Benimaru is a nice hit and run character, but someone pretty smart can get in on him easy. The buffs he got in console are actually great to push him as a first character with some hop in ability using his j. d.D (Drill kick). He does a lot of hits which means a lot of meter. I’d say that’s okay. Athena’s great for zoning and fireballs are good. She’ll gain some meter even if you’re not in real combat. They’re great first round characters till you find someone you really like.
Someone smart should be able to use Benimaru to keep anyone out and maintain spacial dominance. Benimaru isn’t free. He also actually functions as a rushdown character well because of his cr.B that chains into itself and combos into a knockdown. This is important because he sets up for tick throws with Collider, and he could easily break an alternate guard. Then he simply has a good sweep, st.B for hops, st.D for any ground pokes, and dp+K for vertical control. Add in some of the best air to airs in the game that also cross up and have air throw option selects, then you have a spacing monster. Most of his attack strings could end with Raijinken for good chip or just cancel into command throw to make sure your recovery is short for when the opponent is guard roll happy. To say that someone pretty smart can get in on him easily seems pretty bullshit in my books. It’s not an easy ride at all.
Thanks. I had edited my post a bit since posting it.
I’m definitely playing K’ and Kula, but I’m just not sure on Athena or Benimaru. Leaning towards Beni.
So your order would be Benimaru/K’/Kula right?
Right now I’m going with Terry / Kula / Leona, and switching Kula and Leona’s position depending on how I feel lol. I may put Ash back on the team later on (replaced him with Terry), as I’m a fan of the character and I actually enjoy his play style from what little I know of it.
I still feel completely brand-new in this game, lol.
There’s so many characters I want learn (and in some cases re-learn), but I think I’m going to aim to get my BnBs and general strats down with these three first, and move on to others later. My team isn’t set in stone yet, but so far I like the way they play. 
One thing that always makes it hard for me to build a team and stick with it in this series is that I can name the characters I don’t like on one hand: Bao, K9999. :-p
I’m not trying to disrespect your character or anything. Baseline Benimaru can maintain distance sure, but almost all of his moves can be punished on whiff. If you stay outside of his range with someone like K’ and Terry, he’s either going to attempt to Raijinken or Benimaru Lancer. Anyone with a forward motion move can punish him on the cooldown even though it looks like it still has active frames. It doesn’t. You wouldn’t know that just by looking at it, but it’s a lot like Leona’s b~f+P move.
If you’re just picking up Benimaru, most people will get hit or not try to attack you when you’re half way across the screen and you’re doing Raijinken or Lancer, but I would.
Good job not reading anything Laban actually said.
Getting back on topic, all characters can do something meterless combo-wise in this game, so having three characters that are considered anchors on your team isn’t inherently bad. Like, Shen and Ash can very much be batteries if you want them too, they’re just so good with a bunch of meter to spend that most people will have them as 2nd/3rd unless there’s somebody else they can justify taking those spots. While having nonsensical orders like Kyo/xxx/Ralf is a pretty shitty idea, once you’re more experienced it’s a good idea to consider changing order based on matchup.
Good shit not reading my reply thoroughly. I do read and I reply accordingly. Don’t get on my case because I don’t agree.
Ive been playing Kim / Kensou / Robert since 98. However I dont like what they did to kensou. So I’m playing Terry / Kim / Robert now. I never really thought about placements of characters in KoF Series. I just play. I usually put my stronger character (Kim / Kensou) last and let robert go wild on point. Now that I see how vital meter is in this game. I have robert on point, Kim in the middle and Terry at anchor. Im gonna play Kyo now because I like what they did with him so, he’ll be anchor regardless on what team I play.
Last post I’m making on this in this thread: He said nothing about raijinken outside of blockstrings or ANYTHING about lancer for a reason, good Beni’s don’t do those randumbly. There’s also a difference between “hurr imma press D its a good normal” and “I’m going to press D in this specific situation because the opponent has few good answers for it” which you apparently ignored. Sorry to go off like this but I’m a bit sick of people on the internet valuing their own egos over reading comprehension and proper discussion.
I don’t have a team set in stone yet, but so far I’m running
Clark / Athena / Hwa Jai in that order. Clark doesn’t seem to require lots of meter, but he has trouble building it. Athena is a wonderful 2nd character because she’s good at building meter and her EX Moves are good.
I’d probably switch that around. Clark’s got great normals, but that’s only if you hit them or poke people. Poking’s not going to build you as much meter and Athena will often more times be getting a lot of Clark’s meter. He actually is very, very good with Meter because he can SC his EX grab into a super. That’s 2-3 bars of meter, but a bit of guaranteed damage never hurt anyone. Athena may be great with EX meter, but she really doesn’t need it. In fact, you can spend what you gain and be perfectly alright.
That also depends how you play Athena. As I mentioned before, I’ve played people that play her differently in the STA ranbats. 4leaf will be more combo heavy and aggressive. Chris-tan will zone and use the EX meter to pressure you with an EX fireball. Both strategies aren’t bad and you don’t have to commit to either one because she still gains some good meter to do both.
I’m gravitating towards Takuma, and Andy, with a ? mark for the third. I’m thinking a grappler… any suggestions?
If you’re not entirely comfortable with grapplers, a pure grappler like Daimon might be a bad idea. However, if that is what you want, that is the best man for the job. Clark’s also a great grappler with a good 1 frame grab and a utility autoguard grab. Still, if you are looking for hybrids (People who just have a command grab but a whole other strategy), you can do that too. Command grabs are great to punish any move, but they usually have no follow-ups. Grapplers can SC after them, but hybrid ones always need an EX for a decent follow up. The trade off is that you get a good punish for less utility. It’d just be a good punish this one time. Whereas you gain more versatility and zoning options where most grapplers really have to get into the Danger Zone to do damage. For Daimon, I can’t say much. Clark, however, I’ve watched his autoguard grab eat an entire Neomax. I think he’s good at getting in your face.
I’d say try Vice if you’re looking for a grappler. Clark isn’t too bad either. No thoughts on Raiden yet since everyone was playing Drop Kick Raiden. There’s also Goro but that’s a character I’ve rarely seen get played in XIII.
One last time. Is Athena/K’/Kula a good team?
is Robert a good first/battery?
Personally, my team for KOF is Start with Strongest -Clark-(been using him since 98, but this new clark is nice, nothing beats clark from 2002UM), for the middle I usually like to with either a defensive char or a fast fighter, for example, I would use Hwai cause his fast, not much moves, but if you have the Drive filled, his dangerous(and since his middle character, clark would have filled the Specials and Drive by now) or Defensive like Beth, her counters are a good way to push back the opponent and her little dash lets you move in for easy hits and get out if you have the Drive. And the last one is usually someone I can use well enough encase you bet Clark and Middle man, So its either Goro, Terry, Benimaru, King or Big daddy Drunker CHIN!. I always start with the the strongest character, cause not many do that, and to catch your opponent off guard is a good way to start, I do so ever miss my Clark tackle and Shining Wizard, and I do like that he has his the <- then -> HP attack and you finish it with the Air grab, but why couldnt be get the Air grab seperated like before?its a good way to punish the jumpers, but I guess I can Use goros high Grab… well hop this helps a bit.
Yes. You could switch Athena’s and K’s positions whenever you want but yeah that works.
Thanks. I figured since I was told K’ is meter dependent that Athena could build up for him on point.
It depends. K’ does good 300+ damage from a meterless bnb so he could just spend a drive or a stock here and there to finish off a person but he could do fine without it and build up meter. Athena capitalizes less than K’ in general but could pull some big plays here and there with a command throw then do an air BC activate while doing her air j.6B and go into her D Phoenix Arrow and the rest of her HD combo. So she spends about 1-3 stocks with that combo while using all of her Drive meter. So you could decide to use 1-2 stocks & 2 drive with her to pull in a punch here and there and build back up with her spacing and psychoballing. Then Kula for last to do lololol Round Spin Crow Bites combos.
For me if I were to run this order, I’d use K’ to set my own momentum while making notes of the opponent’s tendencies. Since he has strong firepower, I could potentially OCV and wreck it up. By the time I get to use Athena, I should have an establish understanding of the situation and my opponent and create a gameplan around Athena’s zoning and running a few command throws here and there when the opponent becomes uncomfortable. Then Kula for clean up.
Pretty useful thread. I’m starting out and I have some questions as well. Can anyone well-versed already in the game explaint some things to me?
Like… a rundown on both Mature & Vice - their overall gameplan summaries and whatnot, what slot they’re best into (first, second or anchor) and overall tips to have a good start with both of them. These kind of stuff.
For now I’m trying Mature/Vice/Ash (in that order) with ‘ok’ results - if anyone else could help me a little in the order placement, I’d be happy.
Thanks in advance. <3