Roy (SSBU)

For information on the playable Koopaling, see Bowser Jr. (SSBU).

Roy in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Fire Emblem
Other playable appearances	in Melee in SSB4
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Critical Hit
Tier	A (20)

Roy (ロイ, Roy) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, officially confirmed on June 12th, 2018 and is an unlockable fighter akin to his appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Roy is classified as Fighter #25.

Like Marth, Ultimate is the first game in the Super Smash Bros. series where Roy is not solely voiced in Japanese in all regions. In international releases, Roy is fully voiced in English by Ray Chase, who reprises his role from Fire Emblem Heroes onwards with newly recorded voice clips. Jun Fukuyama's portrayal of Roy from Super Smash Bros. 4 was repurposed for the Japanese version.

Roy is ranked 20th out of 82 on the tier list, placing him in at the top of the A tier. This is a significant improvement from his mid-tier placement in SSB4, where he was ranked 41st out of 54 characters, and his best placement in the series. Roy's primary strength revolve his fast air and dash speeds which, combined with great frame data in his aerial and tilt attacks, gives him a strong combo game and several mix-up options. The mechanic changes in Ultimate also benefit Roy by making it easier for him to approach and land his sweetspot at the hilt, which in turn makes it easier for him to not only rack up damage quickly, but also take stocks at relatively early percentages. Roy possesses some strong KO options with quick start-up such as forward tilt, forward smash and Double-Edge Dance.

However, Roy also has several weaknesses, the most significant being his weak recovery, with a fast falling speed and Blazer giving him poor vertical distance. This leaves him susceptible to gimps and edgeguarding at early percents. Roy's fast falling speed also give him a poor disadvantage state, in which he is easier to combo and juggle than other characters. Finally, Roy's blade is afflicted by a weak sourspot at the tipper, which hinders his combo, spacing game, and overall range. Therefore, he has to get close to his opponent at every time to be able to land the sweetspot, making him more of a rushdown character in practise rather than a traditional disjointed fighter.

Overall, Roy is considered to be one of the best swordfighters in the game, and this has been reflected by his above-average representation in the metagame, which is spearheaded by players such as Kola, Goblin, and Ataru.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play VS. matches, with Roy being the 29th character to be unlocked.
• Clear Classic Mode with Mario or any character in his unlock tree, being the 6th character unlocked after Luigi.
• Have Roy join the player's party in World of Light.

Roy must then be defeated on Castle Siege (the Ω form is used in World of Light).

Attributes

Roy is a middleweight swordsman, although his main attributes deviate heavily from those of other middleweights. He boasts very fast dashing, air, and falling speeds, but has only slightly above-average walking speed, as well as fairly low air acceleration and jumps. Roy has an attribute unique to him that other swordfighters do not have: his inverse tipper. Contrary to Marth specifically, his Binding Blade does the most damage if attacking near the sword's hilt, although it does weak damage and knockback when otherwise tippered. While this gives Roy effectively bigger sweetspots than those who rely on a tipper to deal maximum damage, it weakens his spacing abilities despite being a swordfighter.

Roy's greatest strength is his KO potential, which is very high when compared to other middleweights, and can even be comparable to the power of some of the harder-hitting heavyweights on the roster, such as Bowser and Incineroar. In conjunction with his overall fast frame data for a swordfighter, he can inflict large amounts of damage in a short amount of time. Neutral attack can catch aggressive approaches due to its speed and deceptively large hitbox, and can efficiently set up into his more powerful normal attacks. His forward tilt, up tilt, and forward smash are all very fast startup-wise, with each being among the strongest attacks of their kind; notably, forward smash can KO under 50% with rage near the edge, even if uncharged. His up smash is an effective anti-air attack due to its quick startup, along with his sword arm gaining intangibility throughout its rather long duration.

Roy's KO potential also extends to his great air game, with quick, powerful, and damaging aerials; his neutral aerial is a useful combo starter, especially when using the first hit by itself on landing, which allows him to add extra damage to his combos and even open up KO setups at high percentages. His forward aerial autocancels in a short hop and is overall very quick, allowing him to even perform a wall of pain. At high percentages, it also boasts KO potential. Back aerial has the rare and deceptive quality of turning Roy around, as well as being rather quick despite its power, KOing at around 130% from center-stage. Up aerial is Roy's fastest aerial startup-wise, and is a reliable juggling move due to its large hitbox and average knockback, and can even KO by itself at high percentages. Lastly, down aerial is a strong meteor smash when sweetspotted and boasts decent KO potential when sweetspotted on-stage.

Roy is also extremely effective at shield pressure and mix-ups. Many of his aerials and his down tilt are safe on shield against shield grabs, allowing him to pressure the opponent's shield until they choose an option to escape, which Roy can then punish. Roy's neutral attack is useful thanks to its KO confirms into his forward, back, and up aerials, as well as its ability to pressure shields and to catch the enemy coming out of shield. Roy's neutral aerial is also very effective as a cross-up attack on characters who lack out-of-shield options that hit behind them. Up aerial can also function as a combo starter and is safe on shield, and leads into different follow-ups dependent on whether the sweetspot or the sourspot connects. Roy can also simply grab opponents for shielding against him; he has simple but efficient throw combos, such as down throw into neutral aerial or up aerial, depending on percent. Roy even possesses some shield break set-ups if the opponent is not careful, rewarding Roy with a Flare Blade punish.

Roy's special moveset maintains his sheer speed and KO power; Flare Blade is known for being one of the strongest single-hitting attacks in the game, with the capability to one-hit KO any fighter in the game when fully charged. Combined with its ability to be reversed and its extremely high knockback, it adds up to be a very potent edge-guarding and ledge trapping tool, and has deceptively low ending lag despite its power to avoid punishment. As a result, Roy is one of the few characters who can reliably close out stocks on shield breaks regardless of the opponent's damage. Double-Edge Dance is a quick and efficient damage-racking series of high-speed sword slashes, along with being a reliable finisher at higher percentages if sweetspotted; it is fast enough for each hit to connect reliably and catch spot dodges. His main recovery move, Blazer, is an excellent out of shield option, due to Roy gaining super armor on startup and having decent knockback growth when grounded. Lastly, his Counter has a short window of active frames compared to other counterattacks, but it makes up for being one of the strongest counters in the game thanks to its 1.35× damage multiplier.

Despite Roy's numerous strengths, he has noticeable weaknesses. His biggest flaw stems from his own inverse tipper attribute; by relying on close-quarters attacks to deal damage, it gives him below-average effective reach compared to other swordfighters due to the Binding Blade's tip dealing weak knockback and damage. Thus, Roy cannot rely on a spacing playstyle despite his status as a swordsman, since his sourspotted attacks are less reliable as combo starters. This forces him to get dangerously close to the opponent for his attacks to properly start combos and deal more damage. This is further worsened by many of his attacks having high ending lag, which makes Roy very punishable if his attacks are simply thrown out without caution. In all, he cannot perform optimally when spacing with the tip of his sword, but cannot afford to make mistakes when at close range without running the risk of massive punishment.

Lastly, Roy's offstage endurance is very poor. His fast-falling speed makes him fairly susceptible to combos, and as none of his moves are generally reliable enough to consistently break combos, many characters with reliable combo moves can rack up large amounts of damage and easily force him off-stage. To add to this issue, Roy's only recovery move, Blazer, is fairly ineffective despite his impressive mobility: although it offers good protection, can be angled, and covers a decent amount of horizontal distance, it covers little vertical distance, does not sweetspot edges until the latter half of its duration, lacks the grounded version's super armor, and is predictable, leaving him prone to gimping, especially against characters with a reliable gimping projectile or counter. When coupled with his fast-falling speed, he is highly susceptible to meteor smashes, and even a sufficiently strong semi-spike can launch him too far away to recover. Multi-hit moves that trade with Blazer's hitboxes can also semi-spike Roy and gimp him. This causes him to have one of the worst recoveries in the game and arguably across the whole series.

Overall, Roy is an unconventional swordsman who falls under the bait-and-punish and rushdown archetypes. The objective of his playstyle is to overwhelm his enemy by closing the distance between them quickly, then to deal large amounts of damage with fast attacks without leaving Roy himself open to punishment while remaining in close-range.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Roy was infamous for being a lower-ranked character in previous appearances (especially in his debut appearance in Melee), due to a committal approach and unsafe aerials (especially compared to other fellow swordfighters), and his inverse tipper attribute hindering his spacing abilities. Likely because of this, Roy has been drastically buffed overall in his transition to Ultimate.

Roy's most significant improvements are indirect, as he benefits noticeably from the changes to the universal gameplay mechanics in Ultimate. The improved flexibility of dash canceling and the decreased landing lag on his aerials greatly improve his combo game, aerial offense, rushdown potential, and make his KO power consistent. Complementing this, the universal mobility increase benefits Roy's core strategy of closing the distance on his opponents and landing hits with the hilt of his sword, as well as helping counterbalance his vulnerability to camping. These changes almost fully alleviate the need to approach at dangerously close ranges to deal optimal damage and knockback, which was the main flaw that had plagued him in previous games and was not present in his fellow swordfighters.

Some of Roy's useful buffs are also direct. Moves like his dash attack, forward tilt, forward, back and up aerials, and Double-Edge Dance, have increased power, significantly increasing his options at higher percentages and further toning down his trouble at KOing. Furthermore, KO confirms with his neutral attack, and the first hit of neutral aerial or a sourspotted up aerial has become much more consistent and reliable. A small number of his moves have also had their hitbox placements improved, which is notable in his forward smash and Double-Edge Dance, the former of which can now hit opponents in the lower platforms of Battlefield. Double-Edge Dance has also been sped up greatly, making its hits link into each other much more consistently. His air game in general has directly improved, as forward aerial now auto-cancels in a short hop and has knockback and angle adjustments that make it better for both combos and KOs; neutral, back, and up aerials are stronger (the latter of which can now KO reliably), and down aerial has larger sweetspots. These changes, compounded with his lower landing lag all-around, make Roy's air game one of the most versatile and fearsome of any character.

However, Roy is not without a few nerfs, some of which are significant. Blazer now needs to travel half its maximum distance before it can sweetspot ledges, and its lower knockback hinders its use as a KO option, especially out of shield. He now boasts a less effective grab game, as his forward throw has lost its combo potential altogether, and down throw has fewer follow-ups due to its increased knockback; the universal nerfs to grabs further pronounce these issues, making it riskier and less rewarding for him to grab the opponent. He also retains some of his flaws from past games, such as mediocre offstage survivability, a vulnerability to combos, and an ineffective spacing game.

Overall, Roy's core playstyle remains fundamentally the same as it was in SSB4, but the changes made to the game's engine, his substantial buffs, comparatively few nerfs, and his raw power and speed remaining mostly intact, now make him less polarizing and allows him to comfortably play aggressively up close, though with a few risks added to his playstyle such as a less effective grab game. As a result, Roy is considered to be much better than in any of his previous playable appearances in Melee and SSB4.

Aesthetics

• As with other previous downloadable fighters in SSB4, Roy's appearance is largely unchanged. Like Marth, his design has the various shades of red on his hair, outfit, armor pieces, and cape adjusted to be more vibrant and analogous with each other, with a notably brighter hue of purple for his cape especially. His armor, belt, gloves, and boots have been given subtle detailing. His eyes are sharper, and his skin tone is slightly tanned.
• Roy's sword, previously referred to as the "Sword of Seals" (translated directly from its Japanese name in the trophy descriptions of Melee and SSB4), is now referred to in Palutena's Guidance as the Binding Blade, matching the English localization as of Fire Emblem Heroes.
• Roy has a new crouching animation, although he shifts to the previous animation when holding a small item, like in SSB4.
• Roy's sweetspotted moves now use a unique heavy sword SFX, similar to Ike's sword. He shares this distinction with Marth.
• Roy's cape has better physics and rigging, allowing for more fluid animations. Additionally, the logo on Roy's cape is now part of his model, rather than being a flat texture.
• Like Marth, Roy's voice clips are fully dubbed in English (voiced by Ray Chase) for non-Japanese versions.
  • Roy's side taunt has him saying "I won't lose!"
  • All of Roy's victory animations have been slightly altered with new camera angles. In addition, all of his victory lines have been dubbed in English, "That was a fierce battle!", "Failure is not an option!", and "Now the true battle begins!" respectively.
• The Binding Blade and its sheath are no longer present in Roy's Defeated/No Contest animations.
• As with all previous downloadable fighters in SSB4, Roy now has a unique Palutena's Guidance conversation.
• In the Japanese language, Roy's jumping voice clip has been sped up.
• Aside from when his shield breaks, Roy only vocalizes once when stunned, much like the rest of the cast.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Roy's jumpsquat takes 3 frames to complete (down from 5).
• Roy walks faster (1.15 → 1.208), slightly surpassing his Melee walking speed.
• Roy runs faster (1.95 → 2.145).
  • His initial dash is significantly faster (1.4 → 2.2).
• Roy's air speed is faster (1.24 → 1.302).
• Roy's fast-falling speed is slightly slower (2.9 → 2.88).

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • The sweetspot launches at a higher angle (62° → 69°), and has more base knockback (40 → 55), but less knockback scaling (60 → 40). In combination with Roy's faster jumpsquat, this greatly improves its combo potential, even giving it a KO setup into back aerial at high percents.
• Forward tilt:
  • The sweetspot has more knockback scaling (100 → 105), improving its already outstanding KO potential.
  • The move has more ending lag (FAF 32 → 34).
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack has less ending lag (FAF 50 → 46).
  • It has gained a shieldstun multiplier of 1.25×, which combined with the increased shieldstun for ground attacks makes it safer on shield.
  • The sweetspot has more knockback scaling (82 → 85).
• Forward smash:
  • The move has one frame less startup (frame 14 → 13), with its total duration reduced as well (FAF 55 → 54).
  • The move's hitboxes have been entirely reworked: the sweetspot is smaller (4.2u → 3.3u) and less extended horizontally (Z offset: 8.4u-5.1u → 9.1u-7.7u), the middlespot is larger (3.7u → 4.0u), and both the sourspot and middlespot have horizontally extended hitboxes with slightly altered placements, which fully cover the Binding Blade's trail (middlespot X/Y/Z offset: 0u/0u/1.5u → 2u-14u/1u/1.5u, sourspot X/Y/Z offset: 0u/0u/7.2u → 2u-9.5u/1u/7.5u).
    • These changes significantly increase the move's vertical coverage, allowing it to hit opponents on low platforms above Roy, such as the ones in Battlefield.
    • However, these changes also make the sweetspot harder to land due to its reduced size and less favorable offset, with the middlespot being easier to land due to having the largest hitbox. The sourspot's higher offset also means it no longer matches the Binding Blade's entire length.
  • Both the sweetspot and middlespot have different knockback values (70 base/70 scaling → 60/75). This worsens their KO power at the edge, especially with rage, but improves it anywhere else without the need for rage.
• Up smash:
  • The clean first hit launches opponents more towards Roy (101°/116° → 118°/127°), whereas the late first hit and second to four hits have lower set knockback (95/60 → 85/55), allowing them to connect more reliably.
  • The late first hit and second to fourth hits have received a -100% trip chance, preventing the move from tripping opponents on platforms and missing its last hit due to the trip's intangibility.
  • The clean first hit has lower SDI multipliers (1× → 0×/0.5×), but the late first hit and second to fourth hits have become vulnerable to SDI (0× → 0.3×).
• Down smash:
  • The back hit's sourspot is placed farther horizontally (X offset: 0u → -1.6u) and closer to the Binding Blade's tip, increasing its range.
  • The back hit's sweetspot stretches a shorter distance vertically and horizontally (Y/Z offset: 4.1u-5.5u/-13u - -7.5u → 4.1u-4.5u/-11u - -8u). This moves the sweetspot farther from the Binding Blade's hilt and closer to Roy's arm, making it harder to land.

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have less landing lag (11 frames → 9 (neutral), 13 → 8 (forward), 16 → 10 (back), 14 → 8 (up), 23 → 14 (down)).
• Neutral aerial:
  • The first hit has more base knockback (30 → 32), while the second hit's sweetspot has more knockback scaling (100 → 105). This improves the move's KO potential, without worsening its combo potential due to its lower landing lag.
  • The second hit uses weight-independent knockback, causing it to deal less knockback to lighter targets and more knockback to heavier ones. This worsens the move's KO potential but allows it to combo for longer in the former case, and vice versa in the latter case.
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial auto-cancels earlier (frame 33 → 31), allowing it to auto-cancel if performed at the start of a short hop.
  • It launches at a slightly higher angle (361° → 42°), and its sweetspot has more knockback scaling (80 → 83), improving its ability to start combos at low percents and KO at high percents.
• Back aerial:
  • The sweetspot deals more knockback (30 base/100 scaling → 35/107), allowing it to KO at around 125% from the center of Final Destination.
• Up aerial:
  • The sweetspot has much more knockback scaling (80 → 105), making the move more potent for juggling and granting it KO potential at realistic percents, starting at around 160% from ground level (compared to previously being unable to KO until around 220%).
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial auto-cancels earlier (frame 55 → 52), matching its interruptibility.
  • The sweetspot has larger hitboxes (3.6u/3.6u → 4.4u/4.4u).
  • It has a slightly altered animation, setting the Binding Blade ablaze. Accordingly, it uses a flame effect and SFX rather than slash ones.
    • Due to having flame properties, it now sets off explosive items like Link's Remote Bomb.
    • Additionally, it can no longer damage Olimar's Red Pikmin.

Throws and other attacks

• Grabs:
  • All grabs have more ending lag (FAF 30 → 37 (standing), 37 → 45 (dash), 35 → 40 (pivot)).
  • Dash and pivot grab have more startup (frame 8 → 10 (dash), 9 → 11 (pivot)).
  • Pivot grab has less horizontal range (Z2 offset: -13.4u → -12.8u).
  • Dash grab has a larger hitbox against grounded opponents (2.6u → 3u) and is placed slightly higher (Y offset: 7u → 7.25u), but doesn't reach as far horizontally (Z2 offset: 9.3u → 9.1u).
• Pummel:
  • Pummel deals less damage (2% → 1.3%).
  • It deals more hitlag (4 frames → 14), but has much less startup (frame 6 → 1) and ending lag (FAF 16 → 7).
• Forward throw:
  • Roy has a new forward throw: an elbow strike to the opponent's chest.
  • Due to the new knockback speed-up effect and Double-Edge Dance's slower startup, it has lost almost all of its combo potential, to the point where its only true followup is instant dash attack at extremely low percentages against a small amount of characters.
• Down throw:
  • Down throw has one frame less ending lag (FAF 43 → 42), improving its combo potential at low percents in combination with Roy's faster jumpsquat.
  • It has much more knockback scaling (60 → 90), worsening its combo potential at mid to high percents.
• Edge attack:
  • Edge attack deals more damage (8% → 10%).

Special moves

• Flare Blade:
  • Flare Blade deals more damage (6%-45.83% → 8%-47.83%).
  • Flare Blade has less startup (frame 23 → 21).
    • However, its total duration remains unchanged, increasing its ending lag.
  • It can be reversed during the charge, allowing Roy to catch opponents behind him.
  • The charging sound no longer changes in pitch if Roy is giant or tiny.
  • A fully charged Flare Blade triggers a Special Zoom on hit.
• Double-Edge Dance:
  • As with Dancing Blade, Double-Edge Dance transitions significantly faster into each hit. It can also now be buffered and is much harder to escape from.
  • Double-Edge Dance's last forward hit has significantly larger hitboxes (5.175u/4.6u/4.025u → 7.0u/8.0u/7.0u).
  • Double-Edge Dance's last forward hit has significantly increased knockback (60 base/130 scaling → 80/123), which when combined with the move's other changes, now make it a viable KO option.
  • Double-Edge Dance's first hit has increased startup (frame 6 → 9).
  • Double-Edge Dance's last forward hit has increased ending lag (FAF 56 → 59).
  • Roy uses a single voice clip when performing down-inputted fourth swing rather than three. The voice clip itself is the same one used whenever he performs his down aerial.
• Blazer:
  • Blazer sweetspots edges later (frame 15 → 24), no longer doing so before the last hit comes out.
  • The last hit has more base knockback (40 → 75), but less knockback scaling (130 → 93). This makes it safe on hit at low percents, but also weakens its KO potential, especially at farther distances from the top blast line.
• Counter:
  • Counter has a longer counter window (frames 8-27 → 8-29).
  • The counter grants intangibility earlier (frame 8 → 7).
  • It deals more knockback, with the sourspot incurring a less significant knockback loss over the sweetspot (35 base/100/70 scaling → 60/50 base/90/80 scaling).
  • The counterbox is bigger (9.2u → 9.7u). It's also positioned lower down (Y offset: 9.3 → 8.2), now fully covering below Roy.
  • It has more ending lag on both the counter (FAF 60 → 68) and the attack (FAF 37 → 41).
  • Its base damage is lower (9% → 8%).
  • It has higher hitlag multipliers (1.7×/1× → 1.9×/1.2×), making it easier to DI.
  • Along with an attack grunt, two of Roy's lines during a successful counterattack are dubbed, with him saying either "Now!" or "Gotcha!".
  • If a powerful enough attack is countered, the noise from Critical Hit will play if the counterattack successfully lands.
• Critical Hit:
  • Critical Hit's finishing hit has less knockback scaling (55 → 47), worsening its already below average power.
  • It causes a flaming background to appear once the main hit is unleashed.
  • Roy removes the Binding Blade from its sheath once he has finished sheathing it.

Update history

Roy was buffed slightly via the game updates. Down aerial auto-cancels 3 frames earlier thanks to update 2.0.0. Update 3.0.0 made the multiple hits for Blazer connect more reliably, and gave dash grab more range. Roy's approach and defense also indirectly benefit from the universal nerf of projectiles. Update 3.1.0 and 7.0.0 both buffed Roy's up smash: the former improved the consistency of the multi-hits and the latter gave the move a -100% trip chance, making it so opponents no longer trip out of the move before the final hit can land.

Overall, Roy fares mildly better than he did at the launch of Ultimate.

2.0.0

• Down aerial auto-cancels earlier (frame 55 → 52), matching the move's interruptibility.

3.0.0

• Roy's character model has been adjusted.
• The grounded-only grabbox of dash grab was made bigger (2.6u → 3.0u) and placed higher (Y offsets: 7.0 → 7.25). This notably prevents it from missing a shielding R.O.B..
• Blazer's hits connect more reliably (Hits 2-4 FKB: 120 → 85).

3.1.0

• Up smash's hits connect more reliably.

7.0.0

• Up smash has received a -100% trip chance, preventing it from tripping opponents on platforms and missing its last hit due to the trip's intangibility.

Moveset

• For simplicity if, for example, Roy's blade does 6% while the tip does 4%, and the attack has no other hitboxes, it is written as 6%/4%.

For a gallery of Roy's hitboxes, see here.

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack		Slash (リフトスラッシュ, Lift Slash)	7.5%/4.8%	A reverse-gripped upward slash. The sweetspot is a great combo starter due to its high launch angle and low knockback scaling; its low ending lag makes it relatively low risk with high reward. It can easily start combos into a grab, tilts, aerials, Double-Edge Dance, Blazer, or most notoriously into a reverse aerial rush back aerial for a highly potent KO confirm. Finally, its sourspot reaches low enough to hit ledge. The combination of these traits makes it widely considered as one of the best neutral attacks in the game.
Forward tilt		Sharp Edge (オーバーバッシュ, Over Bash)	12.5% (sweetspot), 9% (near), 8% (far)	A reverse-gripped downward slash. Comes out on frame 8 with somewhat low ending lag. For a tilt of its speed, the sweetspot is very strong, capable of KOing at under 130% from center-stage; it is the third strongest forward tilt in the game, only losing to Zelda's and Incineroar's. It has a middlespot that is deceptively weak and only marginally stronger than the sourspot.
Up tilt		Anti-Air Slash (アンチエアスラッシュ)	12%/7%	A reversed gripped overhead arcing slash starting from Roy's front. Like forward tilt, it has remarkably good speed and power when sweetspotted, capable KOing at around 120%. However, the ending lag is quite high, making whiffs punishable, and it is not as effective for anti-airing compared to most up tilts due to Roy's reverse sweetspot mechanic.
Down tilt		Low Stab (ロースラスト), Low Thrust)	11%/6.5%	A kneeling thrust. Generally safe on shield, even with the sourspot, and extremely so with the sweetspot (-3), thanks to its good damage and very low ending lag. Its semi-spike angle is great at setting up tech-chases.
Dash attack		Raid Down (レイドダウン)	13%/9%	An inward horizontal slash across the ground. Very strong for a dash attack, KOing at around 110% near the ledge. However, it has high startup and noticeable ending lag, which makes it unsafe on shield.
Forward smash		Power Slash (パワースマッシュ, Power Smash)	20% (close), 17% (mid), 12% (far)	Rotates his body to perform a lunging, two-handed downward slash. Despite coming out rather quickly (frame 13), it has extremely high damage and knockback and is one of the strongest forward smashes in the game when sweetspotted, capable of KOing as low as 40% with max rage. Interestingly, it possesses a middlespot that is still quite strong, unlike forward tilt's. However, it has high ending lag and a short duration. It is based on his regular attack as a Great Lord in Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade.
Up smash		Flame Sword (フレイムソード)	1% (hit 1 early), 2% (hit 1 late, hits 2-4), 10% (hit 5)	An upward thrust, which ignites the Binding Blade's tip and concludes with a small explosion. Notably, it is his only normal to not use the sweetspot-sourspot mechanic. It has a hitbox on startup around Roy's waist that launches opponents into the main thrust, but otherwise lacks horizontal range, making it mediocre for ground combat. As his only normal to grant intangibility to his sword arm throughout the attack, it has above-average disjoint and is a decent anti-air, but it is very unsafe. Has enough power to KO at around 100% uncharged.
Down smash		Whirlwind (ワールウインド)	15%/10% (front hit), 17%/11% (back hit)	A kneeling outward slash in front of himself and then behind himself. Roy's fastest smash attack when it comes to startup, but has the highest ending lag of the three. The back hit is stronger than the front hit. The front and back hits KO at around 120% and 100% near the ledge, respectively.
Neutral aerial		Double Slash (ダブルスラッシュ)	6%/4% (hit 1), 8.5%/5% (hit 2),	An inward slash followed by a spinning, outward slash that covers both sides. Deals good damage and is a useful combo extender, and is Roy's main aerial approach tool due to its high amount of active frames. Landing with the first hit can start guaranteed combos at virtually any percent. Interestingly, it is set apart from identical neutral aerials (including Chrom's) in the second hit's weight-independent knockback, KOing all fighters at the same percentage.
Forward aerial		Flag Cut (フラッグカット)	11%/7%	A downward slash. It comes out on frame 10; it can auto-cancel or even be interrupted in a short hop, and has KO potential at high percentages. With the lowest ending lag of Roy's aerials, it can be used in quick succession, making it possible to perform a wall of pain.
Back aerial		About Face (アッパースイング, Upper Swing)	12%/9%	Rotates his body to perform an upward slash. Interestingly, it turns Roy around completely, similarly to Marth and Jigglypuff's back aerials. Has great KO potential at high percentages and is also a devastating edgeguarding tool, with a neutral attack into a RAR back air being able to confirm KOs as early as 60%.
Up aerial		Luna Slash (ルナスラッシュ)	9%/6%	A backflipping, upward arcing slash. With its low landing lag, the sweetspot can chain into itself and juggle effectively, KOing at high percentages. The sourspot is very weak, but sends straight up; while falling, it can lead and even KO confirm into other aerials.
Down aerial		Half Moon (メテオドロップ, Meteor Drop)	15%/10%	A two-handed, downward slash between his legs, similarly to Ike's down aerial. It has a flame effect like up smash, but still has a sweetspot-sourspot dichotomy. Meteor smashes aerial opponents when sweetspotted, though it is difficult to hit due to its slim hitbox. As his laggiest aerial, it is also risky to use offstage, possibly causing a self-destruct. The other hitboxes have niche combo ability when landing, including into forward smash at the ledge.
Grab		Grab (つかみ)	—	Reaches out with his free hand.
Pummel		Grab Kneebutt (つか�