No… ex hands were directionable!.. uhmmm… is perhaps now possibile to combo U1 (charged while EX hands are performed) right after the ex hands?
Good the motion change for the U2 (the double circle motion for a NON-instant grab Ultra was a NONSENSE! 
)
I’m not pleased with the changes…
EX Hands not being directionable is… neat I suppose. It doesn’t exactly change much however since the only new things we’ll get out of it is EX Hands - cr.LP XX (ex) Headbutt combos or EX Hands - cl.MK xx headbutt combos. In most cases we prefer to go into another HHS loop anyways and if we’re too far to get another HHS, then headbutt won’t combo either.
Personally I don’t care about the EX Hands since it doesn’t really add much and I don’t use EX Hands anyways.
cr.lp and cr.lk getting a +10 dmg boost is nice
the delayed wakeup after headbutt, I have no clue about. All headbutts (normal, ex, vs air state or counter hit) always give a soft knockdown.
u2 getting more dmg and the input being x2 hcb is also nice
Just make EX Headbutt through Projectile like other char please
These changes are actually much more than I was expecting for a tiny, untested patch. cr.LP is the move Honda lands most (and usually at the beginning of combos) so the extra 10 dmg each time will definitely add up. Bonus points for adding extra damage to EX Hands combos. Additionally, Poison and E. Ryu, who were both really bad matchups, both lost 50 health; this should be a noticeable change when combined with the damage buffs.
U2 changes are quite nice also; the fact that the motion no longer conflicts so much with U1, combined with the bigger damage, means Wultra is more viable.
I don’t really think this patch makes Honda go any higher than low-tier still, but at least it’s something.
It’s all good fixes but nothing significant. U2 is still fairly shitty but at least it does more or less the same as u1 in a red focus combo. The inputs going back is probably a good thing so I can do it standing again against whiffs
Ex hands is only +6 at best fp hhs is +10 the only reason you can link stuff off ex that you can’t off fp hhs is because ex has no pushback
Tested in training a bit comboing ex hhs into ex headbutt seems to be worth it damage wise and just easier to use in neutral now you aren’t forced to burn your charge
I saw gutabo talking about this in a stream chat and I had to confirm it for myself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5JmvlFW7vo&feature=youtu.be
1.04 has some unlisted change that kills the Jewelman combo. I don’t know if it’s character specific but man.
one step forward, one step back
They really killed EX Hands.
Tested it training mode and normally EX Hands puts you closer and closer to your opponent the more you used it in a row, but now it pushes you back the more you use it.
It’s currently doing the opposite of what we used it for in combos.
Having a charge after EX Hands also doesn’t really boost up the damage at all, all it does is push your opponent fullscreen away from your pressure when you do a headbutt.
Here are some examples:
No charge needed (pre-patch)
old bnb: cr.LP xx EX HHS, cr.LP xx H.HHS, st.HK = 347 dmg and 418 stun
crouching shoto: (j.HK, )cr.LP xx EX HHS, cr.LP xx M.HHS, cr.MK xx HP Headbutt = 412 dmg and 446 stun
New charge combos after ex hands (stun doesn’t rly matter in this case, though)
j.HK, cr.LP xx EX HHS, cr.LP xx HP Headbutt = 322 dmg and 370 stun
j.HK, cr.LP xx EX HHS, cl.MK xx HP Headbutt = 340 dmg and 410 stun
end your combos in lp/mp/ex butt slam instead of headbutt
Do you have a good reason why?
lk and mk buttslam don’t combo from cr.lp and are easily punishable.
EX buttslam only works on standing opponents, does less damage than the old bnb where u end with st.HK and it costs an extra bar!
You might as well make use of that extra bar by doing another EX HHS, for way more damage and better positioning.
are you close enough after ex hands to link s.mk? it might still only work on standing opponents, but you get wakeup pressure afterwards which is always nice.
i dont do jewelmans so i didnt really notice anything other than if i accidently get ex hands now i actually get a combo now instead of the dogshit before where i would cruise backwards. my main combos are FP HHS, EX HHS, cr lp xx HHS (char specific) and cr mk xx EX HHS, lp xx HHS st HK (whole cast) cant really be bothered with jewelmans, spending 2 bars of a jab is the most id go but id rather save meter
someone needs to make some sort of reference / guide on character specific combos now. i mgiht work on it in a couple weeks when i have some time off work but i have 3 tournaments in 3 weeks to practice for. but anyway the combos to buttslam or headbutt are pretty nice, i think anythign ending with headbutt is worth it for the corner carry. honda is way better in the corner and his setups are garbage for the most part anyway.