*INCOMING HUGE POST* lol. I get the impression that FuzzyDunlop doesn't mind reading my rambling posts so this is for him, not the general reader of this thread.
Not Jax related, I've heard the term being at a frame advantage, the best way I understand it is that after doing a string you are so plus that your opponent has to continue to block while you execute another string? Because you're at a frame advantage its basically not their turn to press buttons? I've heard JC and Tanya have stuff like this?
I'll answer this question first, because understanding this concept is a big part of Jax's gameplan.
Frame advantage = You can press a button before your opponent can.
That does not automatically mean he can't press buttons, it depends on the situation.
Tanya for example, can end her combos with df2~df1. This leaves her at a frame advantage of +10. (this is referred to as a standing reset)
Her b1 is a 9 frame move, so it will make contact 10 frames after you press the button.
So if she presses b1 in this situation, it will hit you before you even have a chance to press anything. This is a situation where you literally cannot press a button. Jax does not have anything like this. (at least not in HW. I think energy wave in Pumped Up is +7 which might guarantee a standing 1 but I'm not sure)
*if* her b1 was an 11 frame move, then it would make contact 12 frames after you press the button. Her opponent is only -10, so he is able to press a button on frame 11. This would create a 2 frame gap, where he would be able to input an armored special, and armor through your b1.
What are your, I guess maybe they'd be called setups, what do you use to open them up? Like I'm pretty sure if I connect a JIP2 and confirm it I can confidently do f21 bf2d, do simple pokes like d3 or d4 achieve anything? Perhaps let me list some that I think I'm aware of and are fairly safe:
- f3
- f4 (is this always safe on block? I feel like I've gotten punished after missing this)
- jip2
- b32 (is this safe)
- I may be too vague but just trying to get a better gameplan going, I've learned a lot of characters but I really want to master Jax
There are many ways to get damage in a fighting game, such as block & punish, whiff punishing, anti-airing, zoning, reversals.
These are all pretty straight forward, but "opening people up" is almost like an art form. It requires that you constantly read your opponent's defensive tendencies. I could write a novel on this subject but I don't think you're at that level yet so I'll stick to the basics.
Your goal when trying to start your offense, is to gain frame advantage, and if possible, to keep frame advantage until you land a hit.
If you throw out a f3 or f4 in the neutral game, you are putting yourself at -15 (for f4) or -22 (for f3). These will not give you frame advantage, but instead they leave you punishable or at the very least, you will be put into a defensive situation. You could cancel these pokes into bf2 and be -7, which is basically safe, but it still does not allow you to begin your offense.
If you go for a Ji2, you are putting yourself at risk of being anti-aired. But that doesn't mean you should never do it. You need to force people to focus on the air as well as the ground, so a well timed Ji2 is a great way to start your offense. Reason being, is that Ji2 can be cancelled into literally anything. So even if they block it, you are now free to do whatever you want, and that means your offense has officially begun.
b3d2 is +2 on block, so it can be used as a mix-up (along with b2), or as a way to keep frame advantage (otherwise known as a frame trap)
d12 - I like crouching sometimes and mixing it up with the d12, what is the value here? Can I proceed after connecting both with a string, or is it more of a conditioning tool/mixup? Maybe I mess around with the d12 a bit, they start blocking low then immediately stand and b2 them or something?
d12 is one of Jax's best tools, and he is the only character in the game that has something like this.
Essentially, it gives his d1 the best frame advantage in the game, at the cost of being punishable by armor, and being much easier to counter poke on block.
In MKX, d1's and d3's are very important because they go under high attacks and throws. So for example, if you were to do 123 db1 against Raiden, and you notice that he has a tendency to respond to this with f12 after he blocks, you can counter hit him with d1 / d3 / d4 because f1 is a high attack.
When Reptile or Ermac runs up to you and does d3, d3, overhead (as they love to do online), you can block either of these d3's and counter poke with d1 which will put a stop to his offense.
These are 2 common situations where someone would press d1. Now in Jax's case, his d1 can be continued into d12 if you think it's going to hit someone. This puts Jax at +23. There is no other character in the game that gets that kind of frame advantage from a d1, which is why this string is so amazing.
To reiterate what I mean, if Reptile runs up to you and does d3 d3 overhead. You block the d3, and counter poke with d12, you have now completely reversed the situation. Reptile went from being on offense, to being -23. Now Jax is the one who is on offense and he can do whatever he wants with these 23 frames of advantage.
At this point you should have a better understanding of what frame advantage is and why it's so important when talking about offense. So let's go over some basic things that Jax can do to take advantage of these concepts.
1. JiP into a mix-up, or a frame trap. If you get them to block a JiP, you are free to do whatever you want. You can go for a straight up high/low, with b3 RC 123 or b2 EXbf2d. If you confirm they are blocking after b3 RC, you can go for 11 (+2) or b121 (+1), or you can just throw them. You can also do JiP f21 (+1) and go straight for the frame trap instead of the high/low.
2. Against people who have shown you that they won't press buttons during your rocket cancels, you can go for f3 RC 11 or f3 RC throw. This essentially turns your f3 into a +2 poke, and allows you to start your offense from a far greater range. Smart players will catch on to this, and start poking or armoring after the f3. This opens up a new mind game where you can make a hard read and do f3 EXbf2d to punish them severely for pressing a button, or f3 RC block to bait their armor and punish it.
3. Throw out a f21 in neutral. This string is +1 on block, it's a mid, so they *usually* cannot down poke under it, and it has absurd range. Whether it gets blocked or not, you can start your offense. (+1 on block, +17 on hit)
You'll notice that the common theme here is to make them block something that gives you frame advantage, so that you can land a counter hit, that gives you even more frame advantage, which then allows you to go for a mix-up, or start the frame trap cycle over again.
4 is +2
f21 is +1
11 is +2
b121 is +1
b3d2 is +2
If you can get them to block any of these strings, you can go for a d12. Your d1 is 7 frames, this means that if you are +1, your d1 will come out in 6 frames, which makes it tied for the fastest d1 in the game. It will trade with other characters who have 6f d1's, like Goro, Kotal, Quan, but they will need to press the button exactly on that frame, which is very difficult for them because they don't know the blockstun of your moves as well as you do. This frame trap will usually result in a counter hit, if they try to press something.
If you are +2, your d1 comes out in 5 frames, which means it will beat ANY poke in the game.
If your d12 is blocked, you are -7 and your offensive pressure is over. But, there is a mind game here that allows you to continue. If you think they will poke after the d12, you can just EXbf2d and blow them up. This is super risky, but people can be very predictable with their counter poking habits, so you just have to pay attention and make the read. (you said you played poker, so you should understand this concept quite well. Sometimes you must take calculated risk, to make people respect your options so that you don't become predictable yourself)
If you notice that they are scared after blocking d12, you can just throw them, or continue to overwhelm them with string after string, or go for a high/low. It is this type of situation that gives Jax the reputation that he has. People think his pressure is amazing, but really it's more a matter of people not knowing his frame data. They sit and block, waiting for him to do overhead dash punch, and they are afraid to press anything because they aren't sure where the holes are. This lets Jax do frame trap after frame trap, which creates the illusion that he is pressuring you to death.
If your d12 hits, you are +23. Now you can go for a high/low, or another frame trap.
What you decide to do, should depend entirely on your opponent's defensive tendencies. If they are constantly mashing d1 or trying to jump away, then you can just keep doing 11, d12, 11, d12, 11, d12, and they will get counter hit over and over again. It's actually pretty funny to watch.
If they are acting scared, and just blocking forever, then keep throwing them, keep doing strings that are plus on block over and over until they decide to press something, or go for a high/low
If they are mashing armor, then do rocket cancels into block, or go for an obvious frame trap, and then block instead of pressing a button.
In the end it all becomes one big mind game. But against the vast majority of people, you will understand the options involved with this mind game much better than your opponent will, and that's what makes Jax scary.
