Howdy! I main Nash but I’m interested in picking up Laura, and I’ve been having some issues figuring out her footsies game and dealing with zoning.
What are generally her best tools? I can study mix-ups, dash-unders, and setups for days, but it doesn’t do me any good if I don’t have the footsies to get in there in the first place. Just seems like she has really short range or slow normals in general, but I’m also still relatively new to the FGC, so it could just be me. A lot of my game right now has just been empty jumps, tick throws, and mix-ups with her V-Skill (which I’m pretty sure isn’t safe). Occasionally I can hit-confirm into elbow for the knockdown and the Thunderclap setups turn real, but that’s about it- I’m kinda feel like I’m relying way too much on good guesses and I don’t know frame data, nor do I know any frame traps or match-up knowledge beyond shotos.
"I can study mix-ups, dash-unders, and setups for days, but it doesn’t do me any good if I don’t have the footsies to get in there in the first place. "
This thread should be a call out to people here making nothing but “reset” and “super ultra Laura combo videos LOLOLZ”
As of RIGHT NOW they’re absolutely useless. They’re desk combos and most of the time impractical, because no one knows how to apply them properly.
Everyone is worried about being flashy at this point in time instead of saying “how can f+HP be used against Karin’s stMK?” “what’s a good way to use stMK or cMP as a precursor to those combos?”.
There HAS to be buttons used to get in to use these mixups and resets. As it stands right now, this forum has no idea. We’ve just been getting post of how she needs changes made.
I couldn’t agree more. I still think the downfall of a lot of Laura players are their refusal to focus on the footsie game and her footsie tools. Not stressing on footsies is a silly thing to do considering how important footsies are in this game in general. If people aren’t making good use of st.MK, c.MP, c.HP, etc, they’re already fucking up. You don’t even need flashy resets or combos to win with this character. Save that shit for later. ATM, people are better off just watching match videos of vryu, jiBbo, or Mister Crimson than reading these forums.
I hear you all.
I abandoned ranked for a while just to try out stuff in casual and lobbies.
So far, cr mk xx lp elbow is doing its job.
St lp is a great tool but I have a hard time canceling it into lp elbow.
I keep reading that st mk is godlike and that I should use it more, but I really can’ t understand when.
cr hp xx elbow is ok in footsies, but it leaves me super open if I whiff it. Same with st hk, but I love that button.
st/cr mp are probably her best buttons
standing MK can be pretty good for a walk back footsie game. Like if you’re walking back and Bison is chasing you down with a dash teleport into throw, or ken’s v skill dash forward. The hit box and recovery makes it hard to get sweep punished as well.
I’m finding certain ways to pin in cornered opponents with cr HP into fireball. Seems her fireball game, if not used in resets is pretty good against opponents in the corner.
I too abandoned the ranked to experiment on some laura stuff, I still suffer cos of my sf4 habits. ( also waiting for capcom to fix the rq issues and waiting for rog dlc actually)
st.mk is a great tool, can be cancelled into vskill dash. you can go back and forth with dash depending on the situation. you can follow it with a dash forward to apply more pressure, score some throws. Or you can dash back to bait and cool things out.
I prefer st.lk to st.lp. st.lk xx elbow buffer is useful. however st.lp is also good for distrupting.
cr.hp is very good at stuffing opponent’s normals. good range comparing to other laura normals.
as mentioned before cr.mk is another useful tool. cr. mp is…meh.
st.hk and cr.hk is super risky.
laura is meant to be played footsie oriented but lacks range on normals. to win the footsie game laura needs to utilize vskill more. dash in dash out. I think capcom needs to buff her command grab, it should be like abel’s in sf4.
The problem really is her footsies are pretty bad compared to the rest of the cast. I noticed this forces Laura players to jump more than they should as well.
Dashing in with he vskill after a blocked normal seems like a good idea, until you play someone that knows the matchup and they just jab you out of all those tricks. And getting a single jab with some characters can lead to some decent damage. Once the other player establishes that your gimmicks (yes, I hate to say it, but she requires gimmicks to win) won’t work, you’re kind of limited in your options. For the first month, you can get away with it all, but once people get used to fighting her, it’s going to become much harder to get in.
Although, it is completely possible I was just playing Laura wrong. Lately I have been feeling like Karin is just a better Laura.
I also have a problem with s.LP xx LP Elbow but only on the left side. I have a hard time doing the qcf sometimes. One way I’m working to help with it is to hold back when I press LP and then start the motion. I love s.HK as well but I wish it had a lil less recovery because whiffing it is a risk. I don’t use c.HP often in my neutral game but I need to use it more. I watch other Laura’s and as mention it does stuff normals a lot. I know her v skill is iffy because it can be hit by lows and stuff but I use it. I have a high success rate with it once I notice my opponent likes to block low even against standing normals. So I check them from time to time with it and fellow up with a command grab. What I need to do more is back throw since your at advantage after and can continue pressure. I have a habit of doing command throw after landing LP Bolt. As far s.MK I’m still trying to understand when to use it.
@“Phoenix Wright” good insight on her s.MK, I didn’t know about the hitbox and the whole sweep punish thing. I have a question though related to her fireball game. Which one is the best for maintaining her pressure game?
If you’re only using gimmicks, you aren’t playing this character correctly. No, you don’t need gimmicks to win with Laura. She has a legit three way guessing game after you get in with a LP Bolt on hit and a well placed c.mk is a great way in since it cancels into LP Bolt. Only 1 of your options after a LP Bolt on hit has a heavy risk to it (command grab) and you should only be using that when you see the opponent is content with just blocking and teching your normal throws since Laura’s normal throws are REALLY good. Learn you’re option selects.
it’s also a guessing game for “you”. i think you meant selecting options by saying “option selects”. and its not easy to “get in”.
you always roll the dice, laura has no consistency imho. just gimmicks. you take the risk, sometimes it pays off well sometimes it doesnt. it’s always an uphill battle while others just run around following the good old flow chart. laura cant tag the opponent with one hit and confirm the big ass combo, you cant play safe.
After a LP bolt what options do you legitimately have that will beat a 3 frame jab? If I am reading this correctly, LP bolt leaves you at -2 on block. Pretty sure that means a 3f jab will beat you out of almost all of your follow up options (even st.LP at 3 frames start up). You may be able to sneak in her CA, but that can only happen once.
Put it this way (as I play Chun and Laura), if you try a lp bolt on chun and she blocks, if she does clp, clp, slp, st.mk she has no pushed you back far enough so your stubby normals can’t do much. I’m going to assume the rest of the cast has block strings/frame traps equal to this and it makes trying to get in with Laura more of a chore than it is fun.
Being that is the case, how exactly are you getting in and getting damage without gimmicks? You’re not vskill dashing in on a good opponent with reactions, you’re going to get pushed out after a lp bolt, punished after a mp bolt.
Am i the only player that often likes to back off from lp bolt mixup situations? Its not uncommon for me to land lp bolt and, instead of an up close mixup, do standing jab and cancel into vskill backdash. I just like to slow the game down sometimes, when i know certain mixups wont be worth it
Each fireball comes out slower or faster depending on the punch button. I like to go for crHP into MP fireball. It’s a great frame trap and i THINK the MP firball travels a slow and far enough to continue your combo.
Try experimenting with CrHP into HP fireball. Then try crHP into MP fireball. I think the MP fireball comes out slower, but you can still connect an attack after it.
I specifically said on hit. If they blocked it, that’s it, your turn is over. But you are not getting punished for it unless you’re fighting Gief sitting on full meter. You have to wait for another chance. It is only your turn up close if you’re LP Bolt hits. A well placed c.mk or c.mp can help you land that hit. If a Chun is mashing c.lp or holding up to jump out after getting hit, she’s going to eat a s.lk confirm into another lp bolt, If she neutral jumps and you went for normal throw, she’s eating a hp bolt. If she jumps back, she’s eating ex bolt provided you have meter. Command grab is the last resort option you use only when you see you’re opponent is blocking and teching your throws after eating a lp bolt. Laura is not braindead. Everything she gets she earns. That’s what I like about this character (among other things huehuehue).
You say footsies like she has a solid footsie game, which she really doesn’t. That’s the main point I was making. You have to fish with lp bolt to make anything happen and it sucks. You can use cmk or cmp to confirm, but that’s not as simple as you make it sound. It’s not as ranged as a lot of other pokes people will be using to keep you out.
On the off chance you get the hit (and in the first few weeks you will, once people understand the matchup better they will be looking for it) there’s not many options that will lead to decent damage.
Like I said before, I play Laura as well and really enjoy playing her, but her gaps are glaringly obvious and will eventually be easier for others to pick up on it.
Yeah I feel Laura requires some patience and discipline to be able to get in. Basically she doesn’t have amazing pokes, but she has decent counter pokes, which she can cancel into vskill f. (or lp elbow)
The most natural human reaction after eating a counter hit is to stop pushing buttons and holding block, allowing you to start applying pressure. Against better players, even though they know the matchup, the “surprise effect” should often be enough to make them hesitate just a split second. Of course you shouldn’t always vkill cancel from the same normal otherwise you’re 100% readabale.
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for footsies against character like Chun, Ryu, Karin or Cammy, I really like st lk (buffer lp bolt). I am starting winning matches that I would have never won otherwise just because of this (and by abusing V-reversal… which is a bad habit).
When you have Super, your counter poke game gets even scarier. Now, I know this could be said for pretty much all characters, but yesterday I saw Vryu confirming st mp CH into CA, I thought that was pretty awesome.
Then we’re going to be in disagreement since I definitely feel they are solid enough. She doesn’t have any obviously stupid good buttons akin to Karin’s s.mk or Bison’s s.hk but that doesn’t mean her tools aren’t solid enough to get legit wins on competent players. You just need patience with this character.
She does have some stuff people overlook. For example, her cr.MK has more active frames than any other similar cr.MK which makes it very good for catching people walking forward. Her deadzone makes it hard to take initiative in the neutral though. You’ll have to catch them walking forward, whiff punish or counter poke. You can’t just walk into a range where you get to sit in the driver seat. I think smug would do really well with her.