To each their own, but I don’t really think the damage for most of those combos is worth it compared to easier/better alternatives, the st.lk to st. mp to far lp to far. mk is a 2-1-2 link, with the 1-frame being far lp, therefore unplinkable.
I’m definitely a fan of keep-it-simple-stupid strategy. Rufus has pretty awesome options to threaten rushdown with no need for much in terms of frills - there’s no reason for it to be much harder than a 1-frame plinkable link with the awesome “Rufus Divekick Tree of Doom”
this is all assuming your opponent is just blocking, obviously the wonder is that the most dangerous things to commit to are a) the divekick and b) getting reversal uppercut out of the st. hp link. so this can be stopped or completely reset with a backdash
step 1: divekick
[LIST]
[]if it hits, and is deep, st. hp xx hp gt
[] if its depth is dubious, st. lk, st. hp xx hp gt
[] if they block, throw, st. lk or backdash
[/LIST]
step 2: the first lk in the string
[LIST]
[]if it hits, st. hp xx hp gt, or use it as a hit-confirm to link cr. lp, EX Messiah FADC to ultra
[] if it’s blocked, utilize the 3-frame frametrap between st. lk and st. hp on block that will hit attempted techs but get beaten by shoryukens to mixup your throw game.
[] if your opponent is savvy, continue the blockstring with another st. lk. on block, this has a 1-frame hole, which means if the opponent leaves block after the first st. lk (to input a shoryuken for the anticipated st. hp for example) the second lk or any further down the line will connect. however it won’t catch attempted techs or normals entered from down/down-back. this frame-hole also will catch attempted jumps.
[] if at any time you notice your opponent is blocking high you can cr. lk xx a GT to punish. after the first st. lk, you can use lp gt, but afterwards you have to use EX. i don’t know why your opponent would do this, unless you put the fear of Rufus’ crappy overhead in them for some reason, but it’s still an option.
[/LIST]
step 3: the second lk
[LIST]
[]if it hits, and your dive kick was initially meaty enough, you can link a st. hp after the second st. lk, and then to good ol’ HP GT.
[]if they block, a short step and a throw can be mixed up with a forward-jumping divekick to start it all over again.
[/LIST]
step 4: the third lk and beyond!
[LIST]
[]if it hits, you can either cr. lp XX EX GT, or cr. mk XX EX GT (this is a 1-frame link, but it’s plinkable and is a 6-frame startup, so the same rhythm as st. lk to st. hp. easy.) whichever is easier.
[]at this point it’s about turning what is a measly st. lk hit into something serious! cr. LP xx EX GT after a st. lk (or the 4th lk if you choose to do it which would be a far lk) converts a 30 (or 40 for far) damage hit into a combo, for ~190 damage depending on the version you do, for just the cost of one bar o’ meter.
[]also, if you feel like your opponent doesn’t have great reflexes and/or doesnt know the matchup for whatever reason you can try a VERY unsafe followup, if they block all 3 st.lks you can throw out a cr. mk (this has the same move-catching properties due to a 3-frame hole as st. hp) which can be hitconfirmed into EX GT, or on block you can use it to cancel into a HP GT to spin towards your opponent for more chip damage and to get back in close range for more divekick shenanigans.
[/LIST]
As you can see, there’s hella opportunity for mindgames, with hit confirmable stuff all the way out, without needing to subject yourself to mortal constraints such as timing stuff (cause face it, plink 1-frame combos are really pretty easy offline, and that’s as hard as it gets.)
