How does Blanka stack against other charge characters?

Classic Fighting Games Ultra Street Fighter IV
1

Hi guys. I am still pretty new to the game and its mechanics. I am looking to try out some charge character goodness. My chun, while good, is not great… and I am having a horrible time winning online with her. So I wanted to see if any other charge characters would fit me better. Bison (dictator) is being used by my friend, so to avoid mirror matches I wont be using him.

My question is how does Blanka stack against the other charge characters? Does he have the tools needed to be competitive and can he be somewhat offensive without having to leave himself open too much?

Is there certain things a noob Blanka should know before learning the advanced stuff with him? Does anyone have a tutorial or video links that may help me understand his playstyle?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

2

Charge characters: Balrog, Blanka, Chun Li, Dee Jay, Honda, Guile, Bison, and Vega.

Balrog: (only one I don’t use) easy combos into super, ultra, good normals

Blanka: good normals, limited combos, good mobility

Chun Li: good normals, great super, some good combos, good mobility, bad defense off wakeup

Dee Jay: not so good normals, good defense, good combos especially with meter

Honda: (nerfed damage on AE) slow movement, slow normals, good special moves and combos but nerfed now

Guile: good defense unless knocked down, limited combos

Bison: bad wakeup defense like Guile, good combos, good mobility, decent normals, the best all around charger

Vega: amazing normals, limited combos buta good one with meter, weak defense, good mobility

So pick one on your style of play. You looking to get a big combo, set back and be defensive, or mix it up and do a little bit of everything?

3

Yeah exactly what I am looking for is “You looking to get a big combo, set back and be defensive, or mix it up and do a little bit of everything” I like my characters to have a good set of versatility where I can change my gameplay up a little to match my opponent without having to sacrifice key damage combos and punishers. Hense why I thought Chun would be best for me but its proving a little more difficult for me to play her poke/turtle game because it cuts off a majority of her offensive moves. My other main is Adon, who I can put a pretty good offense game with, but I get punished all the time with his moves. I was hoping a charge character can help me be a little more opportunistic and less risky.

Honestly I think my choices (besides Chun) are Blanka or DeeJay. Which would you suggest for a newer player learning basic charge mechanics with?

4

Both are good for beginners. They can do a lot and mixup, but Dee Jay has more potential for damage. Blanka has the edge in footsies which you won’t learn right away, so maybe Dee Jay then. He has safer combos also.

5

How should I use the blanka balls? I tend to get punished heavily with them. Should I only use the forward ball during a combo? I LOVE the anti-air balls lol.

6

When horizontal beast rolls are blocked they are easy to punish. Hp rolls being very easy to punish, mp a little tougher but punishable, and lp roll being punishable by most characters, but harder. Some characters can even punish when you hit them with a roll. If your backed toward the corner you can be punished easier also because the wall causes you to recover closer to the opponent. Vertical rolls aren’t much better. You can whiff and get thrown when you land or can be punished after a block.

So yes only use them in combos you know end in a hit or to move Blanka across the screen. You can use them as offense but you have to know when, like when they focus attack a lot it will will beat out that. Another good use is when you can 2-1 punish a bad move on their part with crouching lp, crouching mk, or lp into a roll.

Watch videos of good players and see what they use and when.

read this:

7

I think Blanka is the worst charge character in AE

8

Imo, Claw is the Worst, he have received a lot of nerfs in AE, he still low tier.

9

Blanka got nerfed harder than Claw.

Claw is mid tier.

10

I highly have to disagree about claw being the worst.

Claw is slightly better then blanka against honda. Ditto against Balrog. Claw can absolutely destroy bison as well. Claw is slightly worse against guile than blanka, but its not that bad overall for claw. Claw ~ blanka is roughly 5/5, that match really depends on who knows what better.

Ultimately, claw has easier opportunities to deal damage that hurt more than blanka’s. Vega’s low forward is now an absolutely awesome tool that was sped up significantly for AE, so his solid footsies were even more greatly improved. Also, vega can punish many many normals on block with low strong that leads to solid 250 or so damage.

Since my second main is vega, and I know that character at least as well as blanka, I can honostly say Vega is the better character overall, I just prefer Blanka because there is more variety and intriguing offense, but vega’s solid normals and impecable zoning giving blanka a serious run for the money.
Lets also not forget vega has the BEST airthrow in the game that leads to his izuna drop vortex. In fact, against many characters, such as sagat, abel, and others, vega’s vortex is legitimate, damaging, and really really hard to get out of.

Overall, blanka and vega play very similarily.
The differences are that blanka has more derp bs, and vega has more solid damage output.
i honostly think vega is one of the better charge characters.

11

you know it’s funny… i actually win a lot more in AE than ever before… but i can’t tell if it’s because i’ve gotten better in general or… it’s just Blanka.

-LAU

12

Vega May be the worst, I know I’m the most inconsistent with him. I can play awesome one round/match getting a perfect or close too it. Or I can have that done to me.

Dee Jay I’m most consistent with, but I have to rush down to get the advantage with him.

Using Dee Jay has helped my fundamentals, especially defense and smart footsies and frame traps. I’m not sure Vega has done much but frustrate me.

I remember how easy it was to level up Honda in Super, I didn’t even know how to use him. I think I got 5000 Bp just from torpedo and a crossover hands combo.

13

Yeah Blanka for bottom tier among charge characters and overall. Hated by most everyone as well.

Let’s see you already use Chun, and don’t wanna mirror your friend who uses Dictator. I’d say try Guile or Honda hehe.

14

Sorry let me correct myself, I think blanka is better than Deejay.

15

Funnily enough, my secondary is Deejay, and I feel like a lot of Blanka mains actually second DJ. I guess us Blanka players like a challenge. It is frustrating with DJ though when you are at a life disadvantage against a turtle, as DJ’s mobility is arse compared to Blanka. I can only imagine what Blanka would be like however if his cr. lk had the same properties as DJ’s cr. lp - that would instantaneously up Blanka to upper mid.

16

I play Dee Jay sometimes, it’s a good character, better than Blanka in AE IMO, but he have wery weak pokes.

17

Yup pretty much what I did lmao! My Chun can beat his Dictator pretty well (head stomps aside… damn that move) but my second up for charge is definitely Guile. I was going to give Honda a shot too since I have experience with Piano inputs thanks to Chun.

I heard Honda got pretty nerfed in AE. How bad is he now?

18

I put all this work into Dee Jay and win 50%. I get frustrated and use Bison and never lose.