Sabrewylf
Noob
Gonna point out the obvious first and foremost and say that I am not in any way close to an EVO champion.
Shao has a few glaring weaknesses in my opinion so you really need to pick a kameo that patches those up at least somewhat.
But I'm going to rip the band-aid off immediately: I don't think Shao is that great. I could very well be wrong. If I am, good.
If I'm not wrong, all the more reason to really think hard about what kameo to pick...
Kameos can do three distinct things:
Jax (HP 1200, throw damage 110/160/210)
Assist wise Jax doesn't do anything of worth that I have found. However if you want the highest health pool and beefy throw damage at the cost of meter, he's your guy.
Jax doesn't help your b1/f2/b3 at all so I wouldn't recommend him, but if you want to make throws your primary mixup he's the best choice.
Kung Lao (HP 1100, throw damage 120)
Kung Lao can turn all three above mentioned normals into combos.
However you will remain unsafe if they are blocked. Kung Lao also has a low hat toss that might help you in neutral. He's workable, but I wouldn't recommend him.
Motaro (HP 1050, throw damage 120)
Motaro can only turn f2 into a combo starter, and it remains unsafe. While he can't turn b3 into a combo, he can create a b32 mixup with his low fireball that is also +4 on block. All of Motaro's assists are very good for Shao's neutral, but he does make Shao a lot less beefy especially when compared to Darrius and Jax. Motaro is a great choice if you want to pad Shao's neutral.
Darrius (HP 1150, throw damage 120)
Darrius can turn f2 and b3 into safe combo starters which is huge. It also makes his b1 (fastest mid) hitconfirmable. His assist follow-ups can also give you way more mix-up possibilities. However in neutral Darrius is useless.
Sektor (HP 1100, throw damage 110)
Sektor can technically do what Darrius does, and he can do it twice as often. Sektor's rocket only costs half of the kameo bar, Darrius' kick costs the entire bar.
However Sektor's rocket starts up so slow that you can only really use it after knockdowns. It will also telegraph the incoming mixup a lot harder.
Other options
Cyrax and Goro can sort of do what Darrius does, but they don't lead into full combos. Instead the opponent will just be jailed. Compared to an actual combo, that's horrible.
Conclusions
The only decent choices seem to be Darrius, Motaro, and Sektor. Maybe Kung Lao.
Darrius bumps your health to 1150 and can turn b1, f2, and b3 all into safe combo starters. His assist follow-ups can also make Shao's oki a lot deadlier.
Motaro on the other hand can only turn f2 into an unsafe combo starter and can turn b3 into a mixup string with the low fireball that is + on block. The rest of Motaro's assist are incredibly useful in neutral.
Kung Lao is a weird compromise. He can turn all three into unsafe combo starters and the low hat helps a bit in neutral.
And finally Sektor can do what Darrius do, but realistically only after knockdowns. He can do it twice as often though. I think he is more helpful in neutral than Darrius and Kung Lao, but definitely less than Motaro.
Shao has a few glaring weaknesses in my opinion so you really need to pick a kameo that patches those up at least somewhat.
But I'm going to rip the band-aid off immediately: I don't think Shao is that great. I could very well be wrong. If I am, good.
If I'm not wrong, all the more reason to really think hard about what kameo to pick...
Kameos can do three distinct things:
- they potentially alter your health
- they directly determine your forward throw
- they have different kinds of assists
Jax (HP 1200, throw damage 110/160/210)
Assist wise Jax doesn't do anything of worth that I have found. However if you want the highest health pool and beefy throw damage at the cost of meter, he's your guy.
Jax doesn't help your b1/f2/b3 at all so I wouldn't recommend him, but if you want to make throws your primary mixup he's the best choice.
Kung Lao (HP 1100, throw damage 120)
Kung Lao can turn all three above mentioned normals into combos.
However you will remain unsafe if they are blocked. Kung Lao also has a low hat toss that might help you in neutral. He's workable, but I wouldn't recommend him.
Motaro (HP 1050, throw damage 120)
Motaro can only turn f2 into a combo starter, and it remains unsafe. While he can't turn b3 into a combo, he can create a b32 mixup with his low fireball that is also +4 on block. All of Motaro's assists are very good for Shao's neutral, but he does make Shao a lot less beefy especially when compared to Darrius and Jax. Motaro is a great choice if you want to pad Shao's neutral.
Darrius (HP 1150, throw damage 120)
Darrius can turn f2 and b3 into safe combo starters which is huge. It also makes his b1 (fastest mid) hitconfirmable. His assist follow-ups can also give you way more mix-up possibilities. However in neutral Darrius is useless.
Sektor (HP 1100, throw damage 110)
Sektor can technically do what Darrius does, and he can do it twice as often. Sektor's rocket only costs half of the kameo bar, Darrius' kick costs the entire bar.
However Sektor's rocket starts up so slow that you can only really use it after knockdowns. It will also telegraph the incoming mixup a lot harder.
Other options
Cyrax and Goro can sort of do what Darrius does, but they don't lead into full combos. Instead the opponent will just be jailed. Compared to an actual combo, that's horrible.
Conclusions
The only decent choices seem to be Darrius, Motaro, and Sektor. Maybe Kung Lao.
Darrius bumps your health to 1150 and can turn b1, f2, and b3 all into safe combo starters. His assist follow-ups can also make Shao's oki a lot deadlier.
Motaro on the other hand can only turn f2 into an unsafe combo starter and can turn b3 into a mixup string with the low fireball that is + on block. The rest of Motaro's assist are incredibly useful in neutral.
Kung Lao is a weird compromise. He can turn all three into unsafe combo starters and the low hat helps a bit in neutral.
And finally Sektor can do what Darrius do, but realistically only after knockdowns. He can do it twice as often though. I think he is more helpful in neutral than Darrius and Kung Lao, but definitely less than Motaro.
