R.O.B. (SSBU)

R.O.B. (, Robot) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was officially revealed on June 12th, 2018 alongside, , and the rest of the returning roster. R.O.B. is classified as Fighter #42. R.O.B.'s beeping sound effects from Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. 4 were repurposed for Ultimate.

R.O.B. is ranked 6th out of 82 on the tier list, placing him in the S tier. This is a significant improvement from his placement in SSB4, where he was ranked 35th out of 54, and is his best placement in the series. R.O.B's biggest strengths come from his largely improved moveset, allowing him to play both an offensive and defensive playstyle. His entire moveset has seen increased utility overall allowing him to box out his opponents with ease, as well as kill more effectively and edgeguard opponents with limited recovery without the risk of himself self-destructing. His attributes of lingering hitboxes and heavy weight allow him to survive to incredibly high percents, making him among the best zoners in the game due to being able to patiently chip away at the opponent's percentage until finding an opportunity to rushdown and close out a stock. He also possesses arguably one of the best item-generating moves in the form of Gyro, which has many practical uses including KO combos into Arm Rotor, which has been retooled into a potent finishing move at the ledge or offstage.

While sporting a myriad of strengths, R.O.B. is not without weaknesses. His most well-known one is his large hurtboxes, which makes him an easy target both on stage and off stage. When combined with his above average weight and fall speed, he is highly susceptible to combos, which is only exacerbated by the slow startup of his aerials giving him little in the way of combo breakers. Despite being heavily reliant on grabs to start combos, his grab range is among the shortest in the game and can be easily punished if a grab misses. His moveset using many projectiles means he is at a disadvantage against opponents with a reflector, and his large hurtboxes and recovery being a finite resource while airborne means he can easily be edgeguarded himself by being highly susceptible to 2 frame punishes and being walled out from until being forced to SD.

Despite these weaknesses, R.O.B. has seen large representation from many players such as and. As a result, he is among one of the most common characters seen in majors and tournaments, consistently ranking in the top 3 for representation in the metagame.

How to unlock
Complete one of the following: R.O.B. must then be defeated on Wrecking Crew (the Ω form is used in World of Light).
 * Play VS. matches, with R.O.B. being the 31st character to be unlocked.
 * Clear with  or any character in its unlock tree, being the 3rd character unlocked after.
 * Have R.O.B. join the player's party in World of Light.

Attributes
R.O.B. is the eighteenth heaviest character in the game, being tied with and, thus making him a heavyweight. R.O.B. sports an above average walking speed, initial dash, and falling speed, is tied with and  for the 26th fastest air speed, average dashing speed, gravity, and traction, as well as the 30th highest air acceleration. This grants him mobility that is fairly average overall, yet balanced compared to most of his fellow heavyweights. This, along with several of his other attributes, most notably his extremely long-distanced recovery, noticeably set him apart from most of them.

Like in Brawl and Smash 4, R.O.B. is a zoning-oriented character with very useful projectiles to keep his opponents at bay. Robo Beam enables him to attack from considerable distance, and becomes the noticeably stronger Super Robo Beam when it is left idle for 14.3 seconds. While Robo Beam interrupts opponents faster, Super Robo Beam deals more damage and has higher knockback growth. Gyro is an auto-chargeable projectile that becomes an item when fired. Compared to Robo Beam, it has a more favorable angle for disrupting opponents, while also being more manipulable as a projectile and having greater kill power. Thanks to R.O.B.'s item throws being among the strongest in the game, Gyro is also very useful when smash thrown as an item.

Aside from his projectiles, R.O.B's ground game is also excellent. Jab comes out on frame 3 and acts as a quick move at low percentages to escape pressure situations, and it can also jab lock and combo. Forward tilt can be useful for spacing at higher percentages since it comes out on frame 7, but its usefulness ends there. Up tilt comes out on frame 4, and is very good for acting as an anti air and combos into his up air. Down tilt is R.O.B.'s single best move, as it lowers his hurtbox, has great range, is tied with jab as his fastest move at frame 3, pressures shields, trades with shield grabs, and its total active frames is only 14, meaning it is one of the safest pressuring moves in the game. It also combos into itself at lower percentages, and at higher percents it can combo into grab or dash attack, and can send opponents into a jab lock scenario for a KO at relatively low percentages. Lastly, dash attack is useful for punishing landings and whiffs, is very fast at frame 7, has decently long range, and can combo into his forward air at low to mid percentages.

R.O.B.'s air game is also great, thanks to the excellent and disjointed ranges of all but one of his aerials. Neutral aerial has large, disjointed hitboxes that make it great for covering the opponents options if they lack the range to deal with it. It's also very hard to punish out of shield, due to its damage, total landing lag (7 frames) and range. It is also a reliable combo starter at low to medium percentages when SHFF'd, as well as a useful spacing option and, to a lesser extent, a kill move. Up aerial is a great vertical kill move due to its large and long-lasting hitboxes, fast startup, and the last hit’s high knockback. Back and down aerials are R.O.B.'s most damaging aerials when sweetspotted, and they too have large hitboxes, much like neutral aerial. However, they also boast their own specific strengths. Back air has recovery potential thanks to it propelling R.O.B. forward, and it's his only aerial that can KO in neutral due to its very high knockback and huge hitbox. Not only that, but it is also one of the strongest back aerials in the game. Down air is a meteor smash that can hit below the ledge and KO very early if done so. It is also active for 6 whole frames, making it difficult to avoid for characters with linear recoveries. Lastly, forward aerial is R.O.B.'s fastest aerial coming out on frame 6, making it very spammable in neutral due to how low committal it is to use, as it is safe on shield. However, its hitbox has much shorter range and isn't disjointed.

R.O.B.'s grab game also has its uses. Forward and back throws are decent for spacing and setting up edge-guards. Back throw can also KO at the ledge at very high percents, and both can combo into dash attack or gyro at very low percents. In comparison, R.O.B.'s up throw is much more useful. It is his most damaging throw, a solid kill move (especially when boosted by rage or if he lands on a platform), and can even be used for combos at low percentages. His down throw, despite not being a kill move, is also one of his best tools for taking a stock. While it deals poor damage, it buries opponents, allowing for followups into up tilt, up air, or even up smash. However, with mashing, the opponent can typically get out before R.O.B. has any chance to act. As such, it is more of a read-based tool rather than a guaranteed method for taking a stock.

Although R.O.B. possesses a large number of strengths, he does also have a few noteworthy shortcomings. Despite having a good chunk of moves with respectable KO potential, landing his kill moves can be problematic because of them either being laggy or having unimpressive ranges, or possibly even both. The latter trait is particularly noticeable in regard to R.O.B.'s arm-based attacks, most of which have short ranges. His grab game is also hindered by his overall grab range being the shortest in the game.

In addition to R.O.B.'s hitbox issues, his hurtbox also hinders him, as it is very large and wide, meaning he can get hit by a lot of combos that other characters would have an easier time getting away from. This also means that he has difficulty dealing with combo-oriented characters. This is further compounded by his above average falling speed, as well as his aerials' inability to reliably break combos: neutral and down aerials are very slow in terms of startup, forward and up aerials only hit in front of and above R.O.B., respectively, and back aerial is a mix of both: it has slow startup and only hits behind him.

Overall, R.O.B. is a non-traditional heavyweight zoner. His decently fast mobility and overall above average frame data allow him to easily pressure unwary opponents, and he doesn’t have too much trouble killing if he can get the advantage. While his overall range is rather small for a zoner like him, it is functional in the long run regardless. However, R.O.B. players must be very cautious, as a single combo can be all it takes to get R.O.B. in an uncomfortable position or possibly even kill him, thanks to his large size, moderately high weight, above average falling speed, and lack of options to break free from combos.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4
R.O.B. has been significantly buffed overall in his transition to Ultimate. While R.O.B. has received comparatively few major changes in his transition from the previous game, most of these changes have majorly improved his toolkit, and he benefits from the changes made to the game's engine as well.

Arguably R.O.B.'s most impactful buff is to Arm Rotor. Previously universally regarded as one of the worst attacks in SSB4, it executes faster, with faster startup lag and less ending lag, and has larger hitboxes with improved angles that connect with each other much better. This not only significantly improves its use as an edgeguarding option, but when combined with the other changes made to his moveset, it has now become one of the most devastating combo finishers in Ultimate, granting R.O.B. potential zero-to-death combos and allowing him to KO opponents at absurdly early percentages.

Several of R.O.B.'s attacks have received quality of life changes that improve their utility. Forward smash and back aerial deal more knockback, granting them increased KO potential and toning down one of R.O.B.'s previous weaknesses. Up tilt has had its first hit's hitbox from Brawl restored, increasing its range and reliability. Down smash also launches opponents at a consistent angle, improving its consistency all around. Robo Beam has larger hitboxes and launches at lower angles, improving their effectiveness as edgeguarding options. Gyro has also been significantly buffed: it can now be returned to the dock once R.O.B. has grabbed it to charge it again and fire it with less startup, as opposed to tossing it once he has grabbed it. It can also now be jump-canceled. These changes grant R.O.B. even more potential combo routes and give him more safe options against opponents.

R.O.B. also benefits from most of the universal changes to the game's engine. The universal increase in mobility and the ability to use any attack out of a run allows him to close out the distance more effectively and compounds his improved up-close game. The universally increased shieldstun for grounded attacks has also been fairly beneficial to R.O.B., as it makes his very fast and decently-ranged down tilt safer on shield. The universal decrease to landing lag noticeably improves R.O.B.'s combo game as well; aside from changes made to his Arm Rotor, they make up aerial's looping hits more viable for starting combos, and neutral aerial's reduced start-up lag coupled with its decreased landing lag noticeably improves its combo potential and makes it a safer option when landing. Lastly, the changes to air dodges benefit R.O.B., as they allow him to edgeguard his opponents more effectively and use a directional air dodge out of Robo Burner to gain more distance, improving his already excellent recovery.

However, R.O.B. has received a few nerfs as well. His grab game has been weakened overall, with universal changes to grabs hindering the safety of his grabs despite his improved standing grab. His up throw has increased endlag, making follow-ups harder, and his down throw now buries, allowing for read-based follow-ups at high percents, but removing any guaranteed set-ups at low to mid percents, particularly his effective "Beep Boop" combo (down throw to up air). R.O.B. also retains a few of the same issues from his previous appearance, such as short melee range, susceptibility to juggling due to his large size and slow aerial options, and a predictable, vulnerable recovery.

Overall, R.O.B.'s playstyle remains fundamentally unchanged from SSB4, but changes to several of his attacks and to the game's engine have now properly cemented R.O.B. as the "jack-of-all-trades" between his fellow zoning brethren, as they give him having a far deadlier punish game compared to both of his previous appearances. Thanks to these changes, R.O.B. performs significantly better than he did in previous installments, with this incarnation being considered R.O.B.'s strongest one so far.

Update history
R.O.B has received a mix of buffs and nerfs via game updates, but has been slightly nerfed overall. The removal of Gyro canceling was significant, as it effectively removed several movement options and advanced techniques R.O.B. could do in previous games. R.O.B was affected more than most other characters during version 3.0.0 with the universal projectile shield damage nerf and the down tilt loop became harder to set up in version 4.0.0, with buffs being quality of life updates to make moves connect more consistently.

Overall, while faring slightly worse than at launch, R.O.B. remains highly viable in the competitive scene and is seen as a high tier character throughout the game's lifespan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moveset
For a gallery of R.O.B.'s hitboxes, see here.

On-screen appearance

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

Taunts

 * Up Taunt: Faces the screen and spins his arms and head in alternating directions. Based on his victory animation from Mario Kart DS.
 * Side Taunt: Faces the screen and moves his head around, flashing bright lights from his eyes while clapping.
 * Down Taunt: Faces the screen, moves his arms down, and then moves them back up again, spinning them while he does so.

Idle poses

 * Briefly looks toward the screen.
 * Briefly nods off, then shakes his head and wakes up.

Crowd cheer
 

Victory poses

 * Left: While advancing forward, R.O.B. rotates his hands outward while his arms point out straight. After halting, he spins his arms in alternating directions and rotates his head 360° counterclockwise. Afterward, he adjusts his arms to face upward, continuously raising and lowering them in a flexing gesture. R.O.B.'s head also rotates 360° clockwise after every two times he pumps his arms.
 * Up: Uses Robo Burner, spins, and then lands. He then proceeds to continuously lower and raise his arms while rotating his head.
 * Right: Turns his head and flashes the lights in his eyes while clapping, similar to his side taunt. He then proceeds to continuously clap, lowering his arms after each clap.

Most historically significant players
See also: Category:R.O.B. players (SSBU)


 * - One of the best R.O.B. players in the United States in the post-online metagame, with his most notable run being his run to 2nd place at the major . In addition, he has also placed 5th at and 7th at.
 * - One of the best players during the online metagame, with his best ranking being 5th on the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v6. Offline, he is also considered one of the best R.O.B. players in the United States, having placed top 32 at several majors such as 13th at and 17th at.
 * - The best R.O.B. player in Europe, having placed top 32 at nearly every major he has attended, including 13th at and 17th at . He was also ranked 139th on the OrionRank 2022.
 * - One of the best R.O.B. players in North America, and is also a top 10 player in Mexico who regularly places top 16 at Mexican majors. He began traveling in the post-online metagame and achieved several high placements at notable events, including 4th at the major and 7th at the supermajor.
 * - Although his tournament activity was limited to New England, he was considered one of the best R.O.B. players in the world in the early metagame, placing 7th at the supermajor and 9th at the supermajor, and was ranked 31st on the Fall 2019 PGRU. Due to a controversy, he has since retired from competitive play.
 * - One of the best R.O.B. players in the world in the early metagame, placing top 16 at several majors including 7th at and, and ranking 20th on the Fall 2019 PGRU. Since the post-online metagame, WaDi played R.O.B. alongside a variety of characters until early-2023, where he went inactive due to sexual misconduct allegations.
 * - Although known for playing a variety of characters, one of his best known characters is his R.O.B., whom he most prominently used from mid-2019 to late-2022. He is considered one of the two best R.O.B. players of all-time and is the first R.O.B. player to win a major, doing so at the supermajor . Since then, he has won several other majors with primarily R.O.B., including and.
 * - One of the two best R.O.B. players of all-time, and is also one of the best players in the United States in 2023. He is the first solo-R.O.B. player to win a major, doing so at the supermajor.

Tier placement and history
Ever since the start of the game, R.O.B. has always been considered a very strong character due to buffs from the previous game, such as having better approach options, more versatile projectiles with Gyro and Robo Beam, even more threatening KO options, and an improved edgeguarding game, leading many to consider him as an excellent zoner with a wide array of utility options. R.O.B. saw immense success in the early metagame from players such as and, and continued to have strong representation in the post-online metagame from players such as  and , which lead him to be one of the most represented characters in Ultimate's metagame. As such, R.O.B. is widely considered a top-tier character, which is reflected in his placement on the current tier list, where he is ranked 6th.

In online tournaments, which were the standard during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, causing almost all offline tournaments to switch to online, R.O.B. fares even better, due to his already safe aerials and tilts being much more reliable due to lag. Many players, including and, have performed fairly well in Wi-Fi tournaments, including various {Ultimate Naifu Wars, , and.

: Unreadable Expressions
R.O.B.'s opponents all wear masks or lack expressive faces. His boss, Galleom, fits in with the theme due to being a robot and lacking an expressive face.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as R.O.B. has  accompany the credits.

Role in World of Light


Although R.O.B. was absent from the World of Light opening cutscene, he was vaporized and later imprisoned alongside the rest of the fighters (excluding ) when Galeem unleashed his beams of light.

R.O.B. was one of the many fighters that fell under Dharkon's control upon Galeem's first defeat. He can be found in the Mysterious Dimension sub-area, as the fighter closest to the entrance, standing in a floating island with scattered mechanical junk. To reach him, the player must first defeat the spirit of Redd as the answer to a trivia question ("Which of these spirits sells furniture?"), allowing access to the island he's in.

Spirits
R.O.B.'s fighter spirit can be obtained by completing. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after R.O.B. has been unlocked. Unlocking R.O.B. in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a fighter spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. His fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with his artwork in Ultimate.

Additionally, R.O.B. makes an appearance in a few support spirits.

Alternate costumes
As in SSB4, R.O.B.'s default costume switches between the 1st and 2nd costumes listed here depending on the language the game is set to. The Famicom colors are the default if the language is set to Japanese, Korean, or Chinese, while the NES colors are the default color if the language is set to any other language. Newly scanned R.O.B amiibo default to the language's default color instead of the color of the R.O.B amiibo, unlike other amiibo variants.

Trivia

 * R.O.B.'s stock icon is one of six to show the character's eyes, the others being, , , Zombie, and Enderman.
 * This is not counting and Larry, as the eyes depicted for the former are not his actual eyes, and the latter lacks his irises.
 * On the official site for Ultimate, each character is accompanied by a background image of a stage from their universe. As R.O.B. is the only character to not have a stage from his home universe, his page is the only one with no stage for the background image.
 * R.O.B. is one of four characters that has appeared in all games with Final Smashes to have a different Final Smash in each of them; the other three are Pit, Zero Suit Samus, and King Dedede.
 * The scripts for Super Diffusion Beam were never removed from the game's code in the transition from Smash 4 to Ultimate. However, like the glide attack scripts from Smash 4, they lie dormant.
 * In the Korean version, R.O.B. uses the "Robot" announcer voice clip from the Japanese version, despite R.O.B.'s name being written the same way as in the English version. This is unlike, , and , all of whom use the English announcer voice clip due to the pronunciation. This was not the case in Brawl.
 * R.O.B. and the are the only fighters that cannot receive a series bonus, since they don't have any primary spirits from their own series.
 * Previously prior to the 10.1.0 update patch, also shared this distinction.
 * ,, , and R.O.B. are the only fighters who used their default costumes in spirit battles through one of the 1297 spirits available when the game first launched. In R.O.B.'s case, it is due to the Ancient Minister spirit.
 * Due to certain spirit battles (such as Ancient Minister, Villager & Iron Golem, Diminutive Guardian, and E.M.M.I.), R.O.B. is the only character whose color scheme used for a spirit battle changes based on the language version used.
 * R.O.B.'s NES color scheme is the only one that bears the NES' base sticker which reads "Robotic Operating Buddy"; all other palettes bear the Famicom base sticker, which reads "Family Computer Robot". Famicom is short for "Family Computer."
 * When R.O.B. is lying on the ground after missing a tech, the switch on his base will be set to "OFF".
 * Although R.O.B. is "voiced", in Stamina Mode, he stays silent when he gets KO'd by reaching 0 HP with no stocks remaining. and the s also share this oddity.
 * All of R.O.B.'s move names aside from specials are based on the raw file names for these categories of moves in the game.