the real reason people use the 321 elbow whiff combo is because of two reasons: number one, the elbow whiff nj1/2 combo does atleast 45% without any meter whatsoever. this can be increased to 50% or even 55% (though i go for 54%, i find that on the final hit, the x-ray very finnickally hits. it will ALWAYS hit on the 2 in the 321, so i go for 32 x-ray for 1% less damage but a confirmable hit).
the 122 forceball combo does 33/34% damage. it is, however, extremely easy. my friends might be a bit newbish, but you could talk to them about me hitting 34%'s back to back, with input lag, never dropping them. its because that combo is just so easy to get down, it'll only take a couple hours to gain muscle memory of it, and then perhaps another 4 hours of using it to practically never drop it even with input lag. as far as variants, i tend never to use the 122 opener.
a big part of my game is pressuring with fast forceballs in many places or occasionally a slowball vs a jump in. once they are hit with this, i immediately go into 32 forceball, 321 slide. the fact that you can do this combo on nearly any juggle makes it a strong combo, but not as a combo you start with a string. as reptile, you should be essentially grabbing anyone from the air and continuing that combo. when people become more timid about playing an air game vs your forceball spam / acid spit zoning, thats when you use the much better starter 321 as not only does it build meter alot more efficiently than 122, but it also has a great deal of range to it. its also somewhat delayed on screen. i can't tell you how many times people catch the 3, but neglect to block either the 2 or the 1 because it comes out so late.
so, to put my reasons more concisely: #1, the elbow whiff does far more damage, in excess of 11-12%. #2 the 122 simply isn't a good ground string. it is perhaps ideal if someone is crouch blocking you, but i have no idea why someone would do that when all of his useful combo strings are mid-high. the 321 has more power, more range, has a "delay" to the animation of it, and finally it simply gains alot of meter.
as far as njp goes, i am someone who just mastered it last night thankfully. i found the sweetspot where i press punch after jumping in the whiff. all i can tell you is figure out one of two methods: do some plinking, ie go from 2~1 on the pad or stick so that its more likely what you want comes out. otherwise, i would strongly recommend just hitting the practice room for a few days. give yourself maybe like 2 hours to just practice this string: 321 elbowdash, nj1/2. if you hit it, let the cpu fall and start it again. keep doing this just over and over. eventually, what will happen is that first of all the combo itself will become a matter of just letting your fingers press the buttons. you dont have to think about it. this gives you space to react to when you should hit your punch on the jump. good luck!
my xbl gamertag is notjuice and i am very willing to do practice online matches to get input lagged combos down, to teach certain fundamentals of reptile that i've found and garnered from brady's guide and thtb, or otherwise to learn certain matchups.
my xbl gamertag is notjuice and i'm from texas if this matters for online reasons
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