ShinSenkai
Noob
I may catch some heat for saying this, but I really don't think Harley is very strong in this game. Characters like Black Adam, Superman, Grundy, Killer Frost, Green Lantern, Batman, Hawkgirl etc. All seem just that little bit more competent and threatening than Harley. Not saying that Harley isn't viable, but I feel she suffers a little at the moment. She doesn't particularly have any outstanding qualities and seems to be designed as a jack-of-all-trades character; capable of all, excels at nothing. But even by that ideal she seems mediocre. This is a bold statement but for those of you familiar with SF4 AE, if I had to compare her to any one character it would have to be Ryu. Only Ryu is strong in every department where I feel Harley is sub par.
With that said, I do believe in the long run she may have the odd match-ups that she will undoubtedly win. Her footsie and neutral game is linear, limited but solid. Sounds like I'm contradicting myself but take B2,2. One of her best strings. The range could and I think should be slightly better, but because of that string she has a threatening mix up game up close. A mix up game I feel leaves a lot to be desired. F2 and F1,3 or NJ.2 are likely to be to go to overhead choices when threatening with a mix up. F2 being rather slow and easy to react to by a solid player. F1,3 a very clear string that once people recognise and become familiar with will no doubt block. And J.2 which people should block standing as soon as they see you leave the ground really.
Many characters have many go to strings that leave them at plus advantage on block therefore creating a whole new 50/50 game. Black Adam being a good example. I'm aware that Harley has her fair share and I absolutely love the meta that 2,D3 creates. And F3 being plus on block as well as 1 or 2 other key moves/strings but for a character that thrives on being up close, advantage frames are kind of important I would suspect.
Her lack of anti-airs is crippling. However, not every character is as fortunate to have a reliable AA like Grundy. But her air shots is really a sad excuse for an anti-air. I get that it needs to be used preemptively, but it really is quite poor. D2 does 4% if I'm not mistaken and leads to a follow up of up to around 20% with meter. But is painfully unreliable and gets stuffed easily.
Overall, the small things add up. This is really trivial but for example Black Adam can whiff an air attack into dive kick. The usefulness of this alone isn't easy to fathom unless you've experienced it. Yet Harley can't whiff an air attack into guns? Why not? It connects on block and on hit but not whiff. This is just one of numerous shortcomings I find she has when stacked up to the rest of the cast. Batman's trait is an ace is the deck, Hawk girl's flight mode adds a new dimension to the character, Superman's 2F super is.. Super. The list goes on. And what does Harley have? A trait that is completely random and punishable for a full combo even when you'be scored a knockdown on your opponent? An unblockable attack that while may prove useful for set ups in future has a chance that for no reason it will fail and leave you open for the oncoming combo? Mediocre is the word I use to describe Harley.
I realise this is a strongly opinionated post and I welcome people to oppose me. By no means am I force my notions onto anyone, just sharing what I've found in this short time. After all, this is a discussion board. I haven't really touched on her good points, but I still have a further cons I could go on to list but I think I've made my point clear. In closing i'd like to include a list of things I'd like to see for Harley to improve as a character and become more of a threat to other characters:
- MB Silly Slide to including armour (and possibly increase speed on MB).
- Slightly extended range on B2,2
- Tantrum Stance to either have advantage on block or have the cartwheel as an over head.
- TS cartwheel as a hard knockdown to open vortex possibilities.
- Faster start up on Heads Up.
- Faster start up on F2.
- Slightly decreased recovery frames on trait to make it more practical.
- Remove random Pop Pop dud. It's silly.
Discuss.
With that said, I do believe in the long run she may have the odd match-ups that she will undoubtedly win. Her footsie and neutral game is linear, limited but solid. Sounds like I'm contradicting myself but take B2,2. One of her best strings. The range could and I think should be slightly better, but because of that string she has a threatening mix up game up close. A mix up game I feel leaves a lot to be desired. F2 and F1,3 or NJ.2 are likely to be to go to overhead choices when threatening with a mix up. F2 being rather slow and easy to react to by a solid player. F1,3 a very clear string that once people recognise and become familiar with will no doubt block. And J.2 which people should block standing as soon as they see you leave the ground really.
Many characters have many go to strings that leave them at plus advantage on block therefore creating a whole new 50/50 game. Black Adam being a good example. I'm aware that Harley has her fair share and I absolutely love the meta that 2,D3 creates. And F3 being plus on block as well as 1 or 2 other key moves/strings but for a character that thrives on being up close, advantage frames are kind of important I would suspect.
Her lack of anti-airs is crippling. However, not every character is as fortunate to have a reliable AA like Grundy. But her air shots is really a sad excuse for an anti-air. I get that it needs to be used preemptively, but it really is quite poor. D2 does 4% if I'm not mistaken and leads to a follow up of up to around 20% with meter. But is painfully unreliable and gets stuffed easily.
Overall, the small things add up. This is really trivial but for example Black Adam can whiff an air attack into dive kick. The usefulness of this alone isn't easy to fathom unless you've experienced it. Yet Harley can't whiff an air attack into guns? Why not? It connects on block and on hit but not whiff. This is just one of numerous shortcomings I find she has when stacked up to the rest of the cast. Batman's trait is an ace is the deck, Hawk girl's flight mode adds a new dimension to the character, Superman's 2F super is.. Super. The list goes on. And what does Harley have? A trait that is completely random and punishable for a full combo even when you'be scored a knockdown on your opponent? An unblockable attack that while may prove useful for set ups in future has a chance that for no reason it will fail and leave you open for the oncoming combo? Mediocre is the word I use to describe Harley.
I realise this is a strongly opinionated post and I welcome people to oppose me. By no means am I force my notions onto anyone, just sharing what I've found in this short time. After all, this is a discussion board. I haven't really touched on her good points, but I still have a further cons I could go on to list but I think I've made my point clear. In closing i'd like to include a list of things I'd like to see for Harley to improve as a character and become more of a threat to other characters:
- MB Silly Slide to including armour (and possibly increase speed on MB).
- Slightly extended range on B2,2
- Tantrum Stance to either have advantage on block or have the cartwheel as an over head.
- TS cartwheel as a hard knockdown to open vortex possibilities.
- Faster start up on Heads Up.
- Faster start up on F2.
- Slightly decreased recovery frames on trait to make it more practical.
- Remove random Pop Pop dud. It's silly.
Discuss.
