It’s about that time. I’m bored and sitting here and there hasnt been much Rolento activity. He’s still my favourite character. He needs to get mo’ love.
I want to talk about a few of his moves, I’m not trying to claim original thought on these but I want to put them down somewhere. I enjoy reading my past posts and comparing my gameplan and understanding to my current play.
Jab
Rolentos best pressure move by far.
c.jab vs s.jab
If you play rolento you know that c.jab has slightly more range. This an be used to get some counterhits. Ie max range s.jab, walk forward so that you are still outside of s.jab range and do a c.jab. Take the time the counterhit gets you to set up for something else. Head bobbing after a c.jab can make it look like you are walking forward. Ie c.jab, neutral->c.jab can often get counter hits or baited moves.
Into low forward xx Patriot Circles
Counterhit c.jab/s.jab both easily combo into low forward. Patriot circles do not need a counterhit jab.
Meaty jabs work really well and can easily be hit confirmed (without counterhit). It also makes s.jab low forward completely safed when blocked.
To use jabs effectively you really have to pay attention to your ranges. For example, a max range s.jab does not leave you much room to do anything but walk back into range. Which is why c.jab helps a bit. Ideally I like having the middle of Rolento’s stick hit the opponent. Especially for meaty jabs. Against rc grooves it is sometimes better to be a bit further out. For example, blanka gets the really hard to time wake up rc electricity, you are still safe on the meaty jab if it is done further away. Having the stick hit about half way allows for better mixups, it gives you enough time to mix up throw, jab combo, and counterhit jab/blocked jab at the same distance. I believe at this distance if done meaty it is safe from just defend aswell. Jumping is also an option as it puts you in good distance for a crossup/jump straight up roundhouse.
All counterhitjabs/meaty jabs should result in a knock down. Meaty jabs allow you to set up counter hits easily. You can be in throw range after walking in from a meaty jab and still be in a good position to counterhit.
Learning to combo s.jab, s.jab, s.jab is also very important to rolentos game. This puts people in the habit of blocking. If you force people to block you can throw out more moves like c.fierce immediately after 1 jab (slightly outside of half stick range). Ideally I would want someone to block this (having a flashing guard on your opponent obviously gives you added pressure), however having the c.fierce hit is still good.
Forward
Standing forward is a good move to keep people out when it is necessary. If you get in the habit of using this move at the proper range you can sometimes bait jumps/pokes with a s.short. However s.short should only be done when you are outside of their ranges (well, I should never say “only” but just as a general rule). The startup of the s.short looks very similar to the s.forward. This obviously isnt something to spam or use a lot, but when you’ve convinced your opponent that they might be able to make you wiff a s.forward to punish/jump it can be good.
Meaty c.forward at about 2/3’s the length of the leg away can set up a counterhit c.jab -> c.forward.
Towards and forward, the only thing I’ve seen this move do is punish cammy’s max range spiral arrows (qcf+kick). I say max range because i’ve hit cammy out of one and she’s recovered first.
Roll cancel scouter jump
Execution of this move: I tend to use the knuckles of my middle to pinky finger to hit the forward/roundhouse buttons. So I curl them up and roll my hand across after hitting the roll. Works very well on japanese layout. Try to release jab+short as you hit forward/roundhouse as it gives you an extra imput (negative edge short). This is good because rc scouter can be done by releasing short and pressing one button (ie roundhouse).
Keepaway:
Time it as they would hit you from a jump in to escape the corner, or to jump back into the corner for a j.fierce, low forward xx patriot circles. Escaping the corner is ideal though because they obviously land before you and can hit you out of the air. Not recommended against low jump cammy either or you get low jump kick grabbed.
Agressive:
It can also be done after a half distance jab if you have them in the corner. As people with dragons will want to dragon your counter hit jab/throw attempt.
Anti-air:
This gives p/k another height to defend when they jump. Use it slightly lower in the arc (or the same timing) than you would a jump jab and slightly higher than you would use s.strong. You can also use it when they are inside your s.strong range but where you would trade if you press strong. Jump back with it to defend against crossups or high arcing super jumps onto your head (ie when you are in the corner).
That’s all for today.