Roy, our favorite boy. Anyway, in this guide i'm going to describe how to use Roy's janky hitboxes to rack up %, and get you some pretty swift kills. Mind you, I don't know all of the terminology, nor do I consider myself the best Roy but i'll do the best I can. First, i'll give a description of his moves.
Moveset
Jab - A close counter slash that can parry pretty much every normal move in the game, even projectiles if timed right. You'd want to use this move if your opponent is running up to you, or trying to close in on you with projectiles. i.e Mario/Doc fireballs. Can be followed by a Forward smash, but you'd have to be fairly quick about it.
Dash A - A nice move that pops up your opponent. Similar to your down tilt, although not safe on block at all. Can be followed up with if your opponent doesn't tech. And at higher %, like around 30% or so, can be chained into all of Roy's aerials. Very punishable on block. Can be whiffed into jab, f - tilt, or d - tilt.
Forward tilt - An even better jab in my opinion. Has longer range than the jab, and can sweetspot for some pretty decent knockback, even at low %. Not noticeably slower than the jab, but for the sake of argument, it is. Think of it as a buffed jab. Mainly used to keep the opponent out of your face. (A suprisingly good anti air as well)
Up tilt - A GREAT, under used anti-air. Covers about 55° of the area above Roy's head, give or take. Can be chained into a quick neutral air, or up-air if sweetspotted. If not, it's weird hitbox can send opponents flying in a random direction, screwing up their DI.
Down tilt - Roy's main combo starter. Can't be crouch cancelled, and flips your opponent right in the air. Can be followed by any of Roy's aerials. Not much to say about this move, it will be your best friend.
Neutral air - A great move, if both hits connect. Should be used to continue combos. Doesn't require a sweetspot. Can use the initial hit, and quickly drop down into a quick jab, grab, or even tilts to confuse your opponent.
Forward air - One of Roy's easier moves to sweetspot. Ok knockback, can be chained into another forward air, if spaced correctly. Should mainly be used as a spacing tool, not to be used to chase opponents off the stage.
Up air - A move that should be used sparingly. If used, make sure you're going to be completely out of your opponents range after this move connects. You should only be using this move from the side, never do it directly under your opponent. If you feel that you must use this move directly under your opponent, fast fall right before the move connects. (You'd have to use foreshadowing here)
Down air - The infamous wet noodle. This move is better used if your opponent is grounded in my opinion. Very hard to sweetspot, unless you're directly on them when the swing starts. Another one of Roy's move you should only use in the air, if you're coming at them from the side.
Back air - Fairly fast aerial attack. I recommend actually learning how to sweetspot this move because it isn't fairly hard. And, since you'll be coming at your opponent from the side anyway, you don't want this move to flail. Failure to sweetspot WILL result in a punish, unless you're relatively close to the ground and can L-cancel.
Up Smash - Probably Roy's best move, A multi hitting attack with a decent chance to spike or slightly "pop up" your opponent if spaced correctly. No need for a perfect sweetspot, and very hard to DI, thanks to it's multi hit properties.
Forward smash - Your go to KO move. Unfortunately, you will have to rely on this move for KO's. You have to be "somewhat close" to KO at higher %. A kind of high risk/high reward move. Definitely worth the trouble, almost a guaranteed KO at about 90-100% from the side blast zone for most characters.
Down smash - Not much to say about this move. Not much range on it, but very powerful. A move you should keep in your back pocket simply because it's easy to simply jump over.
B - A special move that can be charged, similar to Marth's Shield Breaker. Can be used to effectively edge guard any character because of it's decent knockback, and full blade sweetspot. Can also be used as a feint, while i'll be going into details about later.
Side B - Roy's...dragon dance? Sorry, i've been calling it that for years. Has 19 different variations. Yes, 19. Can be interrupted after each hit. I'll go into details of this move in a bit, the third neutal strike, or the fourth UP, or NEUTRAL will be your kill moves at higher %.
Down B - Roy's counter. Much more powerful tha Marth's it acts as a psuedo spike at medium to high % for some odd reason. Has KO potential at 70%.
Up B - Roy's recovery. Can be used as a "won't see it coming" move, but isn't recommended. It has very low knockback, and the landing lag from this move leaves you wide open for a punish if whiffed (missed). If used(on the ground), trying aiming in the opposite direction after the initial hit. It'll move you further from your opponent, and give you time to recover from landing.
Up grab - Roy's "best" option for grabs. Can be used to chain grab heavier opponents like Fox, C. Falcon etc. Will KO around 200%.
Forward grab - IMO the best grab. Allows you to just enough space to tech chase(if they tech) or start an aerial combo if they jump. Also great if used against the ledge to set up into a side B spike sequence. (Side B > B > UP Side B)
Down grab - Better at lower percentages. Allows you to get a 50/50 mix up.
Back grab - Same as forward. Knocks back a little forward, so it technically "forces" your opponent to jump after the ground bounce.
Making use of Roy's strange hitbox
Believe it or not, Roy is the best juggler in the game. His unorthodox hitbox allows him to do so. When attacking with Roy, you have to approach your opponents differently. Roy falls..FAST. He's heavy, and most of his moves require you to be right on your opponent to be used effectively. In a sense, Roy is a very counter productive character. You have to get close to your opponent, only to knock them away from you again. But, that's only if you look at him subjectively. Thanks to Roy's strange properties, and an extremely exploitable down tilt, a lot of his moves can be chained together. If you seriously want to use Roy, your goal is to make use of his low knockback attacks to continually rack up your opponent's percentage.
Strategies
As I stated earlier, your go to combo starter will be Roy's down tilt. Simply because, at 0% it pops nearly every character up high enough to chain into any of Roy's moves. Some sample combos would be:
Down tilt > Jump + Side B + Up Side B
Down tilt > Up smash (Will cause a slight pop up) > Side smash
Down tilt > Dash + Up air (The dash is to guarantee you land out of your opponents range when you land)
Down tilt > Up tilt > Up smash
The possibilities are endless once you learn how to use his weak knockback to your advantage.
Another nice tactic is to fast fall after your aerials. It makes Roy a bit harder to punish, and makes it easier for you to follow up with another aerial. Utilize tilts in between aerials for disjointed, uninteded DI's. Be creative with your moves, virtually, all of roy's moves can connect. His timing is just different since his attacks have low hit stun if used "incorrectly". Think of Roy as a character you'd use in one of those anime fighters, i.e Persona 4. You have to be VERY fast in order to make all of his attacks connect.
Matchups
Fighting against projectile based character will be your hardest match up. Roy doesn't have anything to keep projectiles from flying at him. But, forward tilt is your friend. F-tilt can parry projectiles while you advance. Not sure if it works on falcos laser. What you'll want to do is stay in your opponents face the entire time, this is where your weak hitbox will come to your advantage. This is also where you'd want to use your counter more. Most players know that Roy's moves has weak hit stun on average, and will usually try to attack you right after you attack them. Mix it up with Roy's chainable side B, and his counter to keep them guessing.
Roy's side B
This chain of moves is unlike any other in the game. It's variations can "pop up", spike, shield stab, AND KO opponents. Each variation has it's own use for different circumstances. I'll give examples in combo format, and explain it's use.
side B > B > B > B: (Can only really be used at early percentages. Nothing very special about this.)
side B > B > (Down) B > (Up) B : ( A stylish variation of the aforementioned combo, decent damage and very good knockback. Can only be used at lower percentages)
Side B > Up B : (A good way to pop up your opponent and lead them into an aerial trap. Can add DOWN(side B special) for added damage if timed correctly.
It's a bit hard to explain each and every variation, so here's some advice. Try changing the timing in which you sequence his side B variations. They don't all have to be pressed at the same speed, which can be used for some really tricky frame traps, or grounded spikes. They're literally in your hands if juggled correctly, and you can time these moves as slow or as fast as you want. Cancel it early, or continue it. Use this move more as a tool to confuse.
Edgeguarding
Roy is special in this area..he doesn't necessarily excel at it. BUT, he does have a couple of options to keep your opponent on their toes. #1 option is his neutral B. Since this move can be charged longer than the average smash attack, you literally bend the opponent to your will by either holding the button, or releasing it early to make them choose another option. Feinting will be your friend in this area of the game. Another very under used option that Roy has to edge guard opponents is his side B combo. I'm going at this as if you already know all of the variations of his side B, if not..go practice! But, the third hit of Roy's side B, if used in conjunction with UP on the analog still, spikes aerial opponents. This option is not the most practical...which makes it very dangerous. I don't recommend trying to go off of the stage with Roy when trying to edge guard..he simply falls way to fast. And using his side B while off of the edge besides for recovery reasons, will make you fall straight down if used in succession. I don't recommend his Down air..simply because it's very hard to land, and I believe it's a meteor smash..which means an opponent can meteor cancel. Leaving you to fall to your death.
Falling from above
A nice trick to use when falling from say..an up smash, is to use Roy's side B in a 3 hit succession. On the third hit, use it with conjunction with DOWN on the analog stick to use a multi hitting ground attack that messes with your opponents DI. If done in the air, it hits directly below you, and is safe on block. Also, if blocked, can be chained into a FOURTH (side B special) in any direction of your choosing. Although, i'd recommend ending it with DOWN, because your opponent will be pushed in front of you if they block, and the final DOWN (side B special) move of the sequence pokes shield. You're almost guaranteed at least two hits out of shield. If the third (side B special) connects however, you can chain into the fourth UP(side B special). A simple falling trick is to counter, but since you're so open afterwards I recommend using it sparingly. Remember, underused moves are the most dangerous.
Epilogue
As you've probably gotten from this guide since i've said it many times...the pace of the match is in your hands. As Roy, you have to set the match at YOUR pace, because most of the cast well..outclasses him. You set the pace by keeping the opponent close to you, dropping in and out of combos, cancelling his side B at unorthodox times, utilizing his neutral B to scare opponents into early or late recovery. Feinting, and aiming "through" your opponent in the air, as opposed to aiming directly at them.
Sorry for the crappy guide, very unfinished but I wrote this in a hurry. Will come back to fix later on this week. Feel free to add suggestions.
Moveset
Jab - A close counter slash that can parry pretty much every normal move in the game, even projectiles if timed right. You'd want to use this move if your opponent is running up to you, or trying to close in on you with projectiles. i.e Mario/Doc fireballs. Can be followed by a Forward smash, but you'd have to be fairly quick about it.
Dash A - A nice move that pops up your opponent. Similar to your down tilt, although not safe on block at all. Can be followed up with if your opponent doesn't tech. And at higher %, like around 30% or so, can be chained into all of Roy's aerials. Very punishable on block. Can be whiffed into jab, f - tilt, or d - tilt.
Forward tilt - An even better jab in my opinion. Has longer range than the jab, and can sweetspot for some pretty decent knockback, even at low %. Not noticeably slower than the jab, but for the sake of argument, it is. Think of it as a buffed jab. Mainly used to keep the opponent out of your face. (A suprisingly good anti air as well)
Up tilt - A GREAT, under used anti-air. Covers about 55° of the area above Roy's head, give or take. Can be chained into a quick neutral air, or up-air if sweetspotted. If not, it's weird hitbox can send opponents flying in a random direction, screwing up their DI.
Down tilt - Roy's main combo starter. Can't be crouch cancelled, and flips your opponent right in the air. Can be followed by any of Roy's aerials. Not much to say about this move, it will be your best friend.
Neutral air - A great move, if both hits connect. Should be used to continue combos. Doesn't require a sweetspot. Can use the initial hit, and quickly drop down into a quick jab, grab, or even tilts to confuse your opponent.
Forward air - One of Roy's easier moves to sweetspot. Ok knockback, can be chained into another forward air, if spaced correctly. Should mainly be used as a spacing tool, not to be used to chase opponents off the stage.
Up air - A move that should be used sparingly. If used, make sure you're going to be completely out of your opponents range after this move connects. You should only be using this move from the side, never do it directly under your opponent. If you feel that you must use this move directly under your opponent, fast fall right before the move connects. (You'd have to use foreshadowing here)
Down air - The infamous wet noodle. This move is better used if your opponent is grounded in my opinion. Very hard to sweetspot, unless you're directly on them when the swing starts. Another one of Roy's move you should only use in the air, if you're coming at them from the side.
Back air - Fairly fast aerial attack. I recommend actually learning how to sweetspot this move because it isn't fairly hard. And, since you'll be coming at your opponent from the side anyway, you don't want this move to flail. Failure to sweetspot WILL result in a punish, unless you're relatively close to the ground and can L-cancel.
Up Smash - Probably Roy's best move, A multi hitting attack with a decent chance to spike or slightly "pop up" your opponent if spaced correctly. No need for a perfect sweetspot, and very hard to DI, thanks to it's multi hit properties.
Forward smash - Your go to KO move. Unfortunately, you will have to rely on this move for KO's. You have to be "somewhat close" to KO at higher %. A kind of high risk/high reward move. Definitely worth the trouble, almost a guaranteed KO at about 90-100% from the side blast zone for most characters.
Down smash - Not much to say about this move. Not much range on it, but very powerful. A move you should keep in your back pocket simply because it's easy to simply jump over.
B - A special move that can be charged, similar to Marth's Shield Breaker. Can be used to effectively edge guard any character because of it's decent knockback, and full blade sweetspot. Can also be used as a feint, while i'll be going into details about later.
Side B - Roy's...dragon dance? Sorry, i've been calling it that for years. Has 19 different variations. Yes, 19. Can be interrupted after each hit. I'll go into details of this move in a bit, the third neutal strike, or the fourth UP, or NEUTRAL will be your kill moves at higher %.
Down B - Roy's counter. Much more powerful tha Marth's it acts as a psuedo spike at medium to high % for some odd reason. Has KO potential at 70%.
Up B - Roy's recovery. Can be used as a "won't see it coming" move, but isn't recommended. It has very low knockback, and the landing lag from this move leaves you wide open for a punish if whiffed (missed). If used(on the ground), trying aiming in the opposite direction after the initial hit. It'll move you further from your opponent, and give you time to recover from landing.
Up grab - Roy's "best" option for grabs. Can be used to chain grab heavier opponents like Fox, C. Falcon etc. Will KO around 200%.
Forward grab - IMO the best grab. Allows you to just enough space to tech chase(if they tech) or start an aerial combo if they jump. Also great if used against the ledge to set up into a side B spike sequence. (Side B > B > UP Side B)
Down grab - Better at lower percentages. Allows you to get a 50/50 mix up.
Back grab - Same as forward. Knocks back a little forward, so it technically "forces" your opponent to jump after the ground bounce.
Making use of Roy's strange hitbox
Believe it or not, Roy is the best juggler in the game. His unorthodox hitbox allows him to do so. When attacking with Roy, you have to approach your opponents differently. Roy falls..FAST. He's heavy, and most of his moves require you to be right on your opponent to be used effectively. In a sense, Roy is a very counter productive character. You have to get close to your opponent, only to knock them away from you again. But, that's only if you look at him subjectively. Thanks to Roy's strange properties, and an extremely exploitable down tilt, a lot of his moves can be chained together. If you seriously want to use Roy, your goal is to make use of his low knockback attacks to continually rack up your opponent's percentage.
Strategies
As I stated earlier, your go to combo starter will be Roy's down tilt. Simply because, at 0% it pops nearly every character up high enough to chain into any of Roy's moves. Some sample combos would be:
Down tilt > Jump + Side B + Up Side B
Down tilt > Up smash (Will cause a slight pop up) > Side smash
Down tilt > Dash + Up air (The dash is to guarantee you land out of your opponents range when you land)
Down tilt > Up tilt > Up smash
The possibilities are endless once you learn how to use his weak knockback to your advantage.
Another nice tactic is to fast fall after your aerials. It makes Roy a bit harder to punish, and makes it easier for you to follow up with another aerial. Utilize tilts in between aerials for disjointed, uninteded DI's. Be creative with your moves, virtually, all of roy's moves can connect. His timing is just different since his attacks have low hit stun if used "incorrectly". Think of Roy as a character you'd use in one of those anime fighters, i.e Persona 4. You have to be VERY fast in order to make all of his attacks connect.
Matchups
Fighting against projectile based character will be your hardest match up. Roy doesn't have anything to keep projectiles from flying at him. But, forward tilt is your friend. F-tilt can parry projectiles while you advance. Not sure if it works on falcos laser. What you'll want to do is stay in your opponents face the entire time, this is where your weak hitbox will come to your advantage. This is also where you'd want to use your counter more. Most players know that Roy's moves has weak hit stun on average, and will usually try to attack you right after you attack them. Mix it up with Roy's chainable side B, and his counter to keep them guessing.
Roy's side B
This chain of moves is unlike any other in the game. It's variations can "pop up", spike, shield stab, AND KO opponents. Each variation has it's own use for different circumstances. I'll give examples in combo format, and explain it's use.
side B > B > B > B: (Can only really be used at early percentages. Nothing very special about this.)
side B > B > (Down) B > (Up) B : ( A stylish variation of the aforementioned combo, decent damage and very good knockback. Can only be used at lower percentages)
Side B > Up B : (A good way to pop up your opponent and lead them into an aerial trap. Can add DOWN(side B special) for added damage if timed correctly.
It's a bit hard to explain each and every variation, so here's some advice. Try changing the timing in which you sequence his side B variations. They don't all have to be pressed at the same speed, which can be used for some really tricky frame traps, or grounded spikes. They're literally in your hands if juggled correctly, and you can time these moves as slow or as fast as you want. Cancel it early, or continue it. Use this move more as a tool to confuse.
Edgeguarding
Roy is special in this area..he doesn't necessarily excel at it. BUT, he does have a couple of options to keep your opponent on their toes. #1 option is his neutral B. Since this move can be charged longer than the average smash attack, you literally bend the opponent to your will by either holding the button, or releasing it early to make them choose another option. Feinting will be your friend in this area of the game. Another very under used option that Roy has to edge guard opponents is his side B combo. I'm going at this as if you already know all of the variations of his side B, if not..go practice! But, the third hit of Roy's side B, if used in conjunction with UP on the analog still, spikes aerial opponents. This option is not the most practical...which makes it very dangerous. I don't recommend trying to go off of the stage with Roy when trying to edge guard..he simply falls way to fast. And using his side B while off of the edge besides for recovery reasons, will make you fall straight down if used in succession. I don't recommend his Down air..simply because it's very hard to land, and I believe it's a meteor smash..which means an opponent can meteor cancel. Leaving you to fall to your death.
Falling from above
A nice trick to use when falling from say..an up smash, is to use Roy's side B in a 3 hit succession. On the third hit, use it with conjunction with DOWN on the analog stick to use a multi hitting ground attack that messes with your opponents DI. If done in the air, it hits directly below you, and is safe on block. Also, if blocked, can be chained into a FOURTH (side B special) in any direction of your choosing. Although, i'd recommend ending it with DOWN, because your opponent will be pushed in front of you if they block, and the final DOWN (side B special) move of the sequence pokes shield. You're almost guaranteed at least two hits out of shield. If the third (side B special) connects however, you can chain into the fourth UP(side B special). A simple falling trick is to counter, but since you're so open afterwards I recommend using it sparingly. Remember, underused moves are the most dangerous.
Epilogue
As you've probably gotten from this guide since i've said it many times...the pace of the match is in your hands. As Roy, you have to set the match at YOUR pace, because most of the cast well..outclasses him. You set the pace by keeping the opponent close to you, dropping in and out of combos, cancelling his side B at unorthodox times, utilizing his neutral B to scare opponents into early or late recovery. Feinting, and aiming "through" your opponent in the air, as opposed to aiming directly at them.
Sorry for the crappy guide, very unfinished but I wrote this in a hurry. Will come back to fix later on this week. Feel free to add suggestions.
