So I've been playing around with this character, and I feel like this variation is going to be very strong, and highly viable for people of a certain playstyle, and most likely the strongest variation this character has. He has some really nice shit that is going to really make him hard to deal with in the right hands.
Now we all know Alien has some pretty nice spacing tools and specials universally. So you might initially think that, oh ok, a variation that gives him a bunch more range strings and more armor? this just seems like a bunch of irrelevant overkill right? This was my initial reaction when I took him to the lab and saw what his variation unique tools actually were after 5 minutes, I thought this variation was going to be the "Warrior Predator" of the Xenomorph.
However, after peering a bit further into the depth of his shit, this is not the case at. His variation specific shit, has 2 AMAZING tools right off the bat, that are not only tools good enough to stand out in Alien's kit, but are quite possibly the best 2 buttons for their individual role.
- first up is his "Rekka", aka Tarkatan Rush, BF2 . It's not just a special that you cancel into - it is quite definitely THE best advancing move in the game at 15 frames or slower. The range on this is incredible. To put it in perspect, it outranges Quan Chi's B2 which is also 15 frames - except it has a very fast follow up hit that also reaches significantly further again in case you whiff the first hit. Quan Chi's is a mid, yes - but it also costs a bar to be safe AND to combo. Alien's may just be mid but when you are at the range that only one move can hit you anyway, being overhead isn't very relevant - and the trade offs he makes for this is that he gets to go into a guessing game on block, AND meterless. and on hit he can confirm (VERY easily, the timing on anything Rekka related is super flexible) and combo in to it for a bar. So there is no way to describe this button other than amazing. Oh, and as a bonus you can meterburn it for armor
, which is by all accounts, safe armor.
- second up is his 214 string. Basically, it's a 9 frame high that reaches as far as most characters D4 (further than some). It's easily hitconfirmable and gapless if left un-cancelled. On block, the first 3 hits do 2.2% chip, and the final hit goes low, and does and an additional 1.4% chip, but it won't come out if cancelled. It also has very little scaling, and it's a great combo tool. But basically, it's just one of the best high strings in the game. Easily compared to Scorps 214 which does the same amount of chip on the first 3 hits and also cancels into combo, it has the benefit of being much and I mean MUCH easier to apply with its range and its start up frames, and pokes that actually properly jail into it. Now, obviously Alien can't cancel into a FBC and loop it like Scorp can, however Alien has the benefit of being gapless, and having a pressure / guessing game of his own with it, being able to cancel it into the Rekka guessing game, letting it finish and hitting them with the 4th hit the low, which does 7% and gives a Hard Knockdown (although only 8 frames of advantage), or mixing your opponent up by hitting them with the Overhead special, Tail Flip. Now, the regular version of this is safe on block but when you cancel into it it does make a gap that isn't there if you go with any other option. The meterburned version of Tail Flip however is punishable on block so the gap is kinda irrelevant. And anyone trying to punish that gap is making a big read anyway because you are just as likely to get caught by the low, or even worse the Rekka, so this seems like a kind of deceptively nice mix-up.
- Now, as far as his Rekka pressure actually plays, it's interesting. Like Tanya's old Koba pressure, there will always be a gap/punish window (although a good Alien will be able to make it very ambiguous), and how he chooses to delay the buttons affects the frames of it, he can put the gap after the first hit and make the the entire string unpunishable, he can put it after the second and make the string unpunishable, or he can make it gapless, but the final hit will be punishable. A full Rekka on block builds about 40% of a bar of meter on block, and on hit it hitconfirms into a launcher, but for a bar of meter. So to cut it down to the elements, it's Kobu's old Rekka, in just about every way.
And while that's basically it, there is a couple of other elements. But don't get fooled by the Overhead / Low / Grap mixup at the end, "Oh it's Kobu's pressure with a 50/50 at the end!!!!" no, its not. The overhead option is 24 frames and has a very telling animation. And the Grab doesn't go through on block. So basically, it's "block low, react to slow ass overhead, cover all options" and in fact, the Overhead is so slow that you have to put a serious gap in the first two hits for it to be gapless, otherwise you can literally react to it with armor and go straight through. This "mix-up" is basically is no way comparable to what Kobu had with being able to meterburn her final hit to be safe/plus, basically they've looked at that which was the really fucked part about the Rekka, and toned it down a notch, and given this gimmicky little "mix-up" to compensate, which seems fair to me.
On top of that, a lot of what made Tanya so strong elsewise was her B12 string was just so damn good at re-applying the Rekka after being plus, Alien's best string to apply his Rekka is his F1 or F2 string which are 1/2 frames slower and has no armor breaking properties, Tanya also had that safe armor breaking Armor which began her Rekka which also made it super easy to apply, Alien can open his with armor as well, but he doesn't have that armor breaking property to his.
So basically, it's the Rekka but without all the bullshit that made the Rekka broken, it's the same guessing game, but it seems now that is a much more fair one, where you get rewarded for making the right read whether Alien has meter or not. I'm undoubtably sure that nerfs will be clamoured for at first but probably less on when people learn how much fairer it is, however NRS knew exactly what they were doing with this they didn't just accidently clone Tanya's Rekka, they've basically re-implemented it in a more sensible, fair manner, so this seems good.
What it means for the Tanya however, is grim days. People are talking about Acidic completely outclassing Noxious Reptile, I mean in no way are those two characters even similar outside of vaguely similar DoT's that have more in common aesthetically than they do in gameplay. Tanya however, could have had a niche if they had left her Tonfa Toss pressure intact, or let her keep armor on her Rekka just make it not break, however she was hit fucking hard, and this is no Hunter vs Grandmaster like some people hard, at this stage, I really can't see how Alien doesn't make her character ENTIRELY redundant. But meh, that's an issue for Tanya that I'll support in threads relevant to her, but I felt it was worth including.
As for how to play the character in general and how to use his universal tools, this character will very much be about using his sick spacing and footsies with amazing reach and great pokes, then trying to hold on to your turn once you get it. Alien's application of his Rekka will involve B3xxRekka at long range, raw Rekka at closer midscreen, F1/F2xxRekka as close range fastest mids that both have advancing properties too, and 214xxRekka which is jailed into by both D1 and D4. I think he will play VERY defensive in the neutral and will be one of this game's very defensive characters, constantly backing up and trying to whiff moves or react to them with your dope defensive tools like D4, U3, and Uppercut as well as his safe midscreen reaching 15f advance (the Rekka itself) which is a great defensive tool even without the armor. Another thing is his Ji4, you can safely input Ji4xxTailFlip(air), on block it option selects and the Tail Flip does NOT come out at all but on hit ex-AirTailFlip goes into combo, so this basically guarantees you big damage from far range if your Ji4 hits, and safety (and no wasted meter) if it doesn't, so this seems like pretty good counter zoning. This is tactic is universal for his variations but especially good for this variation because he converts so well from it with 214. Ji3xxRekka is another tactic worth mentioning from a bit closer like close midscreen around the range of your Rekka, while it doesn't option select, on has very nice range and goes into Rekka on hit which you can then choose to extend into further combo for a bar, and on block I'm not sure the exact size of the gap frame wise but it still beats anything other than pokes and armor and goes straight into Rekka, and thats not to mention the fact you can armor the Rekka as well.
I'm not sure what will be the most viable tactics in practice, but I'm working on this variation, and an indepth guide will be coming when we get there.
Now, this all reads very strong, and I've made comparison to moves like Scorp's 214 and Quans B2, but you have to remember that while his buttons are better, the payoff is nowhere near as good, and Scorp can get 35% meterless into standing reset pressure for landing his version of the 214, Alien has to spend a bar just to get similar damage and no standing reset (we'll see if we can get higher when people properly flesh out his combos, though at the moment it's not looking like it), and comparing the payoff to Quan, there is just no comparison. He's highly grounded by his damage output and reliance on meter. One thing I'm not ever is a downplayer, and I wasn't even going to keep playing if the new DLC characters were deliberately broken to move units, however this character seems quite fair during my initial analysis of him, however it's all going to rest on the numbers and if he is able to put out Scorpion levels of damage he will be pretty broken, BUT I really think that's going to be impossible unless we are all missing something drastic at the moment.
I'll post some combo's in a moment.
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