Roy (SSBU): Difference between revisions

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 {{Sm|alice}}, {{Sm|Kola}}, and {{Sm|Goblin}}.

|neutraldesc=A reverse-gripped upward slash. A great combo starter, due to launching at a rather high angle and having low knockback and ending lag, making it relatively low risk with high reward. It can easily start combos into a grab, tilts, aerials, [[Double-Edge Dance]] or [[Blazer]]. In particular, it is notoriously effective at comboing into a [[reverse aerial rush]] back aerial for a highly potent KO confirm. Finally, its sourspot reaches low enough that it can hit opponents hanging on ledge. Its combination of traits make it widely considered as one of the best neutral attacks in the game.

|ftiltname=Sharp Edge ({{ja|オーバーバッシュ|Ōbā Basshu}}, ''Over Bash'')

|ftiltdesc=A reverse-gripped downward slash. Comes out on frame 8 with somewhat low ending lag. The sweetspot is very powerful for a tilt considering its speed, being capable of KOing at under 130% from center-stage when sweetspotted. If tippered, it is the second strongest forward tilt in the game, narrowly beating {{SSBU|Ike}}'s and only losing slightly to {{SSBU|Incineroar}}'s.

|utiltname=Anti-Air Slash ({{ja|アンチエアスラッシュ|Anchi Ea Surasshu}})

|utiltdesc=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.

|fsmashname=Power Slash ({{ja|パワースマッシュ|Pawā Sumasshu}}, ''Power Smash'')

|usmashdesc=An upward thrust, which ignites the Binding Blade's tip and concludes with a small explosion. It has a hitbox on startup around Roy's waist that launches opponents into the main thrust. A good anti-air attack as Roy's sword arm is granted [[intangibility]] throughout the attack, though mediocre for ground combat due to it having small horizontal hitboxes. Has enough power to KO at around 100% uncharged.

|bairdesc=Rotates his body to perform an upward slash. Interestingly, it turns Roy around completely, similarly to {{SSBU|Marth}} and {{SSBU|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%.

|dairname=Half Moon ({{ja|メテオドロップ|Meteo Doroppu}}, ''Meteor Drop'')

|dairdesc=A two-handed, downward slash between his legs, similarly to Ike's down aerial. Has the capability to [[meteor smash]] when sweetspotted, though it can be very difficult to aim due to its slim hitbox. It's also risky to use offstage due to Roy's fast falling speed and poor recovery, possibly causing a [[self-destruct]]. This move has a [[flame]] effect. The late sourspot has niche combo ability when landing, including into forward smash at the ledge.

|dthrowname=Slam ({{ja|グラブドロップ|Gurabu Doroppu}}, ''Grab Drop'')

|nsdmg=8%-47.83%, 50% (fully charged sweetspot), 36% (fully charged sourspot), 10% recoil (fully charged)

|nsdesc=Rears back and ignites the Binding Blade before performing a lunging, two-handed downward slash that generates an explosion. Roy can turn while charging the move. Functions similarly to [[Eruption]], as it can be charged for a maximum of around five seconds before unleashing the explosion, with the explosion's size growing as it charges. It has very high knockback growth even while uncharged, and the ability to quickly increase its damage output via charging. When fully charged, it will [[OHKO]] every character in the game, with the exception of {{SSBU|Shulk}} in the Shield [[Monado Art]]. A fully charged Flare Blade is also capable of instantaneously breaking a full shield, similar to a fully charged [[Shield Breaker]], and reaches low enough that it can hit opponents attempting to grab ledges. It also has deceptively low ending lag that allows it to be potentially safe on shield and can be used to bait approaches.

|usdesc=A jumping reverse gripped slash, which ignites the Binding Blade. Hits multiple times and can be angled diagonally, though this causes the slash to cover less vertical distance. The grounded version deals more damage and knockback, and has brief [[super armor]] before Roy leaves the ground, making it Roy's best option [[out of shield]]. Roy cannot sweetspot ledges with the move unless he has traveled half of Blazer's maximum distance, making it relatively easy to edgeguard him.

|[[File:Roy Cheer English SSB4 SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:Roy Cheer Japanese SSB4 SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:Roy Cheer Italian SSB4 SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:Roy Cheer Dutch SSBU.ogg|center]]||{{NTSC}} [[File:Roy Cheer French NTSC SSBU.ogg|center]] <br> {{PAL}} [[File:Roy Cheer French PAL SSBU.ogg|center]]

|[[File:Roy Cheer German SSB4 SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:Roy Cheer Spanish SSB4 SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:Roy Cheer Russian SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:Roy Cheer Korean SSBU.ogg|center]]

*{{Sm|alice|Japan}} - The second best Roy player in the world during 2023 and 2024, peaking at 29th on the [[LumiRank 2024.2]]. His breakout tournament was at {{Trn|Maesuma TOP 5}}, where he placed 25th, and he continued to place highly at other events, with a 4th at {{Trn|Maesuma TOP 14}} and 7th at {{Trn|Maesuma TOP 10}}. He notably took a set over {{Sm|acola}} at {{Trn|Maesuma Offline (Shikoku)}} and {{Sm|Sonix}} at the {{Trn|Smash World Tour 2021 Championships}}.

*{{Sm|Flow|p=France|France}} - The best Roy player in Europe, having placed top 8 at several large European tournaments, including 5th at {{Trn|Ultimate Fighting Arena 2023}} and 7th at {{Trn|VCA 2021}}. Overseas, he also placed 17th at both {{Trn|Collision 2023}} and {{Trn|Kagaribi 11}}, the latter being one of the largest Japanese tournaments of all-time and where he defeated {{Sm|ProtoBanham}} and {{Sm|Jogibu}} along the way, as well as 25th at {{Trn|GENESIS X}}. His best placement was 67th on the [[OrionRank 2019]].

*{{Sm|Goblin|USA}} - The second-best Roy player of all-time, and the definitive best in 2019, being the highest ranked Roy main in that year with his 42nd placement on the [[Fall 2019 PGRU]]. He had supermajor placements such as 13th at {{Trn|2GG: Kongo Saga}} and 17th at {{Trn|Shine 2019}} with wins over {{Sm|Tweek}} and {{Sm|Samsora}}. He has continued to do well at offline tournaments after the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], placing 5th at {{Trn|Riptide}} and {{Trn|Let's Make Big Moves 2022}}, but began to decline in mid-2022.

*{{Sm|HIKARU|Japan}} - Known for using other characters such as {{SSBU|Donkey Kong}}, but picked up Roy in post-pandemic tournaments and became the best Roy player in Japan until his retirement, peaking at 38th on the [[OrionRank 2022]] with Roy as his primary character. He won {{Trn|Maesuma TOP 5}} with solo Roy, as well as {{Trn|Sumabato SP 27}} and {{Trn|KOWLOON 2}} with Roy as one of his characters.

*{{Sm|Kola|USA}} - The best Roy player of all-time, peaking at 5th on the [[OrionRank Mid-Year 2022]], and is the only Roy player to win majors, doing so at {{Trn|CEO 2021}} and {{Trn|Luminosity Invitational 2: Back to School}}. He is also considered one of the best online players, placing 1st at {{Trn|Soaked Series Invitational}} primarily using Roy, which to date is one of the largest online tournaments in ''Smash Bros.'' history.

*{{Sm|tk3|Japan}} - Co-mains Roy with Chrom and is considered one the best Roy players in Japan. Prior to 2022, he was considered the best Roy in the country with major placements such as 5th at {{Trn|Kagaribi 3}}, 9th at {{Trn|Kagaribi 4}}, and 13th at {{Trn|EVO Japan 2020}} with {{Sm|Yoshidora}}, {{Sm|Atelier}}, and {{Sm|Akakikusu}} being some of his most notable Roy wins. After 2021, he has been inconsistent with his placements, but can still make decent bracket runs, seen with many {{Trn|Sumabato}} events.

When ''Ultimate'' was released, Roy looked promising in the metagame due to the universal decreased landing lag on aerials and ability to use tilts out of a dash, which drastically fixed one of his biggest weaknesses. Along with his excellent mobility and some of the strongest KO power in the game, many professionals believed that Roy could potentially be a top-tier character. However, people also noticed that his [[Echo Fighter]], {{SSBU|Chrom}}, despite having less power and a significantly worse recovery than Roy, was more consistent due to his lack of sourspots, making him better at spacing than Roy. Chrom also had a notorious sacrificial KO move from his forward aerial to Soaring Slash. Although the latter was eventually removed, Chrom was still widely agreed to be one of the best characters in the game and was considered to be better than Roy in the early metagame. Despite this, Roy has achieved many noteworthy results thanks to players such as {{Sm|Goblin}} and {{Sm|Flow|p=France}}, and was still thought to be significantly improved from ''Smash 4'', with many players ranking him as a high-tier or even top-tier character.

Roy's reputation improved dramatically during and after the end of the online metagame. {{Sm|Kola}}, a rising star prior to the pandemic, made waves during the online metagame and ultimately placed 1st on the [[Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v5]]. He maintained this momentum after offline play returned with consistent top 8 placements at majors, eventually winning {{Trn|CEO 2021}}. Other Roy players such as Goblin and {{Sm|HIKARU}} also saw strong results during this period, leading to an increase in Roy's representation, especially in the United States: Roy had the second-highest character usage by the end of 2021,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zTKrF1HOv70Pp8xdJKrRQy3QiMYKLTCstoVNgxymt0o/edit#gid=0|title=OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse character usage}}</ref> and continued to be a top 10 character representation-wise in the following year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gRlzy4z_dpqb2ZRhGoqtbDcuvUKz_ROsMZHGegon53M/edit#gid=329450080|title=OrionRank 2022 character usage}}</ref> With Chrom's decline as a result of a shrinking playerbase, many players such as {{Sm|Dabuz}} and {{Sm|Tweek}} consider Roy to be one of the best, if not the best, Fire Emblem characters in the game. As such, he was ranked 8th on the first tier list as a top tier character.

Following the release of the first tier list, Roy's representation saw a sudden decline at the top level, attributed to Kola's declining performances and months-long hiatus, Goblin's severe decline, and HIKARU's retirement from competitive ''Smash''. Although Roy remained a popular character overall, on the other hand, there were few Roy players that could match the three's performances, as {{Sm|alice}} remained rather inconsistent, while Flow did not become more prominent until the latter half of 2023. Finally, Kola's results following his return were better than his results right before his hiatus; however, they were still worse than his results at his peak. This decline led to Roy dropping out of the top 10 in terms of representation by mid-2023, the first time he was outside the top 10 since the early metagame, and this drop, alongside many players questioning how effective Roy's rushdown playstyle was in a slower, campier metagame, led players to believe he was overrated on the first tier list. This view was reflected in the second tier list, where he dropped 11 spots to 19th in the A-tier, tied with Chrom and {{SSBU|Ken}} as the largest drops from the first tier list.

Roy's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing {{SSBU|Classic Mode}} as Roy. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after Roy has been unlocked. Unlocking Roy in World of Light allows the player to preview the 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''.