After playing a set with Gunslinger, I became convinced that even Gunslinger is pretty much low tier. Here are my reasons.
1. No good options after 21122
21122 into gun stance has a gap in between. Even if the opponent doesn't armour through this gap, ur options in gun stance are still pretty meh. Gun stance 3 has a gap which the opponent can backdash or armour. Gun stance 2 doesn't break many armoured reversals anymore. Gun stance 4 does minimum chip damage. 21122 into coin shot is a gimmick. There is a gap between 21122 and coin shot, and also, coin shot is reactable. The only viable option after 21122 is ex sand grenade. Even then, even though u r at +6, there are still no good options because of the pushback. Ppl can jump out of f3, the only mid which can reach, and everything else u do is a hard read. The best option is to do 21122, which leaves u at -1, and bait and armoured reversal or if u r lucky, get a d1 after that.
2. No true 50/50s
f1 is slow as hell and can be reacted too. b33 or b32 is still ok but ur opponent can just block low and call it a day. Also, u will never hit someone with f1 after gun stance cancel anymore.
3. Lack of tick throw options
The only things that tick throw now are 211~tick throw, pokes into tick throw and standing 1 into tick throw. (Maybe more, someone please add on if I miss any tick throw options). Moreover, ur opponent can option select the 211~tick throw. The lack of tick throw hurts Erron Black's alrd weak offense.
4.U can beat his wakeup options pretty easily.
Erron Black's armoured moves in gunslinger are ex slide and ex sandtrap. On wakeup, the opponent can just neutral jump kick or punch to beat these options. If u do ex sandtrap, the njk or njp will catch u. If u do ex slide, it will whiff and u wasted 1 bar of meter to be at fullscreen.
5.Zoning is pretty meh
Gun stance 4 is slow. Sand grenade is also not a good zoning tool as it is also slow. The only viable one is coin shot. EB gets beat but good zoner, HQT and Quan Chi, pretty easily.
6. Lack of a good mid.
f3 is slow at 14 frames and jails only into ex sand grenade. f2 is also slow at 14 frames but f24 jails into ex sand grenade. Because of the lack of good options after ex sand grenade, f2 and f3 are pretty bad mids.
7.Gaps in strings into specials
Only f24, f3, 21122 and b32 jail into ex sand grenade. (Please add on if I miss out anything). Every string into coin shot or gun stance has a gap.
With that, I conclude why Gunslinger is low tier. I welcome differing opinions and if u do have them, please post them in this thread. Thanks for reading.
I meant to address this yesterday but lost track of time. Let me help you out. My numbers will correspond with your numbers.
*Like I say with all my long messages, pretend it's orange.
1. Everything that cancels into SOS will have a gap, and Erron sadly can't make it safe by pressing SOS1. If you're worried about how 21122 plays into all this, consider the speed in which Erron initiates the stance itself. It's too fast to consistently react to. In fact, I'd go as far as to say the opponent armors it on a read. Try doing only 21122, linking nothing after, then blocking a reversal. At most you are safe and the opponent spent a bar without hitting you. You're also only -1 and equipped with a 7f d1.
I have to disagree with your opinion of SOS4. It's -14 but does, what, a little over 4% chip and leaves you outside jump distance? Not to mention the opponent can't jump out of it and only certain specials can evade it when linked after blockstrings (provided they didn't armor the SOS to begin with which, let's face it, will not happen every time).
2. In hindsight I think I personally responded inappropriately to the f1 change. I had become so accustomed to the disgusting meta conquered by 50/50s and armored launchers that I assumed Erron fell to the bottom of the bucket. But he didn't. The f1 change is more beneficial to the overall MKX experience; if anything it's a blessing in disguise that it was slowed because you'll be trained to use it less frequently, thereby making your opponent more prone to blocking low.
Though b33 does quite a bit of damage (being the highest damaging starter other than 21122) you should never use it since it doesn't jail into EXSG and lacks the cancel advantage to prevent the opponent from simply jumping over your head. Use b32.
3. Tick throws are as follows: 1, 11b3, 21, b2, d1, d3, d4. For my playstyle I find the most success with 21 and d1, but you should experiment and do what's best for you. If I could have my way 11b3 would be deleted from the moves list. Its only purpose seems to be getting Erron players to lose.
As for what to do about the OS against the 21 tick? I don't know what to say other than commit to the string. Chances are they'll either duck and punish or simply eat the string. That isn't even to mention you'll most likely not suffer a combo, or that your opponent won't always have a bar because the truth is that they won't. No one will OS the tick with armor at all possible occurrences.
4. He struggles as much as most other characters in the current patch. We're not all blessed like Kano or Mystic or Possessed. You can beat all of Scorpion's wakeups in every variation with an NJK too. Not to mention, depending on the knockdown situation, you can beat or trade with an NJK by doing d2. I think Erron's d2 is 8f?
5. His zoning pales pretty overtly against other zoners, but not everyone is a zoner. Some variations have inferior projectiles to Gunslinger, either because they do less damage or have less hit advantage. Some variations don't even have projectiles.
6. F2 and d1 are pretty good mids. Consider Jason's b1, 13f fast. That's a good mid right? Erron's f2 is 14f and travels just a far (even if Erron is a Jedi knight).
7. Everything Erron does jails into EXSG except 1, 11, 11b3, f1, f12, f13, b33, 2, 21, 211, 2112, and the pokes. The only other gap I can think of is... b32d1? (The gap is here: b32*d1).
