Situationally he actually got huge damage buffs. 50-70+ more damage on Senpukuga combos, and potentially more damage on close range cr.MK and st.HK combos. Sweep V-Trigger does 10 more damage than before as well, and our st.LP counter hit combos got a big damage increase by going into st.HP > HP Sotoja instead of st.MP/cr.MP L Ryobenda/Sotoja.
His damage has gone up this season, and in my opinion very noticeably!
On paper he can land a lot more damage, but the st.LP>st.HP link is way too pixel-precise and situational. Even Xian, the world’s best F.A.N.G, drops it about half the time. Sure it’s only the beginning, and he’ll get it more consistently as he improves, but it doesn’t feel like a reliable option for 99% of F.A.N.G players.
He lost damage on v-trigger cancel into st.hk from st.hp and down forward HP. He also lost CH cr.lk into cr.mp. I think overall his damage is pretty much the same but he’s more technical now- he needs combos that set up his meaty st.lp but you need to confirm standing/crouching, you need setups for cr.lk to hit meaty as well as counter hit to link cr.mp. These are all things we need to take advantage of just to stay competitive with the top tiers.
Yeah, losing V-Trigger into st.HK is definitely a shame (it’s pretty boring do st.HP, st.HP, V-Trigger, st.HP haha). And being forced to do cr.LK into st.MK is a minor damage decrease too (however I think this is probably offset by sweep into V-Trigger doing 10 more damage. Both minor nerfs/buffs)
Still, I get counter hit st.LP way more often than most things, and so I think that’s one of our biggest buffs (along with the meaty st.LP potential.)
It’s not related to a damage increase, but I love st.LK CH into st.MP. Long range combo potential is really appreciated buff for FANG.