How do i combat a "Roller" in Smash Brothers Wii U and 3DS?

I love my IRL best friend, he's funny, he's weird, and he's a very kind guy, but he is an absolute jerk when we play video games. One of these games that he's a total jerk in, is Smash Bros. He's a complete coward, his main strategy is to pick a small character, spam the dodge roll to get as far away from me as possible, and when he's far away, spam projectiles. I've gotten very good at perfect shielding due to this, but it's just annoying now.  

Can any of the other Smash enthusiasts on SRN, like myself, help me form a strategy to combat this, please?

When it comes to people that roll it really comes down to how well you can read your opponent, knowing where he's going to roll. Is he gonna roll away from you? Towards you? Or behind you? Those are the only options tbh. 

About the projectiles. The projectile spam tends to create a somewhat comfort zone for the player, so what you need to do is try and get close and pressure him to feel uncomfortable and react. Which by the sounds of it will be to roll to safety.

I'd avoid making it obvious what you're doing to do, like don't just straight out run at him head first hoping to get a cheeky dash attack on him cause it won't work.

Another strategy would be to let him come to you, rather than wasting your time going at him and missing. How I feel smash works is if your opponent is coming to you, then you're doing it right.

A lot of the time also a characters Down Smash will hit either side of them, which can be helpful if he's rolling behind you/in front of you a lot.

If they're by the edge I'd recommend an attempt to grab them, throwing them off the edge.

Overall, you're best option in my opinion (and from looking around on the internet) is that for if a person is rolling a lot you're most reliable option is going to be running up to them and shielding.

I found this on a message board about using this run then shield technique, and what your opponents options will be and how you can react.

-if he attacks, he hits your shield and you grab. 
-if he rolls towards you preemptively and ends up in front of you you grab/attack. 
-if he ends up rolling behind you, you stop shielding and turn around while he's tied up in the roll animation.and now he's in front of you, so see above.
-if he retreats, you've at least won space and might be able to cover his retreat with a running grab or dash attack

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/516492-super-smash-bros-melee/67285683

Hope this helps. Honestly as I said at the start, it's about predicting where he's gonna roll, he only has 3 options really - Roll behind, in front of you or away from you.

-if he attacks, he hits your shield and you grab. 
-if he rolls towards you preemptively and ends up in front of you you grab/attack. 
-if he ends up rolling behind you, you stop shielding and turn around while he's tied up in the roll animation.and now he's in front of you, so see above.

-if he retreats, you've at least won space and might be able to cover his retreat with a running grab or dash attack

-He's very susceptible to Shield-Grabbing, and I punish him every time he goes for a dash attack on me. However, he knows this, so he never goes for a dash, unless I'm caught up in some lag. 

-His frames of vulnerability between rolls are almost non-existant, so if I try to grab, that just makes me vulnerable.

-Again, he's never "Tied-Up" while rolling. He's Toon-Link, and like I said above, his time of vulnerability is WAY too small.

-How this works is that I walk towards him, perfect shielding every arrow, and when I corner him, he just rolls away to the other side of the stage, laughing.

DOWN SMASH.

Most character's down Smash will attack both behind and in front of them. So if he is rolling anywhere near you, there is a high chance a down smash will hit.

Ganondorf4Lyfe.

Down Smashing usually doesn't work. Even as Shulk.

He always finds a way to slip through.

I'm assuming you play Sm4sh. My tip?


Don't play Smash 4.
*shot dead*

Nawh, in seriousness, playing defensively is how Smash 4 works. As well as Brawl. You just have to outcamp him and make the game boring for literally everyone or convince him offensive play is better. Smash Bros defensive play is incredibly dull and just slows everything down. Get him playing Melee or PM with you. THEN see him roll. :3

Thank you for all of your advice, guys. I'll practice more and try to defeat him legit. But if that does not work, I'll just make him play Melee.