I think I’m starting to get the hang of this game. Was able to apply some decent pressure tonight online and win one match (lol) and get down to the last characters on most of the other matches. I still get bodied A LOT online though. Either I’m garbage at this game or everyone online is really good (probably the former lol).
Right now I’m running EX Kyo, Billy, and my third isn’t set in stone yet.
Is Raiden still viable? And are his drop kicks even worth charging in this version? It seems that the reward for charging his drop kicks doesn’t make up for the loss of his kick normals for 24 seconds.
Anyone who charges his level 3 or level 4 drop kick is fishing for gimmicks. It’s not worth it because the drop kick is no longer invincible and you give up too much for too little of a tool (you don’t just give up kicks, you also give up either rolls or CD’s or both). However, charging the dropkick for combos is still worth it. A level 1 dropkick only takes 4 seconds to charge and can potentially boost your damage output substantially, especially in the corner.
Even without the dropkick Raiden is still a beast, it’s just that he has changed drastically from his arcade counter part and is actually a grappler now. His throw vortex is ridiculously scary and can easily clean out characters if your opponent makes a wrong guess, auto guard C tackle can be a great way of keeping people honest with pressure, having a command grab means there’s a lot of things Raiden can punish that other characters can’t, and he is great for team composition since he can be put anywhere on a team and be just as effective playing different roles.
Raiden is about still high tier. He can cancel his shoulder rush to block any air attacks AND to absorb projectiles. His powerbomb anti air is an amazing wakeup. However, he gets all of his game DESTROYED if you alternate guard him and sweep his shoulder since the autoguard on it does not block lows. A character like Kim can easily sweep him, however a character like andy will have problems since andy is pretty dependent on jump ins especially in the corner. Kim is somewhat jump heavy but he can play ground game better and his sweep is pretty fucking godlike since you can use it to make your hurtbox smaller then flash kick or hagetsuzan(which will be safe from a certain distance). Anyways back to Raiden lol. His HCBx2 super comes out in one frame so some shenanigans Raiden players do is jump in, super; jumping D, cr. B, cr.A, shouler FEINT, super(alternate guard will win in this sitaution though). The setups for that super will make you jump from it lol. Also, Raiden’s neomax does 480 damage iirc, which is one of the higher damaging ones. He’s an amazing character, but he’s not broken now. IIRC, super dropkick level 4 is 60 seconds charge or something like that so no more crazy drop kick shenanigans lol.
East coast had a lot of matures early release. I dunno where most died off to.
and i’m actually surprised more people don’t use Raiden. playing against Zerp’s raiden made me wonder that though. (and Nagato pretty much explains why I don’t know how he’s overlooked.) Pretty sure once people realized drop kick didn’t = instawin anymore, most just neglected him.
as for most unseen characters from my look, Kim is definitely underused.
Well Powerup is pretty far away from the south, most likely tenessee and georgia will make it. Some bama players will go but I will not. I will be attending MWC and CEO most likely(basically written in stone, just gotta find a ride).
I’m still not sure about Raiden. Maybe I just have to get more matches in before it really “clicks.” I always run into this problem in KOF games; I find two characters that I absolutely love and actually do well with and then the third character never clicks or takes awhile before I say “Yea this is the one.”
I know there is a scene around me, but I really don’t have the time to travel to places to play with work and all. I know it sounds selfish but I feel I need a scene within 30 minutes of me.
Well, the matchmaking forum is just a couple of click away. About Raiden, I think you should just keep playing him. He will start to click eventually. I know it is not very good advice, but trust me.
I’ll play around with him some more. To be honest when I was playing I was charging my drop kicks. Maybe I’ll find that he is way more fun/viable when he has his full moveset at his disposal.
I also posted in the New Jersey thread, hopefully I can find someone to level up with for this summer.
People online dont like to block… I have literally been OCVing people with K Dash and basically just been doing cr.b x 2 xx qcf+A-> B the entire match.
By all means playing a nonpopular character has it’s perks. If they don’t know the matchup well or just not used to playing against them, you’re already at an advantage.
and the great thing about Raiden is that he overall still has his drop kick mind games. They’re just not “oh shit” scary. It’s still a threat.
Raiden is still a pain in the ass. He’s just not as obvious about it. lol Seriously I still don’t know what’s worse to deal with, drop kick mind games, or that godforsaken headcrusher vortex.
You suppose to drop kick charge during head crusher vortex along with the super raiden drop, at least thats what my homie who plays raiden says. Also, dropkick isn’t “oh shit” scary because it has more recovery and takes longer to charge lol. I kinda want to play him but alternate guard destroys everything he wants to do.
also just found out that Local Battles in Fort Lee, NJ will be running a KOF13 Northeast regional! May 12th, 20 dollar entry (BIG POT), xbox360…will update when I have more info! for now check out http://dcr1.eventbrite.com/
as for raiden, i have been playing him in casuals and he is completely viable! dropkicks are not invul anymore but they are still a threat, especially when you have them charged for his combos