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Rambo General Discussion

Trevor

Noob
I knew I had to walk the walk after doing all the talk with Rambo in my video tutorials, so here is some rushdown mayhem with Rambo in Kombat league. I have set the link directly to the matches for those who want to get right to the action. These matches show how this variation can be so lethal even when people are aware of how to defend against his krawl and commando. You can see several situations when my opponents knew how to deal with the moves, but the mixups still made it hard for them to handle the pressure.

This is one of the videos I am most proud of for Rambo because everything I have recommended in my tutorials is put to the test in Kombat League. I’m currently Demigod ranked with Rambo and using some Jax as backup in certain matches, but for the most part, I have been able to evolve with Rambo quite well after those initial sets where you constantly lose because you drop combos, you have no idea how to punish certain situations, you forget how to use certain moves, etc. I lost a huge number of fights in ranked just experimenting with Rambo, but it was worth it as the win ratio started to be higher than the losses once I really became familiar with my variation (leopard, commando, FUBAR).

I’ve put these skills to the test with demigod and god ranked players and they work. I’m far from Elder god in terms of skill because my biggest issue is lack of time to learn so many matchups and so many variables, but my skills are good enough to have fun and enjoy the game once I learn a character.

There is a constant rushdown with commando and leopard krawl and this is enhanced by Rambo’s forward throw, which I use often because it’s one of the only throws in the game that gives you oki instead of pushing people away, not to mention that I always charge and land his throw KB. I know this variation has a preset name in the game, but the Butcher Slasher sounds way better to me as I stab opponents dozens of times per fight with forward throw, fubar, and commando’s b3, 1+3. I usually condition them on the first round with throws as I build the 10 second KB and round 2 is all about the krawl pressure. Then for the second fight I flip the switch to quick strings and more FUBAR. it's just a constant mixup game that I love with this character.

Hope someone can get something valuable out of these fights if they use this variation.
 
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Mormel

Noob
I have been watching a lot of Grr's gameplay lately and I definitely find Snare + Shoulder Roll to be one of the best variations for Rambo I've seen so far. Snare + FUBAR might be more consistent but the sheer mobility options you have alone with Shoulder Roll make playing with Rambo a lot more engaging for me lol
 
I'm stoked for Rambo. He's like the exact character you never knew you wanted but now can't imagine not being a MK guest. His dialogue is going to be epic. His brutalities will be spectacular. He'll be zany and fun and automatically have an edge because he'll trigger all the MK fanboys who hate guests. What's not to love?

As for his move set, there's no reason to expect him to be stiff and clunky like Robocop and Terminator (that wouldn't make any sense), and I honestly don't expect him to be a hardcore zoner either. In terms of MK11 similarities, my guess is that we'll see a blend of Nightwolf, Kano, Sonya, and Erron Black.

Good walking speed and decent dashes. His buttons will feel like a brawler: Quick, forceful hits with an unrefined style, looking to disable his opponent, heavily featuring his knife. Probably no long-range single buttons, but good advancing strings. I don't think he'll be a grappler per se, but I expect at least one true throw string (like NW's s22,1+3) and a command grab that might be a launcher.

He'll have his bow of course. I'd bet on some kind of explosive arrows, probably with slow start-up but fast recovery (think Raiden's lightning bolt), hopefully with the ability to delay or cancel his shot. Won't really zone with it, but will help him with mind games and controlling movement.

He'll have a machine gun too of course, and I'd bet on a MG stance, maybe with a shot count like EB. It'll have a full-auto move, naturally, but I wouldn't be surprised if it arcs up (like Spawn's AA gun) or has a long cooldown/reload, so he can't spam with it. Different ability slots will probably change what his MG stance can do (low shots, faster cancels, etc).

As far as other ability slots, I'd expect see some traps for sure, like EB's beast trap (though hopefully more practical). He might have a mult-hit combo ender special like Sonya's ass whooping. And I wouldn't be surprised to see some version of Sonya's melee parries: fast start-up (to interrupt gaps) but can't be held.

Looking forward to seeing his game play!
I'm reading this way late, but this is such a good prediction. You've obviously seen the movies. People that said all he will have is guns and be stiff clearly have never watched the movies.
 

Trevor

Noob
I have been experimenting with the Bow and Arrow and found some great combos and staggers that really boost Rambo's pressure game. So far I have seen people make very little use of this particular tool except for basic zoning and cancels, but it has huge potential.
 
I hav
I have been experimenting with the Bow and Arrow and found some great combos and staggers that really boost Rambo's pressure game. So far I have seen people make very little use of this particular tool except for basic zoning and cancels, but it has huge potential.
I have not even been using this. This seems to be pretty good. I'll be trying this the next few days.
 

jokey77

Character Loyalist
My current loadout is
  • Commando
  • Crawl
  • Artillery
Actually I don't get the Fubar-Hype. Is there anything it does better than the command grab after a crawl?

Artillery on the other hand forces the opponent to come at you, which seems crucial. It is not like Rambo had the tools to approach the opponent.
 
My current loadout is
  • Commando
  • Crawl
  • Artillery
Actually I don't get the Fubar-Hype. Is there anything it does better than the command grab after a crawl?

Artillery on the other hand forces the opponent to come at you, which seems crucial. It is not like Rambo had the tools to approach the opponent.
Fubar gives him more damage on combos and leaves the opponent close to you on knockdown so you can apply pressure. His back grab throws them too far away.

If you are using Leopard Krawl then your options to get in are limited due to the input conflicting with his slide.
 
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VELL1

Noob
I have been experimenting with the Bow and Arrow and found some great combos and staggers that really boost Rambo's pressure game. So far I have seen people make very little use of this particular tool except for basic zoning and cancels, but it has huge potential.
Can you hit confirm with a bow? I don't think so. If you are doing this on block, it's a full combo punish....
 

Trevor

Noob
My current loadout is
  • Commando
  • Crawl
  • Artillery
Actually I don't get the Fubar-Hype. Is there anything it does better than the command grab after a crawl?

Artillery on the other hand forces the opponent to come at you, which seems crucial. It is not like Rambo had the tools to approach the opponent.
FUBAR is great for seveal reasons:
1-Rolling becomes a big danger and if you catch them it's 320 + damage over time.
2-It makes the loadout with commando and leopard krawl much better due to damage. You can do 300+ damage with one bar.
3-It creates an extra layer of pressure when you are mixing things up with the crawl and people have the habit of rolling back or forward. Either way they get caught.
4-You only burn offensive metter with FUBAR in this loadout so you always have that extra damage in combos unless you are wake up meter happy.
 
So far, the only custom moves that I can't find a use for are mace trap and MRE. Mace trap is slower, does less damage without meterburn, and has a bad kb; if I wanted to anti-air, I feel like m60 is more consistent. MRE is countered by whatever chip damage the projectile you get hit with does and it only goes down from there; the kb requirement sucks and doesn't even heal that much.

Besides that, he has a minor whiffing issue on low crouching opponents like Johnny: s1, s2, and b1 all whiff on crouch block with b1 sometimes hitting if they are in the corner.
 

VELL1

Noob
So, season has ended.

I got my God level with Rambo. If anyone wants to run Rambo vs Rambo, I'd be happy to learn some new tricks.

That being said I think a lot of people didn't lab him much. Once you have the fuzzy for his F22(3+4) down, his options are reduced tremendously. Some people were even flawless blocking the second hit, once you can do that, it's like game over, especially if you don't have the snare to combo from F33. There is always B2, which is -1, but the range is not that great. His mobility is pretty meh as well. He is super fan character to play with though.
 

Trevor

Noob
So, season has ended.

I got my God level with Rambo. If anyone wants to run Rambo vs Rambo, I'd be happy to learn some new tricks.

That being said I think a lot of people didn't lab him much. Once you have the fuzzy for his F22(3+4) down, his options are reduced tremendously. Some people were even flawless blocking the second hit, once you can do that, it's like game over, especially if you don't have the snare to combo from F33. There is always B2, which is -1, but the range is not that great. His mobility is pretty meh as well. He is super fan character to play with though.
That fuzzy is no longer viable and turns into a mixup that denies the option select if you have the Krawl to go with commando. The simple fact that you can cancel into his krawl at any point during the F12 string gives the finger to the option selecting punks.

I made it to demigod at 4455 points, only one fight short of god, but I ran out of time and lost a couple of times when the timer was nearly up. My loadout is FUBAR, Leopard Krawl, and Commando. Note: Rambo is terrible mid range and I was dealign with nothing but jades, subzeros and sheevas in those last fights. I really need to find the best loadout for those specific matches when close range is not an option.
 
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That fuzzy is no longer viable and turns into a mixup that denies the option select if you have the Krawl to go with commando. The simple fact that you can cancel into his krawl at any point during the F22 string gives the finger to the option selecting punks.

I made it to demigod at 4455 points, only one fight short of god, but I ran out of time and lost a couple of times when the timer was nearly up. My loadout is FUBAR, Leopard Krawl, and Commando. Note: Rambo is terrible mid range and I was dealign with nothing but jades, subzeros and sheevas in those last fights. I really need to find the best loadout for those specific matches when close range is not an option.
Yeah, I don't think people realize how important Leopard Krawl is and how well it compliments F12.

I got to around 4300 with Snare Trap and Artillery Strike and had to got out of town for work so couldn't keep leveling up. I was on a 17 game win steak when I had to leave home. I played for about 4 days straight grinding and maybe it was those days in particularly, but those people in Grandmaster and Demi God sucked. I was getting rage quits left and right and completely smoking through everyone besides the occasional close match.

I am an extremely patient player and also have a sparring partner that plays Jade so she really isn't a problem for me. Sub Zero is Sub Zero. Live by the mix die by the mix. I have yet to play a Sheeva player that uses Dragon Stance (I play it so I can deal), but all the other Enhanced Dragon Drop Sheeva's were extremely easy to beat. I was getting a variety of characters including a few Jacqui's which were competent, but still was fairly easy.

I have came to the conclusion that people just do not know the match-up and definitely do not know what is going on with Artillery Strike since no one is playing it. I can't count how many times I went into a setup for 45% damage right into another and they would quick or disconnect because their entire life bar was about gone and they had no idea what was happening. Even against my sparring partners who know what is going on and are reacting to the snare trap/OH mix-up are still getting caught because he has so many mind games to open up the opponent.

I'll be playing this variation next KL and going for God ranked by playing more. Hopefully people will wise up and I will get more of a challenge. I can't wait for people to find holes in this variation so I can make it stronger.
 
So, season has ended.

I got my God level with Rambo. If anyone wants to run Rambo vs Rambo, I'd be happy to learn some new tricks.

That being said I think a lot of people didn't lab him much. Once you have the fuzzy for his F22(3+4) down, his options are reduced tremendously. Some people were even flawless blocking the second hit, once you can do that, it's like game over, especially if you don't have the snare to combo from F33. There is always B2, which is -1, but the range is not that great. His mobility is pretty meh as well. He is super fan character to play with though.
No, they didn't lab him. Especially not Artillery Strike and Snare Trap set ups (Check out my post). I was getting away with murder. Winning games in under 10 secs and rage quits and DC's left and right.
 

Trevor

Noob
No, they didn't lab him. Especially not Artillery Strike and Snare Trap set ups (Check out my post). I was getting away with murder. Winning games in under 10 secs and rage quits and DC's left and right.
Can you post some fights? I like seeing the variations in action on ranked.
 
Can you post some fights? I like seeing the variations in action on ranked.
I don't have the capability of doing so or I'd have a whole youtube channel about this variation.

Lol, I had someone send me a message earlier saying I was hacking because they kept getting mixed out of the setup and I was doing so much damage. Just goes to show they don't lab him because Snare Trap is easily reactable. I hardly ever get to play the " B1/B12 stagger into grab, they start trying to punish grab, then I get them with snare trap" mind game because they never block the thing in the first place.

I'm going out of town for work until the beginning of the year, but maybe we can get some games when I get back.