Roy in the Smash Ultimate Metagame

Throughout Super Smash Bros. Ulltimate’s lifespan, Roy has been consistently placed as a high-tier character. Roy has excelling qualities at higher levels of gameplay, particularly in his neutral state and advantage state. Despite his flaws, notably his poor disadvantage state, players have found that Roy’s strengths are too good to miss out on.

Roy’s Attributes

Roy has the fourteenth fastest dash speed in the game according to kuroganehammer.com, the same as his echo fighter, Chrom.

His frame data compliments his speed and allows him to quickly pressure opponents. According to ultimateframedata.com, his jab, which comes out on frame five, is his fastest attack. The move is negative nine at close range, but gives the opponent eight frames of shield stun. This means that jab is typically a safe option at close range. Jab to back air is a true combo, which can kill as early as 80% on ledge.

Sometimes Roy players jab at the ledge, bait an air-dodge then go for his side-special, double-edge dance. This move kills earlier than back air at ledge. However, this combo is not true after 30%, and it won’t kill them.

Roy has other reliable, quick grounded options to pressure with. His down tilt comes out on frame seven, and forward tilt comes out on frame eight. In addition, his aerials are also relatively quick and some combo into each other at low percents.

Roy’s Flaws

Most of Roy’s attacks are stronger at the hilt of the blade than the tip of it. This is a design that was a juxtaposition of Marth’s tipper mechanic back in Super Smash Bros. Melee, when both characters first appeared in the series. The Melee engine and the Super Smash Bros. for Wii U engine favored Marth. However, in this game, Roy and Marth have switched places on the tier list, with Marth often being considered mid-tier at best, like Roy in his previous appearances. This is due to Ultimate’s engine and different game mechanics typically favoring aggression over spacing. Despite this, Roy can sometimes struggle, such as getting the strong final hit of double-edge dance or the sweet spot of jab for his confirms off of it to work.

Roy has a linear recovery. His up special, blazer, comes out on frame 9 and only covers a certain distance. In addition, he ties for 11th in fall speed, making him easy to combo, and he has less time to drift to ledge when offstage.

Roy’s Playerbase

According to ssbwiki.com, Roy’s current player base include Stroder “Stroder” Ame, Alexis “Goblin” Stennett, Gavin “Tweek” Dempsey and Kolawole “Kola” Aideyan. These are a combination of some well-known names and others that are not as much.

Overall, Roy clearly has a place in the current meta. It will be interesting to see if any future patches or characters knock him out. That said, his state in the meta seems to be pretty secure.

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