Lt. Boxy Angelman
I WILL EAT THIS GAME
I know, depending on whether or not you play pad, stick, or Hitbox (mainly pads), there are some strings in this game that, while far from impossible, are either a pain in the ass or strange to your mash style to pull off on your tool of choice. And now, the game's been so fleshed out that a lot of those "awkward" setups have healthy alternatives for anyone who wants to pick up that character, but worry whether or not their discomfort with said string will hinder their progress before they even pick them up. It's happened to me quite a few times, from the beginning where this was just a game, even to today as I reach out the olive branch to good ol' Kung Lao, but as a pad player still cannot find a comfortable rhythm to mash out the damned 2121212YayHats12121212 (you know the one).
I'm just curious: have any of you gents had similar experiences? I'm not some Olympian execution God of Kombat, but I've played fuckin' everybody at some point or another, so I figure there's no shame in diving into the error macros of my leveling up just for the sake of some good conversation, and maybe there'll be others among the tribe with similar issues who I/we can help flesh out and better their skills in the name of picking up that "one guy" they always wanted to play, but thought they were going too far wrong with to tackle
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Here have been a few of my more significant experiences thus far...
-Scorpion's 2 2+1. 1+2 combos have never been an issue for me thanks to Quan, but since Scorp has both this and a 212 string, there've been entirely too many times I've tried to shoulder someone into a Tele~111 Spear and ended up 212'ing them into the ground. Plus, it's my favorite string of his, so having it constantly screw out on me was a big deterrent in playing Scorpion.
-Kung Lao's 21212 and Dive Kick + 2 EX Hat strings. Now, the DK + EX Hats, I wasn't uncomfortable with the execution as much as the idea of using up precious meter on a combo that's not very hard to drop, so I came up with my own, comfier strings, but I've always felt like my hatred of 21212 would be a big issue if I ever tried to seriously pick up Lao. Every other similar string: Cyrax's CG, Raiden's 1212, etc., I can do no problem, but this is the bane of my life with a Hat.
Ermac: I cannot for the life of me hit the double JKTP into D1 Squeeze.
-Reptile's 321 Dash NJP: I practice this stupid thing every damn day. STILL can't do it consistently. Idk if it's my TV or if I'm just retarded, but nothing works. Dash and NJP with 1, nothing. 2, nothing. Piano key roll the buttons, nothing. I get it maybe 1 out of 5 times. Salt.
-Cage's jab dash juggles. Idk why, but he's the ONLY one with whom the timing always troubles me. Nightwolf, Lao, Noob, Shang, no problem. Johnny, can't fucking keep them up. No idea why.
-Noob Saibot's Portal resets. EVERY DAMN TIME I finally manage to get someone into the trap, I screw up the NJP. I just said the hell with it and started the 1 2 carry the moment they fall, but I really want to work out the timing so I can get that extra strike.
-Shang Tsung's Skull Loops. This isn't an execution problem so much as a me being a dumbass problem as I always forget or mistime what ender or continuum I'm supposed to use depending on what range I struck them into the combo from. There are few things in this game flashier or more fun to watch than Shang bouncing fuckers around like beach balls with his Skull onslaught, but it is NOT as easy as it looks at all.
-Kabal. Do I even need to say it?
-Raiden: The B312/334 to Teleport/D1 Zap, I forget the exact notation, but you know the one. IMO, it's not an absolute necessity as a Raiden player, but going back to the point about Lao, it feels kind of hollow trying to get a character down and getting completely stuck on something 90% of his players can do in their sleep.
-Sheeva: Nothing says "Fuck you for playing Sheeva" like trying to end a string with the Grab and having it whiff (I'm looking at you, Mileena).
-Rain is TOUGH. Probably some of the strangest combo timing in the game IMO, but I know this falls more on me and my playstyle than anything else.
-Freddy's Ground Claws. WHY is it that more often than not, trying to end the Close/Mid/Far Ground Claw string ends up putting a Claw in the wrong place? I don't think it's just me, almost every time I see a Freddy on stream, I see the Claw come out somewhere it's not supposed to at least once or twice, and it's infuriating. You're already not Bo Rai Cho, now you've got screwed up Claws on top of it? Eat me, Freddy.
So what are YOUR most problematic strings or gimmicks of this awkward nature?
I'm just curious: have any of you gents had similar experiences? I'm not some Olympian execution God of Kombat, but I've played fuckin' everybody at some point or another, so I figure there's no shame in diving into the error macros of my leveling up just for the sake of some good conversation, and maybe there'll be others among the tribe with similar issues who I/we can help flesh out and better their skills in the name of picking up that "one guy" they always wanted to play, but thought they were going too far wrong with to tackle
.Here have been a few of my more significant experiences thus far...
-Scorpion's 2 2+1. 1+2 combos have never been an issue for me thanks to Quan, but since Scorp has both this and a 212 string, there've been entirely too many times I've tried to shoulder someone into a Tele~111 Spear and ended up 212'ing them into the ground. Plus, it's my favorite string of his, so having it constantly screw out on me was a big deterrent in playing Scorpion.
-Kung Lao's 21212 and Dive Kick + 2 EX Hat strings. Now, the DK + EX Hats, I wasn't uncomfortable with the execution as much as the idea of using up precious meter on a combo that's not very hard to drop, so I came up with my own, comfier strings, but I've always felt like my hatred of 21212 would be a big issue if I ever tried to seriously pick up Lao. Every other similar string: Cyrax's CG, Raiden's 1212, etc., I can do no problem, but this is the bane of my life with a Hat.
Ermac: I cannot for the life of me hit the double JKTP into D1 Squeeze.
-Reptile's 321 Dash NJP: I practice this stupid thing every damn day. STILL can't do it consistently. Idk if it's my TV or if I'm just retarded, but nothing works. Dash and NJP with 1, nothing. 2, nothing. Piano key roll the buttons, nothing. I get it maybe 1 out of 5 times. Salt.
-Cage's jab dash juggles. Idk why, but he's the ONLY one with whom the timing always troubles me. Nightwolf, Lao, Noob, Shang, no problem. Johnny, can't fucking keep them up. No idea why.
-Noob Saibot's Portal resets. EVERY DAMN TIME I finally manage to get someone into the trap, I screw up the NJP. I just said the hell with it and started the 1 2 carry the moment they fall, but I really want to work out the timing so I can get that extra strike.
-Shang Tsung's Skull Loops. This isn't an execution problem so much as a me being a dumbass problem as I always forget or mistime what ender or continuum I'm supposed to use depending on what range I struck them into the combo from. There are few things in this game flashier or more fun to watch than Shang bouncing fuckers around like beach balls with his Skull onslaught, but it is NOT as easy as it looks at all.
-Kabal. Do I even need to say it?
-Raiden: The B312/334 to Teleport/D1 Zap, I forget the exact notation, but you know the one. IMO, it's not an absolute necessity as a Raiden player, but going back to the point about Lao, it feels kind of hollow trying to get a character down and getting completely stuck on something 90% of his players can do in their sleep.
-Sheeva: Nothing says "Fuck you for playing Sheeva" like trying to end a string with the Grab and having it whiff (I'm looking at you, Mileena).
-Rain is TOUGH. Probably some of the strangest combo timing in the game IMO, but I know this falls more on me and my playstyle than anything else.
-Freddy's Ground Claws. WHY is it that more often than not, trying to end the Close/Mid/Far Ground Claw string ends up putting a Claw in the wrong place? I don't think it's just me, almost every time I see a Freddy on stream, I see the Claw come out somewhere it's not supposed to at least once or twice, and it's infuriating. You're already not Bo Rai Cho, now you've got screwed up Claws on top of it? Eat me, Freddy.
So what are YOUR most problematic strings or gimmicks of this awkward nature?
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