Roy is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The Super Smash Bros. series Roy amiibo was released on March 18, 2016. He is considered mid-tier in both Super Smash Bros. 4 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Super Smash Bros. 4
Roy is ranked as a B-tier character in the final revision of the Super Smash Bros. 4 amiibo tier list. As with his fellow Fire Emblem representatives, Roy has a fast and unique moveset that can easily overwhelm his opponents. His Counter move has a higher damage multiplier compared to Marth and Lucina and occasionally uses it with excellent timing. Roy also has a reverse tipper mechanic on all of his attacks, which works in his favor because most Figure Player matches are fought up close (and the sweetspot is on the hilt of the blade).
Despite possessing a fair amount of strengths, Roy has just as many flaws holding him back. His recovery is rather poor, and although it can be aimed, it does not cover much distance. Roy’s AI also struggles with several issues; unlike Marth and Lucina, it has difficulty utilizing its full four-part side special and sometimes underprioritize its usage of Counter. It also uses its neutral special and up special at random, which leaves it vulnerable to incoming attacks.
Overall, Roy has accrued above-average tournament results and representation, but he is completely outclassed by Marth and Lucina. Arklaine and Supernova both found success with Roy; Supernova boasts the unique distinction of claiming multiple championship titles with the character. If you would like to learn how to train your own Roy amiibo in Super Smash Bros. 4, please refer to our training guide.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Roy has been significantly buffed for his appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and is now considered on par with Marth and Lucina, who have been nerfed. Roy’s AI can now properly connect all four hits of Double-Edge Dance; its issue with underprioritizing Counter remains, but Ultimate’s AI is less likely to use counter moves across the board, so it is no longer a significant problem. Roy retains his powerful moves and blade sweetspot from Smash 4, which allows him to rack up lots of damage with proper positioning. His best moves are forward smash, forward tilt, and down tilt. Using just these three moves alone, Roy can reach his top potential relatively quickly, making him a very easy FP to train for tournaments.
Roy still suffers from a poor recovery, which is more vulnerable than ever now that AI opponents try to intercept it. Roy’s biggest issue, though, is that Chrom exists. Chrom doesn’t have a sweetspot on his sword, meaning he deals more consistent damage. Roy’s sourspot smash attacks are quite weak; given that Roy and Chrom have the exact same game plan in competitive matches (forward smash spam), Roy finds himself outclassed once again.
Regardless, Roy has accrued decent tournament results and representation, but he is completely eclipsed by Chrom, who is seen more often and is thought to be a much stronger pick. If you would like to train a Roy amiibo in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, check out our training guide. Do note that it targets the amiibo-versus-amiibo format, though; information on training a Raid Boss Roy is included below.
Raid Boss Training
As mentioned earlier, Roy’s optimal playstyle in the amiibo metagame involves exclusive usage of forward smash. That’s clearly not going to work against human players (hopefully not, anyway), so a Raid Boss Roy’s optimal training is much different. For Spirits, Super Armor and Great Autoheal are always solid choices, and they both work well with Roy. If you’d prefer to try out another setup, you can use Weapon Attack ↑, Move Speed ↑, and Air Attack ↑. Weapon Attack ↑ boosts the power of Roy’s entire moveset, while Air Attack ↑ further bolsters the strength of his aerial moves. Move Speed ↑ not only increases Roy’s movement, but his air speed as well, which aids in his poor recovery. Floaty Jumps is another option to consider, as it lowers its user’s falling speed.
For training, Roy’s best moves are his jab, tilts, and aerials. Place a heavy emphasis on his forward tilt and forward air, as they cover a good amount of space and come out fast. Roy’s AI can’t jab lock on purpose, so don’t try to teach the FP to, as it’ll be wasted time. The FP will most likely use its side special regardless of whether you teach it to or not, but it uses all four hits and can angle the final strikes as well. Smash attacks can also be used infrequently as finishers, though tilts and aerials should be more heavily prioritized.
Try to avoid Roy’s neutral and down specials where possible. The AI likes to wait at the ledge and charge its neutral special regardless of whether you taught it to or not, so be careful not to get hit by the attack. FPs don’t time their counter moves nearly as well as they did in 4, so it’s a low priority for Roy. Up special can be used every so often on-stage, but keep in mind that the FP can’t consistently use it at the edge to KO opponents early. Be careful going off-stage, too, as Roy’s recovery is poor even with boosting Spirits. If you want more information on training Roy, check out the Raid Boss guide and the general amiibo training guide. Our Roy amiibo guide is tailored for the amiibo-versus-amiibo format, and includes a completely different playstyle, so it may not be very helpful for Raid Boss training. If you need more help during training, feel free to give it a look anyway!
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