Can some one please post a video with rufus basic combo dive kick, lk ,HP to tornado punch. What am i still doing wrong ? When you dive kick then LK whats the timing for hitting HP it only comes out once in a while . Do you hit LK then HP then MP to try and plink together ? It never works for me please help thanks shoegazer
Okay, so the combo you are trying (divekick, st.lk, st.lk, st.chp xx hp Galactic tornado) you want to plink the st.lk to the st.chp given that it is a 1-frame link. To do this you just press hp then mp in one fluid motion. The input should look like:
(mp)(hp)
(hp)
[media=youtube]acuTIlxcjz0[/media]
That input displayed at 30 when hes doing the st.hp is exactly what you want, once you get that down you are well on your way! It can be tricky at first but its really not THAT hard and once its muscle memory you wont even have to think about the combo.
Thanks friend ! trying it now !
How do I deal with runaway with Rufus?
If they’re running away back them into the corner and prevent them from getting past you. Rufus is more threatening when you have no way to escape him, plus he has plenty of setups in the corner.
Then there’s your GTs, df.MK, j.HK and of course your divekicks to stop them from getting any space. Don’t let them get predictable with how they’re backing off.
Id say if you are having a lot of trouble with runaway try to keep your ground game just as strong and aggressive as your air game. You want something to go to when you can’t jump/divekick in on someone.
DO’s
-Walk forward and if they are throwing fireballs block/focus them. There is nothing wrong with burning a little time this way, its a good way to calm yourself and feel out your opponent. Even though you need to be patient you need to be patiently aggressive, take all the space they give you.
-Rolling towards your opponent is a really good way to clear space, it can be hard to find a gap to do it against some characters but if you are patient enough you will find your way in.
-Short dive kicks are a good way of getting closer, also delaying your dive kicks can also help you get a hit confirm when you get close enough to go in.
-If you find that the person you are playing is running away try and conserve as much meter as you can early on, having the meter for ex moves help to keep the person in check when you do get in to get big damage. Meter conservation helps a lot.
-Neutral jumping is also a good tool to keep opponents where they are space wise, if they try and gain some on you neutral jumping can shut them down. Rufus’s neutral fierce and roundhouse are both really solid.
-When you get them in the corner don’t let them out of the corner, keep on them and mix them up until they dead as dough yo.
Dont’s
-Random jump ins, as tempting as it is this is usually a really bad option against runaway. Chances are you will just get aa’d whenever you try and do this, the farther the jump the more risk you put yourself in. If you do try and do a jump-in jf.hp is the way to go, good range and it will trade with lots of things.
-Long range divekicks/divekick spam, just going for dive kicks from 3/4ths screen will usually just get you smacked, and if you keep going for it over and over chances are you will just get smacked a lot. Just think before you do decide to take to the air.
-Don’t Burn meter as soon as you manage to get in, this is also something that is really tempting. If you have bar and you do get in don’t just do ex messiah first thing, generate some offense and save ur bar for when u need it to keep momentum going in your favor.
It can be a pain in the ass dealing with runaway but rufus is more than equipped to deal with these people. He’s got some other moves that are good for getting in that i didn’t mention like HP GT and HK messiah but those are somewhat unorthodox, you can get punished pretty hard for using them but they are there if you need them. Bottom line is that runaway and zoning is better if you have a strong ground game to go to, practice up on those aa’s, footsies and low risk space closure and you should be fine.
I have a really dumb question that I’m actually embarrassed to ask because I’ve seen no one explain it anywhere so it’s probably straight forward… I’m not sure how to use dive kicks effectively. I was always taught not to jump but then here this character is that completely goes against that wisdom and I’m not sure how he gets away with it. Is varying when you dive kick in your jump arch THAT effective? what I’m I trying to accomplish?
Thanks for the help!
OK can some one please tell me what im doing wrong , i have gotton some what better with the plink however every time i do dive kick LK, HP plink to MP he does EX tornado punch not the reg one the input shows the plink is correct ? Can you please help ? This combo is so hard to do or maybe its my plinking that just needs work ?
Practicing the entire combo at once while you are still unfamiliar with plinking is kinda tough, break the combo down. First just practice doing the st.lk -> st.chp plink without canceling into the GT (doing 2 st.lk is also a great way to better acclimate yourself with the link, if you are having trouble try this). After you are more comfortable with plinking then throw in the dive kick also. Once you can do the dive kick to the plink throw in the GT to. Your plinking sounds like its just off by a bit, happened to me when i learned to.
Jumping is high risk because the jump arc is predictable and you’re in the air for a second or so, which makes them easy to react to and deal with. What Rufus can essentially do is shorten his jump the closer he is. Aim to get into sweep range as this is where the opponent has to be more mindful of your other options.
Sounds like negative edge. When you release a button it counts as an input for special moves. In this case, you’re holding MP+HP too long and releasing it after you complete the motion which will cause EX Galactic Tornado to come out.
To answer both questions:
1.) Walking forward with Rufus is underrated. But as said above, keep your moves irradic with Rufus. Very quick divekicks (triangle divekicks) can be used as “fake” jumping to throw your opponent’s anti-air rhythm and timing off. Don’t neglect Rufus’ pokes (st.mp, st.jab, sweep). They’re pretty good. And at mid-range st.FP will deny anyone who jumps in at you if you’re prepared for it.
2.) EX GT Tornado requires you to press two buttons or release two buttons after qcf motion. Consider that. You’re doing one or the either, so you probably need to practice your p-linking method more. Split the actions into two parts:
- Practice divekick, st.lk, st.FP.
- Practice st.FP (p-linking) to HP GT.
- Combine the two once you’ve mastered them both and essentially think of it as two different pieces. If you mesh them together you might end up getting EX GT by starting step #2 slightly before you’ve finished step #1.
What blockstring should I be doing with Rufus and What footsie move should I use?
Blockstring:
Divekick, st.LK (hit confirm)
- On block: Grab, divekick, block or frame trap (with different normals delayed or non-delayed)
- On hit: st.FP (1 frame link) xx HP GT; or st.RH (target combo) into Ultra I
Footsies:
cr.FP - Nacho grab. Use sparingly; very punishable. More useful vs. Sagat, Zangief, Honda, Blanka, and T.Hawk.
st.MK - Farthest reliable poke move. Pretty fast. Good for keeping aggressive characters away (especially when you don’t have meter).
st.MP - Also, decent.
st.jab - Good for interrupting and keeping characters in block stun/prevent jumping away. Hits some characters while crouched.
cr.HK - Sweep. Really, really good range. Can be used to whiff punish many footsies, but has very long recovery similar to cr.FP.
far.st.HK - Steps over low moves. Hits while rising. Toss it in a few times after cr.jab blockstrings if you predict a jump back. Follow up with another st.HK or sweep.
f.FP - Situational. Good in the corner after last cr.jab or st.jab blockstring. Only use this if you know what you’re doing.
I use cr.LP a lot versus certain characters. It’s good for controlling space or as a poke as you are at advantage on hit or block and it keeps them in check.
Two problems:
When I land a dive kick on a shoto’s head (high) they’ll spam jab or SRK. Should I never land a dive kick high?
In an ideal world you’d always be landing low divekicks but high ones have their place, particularly cross-ups.
If they are mashing srk then obviously you want to start blocking, cr.jab is a problem though because of Rufus’ ex messiah going over certain characters heads when they are crouched ;( It means they can basically take control without risking anything. If they are spamming cr.jab then the best thing to do is change up your approach and aim to land lower divekicks.
Thanks for responding.
Most of the high dive kicks are for cross-ups, but are you saying that there’s basically no follow-up after hitting a dive kick high (on crosses)?
Well you can’t combo after a high divekick if that’s what you mean. That’s not to say you can’t combo after a crossup divekick - if they are crouching then it’s easy to combo after - but if they are standing it’s still possible but it all depends on the character’s hitbox.
In short - high divekicks have their uses but against shotos especially if they show they know how to deal with them then your better off steering clear 
Thanks again.
I noticed that Oni wasn’t listed in the match-up thread and even very novice Onis are giving me a little trouble. (I’ve been playing Balrog the last 4 months so this rush-down character thing is a bit new to me). Any chance you could give me some advice?