FULL Roa

[PacStrife]

-FULL Roa Guide-

So I have been playing F-Roa as my main pretty much since the game came out and I have made this thread to hold all the information about him that myself and others have gathered.  Throughout this guide I will be talking about move properties, combos, oki, setups, etc.  However, lots of good information has been posted in the thread thus far and it would be best if you could check out what others have contributed as well.  If you have any questions, feel free to ask and someone will be here to help you out (hopefully in a timely manner!).  OK enough from me, let's DO IT!

Move List and Properties

Normals:
A – standard standing jab.  Does hit crouching opponents.
B – hits mid moves Roa forward a bit.  I mostly use this in combos or frame traps off of 2a.
C – 2 hits, great range, moves Roa forward, some application as anti-air as well as tech punishing.
6C – Long arm strike, great range and moves forward.
2A – hits low. fast, but short range
2B – a f-Roa exclusive, good ranged low poke with pretty solid active frames for tech punishing.
2C – a short slide.  Hits low.  Can combo a 6C after for an air combo.  Catches after air counter hits pretty well.
*All of Roa’s ground normals cannot be blocked in the air or are “air-unblockable”*

j.A – quick hand jab, fast with poor range, decent for a quick air-to-air
j.B – good range kick that hits slightly above Roa
j.C – Roa attempts storm’s jump fierce.  This is a great air normal, if a bit slow.  Can be charged for more range/stun/damage.  Can hit as a cross up if charged.  Beats a lot of things once fully charged.
*All jumping attacks must be blocked high*


Specials:
236A/B/C – An upward ground slash
-   All versions are air-unblockable.
-   A and B versions can be canceled by any EX move or Arc Drive.
-   B version can be held for a command dash that can cross up through a grounded opponent.  Also, somewhat useful for continuing pressure.
-   C version hits twice, wall bounces, and can be combo’d after in the corner.
-   All versions jump cancel-able on hit.

623A/B/C – Dragon punch.  Goes off the ground at a 45 degree angle.
-   A version is air-unblockable with no invincibility.
-   B version is air-BLOCKABLE with some invincibility.
-   C version is air-unblockable only on the last hit,  Has the most invincibility I believe.
-   All DPs end in an untechable knockdown.


214A/B/C – Lightning bolt strikes in a vertical column in front of Roa.
-   A and B version do the same amount of damage.
-   A version hits close, but not directly in front of Roa, B hits a little further out.
-   Lightning floats on grounded hit and is an untechable knockdown on air hit.
-   C version is air-unblockable, invincible, and punishable on block.
-   A and B versions can both be air blocked.
-   C version can set up for air tech traps, as the lightning hits in a larger vertical column over Roa’s head for a little less then 2k damage.


236A/B/C (in air) – Electricity surrounds Roa in the air.
-   All versions air-blockable with some utility as anti air.
-   All versions can be canceled before the hit by landing on the ground.
-   All versions are safe on block.
-   A version gives advantage if TK’ed close to the ground.
-   A and C versions allow for a follow up combo with float on counter hit.
-   B versions hits three times and cannot be combo’d after
-   C version hits with a greater range then A or B.
-   C version has invincibility on start-up.
-   C version can add some damage to air combos if used instead of air throw finisher. (about 200 dmg.)
-   All versions can hit on both sides allowing for cross ups.
-   On block the move has some short of vacuum effect.


41236C (Arc Drive) – Quick horizontal lightning bolt crosses the screen.
-   This move is Very fast and has VERY long range.
-   Can be used to punish any tech from a ground throw.
-   Easily combo-able from basic strings.
-   Air-unblockable
-   Deceptively large vertical hitbox.

Throw – Roa has a very solid ground throw.
-   In the corner can connect a 2A > A > 6C to air combo
-   Teachable throw, but all techs are punishable from mid-screen.
-   Arc drive and dash 214 B lightning punish back techs.
-   Closer techs punished by dashing 2B or 214 A or B lightning
-   His air throw resets the game to neutral with a knock down, but no advantage.


Basic Bread and Butter Combos *dmg based off of crescent v-sion

1)  2A > B > 2B > C > 6C > 214A > 6C > 214A  (2.7-3.7k)
-   ends in untechable knockdown.
-   depending on range both hits of standing C might not hit (just go from one hit of standing C to 6C).
-   allows for an OTG follow up.
-   get different oki options depending on if you let standing C hit once or twice.

2)  2A > B > 2B > C > 6C > 214A > 6C > 623B  (2.9-4k)
-   ends in untechable knockdown.
-   other 623 attacks can be substituted for the 623B

3)  2A > B > 2B > C > 6C > 214A > 236A > j.B > j.C  > jc. j.B > j.C > Air Throw/236C  (3.6-5k)
-   ends in neutral state with no advantage on the opponent if ended in air throw
-   possible air tech punish if you finish with an air 236 move with lightning super.
-   236C ender only does SLIGHTLY more than just a normal air throw.

4)  2A > B > 2B > C > 6C > 236A > 41236C  (3.5-4.8k)
-   This one is not worth the meter and leaves no real advantage after the knockdown.
-   You'll see why it's not worth the meter when I get through posting damage amounts for these combos.

5)  Air counter hit > catch with normal of choice [B, C(1-hit), 6C, 2C, 236A] or 41236C.  (2.5k-3.5k)
* normals followed with DP, lightning, or air combo of choice.
-   The catch of choice is going to be the 2C > 6C > etc.

6)  Corner throw > 2A > A > 6C > j.B > j.C > jc. j.B > j.C > Air Throw/236C  (2.4-3.4k)
-   The player has a real choice here on whether or not to do this combo as Roa is more then capable of punishing any tech attempts for more damage. 
-OTG string does about 1.5k damage


Oki or Knockdown that is the Question!

As you may have noticed F-Roa is capable of scoring a strong knockdown from his basic BnB combos with his 214A/B enders.  This knockdown is great, but comes at a price.  That price is usually somewhere between 700~1200 points of damage.  That is significant FREE damage to lose for just getting to mix-up/continue pressure.  Now I'm not trying to suggest that I think going for oki is always a bad thing, but you need to use balance and understand the situation you are in currently to make the right choice.  Here are some things to consider when making your combo choice:

   - Do you need to maintain the advantage? (life lead, meter, time limit)
   - What does your opponents character want? (to zone/keep away, rushdown, etc.)
   - How well does your opponent (and their character) deal with F-Roa's zoning and pressure?
   - Keep in mind character specific combos, where 6C won't hit after a 214a launch, will take off even less damage.  (Nero, Warc...)

Also, let me make one thing clear.  After a combo ending in air throw or j.236x you are now at NEUTRAL.  This means attempting to maintain the advantage through regular means won't work and will probably cost you a match (aka trying to dash 214 lightening after an air throw can get you killed).  You do get space though and get to charge meter or start your own zoning game.


Oki Setups

#1  214 ender -> safe jump j.[C]

For those unfamiliar with safe jump setups, it basically is used as a means to force an opponent to block and if they try to get away through reversals they can be punished.  F-Roa has a setup that achieves this by timing a charged jump C just as the opponent is getting up.  If the move hits go into a combo, if they try to reverse out with something like a dragon you can block before the move can hit you, if they block they are now in charged jump C block stun and you are at massive advantage.  You can even punish back dashes if you are quick enough with 2C into full combo (or maybe something better?).  The one way for characters to beat this is to reversal parry your jump c.  Given this is very hard timing and you can alter your setup in many ways to adjust for wake up parries.  If your opponent has resorted to that then the setup had done its job and you should start mixing in jump charge C wiffs into lows and throws or run different setups for a while.

#2  214 ender -> IAD falling j.236a

This is an interesting setup that plays off the properties of j.236a.  Basically you get a knockdown and immediately air dash over the opponent and activate j.236a just as your about to reach the ground (but don't cancel the move).  This setup does a couple pretty cool things,
1) reverses your opponents inputs, meaning they have to dp the other direction to get the move out. 
2) the back of j.236a/b/c sucks the opponent towards you pulling them right next to you as you land.
3) Done correctly this setup is meaty and leaves you at frame advantage on block (only a and c versions) 
4) if you hit you get to follow up with an air combo for 2.5-3.5k
5) sometimes if the opponent crouch blocks they actually cross back in front of you before you land.
*B version may have some utility as a ghetto shield setup as you are at disadvantage but not punishable
All in all I'm really liking this setup right now.  Its main weakness is that a well timed back dash will avoid this setup completely and of course a wake up shield will beat it as well.  The trick is to vary the timing and use this one sparingly mixed with other IAD setups.

#3  214 ender -> IAD j.B (wiff) -> land 2a/2b

This one is just a basic IAD setup.  If you play around with the timing on the j.B you can make the landing low cross-up or not and it can be very ambiguous.  Obviously, this one can play off the IAD j.236a trap as well.

#4  214 ender -> 236[ B] (ground cross-up)

If you hold down the B button after F-Roa's 236B on the ground you get a command dash that can pass through opponents.  Using this property we can setup another very ambiguous cross-up after 214a/b and adjust the range to make the dash cross-up or not.  This one is all about how tight you are with the spacing as it can be very hard to see or very easy depending on how lazy you get with it.  Also, you can do a similar cross-up by canceling a mid-screen OTG string into the 236B.  Cool stuff.

#5  any ender -> meaty normals

This is about as simple as it gets.  However, given the properties of F-Roa's grounded B normals, he is quite good at this one.  Both standing and crouching B normals have good active frames, are decently fast, and most importantly leave you at advantage on block.  This can lead to some pretty good pressure where it is really dangerous for the opponent to press any buttons at all.  Mix in these great normals with his advantage specials (214a and 236b) and now you have some potent pressure with frame traps galore!


*So I think I am going to add one more section to this thing about little tricks and basically his more gimmicky stuff oh and maybe a video section?.  I'll probably finish it up sometime this weekend so look forward to it guys!*

[Coren]

Probably one of the better first posts I've seen.

It's too bad C/F-Roa are so under played, it makes info kind of scarce.

[Legendary Blue Shirt]

I might take up F-Roa if you can come up with a decent blockstring.

[LordPangTong]

F-Roa is pretty cool.

2A 5B 2B 5C 6C 214A/B 6C j.BC j.C throw nets like 4.6k damage. Doing double lightning at the end of combos gives a nice knockdown, too.

As far as blockstrings go, F-Roa players in vids just spam 214A/B, it gives pretty decent lockdown. 

[PacStrife]

Yeah as far as block strings go he is going to be a little lacking compared to his Crescent and Half counterparts.  A good thing to remember though is that Full characters in general have good advantage on their normals.  Combine that with Roa's good ground throw game and he has things to work with for sure.  I honestly haven't looked into block strings too much for him yet though 

In general though right now people just chain normals into 6C > lightning, repeat lightning or rush back in

[abitofBaileys]

Yeah since you can confirm every hit (even A ones) into 6C -> combo it's a good option to do it since it has good damage.

[PacStrife]

Tonight I found out some very interesting things concerning Roa's block string abilities.  Most of my ideas came from watching a F-Roa player I found while searching through Nico video.  First the vids in question:

http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm6417480 vs. F-Warakia (RYU)
and
http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm6458845 vs. C-Ciel

The first video is the most interesting as far as finding things out go.  Throughout this video I see the Roa player putting a LOT of pressure through block strings.  Notable times in video #1:

:30 - block string showing 236B and double lightning uses
1:40 - air reset trap in the corner
2:55 - nice block string
4:20 - really interesting fuzzy guard set up with j.c activation
6:19- pretty much how you do block strings with full Roa

So I was wondering about the why behind this guy's awesome pressure and started testing some things out.  Here's what I found out.

1- 236B is plus frames on block (not too many though like +1 or 2)
2- lightning (214A) is also plus frames on block (seems to give slightly more maybe +2 or 3?)
3- 2B is actually plus on block too, by a good bit lol (more reason to like this move!  )
4- I'm pretty sure the standing and crouching A normals are plus on block but they can be chained anyways so it doesn't really matter as much.

So I am definitely going to start inserting 236B into my ground strings more often.  As if the continued pressure wasn't enough, if they try to mash your block string and get counter hit by 236B you get a linked 2B into combo!  Don't forget if they try to jump out that 236 moves are all unblockable to airborne opponents.  This coupled with abbreviated block strings ended with close A lightning give F-Roa some nice frame traps from his specials. 

Anyways, I got a bit excited and carried away with this post, but it is about the current topic in here so I guess it's ok.  Let me know what you guys think or if I posted anything incorrectly.  That F-Roa is the best one I think I've seen so far in videos.  I wonder why he doesn't use his 236 specials in the air?  I see a lot of potential there

[Nevan]

WoW...Gr8 guide dude Thx!

I have something to practice later

[judge_rl]

Very good start with presenting info on F-Roa! I, too, am attracted to his character potential in this mode.

Anti-Air: F-Roa does VERY well at guarding his front from aerial attacks...the only real weak spot I am continually trying to keep my opp from attacking is the top of his head and general x-up range...outside of dashing forward, j.shield, j.block, j.throw, backdash, 2C evade, I want to test more with dpA or 236 TKs to fall with advantage or even pose possibe x-up...when F-Roa has EX, he does not have to work so hard to cover this area (214C)

Front: F-Roa is VERY strong with making an impression on this space. He can make forward movement a tax for most characters

Damage: As mentioned, F-Roa is able to net near 5k from a clean hit and near 2k potential mid-range from a successful 214B followed by 2 more

Trapping: F-Roa maximizes on apprehension...214 used as a poke puts him outside of the max poke range of most characters and lets him control a spot and guard movement...when the player is able to maximize on this fully, F-Roa could potentially provoke risky techniques/maneuvers from opps trying to avoid blocking (to stay is to have your guard broken)...movement alone is not what F-Roa looks for but special techniques that allow forward movement outside of regular dashing/jumping...movement is easy for F-Roa to stop, but preventing and allowing special moves is more advanced

I will continue to try and add to this character thread, but I have to go now

p.s. F-Roa does not need to CH fish air-2-air, as he is STRONG on the ground and can cover both at the same time...his movement is majorly an effort to gain better positioning and he WANTS his opp to take to the air...F-Roa has no real need to chase early, but he shoud be chased early to prevent his charging of meter for strong techniques

p.p.s. Nico vid #1 is very good foundation; #2 on the other hand really shows that an F-Roa w/o 214 is not an F-Roa...214 is not required in corner given 236, but greatly increases his mid-game when trying to place the opp

[Irysa]

that shield counter into fullscreen wallslam bunker for charging was funny shit.

[judge_rl]

@Irysa: that is a VERY good time for F-Roa to charge

PacStrife has already done an excellent run-down of F-Roa's moveset. Forgive some re-iteration, but I want to add attack values and a few extra notes as well.

Standing

A - 300
B - 670
C - 400/500
6C - 1000

Crouching

A - 300
B - 600
C - 900

Jumping

A - 250
B - 700
C - 1000
[C] - 1300

Normal Chains:

*weak always xx strong
**if same attack strength, normal always xx special normal

5A
...5A
...2A

2A
...5A
...2A

5B
...2B

5C (1st and 2nd hit)
...6C

Important: 5C does NOT cancel into 2C

**All normals are special/EX/and Arc Drive cancelable (even the 1st hit of 5C)
      
Specials

236

A/B - 1000
C - 2000 (2hits)

236 (air)

A - 800
B - 2100 (3hits)
C - 2400 (6hits)

623

A - 1500 (3hits)
B - 2300 (5hits)
C - 3150 (8hits)

214

A/B - 1000
C - 4500 (15hits)

41236 (Max) - 7000 (HEAVY damage scaling reduces it to ~3000)

41236 (Blood) - 8000 (HEAVY damage scaling reduces it to ~ 4000)

Last Arc - 5000

*214D - 500

Misc Facts:

*it takes ~11 214s to break guard
*if you use 236B in strings too close, you can be thrown before the hit is active
*more often than not, you are in range to land a 2A after forcing a blocked 236B
*j.C sometimes works as a x-up (really inconsistent though)
*getting CH in the corner typically leads to ~6k combos

I will revisit tomorrow more than likely with info on

> F-Roa on the ground
> F-Roa air-2-air
> F-Roa and Getting In
> F-Roa Blockstrings
> F-Roa and breaking pressure
> F-Roa and meter building
> F-Roa Combo Analysis and uses as far as wall-carry, oki, resets

===========================

Damage Figures for PacStrife's Notated Combos:
*see OP
**these don't take Reduction into account

1) ~4k (~6k unscaled)
2) ~4.5k (~8k)
3) ~5.5k (~10k)...I would change this one to ...214A>236B>jc...with the really easy inputs of this game, 6C>236A is too easily interpreted as 6C>623A  
4) ~5.3k (~11k)
5) ~3.5k (~7k)

If there are no posts following this one before then, I apologize in advance for the double post.

[judge_rl]

Using the 1st Nico vid linked by PacStrife, I'm going to do a vid analysis to start off the Strat discussion.

Nico: F-Wara vs F-Roa Re-linked
*I can see that the Wara player is Ryu, but no identification for the Roa =(

-notice that the F-Roa has pretty good movement overall
-nice use of shielding

Ground Game

-remember to find good moments to charge your meter
-214
...this F-Roa appears to move in for the oki after landing 1 vs an airborne opp
-5A as aa (weak imo)
-236 as aa


Air Game

...sj uf, j.A, dj ub, (falling) j.B

j.A...good for moving forward when you expect a quick collision or are trying to move in from the air and expecting an air-2-air

j.B...looks nice as a keepaway, air zoning tool (e.g., when you lose height advantage; when jumping up and under someone; when falling from your jump to thwart IAD in, etc.)

j.C...when somewhat close and with height advantage

Offense/Pressure Strings

5A/2A > 5B...mix-up after 5B
5C (1st hit blocked) > 236B...
2A...into itself or used in stalls
j.A...multiple overhead attempts after IAD
236B > 2A...
5C > 6C > 214A...
*tried to get fancy with the 236{B} dash through, but it is just too easy to spot and interrupt when empty
(after successful air throw) dash up, 214B

Combos

(after air CH) 2C > 6C > jc...
(after air CH) 5A/2A > 5C (1hit) > jc...
(corner reset) regular ac into 236 ender, tech trap into 214C
(after CH 214 as aa) he tried to go right into combo...sj j.A etc
(after air CH) 2C > 6C > 236 > jc...
5C > 6C > 214A > 6C > 214A > (otg) 2A*3~4 > 5B > 2B

Oki

regular j/sj over, air dash b...
214
IAD mix-up (e.g., IAD empty, land, 2A and etc)
dash up 5A

Misc

(vs grounded) IAD, j.A, j.A, dj, j.C ?

___________________

This F-Roa's apparent strengths:

-Placement/Timing of Air Normals in Air2Air
-Pressure Strings and Stalls/Dash-ups
-Shielding and Counter Shielding
-214 hit confirms
-Overall movement patterns

F-Roa's general weakness: lack of range and notable speed of start-up on ground and air normals/specials outside of 214 (which he has to place well in order to prevent getting dashed on)...

F-Roa's general strengths: 214, 236, + fr adv of normals

Up close, ALL of Roa's normals are really good. He gets mix-up off of any blocked normal
-dash up
-214
-forward moving attack
-shield counter
-IAD
-etc

--------------------

I really don't like to fish air2air for CH as it feels almost luck based with F-Roa. You have to take timing, distance, and height into consideration and he is still likely to be beat out by faster, larger hitboxes. F-Roa on offense is a monster. Seasoned players will likely get IBs from 214 loops, so stalls/slight changes in timing of attacks are just as good with F-Roa as any other.

In order to start offense, F-Roa really just needs you to block one 214. If he can place you with a 214, he can dash up into 214 pressure and mix-ups. I believe F-Roa should be persistent about placing 214 as he knows where his opponent is at this point.

If I am F-Roa and you are Wara, for example, I know that if I get you to block a 214, I get to control a portion of forward space. At the same time, I know that you have a gdlk normal that can extend beyond my 214A, a f dash that takes you airborne to where you quickly cancel into another dash, and that you have a teleport. F-Roa needs to know which techniques/methods his opponents have for moving forward if he is trying to zone.

But it appears MB favors rushdown ^_^ Which F-Roa is pretty good at if you can exercise certain fundamentals well.

[LordPangTong]

http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm8851375

This vid is a few matches between a F-Roa and a C-Nanaya. (On console ver) The F-Roa player isn't bad, though he spams j.c a lot and gets CH'd by Nanaya a lot.  

[PacStrife]

Yeah... that F-Roa wasn't very good at all haha.  A better one can be found in this video:

http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm8847758  (comes in @ 13:21)

I will be back later to add some more stuff I have figured out with Full Roa since I have been playing him for a while now.  In fact, after playing more of the game in general with different moons and characters and what not, I feel like I have a much better understanding of the game now.  Hopefully that translates into better play and better information coming from me soon.  Thanks judgerl for the informative posts you have been making while I was away.  I should be back for good now YAY!

EDIT - I added a good bit to the first post, opinions/suggestions welcome! Thanks!

[Irysa]

After some messing around i've found a pretty easy option select for F Roa

After a corner throw, just methodically 2a 2c. If you hit the link you can confirm into 6c air combo, if you miss it and otg you can go into a 214 for about 1.2k (disadvantage is you get not very much meter by comparison to a real otg) and if they tech any direction the 2c techpunishes, thus air combo. (and the other disadvantage, you only get like 3kish damage from this compared to the 4k-5k you can get by a 5b techpunish)

The timing is pretty much the exact same, can help if you are worried about dedicating into trying the throw combo.

[mizuki]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VX7X4JQYqYU

lazy basics vid I made, I know there's mistakes, sue me I did it in 30 minutes and as a joke kinda.

[Kiiroe]

pacstrife your info should be added to the wiki.

Welll i guess i can add it and credit you if youll allow me

[E.D]

the 214a ender combo works on nero and warc but you have to dash between 214a and 6c and you get the all the hits with the 623b ender if you dash.

EDIT. it seems like you have to be half the distance of 5b or full 5a distance so on nero if you're right next to them and still want the 214a ender do this combo instead.

 5b>2b>5c(1hit)>6c>214a>6c>214a.

 not as good damage but alot more lenient and works always on nero independent on how close/faraway you are from nero

[PacStrife]

pacstrife your info should be added to the wiki.

Welll i guess i can add it and credit you if youll allow me

Hey man, if you want to put the info on the wiki that is fine with me.  I wrote this stuff for anyone to read/use.  Also, to everyone that has added info. since I last updated, good stuff and thanks for the contributions.  

In other news, I have started to main F-Kouma.  I still play F-Roa though (...and some C-Shiki) so I will still be stopping by this thread every now and then.  If anyone has a question for me specifically just shoot me a PM and I'll get back to you pretty quickly.

[E.D]

i can't get the standard 214a ender combo to work on kouma.
 it seems impossible to hit kouma with it so i do 214a>214a on him

[Legendary Blue Shirt]

Use 236A instead of the second 6C on Kouma and it will hit.

[E.D]

cool thanks.

EDIT.
um do you mean that i'm supposed to link 236a to 214a?
cause i can't seem to make it work.

[mechalolipop]

um do you mean that i'm supposed to link 236a to 214a?
cause i can't seem to make it work.

Other way around. 214a for launch, 236a afterwards. It's all timing.

 

[E.D]

i think you misunderstand i want the knockdown from 214a on air hit but i can only get 214a after another 214a wich kind of ruins the damage.
Because he is the only character i can't get 6c to hit on i was wondering if i could substitute it for som other normal/special.

[mechalolipop]

Yeahh, I guess Kouma is just like Wara or Nero in that you'll have to sacrifice full damage if you still want to Oki. I tried 214A>236A>214A just now to make sure, but it's not working for me so I'm probably having the same problems comboing that you are.