Couple of quick questions I didn’t find in the FAQ, but I’m sure someone here knows.
And, I apologize for my annotation. I haven’t quite learned SRK’s annotation and I’m still used to GG/BB.
What exactly is Abel’s anti-air? 623P is a horribly awkward angle. I suppose there always is the option to block and follow with some bread and butter–to which I haven’t exactly seen much bnb in SSF4–but I assume there has to be something better than 623P.
I’m feeling like c.MK is Abel’s main poke. All I’m seeing c.MK do, though, is c.MK, 236P, 6P, 6P. Does Abel have a decent standing poke that can go into something other than 236P, 6P, 6P? It feels like there should be some poke that chains into c.FP, 623P, 236K, then continues a mix-up.
What does Abel do after his 236K? I feel as if I’m not throwing a 41236P, I’m rather open. I suppose this question is really leading to:
What is Abel’s bnb? I noticed a stickied thread with a gamut of combos, but what is his actual bnb?
Last question. What’s Abel’s anti-wakeup game? All I’m feeling is 236P, 6P, 6P again. But, I don’t want to spam that. I’ll feel scrubby. ):
Abel has many anti airs, all useful in different situations. cr.hp, cr.mk, close st.hp (anti cross up/neutral jump), far st.mk and lp/ex falling sky (623P) all work well… Experiment with which ranges they work at and get used to using which one is appropriate
st.lk is a great poke for keeping people out - it should be your go to poke for controlling space. cr.mk has it’s uses and like you said, it can be buffered into CoD (236P) and allows you to counter poke some high pokes from your opponent (e.g. Sagat’s st.hk)
You should be using it to close the gap on your opponent, not for initiating an offense. Think of it more as a way to get around laggy normals that you couldn’t usually get around in order to get to a range that suits Abel best. i.e. rolling into step kick (f+mk) range through fireballs, or getting into to point blank after a whiff c.hk from Boxer… whatever
cr.mp xx CoD, cr.mk xx CoD, st.hp xx CoD. Every time you land a CoD with two bars, you can FADC to cr.hp xx HP falling sky for good damage and stun. F+mk xx dash, st.hp xx CoD is essential.
You mean what should you do when your opponent is waking up ? Plenty of options, none of them being CoD lol. Cross up with j.mk, ambiguous rolls, meaty Tornado Throw (63214P) … there’s plenty of stuff you can do… Abel is a mix up character with lots of offensive and baiting options - find which ones work to your play style best and experiment with them.
Cannot reiterate how important it is to block the shit out of everything in a wakeup situation. Don’t try any fancy reversal bullshit, just block.
Once you’re comfortable with the moveset and properties, then you can go and worry about that. In the meantime, block. The only bad thing that’ll happen to you from blocking is eating a throw that you miss the tech on.
Block, prepare to tech, then worry about what to do. Get comfortable sitting through pressure. There’s no guard meter, so there’s nothing to worry about. Your name suggests you’re a GG/MB/BB player though so you should be used to blocking 800 hit combos.
holy shit the numbers are confusing me lol, i can read them but it feels weird… use the move name instead?
623P - Falling sky - fs
236P - Change of Direction - CoD (this is the move youre mostly going to want to cancel/combo into for big damage)
236K - roll - well, roll
as for anti air, his falling sky isnt really an AA, in super the move has gotten better and can be used as AA but its still situational, abel has a lot of AA normals, most have been stated by the people in this thead and you need to know when to use what at certain range.
ah crap im in the middle of summin right now so cant reply much, good luck to you! while learnin abel maybe you should also learn the terms used etc… and yeah maybe spend some time reading the threads…
Eventhubs has been helping me a bit to adjusting to SF’s annotation. I’m still from Arksys land. ):
Does Abel have a decent approach game? I’m guessing from videos and reading around that FADC is your approach, occasionally rolling (236k). SSFIV is just a lot slower tempo than I’m used to; I’m trying to learn how to put pressure on quickly when appropriate.
And, if there any other real bnb I should practice religiously besides F+mk xx dash, st.hp xx CoD (sure as hell hope that’s right annotation)?
Abels approach game? Jump forward/roll when it’s safe, fadc through fireballs, walk forward. Abel has a pretty easy time getting in compared to some other characters.
Combo’s you should learn: a true blockstring, cr.mpXXcod, fwd.mk -> hpXXcod, connecting stuff after the cr.hp that you do after the focus cancelled (FADC) CoD (236p).
And before you ask: yes, fwd.mk -> hp is a pretty hard link, search this forum to find out why and how you can make it a bit easier to pull off. Finding stuff out for yourself, even by searching for it on a forum, is the best way to learn.
General SFIV advice: don’t jump in on people (for no reason) and block a lot.
This was what I felt, but what about shotos and others with good anti-air (like Sagat’s…tiger uppercut? It’s his 236P, whatever that is. I feels like if you roll the Hadouken, you’ll just get DP or punished. I’m sure flowchart Kens will throw a Hadouken and follow with a fierce DP.
I know this is playing theoryfighter, but do you just end up going for a FADC to eat the projectile, then lead into your F+mk chains?
Roll under a fireball.
See what happens.
Then figure it out for yourself?
We can talk about Abel specifics till the cows come home but fighting game fundamentals [spacing in this case] is pretty much up to you.
Also in addition to the step kick shenanginas learn this:
cr.lp st.mp cod.
Close crouching jab link into close standing medium let it hit once then cancel into mp or lp cod.
The 5 frame crouching jab will poke walk up throws cold and if you catch them leads into a 200-400+ damage combo.
Blocked crouching jab, you can go for a quick jab tt.
I have noticed that Abel uses a lot of lks and lps. In every other fighter I’ve played (Guilty Gear, BlazBlue, etc), you only use light attacks when that is literally your only option.
SF is such a different world from where I come from. @_@;
Besides all the other stuff people said here another very important combo to learn and what I consider BnB as well is his: c.lk xx s.fp xx CoD finish or FADC combo.
