Chaosphere
The Free Meter Police
This guide is going to look really random and unorganized at first, but I promise it will get better. I'm just going to start writing whatever I want and if anyone else has anything to contribute or expand upon, I'll add it in. Go ahead and write whatever you think should be in the guide as a reply and I'll figure it out.
Normals:
1: 9 frame high attack. -1 on block. Fastest punishing starter. Leads to 33% combo on the ground. Can be ducked. Best anti-air if linked into vicinity blast which leads to 29% combo. Can be good for tick throws, especially if they expect you to finish the string.
2: 11 frame high attack. 0 on block. Leads to full combo on the ground. Can be used for anti-air as well, but is harder to execute and requires more of a read.
3: 12 frame high attack. -18 on block. Will hit mid if you're close enough to them. You never want to input 3 by itself unless you want to die. Thanks input bug! =P On hit leads to full combo on the ground.
4: 18 frame attack. -1 on block. The only use for this is during a corner combo. But if for some reason it comes out and hits them midscreen causes very weird air/falling properties allowing you to at least get a free superman
d1: 6 frame mid attack. -13 on block. +1 on hit. Basic poke. Decent for anti-crossups and can also work as a regular anti-air. Can be linked to vicinity blast on block to try and catch jumpers, but is not the safest option if they duck.
d3: 7 frame low attack. -7 on block. +1 on hit. +7 on hit if they are crouching, so if you have the reaction speed to see this you can pretty much go into whatever you want for the next string. Safe low poke. Can SOMETIMES be used to avoid crossups, but don't place your bet on it. Can be used to duck under certain moves such as Kung Lao's tele 3.
d4: 15 frame low attack. 0 on block. +15 on hit. If this move hits, you get a free b3, dash into f2, or throw attempt. Gives +3 on hit if linked into teleport. One mind game that revolves around d4 hitting is if they are going to hold block, take your throw. The next time d4 hits, they will think twice about just sitting there holding block and you could catch them with a b3 into full combo, or if they continue to hold block just take your throw again. The more throws you hit them with after your d4 hits, the more likely they are to not hold block the next time. And if they do hold block, you can throw all day and it WILL frustrate them, especially since they don't even have the chance to armor out.
b2: 25 frame attack. 0 on block. On hit can be linked into 1 meter combo or no meter combo onyl against sheeva. Very slow startup. Only to be used off of a jip. They can still armor or jump out between the jip and b2, but it is very unlikely that they will read this.
b3: 15 frame mid attack. -7 on block. On hit can be linked into 37% combo. This is Raiden's best normal. Possibly the best whiff punishing normal in the game. Can throw after it is blocked. The frame data says b3 into throw is unsafe, but practical application proves it's very hard to react to as the block stun is very quick and most people would rather not get hit by the rest of the string. b3 also catches a lot of people jumping.
b4: 16 frame low attack. -5 on block. Not really used very often, but can be useful during corner pressure if the opponent doesn't expect it since there's no reason to block low against Raiden, but it's nothing to build a game plan around.
f2: 12 frame mid attack. 0 on block. One of Raiden's best pressure starters. Also leads to combos on the ground. Best pressure string for when your opponent is in the corner.
f3: 25 frame high attack. 0 on block. Not used very often. Covers good distance, but is too easy to get interrupted out of. If you hit them in the air with this, can lead to a d1~shocker followup in the corner. This move has really fast block recovery, so you can immediately go for a down poke or backdash into whiff punish or teleport into whiff punish.
f4: 30 frame overhead attack. 0 on block. SUPER FAST block recovery so you can immediately go into a fast string for pressure. The only use I can find for it is after a jip or sometimes in the corner to stuff wakeups or catch them ducking. Leads to 35% combo on hit. One mixup you can do here is playing around with jip into d4~tele. Since d4~tele gives you advantage on hit, it may condition them to try and block low after a jip. If your mind game is working, you can opt for a jip to f4 and catch them low blocking. Not recommended to use f4 in the footsies game, however f4 does have a decent range on it so you may be able to catch someone trying to dash into a poke, but don't rely on this tactic as it's not the safest option.
Strings:
12: -11 on block. No real use for this string by itself. There's no reason not to continue the string on block AND on hit.
121: -1 on block. Starts high, but the second hit is mid. Well timed d4's, d1's, and d3's will interrupt. Great block string, though. You can backdash immediately afterwards and blow up their poke attempts with b3 or simply wait for an anti-air after the backdash. Good to mix this block string with 1212~tele so they don't always know when you'll choose to end the string. Leads to 33% combo on hit.
1212: -13 on block BUT if canceled into teleport leaves you at -6 which is pretty safe and can only be punished by Reptile and Kung Lao and that's IF they pull off the just frame. What this means though is that it's pretty much gives them free pressure, but there's a setup for this. If you link into ex-teleport instead, you can punish them for trying to get their free pressure after what they thought was going to be 1212~tele. 1212~tele builds tons of meter. After the tele you can choose to block or try and check them with a poke. If they are block happy you may be able to backdash away after you recover from teleport but that's not the safest option. If any of this string actually hits them, you are at +8 after the tele cancel. This allows you to pretty much go for whatever string you'd like afterwards. I like to go for d4 in this situation, but as always, just try and make the right reads. You can also link this string into ex-lightning to try and continue pressure. Sometimes this leads to the second lightning ball coming back around and anti-airing them if they try and cross you up.
22: 0 on block. -3 if canceled into teleport. Good pressure string, but usually safest to try after a jip as the range/hitbox on 2 is weird and unreliable. Can be hit confirmed into 22~shocker for a full combo. 22~vb jails standing on block. Can mixup between 2, 22, and 22~vb since all variations are 0 on block.
22b4: -1 on block. The last hit is a low. This can catch some people offguard, but overall is not a very good mixup. The knockdown is good for if you want to try and set up an oki game and is most useful in the corner. Since it leaves you at +28 on hit, a well timed f4 can stuff their wakeup if they don't execute it perfectly. f4 is a 30 frame move which gives them a 2 frame gap to input their wakeup. On block, you can block or go for a backdash setup similar to 1 or 121 on block. Throw if they're block happy.
22f1: -7 on block. Pretty safe, especially if you consider the pushback it gives. If the f1 hits them, causes a knockdown. This can be used in the same manner as 22b4 as explained above, except 22f1 actually gives a few more frames of advantage giving you a larger window to input your f4.
33: -15 on block. There's no reason to ever use this string except for at the end of certain corner combos. Just... don't use this string for any reason in the footsies game. Can link into 33~vb on high hitbox characters which makes the string 0 on block, however the vb can be ducked and punished at the end. If you notice them doing this, try 334 since the last hit will catch them into full combo if they choose to duck.
334: -1 on block. One of Raiden's best strings depending on the character you're playing against and whether or not they have meter. On hit leads to 37% combo. On block you can go for a poke to check them, backdash into whiff punish or anti air, or continue to block. The biggest problem with this string is that there is a 6 frame gap between the last two hits. This means characters with armor can armor out and Cyber Sub can parry you every time. If you read that they WILL try and parry or armor out, you can go for 33~shocker instead. This string jails so if they do anything other than continue to hold block after the 33, they will get caught by the shocker and you can continue to combo them. The problem is, if they block your shocker they get a full combo on you. A safer option to avoid being punished between the last two hits is to cancel into teleport after 33 or 334. If they try to punish you, a 33~tele will reverse their inputs causing their special to not come out. But you could also 334~tele, which will allow their move to come out, their armor will absorb the last hit of 334, but you will still safely teleport to the other side of them basically causing them to waste their meter, cause a small hit of damage, and depending on the special move, may give you a full combo whiff punish. Just keep in mind that 33~tele, and 334~tele are both -12 on block so characters with quick punishers WILL punish you if they see and react to this. On hit this is one of two strings that leads to Raiden's biggest damage midscreen at 37%.
b2f1: 0 on block. Both hits are mid. Only to be used after jip since b2 has such a long startup. Can be hit confirmed into ex-shocker midscreen and regular shocker in the corner. Can be linked to vb to try and setup a safe jump on hit or simply 0 on block vs high hitbox characters. The vb will whiff on low hitbox characters. b2f1~tele is -3 on block.
b2f11+2: -14 on block. Unsafe to try. Although there is a 1 frame gap between the last two hits, this can catch people who let go of block after b2f1. Not a safe strategy to rely on. Can not link specials after the last hit.
b31: -8 on block. Not entire safely, but most characters won't be able to punish you for it. At the very least this gives them free pressure. Can be linked into teleport on read to cause those who try to interrupt between the last two hits of b312 to whiff their moves.
b312: -3 on block. Completely safe. This string can actually be interrupted between all hits by armored moves and Cyber-Sub's parry. But if you read they will you can cancel all hits of the string into teleport. The problem with teleporting here is that if they just continue to block, there's enough recovery to punish all versions of this string canceled into tele. b3~tele is -22, b31~tele is -16, and b312~tele is -14. You don't want to play around with this too much. Don't use b312 as a block string if they have meter and armored moves that lead into big damage. Decent meter building string. On high hitbox characters you can play the same vicinity blast games with this string as you can with 334. You can opt for b31~vb to make it safe on block or give you a safe jump if it hits. And like with 334, if they start ducking the vicinity blast you can just finish the normal string to catch them low blocking since the last hit of b312 is overhead. On hit, this is one of two strings which lead to Raiden's highest midscreen damage at 37%.
Normals:
1: 9 frame high attack. -1 on block. Fastest punishing starter. Leads to 33% combo on the ground. Can be ducked. Best anti-air if linked into vicinity blast which leads to 29% combo. Can be good for tick throws, especially if they expect you to finish the string.
2: 11 frame high attack. 0 on block. Leads to full combo on the ground. Can be used for anti-air as well, but is harder to execute and requires more of a read.
3: 12 frame high attack. -18 on block. Will hit mid if you're close enough to them. You never want to input 3 by itself unless you want to die. Thanks input bug! =P On hit leads to full combo on the ground.
4: 18 frame attack. -1 on block. The only use for this is during a corner combo. But if for some reason it comes out and hits them midscreen causes very weird air/falling properties allowing you to at least get a free superman
d1: 6 frame mid attack. -13 on block. +1 on hit. Basic poke. Decent for anti-crossups and can also work as a regular anti-air. Can be linked to vicinity blast on block to try and catch jumpers, but is not the safest option if they duck.
d3: 7 frame low attack. -7 on block. +1 on hit. +7 on hit if they are crouching, so if you have the reaction speed to see this you can pretty much go into whatever you want for the next string. Safe low poke. Can SOMETIMES be used to avoid crossups, but don't place your bet on it. Can be used to duck under certain moves such as Kung Lao's tele 3.
d4: 15 frame low attack. 0 on block. +15 on hit. If this move hits, you get a free b3, dash into f2, or throw attempt. Gives +3 on hit if linked into teleport. One mind game that revolves around d4 hitting is if they are going to hold block, take your throw. The next time d4 hits, they will think twice about just sitting there holding block and you could catch them with a b3 into full combo, or if they continue to hold block just take your throw again. The more throws you hit them with after your d4 hits, the more likely they are to not hold block the next time. And if they do hold block, you can throw all day and it WILL frustrate them, especially since they don't even have the chance to armor out.
b2: 25 frame attack. 0 on block. On hit can be linked into 1 meter combo or no meter combo onyl against sheeva. Very slow startup. Only to be used off of a jip. They can still armor or jump out between the jip and b2, but it is very unlikely that they will read this.
b3: 15 frame mid attack. -7 on block. On hit can be linked into 37% combo. This is Raiden's best normal. Possibly the best whiff punishing normal in the game. Can throw after it is blocked. The frame data says b3 into throw is unsafe, but practical application proves it's very hard to react to as the block stun is very quick and most people would rather not get hit by the rest of the string. b3 also catches a lot of people jumping.
b4: 16 frame low attack. -5 on block. Not really used very often, but can be useful during corner pressure if the opponent doesn't expect it since there's no reason to block low against Raiden, but it's nothing to build a game plan around.
f2: 12 frame mid attack. 0 on block. One of Raiden's best pressure starters. Also leads to combos on the ground. Best pressure string for when your opponent is in the corner.
f3: 25 frame high attack. 0 on block. Not used very often. Covers good distance, but is too easy to get interrupted out of. If you hit them in the air with this, can lead to a d1~shocker followup in the corner. This move has really fast block recovery, so you can immediately go for a down poke or backdash into whiff punish or teleport into whiff punish.
f4: 30 frame overhead attack. 0 on block. SUPER FAST block recovery so you can immediately go into a fast string for pressure. The only use I can find for it is after a jip or sometimes in the corner to stuff wakeups or catch them ducking. Leads to 35% combo on hit. One mixup you can do here is playing around with jip into d4~tele. Since d4~tele gives you advantage on hit, it may condition them to try and block low after a jip. If your mind game is working, you can opt for a jip to f4 and catch them low blocking. Not recommended to use f4 in the footsies game, however f4 does have a decent range on it so you may be able to catch someone trying to dash into a poke, but don't rely on this tactic as it's not the safest option.
Strings:
12: -11 on block. No real use for this string by itself. There's no reason not to continue the string on block AND on hit.
121: -1 on block. Starts high, but the second hit is mid. Well timed d4's, d1's, and d3's will interrupt. Great block string, though. You can backdash immediately afterwards and blow up their poke attempts with b3 or simply wait for an anti-air after the backdash. Good to mix this block string with 1212~tele so they don't always know when you'll choose to end the string. Leads to 33% combo on hit.
1212: -13 on block BUT if canceled into teleport leaves you at -6 which is pretty safe and can only be punished by Reptile and Kung Lao and that's IF they pull off the just frame. What this means though is that it's pretty much gives them free pressure, but there's a setup for this. If you link into ex-teleport instead, you can punish them for trying to get their free pressure after what they thought was going to be 1212~tele. 1212~tele builds tons of meter. After the tele you can choose to block or try and check them with a poke. If they are block happy you may be able to backdash away after you recover from teleport but that's not the safest option. If any of this string actually hits them, you are at +8 after the tele cancel. This allows you to pretty much go for whatever string you'd like afterwards. I like to go for d4 in this situation, but as always, just try and make the right reads. You can also link this string into ex-lightning to try and continue pressure. Sometimes this leads to the second lightning ball coming back around and anti-airing them if they try and cross you up.
22: 0 on block. -3 if canceled into teleport. Good pressure string, but usually safest to try after a jip as the range/hitbox on 2 is weird and unreliable. Can be hit confirmed into 22~shocker for a full combo. 22~vb jails standing on block. Can mixup between 2, 22, and 22~vb since all variations are 0 on block.
22b4: -1 on block. The last hit is a low. This can catch some people offguard, but overall is not a very good mixup. The knockdown is good for if you want to try and set up an oki game and is most useful in the corner. Since it leaves you at +28 on hit, a well timed f4 can stuff their wakeup if they don't execute it perfectly. f4 is a 30 frame move which gives them a 2 frame gap to input their wakeup. On block, you can block or go for a backdash setup similar to 1 or 121 on block. Throw if they're block happy.
22f1: -7 on block. Pretty safe, especially if you consider the pushback it gives. If the f1 hits them, causes a knockdown. This can be used in the same manner as 22b4 as explained above, except 22f1 actually gives a few more frames of advantage giving you a larger window to input your f4.
33: -15 on block. There's no reason to ever use this string except for at the end of certain corner combos. Just... don't use this string for any reason in the footsies game. Can link into 33~vb on high hitbox characters which makes the string 0 on block, however the vb can be ducked and punished at the end. If you notice them doing this, try 334 since the last hit will catch them into full combo if they choose to duck.
334: -1 on block. One of Raiden's best strings depending on the character you're playing against and whether or not they have meter. On hit leads to 37% combo. On block you can go for a poke to check them, backdash into whiff punish or anti air, or continue to block. The biggest problem with this string is that there is a 6 frame gap between the last two hits. This means characters with armor can armor out and Cyber Sub can parry you every time. If you read that they WILL try and parry or armor out, you can go for 33~shocker instead. This string jails so if they do anything other than continue to hold block after the 33, they will get caught by the shocker and you can continue to combo them. The problem is, if they block your shocker they get a full combo on you. A safer option to avoid being punished between the last two hits is to cancel into teleport after 33 or 334. If they try to punish you, a 33~tele will reverse their inputs causing their special to not come out. But you could also 334~tele, which will allow their move to come out, their armor will absorb the last hit of 334, but you will still safely teleport to the other side of them basically causing them to waste their meter, cause a small hit of damage, and depending on the special move, may give you a full combo whiff punish. Just keep in mind that 33~tele, and 334~tele are both -12 on block so characters with quick punishers WILL punish you if they see and react to this. On hit this is one of two strings that leads to Raiden's biggest damage midscreen at 37%.
b2f1: 0 on block. Both hits are mid. Only to be used after jip since b2 has such a long startup. Can be hit confirmed into ex-shocker midscreen and regular shocker in the corner. Can be linked to vb to try and setup a safe jump on hit or simply 0 on block vs high hitbox characters. The vb will whiff on low hitbox characters. b2f1~tele is -3 on block.
b2f11+2: -14 on block. Unsafe to try. Although there is a 1 frame gap between the last two hits, this can catch people who let go of block after b2f1. Not a safe strategy to rely on. Can not link specials after the last hit.
b31: -8 on block. Not entire safely, but most characters won't be able to punish you for it. At the very least this gives them free pressure. Can be linked into teleport on read to cause those who try to interrupt between the last two hits of b312 to whiff their moves.
b312: -3 on block. Completely safe. This string can actually be interrupted between all hits by armored moves and Cyber-Sub's parry. But if you read they will you can cancel all hits of the string into teleport. The problem with teleporting here is that if they just continue to block, there's enough recovery to punish all versions of this string canceled into tele. b3~tele is -22, b31~tele is -16, and b312~tele is -14. You don't want to play around with this too much. Don't use b312 as a block string if they have meter and armored moves that lead into big damage. Decent meter building string. On high hitbox characters you can play the same vicinity blast games with this string as you can with 334. You can opt for b31~vb to make it safe on block or give you a safe jump if it hits. And like with 334, if they start ducking the vicinity blast you can just finish the normal string to catch them low blocking since the last hit of b312 is overhead. On hit, this is one of two strings which lead to Raiden's highest midscreen damage at 37%.
