The RoboCop Thread

[Nakedpooper]

I don't know if this is just a PC bug but it seems Frost can throw out her Glacier Cave (shield) and be in front of it and Robocop's Cobra Assault Cannon will go through Frost and break her shield. The shield seems to work as it should against the Straight Auto 9. Can someone test this on Playstation and Xbox?

 

[M2Dave]

I recently played a long set against @DanCock, who has been one of my training partners since Mortal Kombat Deception. Sindel seems to beat Robocop in the projectile war. As I have mentioned before, low fireball crouches under low auto. You can trade, sometimes even with rocket, but certain timing and spacing are required. However, trading with the EX low fireball is impossible and the reason Sindel wins the zoning war. You can absorb the regular and EX low fireball with the riot shield. By the way, why is Jade's low fireball in V1 not absorb-able? Anyway, I also had issues anti-airing Sindel's aerial fireball with rocket because of Sindel's animation. Riot shield also does not absorb this special move, at least not reliably. Enter practice mode and attempt to absorb Sinde's aerial fireball at different distances and you will understand what I mean.

I had the most success playing up close, where the riot shield can be used as an effective parry against d+1, throw, and f+4, or outside of f+2 and EX scream's range, where the Sindel player cannot react to low auto with low fireball. At this range, you can also use Robocop's superior movement to move in and out of the close range to threaten an extended forward dash (i.e., f,f~block~f,f) throw or f+3,2.

I also fought DanCock's V1 Cetrion, but I think I typed enough for today. LOL.

 

[Deleted member 5032]

I don't know about other players, but I've had a hard time getting 121~bf3 to come out consistently after a j2. Sometimes I just get 12, but usually I get the 121 without the bf3. I think I've found a solution that makes it 100% consistent. Just do j2-12-slight pause-1~bf3. So it's almost like the 1~bf3 is separate from the rest of the string.

 

[Deleted member 5032]

How are you all feeling about the Fujin matchup? I can win, but it feels like an uphill battle the entire time. Literally, from the moment the match starts, you have to block to avoid his b2, since nothing you have will beat it except maybe d4 if Fujin doesn't time b2 correctly. His slide goes under Low Auto-9 (and all our other zoning tools except Shoulder Cannon), punishing from almost half-screen. Even full-screen, if you guess wrong and throw out a Low Auto-9 and he goes into his Wind Walk, he gets a full-kombo punish.

His sword normals are like a wall that RoboCop can't bypass. They catch RoboCop's backdash after our block strings, they keep us out of punish range, and the lead to more damage than we can usually deal midscreen.

His weird wind normals (b2, I think) make it impossible to try to use RoboCop's awesome dashes to play the footsie game. With a lot of characters, I can pretty much be dashing the entire match to keep them guessing, hovering around the max range of their normals and wakeups. But with Fujin, he can just throw out normals to beat any attempts at footies, and RoboCop is incapable of any kind of punish.

Even Fujin's wakeups counter RoboCop's awesome oki game. His u3 outranges our b4 and his u2 will catch jump-over attempts. Meanwhile, RoboCop's pitiful wakeups are useless in the matchup, allowing Fujin to hover just out of range and go for normals or dash-throw without repercussions.

If he gets you in the corner, you just have to block until he makes a mistake. You can't contest any of his blockstring pressure. You just have to wait until he commits to something with a flawless-blockable gap, or attempts a jump-in that you can d2. I spent literally over 20 seconds in the corner against a Fujin earlier just blocking and looking for an opening I could use to just take my turn.

For some reason, Wrist Rocket is inconsistent against Wind Walk. Usually it will hit, but sometimes it will whiff for no particular reason and you'll eat a punish.

Overall, it's just a very frustrating matchup that I've played countless times and still have no idea what my gameplan should be, since you can't keep Fujin out forever.

 

[Hara-Killer]

How are you all feeling about the Fujin matchup? I can win, but it feels like an uphill battle the entire time. Literally, from the moment the match starts, you have to block to avoid his b2, since nothing you have will beat it except maybe d4 if Fujin doesn't time b2 correctly. His slide goes under Low Auto-9 (and all our other zoning tools except Shoulder Cannon), punishing from almost half-screen. Even full-screen, if you guess wrong and throw out a Low Auto-9 and he goes into his Wind Walk, he gets a full-kombo punish.

His sword normals are like a wall that RoboCop can't bypass. They catch RoboCop's backdash after our block strings, they keep us out of punish range, and the lead to more damage than we can usually deal midscreen.

His weird wind normals (b2, I think) make it impossible to try to use RoboCop's awesome dashes to play the footsie game. With a lot of characters, I can pretty much be dashing the entire match to keep them guessing, hovering around the max range of their normals and wakeups. But with Fujin, he can just throw out normals to beat any attempts at footies, and RoboCop is incapable of any kind of punish.

Even Fujin's wakeups counter RoboCop's awesome oki game. His u3 outranges our b4 and his u2 will catch jump-over attempts. Meanwhile, RoboCop's pitiful wakeups are useless in the matchup, allowing Fujin to hover just out of range and go for normals or dash-throw without repercussions.

If he gets you in the corner, you just have to block until he makes a mistake. You can't contest any of his blockstring pressure. You just have to wait until he commits to something with a flawless-blockable gap, or attempts a jump-in that you can d2. I spent literally over 20 seconds in the corner against a Fujin earlier just blocking and looking for an opening I could use to just take my turn.

For some reason, Wrist Rocket is inconsistent against Wind Walk. Usually it will hit, but sometimes it will whiff for no particular reason and you'll eat a punish.

Overall, it's just a very frustrating matchup that I've played countless times and still have no idea what my gameplan should be, since you can't keep Fujin out forever.

what about
V3 ?

parry in V1 ?

 

[Deleted member 5032]

what about
V3 ?

parry in V1 ?

V3 is garbage and v1 doesn't have parry.

 

[M2Dave]

For some reason, Wrist Rocket is inconsistent against Wind Walk. Usually it will hit, but sometimes it will whiff for no particular reason and you'll eat a punish.

Under which circumstance was rocket whiffing? I played V2 Fujin last night for about 30 games and I had no issues anti-airing the aerial walk.

I agree with the rest of your assessment. I believe this match up is one in which Robocop wants to zone from long distance. On the other hand, Fujin's objective is to push Robocop to the corner and keep him there. Whoever initiates his game plan first is likely to win.

The most difficult match that I have fought thus far is Shaman Nightwolf. Reflected low autos and rockets punish Robocop anywhere on the screen... ... but I have to play the match up more before I go on a rant.

 

[Deleted member 5032]

Under which circumstance was rocket whiffing? I played V2 Fujin last night for about 30 games and I had no issues anti-airing the aerial walk.

I've played maybe 100 matches against @Hellbringer's Fujin, maybe even more, and Wrist Rocket seems to whiff against Wind Walk at least once every couple of matches. Wind Walk seems to go at an angle, slightly changing elevation the longer it goes, so I thought maybe that was causing it. But nope, I've had it whiff early, mid, and late, and from several distances.

 

[jmt]

I've played probably 50 games against fujin and I've noticed this too that sometimes the rocket will miss when he does the cloud wakka move.

 

[Hellbringer]

I've played maybe 100 matches against @Hellbringer's Fujin, maybe even more, and Wrist Rocket seems to whiff against Wind Walk at least once every couple of matches. Wind Walk seems to go at an angle, slightly changing elevation the longer it goes, so I thought maybe that was causing it. But nope, I've had it whiff early, mid, and late, and from several distances.

Wind Walk is Wakka

 

[Deleted member 5032]

Wind Walk is Wakka

Oops, yeah, Wakka, not Wind Walk. Don't know where I got that name from.

 

[Deleted member 5032]

Have any of you fought a high-level JC yet? I'm at a total loss as to how to approach this MU. I've been labbing RoboCop's problem matchups and figuring out some decent counters, but I'm in the lab with Cage right now and can't figure out shit that allows RoboCop to compete.

 

[M2Dave]

I've played maybe 100 matches against @Hellbringer's Fujin, maybe even more, and Wrist Rocket seems to whiff against Wind Walk at least once every couple of matches. Wind Walk seems to go at an angle, slightly changing elevation the longer it goes, so I thought maybe that was causing it. But nope, I've had it whiff early, mid, and late, and from several distances.

I think the issue is that rocket travels very fast yet has a small hitbox which causes lots of inconsistencies.

I spent some time in practice mode attempting to recreate the whiffing. I found that late whiffs are the most likely to occur because of the changing elevation that you accurately described. Remember that EX high auto (followed by forward dash f+3,2 xx rocket) and jumping 1 (followed by forward dash b+2, f+3,2 xx rocket) are additional anti-aerial options that I would take advantage of.

 

[Deleted member 5032]

I am reluctantly coming to the conclusion that RoboCop just really, really, really fucking sucks...

He is fully incapable of punishing many characters, like Fujin and Johnny Cage. His U2 is totally useless, like worst-in-the-game on wakeup and flawless block. His d2 is fast but the hitbox is garbage. His damage output is nowhere near the "bigly" amount that was touted by @16 Bit, and what little damage he gets is based on landing terrible high launchers. The only way "bigly" is applicable to his damage output is that it's a nonsense word used to describe nonsense damage. His staggers are easily beaten on reaction due to large amounts of blockstun.

The only thing he has going for him is some above-average zoning tools that still manage to get outzoned or otherwise countered by characters that have much better tools and damage all around, like Sindel, Shang, and Nightwolf. That, and his dashes. Any idiot can work their way in through his zoning, and then he's pretty well fucked. His zoning isn't bad, by any means, but it's certainly not good enough to warrant his utter lack of damage or defense.

It saddens me to say it, but based on my experience with the character, he's feeling like trash tier. Not pre-patch Shao, but not too far off, either.

 

[M2Dave]

I am reluctantly coming to the conclusion that RoboCop just really, really, really fucking sucks...

He is fully incapable of punishing many characters, like Fujin and Johnny Cage. His U2 is totally useless, like worst-in-the-game on wakeup and flawless block. His d2 is fast but the hitbox is garbage. His damage output is nowhere near the "bigly" amount that was touted by @16 Bit, and what little damage he gets is based on landing terrible high launchers. The only way "bigly" is applicable to his damage output is that it's a nonsense word used to describe nonsense damage. His staggers are easily beaten on reaction due to large amounts of blockstun.

The only thing he has going for him is some above-average zoning tools that still manage to get outzoned or otherwise countered by characters that have much better tools and damage all around, like Sindel and Nightwolf. That, and his dashes. Any idiot can work their way in through his zoning, and then he's pretty well fucked.

It saddens me to say it, but based on my experience with the character, he's feeling like trash tier. Not pre-patch Shao, but not too far off, either.

What makes Johnny Cage difficult? I have yet to fight the match up.

I still think that no Robocop player ought to jump to early conclusions. The tools are there on paper (i.e., zoning, anti-zoning, movement, parry, fast mid strings, krushing blow on both throws, grounded combos that reset, fatal blow with good speed and hitbox, etc.) I refuse to believe that he is virtually as bad as pre-patch Shao Kahn.

 

[Deleted member 5032]

What makes Johnny Cage difficult? I have yet to fight the match up.

I still think that no Robocop player ought to jump to early conclusions. The tools are there on paper (i.e., zoning, anti-zoning, movement, parry, fast mid strings, krushing blow on both throws, grounded combos that reset, fatal blow with good speed and hitbox, etc.) I refuse to believe that he is virtually as bad as pre-patch Shao Kahn.

I'm trying to keep a positive attitude, but the more I play him and lab matchups, the more glaring flaws I see. For example, the Kotal variation with the totems can heal faster than RoboCop can zone him out. Even if you tag him with a missile everytime he summons a totem or ray, you can't deal enough damage and chip to out-damage his healing. This means RoboCop has to fight Kotal up close, which makes zero sense.

Take JC into the lab and try to punish anything he can do. If he commits to an unsafe special like Shadow Kick or Nut Punch then sure, you can punish those, but RoboCop has nothing that can contest his strings. v3 Johnny can even keep up with RoboCop's zoning, and since his projectiles aren't "straight", they don't trigger the bf1 KB. Play a good JC and try to enforce any of your staggers, or amplified Wrist Rocket plus frames.

I spent over an hour in the lab today learning how to counter Fujin, but it turns out that if he cancels into db4 from b11, RoboCop can't punish it. If you even try to punish it, you'll get blown up. Even if you flawless block u2, you get hit out of your u2 by the triple-hitting db4.

Even when you can contest the opponent's pressure or zoning, they will outdamage you, so you end up having to work twice as hard as your opponent to win the round. Opponent makes a mistake? They might eat 17% into a restand. You make a mistake? You're almost certainly eating 25%+ from most characters. I think NRS put too much stock in his zoning, thinking it would be strong enough to warrant dealing such little damage.

His fast mids net him less than 20% damage, even with meter. Characters like Kabal, Cassie, and Lao make such damage look pitiful with their mid-starters. I haven't played a good Cetrion yet, but his anti-zoning seems to be fine. But, again, most of the other strong zoners in this game also have some way to get good damage from their strings and kombos, so all they have to do is work their way in and they can destroy him.

Comparing him to pre-patch Shao was certainly an exaggeration, but I still don't think he has the tools to be competitive.

 

[Frank Reed]

The Robocops I have played with Johnny have a hard time out zoning his arced forceballs. Robo being a big body makes it even worse. And then what tools does Robo have to match Johnny up close? I think it is definitely a losing matchup for Robo.

I tried maining Robo for a bit but I think there are just better zoners that have an up close game with Johnny being one of those characters.

 

[M2Dave]

I'm trying to keep a positive attitude, but the more I play him and lab matchups, the more glaring flaws I see. For example, the Kotal variation with the totems can heal faster than RoboCop can zone him out. Even if you tag him with a missile everytime he summons a totem or ray, you can't deal enough damage and chip to out-damage his healing. This means RoboCop has to fight Kotal up close, which makes zero sense.

Why not? Kotal Kahn has Ascension, which is really good up close yet zone-able, and Buluc, which is not as good as Ascension up close but has access to unique counter zoning tools.

I spent over an hour in the lab today learning how to counter Fujin, but it turns out that if he cancels into db4 from b11, RoboCop can't punish it. If you even try to punish it, you'll get blown up. Even if you flawless block u2, you get hit out of your u2 by the triple-hitting db4.

I doubt any character without an advancing special move can punish a well-spaced needle consistently. Robocop's best option is to check the regular needle with low auto or flawless block the EX needle.

Even when you can contest the opponent's pressure or zoning, they will outdamage you, so you end up having to work twice as hard as your opponent to win the round. Opponent makes a mistake? They might eat 17% into a restand. You make a mistake? You're almost certainly eating 25%+ from most characters. I think NRS put too much stock in his zoning, thinking it would be strong enough to warrant dealing such little damage.

His fast mids net him less than 20% damage, even with meter. Characters like Kabal, Cassie, and Lao make such damage look pitiful with their mid-starters. I haven't played a good Cetrion yet, but his anti-zoning seems to be fine. But, again, most of the other strong zoners in this game also have some way to get good damage from their strings and kombos, so all they have to do is work their way in and they can destroy him.

Characters like Cassie, Kabal, and Lao are considerably less effective from a distance than Robocop. As far as characters like Cetrion, Johnny Cage, Kitana, and Shang Tsung, they lack krushing blows on both throws which substantially improve damage output and comeback potential. Thanks to the hit advantage of EX flamethrower, the krushing blows are simple to set up. The previous zoning characters also lack a fast and special-cancelable mid string whereas Robocop has f+3,2 which complements his throw mix up game and leads to a 40% fatal blow combo. Finally, EX low auto does 4% of chip damage. If your opponent blocks four or five of them in a round, the damage quickly adds up. So although Robocop has low combo damage, he has been given other tools for compensation. I would also argue that he has the most viable krushing blow requirements out of all the aforementioned zoning characters. The throw and f+2,1,2 krushing blow are highly likely to occur every fight while the krushing blow on low auto and parry depend on the match and the opponent's habits.

The Robocops I have played with Johnny have a hard time out zoning his arced forceballs. Robo being a big body makes it even worse. And then what tools does Robo have to match Johnny up close? I think it is definitely a losing matchup for Robo.

I tried maining Robo for a bit but I think there are just better zoners that have an up close game with Johnny being one of those characters.

I have some strategies that I would like to try versus Johnny Cage. Unfortunately, none of my training partners are currently using him. If you want to play on PSN, please let me know.

 

[Deleted member 5032]

Why not? Kotal Kahn has Ascension, which is really good up close yet zone-able, and Buluc, which is not as good as Ascension up close but has access to unique counter zoning tools.

I doubt any character without an advancing special move can punish a well-spaced needle consistently. Robocop's best option is to check the regular needle with low auto or flawless block the EX needle.

Characters like Cassie, Kabal, and Lao are considerably less effective from a distance than Robocop. As far as characters like Cetrion, Johnny Cage, Kitana, and Shang Tsung, they lack krushing blows on both throws which substantially improve damage output and comeback potential. Thanks to the hit advantage of EX flamethrower, the krushing blows are simple to set up. The previous zoning characters also lack a fast and special-cancelable mid string whereas Robocop has f+3,2 which complements his throw mix up game and leads to a 40% fatal blow combo. Finally, EX low auto does 4% of chip damage. If your opponent blocks four or five of them in a round, the damage quickly adds up. So although Robocop has low combo damage, he has been given other tools for compensation. I would also argue that he has the most viable krushing blow requirements out of all the aforementioned zoning characters. The throw and f+2,1,2 krushing blow are highly likely to occur every fight while the krushing blow on low auto and parry depend on the match and the opponent's habits.

I have some strategies that I would like to try versus Johnny Cage. Unfortunately, none of my training partners are currently using him. If you want to play on PSN, please let me know.

On paper, those are all good points. But in practice, it's not difficult to see the disparity between RoboCop's tools and the tools of better characters. 4% chip from an amplified move isn't enough to offset the fact that his kombos do 5%-10% less than the average character, and that it's much more difficult for him to get into those kombos. I've got two 2-hour+ videos of my streaming sessions on my Twitch profile page, and I can literally count the number of actual launcher kombos I do on my fingers, and that's mostly thanks to d2 KBs.

I could understand if he was getting 35% meterless, then sure, make him have to commit to a short-ranged 16-frame high. But to commit to such a terrible normal for 20% 1-bar is lunacy.

Yes, those other characters have less effective zoning than RoboCop (though sometimes not by much), or they lack a KB on both throws, or they're outclassed in some other specific area. But the areas where they outclass him outweigh the difference in zoning, since it's really not difficult to walk RoboCop into the corner while eating some chip, and then outfootsie and outdamage him. His strenghts don't outweigh his flaws, particularly his utter lack of defense or wakeups.

The f212 KB does land almost every round, along with the bf1 kb for most characters. But you'd better hope you win those rounds because if you waste either KB, you become one of the lowest-damage characters in the game (maybe the lowest, if not slightly better than Jade).

I highly recommend playing a high-level Johnny Cage to see how extreme some of these issues are. A high level Fujin will also make them apparent. I'm not saying RoboCop is unusable, and the matches are certainly winnable, especially against an opponent who doesn't know the MU. I'm just saying that RoboCop is a very weak character that has to work much harder than his opponents to win matches.

 

[Hellbringer]

On paper, those are all good points. But in practice, it's not difficult to see the disparity between RoboCop's tools and the tools of better characters. 4% chip from an amplified move isn't enough to offset the fact that his kombos do 5%-10% less than the average character, and that it's much more difficult for him to get into those kombos. I've got two 2-hour+ videos of my streaming sessions on my Twitch profile page, and I can literally count the number of actual launcher kombos I do on my fingers, and that's mostly thanks to d2 KBs.

I could understand if he was getting 35% meterless, then sure, make him have to commit to a short-ranged 16-frame high. But to commit to such a terrible normal for 20% 1-bar is lunacy.

Yes, those other characters have less effective zoning than RoboCop (though sometimes not by much), or they lack a KB on both throws, or they're outclassed in some other specific area. But the areas where they outclass him outweigh the difference in zoning, since it's really not difficult to walk RoboCop into the corner while eating some chip, and then outfootsie and outdamage him. His strenghts don't outweigh his flaws, particularly his utter lack of defense or wakeups.

The f212 KB does land almost every round, along with the bf1 kb for most characters. But you'd better hope you win those rounds because if you waste either KB, you become one of the lowest-damage characters in the game (maybe the lowest, if not slightly better than Jade).

I highly recommend playing a high-level Johnny Cage to see how extreme some of these issues are. A high level Fujin will also make them apparent. I'm not saying RoboCop is unusable, and the matches are certainly winnable, especially against an opponent who doesn't know the MU. I'm just saying that RoboCop is a very weak character that has to work much harder than his opponents to win matches.

Being a zoner hes not meant to do high dmg combos.

Also you cant really judge from the couple of sets we played how bad or good the MU is. I also think robocop's second variation isnt as bad as you say he is.
I think you have to play him abit different then how you play him now, for example try and experiment abit with his mb grenades wich i havent seen you use once. Also try to play more reactive, even when your fuillscreen.
There are also more gaps in fujin than his MB needle, wich u probably dont knowx about. Once you know the MU abit better and know all the gaps and wich buttons are high or not you will get better at it, but its kinda silly to write robocop off because u didnt do great in a couple of sets.
Watch some other high lvl robocop players and see if u can pick some things up.
Heres a really good robocop player u should check who played against woundcowboy:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/640755663

 

[Professor Oak]

I need MUs vs Robocop somebody please

 

[Deleted member 5032]

Being a zoner hes not meant to do high dmg combos.

Also you cant really judge from the couple of sets we played how bad or good the MU is. I also think robocop's second variation isnt as bad as you say he is.
I think you have to play him abit different then how you play him now, for example try and experiment abit with his mb grenades wich i havent seen you use once. Also try to play more reactive, even when your fuillscreen.
There are also more gaps in fujin than his MB needle, wich u probably dont knowx about. Once you know the MU abit better and know all the gaps and wich buttons are high or not you will get better at it, but its kinda silly to write robocop off because u didnt do great in a couple of sets.
Watch some other high lvl robocop players and see if u can pick some things up.
Heres a really good robocop player u should check who played against woundcowboy:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/640755663

lol, what? I use the shoulder bombs almost every time I get a knockdown from more than half-screen. I don't use them otherwise because you spend so much time airborne.

We've also played more than a "couple of sets". We've certainly surpassed 100 matches in the Fujin/RoboCop MU. Since it's in 166 ping, it's definitely not an ideal showcase for the MU, but it's still enough to see the strengths and weaknesses of each character. RoboCop's major strength, other than his zoning, is his movement. That's it. And it's utterly nullified by Fujin's b2, unless you mess it up. In that footage you linked to, the only thing saving the RoboCop player in those matchups is his insane movement. He's able to wavedash in and out to make things whiff. In matchups that shut down his movement options, he's literally limited to just zoning and staggering block strings when it's his turn.

I legit hope people are able to prove me wrong because I'd love nothing more than for RoboCop to be competitive. But right now, I'm not seeing it. "Being a zoner he's not meant to do high dmg combos". Already been covered. His zoning ability isn't so good that it warrants only having terrible high launchers into 20%. How much can Sindel's zoning variation do? I know Frost easily hits 20%+ with solid hit-confirmable mids. Even Jade can break 30% 1-bar if she lands her overhead.

**

Been defending so many points that I feel like my core issues might be getting lost, so just wanted to restate them here:

I believe RoboCop is low-tier because his strong zoning and movement don't offset the weaknesses of his drastically underpowered U2 and his only launchers being slow highs that only lead to less than 20% midscreen. That's it. When you look at other strong zoners in this game, they don't suffer as severely in these non-zoning areas as RoboCop.

 

[Hellbringer]

lol, what? I use the shoulder bombs almost every time I get a knockdown from more than half-screen. I don't use them otherwise because you spend so much time airborne.

We've also played more than a "couple of sets". We've certainly surpassed 100 matches in the Fujin/RoboCop MU. Since it's in 166 ping, it's definitely not an ideal showcase for the MU, but it's still enough to see the strengths and weaknesses of each character. RoboCop's major strength, other than his zoning, is his movement. That's it. And it's utterly nullified by Fujin's b2, unless you mess it up. In that footage you linked to, the only thing saving the RoboCop player in those matchups is his insane movement. He's able to wavedash in and out to make things whiff. In matchups that shut down his movement options, he's literally limited to just zoning and staggering block strings when it's his turn.

I legit hope people are able to prove me wrong because I'd love nothing more than for RoboCop to be competitive. But right now, I'm not seeing it. "Being a zoner he's not meant to do high dmg combos". Already been covered. His zoning ability isn't so good that it warrants only having terrible high launchers into 20%. How much can Sindel's zoning variation do? I know Frost easily hits 20%+ with solid hit-confirmable mids. Even Jade can break 30% 1-bar if she lands her overhead.

**

Been defending so many points that I feel like my core issues might be getting lost, so just wanted to restate them here:

I believe RoboCop is low-tier because his strong zoning and movement don't offset the weaknesses of his drastically underpowered U2 and his only launchers being slow highs that only lead to less than 20% midscreen. That's it. When you look at other strong zoners in this game, they don't suffer as severely in these non-zoning areas as RoboCop.

I mean, when u beat my day 1 fujin robocop seemed to be fine wich u also immediatly linked here on tym but as soon as u lose a couple of sets not even by that much he sucks? Come on dude.... The reason i won games wasnt because the character sucks but because u didnt played the mu well, became abit predictable, etc. I can give you some more pointers to watch out for or we can grind some more sets but i dont think u should write him off so fast.

 

[Deleted member 5032]

I mean, when u beat my day 1 fujin robocop seemed to be fine wich u also immediatly linked here on tym but as soon as u lose a couple of sets not even by that much he sucks? Come on dude.... The reason i won games wasnt because the character sucks but because u didnt played the mu well, became abit predictable, etc. I can give you some more pointers to watch out for or we can grind some more sets but i dont think u should write him off so fast.

I was already streaming when you hit me up for games. I didn't just specifically link to a bunch of matches I won.

Your day 1 Fujin was against my day 2 or 3 RoboCop, so I was still feeling him out (and still am, I haven't totally given up hope). As more people learn the MU and learn how to expose his weaknesses, the more apparent those weaknesses become, naturally.

I don't want to get into the issue of predictability because it certainly goes both ways. The difference is that Fujin's predictability is justified. You can do b11db4 all day long because there is literally nothing RoboCop can do to check it except trade some chip with a bf1 reversal. But RoboCop has limited fake pressure and zoning patterns he can apply. Over a 2-hour set, obviously those patterns are going to start to repeat.

That's one reason why I think his weaknesses are going to become even more apparent as people learn the MU. He's such a limited character in terms of his options. He can zone you or he can stagger you with fake pressure (that leads to around 17% 1-bar if he catches you).

 

[Lt. Boxy Angelman]

I don't hate that RoboCop is low tier. I wouldn't even if I wanted to main him.
NRS has had a years-long habit of making guest characters that upon release are either obnoxiously strong or straight up overpowered in comparison to the rest of the cast, in both MK and Injustice - although Injustice 2 wasn't nearly as bad except for Leonardo and Michaelangelo, and that was mainly because of the 50/50 meta. Sub and Raiden were both bottom-tier, and I don't remember Hellboy being particularly bad, but I never bought him so I'm not sure. The rest, however, were not so lucky. MK9 Freddy? Best zoner in the game next to Kenshi, maybe better. Injustice Scorpion? Was so broken on release that he was nerfed into obscurity. MKX Alien? Completely absurd in two out of three variations. Even Butcher Leatherface had that little window of time where he had his 6-frame command grab.
What I'd like to see happen with RoboCop is that he get the Jason Voorhees treatment: start him out at the bottom, and let his weaknesses play out on the open battlefield, THEN give him the goods he needs to not be a Dan in Street Fighter level joke character without putting him over the top. Relentless and Unstoppable Jason were ASS when he first came out, but he was given time to breathe and then adjusted accordingly, and ended up being one of the most fun and solid characters in the game across the board by the end. I would way rather see him start out slow and finish strong than start too strong and get buried later.

Plus, you HAD to know that with the Deadshot Deathstroke track record NRS has that the MK equivalent of that archetype of character wasn't going to be given all the juice.