Goat-City-II
Banned
First of all, this is my first post and thread on TYM. I was a casual MK9 player since its release, skipped Injustice, and now I'm a serious MKX player who's been lurking on this site since ESL season 1 grand finals. Thanks for the welcome everybody; I truly love this game, this site, and this community.
Now to the meter spell, here are the 3 buffs it needs to be useful.
1. The spell needs to be able to be cast and recover fast enough so that it is possible to combo with a crossover punch after trance. The reason it must be possible to combo afterwards with a crossover punch specifically is so you can combo with b321 and still be standing in the spell so you can then finish the combo with 21 rune. I tested this in training mode and if you try to use f2122 or b321 immediately after casting the meter spell, you will no longer be standing in it, therefore casting it in the first place becomes pointless. Looking at the frame data of the move and comparing it with the other 2 spells, it seems that in order to make this happen, either the startup frames for the spell must be decreased by around 30 from 53, the recovery frames must be decreased by around 60 from -583, or a mixture of the 2. I'll explain why this specific change is essential over other buff ideas further down.
2. It must be the only spell that is cancel-able with the other 2 spells, meaning if you have Black Magic out (the meter spell) and you input the command to activate the armor spell or the chip spell, then the meter spell will go away immediately as one of the other 2 replaces it regardless of how long Black Magic was previously active. And vice versa, if you have the armor or the chip spell out, then they should be cancel-able only with the meter spell, not each other. Edit* (On second thought it might not actually be a bad idea for them to all be cancel-able with each other, but all I know for sure is that at least the meter spell needs to be cancel-able.
3. This one is much less important and arguably isn't needed, but since the meter spell's effect only works when the opponent is hit and not on block, it might be a good idea to slightly increase the amount of meter the normal ground burst and normal skull take away while under the effect of Black Magic. Currently the non-EX skull takes away 20% of a bar on hit, and the non-EX rune takes away 16% of a bar. I propose that instead the skull should drain 25% of a bar on hit, and the rune should drain 20%. Otherwise, I'm worried that the advantage of just using the armor spell after a combo would be greater than only taking away 16% of a bar with ground burst at the end of a combo while sacrificing a bit of damage, corner carry, and getting no free hit of armor.
Why these buffs are ideal over anything else
I'll be dipping into the topic of my 1 bar block breakers suggestion thread that I'll be posting soon. If at the time you're reading this it already exists, there should be a link to it down below. Anyways, if block breakers are made to be 1 bar, which I wholeheartedly believe they should be, then it becomes apparent what Sorcerer's game-plan would be in his most logical design. The goal from the start of every match generally would be to use the meter spell to get your opponent's meter below 1 bar while gaining meter for yourself, then using the armor spell to lock them down in the corner, and finally transitioning via my cancel suggestion to the chip spell in order to utilize PNDKetchup's 50-70% guaranteed chip damage combos. Because if the opponent can block break for a bar, then the chip spell becomes next to useless because they will break the EX rune every single time as long as they have a bar to spend. Even if block breakers aren't made to be 1 bar, this would still be the goal since it is possible to armor through the chip damage combos if the Sorcerer player is not frame perfect with the pressure. With my suggested buffs, this would be the obvious progression through the match since the startup of the meter spell will be much faster than the others and therefore the easiest to make use of from the get-go without having to spend a bar to make 1 of the other 2 safe, which defeats the purpose of the game-plan since you need that meter for chip damage at the end of a match.
Additionally, if you catch your opponent in the corner with a combo while you have the armor spell out, and the combo ends before the spell goes away, you now have nothing to set up during the hard knockdown and are now vulnerable if the spell disappears as they get up. With my cancel suggestion, even if you finish the combo early, you will always be able to transition to another spell to further execute Sorcerer's game-plan and not be left in a vulnerable position simply because you didn't wait long enough to combo your opponent or didn't keep track of the clock in your head while you're focusing on the actual game. This would make Sorcerer not only more fun, but more logical in its design. Also, without a spell with a faster startup that can be cast from full or midscreen safely without using EX rune on hit, many games you'll be playing Sorcerer and not even get the opportunity to use his spells at all for half or more than half of the entire match, which essentially makes him variation-less Quan. I believe he should have the ability to utilize his variation's features freely throughout the entire match using my suggestions.
Why this would not make Sorcerer overpowered
These buffs would only improve him a relatively small amount because they mainly change Sorcerers game-plan and design while making him more well rounded so that all of his spells are useful rather than overpowering him. Only 1 spell can be used at a time, so even if the meter spell gets buffed to this extent, as long as it is balanced with the other 2, all it does is make the rotation between them more frequent and varied. In other words, these buffs don't make him that much better, mainly just different. Instead of using the armor spell after every combo, you would be switching it up and using the meter spell if you decide to zone from full screen rather than push them into the corner. He wouldn't be guaranteed to get his chip damage combos off either. If the opponent respects Quan's Black magic projectiles and conserves his meter while pressuring appropriately to make Sorcerer have to use his, then Sorcerer Quan will neither have the meter to use the chip damage combos, nor will the opposing player be starved of meter so that he can't simply block break the chip damage, and even then, that's assuming that Quan is even able to lock his opponent down with the chip damage spell by the end of the game. Basically, if the opponent has the option of block breaking for a bar, but they don't play correctly to ensure they always have 1, then they deserve to get chipped out for 70% into a sexy brutality lol.
In conclusion
The meter spell should become cancel-able with the other 2 spells, and it should be able to be activated fast enough so that you can cast it after a trance and still have enough time to continue the combo with a crossover punch. Also, I think it would be a good idea to make Quan's non-meter-burned projectiles while under the effect of the Black Magic spell drain slightly more meter, but this isn't necessarily important. Currently the meter drain spell is almost entirely useless, and in my opinion every tool in any variation should have a practical use, even if that variation is still viable regardless. Thanks for reading, guys.
@PND_Ketchup @16 Bit @tylerlansdown @colt
Now to the meter spell, here are the 3 buffs it needs to be useful.
1. The spell needs to be able to be cast and recover fast enough so that it is possible to combo with a crossover punch after trance. The reason it must be possible to combo afterwards with a crossover punch specifically is so you can combo with b321 and still be standing in the spell so you can then finish the combo with 21 rune. I tested this in training mode and if you try to use f2122 or b321 immediately after casting the meter spell, you will no longer be standing in it, therefore casting it in the first place becomes pointless. Looking at the frame data of the move and comparing it with the other 2 spells, it seems that in order to make this happen, either the startup frames for the spell must be decreased by around 30 from 53, the recovery frames must be decreased by around 60 from -583, or a mixture of the 2. I'll explain why this specific change is essential over other buff ideas further down.
2. It must be the only spell that is cancel-able with the other 2 spells, meaning if you have Black Magic out (the meter spell) and you input the command to activate the armor spell or the chip spell, then the meter spell will go away immediately as one of the other 2 replaces it regardless of how long Black Magic was previously active. And vice versa, if you have the armor or the chip spell out, then they should be cancel-able only with the meter spell, not each other. Edit* (On second thought it might not actually be a bad idea for them to all be cancel-able with each other, but all I know for sure is that at least the meter spell needs to be cancel-able.
3. This one is much less important and arguably isn't needed, but since the meter spell's effect only works when the opponent is hit and not on block, it might be a good idea to slightly increase the amount of meter the normal ground burst and normal skull take away while under the effect of Black Magic. Currently the non-EX skull takes away 20% of a bar on hit, and the non-EX rune takes away 16% of a bar. I propose that instead the skull should drain 25% of a bar on hit, and the rune should drain 20%. Otherwise, I'm worried that the advantage of just using the armor spell after a combo would be greater than only taking away 16% of a bar with ground burst at the end of a combo while sacrificing a bit of damage, corner carry, and getting no free hit of armor.
Why these buffs are ideal over anything else
I'll be dipping into the topic of my 1 bar block breakers suggestion thread that I'll be posting soon. If at the time you're reading this it already exists, there should be a link to it down below. Anyways, if block breakers are made to be 1 bar, which I wholeheartedly believe they should be, then it becomes apparent what Sorcerer's game-plan would be in his most logical design. The goal from the start of every match generally would be to use the meter spell to get your opponent's meter below 1 bar while gaining meter for yourself, then using the armor spell to lock them down in the corner, and finally transitioning via my cancel suggestion to the chip spell in order to utilize PNDKetchup's 50-70% guaranteed chip damage combos. Because if the opponent can block break for a bar, then the chip spell becomes next to useless because they will break the EX rune every single time as long as they have a bar to spend. Even if block breakers aren't made to be 1 bar, this would still be the goal since it is possible to armor through the chip damage combos if the Sorcerer player is not frame perfect with the pressure. With my suggested buffs, this would be the obvious progression through the match since the startup of the meter spell will be much faster than the others and therefore the easiest to make use of from the get-go without having to spend a bar to make 1 of the other 2 safe, which defeats the purpose of the game-plan since you need that meter for chip damage at the end of a match.
Additionally, if you catch your opponent in the corner with a combo while you have the armor spell out, and the combo ends before the spell goes away, you now have nothing to set up during the hard knockdown and are now vulnerable if the spell disappears as they get up. With my cancel suggestion, even if you finish the combo early, you will always be able to transition to another spell to further execute Sorcerer's game-plan and not be left in a vulnerable position simply because you didn't wait long enough to combo your opponent or didn't keep track of the clock in your head while you're focusing on the actual game. This would make Sorcerer not only more fun, but more logical in its design. Also, without a spell with a faster startup that can be cast from full or midscreen safely without using EX rune on hit, many games you'll be playing Sorcerer and not even get the opportunity to use his spells at all for half or more than half of the entire match, which essentially makes him variation-less Quan. I believe he should have the ability to utilize his variation's features freely throughout the entire match using my suggestions.
Why this would not make Sorcerer overpowered
These buffs would only improve him a relatively small amount because they mainly change Sorcerers game-plan and design while making him more well rounded so that all of his spells are useful rather than overpowering him. Only 1 spell can be used at a time, so even if the meter spell gets buffed to this extent, as long as it is balanced with the other 2, all it does is make the rotation between them more frequent and varied. In other words, these buffs don't make him that much better, mainly just different. Instead of using the armor spell after every combo, you would be switching it up and using the meter spell if you decide to zone from full screen rather than push them into the corner. He wouldn't be guaranteed to get his chip damage combos off either. If the opponent respects Quan's Black magic projectiles and conserves his meter while pressuring appropriately to make Sorcerer have to use his, then Sorcerer Quan will neither have the meter to use the chip damage combos, nor will the opposing player be starved of meter so that he can't simply block break the chip damage, and even then, that's assuming that Quan is even able to lock his opponent down with the chip damage spell by the end of the game. Basically, if the opponent has the option of block breaking for a bar, but they don't play correctly to ensure they always have 1, then they deserve to get chipped out for 70% into a sexy brutality lol.
In conclusion
The meter spell should become cancel-able with the other 2 spells, and it should be able to be activated fast enough so that you can cast it after a trance and still have enough time to continue the combo with a crossover punch. Also, I think it would be a good idea to make Quan's non-meter-burned projectiles while under the effect of the Black Magic spell drain slightly more meter, but this isn't necessarily important. Currently the meter drain spell is almost entirely useless, and in my opinion every tool in any variation should have a practical use, even if that variation is still viable regardless. Thanks for reading, guys.
@PND_Ketchup @16 Bit @tylerlansdown @colt
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