Hi, as the title says, I’ve been playing against my friends and I noticed I am a sucker for overheads, that’s what basically makes me lose matches, my inability to block/read overheads, which bring me to this question:
Are overheads reactable to block? Meaning can I block after I see the overhead coming or is that only on read? Also I seem to be able to punish Laura’s overhead whenever I do manage to block it, is this correct or did my friend try mashing and I beat it out? Also are overheads punishable then or not? Thanks guys.
definitely reactable, but not consistently so. having great reflexes and mental stability to have consistently good reflexes can be a boon. but so can being great at predicting, which lessens the need for raw reactions. im not exactly sure what the fastest overhead a person with amazing reaction times can react to consistently. maybe around 9-12 frames? dunno. but i do think it also has a lot to do with really playing the game long enough for you to instantly react to the animations of overheads. you begin to notice subtle things like changes in the legs or pose etc that instantly says overhead.
about the thing when you say you are able to punish laura’s overhead when you block it, it may be because her overhead is unsafe on block? im not familiar with sf5 frame data. but frame data is highly important to know for high level play. you can learn a rough estimate of the frame data by playing the game for a long time. the longer you play the more you begin to get an intuitive knowledge of the underlying frame data. But you can also just study it as you go. I’d wager some characters have punishable overheads while others are not punishable but maybe simply minus a few frames to give you the momentum
Many are on the cusp. Smart money says, block low react high. Heightened awareness at the end of a round is advised since typically overheads can’t be followed up with much, but are often used for the killing blow.
the average human has a reaction time of roughly 15 frames. however, that doesn’t mean you can react to 15 frame overheads.
in theory, nobody should ever get away with jumping as jumping is over 45 frames, and yet people do manage to jump and not get anti-aired.
you not only have to react to the overhead (which can be difficult if it looks just like another attack), but your brain needs to process what you’re supposed to do when you see the overhead, and then your hands need to actually do it. all of this time can be shortened with lots of practice and there are players who could react to something far faster than 15 frames.
everyone else is faking it and either predicting the overhead and reading their opponent’s tendencies, or reacting to the absence of an attack or change in attack rhythm rather than the overhead itself (similar to how you react to a tick throw attempt).
there is a basic tactic in 3d fighting games where, if you know your opponent’s fastest low is 12 frames and their fastest overhead is 15 frames, you block low for the first 14 frames and then block high on the 15th frame. you aren’t reacting to the overhead, just merely utilizing frame data to cover yourself from the most typical methods of attack. (this is the original meaning of “fuzzy guard”). fuzzy guard typically isn’t as strong in 2d fighters since attacks in 2d fighters have much shorter startup.