What's new

Beginner Ermac players questions and answers thread

Lt. Boxy Angelman

I WILL EAT THIS GAME
DUDE. You and I shall dance the dance of the Many on friday. I can definitely assist you in helping get down his little nuances and stuffs and show you everything I can think of that'll be useful. Ermac made my game soooooo much better.
So glad you're on the Red side now...well, I mean technically you already were given Mr. Sektor, but now you're a brighter shade :D. There aren't a lot of people who can anti-air punish and make you fear moving like Mac Daddy.

AND Storms used my name suggestion for the corner slaughter. Win X1000.
 

Creepy00

Noob
Welcome Swift to the army of Many
I would say work on your pressure, do 31, d3. 212, up close. Those moves jail the opponent and are safe on block. On hit or spacing you can follow up with teleslam or telepush. Mix ups with throws for better results.

Also, try to end you strings with ex telepush for extra pressure, Either after f114 teleslam, jk, teleport, 2, ex telepush or 31, teleslam, jk, teleport, 2, ex Telepush.

And last minimize your wake ups! compare to sektor, they easily get blow up.
 

KH_Captain

Nightwolf wannabe
a strategy i use is to mix b34 in with my 31s and 312 its safe on block, and it's hit confirmable if it lands you have many options you can combo b34fireball midscreen and the fireball will hit them on the way down or hit b34 dash forward and do a force push on their way down these are a great safe way to create distance for more zoning. for more damage you can b34teleport dash forward 3 force lift jk airteleport d1 force lift for 32%(35%with jip) or just f4 after the first force lift for 25%(28%) and reset. i also like to use the iab for building meter and it looks just like his iateleport so its a good fakeout. i already like your use of the f4 (just land it more often) at the end of combos and the b2 unblockable, throw a few of these strats in and your ermac will be nasty. if you try some of these in the lab and disagree let me know why.
 

SwiftTomHanks

missiles are coming
Give me your honest opinion of this combo/corner setup using B12F1... I worked hard on this.
While the dmg is great and it ends in the reset the start of it is rather situation. b12f1 isn't really a string you use outside of corner combos and it starts a very specific position.

I think what I want to focus on at least is corner combos that start with either b114 or 31 and end in f4.
 

fr stack

Noob's saibot or noob saibot's?
Give me your honest opinion of this combo/corner setup using B12F1... I worked hard on this.
metzos13 Konqrr Ermaculate_Slim fr stack Cibernetico KamikazeJD zaf Krayzie DanCock
haha god damn u lack of sleep i completely blanked on comboing BEFORE the lift u showed me dats a really nice combo man u should also try to finish with b2b1 d4 see how dat grabs u or d3 's i think people will find this very helpful ... red storms reset in evo grand finals ?? we'll see.
 

SwiftTomHanks

missiles are coming
Welcome Swift to the army of Many
I would say work on your pressure, do 31, d3. 212, up close. Those moves jail the opponent and are safe on block. On hit or spacing you can follow up with teleslam or telepush. Mix ups with throws for better results.

Also, try to end you strings with ex telepush for extra pressure, Either after f114 teleslam, jk, teleport, 2, ex telepush or 31, teleslam, jk, teleport, 2, ex Telepush.

And last minimize your wake ups! compare to sektor, they easily get blow up.
At the moment I'm against using ex gravity squeeze simply because I love the fact that Ermac can play with JUST breaker. My mentality is to use it only when it will finish someone off.

I like the idea of adding in d3 to my pressure and the 121 string seems great! Thanks bud.
 

STORMS

Co-founder
Founder
Premium Supporter
While the dmg is great and it ends in the reset the start of it is rather situation. b12f1 isn't really a string you use outside of corner combos and it starts a very specific position.

I think what I want to focus on at least is corner combos that start with either b114 or 31 and end in f4.
Learn the timing for B12F1... trust me. Ever since I learned it... it's awesome in every way, plus it allows for the reset.
 

SwiftTomHanks

missiles are coming
a strategy i use is to mix b34 in with my 31s and 312 its safe on block, and it's hit confirmable if it lands you have many options you can combo b34fireball midscreen and the fireball will hit them on the way down or hit b34 dash forward and do a force push on their way down these are a great safe way to create distance for more zoning. for more damage you can b34teleport dash forward 3 force lift jk airteleport d1 force lift for 32%(35%with jip) or just f4 after the first force lift for 25%(28%) and reset. i also like to use the iab for building meter and it looks just like his iateleport so its a good fakeout. i already like your use of the f4 (just land it more often) at the end of combos and the b2 unblockable, throw a few of these strats in and your ermac will be nasty. if you try some of these in the lab and disagree let me know why.
Does the 4 in b34 whiff on low blocking opponents? If not, that's an awesome suggestion - thank you! If it does then it's really no better than 312 you know?

Thanks a lot for your help, that was some great information!
 

QjonPL

Low Tier Fanatic
At that last video Storms if you'd do b114 Lift instead of b12f1, you'd be exactly at the position of triple b12f1 loop after Ex Lift and you could stack up more damage. B12f1 has poorer frames on block than b114, so I wouldn't recommend using it as a combo starter.

Does the 4 in b34 whiff on low blocking opponents?
It does whiff, you can even duck under it if you block b3 standing, because it doesn't jail.
 

SwiftTomHanks

missiles are coming
At that last video Storms if you'd do b114 Lift instead of b12f1, you'd be exactly at the position of triple b12f1 loop after Ex Lift and you could stack up more damage. B12f1 has poorer frames on block than b114, so I wouldn't recommend using it as a combo starter.


It does whiff, you can even duck under it if you block b3 standing, because it doesn't jail.
Ouch, I would then consider b34 useless.
 

KH_Captain

Nightwolf wannabe
if there's a little gap between you it will whiff but if you're on em it will hit, for them to take the chance of letting off block and eat 35% or get pushed to the back of the screen pretty much nobody will let off block and if they try to punish you will have jumped out or blocked before they can. unless they're a jedi or get lucky. ive never had anyone consistently punish b34. also that's why you are mixing it with 312, they will be blocking.
 

Lt. Boxy Angelman

I WILL EAT THIS GAME
Learn the timing for B12F1... trust me. Ever since I learned it... it's awesome in every way, plus it allows for the reset.
This. I didn't really focus on it until after Storms found the trick, and now I squeeze it in anywhere applicable where the Tele-Kickpunch (JK iATP) into 22 Push doesn't seem ideal. Results have been delicious.
His D3 is quick as a cat. Sage Leviathan had a good trick in B1 + Throw instead of comboing.
B34 is a good rushdown tool when you're not close enough for a 31/312/121.
JP into Force Ball. Mmmmmmmm.
 

KH_Captain

Nightwolf wannabe
At that last video Storms if you'd do b114 Lift instead of b12f1, you'd be exactly at the position of triple b12f1 loop after Ex Lift and you could stack up more damage. B12f1 has poorer frames on block than b114, so I wouldn't recommend using it as a combo starter.


It does whiff, you can even duck under it if you block b3 standing, because it doesn't jail.
it is possible to duck the b4 but you cannot do this consistently. 9 out of 10 times the b4 will land and even if it whiffs they will respect it and be able to do nothing. have someone come in and mix b34 with 31 and 312 then record yourself punishing it. if you do this consistently and show it on video. then i will never use it again. it's kinda like kitana d1 cutter it's punishable but it is very difficult to do on reaction when you're being hit with 31 312 and f4. if you haven't used it in matches and you're just theory fighting than you don't know if it works or not.
 

Skkra

PSN: Skkra
Hey Tom. I really loved your Sektor. Ready for your 2 minute Ermac guide? Here we go.

1. METER MANAGEMENT
Ermac really doesn't need meter for anything for breakers... none of his specials get armor, so unless you want to force someone to stay down with EX TKP, you can save all meter for breakers or xray, his only armored move. VERY rarely I'll use EX Teleport if I know it'll hit and if the opponent doesn't have a breaker, since you can link a TKS after it on hit.


2. ZONING
I clearly don't need to tell you how to zone. TKP has ridiculous range and is safe until someone gets close. Teleport gets around zoning and grants a safejump stagger on hit. Fireball is average. Use his air fireball when jumping towards opponents to halt your jump arc and make them whiff an AA. Very useful.


3. PRESSURE
Pressuring and poking up close is done using:
3,1,2
1,2,1
D+1, D+3, D+4, sweep

3,1 is neutral on block and jails your opponent standing if you start with a JIP. 3,1,2 is only -2! Mixing up 3,1~throw and 3,1,2 can force your opponent to block since no one wants to eat 3,1,2 and get staggered for another free jumpin. 3,1~throw is so fast you can't react to it. Once you pressure people with the 3,1 string, you can train them to block and get a few reps of it in. The main thing to mix it up with is...

1,2,1. The last two attacks will hit ducking. Always do either just 1, or 1,2,1, as they're both neutral on block. 1,2 is -7 on block, so dont do it. 1,2,1 on block also pushes opponents away a bit, which puts you in perfect range to throw out Ermac's fast sweep (+2 on block!) or backdash~TKP, etc.

A blocked 3,1 into 1,2,1 or 3,1 into D+1 will catch opponents trying to jump and knock them out of the air, giving you a TKS.

D+4 is +12 on hit and neutral on block. Great poke. You can use what I call The Metzos Blockstring to create space when pressured up close: D+3, D+3, D+4. Metzos uses it all the time in matches I've watched. It pushes opponents a nice distance away and you're at neutral frames, perfect distance to do a backdash~ TKP or whatnot.


4. OTHER NOTABLES
Uppercut is ridiculous anti-air. The hitbox is gigantic and reaches all the way behind him, allowing you to stop many crossups. Juggle afterwards with TKS.

B+1,1,4 is already a great string, but B+1 by itself is only -2 on block! This makes B+1~throw work really well... its insanely quick, and no one wants to release block and risk eating the rest of that string. Bonus, no one ever sees it coming.



There you go. The 2 Minute Ermac. Enjoy. Hope this helped.
 

RapZiLLa54

Monster Island Tournaments
After watching and playing vs Swift at ON THE EDGE, I'm going to take this character into the lab. Hes really the only other character aside from Reptile and Scorpion I've considered playing. d3 is -12 on block though, ouch!
 
I was wondering if I could get some advice on how to use ermac.

I can do his moves for the most part ,and I have a bread n butter combo down ,but thing is what do I do to get better? (Yes, I know I'm not good compared to almost everyone who uses him here)

I try to use him online ,but I never use the right combo ,and get punished horridly which in turn results in losses for me.