I’ve been losing a lot lately to people using the frame advantage on normals to keep me under pressure. IE s.jab, s.jab, small step, c.jab. The advantage is large enough that i can’t beat it out with my own normals. Also, block strings can be extremely frustrating. I wanted to start this thread to discuss what options king has to handle this sort of pressure. From my time in the lab, I came up with a few things, specifically against characters i’ve been having trouble with:
Backdash - Slow, doesn’t put you that far away, doesn’t let you punish, but good in a pinch if you just need to GTFO
Shoulder Tackle - 1 hit armor at startup, but 22 frames until impact. Can be beat out by quick strings, or something like ryu c.forward XX fireball. If you absorb a quick move like a cr.jab, they’ll be able to block and punish. On the plus side, 400 plus damage if you land it CH.
Spin - lack of start up invincibility frames make this a pretty weak option, might be useful after a backdash if you think they’ll continue to apply pressure.
EX Giant Swing or Shining Wizard - Full body invincibility, but you have to know if they will be in a standing or crouching state. SW works really well against crouching strings, but it takes a meter, and is easily punished if you whiff or choose the wrong throw.
:f::2k: counter - 1 frame start up, can punish any string with a gap in it, so long as the attack you’re reversing is not a crouching move. Moves like ryu’s cr.fierce that seem to hit upper body can’t be reversed(at least not in the dozen times i tried it).
Here’s what I found vs the few characters that have been giving me the most trouble.
Ryu
cr.strong, cr.strong, cr.forward XX whatever
There’s a 1 frame break between the strongs, and a 2 frame break before the forward. Either of these breaks allow for a EX Shining wizard. If you trying the shoulder tackle, you’ll get blown up. You can also backdash, but if i messed up the timing i’d get hit out of the air by cr.forward
Rolento
jabx2(cr or st), cr.forward, XX patriot circle, st or cr jab.
This shit is annoying. there’s a break between the jabs and cr.forward which allow for an EX shining wizard. You can also backdash, but if you fuck up the timing you’re eating a patriot circle. Shoulder charge won’t work either. You can alpha counter the patriot circle pretty easily, but its only 120 damage at the cost of 1 meter. If you block the patriot circle, you’re at -1 which allows rolento to continue pressure with another st.jab or cr.jab. You can try and beat them out with you’re own jab string, or guess if their crouching or standing and do the appropriate throw. At this point, shoulder charge will absorb a jab, but let them block, or if they do 2 you’ll eat the second one. If they st.jab, you can use his counter. In this situation, you really have to read your opponent, but if you do you can stop the pressure and make them eat some damage.
Hugo
cr.strong XX qcb jab, cr.strong XX qcb.jab or qcf.short
He’s +10 off a blocked light clap, so don’t even think of doing anything immediately after that. Between the cr.strong and the clap, you have a frame or two. In theory, EX Giant swing should work, but i couldn’t get it to land. His reversal didn’t seem to work either. I did get shoulder charge to land, but there’s a catch. If they continue the string and go into another cr.strong after the first clap, you’ll land shoulder charge CH. If they decide to block after the first clap, they’ll block your charge and you’ll get a damaging combo. Again, it comes down to knowing your opponents habits. If they’re dumb enough to go into qcf.short at the end of the string, you have a lot of options. Block and punish, his reversal works, EX Giant swing, or shoulder charge, but not for a CH. If hugo charges up and has the armor, EX Giant swing will catch him, unless he dashes, in which case it depends on when he dashed.
Juri
cr.forward XX fireball cr.forward XX pinwheel
Only tried this with the low fireball. cr.forward XX fireball seems to be a true block string, but if they like to go for the 2nd cr.forward after you block the fireball, EX Shining wizard will work. Shoulder charge absorbs the forward, but you’ll either eat the pinwheel or they’ll block.
cr.fierce jump cancel qcb.kick
His air counter makes her qcb.kick pretty useless. I was able to land it no matter how low to the ground i did the dive kick. Shoulder charge seems to work as well, they don’t seem to be able to block after the hit is absorbed, but the counter does better damage.
Another note for juri, EX giant swing, his air counter, and shoulder tackle all beat out her overhead kick.
From the few hours i spend it practice mode, i’m going to make a few generalizations about kings options against string pressure. If its not a true blockstring, you can always make an educated guess and try an EX shining wizard against characters with crouching strings, or an ex giant swing against characters with standing strings. His counters are decent, but situational. Shoulder charge loses to a lot of stuff, but it may end up being worth the risk because of the massive damage that results. Alpha counter is good in a pinch, but it seems that king has better options for the meter.
If anyone else has looked at what works against other characters, post up, or let me know if you think i missed anything.