash			3% (arms), 14% (base), 13% (tip)	Performs a handstand and activates his thrusters to perform a fiery blast upward. It has deceptive horizontal range due to R.O.B.'s arms having hitboxes that launch opponents into the base's hitbox. It is somewhat fast due to coming out on frame 10 and is fairly powerful, as the base KOs at 113% and the tip KOs at 116%. Altogether, these traits make it a reliable KOing option, particularly from out of shield. However, it has high ending lag.
Down smash			2% (loop base), 1.5% (loop tip), 5% (last)	Lowers his torso and spins it around rapidly while outstretching his arms to perform a series of discus clotheslines, similarly to Arm Rotor. It comes out on frame 7, making it R.O.B.'s fastest smash attack and one of the fastest attacks in his entire moveset. It is also a semi-spike, which makes it much more effective for KOing while near the edge and reliable for either edge-guarding or setting up an edge-guard. It KOs at 129% near the edge, but has a low overall damage output and high ending lag.
Neutral aerial			8% (base), 6% (tip)	Activates his thrusters to perform a somersault and emit a fiery blast in a circular motion. It can auto-cancel with a short hop, but has high start-up lag, due to coming out on frame 18. It has a large hitbox and is one of R.O.B.'s best aerials, as it can be used to for starting combos from a short hop or a fast fall, zoning and approaching.
Forward aerial			7%	A double forearm club. It is R.O.B.'s fastest aerial, due to coming out on frame 6. It is also able to SHFF, making it ideal for spacing and edge-guarding. However, it is his only aerial that is not disjointed.
Back aerial			12% (clean base), 10% (clean tip), 6% (late base), 4.5% (late tip)	Leans forward and activates his thrusters to emit a fiery blast behind himself. It can auto-cancel with a short hop, but has high start-up lag, due to coming out on frame 19. It KOs at 117% near the edge and can be used for horizontal recovery, as it slightly propels him forward and does not consume fuel from Robo Burner.
Up aerial			1.5% (hits 1-4), 4% (hit 5)	Rapidly rotates his arms upward. It is R.O.B.'s second fastest aerial due to coming out on frame 7, and it can auto-cancel with a short hop. It combos reliably from his down throw at low to medium percents and is a viable KOing option, as it KOs at 102% near the upper blast line.
Down aerial			12% (clean base), 11% (clean mid), 6% (clean tip), 8% (late)	Activates his thrusters to emit a fiery blast downward. It can auto-cancel with a short hop, but has high start-up lag, due to coming out on frame 20. It is a strong meteor smash at the middle part of the blast and is excellent after an edge trump if the opponent re-grabs the edge.
Grab			—	Clinches the opponent. R.O.B.'s grab range is the shortest in the game.
Pummel			2%	Squeezes the opponent. A fairly fast pummel.
Forward throw			8%	Shoves the opponent away. It can be used to set up an edge-guard.
Back throw			10%	Flings the opponent away. Like his forward throw, it can be used to set up an edge-guard.
Up throw			12%	A piledriver. R.O.B.'s strongest throw and, prior to update 1.0.6, it was the strongest up throw in the game, due to being capable of KOing under 150%. As of update 1.0.6, it now KOs at 174%, although it can KO at 160% if R.O.B. uses or lands it on a platform above himself. Although rare, R.O.B. can also use up throw for a suicide KO if it is performed on a moving platform, as he will continue performing the throw all the way to the lower blast line if there is no platform to stop his descent. In addition to its KO potential, it has minimal combo potential, with its follow-ups being upward angled forward smash, dashing up smash, and forward aerial beginning at 0% and up to 40%. However, these combos are only reliable against heavyweights and fast-fallers.
Down throw			10%	Drills the opponent into the ground head first. It can combo into neutral aerial and up aerial at low to medium percents, although the former is only reliable beginning at 0% and the latter will only land as long as the opponent does not DI horizontally following the throw. The latter combo has been nicknamed the "Beep Boop" and can KO even up to high percents if R.O.B. can properly read the opponent's reaction.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Punches around himself while getting up.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Punches in front of himself and then behind himself while getting up.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Spins his torso around to throw a low-angle hook around himself while getting up.
Edge attack Edge getups			7%	Swings his base forward and activates his thrusters to emit a fiery blast forward while climbing up.
Neutral special	Default	Robo Beam	7% (uncharged), 4.5% (Robo Beam), 11% (point-blank Robo Beam), 10% (Super Robo Beam), 17% (point-blank Super Robo Beam)	An optical laser. When uncharged, it is a very small energy blast rather than a laser, and can only damage opponents at point-blank range. However, it can be fired consecutively and deals flame damage. Conversely, both Robo Beam and Super Robo Beam can damage opponents from afar and ricochet, but cannot be fired consecutively. Additionally, Robo Beam and Super Robo Beam deal noticeably more damage when fired at point-blank range. It is one of R.O.B.'s options for zoning alongside Gyro, with Robo Beam being better for his neutral game, while Super Robo Beam is better for surprising opponents. It and all of its custom variations have transcendent priority.
	Custom 1	Wide-Angle Beam	7% (uncharged), 3.5% (Robo Beam), 10% (point-blank Robo Beam), 8% (Super Robo Beam), 15% (point-blank Super Robo Beam)	R.O.B. can aim on a much wider arc, but at the cost of Robo Beam and Super Robo Beam having slightly lower damage outputs.
	Custom 2	Infinite Robo Beam	3%/2% (Robo Beam), 7% (point-blank Robo Beam), 10% (Super Robo Beam), 14% (point-blank Super Robo Beam)	Robo Beam can be fired consecutively, but at the cost of a lower damage output, shorter range and its ability to ricochet. These drawbacks also apply to Super Robo Beam, which also takes longer to charge.
Side special	Default	Arm Rotor	1% (loop), 3% (last), 1.5x (reflected projectiles)	Rapidly spins his torso around to perform a series of discus clotheslines that concludes with an uppercut. It can trap opponents and its last hit has KO potential due to its very high knockback growth. It can also reflect projectiles with 50% more power than they originally had, and move R.O.B. forward or backward while the control stick is tilted in the respective direction. It and all of its custom variations have transcendent priority.
	Custom 1	Reflector Arm	2% (loop), 4% (last), 1.8x (reflected projectiles)	Deals more damage and reflects projectiles with 80% more power than they originally had, but at the cost of its trapping ability.
	Custom 2	Backward Arm Rotor	2% (loop), 4% (last), 1.5x (reflected projectiles)	Deals more damage and moves R.O.B. backward while it is being performed, making it better suited for defense, but at the cost of having a much shorter duration overall.
Up special	Default	Robo Burner	—	Activates his thrusters in order to fly. It grants impressive vertical and horizontal recovery distance, although R.O.B. has a set amount of fuel to use in order to perform this move. Fuel is recovered over time as long as R.O.B. is grounded. One of the very few up specials that does not cause helplessness, which allows R.O.B. to fast fall, air dodge and attack with any aerials or any of his other specials during either its duration or its conclusion. R.O.B. also cannot be footstooled while using this move, though others can still jump off him.
	Custom 1	Robo Rocket	5% (early), 8% (clean)	Functions like a traditional recovery move, as R.O.B. simply ascends quickly and deals damage. It grants outstanding vertical recovery after a jump, does not cause helplessness, can be followed up with any aerial, and can meteor smash if it hits the opponent precisely. However, it grants very minimal horizontal recovery distance and R.O.B. cannot fast fall, air dodge or use his other specials as follow-ups. Additionally, its meteor smash has below average power.
	Custom 2	High-Speed Burner	—	Grants faster movement speed, but at the cost of consuming more fuel.
Down special	Default	Gyro	1% (base), 4%-10% (top), 5% (idle top), 8% (thrown)	Charges a spinning top on his base. R.O.B.'s other zoning option alongside Robo Beam, it can be picked up and thrown as an item after making contact with either the opponent or the stage. However, opponents can do the same and thus use the top against him.
	Custom 1	Fire Gyro	7% (base), 3%-12% (top), 6% (idle top), 10% (thrown)	The top is aflame, deals more damage and is slightly more powerful, but at the cost of covering less distance and having increased ending lag.
	Custom 2	Slip Gyro	2% (base), 3% (top), 3% (idle top), 9% (thrown)	The top slides along the ground instead of bouncing, enabling it to trip opponents. The longer it is charged, the farther it travels. While its base and thrown damage outputs are slightly higher, the top's damage output is lower.
Final Smash		Super Diffusion Beam	0.5%/1% (narrow laser loop/last), 1%/2% (wide laser loop/last), 10% (blast)	Re-configures his body into a cannon-like form and fires a large laser that fans out into smaller lasers that trap the opponent before concluding and then being immediately followed by a large laser that deals high knockback. It can also be angled, similarly to Zero Laser.

On-screen appearance

• Portions of R.O.B.'s body descend from the sky and assemble together.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Faces the screen and then spins his head and torso in a circle.
• Side taunt: Faces the screen and sways his head around while emitting flashing sparkles from his eyes.
• Down taunt: Faces the screen and moves his torso down to his base before spinning it back up into place.

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Idle poses

• Briefly looks towards the screen.
• Briefly nods off, then shakes his head and wakes up again.

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	R-O-B!	Ro-bot!
Pitch	Group chant	Group chant

Victory poses

A remix of Stack-Up's memory mode title screen jingle.

• Uses Robo Burner, spins and then lands, after which he puts his arms down and brings them back up while spinning his head.
• Adjusts his arms to face upward while spinning his head, after which he performs a cheering gesture while continuing to spin his head.
• Sways his head around while emitting flashing sparkles from his eyes. It is almost identical to his side taunt.

In competitive play

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character	Custom sets available
R.O.B.	1231	1233	1331	1333	1332
	2233	1131	1133	1221	1223

Notable players

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•  8BitMan - Ranked 10th on the South Florida Power Rankings.
•  Ginko
•  Ayygent - Ranked 8th on the Central Arkansas Power Rankings.
•  Brand - Ranked 5th on the Central Florida Power Rankings.
•  Gyo
•  Holy - Ranked 4th on the Montreal Power Rankings.
•  Jams
•  Jswiss
•  LoNg0uw - Considered the best R.O.B. in Europe.
•  Maister
•  Mister Eric - Ranked 4th on the Ohio Power Rankings.
•  OCEAN
•  Raffi-X - Ranked 6th on the New England Power Rankings.
•  Robo~Luigi
•  Sim-Max
•  Vanaheim
•  Virus - Formerly ranked 7th on the NorCal Power Rankings.
•  WaDi - Top Mewtwo player who also plays R.O.B. at a top level. Ranked 1st on the MD/VA Power Rankings.
•  WiiGi

Tier placement and history

Thanks to his potent zoning and grab games, R.O.B. was initially considered a high-tier character during SSB4's release, similarly to initial perceptions of him during the early days of Brawl's metagame. However, after update 1.0.6 nerfed his up throw's power, his reputation declined to the point that he was perceived as a mid-tier character. Nevertheless, R.O.B.'s representation in competitive play remains decent, while the good results he has achieved thanks to the likes of 8BitMan, Holy, Mister Eric, OCEAN and Raffi-X resulted in him being ranked 20th on the first tier list.

However, other characters like Donkey Kong, Lucario and, most notably, Toon Link, have achieved much better results than R.O.B. To further compound this, R.O.B. has become rarer in competitive play due to having unfavorable matchups against all but one of the DLC characters. This decline in popularity and results would end up with R.O.B. being ranked 28th on the second tier list, and then 33rd on the third and current tier list. The latter drop is notable for being the third highest between the second and third tier lists.

Trophies

R.O.B.

This NES accessory was released in 1985, a groundbreaking system that controlled the robot via a game on the screen. In Smash Bros., R.O.B. has two projectile weapons and can use his rocket base to fly through the air. If you let his Robo Beam charge over time, it'll make for a powerful blast.

Originally released in 1985 as a peripheral for the NES, R.O.B. was a little robot that responded to flashing lights in games. In this game, he can fire gyros and lasers at his enemies. He also has the ability to hover, which is handy for recoveries. Keep in mind that his Robo Beam can be charged up for an extra-powerful shot.

: Robotic Operating Buddy (10/1985)

: Mario Kart DS (11/2005)

R.O.B. (Alt.)

R.O.B.'s side smash, S3, fires a laser beam that does more damage up close. You can also aim it slightly up or down before firing. His down special Gyro sends a spinning top hurtling forward and can be charged for more damage. You can even dodge while charging!

R.O.B.'s side smash, S3, fires a laser beam that does more damage up close. You can also aim it slightly up or down before firing. His down special Gyro sends a spinning top hurtling forwards. While charging it up, you can move left or right to do a quick dodge, then continue charging where you left off!

: Robotic Operating Buddy (10/1985)

: Mario Kart DS (11/2005)

Super Diffusion Beam

For R.O.B.'s Final Smash, he folds his arms down, transforms into an invincible cannon, and fires a huge beam that can be panned slowly up and down. The beam splits up partway through into smaller beams that drags foes to the center, where they'll be hit continuously. The assault finishes off with a single wide beam just for good measure.

For R.O.B.'s Final Smash, he folds his arms down, transforms into an invincible cannon, and fires a huge beam that can be aimed slowly up and down. The beam splits up partway through into smaller beams that drag foes to the centre, where they'll be hit continuously. The assault finishes off with a single wide beam, just for good measure.

• 

  Classic (3DS)

• ROBAllStarTrophy3DS.png

  Alt. (3DS)

• 

  Classic (Wii U)

• ROBAllStarTrophyWiiU.png

  Alt. (Wii U)

• 

  Super Diffusion Beam

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• All-Star Battle: Secret: R.O.B. is one of the opponents fought in this event. All opponents are unlockable characters in previous Super Smash Bros. games.
• Mechanical Menace: As Shulk, the player must defeat a metal R.O.B., a metal Mega Man, and Metal Face in a Stamina Battle.
• Robotic Rampage: R.O.B. is allied with two R.O.B.s and must defeat a giant metal R.O.B.

Co-op Events

• Robots vs. Dragons: R.O.B. and Mega Man must defeat a giant Yoshi, a giant Charizard and Ridley in a Stamina Battle.
• The Ultimate Battle: Two players select a character and must defeat the entire roster.

Alternate costumes

Gallery

• 

  The NES design of R.O.B.'s amiibo.

• 

  The Famicom design of R.O.B.'s amiibo.

• 

  On Pilotwings.

• 

  Preparing to use his back aerial alongside Meta Knight and Donkey Kong.

• 

  Using his side taunt while metal and alongside Diddy Kong and Toon Link.

• 

  Crouching.

• 

  Arm Rotor's last hit alongside Kirby and Donkey Kong.

• 

  Dropping Gyro on a Luma.

• 

  Preparing to use Super Diffusion Beam, his new Final Smash.

• 

  Crouching near Gyro alongside Ness and Pikachu.

• 

  Using his down tilt on Rainbow Road.

• 

  Preparing to use Robo Burner alongside Olimar.

Trivia

R.O.B.'s default color scheme for international versions.

• R.O.B.'s NTSC Boxing Ring title, "The Last of His Kind", directly references the fact that he is the only surviving member of his species following the conclusion of Brawl's Adventure Mode, The Subspace Emissary.
• R.O.B.'s default costume differs between the international and Japanese versions of Super Smash Bros. 4. In international regions, his default costume consists of his Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) color scheme, while his default costume in Japan consists of his Family Computer (Famicom) color scheme. This affects the color scheme of R.O.B.'s standard trophy, but not his appearances in the Sound Test for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS or the Special Orders tickets for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. His Final Smash trophy and Classic post-credits scenes in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U also use his Famicom color scheme. R.O.B. is the only character in the series with this distinction.
  • This also applied to R.O.B.'s amiibo, although this trend ended when his Famicom design was released internationally on March 18th, 2016.
  • Despite the distinctions, the official website shows R.O.B.'s Famicom color scheme in official artwork, although half of the screenshots show his NES color scheme.
• Unlike in Brawl, R.O.B. can now be rendered helpless. However, this can only be done when landing on Pac-Jump's trampoline while the trampoline is red.
• On the first official SSB4 tier list released on February 1st, 2016, R.O.B. was ranked 20th, one place below Peach. Interestingly, on the current Brawl tier list, R.O.B. is ranked 18th, one place above Peach.
• R.O.B.'s in-game portrait is the only one whose eyes do not flash when his projectile (Gyro in his case) is fully charged.
• R.O.B.'s status as a video game peripheral is referenced in Palutena's Guidance to Pit regarding R.O.B., in which Pit suggests calling him "Mr. HVC-012". HVC-012 is R.O.B.'s Japanese product ID.