Blocking low/overhead...

[CptSupermrkt]

I'm gonna get laughed into oblivion for such a noobish question, but basically I want to know if there are any tips for anticipating whether your opponent is going to low or overhead you with their next attack. For example, if I'm Ermac, cornered by a Very Hard Jason (Slasher), without meter, the only option that I have is to block. It seems like a 50/50 guessing game. Is it, or is there something I can do to better gauge which I should be blocking?

In particular I find Jason's F42 hard to block as a newbie, because it requires you to actively switch from low to overhead on just a few frames notice. Then after I successfully block it, wtf do I do since it's not punishable?

 

[Spinky]

Either you armour through it with an EX move, or it is exactly a 50/50 guessing game. That string is punishable though, -11 on block if I remember correctly.

 

[CptSupermrkt]

Either you armour through it with an EX move, or it is exactly a 50/50 guessing game. That string is punishable though, -11 on block if I remember correctly.

I've been sitting in training mode with the AI repeatedly pounding me with F42 as Jason and I've gotten better at blocking it, but every single attempt I make to punish it fails (the AI just blocks my supposed punish), whether it be as simple as 2 or a special like DB1. If someone could tell me just how to punish F42 from Jason, I think not only will my Jason game improve, but I will learn some fundamental point about the game that I'm not understanding, because I've been at this for like an hour with no progress...

 

[Spinky]

I've been sitting in training mode with the AI repeatedly pounding me with F42 as Jason and I've gotten better at blocking it, but every single attempt I make to punish it fails (the AI just blocks my supposed punish), whether it be as simple as 2 or a special like DB1. If someone could tell me just how to punish F42 from Jason, I think not only will my Jason game improve, but I will learn some fundamental point about the game that I'm not understanding, because I've been at this for like an hour with no progress...

I don't know how many frames DB1 is (you shouldn't really punish with a raw special anyway), but it has to be something with less than 11 on start-up. Standing 1 probably works.

 

[AK Harold]

to make this easier for you in the future. Just go to training mode and pick Jason as YOUR character and put the second character as your main. Then set your main to do reversal moves while you use whatever string you are having trouble with. This will let you know all your options up front. THEN if none of those work out well. Swap control and do what you were doing etc. Use the frame data from BOTH characters to determine the best course of action.

 

[Zoidberg747]

Try to pick up your opponents patterns. A lot of times people will either alternate(low overhead low overhead) or they will use one option a lot more.

Also know the ranges of the moves, as characters like Erron Black have a low with significantly less range. So if you know you are out of that range you will know that his only option to hit you is to go overhead.

 

[Baconlord]

against Jason you should block low more. He can do 36% meter less midscreen and only gets around low 20's off the overhead midscreen if he spends a bar

 

[Shaazzyam]

I've been sitting in training mode with the AI repeatedly pounding me with F42 as Jason and I've gotten better at blocking it, but every single attempt I make to punish it fails (the AI just blocks my supposed punish), whether it be as simple as 2 or a special like DB1. If someone could tell me just how to punish F42 from Jason, I think not only will my Jason game improve, but I will learn some fundamental point about the game that I'm not understanding, because I've been at this for like an hour with no progress...

See how negative the string is on block under his frame data and then use the appropriate Ermac string.

I would tell you but I don't have the character.

 

[CptSupermrkt]

to make this easier for you in the future. Just go to training mode and pick Jason as YOUR character and put the second character as your main. Then set your main to do reversal moves while you use whatever string you are having trouble with. This will let you know all your options up front. THEN if none of those work out well. Swap control and do what you were doing etc. Use the frame data from BOTH characters to determine the best course of action.

This is an interesting technique, thanks! I just tried it and discovered that it IS punishable by Ermac with a Throw! It's too bad that this technique doesn't work for kombos, as it seems "reversals" include only special moves, throws, and X-Rays. But at least this gives me at least one option!

 

[CptSupermrkt]

I don't know how many frames DB1 is (you shouldn't really punish with a raw special anyway), but it has to be something with less than 11 on start-up. Standing 1 probably works.

Strangely, Ermac Standing 1 is 11 frames on startup, whereas Ermac Standing 2 is 9 frames on startup. By those numbers, Standing 2 should "beat" 11, right? I wonder why I'm getting blocked consistently. My timing must be off, but gah damn, you'd think that over the course of an hour or so I would have even accidentally hit that right timing at least once...

 

[CptSupermrkt]

This is an interesting technique, thanks! I just tried it and discovered that it IS punishable by Ermac with a Throw! It's too bad that this technique doesn't work for kombos, as it seems "reversals" include only special moves, throws, and X-Rays. But at least this gives me at least one option!

Doh, I may have spoken too soon. I took this knowledge to an actual fight and found out that the Very Hard AI just tech's (is that the right term?) my throw attempt, nullifying my punish.