Question A question to Skarlet's players

[Eddy Wang]

Well, i think we've been exploring this character in all possible ways, and hardly find a new tech for Skarlet, even tho, i don't think we did explored everything, so then i have a few question for you Skarlet players.
Some players says that her tech are shenanigans or gimmicks, and most of us says is legit.
Even tho, with all that stuff developed around her style, we skarlet players believe that she is not being played at the level she deserves.
So here is some questions to go on a debate

What is the next step?

How do you think Skarlet should be played on her highest level?

What is the most common problem you find as a Skarlet player?

Please find some time and lets discuss this for a while

 

[AssassiN]

The biggest problem I have is having the ability to get in.
When I play against jumpers everything whiffs what I do...
AA fails too many times for me even though I can get it 100% of the time with Liu Kang and Jax(FYI, I do 2, up slash as AA).
When people stay grounded most of the time, I have no issues. F4 and close air dagger gives me that option.
Also when I'm being pressured up close for example by Kabal, the EX dash hardly works. I input it but Skarlet is still blocking...

Skarlet needs to be all about zoning, both on the ground and in the air + blockstrings into mix-up to get some damage.
I like to cancel my dagger and jump into a close or far dagger(depending on the distance).
You can abuse the EX dagger blockstrings against players who don't know her well enough, but when people find out how to handle it we'll have to mix it up with dashes, ...

 

[fr stack]

one of my biggest weaknesses is wake ups i dunno if its me or not but half the time ill try a wake up and nothin will happen a lot of the time i lose games because of this or ill try an ex red dash get a regular one and get blown up
i think skarlet should be played as a hit and run type character ill go in with a flurry once ive gotten some damage ill back off and start pressuring wit daggers , a lot of people fail to realise her dagger cancels only do 1% on hit , so they become impatient and start becoming reckless. then i try capitalise also her d4 and sweep are godlike , abuse them-- after a sweep u can IADD (instant air down dagger) and stuff any wake up attempt

 

[AK L0rdoftheFLY]

Honestly, her biggest problem is the need to take risk. Both down slash and up slash are very risky and she gets blown up offline for using them.

Really what needs to happen is skarlet players need to really focus on getting offline, and playing high level opponents and work on those MU. Does anyone know who

@emp scar
Red raptor
Mosp

Lost to? And which characters they used? Ultimately, we know she highly tourney viable but she needs more tourney experience over all.

 

[AssassiN]

one of my biggest weaknesses is wake ups i dunno if its me or not but half the time ill try a wake up and nothin will happen a lot of the time i lose games because of this or ill try an ex red dash get a regular one and get blown up
i think skarlet should be played as a hit and run type character ill go in with a flurry once ive gotten some damage ill back off and start pressuring wit daggers , a lot of people fail to realise her dagger cancels only do 1% on hit , so they become impatient and start becoming reckless. then i try capitalise also her d4 and sweep are godlike , abuse them-- after a sweep u can IADD (instant air down dagger) and stuff any wake up attempt

Doesn't the first dagger do 4% damage on hit and no chip on block?

 

[Deity]

Doesn't the first dagger do 4% damage on hit and no chip on block?

The nerfed the first dagger to 2%.

 

[Ninj]

The nerfed the first dagger to 2%.

First is 4%, Second is 2%. Half that when blocked

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[FCP/EMP SCAR]

Biggest problem 4 us skarlet users less overheads more slides...u have to condition ur opponent 4 setups with overheads...i made a big statement 4 the skarlet community over the weekend, everyone was telling me how scared they was to fight me because they had no skarlet exp n plus my skill lvl with her, this experiance has made me stronger n i know what i need to do now, good shit to all the fighters..

 

[Ninj]

Biggest problem 4 us skarlet users less overheads more slides...u have to condition ur opponent 4 setups with overheads...i made a big statement 4 the skarlet community over the weekend, everyone was telling me how scared they was to fight me because they had no skarlet exp n plus my skill lvl with her, this experiance has made me stronger n i know what i need to do now, good shit to all the fighters..

Any footage of your fights?

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[fr stack]

Biggest problem 4 us skarlet users less overheads more slides...u have to condition ur opponent 4 setups with overheads...i made a big statement 4 the skarlet community over the weekend, everyone was telling me how scared they was to fight me because they had no skarlet exp n plus my skill lvl with her, this experiance has made me stronger n i know what i need to do now, good shit to all the fighters..

i only seen one of your matches on stream u destroyed your opponent then seen you made last 16 , mad props!! its a pity u advanced in losers cause none of your matches were streamed 8(

 

[cirkusfreaksho]

i only seen one of your matches on stream u destroyed your opponent then seen you made last 16 , mad props!! its a pity u advanced in losers cause none of your matches were streamed 8(

this...i was so dissapointed that i only got to see one match . Scar is amazing with skarlet and hes 100% right about more slides and making ur opponent respect the overhead rather than always going for it and getting blown up. I wish skarlets air dagger could be more like mileenas air sai...better hitbox imo and isnt skarlets iad plus on block as well?

 

[ryublaze]

This is my opinion.

I see a lot of Skarlet players doing gimmicks like a blocked 1, 1, 2 into EX Dagger on a crouching opponent, or cancelling the EX Dagger into a jump when it doesn't really give a safe jump. Her other strings like F3, 1, 2 and F3, 3 are too slow and aren't worth the risk when there are better options. B2, 4 / B1, F3 / B1, 1, 3 / B1, 1, B4 / 2, 1, 2 are other strings I barely use (2, 1, 2 isn't bad though). U3 also doesn't OTG and can be beaten by wake-ups or tech roll. These things may work now, but as time goes by they will get blown up as people start learning how to fight her.

Skarlet at the highest level should be using at least two Red Dashes per combo as those build the most meter. She needs to be firing iaD like Kabal and armoring through opponents' offense like Jax. No regular Down Slashes either since those can be fuzzy guarded. Last but not least, she needs to be played on a Hitbox. I think REO once said in a thread that Skarlet is harder to use than Kabal.

Just my personal opinion though and you don't have to agree with me because I'm only an online warrior lol. I don't mean to blow up anyone btw. I think Ninj, L0rdoftheFLY, Eddy Wang, Johnny2d and everyone else are great contributors but we have to realize what works and what doesn't work at the highest level.

L0rdoftheFLY I can't go to offline tourneys or anything like that. The only offline experience I can get is to play with IKizzLE and Slips but Slips hasn't been having casuals lately and I think he's talking about quitting. Not sure about IKizzLE. I've only been able to show my Skarlet once to them but I was playing with a laggy converter.

 

[Verstande]

Yeah............I really think skarlet players should go to hitbox if it concerns the air daggers......those look impossible

 

[AK L0rdoftheFLY]

How many times does kabal go into a full spin and commit to it...often. To only go for what works limits the meta game Mortal Kombat has. Gimmicks and mind games are what make MK. It's important to "just go for it" sometimes regardless of the risk.

 

[ryublaze]

How many times does kabal go into a full spin and commit to it...often. To only go for what works limits the meta game Mortal Kombat has. Gimmicks and mind games are what make MK. It's important to "just go for it" sometimes regardless of the risk.

Kabal committing to a nomad dash is a bit different. The opponent has to guess whether he's going to cancel it or not. The problem with Skarlet's gimmicks is that they can be beaten out everytime (besides cancelling EX Dagger into jump). I'm not trying to tell anyone how to play her. Just saying that these won't work on players who know how to fight her.

 

[AssassiN]

I've been wanting a hitbox for quite some time now(before I started playing Skarlet).
Now I'm aching more for it , but wouldn't be standard Hitbox. More like a keyboard .

 

[Ninj]

I think it's unfair to refer to what Skarlet does as gimmicks. My take on high level play:

Footsies will be critical. Understanding on a per-character basis whether or not you can frame trap with a D3 hit vs standing opponent. Knowing how the D4 frame trap works, whether or not you can (and want to) phantom hit your opponent's character.

Patience. Taking the red slide hits, multiple times. Really training your opponent to fear taking 8%. Chipping away at your opponent safely so that you can more successfully take risks later. Know your spacing so that you can punish a whiffed jump kick to air grab attempt from Jax, or from Cage, etc.

Standing 1,1,2s into empty red dash for further pressure. Skarlet is +9 after this setup. +9! Not bad for building meter and pushing the opponent towards the corner. Start doing throws after empty red dashes for an extra 11%, then use delayed up slashes.

I think antiair will gravitate towards F4 being the best - I read many of you using standing 2. Just a thought.

Using D3 to avoid a crossover attempt and then following up after evading into a standing 1,1,2 - pressure is reversed that quickly.

Maximizing blockstring potential but not becoming greedy. F2,1,2,1+2 builds the most meter, but it's fine to settle for B1,1,F4,DF3,4 to end blockstring pressure. And who knows, your opponent might start blocking low too much, allowing for EX overhead opportunity.

Skarlet has good footsies, zoning, and whiff punish tools, along with advancing armor and antizoning tools. That coupled with very high damage output yields a powerful character. The best Skarlet will be the one who masters the fundamentals of her footsie, spacing, and setup game. In my opinion.

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[ryublaze]

One more thing I forgot to mention. A high level Skarlet player should be dash cancelling out of blocked EX Dagger fast enough where a F2 will still jail an opponent standing. If a Skarlet player can do this then she can repeat the F2, 1, 2 1+2 string 5 times with full meter.

 

[Death]

I wanna see someone take Skarlet to the top and winning at a high level and showcasing how good she really is in tournaments.

I want too see Ninj make some noise at EVO.

 

[Ninj]

I wanna see someone take Skarlet to the top and winning at a high level and showcasing how good she really is in tournaments.

I want too see Ninj make some noise at EVO.

Will do.

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[UsedForGlue]

I wanna see someone take Skarlet to the top and winning at a high level and showcasing how good she really is in tournaments.

I want too see Ninj make some noise at EVO.

If you want, I can use Skarlet at EVO, lose all my matches, but shout really loud the entire time.

 

[Ninj]

If you want, I can use Skarlet at EVO, lose all my matches, but shout really loud the entire time.

I support this message.

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[G4S KT]

It's important to "just go for it" sometimes regardless of the risk.

qft

this is true in pretty much all FGs

 

[Johnny2d]

I'm only an online warrior lol. I don't mean to blow up anyone btw. I think Ninj, L0rdoftheFLY, Eddy Wang, Johnny2d and everyone else are great contributors but we have to realize what works and what doesn't work at the highest level.

Thanks for the compliment and I am also in the same boat with not being able to go to events. I can use online to have fun and enjoy the game I love, but FLY is totally right, the conversation changes when we are talking at the highest level, and online tactics can't be included. However, I am a student of the game, thats why I defer to the experts in conversations like this. Even though some of us can't get out right now, we can still study, learn, and use match footage as expert testimony to prove points. When I do get the chance to travel to an event, I will be prepared.

I do watch every stream I can get me hands on, and enjoy watching them all even though its rare to see Skarlet. I can say from a fans perspective from outside looking in, that the meta game is evolving, and not at a snail's pace, major changes are happening on a daily basis. The Skarlet players I follow and watch on a weekly basis are evolving as well. Last week we saw L0rdoftheFLY and Mosp level up DRASTICALLY in their respective weekly events, and we saw FCP/EMP SCAR place top 16 at MLG. Skarlet is here and is being played on big stages at a very high level. She has yet to win at the highest of level, but she is damn close.

I don't think we can call the tactics that we find 'gimmicks', when we see them working in these high level matches. In fact, its the use of the so called 'gimmicks' that we saw in FLY and Mosp and Scar's games last week that lead to their domination. The gimmick on its own isn't game breaking or changing, but the player behind the Skarlet knowing the effect they are having on their opponent, is whats starting to win these matches. This is her meta game. Its crucial that a Skarlet player knows both the character and the person they are playing against, thats why online ranked is irrelevant.

Skarlet's meta game evolves as we discuss the potential, and test theory in practice. Skarlet has tons of 5-5 matches which opens up her mind games, every match has to be played differently and Skarlet players need to know their OPPONENT, as well as how to fight the character they choose.

When Skarlet wins a major we will all be excited, yet not really surprised because we knew that the character was capable of it, but also remember that its the person playing the match, not the character that wins.

 

[ryublaze]

Thanks for the compliment and I am also in the same boat with not being able to go to events. I can use online to have fun and enjoy the game I love, but FLY is totally right, the conversation changes when we are talking at the highest level, and online tactics can't be included. However, I am a student of the game, thats why I defer to the experts in conversations like this. Even though some of us can't get out right now, we can still study, learn, and use match footage as expert testimony to prove points. When I do get the chance to travel to an event, I will be prepared.

I do watch every stream I can get me hands on, and enjoy watching them all even though its rare to see Skarlet. I can say from a fans perspective from outside looking in, that the meta game is evolving, and not at a snail's pace, major changes are happening on a daily basis. The Skarlet players I follow and watch on a weekly basis are evolving as well. Last week we saw L0rdoftheFLY and Mosp level up DRASTICALLY in their respective weekly events, and we saw FCP/EMP SCAR place top 16 at MLG. Skarlet is here and is being played on big stages at a very high level. She has yet to win at the highest of level, but she is damn close.

I don't think we can call the tactics that we find 'gimmicks', when we see them working in these high level matches. In fact, its the use of the so called 'gimmicks' that we saw in FLY and Mosp and Scar's games last week that lead to their domination. The gimmick on its own isn't game breaking or changing, but the player behind the Skarlet knowing the effect they are having on their opponent, is whats starting to win these matches. This is her meta game. Its crucial that a Skarlet player knows both the character and the person they are playing against, thats why online ranked is irrelevant.

Skarlet's meta game evolves as we discuss the potential, and test theory in practice. Skarlet has tons of 5-5 matches which opens up her mind games, every match has to be played differently and Skarlet players need to know their OPPONENT, as well as how to fight the character they choose.

When Skarlet wins a major we will all be excited, yet not really surprised because we knew that the character was capable of it, but also remember that its the person playing the match, not the character that wins.

I have nothing against the gimmicks. If they work then go for it, but as of now no one knows how to fight her which is the reason why they work. I stated countless times that once people learn her, the gimmicks won't work. This is similar to Sub-Zero's "Shoryuken Prison". 100% escapable, but if the opponent doesn't know how to escape, it works. We're talking about the highest level, where both players know how to fight eachother and the character they're using.

I've been thinking about making a How to Fight Skarlet video but I'm saving it for after EVO. It'll probably be my last gift to the community before I have to leave.