JennyCage
t('.'t)
Sure, I'll try to break down why unstuffable teleport startup is bullshit. Like I said twice before, the move is a get out of jail free card. It makes him impervious to being aggressed. You cannot zone Raiden nor even pre-emptively stuff his teleport unlike every other character in the game with a teleport except Smoke. You cannot jump in on Raiden because he will simply teleport. You cannot launch specials or any kind of normal strings on him because he will teleport. You cannot lock Raiden down. Unstuffable teleport startup means Raiden is ALWAYS the aggressor in a fight and the opponent must play reactively by punishing Raiden's mistakes. Raiden is constantly delivering chip to his opponent and building meter, while his opponent can only ever punish.
NRS balanced similar teleports (Cyrax and Cyber's) by making them vulnerable during their startups. Attacking teleports (Scorpion, Ermac, Mileena, Skarlet, Sektor) are all interruptable during their startups. The exception as I mentioned is Smoke, his teleport is "better" than Ermac's and Scorpion's because it's equally as punishable on block but not startup. The difference is Smoke can't combo off his teleport while Ermac and Scorpion can if they hit the opponent in the air. These are clear, understandable design decisions on balance. Raiden's teleport however flies in the face of all established paradigms and is the biggest single reason he is the second best character in the game behind Lao and has virtually no bad matchups. The skill epitomizes brainlessness by having few weaknesses. I know you're about to scream, "BUT YOU CAN PUNISH IT AT THE END!" Sure, if you wait for it. This does nothing to negate the fact that you cannot punish his teleports when they're performed to escape aggressive actions. You can ONLY punish them by WAITING to punish. Raiden STILL escapes any and all offense a player can launch at him without even having to put any thought into it.
Look, I understand Raiden is your homie, and nobody likes the thought of their mains being nerfed. But try to understand that Raiden is not balanced and this IS the reason why. If they made his teleport startup vulnerable like Cyrax and Cyber's, it wouldn't make Raiden garbage, it would make him have to use some more thought. That's all.
Edit: Just want to add that if this change is implemented he should be able to teleport in the air like Cyber and Cyrax too.
NRS balanced similar teleports (Cyrax and Cyber's) by making them vulnerable during their startups. Attacking teleports (Scorpion, Ermac, Mileena, Skarlet, Sektor) are all interruptable during their startups. The exception as I mentioned is Smoke, his teleport is "better" than Ermac's and Scorpion's because it's equally as punishable on block but not startup. The difference is Smoke can't combo off his teleport while Ermac and Scorpion can if they hit the opponent in the air. These are clear, understandable design decisions on balance. Raiden's teleport however flies in the face of all established paradigms and is the biggest single reason he is the second best character in the game behind Lao and has virtually no bad matchups. The skill epitomizes brainlessness by having few weaknesses. I know you're about to scream, "BUT YOU CAN PUNISH IT AT THE END!" Sure, if you wait for it. This does nothing to negate the fact that you cannot punish his teleports when they're performed to escape aggressive actions. You can ONLY punish them by WAITING to punish. Raiden STILL escapes any and all offense a player can launch at him without even having to put any thought into it.
Look, I understand Raiden is your homie, and nobody likes the thought of their mains being nerfed. But try to understand that Raiden is not balanced and this IS the reason why. If they made his teleport startup vulnerable like Cyrax and Cyber's, it wouldn't make Raiden garbage, it would make him have to use some more thought. That's all.
Edit: Just want to add that if this change is implemented he should be able to teleport in the air like Cyber and Cyrax too.