You play a run away game with Nash?
You’re THAT guy?.. Come on… Come on…
Haha well more like runaway or rush down, there is like no inbetween with that character. Zoning with booms trying to fish for a jump in or trying to follow a slow fierce boom to rush down. Or trying to get the heck away from Mika, or Laura and trying stay out of the corner. Dashing in and out all day long lol
balrog’s options when opponents are standing just within sweep range? his pokes don’t go far enough and s.hp and c.hk are just bait
work on your reactions. i can AA chun’s IA legs with c.hp 100% of the time.
bullshit
Either the guy I was playing against yesterday was doing it wrong or it was really easy
i mean, i can c.mp it with birdie 100% of the time too.
Must’ve not been mixing up well tbh.
But I disagree with st.mp & maybe a little with cr.hp.
if people can dp on reaction during intense footsie situations. Then you can for sure press st.mp or cr.hp.
Hardest part is reacting to a situation that requires you to choose the right AA or escape.
At this range you are basically have 3 options. Throw out a st. MK->HP Dash Punch to try to counter hit any buttons your opponent presses, cr.MP->MP Dash Punch, or just go on the defensive and watch for anti air and an opening to get back in. Balrog needs to be in their face or getting back there at all times and keep them standing as much as possible.
What about trying to counter poke with cr.mk and buffering for stomp target combo? If you catch a limb, you can close the distance with the stomp. If you have vtrigger, you can go for damage and even more pressure.
ok… yeah
Add ken to the list of characters that give rog fits air tatsu and no lower hitbox means ken can approach from the air for free most of the time.
its really dumb.
I hadn’t thought about that but that would work real well too but is 1 frame slower does a little less damage and leaves you at slightly less advantage on hit then st.MK -> HP Dash Punch but the second hit is low. They are so similar that it would probably depend on the matchup for which one is better.
Definitely identifying Balrog’s weaknesses the more I play, I’m liking and slightly hating what I’m seeing as I fight better players. I think my original estimate of smack bang in the middle of the current roster in terms of viability is correct.
Definitely see Balrog struggling as time passes by, his options can seem very few in some scenarios.
This is how I feel, he’s wildly inconsistent unlike necalli he actually needs a command throw.
Anyway his saving grace is that with two open up and and V trigger he can swing the moment heavily in his favor…but so can ken. 
I suck with Balrog. Actually I think I just suck period. Ugh.
- Walkspeed
- Great normal set, retains advantage with ease and is well tailored for frame traps, poking and counter poking
- Solid anti-airs and air-to-airs
- Safe red chip pressure
- 3f normal
- Very fast backdash and quick forward dash
- V-trigger optimal combos pump out insane damage
- Has a great time against projectile characters with the v-skill and it’s follow-ups
- Jab confirms, low confirms, overhead extensions
- Corner makes him one of the scariest on pressure IMO
- Can get charge from most of his confirm strings without needing it beforehand
- Demands respect from almost every knockdown, scary pressure game; leads to big stun
- Probably the best super in the game
And
- Has a tough time against grappler
- V-Reversal is fucking fantastic on hit but leaves Balrog point blank on block, double edged sword
- No wake-up game, back tech and v-reversal are all that save him(Another reason for grapplers being tough)
- V-skill gimmicks are easily adapted to, overhead is far too slow to catch people with a brain
- Has a hard time staying in his preferred range when pressuring without dropping charge, pushback is really heavy and strings get cut off short
- Has a dead angle on his grounded anti-airs that makes certain jump-ins unpunishable without air-to-airs
- Damage output from non-heavy confirms can be a little lackluster
There’s more but I’m tired.
Solid character. Has flaws, isn’t stopping him from being competitive. The biggest struggle is going to be working around his weak match-ups and being able to actually open up people’s guard in about 6 months time.
Are you guys trying KKB on opponents wake up to fake OH and go low? It’s a very simple mix-up. Once you condition you go low and the opponent has no choice but to commit to stand or low block. Have to have a keen eye for the type of wake up timings they use tho.
People are just mashing on wakeup most of the time…
Meaty or frametrap. Balrog has access to both off many knockdowns/blockstrings.
Speaking of:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgjU1S-VgPU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLQtT04p-w8
Thanks to PR Rog for the idea
If you are only getting 250 Damage off of V Trigger combos you are doing it wrong. These are all from his 3 frame st. LK which can work as ridiculous quick punishes to turn the game around. You only need one opening as Balrog, you just need to be good enough to pick your spots effectively. His V Trigger combos will obviously do more damage when canceled from harder hitting normals or crush counter combos but the 3 frame jab is the most versatile and why Balrog is never out of any round no matter what your health deficit is. The cr. LP after the resets hit low and leave you at +2 on block so if you get blocked just continue with a frame trap or throw instead. His Critical Art is pretty good but his 2 Bar V Trigger combos do more damage than his Critical Art and something like 600 more stun for less meter if you can land them. Balrog can do 100% stun off of a 3 frame jab with 2 resets that leave you at positive advantage and no meter. He has the best V-Trigger in the game and one of the most versatile Critical Arts.
Edit: These videos are not 100% optimized. You can fit in an HK Screw Smash after the cr. Hp in the meterless and 2 bar variants for slightly more damage and about 50 more stun.
V Trigger No Meter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhHjgzW3Lco
V Trigger 1 Bar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7uMV_XZxVQ
V Trigger 2 Bar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8o_srvXl6s
V Trigger 3 bar (100% stun w/ no meter setup)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JSIjvg18tI
Froztey is 100% right, Balrog is firmly in the mid tier but is completely capable of overcoming his weaknesses with smart play. He is not a character for beginners and requires good defense and requires you to be patient and methodical. He really has no tricks up his sleeve other than his V-Trigger Dash Punch V-skill resets. He also has a few real bad matchups that he probably cannot overcome (Zangief and other grapplers mostly).