Dealing with Pressure/Rushdown

[oZii]

So after playing a few people from TYM today. I know what my number 1 problem is. Pressure characters i.e. nightwolf, liu kang, smoke, reptile, sonya,

Whats the best way if there in your face to get them off you? D+4 or after they finish a string crossover? If Im knocked down from a sweep do a have a safe jump? I know its all situational but any tips would help alot.

I use Scorpion and Sub-Zero atm.

 

[water]

So after playing a few people from TYM today. I know what my number 1 problem is. Pressure characters i.e. nightwolf, liu kang, smoke, reptile, sonya,

Whats the best way if there in your face to get them off you? D+4 or after they finish a string crossover? If Im knocked down from a sweep do a have a safe jump? I know its all situational but any tips would help alot.

I use Scorpion and Sub-Zero atm.

Just like Tekken, d1 is a good string breaker if they are using high moves or have too much space in their strings. In close, this game reminds me of Tekken style gameplay without 3d.

If you are knocked down and they are on top of you, you cannot jump freely; you will eat a full punish for the attempt. If you can confirm that they are attacking as you get up, you can try a wakeup attack. They have a few frames of invincibility. I think they are: Subzero bf4, Scorpion qcb4, Kabal qcb2 (Safe!). Otherwise you are forced to defend yourself naturally; block carefully.

If you are playing online, pressure characters have an advantage. Some strings get ridiculously difficult to escape/counter with a bit of lag.

 

[Pacostaco123]

I have been wondering the same thing myself. I play Nightwolf. If say, a Liu Kang is pressuring the crap out of me, what options do I have?

 

[water]

I have been wondering the same thing myself. I play Nightwolf. If say, a Liu Kang is pressuring the crap out of me, what options do I have?

Universal pressure relief options for most characters are the down moves since the tech crouch. These work best to counter high hits which are common in pressure strings (i.e. anything that starts with 1), but also beat some broken strings if there is enough of a gap:
d1=safe fast mid
d2=risky high for damage and knockdown
d3=safe fast low
d4=slightly slower, slightly longer range version of d3
*** d1,d3,d4 can also be special move cancelled giving you more options if it connects or is blocked.

Nightwolf can also counter pressure with use of his Exqcf1, Exff4, and Exqcf2 since they have 1 hit of armor. Keep in mind that you still take the hit and resulting damage if they connected their attack, but your attack will still continue. Some moves can break armor; mainly Xrays. Exqcf1 is usually your best option up close since it leads to combo on hit and is safe on block. Exff4 is your best midrange option. Exqcf2 is your best option if you want to slice their belly twice; otherwise probably the worst option. These Ex moves can be done during string breaks as well as on wakeup to beat meaty attacks.

I hope this helps.

 

[Juggs]

http://testyourmight.com/forum/showthread.php?4504-MK9-Strategy-General-Discussion


Avoiding pressure - UMK3 style:

In UMK3, a great way to avoid being pressured is the crouching LK. It stops the rushdown and there's enough time to do something while your opponent is recovering. This can be done in MK9 with crouching and . Now some characters crouching and may not be so great at stopping the rushdown, just keep that in mind. Generally, the crouching is a shorter poke, but it's faster. While the is a longer poke, but slower. So if they are on top of you, do crouching once or twice, then go to crouching .

Another way to prevent pressure is random uppercuts. Now this is pretty risky, and also character dependent. Some uppercuts just aren't worth it, because the recovery is too long. The uppercut gets the opponent off of you and you get a decent amount of space in between you and the opponent. I wouldn't abuse this though, uppercuts are generally easily punished on block.

Sweeps are also a decent way of stopping pressure. These are also character dependent too. Some sweeps such as Nightwolf's are just way too slow. But characters such as Smoke will get away with it more often.

 

[Pacostaco123]

Great tips.

In marvel all I have to do is Pushblock lol!

Anyways, would there be any use to trying to jump out of any of these strings. Like if I block a string that is -2 for them, would I be able to jump out unscathed?

 

[water]

Great tips.

In marvel all I have to do is Pushblock lol!

Anyways, would there be any use to trying to jump out of any of these strings. Like if I block a string that is -2 for them, would I be able to jump out unscathed?

Jumping is usually a much higher risk than counterpoking, but mixing up your response with something random can sometimes help once in a while. I would much rather invest 1 meter to break pressure instead and risk taking a full combo and be forced to use 2 for breaker. Ex moves cost less and most are also less risky than Xrays. The longer you allow the pressure, the better chance they have of breaking your defenses.

 

[TheChillOne]

cool, was just about to ask this question myself heh. this info will help me out a ton with pressure issues myself.

 

[spyk]

Yeah, this is some good stuff. I'll have to try it out. Thanks for the info guys

 

[Boundary]

I do a low kick of any kind for pressure countering. It works perfectly against faster characters like johny and raiden

 

[Cass]

i'm having some problems with ppl rushin me down too...
basically how block works in this game!?
i was playing my brothers sub-zero, and he did the 3,3 xx slide string when i was blocking and i could block his slide( i was standing the whole time), shit was pretty weird...

 

[Eight]

i'm having some problems with ppl rushin me down too...
basically how block works in this game!?
i was playing my brothers sub-zero, and he did the 3,3 xx slide string when i was blocking and i could block his slide( i was standing the whole time), shit was pretty weird...

You cant block SZ's slide while standing. Maybe you accidently crouch-blocked without noticing for a second.

 

[EternityInBlack]

I'm about 50/50 when it comes to countering pressure and rushdown. I can hold my own against Ermacs, Sub-Zero's, and Scorpions, but fail at Raiden, Kung Lao, or even Smoke. That low poke d + ) is part of my arsenal, though I don't use it as much if I'm fighting against Jade since my homey always starts with Jade's jumping stick move and keeps his distance to set me up for her Shadow Kick.