Match-up Discussion Kitana Matchup Discussion Thread

[Mr.Snuggles]

I really feel like Sektor has the advantage over Kitana ever so slightly. His teleport and missiles completely shut down her zoning game. He also combos out of his teleport for a 30%+ combo. Up close, he has a better mixup game if you get in close. If you attempt to stay in range of f2 while not being too close, he has his flamethrower move ( not sure of the name, I don't play Sektor ) to watch out for. Even if he doesn't use it, it's still a threat at that range and can play mind games IMO.

Ermac, I really don't feel like Kitana has the advantage. I can see 5-5 though. I know I personally have problems with good Ermac players. A smart Ermac won't throw out any TKL unless he's certain it will connect. This makes Ermac fairly hard to punish. His teleport makes iAF a bit dangerous as well. Just in range of the f2 is the only real safe place she has I feel. Even this has it's problems though, since his TKL and TKP have just as much if not more range. He can either dash forward for pressure or dash back out of your range while still being able to connect with his own moves.

 

[rev0lver]

I thought you were done with MK for a week, probably more?

Then you sir were successfully trolled. I didn't even think I sounded as serious as people took me, lol.

 

[rev0lver]

Ermac, I really don't feel like Kitana has the advantage. I can see 5-5 though. I know I personally have problems with good Ermac players. A smart Ermac won't throw out any TKL unless he's certain it will connect. This makes Ermac fairly hard to punish. His teleport makes iAF a bit dangerous as well. Just in range of the f2 is the only real safe place she has I feel. Even this has it's problems though, since his TKL and TKP have just as much if not more range. He can either dash forward for pressure or dash back out of your range while still being able to connect with his own moves.

I agree with this. I would actually give it a 5.5-4.5 Ermac. Though I can easily beat Ermac scrubs (he has a punishable teleport, so you can't expect much there), a smart Ermac will make Kitana play very cautiously.

 

[16 Bit]

I don't think Scorpion is 6-4 anymore. The flow of the match has always been that when he has no meter she can do whatever she wants in the air. He had no way to get in and the zoning air fan vs. hellfire/teleport/spear guessing game was really bad for him. Then he got meter and I had to respect the EX teleport. The problem for him was he couldn't react, he had to make guesses on when to EX port. However, now I see Scorpion can instant air teleport and the speed difference is enough to react to her jumping shenanigans. It blows up her zoning. You don't just have to consider it, you have to fear it. You have to spend more time on the ground and that means eating Hellfires and he starts getting a life lead. You have no choice but to actually fight him, which significantly favors Scorpion. Plus now that he's no longer stuck in this shitty situation of not being able to do anything half the match he doesn't have to take crazy risks with his 50/50 as much so you don't get the chance to guess right and get a big comeback.

 

[DrDogg]

I don't think Scorpion is 6-4 anymore. The flow of the match has always been that when he has no meter she can do whatever she wants in the air. He had no way to get in and the zoning air fan vs. hellfire/teleport/spear guessing game was really bad for him. Then he got meter and I had to respect the EX teleport. The problem for him was he couldn't react, he had to make guesses on when to EX port. However, now I see Scorpion can instant air teleport and the speed difference is enough to react to her jumping shenanigans. It blows up her zoning. You don't just have to consider it, you have to fear it. You have to spend more time on the ground and that means eating Hellfires and he starts getting a life lead. You have no choice but to actually fight him, which significantly favors Scorpion. Plus now that he's no longer stuck in this shitty situation of not being able to do anything half the match he doesn't have to take crazy risks with his 50/50 as much so you don't get the chance to guess right and get a big comeback.

I don't have any good Scorpion players in my area yet (only one relatively new player), but what tools does he have at close range? I know EX Teleport is advantage on guard, but does he have anything else that puts him at advantage? If not, why can't you just rush him down?

 

[16 Bit]

It's mostly that her offense isn't that great, you can't jump in on him because of d+1, and he has 1,1,1. Plus I swear his crossup jump punch is better than everyone else's. He just blows up d+1 and d+3. I know this sounds ridiculous but I'm not the only one to notice it. It's either that or Slips is so much better at crossups than anyone else.

 

[Konqrr]

It's mostly that her offense isn't that great, you can't jump in on him because of d+1, and he has 1,1,1. Plus I swear his crossup jump punch is better than everyone else's. He just blows up d+1 and d+3. I know this sounds ridiculous but I'm not the only one to notice it. It's either that or Slips is so much better at crossups than anyone else.

Kung Lao's jp hits me out of everything too. I don't know how other Kitana players avoid it with d1... I can never time it right and I eat a combo.

 

[Earthbound360]

I know they were -lightly- covered in this topic, but I could really use some matchup advice against Mileena and Sektor still. They just seem to have enough to counter Kitana's aerial game as well as mixups up close to make me very wary of coming up close.

And I noticed someone asked about bad matchups... Other than the ones I am biased about, I would personally say Reptile and Kano are the worst.

Kabal and Raiden can be tough, but I know for a fact that Raiden's teleport is definitely managable for Kitana, as well as Kabal's dash cancel shenanigans by 21Lift. Now I know that alone doesn't make the matchup, but it certainly makes it less of a hassle. Kabal still dominates up close and has irritatingly good keepaway. Raiden... Raiden I'm not so sure.

 

[DrDogg]

It's mostly that her offense isn't that great, you can't jump in on him because of d+1, and he has 1,1,1. Plus I swear his crossup jump punch is better than everyone else's. He just blows up d+1 and d+3. I know this sounds ridiculous but I'm not the only one to notice it. It's either that or Slips is so much better at crossups than anyone else.

I find that characters with good anti-air low attacks tend to get blown up by a well-timed jump kick~air fan. I also avoid cross-ups with 2~fan, but you have to be expecting the cross-up. If I'm not expecting it, I hit 2 a little late and get owned. Have you tried either of these against Scorpion?

 

[Somberness]

A well timed crossover punch if done from a certain distance so that the jump arc is more favorable can catch you sometimes.

 

[16 Bit]

I find that characters with good anti-air low attacks tend to get blown up by a well-timed jump kick~air fan. I also avoid cross-ups with 2~fan, but you have to be expecting the cross-up. If I'm not expecting it, I hit 2 a little late and get owned. Have you tried either of these against Scorpion?

I've never really tried 2 as crossup defense, assumed it wouldn't work.

 

[Vulcan Hades]

Stryker a 5-5 I really question since f2 seems to easily beat all his normal wakeups.

Yes, Kitana's F2 string seems to pretty much stuff everything in Stryker's arsenal including his EN Roll Toss which is supposed to have armor on start up. I'm not sure if this is a glitch that will eventually get fixed, but it's really the only thing that prevents this matchup from being advantage Stryker. Because if EN Roll Toss worked normally on Kitana it would mean he could easily parry her attacks and send her ass full screen with only 1 bar and start zoning again.

Kitana's like one of the only character in the game that can completely snuff Stryker's wake up options. Stryker's best option is often to remain grounded or just block.

I will say this though: Stryker's offense and footsies are greatly underestimated. Kitana has obviously better range but Stryker can actually outpoke her at mid-range because of his faster start up. My hitbox comes out sooner and stays longer so when Kitana runs into it with F2 or whatever she often loses the poke battle. This is something I just recently discovered.

Considering all that, 5-5 sounds about right to me. If they fix Stryker's armor on :en Roll Toss then it's easily going to be 6-4 advantage Stryker though.

 

[-Deadman-]

Anyone have any tips on getting in on Sindel when she's zoning?

A really good Sindel kept me out 3 games straight in ranked.
I started off the 1st game, trying to zone as well, since I sadly didn't know any better.
Games 2 and 3 I spent dash-blocking lowball spam until ultimately eating her "step up kick" I believe, resetting the spacing.

Unless anyone has ideas, my current plan is to counterpick with Skarlet and tele-drop on her noggin
But id rather keep playing Kit if I can.

 

[Phantom]

Anyone have any tips on getting in on Sindel when she's zoning?

A really good Sindel kept me out 3 games straight in ranked.
I started off the 1st game, trying to zone as well, since I sadly didn't know any better.
Games 2 and 3 I spent dash-blocking lowball spam until ultimately eating her "step up kick" I believe, resetting the spacing.

Unless anyone has ideas, my current plan is to counterpick with Skarlet and tele-drop on her noggin
But id rather keep playing Kit if I can.

Sounds like your problem is online, so I can offer some insight.

I patiently play it zoning myself, while avoiding her low fireballs, I'm throwing out iAFs.
When I get the opportunity I advance, but not completely in. Close enough for the player to throw out an Air Fireball.
Catch her in the air with an iAF -> 30%+ Combo. Rinse, repeat.
Once she decides to leave her comfort zone, then you can play Kitana however it is you play her.

Essentially just have ultimate patience. I haven't lost to a Sindel in forever.
Although, I've admittedly played only 2 or 3 memorable ones who actually tried something other than Low/Air FBs, and Step-Up Kicks.
But then again, there's barely any Sindel players are out there to begin with... :\ Every fighter should be represented

Anyway, hope this helps! Remember...Kitana > ALL :boxing:

 

[-Deadman-]

Online could have been a factor, however, after I lost I checked the rankings and the player in question was 13th overall for psn.
It made me feel less shitty about the losses, but tbqh every Sindel Ive fought (all 2 of them?) either has successfully kept me out,
or edged me out with a hail mary lowball or something to that effect.

I guess I just need to track this guy down and run a ft10 to get the matchup down better.
Good Sindels are hard to come by.

 

[Phantom]

^^

All of that is good....minus the ranking part.

Completely disregard that. Im top 30-ish on XBL ranked and dont consider myself supreme to any player who gives me a GG.

That...and there are some scrubs that have high W/L ratio, trust me.

All in all, for me at least: Don't play the person, play the character as if theyre the best ever.

 

[Konqrr]

I've never really tried 2 as crossup defense, assumed it wouldn't work.

A lot of characters have this kind of crossup defense.

I used 2~fan to punish Tom Brady's crossup happy Kung Lao at S1lent1's timeshare the day before EVO. I think he forgot me telling him about it months ago lol

 

[Phantom]

I've been having problems with Noob Saibot, alot of problems.

It's like when I play a good one, I can't really get anything going.
Hard as hell to get in, and when I do - I get upkneed right out. Whether I jumped or not, it doesn't matter. It seems everything is upkneed.
The iAf backflipping over the shadows works when I sat away but the timing is so crazy that I cant get it consistently

What do we do once we get in on Noob? d1->cutter works, but isn't as viable because the better players are starting to wise up to it and duck. upknee. repeat.

 

[Konqrr]

I've been having problems with Noob Saibot, alot of problems.

It's like when I play a good one, I can't really get anything going.
Hard as hell to get in, and when I do - I get upkneed right out. Whether I jumped or not, it doesn't matter. It seems everything is upkneed.
The iAf backflipping over the shadows works when I sat away but the timing is so crazy that I cant get it consistently

What do we do once we get in on Noob? d1->cutter works, but isn't as viable because the better players are starting to wise up to it and duck. upknee. repeat.

d1 all day against Noob, he can't punish it.

 

[RWDY Nori]

Raiden and Reptile advice, please

 

[vegeta]

I played a kenshi with kitana today. Christ that was a rough matchup, he just kept reflecting fans back at me (granted I could block em but still). I did manage to bait out a reflect or two by making him think I was gonna do normal fans or iAF but instead did her square boost or in some cases jump in and f+2,1. Overall though he still has that shoulder charge move that'll knock her outta the square boost. I really just started getting into this game and my main is scorpion but I decided to have kitana as my #2 so I'm probably missing a lotta info but it seems to me the kenshi fight can be tough if the person is running/zoning like in this case. Once I get more familiar with the game/characters/matchups I'll put more findings up. Haven't played against him enough to make a guess at matchup numbers.

 

[rev0lver]

Playing against Kenshi takes a shitload of patience. It's definitely one of her worst matchups. Just know that his weakness is crossups, but his up-close game isn't that weak either.

 

[RWDY Nori]

Dash block your way in against Kenshi. Don't duck cause the sword overheads will hurt. Kitana has one of the best dashes in the game, and once you are in on Kenshi, he has to make good guesses and take risks to get you out. Crossups hurt him too

 

[vegeta]

Yeah I found that out today. I still got wrecked but that's because of the mistakes I myself was making. I guess wrong when the opponent jumps. The only other thing that gets me, not matter which character I play, this dude will jump at the same time or later than me and no matter what his JP always beats mine out. It was getting annoying lol. I just have to get better control over myself and be aware of my own character strengths. If you jump against kitana I need to realize that THEY are making a huge mistake lol.

 

[rev0lver]

I played against Sabin's day 1 Kenshi today. I sent him hatemail.