Sendmaster, that’s misleading. The OS still comes out if you focus it; she cancels immediately into SRK (works with our cr.LP xx Rekka as well). I’d actually hold off on Focus since Sak’s moves are mostly multi-hitting/anti-focus save for her st.HK. Footsies work is much more important in this match to punish that st.HK and whiffed cr.MK’s. Also, make note of any wild fireballs as they’re easily jumped for an advantage (if not for a jump-in attack, at least for better positioning/getting closer to her).
I see your point. I just remembered as an extra note: you can neutral jump in between sakura’s srk. Its a weird timing but doable.
So I’m having a bit (ok, a decent amount) of trouble with Rose. She doesn’t show up in randoms online much, but a friend of mine mains her and she’s pretty hard for me to get in on.
My main problem is Soul Spiral coupled with her excellent anti-air game (d+fp? the purple scarf XD And her air throw). Spark obviously pressures and helps to keep me out, but if Rose is on point when I try and focus through, I usually eat a Spiral unless it’s pretty close (generally not fireballing that close, though). Neutral jumping is pretty safe and slowly approaching that way works in the first half, but after she’s got ultra, most jumps are easily punished with it as long as I’m about mid distance away.
She keeps me locked to the ground after gaining ultra (which normally isn’t much of a problem) but that Soul Spiral does an excellent job of keeping me out and some versions are really hard to punish if they’re spaced right. Flame kick generally eats through them (neutral jump and flame kick seemed to be the only reliable answers I could come up with in training), but at this point, I can’t react fast enough to pull one out as soon as I see Spiral coming.
Can anyone give a pit of insight as to what tools are most effective here and the pre-match game plan? Patience seems to be a must… the clock is always low if she creates any sort of distance and holds fort well.
Rose can only move backward. Her offense is really only a footsies game which leans her toward the defensive side of the spectrum. If she has no meter, her only goal is to throw fireballs, dodge your attacks, and make contact with cr.MP. Your best spacing in that case would be at mid-range where her cr.MP won’t hit, her fireballs are risky, and her Spirals may be unsafe if she chooses the wrong one. Stick to her at this arms-length range and she’ll drive herself into the corner or try to jump-in. Anti-airs are important here.
Rose won’t gain Ultra until she takes enough damage. With that in mind, your damage should be deliberate and controlled. You don’t want to get her to this point where she has Ultra 2 on you by doing random Flame Kicks and pokes here and there. You want that positioning with her back to the corner first; that’s where you dictate when she activates. If you’re caught around mid-screen when she has plenty of space to move or opportunities to knock you down, her activation becomes safe and will make it hard for you to get in. Be patient and position first.
Spirals don’t need to be reacted to; work on punishing them on contact instead. The only time you should try to react to a Spiral is when you see it clearly whiff in front of you–that’s when you go for a cr.LP xx Rekka combo or a poke. In blockstrings, cr.MP xx Spiral is not a true string. You can chance a flame kick if you’re certain the cancel will happen, but to be safe you can just mash out LK CW to get two hits.
I’m having a lot of trouble with Sagat. First, it’s takes a lot out of my brain to react to very quick tiger shots and block on time while still trying to inch my way forward. Push back from blocked tiger shots almosts negates any forward progress I make. Focus attack works ok, but then I get nervous not to get hit by any other stuff while recovering dmg. Are there any other methods for navigating tiger shots that are less stress on the brain and not as risky as focus dashing?
Second. His light tiger knee. People say this is a bad move. How is it bad? If you’re crouching to block it, the later active frames hit making it safe. If your standing to block, than you’ll be moving back which you don’t want to do against Sagat (I wish you could stay still to block while standing ala a block button). I tried a crouch medium kick and still got hit.
Ultimately my nerves are always getting the best of me. When I do manage to corner Sagat after a bunch of hard work, I’m to nervous about a random tiger knee pushing me back or a random dp ruining everything that I end up having lame offense.
Any special techniques to alleviate stress in this matchup would be nice.
I really can’t deal with rose. So hard to get in, the constant grabs and the stupid slide kick. I can’t even fish for rekkas since they get stuffed. Should I lame this out and be super patient?