Okay guys, suggestions plzzzz:
My team is A-Groove xxx/Hibiki/Mai(2)
The battery spot is between Balrog, Eagle and Todo. I’m kinda comfortable with all three and get their CCs out consistently but with each of the above, I really struggle against certain match-ups - I want to stick with one character now, so I get to know each match-up inside out.
Who would I be better with in the long run? I’ve just switched from Xbox over to PS2 version, so I’ve just started learning RC too.
They’re all pretty good in A, if you know how to use them. Depends on matchups too…but basically, the way I see things, Balrog deals the most damage…but doesn’t give you many options…Eagle is good overall, some bad matchups, but his custom does a lot of damage and is really easy…Todo has the most potential with RC grab, wave mixups, decent damage custom (though more difficult to perform), and chip custom…especially against K. Personally, I’d pick Eagle, 'cause I use him already and know most of the matchups he’ll face…but I’ve seen good A-Rogs and Todos…and they own too…so stick with whoever you’re most comfortable with.
[LEFT]Who may I ask are Eagles bad matchups? My friend plays a mean C-Eagle :sad:
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Ken seems to do pretty well hiding behind RC funky kicks…almost anyone in K or P gives him a hard time 'cause JD and Parry lessen/negate the stun that his sticks have on block…which is what makes most of his normals safe. Guile does pretty well, as does Sagat…at least in my experience. Cammy does pretty well also…and a smart Blanka player will own him up…I suppose it’s more a consideration of the strength of the player, and not the character…'cause a lot of my practice is against Choi and Ricky…and they just seem to be smarter players than most…so maybe those characters aren’t normally good against Eagle.
I’d say use Todo if you’re going up against P/K groove, and eagle otherwise. Eagle I think is the stronger all around character, but todo can give P and K groovers a hell of a time. Eagle, on the other hand, isn’t as good against them. He has a very good chip custom, but it’s too easily parried/JD out of. As well, his bnb into his sticks practically gives K groove a free rage bar every time you do it.
So, learn both, use Eagle mainly, but counterpick todo for P/K groovers.
I get swept by Eagle when I do the Ken RC kick from too far away. I don’t like it when I throw a Hadouken and I get jumped on (because Eagle just jumps in all over the place) or Eagle did a random roll in at the same time. Anyway, I throw slow Hadoukens from far, jump in and roll in randomly at Eagle even though Ken’s roll is slow (because I get a free combo whenever he whiffed his sweep or far s.HP), and use the RC kick when I’m in range (since Eagle can’t duck it). Eagle seems to have better normals up close than Ken does though, so I don’t think Ken would put up a very strong match at all unless he had the RC kick and RC Hadouken to work with.
I use Sagat whenever I really want to beat Eagle. Jump in from far with HK, random roll against the Eagle fierce and sweep, Tiger Uppercut to anti-air the random jumps (not the j.HK right on top of you when Eagle sets that up though), and the roll behind combo setups (Eagle gets accidental golf club move if he tries wakeup RC lariat). If Eagle decides to jump up and down sticking out j.MK’s like he can do against Blanka, I get a free super with Sagat. Same thing if he gets too happy with the jump backs too.
If Eagle does his one gimmick of super jump back, instant overhead j.MK on you, you get a free level 3 super whenever you’re Sagat.
The Combofriend trick of doing HP lariat to do a ton of chip hits to Sagat in the corner actually isn’t safe either. The second to last hit of the lariat leaves a huge gap and I get a free super or Tiger Uppercut every time.
In general, Sagat random roll, s.LP xx combo > anybody using Eagle
… so yeah, use Sagat I say. He’s strong.
I can’t beat Eagle whenever I use Guile at all. Those jump ins are too hard and frustrating to anti-air. I know to stick out backfists, but yeah, that’s it and not much else. The Eagle command counter move eats up my Sonic Booms and hits me through my strings. I don’t know if anybody else noticed, but all of Guile’s main moves (aside from Flash Kick and level 2 super) do like no damage compared to some other characters’. I’m losing and getting dizzy quicker every time my anti-air moves trade. I’m a bum compared to Choi obviously, but I like to think that I practice real hard and am a dedicated player though. Guile’s too hard for me to use in this match, so I definitely don’t think he’s a character that just anybody can pick up to counter Eagle with.
What did you mean by a smart Blanka to counter Eagle with?
Before I stopped playing Blanka, I remember always having a hard time against Eagle or Yamazaki because all their normal moves seemed to counter mine clean.
Pick Todo as the Battery, because ‘in the long run’, you’re going to practice using him to do CCs more and more effectively, and because of the command grab, that puts him tops among the three when it comes to Activating CC. Eagle and Balrog are great, but when it comes to a full bar and you want to land that CC, Todo’s options are scarier, his chips are scarier, and his battery building is scarier.
Thanks guys, much appreciated. I’ll go with Todo as the only decent local comp here uses K-Groove anyway. But I’ll keep Eagle in mind too.
Thanks man.
I see what youre saying, the person I play is better than me. He’s much more patient than I am, goes naturally with a pace he is comfortable with whilst I adopt the bad habit of trying to push things along. Eagle is especially someone I need to slow it down against I think. I sometimes get caught with a dash in cr.mk(?) to super. That damn j+rh trades with just about everything I can throw out too which is really annoying! Im playing with the idea of sometimes dashing back when I see him jump in.
K groove is my mains too so youve given me something else to think about.
My main team is K: Ken - Sakura - R2 Sagat. Im on a level with Sakura and Sagat where I usually know what I can expect when using them, but my Ken is very hit and miss against good comp. Ive been toying with the idea of making a change to my team, and if anybody had to go, it would have to be Ken. Who would be a good candidate to replace him? I really dont mind changing the order of my team either, so any suggestions are very much appreciated on that. 
Thanks for reading!
@Mikee Showbiz - Ive been wondering who that tag is lol. Mine has changed, I’ll send a new request 
naw man, ricky ain’t smart he can just see the future
kcxj, eagle can do early stand strong to beat sagat’s far jump in… something people don’t seem to know
or RC mp lariat, but yea, eagle isn’t helpless against far jump ins like everyone seems to think.
Help me make a team. I use A-groove. My characters are Mai, Blanka, Vega, Rock, Hibiki, Rolento.
Who should be my battery/user/ratio2?
Oh, my friend Otaru was playing K-Ken, Kyo, Sagat as his main team. When we were playing with BAS, he recommended K-Rock, Kyo, Sagat team to him instead. Ken isn’t a very strong K-groove character, and need RC to be competitive. He’s like a weaker Kyo I think actually, so pick Rock for his knockdowns, more powerful supers, and command grab instead.
I recommend K-Rolento or K-Kyo very much if you like Sakura also, K-Kyo especially. He can combo supers after his far s.HK (which Sakura can’t), and his low short combos are even deadly and provide better setups afterwards than Sakura’s combos do. Even his kick throw is the same as Sakura’s punch throw in that it leaves you in perfect wakeup position and the guy isn’t allowed to safe fall or slow get up either.
The only problem I have is that I have a harder time fighting against Vega with Kyo than I do with Sakura.
If you’re still going to use Sakura though, be sure to always hit confirm you low shorts into a dp+HP combo, and abuse the block strings that end with qcb+HK like there’s not tomorrow. You get +3 advantage on the block to continue your momentum every time. Plus you s.LP comes out in two frames, gives +7, and Eagle can’t duck it either I’m pretty sure. Yeah, Sakura doesn’t do any real damage though. I also don’t like her supers. Although guard break with far s.HK, run up, close s.HK xx qcf, qcf+K super is nice, as is anti-airing with Shinkuu Hadouken super, she does such weak damage compared to Kyo…
[LEFT]Thanks man, the Kyo info is golden. I didnt know st.rh could be cancelled, its my new favourite thing! Nobody plays Kyo around my way so I never really knew much about him. I tried him out yesterday and was very suprised. Places where my Ken would have felt pressured I played relatively calm with Kyo. He will be going into my main team for sure, feels so much more complete than Ken in K groove.
I think I will stick with Sakura for now. I dont really think I can afford to let her go, she is probably my best character at the moment heh. Ken however, is gone!
Thanks once again, you guys give great advice.
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IMO, Vega, Rolento, 2-Blanka would be the most top tier of that team. But I’ve seen decent A Rocks and Hibikis too.
Yo, im trying to say strictly mid- tier, but i’d use cammy if i feel like it… Anyway tell me if this is a good team.
N-Iori, geese, Rugal
A-vega/mai/blankaR2
a vega, rolento/hibiki, blanka 2 is probably the best team u could make with those characters.
In other words, go with Vega Battery, Blanka Anchor. That much is agreed on. Just choose any of the other characters for a user, and you should have a competitive team (top tier too)
The team have to be fully top tier,Mai and Hibiki would make good batteries