I only ranked up to gold because I thought it would consistently pair me up with more gold players. Doesn’t work like that yet. Plus RQ’s
Does Ken have any legit block strings that dont leave him minus frames really close?
st.lp into cr.mp is a 4f gap I think, apart from that you just have to rotate between cr.mp and your short jab pressure if you wanna remain + on block
This is the wrong question to be asking.
Ken is a character who gets his pressure in not by getting lots of plus frames on block. Instead, his pressure comes from staggering his chains at the right moments. Both s.MK and b.MP are -2 on block, but they both have additional strong properties. s.MK moves him forward, while b.MPxxHP starts up in 4 frames and is a frame trap if you delay the HP input. By picking the right spots to use these buttons, you get a lot of mileage from their unique properties.
For example, look at this sequence that Julio uses:
cMP,s.LK,s.MK,b.MP
The whole sequence gives him multiple parts to confirm combos (if c.MP hits, combo s.LK to Heavy SRK. If s.MK hits, complete the TC then SRK. If b.MP hits, ditto).
This sequence looks terrible because there’s a huge frame gap between s.LK and s.MK and then between s.MK and b.MP. But people still get hit by the s.MK and b.MP lots because they’re being pressed at a moment thats good for getting counter hits.
c.MP makes the opponent block a medium attack with medium length block stop and block stun. So even though s.LK does less block stun and technically leaves Ken at -1, the opponent has already been primed by the c.MP to react to the s.LK as if it had more blockstun than it really has. Thats why people press buttons late and get hit by the s.MK.
Or they don’t and block the s.MK too, then they’re suddenly at a point where they’ve blocked 3 buttons in a row. In this game, thats a lot, and it feels safe to now press a pre-emptive poke to stop Ken from dashing back in… except he’s already in because of the s.MK’s forward movement, so instead of stopping him, you get counter hit by b.MP into a knockdown combo.
So yeah. Of course if the Ken does that sequence all day, the opponent will pick it up and start counter hitting him. But thats the hard part about using Ken, varying it (so they can’t read you so easily and get more afraid to press buttons as they get counter hit), but still being on point with your hit confirms. That’s why this character is so tough to master… but its necessary because this character simply doesn’t have long ranged plus on block pokes. You’re better off playing Cammy if that’s what you want.
Nice tips. I’ll try that string out.
I think that’s the opposite of what he was putting across, he wasn’t specifying a specific string but rather saying your pressure comes from a multitude of hit confirms, and your sequences aren’t pre-set or defined. They’re going to vary depending on what each of your opponents habits are and what they react to your buttons with. As Ken you have very minimal bread and butter blockstrings that catch people out like Necalli does with all of his + on block normals and they don’t lend themselves well to sustained pressure.
With Ken it’s less about putting the moves together as much as it is using each and every one for a specific purpose.
What button should you be jumping in with? Between mk, hk and hp? I know mk is used mostly for crossup?
Yeah. The sequence has a deadly weakness- against female crouching characters, the mk will whiff. But its a striking illustration of how Ken’s pressure works.
If you want a “1 true” sequence for Ken, i’d personally favour LP,bMP. From there you can confirm into HPxxHK tatsu, walk up throw, try to counter hit with another bMP, do sMKbMP shenanigans, delay HPxxEz fireball frame trap,dMPxx hadouken to safety… the possibilities are endless even though you’re -2 and i hope i kinda explained why already above.
And when you pressure with sLP from max range, you can do sLPsMK since bMP will be out of range.
Yes I think his LP is the only way to start+frame pressure, but it does lead into almost all of his offensive options so it isn’t so bad.
It ain’t no bison tier mongo St.HK at +3 til you get a crush counter though.
Wat kens best meterless combo after a whiffed dp?
i have been messing around with it in training mode and he doesnt seem 2 get much
st.hp xx run xx st.lp > TC1 > Tatsu.
At least I do this.
METERLESS
st.hp(CC) ~ v-skill > b.mp x st.hp(TC1) xx h.tatsu -
287 damage, 456 stun
ONE BAR
st.hp(CC) ~ v-skill > b.mp xx m.tatsu > EX.shoryuken -
326 damage, 512 stun
THREE BARS
st.hk(CC) ~ v-skill > m.tatsu > super -
470 damage, 315 stun
Those are my numbers without VTC, sure meterless you don’t get 300+ damage but you get nearly 500 stun and it carries them half screen. He gets a hell of a lot from it.
No one knows?
The best jump-in normal hitbox-wise is ken’s jumping fierce if I’m not mistaken. Roundhouse is good at certain ranges for when you want to go over fireballs. Mk for cross-ups. Tatsu if you want to check chun players who just hit st.lk as an anti air (Tatsu beats her st.lk when timed right)
s.FP and s.RH both have their uses, so does j.MK, but the crossup has been pretty heavily nerfed in this game so you won’t get to use it as much as you could in the past.
s.FP sticks down really, really far. It’s a move that shotos usually didn’t have before… it is more like Vega’s j.FP from SF4, or Bison’s j.FP in this game. It sticks out a hitbox so far below Ken so quickly you can use it to stuff normal anti-air attempts, or hit guys in the head who are attempting to delay their shoryus as long as possible, etc. Learning how to use this one effectively is a priority. Try and spot how guys are using it in high level matches. Even guys like Daigo will occasionally get punched in the head by this move because of how explosive it is below you. Keep in mind if you hit a j.FP from a very high height, s.FP won’t combo so confirm with something else
j.RH you have a lot more horizontal reach, this is your go-to in something like a FB war. There are certain jump spacings where if you hit j.RH you’ll hit them, but if you don’t press any buttons you won’t extend your hitbox forwards at all and certain AA attempts will whiff.
j.LK is a dorky looking little kick but it actually is a good air-to-air. One of your other buttons works better, but j.LK is twice as fast as RH and FP and has more active frames than any of Ken’s other air normals so it has its niche
j.LP is a good way to set up a tick throw as well
Everytime i look at j.MP, i think there must be something that the move is good at. It stretches out and has long active frames. But i still can’t figure out a purpose for it that hasn’t already been filled by jHK, j.HP and j.MK.
it has no hitbox on the legs unlike j.MK so you can maybe use that to get over certain AAs. but it is not the first or the last apparently useless button in a SF game
it’s good for air to air (situational)
It’s great as a jump back normal
Does priority system affect air to air trades and air to ground trades as well?