Sektors enhanced upmissle can be godlike. most people use the back3,4 to metal uppercut as a startup
I'm just going to be blunt: Homing missiles are so exploitable. If it's blocked, it does zero chip damage, and so you wasted the meter for nothing. The issue here is that if you do a homing missile, your opponent already knows you're going to try to rush in and capitalize on it. It's really the same problem that Shang Tsung's soul steal has: Your opponent is going to expect you to rush in for the few seconds that it's active, and that tends you towards predictably and overextension. You CAN get a 50/50 mixup if you can time the leg lift such that the followup will hit at the same time as the homing missile, but if you do anything other than a leg lift, they're just going to... Crouch block. I mean, it's not like Sektor has another overhead, so crouch blocking will solve all of your problems. The only way to get guaranteed damage off a homing missile is to throw them during the blockstun, which is almost never worth the meter.
Sektor's meter should generally be going towards his EX telepunch, for several reasons:
1) It's arguably the best wakeup attack in the game. Quick, safe on block, completely invincible (unlike a lot of other "invincible" wakeups) and it grants a full combo punish on hit. Every time you land this, you can follow up with B2 flamethrower for 26% (or B2 1 for 25%). This will really make your opponent respect your wakeup game, and that makes it a lot easier for you to stay out of pressure and keep to zoning distance.
2) It's a solid combo booster. You can use the EX telepunch to boost Sektor's combo damage by roughly 10% (more or less depending on the combo scaling, obviously). The highest damage Sektor can do without the telepunch is 41% damage with a conventional combo (that is, without an up missile to begin the combo). That same combo does 52% with an EX telepunch to continue the combo.
3) It's the only safe way to combo off his overhead. Sektor's only overhead is a 50/50 mixup off his leg lift, and while the low starter is hit confirmable, the overhead (leg lift U4) isn't. You can follow it with a standard telepunch for a longer combo punish, but you'll be running a 50/50 chance of eating a full combo punish every time. The best way to capitalize on this is to use U4 into EX telepunch. You'll still be wasting a meter if it's blocked, but you'll get 27% on hit with a B2 flamethrower followup.
Anyway, for some general Sektor advice:
- B1 is your friend. It has great reach, it's safe on block, it creates enough distance to zone and it basically does uppercut damage. You'll want to poke with this wherever possible, as it's safe pressure with a high payload. You can also get a mixup going with 1 1 B1, by repeating 1 1 and finishing with B1 when you think your opponent will try to get out of the string.
- Zone by alternating up missiles and straight missiles, rather than one or the other. This is someone matchup specific; up missiles are less effective against certain characters, and so you'll just want to throw straight missiles wherever it's safe to do so. The key to zoning with Sektor is to lure your opponent into jumping in through constant missile pressure, then catch them with an anti-air flamethrower. Flamethrower will beat jump in attempts 100% of the time, so don't be afraid to take advantage of it.
- You have a fast uppercut, use it. Sektor has the highest possible uppercut speed in the game, on par with characters like Kung Lao and Nightwolf. This will punish a lot of attacks that cannot be punished otherwise; Cage's flipkick, for instance, can only be punished by a fast uppercut or equally fast special on block. It will also stop certain frame traps and block strings, so you'll want to learn where your uppercut can get you out of trouble.
- 1 2 B1 will punish anything in the game that is even remotely punishable on block, so long as the hitbox covers it. Anything your uppercut won't stop, 1 2 B1 will.
- Don't do naked telepunches off anything but a guaranteed punish. Just... Don't. This is the downfall of most Sektor players, I feel. Every time this is blocked, your opponent gets a full combo punish, and the payoff just isn't worth it. On the other hand, you CAN punish for as much as 34% with no meter and 42% with one bar, so you'll want to know where your guaranteed punish opportunities are in every matchup. You can punish certain projectiles with this, but only if the vulnerability period is wide enough; Reptile's force balls can be easily punished on reaction, for instance, but his acid spit cannot.
- For the love of god, don't watch RedRaptor's combo video, it's terrible. Never, under any circumstances, should you do two EX telepunches in one combo and NEVER end a combo with B1 on an airborne opponent. This is actually
negative on hit, so much so that your opponent gets a wakeup option before you can even safely block. A Raiden or Kano player could punish this with a wakeup attack 100% of the time, just to name a couple examples. I hope I've successfully proven why you shouldn't put any stock in this guy's opinions.
ANYWAY, to wind this down, I'll post some BnB information:
- In most of his BnBs, you can follow 1 2 B1 with either a jumpkick or an F4 4, and then a telepunch. After the telepunch, you can then do another jumpkick into EX telepunch, or B3 4 into EX telepunch. Generally, with the way his combos scale, the normal strings do just as much damage as the jumpkicks do (sometimes very slightly more). This allows you to personalize your BnBs somewhat, according to whatever is more comfortable for you. For instance, you could do:
1 2 B1, jumpkick telepunch, jumpkick EX telepunch, B2 flamethrower
Or:
1 2 B1, F4 4 telepunch, B3 4 EX telepunch, B2 flamethrower
Both of these will do 44% damage, IIRC. In weaker, no meter combos, I believe 1 2 B1 into F4 4 does slightly more damage than 1 2 B1 into jumpkick, but it's usually only a difference of one or two percent. Another example of where this applies is his B3 4 combo opener: You can do B3 4 into telepunch, and then either jumpkick into EX telepunch or F4 4 into EX telepunch. Basically, you can usually substitute F4 4 in place of a jumpkick after a launcher, and then B3 4 after telepunch. You CAN technically do F4 4 after a telepunch, but due to its hitbox, B3 4 is much easier to time and connect with; the one exception is if you start off the B3 4 launcher, because it's earlier in the combo, meaning the gravity scaling is lower. Incase you didn't know, your opponent's gravity increases in combos directly proportionate to the damage they take, which is what makes them harder to juggle as the combo drags on, so you have to work aroud that.
What I'm trying to get at here is that you can use this to build your own BnBs according to personal preference, so long as the damage is still respectable. The rule of thumb is basically that F4 4 is easier to land in lower gravity, since it has a higher hitbox, and B3 4 is easier to land in higher gravity, since your opponent will drop quicker. Your followup at the end should always be the same; either B2 1 or B2 flamethrower, depending on whether or not a knockdown is advantageous. I personally find Sektor's inputs to be a pain in the ass, and finding workarounds for it really helped me to get him down. Hopefully, you'll be able to use this to do the same.
Lastly, Sektor's best kept secret, which I only recently discovered:
Jump-in punch B2 telepunch, B2 1, B3 4 EX telepunch, B2 flamethrower - 52%
...No, I'm not fucking with you, it really does 52% for one bar. This is Sektor's answer to Cyrax's 55% BnB, or Cyber Sub's 57% bomb trap. The timing is RIDICULOUSLY anal, so you're going to want to spend some time in practice with this one. I do stress the jump-in punch at the beginning, as B2 telepunch is unsafe and not hit confirmable; you should only be doing this on a guaranteed punish, such as if you jump over a long attack animation.
The trick to this one is doing the B2 1 after telepunch immediately. You NEED to get this out as soon as possible, and done correctly, it should actually look like the first hit whiffs until they fall onto it. If you delay it too long, B2 1 has too much knockback, and the B3 4 won't be able to reach. Once you land the B3 4, it's smooth sailing from there. The beauty of this telepunch followup is that it works off any naked telepunch: If you get a guaranteed punish attempt, you can use this after a normal telepunch for 34%, no meter. Definitely something to work on.
OKAY, I think that's... Just about anything that could ever be said about Sektor, and hopefully, I haven't lost you. Best of luck, and I hope you can use at least a couple of these points to improve your game. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.
