Thanks for the advice, I’ve been grinding it out in training mode in preparation for EVO and have been focusing only on my original team.
Have a quick question about a Daimon corner setup. dp+B DC dp+A sometimes allows a crossup j.B, but not always.
At first I thought it might be like King’s corner crossup where she has different ones if she’s player 1 or player 2, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Anybody more familiar with Daimon know what I might be missing?
Just started playing KOF13 on steam. I learned some bnb’s for the characters in my team and watched a bunch of juicebox’s vids to get a feel for the neutral game. Went on for my first match and got bodied… its a lot harder to get into than sf4. What should I be doing in the neutral game so that I don’t get rushed down in the corner and destroyed? Do I just need to keep getting wrecked and get a feel for the speed of the game and eventually will get better?
The first thing is that KOF is not harder to begin with necessarily, just very, very different. SF4 is a lot about finding and maintaining an optimal distance to space pokes just right. KOF is more about high octane movement, the spacing is much more gross and the situations last mere moments. You can attack at a long distance and close in on someone much more easily. If someone does a bad poke, you can just hop in and murder him for it. Zoning is actually pretty strong, but in this game it cannot be an end in itself because of the lack of damage output - the mentality is much the same as Akuma’s in SF4: Create an opportunity and use that opportunity to get in and start your pressure. Antiairing and air to airing is pretty much all angle and timing, and often just not being where the opponent thought you were. Movement is super strong in this, and while full and especially jumps forward are still generally a bad idea, hops are often really good because they turn air normals into long pokes, a bit like how you’d treat a fireball in footsies in SF4. Except these lead into pressure and can be overheads.
@Komatik thanks for the advice. I keep doing a tad better each time I play online and have been trying to keep moving and mix up my ways in. I’m trying to work on hit confirming in a real match now. I can do it in training mode on random guard but its much harder in a real KOF match because of the match pace. If anyone wants to add me on Steam you can PM and we can run some sets.
Also, frame trapping is nowhere near as key to the upclose pressure game of KOF13 as it is SF4’s. In SF4, you can tech throws crouching, DP from a crouching position and overheads rarely lead to anything. The crouch teching and poor overheads pretty much mean that high/low/throw is not a strong mixup. You frame trap because it can be made safe and the opponent may get flustered enough to crouch tech, which opens him up. Apart from this, it’s bloody hard work in SF4.
In KOF, by contrast, you have to stand to tech (4P/4D) and to DP (the game only accepts 623 and 626 as DP inputs - all the short/longcuts are utilizing the 626), so low/throw is scary. Hops are short enough to catch an unwary opponent but actually lead to a full combo on hit and more pressure on block. Hops also allow empty hop low/throw. So there is a complete high/low/throw mixup game, and its payoffs are high. Simple and brutal, this is the main form of pressure in KOF.
just bought this game and its downloading now. just wanted to ask what people think is the best way to get started? never played an anime fighter before and all I have to go on now is the usual find a char you like and practice/play.
First, KOF is not an anime fighter. The same fundamentals apply as in SF - you can’t block in the air, can’t change directions barring special moves and so on. You just have four different jumps instead of one or two.
If you’re coming from a Street Fighter background, check the info packet in my sig, especially the following video. The Beginner’s Incomplete Guide to KOF is pretty much the best SF=>KOF resource there is. Watch once, watch twice, watch a ton of times because it’s great.
Mentality-wise, those couple posts above yours are for the difference in mentality, and difference in what KOF13 is about in contrast to SF4.
bleh
I am using King/Mature/Leona right now, It’s kinda neat because they all have different execution so I think learning them will help me learn to use my Hitbox better.
Same. It’s nice to have characters that force you to learn different stuff.
I would like to get any tip about how to get rid of Athena’s traps when she zones you and totally controls the space with her fireballs/teleport/crouching+C/DM attacks! My favourite chars are K’, Shen Woo and Terry. Sometimes I can successfully beat her with K’ flying kicks and teleports, but most of the times I get my ass kicked really hard!
Thanks in advance, this topic is GREAT, you guys are really skilled and have helped me a lot!
If you’ve ever played Street Fighter, Athena’s projectile game is somewhat similar to Ryu or Guile. (I’ve only played 13, so if you’re not talking about that game then this might not hold)
Fireball -> You see fireball and jump -> Uppercut
The same applies if you try to roll through the fireball on reaction, you’re gonna get punished. That being said, there are things you can do that can work. The universal ones are jumping or rolling at the same time as Athena throws the fireball. This is tricky because you have to predict your opponent’s actions, but if you’re successful you get pretty much any combo you want. An anti-air from Athena might do 200 damage tops using meter, but a grounded combo from anyone can usually break 400 with a bar and a drive. Do that twice and suddenly Athena has to worry about dying to pokes. Because characters can cover ground so quickly by running, you can also block and then run forward some. If she throws another fireball you’ll have to block again, but you’ll gain ground without taking any risky actions.
Character specific things you can do:
K’ - You can use your fireball (QCF+P) to cancel hers and then kick it towards her as a proper projectile (forward+LK I think). This will allow you some time to move forward and close the gap. Teleport is pretty slow, and to use it successfully you’d need to have the same timing as rolling or jumping anyway.
Shen - He has a special (QCB+FP I think) that is specifically meant to parry fireballs. You’ll gain some meter while Athena won’t, and you won’t take damage, so she’ll have to do something different eventually.
Terry - If you’re having a really hard time with Athena’s fireballs, you can use EX Power Wave to push through her fireballs. It hits 3 times, so even if she blocks it you have plenty of time to get close, and it’ll go right through her fireball if she doesn’t EX it. Keep in mind that it starts pretty slow, and she will most likely jump or roll to avoid it, so be ready to punish her.
Thanks for the useful advices, RadicalFuzz!
I used to be a SF turbo player long time ago, and I was already used to that fireball->uppercut playing style! But at least for me, Athenas projectiles come out extremely fast and I always have to antecipate and jump in BEFORE, and sometimes I fall into some ambushed mindgames and jump in too early and then I eat a special DM which sends me to the sky!
I am trying to practice more my reflexes to be able to parry her fireballs with Shen’s but I always do it too late and get hit before the parry.
The Terry’s EX Power wave seems to be a really great solution! Never realized that before 
I am going to try it right now!
With K’ I indeed can use his firehand and shoot a projectile back, but most of times she has enough time to roll/teleport and punishes me while K’ is still recovering from the kick! grrrrr 
As you see, I am still a sucky Kof XIII player, but Im trainning hard and trying my best to get better! and I really appreciate all your advices!
You can always not kick K’s fireball, just use it to nullify hers. Also if she wants to throw fireballs and punish you, the damage you get from one jump-in is much greater than the one she gets with one anti-air. The risk is in her favor but the reward is in yours.
How can I choose Flame Iori???
What KOF?
i really wana get into kof 97 and kof 11 they are so fun to watch its weird being a fundamental sf player as u gotta take leaps of faith alot to jump in especially with kyo trying t jump in with d c or jump b combos which guys can anti air me with dps ect being a sf guy makes me afraid t keep strong offense unless i get a knockdown
i wonder what the strategy is for kof its kinda hard t play footsies u gotta take alot more risk i feel u cant turtle at all unless u have certain chars im not a turtle but at times do like t play safe
Is there any terminology unique to KoF 13 I should know? Newbie Saikyo Dojo covers everything of what I already know, so if there’s anything besides that, I’d like to know.
Thanks!