Dead or alive, you're coming with me: The Ultimate RoboCop Guide

[Obly]

Sorry for my slow reply, been dealing with some shit. But anyway, I was finally able to take this into the lab, because something seemed off about that s1 tick throw. If you set RoboCop as the AI and record him doing it, you can break it by just letting go of block after the standing 1 is blocked. The CG will whiff against standing or crouching. Do the same with the mid tick throws of other characters and you can see theirs actually do tick off of s1; you can't poke out or just release block.

It's all good; there's nothing in or about this game that takes priority over dealing with real life shit.

This is a "toh-may-to", "toh-mah-to" situation, not really worth a debate, but FWIW... I see a tick throw as any CG that will connect off a block string. Whether it's high vs. mid, how you beat the tick throw... those vary but don't change the definition.

This isn't unique to Robocop. Nightwolf has a CG (a high, but like I said, I don't see that it matters) that ticks off s1, s11, s2, and f2121. For s1, s11, and s2, you can avoid being thrown just by letting go of block. For f2121, you have to duck; if you just let go of block, you'll still be thrown.

Like Robo's s1, it's just based on the frame data. NW's CG starts in 12 frames. His s1, s11, and s2 have 11 frames of block cancel advantage. The 1-frame gap is what allows the CG to tick but it's too small to permit his opponent to take any defensive action; so to make it balanced, the game allows you to avoid the throw just by releasing block. On the other hand, f2121 has 9 frames of block cancel advantage--a 3-frame gap--so the game forces you to take a little more action (ducking) to avoid the throw.

I've never heard anyone claim that NW's s1, s11, and s2 aren't "true" tick throws just because you don't have to duck to avoid them. I don't get what it buys you to use a stricter definition. But we're splitting semantic hairs here... really not a big deal if we call Robo's s1 a "tick throw" or not--it is what it is.

I think in most cases, if your opponent is going to block the s1, then they're going to continue to hold block and it will function like a tick-throw. However, it's still much easier to beat than other tick throws, since an opponent trying to mash out will beat it every time (triggering punishment KB's in the process). In other words, if they read you going for s1~CG, they can blow you up with the biggest kombo they've got. It may even be fuzzyable, since the 2nd hit of 121 and the CG come out at different times.

Ok yes, it's slightly easier execution-wise to punish a tick throw attempt when you only need to release block, versus release block + crouch or release block + jump/hop. But in all three cases, you still need to commit to the read; guess wrong and you're eating a combo yourself. There's only a 2 frame difference between s12 and s1~CG; I'm pretty sure the game won't let you re-block in time to fuzzy that (I'm not in the game right now to test though; if I'm wrong, I'm wrong!).

I get what you're saying, but the truth is that only the greenest of noobs would try to mash out of a block string that has no interruptible gap (and if you're facing someone like that, you don't need to resort to tick throws to destroy them). Against a normal player, what you're saying isn't real. Like with every tick throw setup, a smart opponent is only going to come off block on a hard read and a gamble that the payoff is worth the risk.

If you block the 1 but take the 21~Flamethrower, that's 17% damage if RoboCop spends meter. If you've got a KB kombo or 2-bar kombo ready to go, you really don't need to fear getting punished for trying to blow up s1~CG. Hell, most characters just need one bar to get twice that damage, so the risk/reward is always in your opponent's favor.

I agree that Robo's low damage is a big weakness of his. He can't threaten you with a launch if you guess wrong. That doesn't mean smart players never have to respect the tick throw. Finish the string and he can keep you in a vortex and make you guess again, or send you full-screen to deal with his zoning.

Like with anything, become predictable and you'll die for it. But use it sparingly and mix things up, and it becomes a good option for him.

 

[Deleted member 5032]

Got the guide updated with a good bit of additional info. The tiny adjustments from this most recent patch really turned RoboCop into a pretty scary character. He's still got some risk/reward issues, but overall it is now way easier to open up your opponent and keep them guessing. If he corners you, that's probably game.

 

[Deleted member 5032]

I finally finished putting together a video guide version of my Ultimate RoboCop Guide. Videos have been added to each section of the guide. Full playlist available here:

 

[Deleted member 5032]

I've been doing some tests with Cobra Cannon and unfortunately I can confirm that most characters can get a free full-kombo punish against amp-cannon if they break immediately. Some characters seem capable of punishing from as far as half-screen, while others can only punish point-blank or when used from strings. I have yet to find a character who can't land a full-kombo when breaking after any string canceled into cannon. This unfortunately means that RoboCop can not use his amplified cannon against much of the cast while they have access to breaker.

 

[Deleted member 5032]

Started messing with flawless block shinanigans today. Although Robo's u2 and u3 are utter trash, it seems that you can flawless a poke after they block your f3 stagger and the u2 will almost always launch. NRS hitboxes...

 

[Deleted member 5032]

Been grinding out some match-up specific stuff. I'm going to post most of it here while I work on it, and then I'll get it organized and added to the main guide.

• Shao Kahn
  • f3~db1-f32~ender is a meterless way to anti-air Hammer Lunge. It's an easy on-reaction response. You can amp the db1 to make it easier to convert. Using amp db1 and ending with FB deals a total of 451 damage.
  • u2 can also be used to flawless and launch the lunge, but no real need since f3 is so easy to confirm. However, if you're looking out for something like d4~shoulder and they do d4~lunge, it's a little easier to flawless block the lunge than to try to react with f3.
  • b2 is your guaranteed punish for blocked shoulder
  • flawless u2 is a solid punish against the d1 Shao players like to mash after you block his sweep, though he's -2 so you should be able to land a d1 before he can.
  • You can flawless the gap in f34(1+3) and the grab won't come out, leaving Shao at -9 and giving you a reversal Command Grab that can only be jumped. However, if Shao does f34~shoulder, the shoulder will still come out, so you can't get predictable.
  • You can also just fuzzy f34(1+3) or f34~shoulder, since the shoulder comes out 6 frames faster. So, hold block for just long enough to block the shoulder and then release, and now you get a full kombo whether he does grab or shoulder.
• Erron Black
  • you can punish Scud canceld with f32.
  • you can pretty easily fuzzy his f3 tick and f32. After f3, just release block to avoid the tick, and then press block again a split second later to block the f32. This method will also catch all methods of f3 cancels, including slide and down peacemaker. If he goes for the command grab, you get a free b2 punish. As a bonus, this unintentionally triggers a flawless block against f32 quite often, allowing you to u2 launch if you react quickly enough.
• Kano
  • Flawless u2 is a good punish for Kano's d after his f21b2.
  • F3 will easily punish Kano's f3 roll.
  • d3 causes Kano's amplified Air Ball to whiff once the first hit is blocked, allowing for a full punish. b2 will punish but it's a little tight. f2, f3, and 121 are all easy punishes, so it's an easy way to get a f212 KB. So are regular grab and Terminal Strip. Since d3 will also punish regular Kano Ball, this makes all instances of Kano Ball unsafe to use 100% of the time against RoboCop. Just d3 as soon as you block the first hit.
  • flawless u2 will punish Kano's d1 after he blocks your d1, 121, f42, f2, f21, f3, f32, and b1. It will whiff after f212, but u3 will connect.
• Kabal
  • flawless u2 will only connect after d1, f42, f3, f32, and b1, if Kabal tries to d1, otherwise use u3. u2 will always whiff if Kabal uses d4 as his poke.
  • b2 is your go-to punish after blocking Nomad Dash or FB, though it requires a forward dash before it will connect.
  • b2 will punish Low Hook Grab, but it's tight. f2 and f3 will also work.
• Kollector
  • Relic Lure is interruptable by f3, f2, and f42 launcher. The amplified version can be interrupted with b2, but the non-amp version will catch the b2, which is weird since b2 is faster than f4. NRS hitboxes...
  • b2 is an easy punish against Shotal Fury and Damned Bola if you're close enough for the b2 to connect.
  • b2 and f4 will both punish his 443 on block.
  • flawless u2 is a good punish for his f3, since it's not too tough to do it on reaction if you're expecting it.
• Sub-Zero
  • The best defense against his f4 is on-reaction flawless u2.

taking a break, will continue later. feel free to comment with your own notes.

 

[Marinjuana]

What's the optimal off of B2? Or is F4 more damage? With or without meter, with or without FB too..

I've got flamethrower/arm cannon/cheval and I'm doing

B2, dash DB1, D1~Arm Cannon for 200
B2, dash DB1 amp, 121~Arm Cannon for 260

(Alternatively Flamethrower if cannon ain't there)

But for all I know this character is capable of way more then that. What do the Robo mains do

 

[Deleted member 5032]

What's the optimal off of B2? Or is F4 more damage? With or without meter, with or without FB too..

I've got flamethrower/arm cannon/cheval and I'm doing

B2, dash DB1, D1~Arm Cannon for 200
B2, dash DB1 amp, 121~Arm Cannon for 260

(Alternatively Flamethrower if cannon ain't there)

But for all I know this character is capable of way more then that. What do the Robo mains do

There is a very tight, kinda wonky meterless opti for almost 32% off b2. You hit with b2, dash forward into s4~db1, but the s4 will knock them slightly behind you so you have to reverse the input for the db1 to df1, so Robo will turn around after the s4 and hit them with the db1, allowing you to convert into f32 ender. But, it's very tight and I'm not sure if it works on all characters.

B2 is always more damage than f42. Off b2, I usually just go for f32~ender for reliability. You can try to sneak in an extra b2 for an additional 2%, but it's unreliable at best and will fully whiff against Johnny and the female hitboxes.

If I have meter, I'll do b2-db1.amp-f32~ender for a very reliable 28%. If I don't have meter and am midscreen, I'll just do a simple b2-f32~ender for roughly 20%.

I made a little video to show the weird opti, and it's actually not as difficult as I remember. I got it twice in a row on my 3rd and 4th attempts. Still need to test it on Johnny and others, though.

 

[Deleted member 5032]

Updated the kombo section with information about his 26% double-d2 kombo that won't get him punished if the opponent breaks. After b2, just micro-dash into d2 and then hit them with a 2nd d2 on the way down. Usually leaves you around +12 just outside b4 distance.