General/Other I have a feeling rain is broken.

[Muffinmuggers]

This might just be me, But in a lot of fights, I find Rain a pain in the ass in fights when I try to use him. Now, please don't get me wrong, I am ranked 247, and feel free to go ahead and disagree, and if you can, help me out!!! Like, to be honest, I dont think Rain is very good as a character. I've fought so many people, she doesnt zone, its almost imposible to close range with him, and hes not mid range. He doesnt not have any combos that start low, his projecticle is slow, his thunder is easy to dodge, and simply put fowarth, I don't think he has any mind Games or Block strings, and as far as that, does he have ANY mix ups? now, if I sound like an idiot, feel free to express so, I'm having a hard time with him, and hes honestly my favorite character, but I can't seem to get people online with him. I mean, hes ALL close range, but I feel like he doesn't have enough. I get destroyed by scorpions, ermacs, noobs, sub zeros, reptiles, and smokes. I have a very strong feeling he is the worst out of the ninja due to the lack of mix ups and mind games, please guys, if you can help me out let me know! I would appreciate it!

 

[CJKRattlehead]

I feel he lacks in mix-ups however, he does seem to have decent pressure with roundhouse cancels. I personally wouldn't consider him too bad he isn't as good as i would have liked but i'm still enjoying him. He also seems to have a bit of a learning curve, for me at least.

 

[Muffinmuggers]

I feel he lacks in mix-ups however, he does seem to have decent pressure with roundhouse cancels. I personally wouldn't consider him too bad he isn't as good as i would have liked but i'm still enjoying him. He also seems to have a bit of a learning curve, for me at least.

Yeah, I find that Rain lacks in every area. Im competitive, and I want to make him my main. But, his pressure is weak, in my opinion, I think they need to update his 334 combo into a low starter. otherwise, I feel has no mix up potential, and the Back 2 3 and Back 2 2+1 Combo, is very easily guessed by most the good people. I find that Rain has to spend TOO much time getting close. For instance, sub zero will clone you. ermax will zone you. reptile will zone you. Scorpion can spear you, he is faster. Noob can zone you, pretty much anyone could!

 

[CJKRattlehead]

Rain is absolutely horrible for trading projectiles, worst in the game IMO i wish he had a second projectile similar to reptiles acid spit to trade with.

 

[Muffinmuggers]

Rain is absolutely horrible for trading projectiles, worst in the game IMO i wish he had a second projectile similar to reptiles acid spit to trade with.

Yup, the big problem is that his Water thing that he shoots from his hand is the only zoning you can do, and thats ONLY when you have a bar? its like honestly, im at the point of Demand that his 334 is a low starter, it should be, I mean he kicks them in the legs. If Rain had a low starter he would be MUCH better. Also, with these new characters, they are poorly built! most of teh main characters hve 10 combos + all these new ones have 7.

 

[Lyuben]

he has a teleport. if you are getting zoned then shao kahn has some friendly advice for you. "its official you suck"

 

[Subby]

Rain is absolutely horrible for trading projectiles, worst in the game IMO i wish he had a second projectile similar to reptiles acid spit to trade with.

Have you tried using lighting? Its awesome.
Play him more and look at the guide. Hes fine.

 

[CJKRattlehead]

i actually never thought of trading with lightning... i cannot believe i overlooked that i definitely need to play more Rain. still doesn't seem like the best trade in the world tho suppose you couldn't get a full combo off that trade?

 

[Subby]

i actually never thought of trading with lightning... i cannot believe i overlooked that i definitely need to play more Rain. still doesn't seem like the best trade in the world tho suppose you couldn't get a full combo off that trade?

The lighting is spammable and unpunishable from a certain distance. If you can get a hit before your enemy even launches the projectile (I've done it many times, its very easy), use the water orb to bring him to you. You can combo from there.
EDIT: The hard part is timing the water orb so hit can hit. Go to practice mode and test the different distances of lighting into water orb.

 

[Creepy00]

Rain broken? No, he has tool wins
The thing is when using Rain you must use all of hid tools to compete against since his mix ups combos arent that reliable or good with. Sure, you can pretty much mix up it up with any special but most of them are unsafe.
Not that, but rain has trouble punish some unsafe strings :/ His Bnb combo has a starter time.
Rain gameplay comes to capitalizing your opponents errors, guessing in what trade you can win, and most important meter management . His lightining if time correctly beats more projectiles allowing bubble special or a guarentee combo after pop up. His Ex bubble takes meter away. and most his Ex special has armor which pay for his defense. Meter is so important for his defense, since his normal special are easily beat. It just adjusting to your opponents reads and punish them. Now, that a new hotfix is coming out, it is to learn the match ups. If you ask me whose gameplay rain is close to? i would have to say Jade, would you agree? :/

 

[Subby]

You need to use 3,3(A,A or in PS3 case X,X?). Its his fastest normal and I have no probelm punishing and then going into lighting for a combo. His moves are unsafe, but you put RH at the end to make them safe.

Seriously guys look at the Rain guide in this forum. Its really good.

 

[salvificblood]

The lighting is spammable and unpunishable from a certain distance. If you can get a hit before your enemy even launches the projectile (I've done it many times, its very easy), use the water orb to bring him to you. You can combo from there.
EDIT: The hard part is timing the water orb so hit can hit. Go to practice mode and test the different distances of lighting into water orb.

I was reading this thread and thinking: what? Does nobody know that lightning is his go-to zoning tool. Lightning into that water orb. Honestly, I don't even play Rain and I know this. That lightning move is a real pain for Sub-Zero, too, because it's used in a similar way to Sub-Zero's iceball and Cyrax's net; you put it on the screen first to catch people throwing projectiles. It takes me out of my startup on iceball quite often.

 

[Subby]

I was reading this thread and thinking: what? Does nobody know that lightning is his go-to zoning tool. Lightning into that water orb. Honestly, I don't even play Rain and I know this. That lightning move is a real pain for Sub-Zero, too, because it's used in a similar way to Sub-Zero's iceball and Cyrax's net; you put it on the screen first to catch people throwing projectiles. It takes me out of my startup on iceball quite often.

I said the same thing. I mean, theres a full guide right there people! Read it!

 

[Vicious Freak]

don't know what to tell ya, i've started using him a little less than a week and have been winning a majority of matches against high win ratio players. for mix-ups i use his b+2, 3/1+2 strings to keep my opponents guessing and if they get hit by the 1+2 ender i combo em for 33-40% damage. his lighting is great on zoners since you can bubble them full screen if they get hit by it and get a decent 24-27%combo. also ex teleport is his best ex special since it has armor, its fast, and does good damage. geyser kick and water spray are great anti-airs and juggle enders with the water spray leaving your opponent standing eliminating any wake up opportunities for them. overall im more than happy with him and think hes fine the way he is...best 5 bucks i've ever spent

 

[Metalic]

it's used in a similar way to Sub-Zero's iceball and Cyrax's net; you put it on the screen first to catch people throwing projectiles. It takes me out of my startup on iceball quite often.

Was about to say this exact thing. Just keep it on the screen at all times if they're trying to sit back and zone you/turtle from a distance, bound to trade eventually - usually in your favor.

 

[Muffinmuggers]

Thanks everyone for the big tips! although, I have to say, who ever said trading projectiles with Subzero with his lightning is a HORRIBLE idea, i mean, if the sub zero is good, trading lightning for an iceball just lets you get combo'd. But thanks everyone! I learned that if I try the 33 Round house, and back 23, back 2, 2+1 mix up it can Be safe, although, its very hard and being right whether to use a aqua ball, and lightning, well I needa tone him up. Thanks guys

 

[Muffinmuggers]

he has a teleport. if you are getting zoned then shao kahn has some friendly advice for you. "its official you suck"

Lyuben, nobody wants to hear your discouraging advice. Rains teleport can be treated like Kunglaos, just uppercut. P.S I've beaten you several times on ranked, you aren't that great of a player yourself.

 

[Creepy00]

Thanks everyone for the big tips! although, I have to say, who ever said trading projectiles with Subzero with his lightning is a HORRIBLE idea, i mean, if the sub zero is good, trading lightning for an iceball just lets you get combo'd. But thanks everyone! I learned that if I try the 33 Round house, and back 23, back 2, 2+1 mix up it can Be safe, although, its very hard and being right whether to use a aqua ball, and lightning, well I needa tone him up. Thanks guys

Rain's lightning will always beat sub iceball. Iceball has a starter time while Rain lightinin is almost instant (faster than projectiles animations) You right, a good sub player will most test see you reaction and from there counter your gameplay style. Is from here that you have to outplay him. Always to though sub zero needs the most patience to play fully and correctly but Rain beats it :/ Interesting

 

[MagicMan357]

if any thing rain needs some buffs like switching 3 to a low hit and his lightning to a mid

 

[Creepy00]

I was reading this thread and thinking: what? Does nobody know that lightning is his go-to zoning tool. Lightning into that water orb. Honestly, I don't even play Rain and I know this. That lightning move is a real pain for Sub-Zero, too, because it's used in a similar way to Sub-Zero's iceball and Cyrax's net; you put it on the screen first to catch people throwing projectiles. It takes me out of my startup on iceball quite often.

Same with Subby, i mentioned as well
Dont know if you could CALL rain lighting a zone tool completely though :/
It kinda has similar properties to Smoke shake or Jade glow in that both time correctly will definitely guarantee a punish from you. But yes, it works like Sub iceball or cyrax net.

 

[Subby]

Thanks everyone for the big tips! although, I have to say, who ever said trading projectiles with Subzero with his lightning is a HORRIBLE idea, i mean, if the sub zero is good, trading lightning for an iceball just lets you get combo'd. But thanks everyone! I learned that if I try the 33 Round house, and back 23, back 2, 2+1 mix up it can Be safe, although, its very hard and being right whether to use a aqua ball, and lightning, well I needa tone him up. Thanks guys

If thats the case then teleport everytime he does it. Leaves him wide open. Also Rain doesn't need buffs, hes fine I believe.

 

[Abudabi]

As said many times before, Rain's only problem is playing him online due to dropped inputs.
His lack of "lows" for mixups isn't the glaring of an issue when you are fully utilizing the beenfits of his roundhouse and ex rounhouse cancel. Not every character in the game has or needs mixups. He just needs more time in the lab to see people extract that high level play out of him.

 

[shinzo123]

Play to Rain's strengths.

Rain cannot be zoned. If you're opponent wishes to zone you, he is better off finding another matchup. Rain can teleport relatively quick compared to Cyber sub Cryax and scorpion.
He can also trade projectile for his lightning, This allows you to take the projectile hit and then move in while your target is slow falling to the ground.

Rain can easily avoid pressure and return the favor as a result. If you are being blockstringed and you need breathing room, why not just full combo them instead? Use EX roundhouse, this will go through their next attack and give you a full combo in return. You can also harass people on wake up with this by hovering over them and using EX RH as they wake up attack.

RH threat. When Rain is in, *and he always is* He he can blockstring and cancel into Roundhouse then cancel the roundhouse and do something else. This makes your opponent guess wither you will roundhouse or continue pressuring If they guess wrong they get full combo'd either way.

Rain's Throw is great, It's great because rain gets 101 ways to get into his throw. You can teleport and then throw just like raiden can if your opponent doesn't react fast enough.
You can RH cancel then throw because lets face it 12% or 30%+ your choice.

Rain has great corner control, If you're in the corner you can change that quick with a EX RH and then corner combo them! You can also bubble someone and then put them in the corner and then immediately check them with a lightning bolt.

Beware of your weaknesses.

You have no zoning game what so ever. So if you are up against say a johnny cage you must fight him toe to toe.

Rain lacks a good mix up, and has a mediocre sweep, unlike Smoke who has an amazing sweep and no mix ups. To combat this, use your throw a lot.

Once you learn that Rain is a character that brings a whole new meaning to Can't Touch This you will truly see how to play rain.

 

[Muffinmuggers]

Play to Rain's strengths.

Rain cannot be zoned. If you're opponent wishes to zone you, he is better off finding another matchup. Rain can teleport relatively quick compared to Cyber sub Cryax and scorpion.
He can also trade projectile for his lightning, This allows you to take the projectile hit and then move in while your target is slow falling to the ground.

Rain can easily avoid pressure and return the favor as a result. If you are being blockstringed and you need breathing room, why not just full combo them instead? Use EX roundhouse, this will go through their next attack and give you a full combo in return. You can also harass people on wake up with this by hovering over them and using EX RH as they wake up attack.

RH threat. When Rain is in, *and he always is* He he can blockstring and cancel into Roundhouse then cancel the roundhouse and do something else. This makes your opponent guess wither you will roundhouse or continue pressuring If they guess wrong they get full combo'd either way.

Rain's Throw is great, It's great because rain gets 101 ways to get into his throw. You can teleport and then throw just like raiden can if your opponent doesn't react fast enough.
You can RH cancel then throw because lets face it 12% or 30%+ your choice.

Rain has great corner control, If you're in the corner you can change that quick with a EX RH and then corner combo them! You can also bubble someone and then put them in the corner and then immediately check them with a lightning bolt.

Beware of your weaknesses.

You have no zoning game what so ever. So if you are up against say a johnny cage you must fight him toe to toe.

Rain lacks a good mix up, and has a mediocre sweep, unlike Smoke who has an amazing sweep and no mix ups. To combat this, use your throw a lot.

Once you learn that Rain is a character that brings a whole new meaning to Can't Touch This you will truly see how to play rain.

I've definitly tried alll that you have mentioned, thanks a lot. His Back 2 3 can be substituted instead of his sweep i've noticed, and if you play; even with the good guys if you throw the back 2, 2+1 in there randomly, it gets people and you can combo them! and as well with 32 EH Lightning, for some people a lot of players will let go of block, and thats where you can start his backwards uppercut combo and still hit about 40% its nice.

 

[Lyuben]

Lyuben, nobody wants to hear your discouraging advice. Rains teleport can be treated like Kunglaos, just uppercut. P.S I've beaten you several times on ranked, you aren't that great of a player yourself.

Love you too buddy