I'll try and break down this post and add my thoughts, while also just touching on what I think of Robo in general.
Incoming rambling:
She can do two beams before touching the ground so she gets things like jump M beam > brass assist > Jump h beam
This isn't really new tactic that opens up because of double jumping nor do I think it's an important one.
If your j M Beam is too low to the floor (the sweet spot), you won't have enough time to double jump
If you do end up double jumping after j M Beam, your j H Beam is only going to be used to prevent their jump, and give them space to jump after the j H Beam finishes.
j M Beam + Brass, land L Beam (or M Beam if they pushblocked) is far more effective than double jumping, you get two beam hits rather than one beam hit and one that might, and it's faster.
j H Beam at lowest possible height (which takes a long to descend to if you double jumped after a beam) only hits 4 characters. (Eliza, Beowulf, Big Band, Cerebella.)
Just from watching the first match alone anyone can see her keep away isn't terrible.
Okay so if you watch that first round and start counting from the "Showtime" Robo keeps away Fortune for literally
5 whole seconds
before she is cornered by Fortune at the absolute MOST OPTIMAL position she can be in; 45 degrees above Robot.
Mistiming the Fortune jLK jump-in lead to a whole bunch of bad stuff, but if that hit, Robo could have died without ever leaving that corner because she does not have a strike invincible reversal (in that version) and Magnet wouldn't have been super helpful (in the current patch).
You cannot afford to lose neutral / or get touched as Robo.
There is a lot of good runaway in that set I agree, but there's also a
lot of mistakes on Diablos part and I know he'd agree.
Also if it helps, my Robot in retail is useless on point vs SonicFox / Cloudking / Dekillsage (Brass Assist) / Diablos.
She does not have good enough tools to zone really good players out in retail.
My biggest issue with playing Robot in retail is that when I get into a bad spot or get hit I'm thinking "I don't even know what I could have done." but now all of her keep away tools and zoning tools are buffed so I'm thinking "Oh I should have just done this other thing it would have worked."
Mine is safe on block, activates very fast and trades in robo's favor every single time.
The #1 thing I have my eye on, too.
It might be too powerful, but when you think about how when she's actually she hit she doesn't have a reversal against anything but IAD's, maybe she needs a powerful tool like that.
It costs a resource which you have to find the space to acquire, which you lose after.
Sure getting a head isn't the hardest thing if you have an assist but it's still something to consider.
She's the only character in the game that can't do anything vs wake up meaty Jab Jab by herself.
I also don't know if I want to call it a reversal, it doesn't do it's thing until frame 6, which makes it as much as a reversal as wake up Filia / Fortune jab.
Can still dash up into whatever in half a second.
Dash speed is insane yes, but the purpose is for dash under and hold to get to the other screen which is pretty important.
If anything I'd like to try
@Liam idea to make it so she can't double jump cancel her normals on block.
So this is the really important part that worries me as a human.
Mike and I are pretty happy with Robo-Fortune being a run-away zoner, and I would love for her to be really good at that.
When Robo was made Mike held back in a lot of area's and
"Erred on the side of caution..."
So the heavy hitting, jump canceling, plus as hell button version of Robo is what people have been playing for 1 year.
The damage hit alone with almost nothing else has already sparked responses like
Yeah, after reading the patch notes, playing a little on Beta and crying a lot I decided to drop Robo for good. Unless the changes never come to the retail I'll not using this shit anymore.
YES I'M BEYOND PISSED!
and
Is robo supposed to accept "space", "frame advantage", and "free head summons" as acceptable rewards for a hit? i like that, but as an option, not as something i'm forced to do.
[j.mp, j.lp, s.hp (buffed as is) and even the new c.mk] would suddenly become 5x scarier and pressure would actually be worth doing.
anyway... tomorrow we play.
I worry about changing Robo-Fortune too much and completely forcing her down one path.
I suggested way more of her zoning changes than the patch notes show, and I tried to turn down the strength of some of her up close tools like damage, sHK, jHK, sHP (pulling you into her so you can PBGC her in the face for autopiloting it instead of her being able to do sHP > L Beam spaced to be safe). [Mike wasn't okay with some of the damage nerfs I suggested.]
But removing block jump cancels is huge.
In retail, after a lot of playing, I still think you're better off jumping into their face with jump cancels and being annoying with an assist until you open them up ONCE you force them to approach with her fullscreen options. (This is not the style I like.)
If you're good at applying pressure and reading people this actually
kills people more effectively than running around poking with low damage beams and subpar zoning tools. (This is why I think SonicFox was effective against people with his Robo, and why you see players like MPGame desperately grasping for some sort of reliable reward [Bypass] for committing to zoning)
When Sonic tried to play some keep away against say Cloudking's Valentine, she didn't last 10 seconds, and neither does mine!
When I land a jMP, jHK or jHP and it's blocked, I am thinking about how to turn that frame advantage into running away.
If you remove block jump cancels, you lose a lot of the good pressure options she can pick from once she gets that blocked hit.
If that went through, you might not be thinking about running away or deciding to apply pressure, you're probably just thinking about running away most of the time because that's her best option after being forced into the zoning arch-type 100%.
I can ramble forever but basically...
I am 100% okay with losing double jump cancels on block, but
I really don't want to be responsible / involved in killing whatever is left of the other style that some Robo players might prefer.
Yes I am aware that it's completely up to Mike not me.
However, even with her DJ cancels on block, really powerful mine and beam damage increases, I still don't think she's going to be top tier or seen on every team like retail Double and Fukua, so maybe it's not an issue.
I don't agree with how good you make her out to be, but I am one of the few who play her, so I could be biased though I try not to be.