Not really. His bad match-ups get rolled when they take dumb risks. Hoping your opponent messes up isn’t balance.
Alex has a similar problem to some others. And that’s that +2 doesn’t mean much to him, but it’s his main on block value - this is why you see fhp used so much.
Having +2 with no 3f and 6f mids means you can’t cover backdashes and you lose to 3f mashing. More than Alex have this issue, but it used to be SUPER apparent for Alex because his MP Chop was also +2. That got buffed in S4 fucking finally. But his stuff like light > mid frame traps, mid > mid, anything that’s gonna happen often over the course of a match - it sucks. A common Alex block route is to do something like crlk, crlp, stmp xx MPChop, but if the opponent just backdashes that stmp after the initial two jabs, they get air reset and punish Alex for the chop. Or if they mash a 3f, he loses. Alex can’t force respect, blocking vs. him is stupid.
This is all a knockon effect of backdashes air resetting, and generally the game just being nothing but +2. Alex’s oki and neutral are pretty good, definitely strong enough to compete. But his close game is fucking dreadful. He’s forced to just throw out fhp because he needs +3 to be scary.
EDIT**
6f meterless command grab also, so any tick throw loses to 3fs lmao.
3 Likes
Nah, I secretly find the confusion amusing. 
I swear you can always tell a low tier character by certain phrases you hear.
“He’s fine, it’s just…”
“Loses to high tiers”
“X is saved”(patch notes exclusive)
“Tournaments aren’t everything”
“Not as bad as people think”
“X just requires more work”
“Low mid (tier)”
“X is viable”
I know I’m forgetting some.
3 Likes
Slight edit to describe high tier characters.
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Touché
Cody suffers from the same data issues.
What I find hilarious is that characters with fast walkspeeds like Akuma and Kage have a 5f mid that’s +3, a 3f jab and a true tick throw, but a slow walking tank like Alex or Cody have worse data to use when they get in? No 5f mids, no 3f jabs, +2 across the board outside of one slow normal?
So these instantly have a huge disadvantage against 3f characters and can’t use mid - mid strings safely, or trap a mid from a jab. This also means that these characters can’t effectively trap backdashes without air resetting.
This is a fundamental problem within so many characters frame data. Because of how backdashes work and how 3fs are allocated.
2 Likes
Not trying to put you on blast, but lots of people use hyperbole when talking about these things.
Regarding the Sagat conversation, in a game like SFV is probably very hard to balance “pure” characters (pure zoning, pure rushdown, etc…). If you buff Sagat’s zoning to the point where no one has good answers to it… then no one has good answers to it.
Besides, its more fun to stand face to face and take turns punching each other in the nuts. Like men.
Also, most V-Skills that only “stock up” something are pretty ass. As are the ones that are just combo fluff. If they add second V-Skills that could be a really big deal for a bunch of the cast, just because they basically get a new special move.
I wouldn’t even say he’s a pure zoner, they just gimped his normal arsenal.
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Yeah the big difference is how many people you hear it from. If it’s one guy trying to enlighten other people, low tier. If it’s a bunch of people who main said character, high tier.
They way he seems to want to work in this game, that feels like the goal.
Also, just to be clear, I’m not saying that he doesn’t need some buffs.
I really like the idea of Angry Scar stocking an invulnerable DP. If he creates the time to get that off, he gets one free shot to blow you up when you get in.
I’m just saying alex would need a major overhaul to really be balanced, it would look similar to how Abigail changes looked, damage nerfs, lariart nerfs and V trigger 1 nerf…all for some plus frames here and there and cancelable crouching normals.
And I think more people get a kick out of how he is now, rather than him being more “solid” and less gamble.
The essential thing about Alex’s VS is just how incredibly easily it goes to waste. It would be a perfectly relevant tool if it stuck around long enough to have a shot at working as intended.
What’s the other plan though? Have it stick around until a hit? A timer?
An option I thought about was having it give the same +5 buff to blockstun in addition to hitstun. Lets him have on shot to avoid the whole +/-2 problem @frost mentioned.
I mean sure if you prefer gimmicks and high damage over solid fundamental tools then sure Alex is fine. He can definitely be fun with good tools though.
Couple of ways to work it. Even just retaining it on block would go a long way.
Eh, maybe not so much? He’s got a whole bunch of things where you can make any one of them a single frame better on startup or block advantage and a bunch of big holes in his game close up.
Once you close up those holes then he needs to give up something in the way of his X factor comebacks.
Being solid up close, having good normals, good damage, a command grab and a true AA… plus crazy comeback potential… yeah that’s not going to go over well as people think.
1 Like
3 bar VT1.
But honestly, the whole mentality where low tier characters need to pay for their buffs with compensation nerfs is why tiers never really change that much.
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Alex still wouldn’t be Top 10 with all dem buffs lmao. Why does he gotta pay for his buffs when Urien is out here getting trigger buffs and no one bats an eye???
There’s a pretty obvious homogenised pool of options that can have you top/upper mid, if you don’t have those you need something broken to get to top tier.
Sub 17f dash that travels far/generally unreactable dash
3f, 5f mid, +3 oB options
True tick throw or fast walk to have strong microwalk throw
EX pressure extension/command normal pressure extension
A retarded VT, preferably 2 bars
A good VTC option, fireball xx VTC, anything that let’s you dash/have v-reversal bait options, or a VTC that’s impossible to play around/bait - slides/fast EX moves
Catch-all AA option
Other shit doesn’t really matter. You need the offensive tools, or something severely broken like S3.5 Menat to scratch upper tiers. Or Abigail. The shit that’s so broken it just doesn’t have to care about the rules SFV sets.
Characters without those shouldn’t have to pay out of the ass just to get a chance at being competitively viable. Preferably the game itself would change to accommodate more styles, but we aren’t gonna get that.
5 Likes