The “it’s not the character, it’s Sonicfox” argument is gonna plague NRS games until the end of time. This isn’t a knock at Sonicfox who is easily one of the best fg players of all time and can truly make any character look great, but it’s such a ridiculous statement that gives unfairly powerful characters a free pass to stay unfairly powerful. He’s literally showcasing what a character is capable of at the highest level and certain people are writing it off as if it was a fluke. Have certain characters in the past been unfairly nerfed because of Sonicfox’s performances? Honestly, probably. But to say Cassie should not be toned down for the betterment of the game is crazy.
As a Cassie player, although not a top player so take this with a grain of salt, this is probably where I would start with normalizing her:
- Amp Glow Kick has reduced push back. In it's current state it's only -3, sometimes -2, and pushes the opponents back to a distance where f2/b2 are still a threat. Basically, it's never truly the opponents turn. Reducing push back would ensure the opponent has the next move, whether Cassie chooses to respect it or not is a different story.
- f4 is -2. Yeah yeah yeah I know "BuT tHiS wOnT cHaNgE aNyThInG." It will still give normals such as Baraka's f4 or Jade's b2 a better chance to contest against a potential b2 or another f4 attempt. A light nerf for a dominant tool that she needs.
- Reduce the vertical hitbox on B3 slightly. Only slightly, it shouldn't be beating out the best jump kicks in the game.
- Reduced damage on f2,1+3 Krushing Blow. There's a few things I could think of that could be done to this normal, but I think this would be a good start. 24-26% for such a dominant footsie tool on kounter is a bit much imo. 18-20% seems more appropriate. At 9-10% regularly, this is still double it's normal damage.
I believe these changes would be a safe start at normalizing her that would not change her base game plan very much if even at all. I don't believe in heavy nerfs right out the gate if it's not obviously necessary. If more drastic adjustments needed to be made in the future then so be it. But hey, I'm just some guy on tym so what do I know?
First, I appreciate the maturity coming from you my friend. Discussion is everything and opinions should be respected rather you agree with them or not. As for your suggestions. They actually aren't bad ones.
Reo recently did a video as to what he thinks would make Cassie a bit more fair and the suggestions I remember were making her amped glowkick a little less safe and reducing the chip damage on kneecappin. it's really hard to say nerf her f2, 1+3 move since it's her only real threatening Krushing blow so I can't really agree with that.
Heres a quick breakdown of her Krushing Blow requirements:
F2, 1+3: as you know is a fast 10F high starter that, if it connects as a counter hit, can follow up with a 1+3 for a Krushing blow. 1+3 is plus on block but with a lot of pushback, basically just resetting neutral.
D2 Uppercut: (This one is Universal)
B1,3 (opponent must be blocking high)
Now B1,3 is full combo punishable on block so to go for this krushing blow is super risky, hence why you don't see it used often in high level play.
Charged pistol shot- quite possibly the most LEAST used Krushing blow due to how hard it is to actually connect. You have to hold the charge all the way through and hit someone with it. That's kind of hard since it's a high. At this point, if you get hit with this Krushing blow, you deserve to the damage taken.
Now her F4 being -2 on block is quite interesting. I disagree with this because it's not really eliminating the threat. The threat behind F4 is the fact that its a 9F mid. Making it -2 just means that we will go for the overhead more often and then people will complain that she has a 9F Mid that goes into a safe overhead. Just make F4 10F and keep it Neutral on block so a huge portion of the cast can contest it and call it a day. Neutral on block opens up the mind games for both people.
People say Cassie is "too safe" but in all actuality, shes really too linear and because of her linearity, she has to compensate somehow.
She has 3 moves plus on block that come to mind.
Standing 4 (which is a high)
F2 1+3 (which has a lot of pushback)
F343 (which has a HUGE gap in between 4 and 3) and even has a huge push back if you block the 3 ender.
This Character is otherwise safe but still negative and can easily be telegraphed, especially when she has to take the offensive.
I'm not downplaying in the slightest either. She is easily one of the best characters in the game hands down.
But she is also one of the fairest in the give and take department. You can't just pick her up and autopilot her like you can with characters like Sonya Erron and Geras.
If you want, you and I can lab together. I can show my explanation better then I can type it
Sometimes labbing with a Character specialist can be really eye opening as to the options you have that you didn't know you had.
