StevoSuprem0
I'm gonna make this skill gap... disappear.
"How to Put a Smile on that Face"
A Guide to All Things Joker
I've been talking about working on this for a while now and it's finally done. With character guides being all the rage nowadays, I figured there's no time like the present to get it posted. I apologize for this having taken so long to those that have been waiting, but we kept coming up with more tech and tweaking old stuff, so a lot had to be re-done and added from time to time. Anyways, it's here, so check it out!
This guide is meant to be a complete overview of Joker, starting with simple stuff like specials, normals, and strings, and building to setups, BnB options, and interactable usage (similar to the Kryptonite Academy series), so feel free to skip things you have a good handle on. I wanted to go through everything relatively in depth to highlight some issues that Joker still has that you need to watch out for when play with or against him. Enjoy!
For those who are unable to view this video in other countries or on mobile devices due to YouTube restrictions, use this link:
http://www.veoh.com/watch/v71028538m2zrh2S4
Timestamps:
Hilarious/Awesome Beginning- 0:00 (duh)
Intro- 0:24
Specials- 1:41
Strings and Normals- 5:40
Neutral Game- 8:13
Combos and Setups- 11:30
Midscreen- 11:30
Corner- 19:59
Teeth- 25:25
Interactables- 27:32
Outro- 29:19
*Below is mostly a recap of what is in the video, FYI, and may explain some portions a bit more thoroughly. Still a bit of a work-in-progress, but just needs a little more detail in a few spots.*
First off, Joker is very likely NOT the worst character in the game, and even if he is, that is not as damning a statement as it is in many other games. He has very difficult execution and requires a large amount of matchup knowledge in many cases to effectively navigate the neutral game, but Joker has many tools that can be exploited in ways that make him a very dangerous character to fight against, especially if you are not familiar with him.
Strengths
+High damage output
+Unblockable / hard-to-block setups
+Excellent air normals
+Decent footsie tools
+Invincible wakeup option
Weaknesses
-Poor mixups outside of setups
-Lack of mobility
-Moderately meter dependent
-Several whiffing issues
-Crappy trait
Specials
BANG! (df1)- Hits high; a moderately fast projectile that can be delayed and cancelled into forward dash or back dash, but has whiff issues against several animations that no other high projectiles in the game suffer from. Useful for zoning in some matchups, as well as counterzoning in others.
Acid Blossum (bf2)- Hits mid; short range special with fast startup and decent advantage on hit or block. Good for ending combos for damage and frame advantage. Also Joker's best wakeup option, being full invincible until active.
Crowbar (bf3)- Hits overhead; slow startup mid-range special where Joker lunges forward, pummeling the opponent on hit and pushing them away, leaving Joker at advantage and producing a hard KD. Also safe on block, though leaves him at disadvantage (-4f). Can be MB'ed for additional damage and a longer KD.
Laughing Gas (db1)- Hits high or mid depending on spacing; slow startup projectile that travels in an arc and falls to the ground shortly before reaching full screen. Can be MB'ed to either launch the opponent on hit, or leave Joker at decent amount of frame advantage on block. Slow startup and clunky travel arc make it relatively easy to react to and avoid, but can be useful in some matchups and for chipping people out.
Rolling Laughing Gas (db2)- Hits low; slow startup, slow rolling projectile that can be MB'ed for extra damage and to launch the opponent. Some limited use as a projectile, but best used in combos to launch the opponent and lead to big damage.
Chattering Teeth (db3)- Hits low; places a set of teeth that chatter until exploding after a delayed time period. There are three versions: close (db3), mid (db3u), and far (db3f), where close and far teeth have the same timing and mid are slightly more delayed. Teeth have a variety of uses, from baiting the opponent into making mistakes and punishing, to juggling in order to extend combos and net additional damage, to setups when combined with Joker's overhead options.
Joker's Wild (trait)- a parry that can be used to counter high/mid/overhead (4) or low (d+4) attacks. The regular parry has 1 frame of startup, while the low has 2 frames, and both have a rather brief active window. Upon successful parry, Joker is granted a buff that increases his walk and jump speeds. There are 3 levels, each with a different duration; level 1 is a slight boost that lasts 9 seconds, level 2 is a more modest boost that lasts 18 seconds, and level 3 is a large increase that lasts 27 seconds. A successful parry during a given level of the buff will progress you to the next level, while parries at level 3 refreshing the timer. While this buff would help Joker somewhat with mobility, it is nearly impossible to land 2 successful parries within 9 seconds. Being that the level 1 buff is almost unnoticeable, the only real benefit to this trait is access to a parry, and a rather weak one at that given that it cannot be input as a reversal or wakeup and has poor active frames. Generally, the risk is not worth using it unless you have a really good read on your opponent or are reacting to something slow. Since it is a single input, you are able to hold block and mash it out as a sort of option select, so there's that I suppose...
Strings and Normals
11- Hits high-mid; fastest startup string and can be cancelled into RLG, making it great for punishing in tight frame windows into full combos
112- Hits high-mid-overhead; produces a hard KD and has a large amount of advantage on block, but is not cancellable. Best used sparingly as a mixup or in tandem with mid teeth for unblockable setups.
113- Hits high-mid-overhead; can be cancelled into crowbar, flower, or gunshot and is useful for unblockable teeth setups as well as situationally as an ender in the corner.
b13- Hits low-overhead; fast hitting low that is a great footsie tool followed by an overhead that is very useful during many teeth setups. b1 is also cancellable into flower and crowbar for frame advantage or OTG setups, respectively.
21- Hits mid-midx2; moderately fast string that can be cancelled into MB RLG to initiate a combo and also leaves Joker at enough advantage on block for frametraps. However, the final hit does have whiff issues on a few members of the cast when they crouch block.
212- Hits mid-midx2-mid; this string has the highest amount of cancel advantage of Joker's strings on block, which make it useful for setups. Unfortunately, also suffers from whiff issues against several characters when they block ducking.
213- Hits mid-midx2-overhead; the same string, ending with an overhead instead of the mid, producing a hard KD. Can't be cancelled, but useful for some mixup. Also great for producing guaranteed resets against much of the cast via corner setups.
f21- Hits mid-overhead; another overhead-ending string that can be useful for mixup, but is not cancellable. Neutral advantage on block. Best used in tandem with teeth for difficult-to-block setups.
f23- Hits mid-mid; one of Joker's few strings that is unsafe on block, and also suffers the mid-whiffing issues on the 2nd hit. Can be cancelled into MB RLG for combo on hit, but inferior to other options. Best used during combos to juggle opponents due to its very consistent hitbox against aerials foes.
f232- Hits mid-mid-mid; advancing string that can be cancelled into crowbar or flower. Not terrible useful outside of ending combos in some situations.
32- Hits mid-midx2; Joker's highest damage starter string, cancellable into MB RLG for damaging combos. Very easy to hit confirm, and can be cancelled into flower on block to make it safe. When used following a j2, there is a small window to backdash or parry unless the j2 is connected very late.
323- Hits mid-mid-midx4; a bunch of stabbing ending in a hard KD. Can be cancelled before the multiple stabs, but not terribly useful outside of teeth setups that are relatively easy to escape.
33- Hits mid-mid; two kicks with a large amount of knockback on hit. Probably Joker's least useful string, but pretty flashy to throw teeth and then kick someone into them with this....
d1- Hits mid; fast hitting normal and has one frame of advantage on block, making it a pretty solid d1. Only cancellable into flower and crowbar, but can also cancel into teeth if opponents are respecting too much.
b2- Slow startup overhead with a large amount of knockback. Useful in tandem with teeth for unblockables or to catch opponents off guard when used sparingly.
d2- A little inconsistent against aerial opponents due to different jump arcs, but an excellent footsie tool due to its immense horizontal range. Punishable on block, but can be cancelled into a variety of specials to make it safe or create potential setups.
d3- Great range low that produces a hard knockdown, but risky since it is -14f on block and highly punishable by most characters.
j1- Very fast jump normal with a decent amount of active frames. Hit advantage generally only allows for combos into 11 or b1. Great for A2A exchanges.
j2- One of the best crossup jump attacks in the game. Can be made extremely ambiguous with the correct spacing depending on when you input the attack.
j3- Another excellent air normal boasting a huge amount of advantage on block, great range, and crossup ability. Can be converted off of into decent damage and setups. Also shifts hitbox upward slightly, helping to avoid AA attempts and dodge interactables.
Neutral Game Strategies
The neutral game can be difficult to navigate with Joker, but with a good amount of matchup knowledge you can make it much more manageable. You must have a good handle on footsie spacing and how to effectively use teeth if you are to have and hope in some of his more challenging matchups. A big part of Joker's strategy is to force the opponent into the corner. Once there, Joker is much more threatening due to his guaranteed setups and strong corner pressure.
Zoning and Counterzoning
Joker's zoning game isn't strong, but it can be useful in several matchups and is heavily mindgame-oriented. Generally, it is best executed using the gun, alternating between spamming the shots some of the time and delaying the shots other times to catch the opponent trying to move or react. It is also useful to throw teeth between gunshots, which function to both to deter them from trying to get too close and can trick the opponent into moving or jumping so you can open them up for the following shot, as well as building some additional meter. The gunshot is easily circumvented by ducking, however, and also whiffs on several specials due to its high, small hitbox (Batman's Batarangs, Hawkgirl's Mace Charge, and Flash's Lightning Charge, to name a few). Laughing Gas and Rolling Laughing Gas have some utility in the zoning game because they tend to throw people off and can be more difficult to get around, but they are EXTREMELY slow. Thus, they are best used to catch people off guard or to chip them out towards the end of health bars and are best used with teeth out already to provide some defense. Gunshot can also be useful for counterzoning in some matchups because it is relatively fast and provides good advantage on chip or block, as well as presenting a mindgame when delayed in the form of threatening with a shot and then dash cancelling to help close the gap on zoning-intensive characters.
Footsies
While most of Joker's standing normals have poor footsie utility, his b1 is decent as a low with moderate reach. Joker's d2 is also great in the footsie game since it has a large amount of horizontal reach and can be cancelled in a variety of useful ways depending on the situation. Unfortunately, neither of these options can be cancelled into Joker's launcher (MB RLG) for a combo (d2 can be, but the damage is severely scaled, and if they block the d2 you're going to get blown up...hard). However, they both can be used to cancel into other safer options. Flower is an option that opponents always need to respect and is at advantage both on block or hit, creating some space and forcing most characters to respect any follow-ups or backdash. Crowbar can be poked out of with good timing, but is safe on block and great for setups and corner carry. The gun can also be an interesting option, since it can be dash cancelled for continued pressure on block (though unsafe if they react fast enough) or a small combo on hit, and presents some interesting utility when backdash cancelling for the invulnerability. When opponents respect some of these options it opens up the potential for cancelling into teeth and catching them in setups and mixups that are difficult to escape.
Teeth Utility
Teeth are extremely useful in many matchups to help limit the options of the opponents and force them to make mistakes and open themselves up. They can be used as a sort of footsie tool in some fights since far teeth can be thrown just outside of the reach of most long reaching normals. This will force the opponent to react to avoid the teeth, and you can capitalize on this in a variety of ways depending on what they do. Holding still, dashes, jumps, and many reversals can all be dealt with, either on read or reaction depending on the situation. Check out the video for examples for each situation, and I'll expand on this later.
Midscreen
Frame Traps and Setups
Anytime you're strings are blocked, you should be confirming into flower. This will leave you at +5 and create a bit of space, allowing you to follow with d2 into whatever special cancel you'd like except in a few matchups (Flash/Lex due to 6f reversal, parry characters).
21 also leaves Joker at +5 on block, allowing for a free b1 xx flower /crowbar followup. They can backdash, but that will work them closer to the corner, which is where we want them to be moving. Once this is respected (as well as flower), Joker is able to cancel 21 into teeth (unsafe, but hard to punish on reaction) and put the opponent into difficult-to-block setups by following with d2 xx crowbar, b13, f21, or going for a jump attack
212 has enough advantage when cancelled to make placing teeth (212 xx teeth) completely safe. This used to create a guessing for the opponent because pushblocking attempts to pressure Joker when teeth were out would lead to some decent damage and setup potential. Now that it does 0%, it's difficult to make opponents respect that as an option unless they are near a BGB or the corner, which would allow us to put them into damaging guaranteed resets (coming up later). If they choose not to pressure and instead back away, jump, or stay still, Joker can punish as previously explained.
OTGs
Regular crowbar can be followed with a single dash into b1 midscreen to OTG, and can be cancelled into another crowbar to reproduce the situation. Once the opponent respects this options, it deters wakeups and allows you more freedom to setup teeth or go for ambiguous jump ins. Spacing is important as well; if the crowbar doesn't connect close enough, the pushback will be too much for the b1 following the dash to connect and you won't be able to OTG. You can discern whether the spacing will be right based on where Joker is standing during the crowbar beating animation, with anything about between their knees and higher working for an OTG b1. If you meter burn the crowbar, then you are able to OTG with d3, d2, and another crowbar after a dash, or RLG with or without a dash (but don't MB the RLG because the launcher will whiff unless they are in the corner).
Ambiguous Jump-ins
Joker's j2 can be extremely ambiguous as to whether or not it's going to crossup or not if spaced properly. This can be done by inputting the 2 just as you reach the opponent to hit in front, or slightly later to produce a crossup. While this can occur regularly in the neutral game, there are also several ways to generate this from normals and combos. Sweeps can be used at the right distance and can be followed with a jump in to lead to an ambiguous j2. The hard knockdown prevents techrolling, so unless the opponent has a wakeup with good invulnerability that can deal with aerial oki, they are going to have to guess. MB crowbar also produces an ambiguous setup if you dash once and walk forward slightly, then jump in (you can also dash twice and walk back, but the timing is a bit more strict). Sweep is great in the neutral setting, but it is better when used to end a combo in the right spacing since it will be more consistent. Check out the video for a few useful places to cancel combos in this manner.
SHKD
One of Joker's best BnB options ends with the opponent being juggled over teeth and using the 213 string. The teeth pop the opponent up between the "1" and the "3", and ends with the overhead coming in and knocking them out of an elevated point in the air. This extends the knockdown for an additional duration, producing what we have taken to calling a "super" hard knockdown (SHKD), as well as a large amount of corner carry. There are several ways Joker can abuse this situation. By dashing twice and jumping in, the opponent will be crossed up, and will need to reverse their inputs to wakeup correctly. Additionally, by dashing once and throwing teeth, the opponent is forced make a move and try to get away from them, which can be punished with a good read/reaction. The knockdown duration is also just right for Joker to dash twice and stuff non-invincible wakeup attempts and hit confirm into another damaging combo.
Ghetto Teeth Setups
When ending combos, you can cancel certain strings, such as 21 (after the first hit of the "1" portion), 323 (after the first hit of the final input), or 32, into teeth to go for a reset setup. Midscreen, this is techrollable and pretty easy to escape, but becomes much more threatening if you are near the corner. Opponents with stuffable wakeups will have to attempt to block very difficult ES setups when you follow the teeth with b13/f21/jump normals as they are getting up. There is also a more guaranteed teeth setup midscreen that can be setup during a juggle loop off of j2, where far teeth or close teeth can be used to counter techrolls or non-techrolls, respectively, producing a sort of 50/50, though both options are vulnerable to invincible wakeups.
Corner
The corner is where Joker wants to have his opponent. His corner pressure is a force to reckon with when executed properly and though he is still somewhat lacking in mixup options, if and when he manages to open up his opponent, Joker has guaranteed reset setups against a large portion of the cast when they are unable to techroll.
OTGs
In the corner Joker no longer needs to dash after a successful crowbar to connect with OTG attacks on the grounded opponent, opening up several more options. Regular crowbars can be followed with standing 3, d2, d3, b1, another crowbar, or RLG for an OTG, and MB crowbars can be followed with all of these as well as b3 and f3. Unfortunately, there still isn't much mixup potential here because the opponent can simply block low and react to the overhead options of crowbar and f3, as both as quite slow.
A very strong OTG option that becomes available in the corner is MB crowbar into teeth, followed by b13. If done fast enough, the b1 will OTG, and the 3 will hit overhead just before the teeth pop, producing a low -> high-low Earthshaker block and prevents wakeups due to the OTG. They will be launched, and you can go into damaging combos or cancel into crowbar again to reset the setup. When they respect the OTG and stop trying to wakeup, you can switch to a slightly delayed b2 after the teeth to catch them with an overhead when they are expecting the low b1. This will launch them into the teeth and can still be combo'd from, creating a 50/50 scenario, though it is still somewhat reactable. Against characters with stuffable wakeups, this can also be done after regular crowbars; the b1 won't OTG, but it will stuff their wakeup attempt if timed properly. Against some characters with invincible wakeups (single hit and slower than ~14f startup), you can also follow a regular crowbar with b1 (or an equally fast normal) cancelled into a f3 bounce cancel. If they choose to wakeup, the normal will be cancelled into the f3 fast enough for the armor to eat the hit and they will be launched. If they don't wakeup, the will have to try to block a nearly simultaneous f3 bounce cancel + teeth and will still likely be launched because it's about a 1f gap. Thus, there are a lot of options in the corner off of a crowbar, and which you choose can be tailored based on the matchup to be extremely effective.
Fast Restand
Once you've scaled a combo significantly, ending in a d2 will result in a fast restand and make it difficult for the opponent to time a wakeup unless they are mashing one out already while in the combo. This is not unique to Joker, but there are some interesting ways that he can manipulate this situation. First, if you time it properly, you can cancel the d2 into either MB RLG or crowbar and they will actually stand up into the attack as it hits. This make seem like a 50/50, but both options are pretty reactable and can be techrolled if they are mashing it in anticipation. Another great option is to cancel into teeth. They will stand into the teeth, and if they fail to catch the wakeup window, you can go into b13/f21/b2/f3/etc. for a difficult ES block, or into 21 (1 hit) xx teeth for Joker's block infinite. It should be kept in mind that all of this is reliant on the opponent missing the wakeup window/ failing to techroll into a wakeup due to the speed of the fast restand. Many people may be prepared for this, making this tech somewhat more gimmicky, but useful for catching people offguard at times for very damaging resets.
SHKD
In the corner, SHKD's are much more powerful than they are midscreen. The duration of the knockdown is long enough for Joker to throw teeth and go for either a MB f3 or crossup j2. These setups are essentially unblockable and aside from only a few wakeup option in the entire game, inescapable if the correct option is used in a given matchup and is executed properly. They can also be loops back into a SHKD to reproduce the situation, making Joker capable of killing most characters outright if he opens them up in the corner and they are unable to clash.
Block Infinite
teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit)..... yeah. The previous set of teeth will cover the cancel window of the string into the next set of teeth and allow the next 21 to catch them before they can escape (the gap is about 4 frames). Most characters can't do anything about it, but a few can (Green Lantern, Bane, anyone with a parry).
See link at bottom for a thorough breakdown of how it works.
The best ways to get people into this are by making them respect some of the other options from frame traps and then catching them off guard with teeth, or from a fast restand in the corner cancelled into teeth into the infinite.
Teeth Setups
Basically anything with an overhead; b2, b13, f21, 113, 112 (mid teeth only), f3, crowbar, and jump normals. Gonna write more here soon, but it's pretty standard- teeth hit low, try to time an overhead at the same time!
Interactable Setups
Aerial Planted Bombs
Bombs placed on floating objects such as Arkham TV's, "Scoreboards" on Insurgency, Hovering Police Car on Metro Streets, etc. can be used for guaranteed damage at the end of combos by cancelling a j2 into the interactable. If the timing is done correctly and the placement is right, the opponent will hit the ground and eat the interactable whether or not they techroll. Additionally, if they don't techroll again after the bomb hits them, they are susceptible to setups. The explosion makes it very difficult to see teeth get thrown, so let them fly, and if you see they haven't techrolled, burn a MB f3 and reset them for solid damage. If they do techroll, they will get out of the teeth, and you can choose to pursue or play it slow based on the matchup and life lead.
Immobilizes or Hard/Prolonged KDs
Interactables that immobilize like the Freezing Pipe in Arkham, produce a prolonged KD animation like the Laser to the right in Fortress of Solitude, and interactables that cause a hard KD like the Turret Drone on Metro Rooftops, any BGB, and all the others are excellent for leading to setups that are difficult to escape. BGBs are especially useful to this end because they are on a large amount of levels and can be cancelled into pretty easily from combos. Once they are knocked down, place teeth and time a crossup j2, neutral j3, or MB f3 depending on the wakeup options of the character you're fighting and convert into excellent damage.
Flames
There are several flame interactables, like the Lion's Heads on Themyscara, Fire Drones on Metro Rooftops, and Jet Engines to the left on the upper level of Watchtower that can catch people on teeth. You can try to catch people off guard by throwing teeth in the neutral game and going for the interactable, or from a combo (depending on the interactable) by throwing teeth and canceling a normal into the interactable. These setups can be techrolled from a combo and blocked after the flames hit by holding down, but can be effective if you catch someone off guard and lead to very damaging resets. Worst case scenario, they block and you are still at frame advantage to apply pressure.
Slid/Thrown
Slid interactables, such as the Dumpster on Gotham Streets or the Piano inside Wayne Manor, or aerial objects that are thrown quickly, like the Faces in Arkham or the Lights in Luthor's Lab, can be combo'ed into teeth for unblockable setups. Teeth need to be setup first, which limit's the practicality of these setups, but they are useful if you catch someone off guard or intentionally drop a combo onto teeth and use them as an impromptu reset.
Links to other useful stuff
Combo/BnB Inputs: http://testyourmight.com/threads/jokers-super-awesome-combo-bnb-thread-nov-2013.39232/
OTG Crowbar Compilation: http://testyourmight.com/threads/joker-otg-crowbar-tech-patch-1-06.38387/
Comprehensive Breakdown of Block Infinite: http://testyourmight.com/threads/jokers-block-infinite-breakdown.41822/
Tags/Shoutouts
@Dr. Handsome and @Abbneto, thanks for literally everything.
Joker Community! Big thanks to all of you for helping come up with the majority of this stuff-
@Qwark28 @Gilbagz @Notez4 @Fromundaman @OnlineRon91 @The_PantyChrist @Dr Jackal @EMP Dark @Amplified$hotz @rehti @ThaShiveGeek @BlackBryan @FCP/EMP SCAR And faithful mod, @Rathalos
Big thanks to a few of my training partners for their help with some footage and helping me become less scrubby-
@DarthArma @KDZ @Frantastic23
Anything to add from the tech monsters?
@SonicFox5000 @R.E.O.
A Guide to All Things Joker
I've been talking about working on this for a while now and it's finally done. With character guides being all the rage nowadays, I figured there's no time like the present to get it posted. I apologize for this having taken so long to those that have been waiting, but we kept coming up with more tech and tweaking old stuff, so a lot had to be re-done and added from time to time. Anyways, it's here, so check it out!
This guide is meant to be a complete overview of Joker, starting with simple stuff like specials, normals, and strings, and building to setups, BnB options, and interactable usage (similar to the Kryptonite Academy series), so feel free to skip things you have a good handle on. I wanted to go through everything relatively in depth to highlight some issues that Joker still has that you need to watch out for when play with or against him. Enjoy!
For those who are unable to view this video in other countries or on mobile devices due to YouTube restrictions, use this link:
http://www.veoh.com/watch/v71028538m2zrh2S4
Timestamps:
Hilarious/Awesome Beginning- 0:00 (duh)
Intro- 0:24
Specials- 1:41
Strings and Normals- 5:40
Neutral Game- 8:13
Combos and Setups- 11:30
Midscreen- 11:30
Corner- 19:59
Teeth- 25:25
Interactables- 27:32
Outro- 29:19
*Below is mostly a recap of what is in the video, FYI, and may explain some portions a bit more thoroughly. Still a bit of a work-in-progress, but just needs a little more detail in a few spots.*
First off, Joker is very likely NOT the worst character in the game, and even if he is, that is not as damning a statement as it is in many other games. He has very difficult execution and requires a large amount of matchup knowledge in many cases to effectively navigate the neutral game, but Joker has many tools that can be exploited in ways that make him a very dangerous character to fight against, especially if you are not familiar with him.
Strengths
+High damage output
+Unblockable / hard-to-block setups
+Excellent air normals
+Decent footsie tools
+Invincible wakeup option
Weaknesses
-Poor mixups outside of setups
-Lack of mobility
-Moderately meter dependent
-Several whiffing issues
-Crappy trait
Specials
BANG! (df1)- Hits high; a moderately fast projectile that can be delayed and cancelled into forward dash or back dash, but has whiff issues against several animations that no other high projectiles in the game suffer from. Useful for zoning in some matchups, as well as counterzoning in others.
Acid Blossum (bf2)- Hits mid; short range special with fast startup and decent advantage on hit or block. Good for ending combos for damage and frame advantage. Also Joker's best wakeup option, being full invincible until active.
Crowbar (bf3)- Hits overhead; slow startup mid-range special where Joker lunges forward, pummeling the opponent on hit and pushing them away, leaving Joker at advantage and producing a hard KD. Also safe on block, though leaves him at disadvantage (-4f). Can be MB'ed for additional damage and a longer KD.
Laughing Gas (db1)- Hits high or mid depending on spacing; slow startup projectile that travels in an arc and falls to the ground shortly before reaching full screen. Can be MB'ed to either launch the opponent on hit, or leave Joker at decent amount of frame advantage on block. Slow startup and clunky travel arc make it relatively easy to react to and avoid, but can be useful in some matchups and for chipping people out.
Rolling Laughing Gas (db2)- Hits low; slow startup, slow rolling projectile that can be MB'ed for extra damage and to launch the opponent. Some limited use as a projectile, but best used in combos to launch the opponent and lead to big damage.
Chattering Teeth (db3)- Hits low; places a set of teeth that chatter until exploding after a delayed time period. There are three versions: close (db3), mid (db3u), and far (db3f), where close and far teeth have the same timing and mid are slightly more delayed. Teeth have a variety of uses, from baiting the opponent into making mistakes and punishing, to juggling in order to extend combos and net additional damage, to setups when combined with Joker's overhead options.
Joker's Wild (trait)- a parry that can be used to counter high/mid/overhead (4) or low (d+4) attacks. The regular parry has 1 frame of startup, while the low has 2 frames, and both have a rather brief active window. Upon successful parry, Joker is granted a buff that increases his walk and jump speeds. There are 3 levels, each with a different duration; level 1 is a slight boost that lasts 9 seconds, level 2 is a more modest boost that lasts 18 seconds, and level 3 is a large increase that lasts 27 seconds. A successful parry during a given level of the buff will progress you to the next level, while parries at level 3 refreshing the timer. While this buff would help Joker somewhat with mobility, it is nearly impossible to land 2 successful parries within 9 seconds. Being that the level 1 buff is almost unnoticeable, the only real benefit to this trait is access to a parry, and a rather weak one at that given that it cannot be input as a reversal or wakeup and has poor active frames. Generally, the risk is not worth using it unless you have a really good read on your opponent or are reacting to something slow. Since it is a single input, you are able to hold block and mash it out as a sort of option select, so there's that I suppose...
Strings and Normals
11- Hits high-mid; fastest startup string and can be cancelled into RLG, making it great for punishing in tight frame windows into full combos
112- Hits high-mid-overhead; produces a hard KD and has a large amount of advantage on block, but is not cancellable. Best used sparingly as a mixup or in tandem with mid teeth for unblockable setups.
113- Hits high-mid-overhead; can be cancelled into crowbar, flower, or gunshot and is useful for unblockable teeth setups as well as situationally as an ender in the corner.
b13- Hits low-overhead; fast hitting low that is a great footsie tool followed by an overhead that is very useful during many teeth setups. b1 is also cancellable into flower and crowbar for frame advantage or OTG setups, respectively.
21- Hits mid-midx2; moderately fast string that can be cancelled into MB RLG to initiate a combo and also leaves Joker at enough advantage on block for frametraps. However, the final hit does have whiff issues on a few members of the cast when they crouch block.
212- Hits mid-midx2-mid; this string has the highest amount of cancel advantage of Joker's strings on block, which make it useful for setups. Unfortunately, also suffers from whiff issues against several characters when they block ducking.
213- Hits mid-midx2-overhead; the same string, ending with an overhead instead of the mid, producing a hard KD. Can't be cancelled, but useful for some mixup. Also great for producing guaranteed resets against much of the cast via corner setups.
f21- Hits mid-overhead; another overhead-ending string that can be useful for mixup, but is not cancellable. Neutral advantage on block. Best used in tandem with teeth for difficult-to-block setups.
f23- Hits mid-mid; one of Joker's few strings that is unsafe on block, and also suffers the mid-whiffing issues on the 2nd hit. Can be cancelled into MB RLG for combo on hit, but inferior to other options. Best used during combos to juggle opponents due to its very consistent hitbox against aerials foes.
f232- Hits mid-mid-mid; advancing string that can be cancelled into crowbar or flower. Not terrible useful outside of ending combos in some situations.
32- Hits mid-midx2; Joker's highest damage starter string, cancellable into MB RLG for damaging combos. Very easy to hit confirm, and can be cancelled into flower on block to make it safe. When used following a j2, there is a small window to backdash or parry unless the j2 is connected very late.
323- Hits mid-mid-midx4; a bunch of stabbing ending in a hard KD. Can be cancelled before the multiple stabs, but not terribly useful outside of teeth setups that are relatively easy to escape.
33- Hits mid-mid; two kicks with a large amount of knockback on hit. Probably Joker's least useful string, but pretty flashy to throw teeth and then kick someone into them with this....
d1- Hits mid; fast hitting normal and has one frame of advantage on block, making it a pretty solid d1. Only cancellable into flower and crowbar, but can also cancel into teeth if opponents are respecting too much.
b2- Slow startup overhead with a large amount of knockback. Useful in tandem with teeth for unblockables or to catch opponents off guard when used sparingly.
d2- A little inconsistent against aerial opponents due to different jump arcs, but an excellent footsie tool due to its immense horizontal range. Punishable on block, but can be cancelled into a variety of specials to make it safe or create potential setups.
d3- Great range low that produces a hard knockdown, but risky since it is -14f on block and highly punishable by most characters.
j1- Very fast jump normal with a decent amount of active frames. Hit advantage generally only allows for combos into 11 or b1. Great for A2A exchanges.
j2- One of the best crossup jump attacks in the game. Can be made extremely ambiguous with the correct spacing depending on when you input the attack.
j3- Another excellent air normal boasting a huge amount of advantage on block, great range, and crossup ability. Can be converted off of into decent damage and setups. Also shifts hitbox upward slightly, helping to avoid AA attempts and dodge interactables.
Neutral Game Strategies
The neutral game can be difficult to navigate with Joker, but with a good amount of matchup knowledge you can make it much more manageable. You must have a good handle on footsie spacing and how to effectively use teeth if you are to have and hope in some of his more challenging matchups. A big part of Joker's strategy is to force the opponent into the corner. Once there, Joker is much more threatening due to his guaranteed setups and strong corner pressure.
Zoning and Counterzoning
Joker's zoning game isn't strong, but it can be useful in several matchups and is heavily mindgame-oriented. Generally, it is best executed using the gun, alternating between spamming the shots some of the time and delaying the shots other times to catch the opponent trying to move or react. It is also useful to throw teeth between gunshots, which function to both to deter them from trying to get too close and can trick the opponent into moving or jumping so you can open them up for the following shot, as well as building some additional meter. The gunshot is easily circumvented by ducking, however, and also whiffs on several specials due to its high, small hitbox (Batman's Batarangs, Hawkgirl's Mace Charge, and Flash's Lightning Charge, to name a few). Laughing Gas and Rolling Laughing Gas have some utility in the zoning game because they tend to throw people off and can be more difficult to get around, but they are EXTREMELY slow. Thus, they are best used to catch people off guard or to chip them out towards the end of health bars and are best used with teeth out already to provide some defense. Gunshot can also be useful for counterzoning in some matchups because it is relatively fast and provides good advantage on chip or block, as well as presenting a mindgame when delayed in the form of threatening with a shot and then dash cancelling to help close the gap on zoning-intensive characters.
Footsies
While most of Joker's standing normals have poor footsie utility, his b1 is decent as a low with moderate reach. Joker's d2 is also great in the footsie game since it has a large amount of horizontal reach and can be cancelled in a variety of useful ways depending on the situation. Unfortunately, neither of these options can be cancelled into Joker's launcher (MB RLG) for a combo (d2 can be, but the damage is severely scaled, and if they block the d2 you're going to get blown up...hard). However, they both can be used to cancel into other safer options. Flower is an option that opponents always need to respect and is at advantage both on block or hit, creating some space and forcing most characters to respect any follow-ups or backdash. Crowbar can be poked out of with good timing, but is safe on block and great for setups and corner carry. The gun can also be an interesting option, since it can be dash cancelled for continued pressure on block (though unsafe if they react fast enough) or a small combo on hit, and presents some interesting utility when backdash cancelling for the invulnerability. When opponents respect some of these options it opens up the potential for cancelling into teeth and catching them in setups and mixups that are difficult to escape.
Teeth Utility
Teeth are extremely useful in many matchups to help limit the options of the opponents and force them to make mistakes and open themselves up. They can be used as a sort of footsie tool in some fights since far teeth can be thrown just outside of the reach of most long reaching normals. This will force the opponent to react to avoid the teeth, and you can capitalize on this in a variety of ways depending on what they do. Holding still, dashes, jumps, and many reversals can all be dealt with, either on read or reaction depending on the situation. Check out the video for examples for each situation, and I'll expand on this later.
Midscreen
Frame Traps and Setups
Anytime you're strings are blocked, you should be confirming into flower. This will leave you at +5 and create a bit of space, allowing you to follow with d2 into whatever special cancel you'd like except in a few matchups (Flash/Lex due to 6f reversal, parry characters).
21 also leaves Joker at +5 on block, allowing for a free b1 xx flower /crowbar followup. They can backdash, but that will work them closer to the corner, which is where we want them to be moving. Once this is respected (as well as flower), Joker is able to cancel 21 into teeth (unsafe, but hard to punish on reaction) and put the opponent into difficult-to-block setups by following with d2 xx crowbar, b13, f21, or going for a jump attack
212 has enough advantage when cancelled to make placing teeth (212 xx teeth) completely safe. This used to create a guessing for the opponent because pushblocking attempts to pressure Joker when teeth were out would lead to some decent damage and setup potential. Now that it does 0%, it's difficult to make opponents respect that as an option unless they are near a BGB or the corner, which would allow us to put them into damaging guaranteed resets (coming up later). If they choose not to pressure and instead back away, jump, or stay still, Joker can punish as previously explained.
OTGs
Regular crowbar can be followed with a single dash into b1 midscreen to OTG, and can be cancelled into another crowbar to reproduce the situation. Once the opponent respects this options, it deters wakeups and allows you more freedom to setup teeth or go for ambiguous jump ins. Spacing is important as well; if the crowbar doesn't connect close enough, the pushback will be too much for the b1 following the dash to connect and you won't be able to OTG. You can discern whether the spacing will be right based on where Joker is standing during the crowbar beating animation, with anything about between their knees and higher working for an OTG b1. If you meter burn the crowbar, then you are able to OTG with d3, d2, and another crowbar after a dash, or RLG with or without a dash (but don't MB the RLG because the launcher will whiff unless they are in the corner).
Ambiguous Jump-ins
Joker's j2 can be extremely ambiguous as to whether or not it's going to crossup or not if spaced properly. This can be done by inputting the 2 just as you reach the opponent to hit in front, or slightly later to produce a crossup. While this can occur regularly in the neutral game, there are also several ways to generate this from normals and combos. Sweeps can be used at the right distance and can be followed with a jump in to lead to an ambiguous j2. The hard knockdown prevents techrolling, so unless the opponent has a wakeup with good invulnerability that can deal with aerial oki, they are going to have to guess. MB crowbar also produces an ambiguous setup if you dash once and walk forward slightly, then jump in (you can also dash twice and walk back, but the timing is a bit more strict). Sweep is great in the neutral setting, but it is better when used to end a combo in the right spacing since it will be more consistent. Check out the video for a few useful places to cancel combos in this manner.
SHKD
One of Joker's best BnB options ends with the opponent being juggled over teeth and using the 213 string. The teeth pop the opponent up between the "1" and the "3", and ends with the overhead coming in and knocking them out of an elevated point in the air. This extends the knockdown for an additional duration, producing what we have taken to calling a "super" hard knockdown (SHKD), as well as a large amount of corner carry. There are several ways Joker can abuse this situation. By dashing twice and jumping in, the opponent will be crossed up, and will need to reverse their inputs to wakeup correctly. Additionally, by dashing once and throwing teeth, the opponent is forced make a move and try to get away from them, which can be punished with a good read/reaction. The knockdown duration is also just right for Joker to dash twice and stuff non-invincible wakeup attempts and hit confirm into another damaging combo.
Ghetto Teeth Setups
When ending combos, you can cancel certain strings, such as 21 (after the first hit of the "1" portion), 323 (after the first hit of the final input), or 32, into teeth to go for a reset setup. Midscreen, this is techrollable and pretty easy to escape, but becomes much more threatening if you are near the corner. Opponents with stuffable wakeups will have to attempt to block very difficult ES setups when you follow the teeth with b13/f21/jump normals as they are getting up. There is also a more guaranteed teeth setup midscreen that can be setup during a juggle loop off of j2, where far teeth or close teeth can be used to counter techrolls or non-techrolls, respectively, producing a sort of 50/50, though both options are vulnerable to invincible wakeups.
Corner
The corner is where Joker wants to have his opponent. His corner pressure is a force to reckon with when executed properly and though he is still somewhat lacking in mixup options, if and when he manages to open up his opponent, Joker has guaranteed reset setups against a large portion of the cast when they are unable to techroll.
OTGs
In the corner Joker no longer needs to dash after a successful crowbar to connect with OTG attacks on the grounded opponent, opening up several more options. Regular crowbars can be followed with standing 3, d2, d3, b1, another crowbar, or RLG for an OTG, and MB crowbars can be followed with all of these as well as b3 and f3. Unfortunately, there still isn't much mixup potential here because the opponent can simply block low and react to the overhead options of crowbar and f3, as both as quite slow.
A very strong OTG option that becomes available in the corner is MB crowbar into teeth, followed by b13. If done fast enough, the b1 will OTG, and the 3 will hit overhead just before the teeth pop, producing a low -> high-low Earthshaker block and prevents wakeups due to the OTG. They will be launched, and you can go into damaging combos or cancel into crowbar again to reset the setup. When they respect the OTG and stop trying to wakeup, you can switch to a slightly delayed b2 after the teeth to catch them with an overhead when they are expecting the low b1. This will launch them into the teeth and can still be combo'd from, creating a 50/50 scenario, though it is still somewhat reactable. Against characters with stuffable wakeups, this can also be done after regular crowbars; the b1 won't OTG, but it will stuff their wakeup attempt if timed properly. Against some characters with invincible wakeups (single hit and slower than ~14f startup), you can also follow a regular crowbar with b1 (or an equally fast normal) cancelled into a f3 bounce cancel. If they choose to wakeup, the normal will be cancelled into the f3 fast enough for the armor to eat the hit and they will be launched. If they don't wakeup, the will have to try to block a nearly simultaneous f3 bounce cancel + teeth and will still likely be launched because it's about a 1f gap. Thus, there are a lot of options in the corner off of a crowbar, and which you choose can be tailored based on the matchup to be extremely effective.
Fast Restand
Once you've scaled a combo significantly, ending in a d2 will result in a fast restand and make it difficult for the opponent to time a wakeup unless they are mashing one out already while in the combo. This is not unique to Joker, but there are some interesting ways that he can manipulate this situation. First, if you time it properly, you can cancel the d2 into either MB RLG or crowbar and they will actually stand up into the attack as it hits. This make seem like a 50/50, but both options are pretty reactable and can be techrolled if they are mashing it in anticipation. Another great option is to cancel into teeth. They will stand into the teeth, and if they fail to catch the wakeup window, you can go into b13/f21/b2/f3/etc. for a difficult ES block, or into 21 (1 hit) xx teeth for Joker's block infinite. It should be kept in mind that all of this is reliant on the opponent missing the wakeup window/ failing to techroll into a wakeup due to the speed of the fast restand. Many people may be prepared for this, making this tech somewhat more gimmicky, but useful for catching people offguard at times for very damaging resets.
SHKD
In the corner, SHKD's are much more powerful than they are midscreen. The duration of the knockdown is long enough for Joker to throw teeth and go for either a MB f3 or crossup j2. These setups are essentially unblockable and aside from only a few wakeup option in the entire game, inescapable if the correct option is used in a given matchup and is executed properly. They can also be loops back into a SHKD to reproduce the situation, making Joker capable of killing most characters outright if he opens them up in the corner and they are unable to clash.
Block Infinite
teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit), teeth, 21 (1 hit)..... yeah. The previous set of teeth will cover the cancel window of the string into the next set of teeth and allow the next 21 to catch them before they can escape (the gap is about 4 frames). Most characters can't do anything about it, but a few can (Green Lantern, Bane, anyone with a parry).
See link at bottom for a thorough breakdown of how it works.
The best ways to get people into this are by making them respect some of the other options from frame traps and then catching them off guard with teeth, or from a fast restand in the corner cancelled into teeth into the infinite.
Teeth Setups
Basically anything with an overhead; b2, b13, f21, 113, 112 (mid teeth only), f3, crowbar, and jump normals. Gonna write more here soon, but it's pretty standard- teeth hit low, try to time an overhead at the same time!
Interactable Setups
Aerial Planted Bombs
Bombs placed on floating objects such as Arkham TV's, "Scoreboards" on Insurgency, Hovering Police Car on Metro Streets, etc. can be used for guaranteed damage at the end of combos by cancelling a j2 into the interactable. If the timing is done correctly and the placement is right, the opponent will hit the ground and eat the interactable whether or not they techroll. Additionally, if they don't techroll again after the bomb hits them, they are susceptible to setups. The explosion makes it very difficult to see teeth get thrown, so let them fly, and if you see they haven't techrolled, burn a MB f3 and reset them for solid damage. If they do techroll, they will get out of the teeth, and you can choose to pursue or play it slow based on the matchup and life lead.
Immobilizes or Hard/Prolonged KDs
Interactables that immobilize like the Freezing Pipe in Arkham, produce a prolonged KD animation like the Laser to the right in Fortress of Solitude, and interactables that cause a hard KD like the Turret Drone on Metro Rooftops, any BGB, and all the others are excellent for leading to setups that are difficult to escape. BGBs are especially useful to this end because they are on a large amount of levels and can be cancelled into pretty easily from combos. Once they are knocked down, place teeth and time a crossup j2, neutral j3, or MB f3 depending on the wakeup options of the character you're fighting and convert into excellent damage.
Flames
There are several flame interactables, like the Lion's Heads on Themyscara, Fire Drones on Metro Rooftops, and Jet Engines to the left on the upper level of Watchtower that can catch people on teeth. You can try to catch people off guard by throwing teeth in the neutral game and going for the interactable, or from a combo (depending on the interactable) by throwing teeth and canceling a normal into the interactable. These setups can be techrolled from a combo and blocked after the flames hit by holding down, but can be effective if you catch someone off guard and lead to very damaging resets. Worst case scenario, they block and you are still at frame advantage to apply pressure.
Slid/Thrown
Slid interactables, such as the Dumpster on Gotham Streets or the Piano inside Wayne Manor, or aerial objects that are thrown quickly, like the Faces in Arkham or the Lights in Luthor's Lab, can be combo'ed into teeth for unblockable setups. Teeth need to be setup first, which limit's the practicality of these setups, but they are useful if you catch someone off guard or intentionally drop a combo onto teeth and use them as an impromptu reset.
Links to other useful stuff
Combo/BnB Inputs: http://testyourmight.com/threads/jokers-super-awesome-combo-bnb-thread-nov-2013.39232/
OTG Crowbar Compilation: http://testyourmight.com/threads/joker-otg-crowbar-tech-patch-1-06.38387/
Comprehensive Breakdown of Block Infinite: http://testyourmight.com/threads/jokers-block-infinite-breakdown.41822/
Tags/Shoutouts
@Dr. Handsome and @Abbneto, thanks for literally everything.
Joker Community! Big thanks to all of you for helping come up with the majority of this stuff-
@Qwark28 @Gilbagz @Notez4 @Fromundaman @OnlineRon91 @The_PantyChrist @Dr Jackal @EMP Dark @Amplified$hotz @rehti @ThaShiveGeek @BlackBryan @FCP/EMP SCAR And faithful mod, @Rathalos
Big thanks to a few of my training partners for their help with some footage and helping me become less scrubby-
@DarthArma @KDZ @Frantastic23
Anything to add from the tech monsters?
@SonicFox5000 @R.E.O.
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the text guide is awesome though!!! Great job
