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Rain general discussion

Art Lean

Noob
New Klassic skins in the store.
Yup... there go yet more of my krystals! :confused:

Wow the new pure dark purple one looks fantastic and way better than the classic colour palette of the default ninja skin.

I'm guessing it's the other two MK2 skins for Mileena tomorrow... but god I want the UMK3 ones to hurry up!!
 
Regarding Hydroboost tactics being gimmicky and d1/d2able; though it may not work for countering d1 I think there's potential in pairing Boost with Edenian Force so Rain can Evaporate while mid air.
This lets him do it after an amped Boost too, so he could theoretically phase through your punish and punish you instead.
I haven't labbed any of this but wanted to put the thought out there.

As for Quantum Slice and the Rift KB, I think the KB should be considered a nifty bonus but the real attraction is the dive kick itself and nobody should let the KB stop them from taking something else if they don't want Rift.
 

Art Lean

Noob
Quick question, is Rain's 'Sharpened Kalachi' katar actually available as a Towers of Time reward, or am I just grinding for nothing at present?
 

Zviko

Noob
Quick question, is Rain's 'Sharpened Kalachi' katar actually available as a Towers of Time reward, or am I just grinding for nothing at present?
I don't know the name of it but I'm missing one as well and can't get it. Have everything else.
 

M2Dave

Zoning Master
Regarding Hydroboost tactics being gimmicky and d1/d2able; though it may not work for countering d1 I think there's potential in pairing Boost with Edenian Force so Rain can Evaporate while mid air.
I would not evaporate in mid air right next to my opponent, who will easily be able to punish you. The recovery frames are massive when you reappear.

The more I play Rain the more I am confident that quantum slice and Edenian force are requirements. You can add tidal wave, quantum rift, or geyser palm as your last slot, depending on the match up, but tidal wave is arguably the best selection overall. These moves complement Rain's gameplay and somewhat mitigate the fact that he has limited range on his normal attacks.

Hydro boost is gimmicky and does not allow you to combo from 1,3 or 1,3,3, purple rain is good but not worth two slots, and the same holds true for the water bubble.
 

Zviko

Noob
The more I play Rain the more I am confident that quantum slice and Edenian force are requirements. You can add tidal wave, quantum rift, or geyser palm as your last slot, depending on the match up, but tidal wave is arguably the best selection overall. These moves complement Rain's gameplay and somewhat mitigate the fact that he has limited range on his normal attacks.
I'm thinking the same but those 2 are the least fun moves he has imo. Maybe I feel that way because it's something new they gave him that has nothing to do with water or lightning. He also loses all the fun stuff like armor breaker great combo ender with nice corner carry, all the klassic moves and only gets to pick 1 more ability.
 

Obly

Ambiguous world creator
Has anyone labbed the projectile absorb? Is there anything that it doesn't absorb?
I've done some labbing with it, not extensively yet. Seems to fall in the middle of projectile parries in the game. That is, among the moves the game classifies as "projectiles", some act like regular old fireballs while some get special treatment: Scorpion's spear, Jax/Cetrion's ground pound, Joker's EX batsy-poo and jack in the boxes (no idea why Joker deserves special treatment here, but he gets it).

Parries like Nightwolf's or Jade's reflect only work on regular fireballs. Special "parries" like Jade's glow and Terminator's killing machine ignore everything. Rain's quantum rift looks to fall in between (same as Robocop's riot shield): It works on normal projectiles (highs, mids, and lows) plus Scorpion's spear, but doesn't work on ground pounds or Joker's "special" projectiles.

Funny observation, Kung Lao's orbiting hat is treated like a regular projectile, so if he activates it and then walks into the rift, his hat disappears. Gee, for some reason I don't feel bad for KL players...

And lets say if I amp it so it lasts longer and then dash in while they try to zone me. If it goes off screen is it still active or it disappears?
Bit of a strange question. The rift has to be between you and your opponent for it to absorb a projectile. So if one of you dashes past it, it's not protecting you even if it's active. I don't know if it stays active off-screen or not, but I can't see that it matters. An EX rift lasts four seconds. So you'd have to set it, both of you move far enough to put it off-screen, then back far enough to put it between you again, then the oppo throws a fireball... all in under 4 seconds? Even if possible, it's not remotely practical.

Anyway, overall I'm not sure if the rift feels strong or not. If all you want to do is avoid chip damage from zoning, evaporate is strictly better. There just isn't a lot Rain can do while he camps out behind the rift; he can throw a katar or bubble or setup a lightning strike, but they're all pretty easily avoided. You can try to trick your opponent into losing trades or wasting meter to zone you, but a smart oppo probably won't fall for it. So unless you're using quantum slice and really want the KB, I'm not sure this is worth the slot. Maybe others have found more use for it though.

Edit: I guess if you want to be a troll and use the rapid lightning setup strategy that K&M talk about, rift is probably a good tool to let you do that. Not sure if that justifies a slot tho.
 

Obly

Ambiguous world creator
Anybody found any use for Riptide?
I like it. I'm not sure it's better than some of his other options, but it has uses.

It'll connect as an ender off any 242 juggle and restand the oppo with you at +4. It's mainly good if you've put your oppo in the corner (which is easy to do with argus plunge), in which case you're close enough to enforce a poke or (if they're respecting your options) go for a throw, jab, or b2. Mid-screen it's hard to enforce anything safely from it. It pushes back right to the edge of f2 range, but I've still missed f2 because of breathing hurtboxes. F4 is a decent option if they try to dash in or back, but it will lose to jump-ins. F3 or your own jump-in sometimes works, but a lot of people can jump over f3 or beat Rain's air-to-air options. Just dashing in to start pressure will lose to pokes.

I do think it has some space control use in the neutral too. It has a pretty fast start-up and is safe on block at around jump-in distance, so together with his crazy dashes, he can use it to threaten people trying to get in or move away. It also has a ton of active frames, so it can catch people trying to low-profile the move. Susceptible to being ducked and punished by anyone with a fast advancing special (slide, shadow kick), but you can pair it with tidal wave to condition people not to try to neutral duck it, and it can also catch people trying to jump over tidal wave.

So... ehh... jury is out. Good if you want killer corner pressure or a strong space control loadout. Maybe there's more tech out there for it though.
 

Mandolore1123

Man of Science Who Wields the Living Lightning
Ouch. I knew regular throws beat it, but hadn't tested it with command grabs. Triggering the KB feels like a bug. Maybe they'll patch that out?
I hope they patch out triggering the KB. It's very clearly not a roll so it shouldn't tick off the requirements. If anything it's closer to a parry but who knows?
 

Mandolore1123

Man of Science Who Wields the Living Lightning
Meterless super kick should be a thing one day. Helps out his combinations of moves imo.
Unlikely. Pretty sure every single special move launcher in this game needs bar with very very few exceptions. While it would help increase the geyser kick utility over hydro boost (which is one of those exceptions ironically), I don't see NRS making changes like these any time soon if at all
 

just_2swift

MK1 is the best MK period.
Unlikely. Pretty sure every single special move launcher in this game needs bar with very very few exceptions. While it would help increase the geyser kick utility over hydro boost (which is one of those exceptions ironically), I don't see NRS making changes like these any time soon if at all
I don't know about utility over hydro boost lol. With The damage on kick right now may as well be meterless because it's not worth it.
 

Mandolore1123

Man of Science Who Wields the Living Lightning
I don't know about utility over hydro boost lol. With The damage on kick right now may as well be meterless because it's not worth it.
The best thing about kick is just that it's Rain's single best option off his godlike jump kick. Hydro boost is definitely the better launcher and (highly gimmicky) pressure tool. Although personally I don't even run hydro boost because I just don't really vibe with the move (yet). 25% off a launcher isn't bad in this game even though it suffers from breakaway punishes (off certain strings but there are workarounds).
 

nodq

wicked
You can do like 27% 1 bar with the anti air geyser palm or whatever its called. they land right next to you then. iirc its +13 for you then or was it +20? cant remember. I think thats fine for 1 bar. not good but not the worst thing ever. ofc hydroboost does 29-31% 1 bar but I am one of those that do not like that move at all. It plays weird and losing Rain signature Kick move just doesnt feel right imho. ^^

I also think that the restand is very good. its only +4 but the fact that Rain has such a good jump kick and good mind games from his strings when you also equip tidal wave or the back dash move to bait the enemy. Then it is really good playing restand.

Or, like some others already said and do. Playing the slice game and air slice even without rift. I think this is also very strong. You just have to like that playstyle.
 

Zviko

Noob
Bit of a strange question. The rift has to be between you and your opponent for it to absorb a projectile. So if one of you dashes past it, it's not protecting you even if it's active. I don't know if it stays active off-screen or not, but I can't see that it matters. An EX rift lasts four seconds. So you'd have to set it, both of you move far enough to put it off-screen, then back far enough to put it between you again, then the oppo throws a fireball... all in under 4 seconds? Even if possible, it's not remotely practical.
Rift doesn't have to be between you and opponent. What I had in mind was casting it but they don't throw anything until you dash in and then duck their projectile which would hit the rift. It does matter for setting up the KB but I already tested it and it doesn't work off screen.