Blanka needs meter for his reversals. Meter to do his most damaging combos. Meter to keep offense momentum after a knockdown. Meter to beat specific moves.
Thats a lot of meter! How do you prioritize that meter usage? How do you efficiently gain it? What is a waste of meter? What uses of meter are underrated? I can manage my opponent’s meter gain and usage?
When I wakeup I’ll try to start answering these.
I’ll make a couple of tables, then throw out some basic matchup related meter ideas.
Basic Super Meter Concepts
Yeah my magicwand skills suck!
The super meter is 1000 “points” long and is divided visually into 4 blocks of 250. When one of these blocks is filled it begins glowing blue conveniently to show that it is in fact full. Various actions will fill the super meter by a set amount as the match progresses.
The following actions will gain you super meter, super meter gain variables will be in parentheses if applicable.
[LIST]
[]Hitting the Opponent with a Normal Move Attack
[]Getting the Opponent to Block a Normal Move Attac(50% gain)
[]Performing a Special Move Attack
[]Hitting the Opponent with a Special Move Attack
[]Getting your Opponent to Block a Special Move Attac(50% gain)
[]Hitting the Opponent with a Focus Attack
[]Getting your Opponent to Block a Focus Attack(50% gain)
[]Getting Hit By Your Opponent’s Attack(50% gain)
[]Blocking an Opponent’s Attack(25% gain)
[]Focus-Absorbing an Opponent’s Attac(50% gain)
[*]Throwing the Opponent
[/LIST]
This meter can be used for different things. Super moves(consumes 4 blocks), FADCing a Special, EX, or Normal move(2 blocks), or using an EX Move(1 block).
Whiffing to create meter:
Normals don’t create super meter on whiff in sf4, so special moves have to be whiffed to gain meter. Upball and rainbow roll are obviously not options because of their slow recovery so you’re left with electricity and horizontal ball. The light versions of both moves recover the most quickly, and in the case of horizontal ball doesn’t move you too far forward.
I’ve started to do the classic cowardcrouch elec thing under fireballs a lot more, nice meter build which is handy for exhoriball in those match ups. Except sim and seth, for obvious reasons. In those situs I farm ultra with focus absorb. To build meter too I tend to lp roll rather than walk or hop when at all possible. Using a lot of safe blockstrings helps also. Slide elec habitually too.
I hate wasting meter on whiffed exupball, second thought exrainbow chicken-outs, accidental blocked ex elec and exrainbow corner stuffs.
I mostly use meter on exhoriball: going through projectiles, and because it’s speed and nice bounceback keep it safe, it’s sometimes a nice bait move for U2 anti ground. It’s a good anti air on reaction when people jump backwards too. Second main meter use would be exupball, in obvious locations.
One thing I don’t use meter much for is normal/special fadcs to stay safe and to keep attack momentum. That’s something I want to get used to using more often.
I like to keep my meter with Blanka for Super’s confirm, we all know that : Blanka has a crappy damage output and combo game, his basic punish is very poor and don’t scare, even after a focus crumple lvl2/3 so Super is like the only way with U1 to make real damage and also to make a come back.
Also exupball and exrainbow roll are good, but not too much, always thinking about keep my EXs for Super.
EXhoriball for specific match-ups like Ryu, Sagat etc…
I mostly gain my meter with elec at safe range, where you’re opponent can’t whiff punish you, also with safe cheap with lp ball and elec pressure, Blanka is a great meter builder, i generaly gain my Super bar after the first round.
I think EX elec is a waste of meter, not great damage, very poor EX move… I think combos with ex hori ball is great if you go to kill your opponent, otherwise… it’s crap.
I think EXhoriball is a waste of meter in match-ups where you don’t need it like Guile, DJ, Ken etc… i think EXupball for AA is too a waste where you can AA with normals like nj.HP.
I think you’re underrating ex electricity’s use actually. It has enough range to be able to be combo’d into where non-EX cannot, and can combo without having a charge…it also has 5 frame startup, making it as fast as the lp version but with a much better/bigger hitbox, making it, in some select situations, a viable reversal. It’s also his highest damaging special move.
With the HP ball buff EX electricity is even less useful than it was before.
EX electricity only has a few uses. Chipouts vs. characters that can’t reversal, and as a situational AA against air trajectory changing moves. In those situations it provides a utility that nothing else could have.
EX elec has the same hitbox than HP but on the first active frame and only on this frame, it has a bigger hitbox, anyway, i prefer keep my EX and chip out with HP elec.
Need more facts; number of hits before dizzy, in the case of a high stun character it may have taken a shitload of hits to dizzy them and the damage scaling might be huge. I’d need to research the incremental reductions again, but they don’t ever level out it’s always some degree of exponential yeah?
What size character are we taking about, would normal j.hk, st.mp, st.lp xx hp.elec whiff? That’s my go-to dizzy punish when I don’t have super. Do I have super? Or even ultra…?
To build the most meter before the start of round two, I suppose I’d whiff elec, lp.ball to get in range… taunt, Lvl3 FA hp.ball to finish… depending on how fast they can mash of course.
You know, the importance of meter management has really been shown to me this weekend at SS2k12. Watching some of the Japanese players and the way they use, conserve and build meter is incredible.
close/far.lp xx HP Ball? From what I can gather it’s going to be +80 meter gain and every other normal apart from c.lk will kill them. I only had a quick look at his move data though, so I’m probably wrong.
