No Low Auto-9? No Problem! A guide to non-meta RoboCop

[Deleted member 5032]

I'm going to preface this guide with a warning: Low Auto-9 is arguably RoboCop's best move and is drastically important in many matchups, particularly against Sub-Zero, Noob, and any character who can easily low-profile Arm Crowd Control Cannon with their own projectiles or advancing moves. It drastically enhances his neutral, his chip output, comes with an easy-to-land KB, and gives him a safe-ish mid-hitting special to cancel into. It's a very good move and the only real reason not to take it is just for the sake of playing something different.

With that said, Low Auto-9 is not without its drawbacks. It's only 6% damage, so it actually loses a lot of zoning trades. Even Shao Kahn can out-zone Low Auto-9 RoboCop when used correctly. The characters who give RoboCop the most amount of trouble all essentially negate Low Auto 9. These include Erron Black, Jade, Scorpion, Raiden, Cetrion; hell, even Rambo can outzone Low Auto Robo; basically anyone with a fast teleport or anti-zoning tool. Against these characters, you might as well not even have Low Auto because it's not really doing anything for you.

So, that's where this Non Low-Auto 9 variation comes in to save the day! The variation is Arm Crowd-Control Cannon - Flamethrower - OCP Charge. Here is the theory behind this loadout:

• Even without Low Auto-9, RoboCop is meant to be a zoning character, so he needs a strong projectile. The Cobra Cannon deals good damage, but it's far too slow to be our primary zoning tool. So, we replace it with Arm Crowd Control Cannon. This move is legit bananas. The 9% damage allows you to win most zoning trades, you get between 32-52 hit advantage, allowing for free Amp Mines on every hit, and it drastically enhances your f21 string, since it's +8 on block and most opponents will stand up to block the 212 or try to flawless. And it still does comperable damage to Cobra Cannon, it just doesn't have a KB.
• Flamethrower is important because you need a mid-hitting special you can cancel into, otherwise your opponent can consistenly disrespect you on block. Since this variation is meant to be more of a rushdown RoboCop, you'll definitely want the damage and utility Flamethrower brings to the table.
• OCP Charge is what allows Robo to compete in matchups like Erron Black and Cetrion. It also has massive synergy with his Amplified Mines, allowing you to essentially get in for free and be plus, and get solid 35% conversions in the corner.

But what about Terminal Strip (command grab)? The command grab is certainly a strong move, but it doesn't fit well into this kit. We need the Arm Cannon and we need the OCP Charge to punish things like Glow and Scud Shot, so the only move we can replace is Flamethrower. By not taking the grab, we gain access to Parry, which gives us an additional krushing blow, and it forces us to rely on normal throws, which gives us yet another KB. So, that's two additional KB's you can access to by not taking the command grab. I'm aware you can still get his normal throw KB even if you have the grab, but you're much less likely to use normal throws and thus less likely to land that KB. Parry is also very helpful against strong zoners, like Jade. If you get a life-lead, they can't even deal chip to you so they have to approach. In this loadout, I believe the combination of Parry and Flamethrower brings us much more damage and utility than we can ever get from the command grab. But, again, the grab is excellent and you can totally try using it instead of Flamethrower.

There is serious synergy between the cannon, OCP Charge, and your Amp Mines. On hit, the arm cannon allows you to safely put out an Amp Mine, and the OCP Charge allows you to immediately get in while being at a massive frame advantage. Using another missile or shoulder bomb instead of OCP Charge can also be very effective once your mine is active.

Finally, by not taking Low Auto-9, we gain access to the default Auto-9. This is a pretty terrible move, but the amp version can catch a lot of aerial hitboxes that the arm cannon would normally whiff against. By mixing in normal and amplified Auto-9 with rockets and bombs, you gain a lot of potential variety in your zoning patterns, making it difficult for your opponent to know how to safely approach.

This variation should be avoided in matchups where Low Auto-9 is valuable, such as against Sub-Zero, Noob Saibot, Shang Tsung, Cassie, and Baraka. If you use this variation against them you're going to have a rough time.

 

[Deleted member 5032]

Here's some footage of this variation against a pretty high-level air-gas Kabal. No audio because I had music playing. I was on a 3-win streak, started streaming, and got hit with the reverse 6/0 lol. I'm a little out of practice and my buddy Garry is a legit demon, so the matches are utter chaos from start to finish, but still a pretty decent showcase. I'll try to get more serious matches recorded soon. s4~rocket turned out to be surprisingly effective after I started experimenting with it a bit into our set.

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