So, what's everyone doing with this character? Because I've got some day 1 impressions that are probably going to be less than popular. This dude is making me miss Dick Greyson a whole lot.
I'm going to start with the good.
- Ending a combo with 212 xx bird is great for jailing into pressure. Especially potent in the corner where ji2 crosses up and ji3 doesn't. Both of which combo into respectable damage.
- Midscreen db3 ender sets up some pretty dirty cross ups, each yielding about 51% for a bar, or slightly less into birderang oki.
- Antiair game is strong, especially with trait available (D2 xx blue (far), D2 xx blue recall, 12 xx assassin strike or similar combos).
- 123 is +1, that's cool I guess.
And now the bad...
- In theory his normals seem good, similar to ninjitsu Scorpion. But in practice... Their range is just awkward. Opponents can so easily close the distance on Robin by walking forward. No one is going to walk into a 13-14f mid no matter how much range it has. They're either going to back you to the corner or outclass Robin with faster normals in their own effective range.
- Paired with his own slow walk back speed and lack of a decent backdash, no one's getting caught by these things. They're too slow compared to similar advancing strings, and more often than not I get hit out of B2 as if there's not a sword in Robin's hands. He's lacking priority.
- His "strength" in neutral isn't really all that strong. Swampthing for example absolutely destroys Robin in the neutral with, plain and simple, better tools. The avatar of the green is making all Robin's moves look pretty brown.
- He has no threatening 50/50. We have an 11f sweep and an overhead that's what, 18 frames? In an NRS title, that sounds sub par but still useable, right?... But it's really not. Slow overheads could be compensated for in MKX with jump ins, making them block strings. That mechanic doesn't seem to exist in Injustice. Anyone mashing D1 pokes out or worse gets a poke to a full combo punish (6f pokes that lead to full combo #Paulo'sVision).
- "Db3 is a pretty good mix up tool though!" -No one ever. It's unsafe and opponents can literally walk/ jump out out of the MB version and punish. This thing would be pretty good since its a +15 restand and sets up an ambiguous cross up, but it's held back by the strings that it combo's off of. F2D1, B21, and D1D2, with the only mixup worth mentioning being F2D1. And calling in a mix up is pretty generous since swoop is so very reactable.
- He has trouble getting in since the arena is massive. "How's that possible, he has a teleport doesn't he?" He sure does, one that's only available once every 10 seconds or so, and only goes maybe a third of the screen max. Enjoy that trail of tears getting in on Firestorm with his 3f hits like a truck death laser. The only option is MB roll.
- "Well just jump and use sword spin." Man, this thing is bad on block, on whiff and it gets swatted out of the sky like a North Korean missile test. Say the opponent respects it and blocks, you're eating a combo. Spend the bar, and all we get is neutral, 0f. Half the cast get +frames for that cost, and the other half have 50/50's.
Can I get some guidance on this dude? I'm not sure which strings other players are staggering because besides standing 1 and 123 (+1), I'm not seeing anything useful. Rant over.
