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Kung Lao General Discussion thread

Marlow

Marlow

Champion
LEGEND said:
I would say its a particularly big issue for Lao. He is completely incapable of doing anything without either Kameo or EX meter. No disjointed footsie tools. Shit projectiles.
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He's an extreme rushdown character. He's designed to try and live point blank to the other character. I don't think his projectiles or footsies were ever meant to be strong.
 
Marlow

Marlow

Champion
Why would he need a strong ranged normal when his gameplan is about getting in and being right next to the opponent? To me, the character is design is that when he's right next to the opponent, he's got the better tool kit. The caveat is that he has a harder time getting in. Most of his moves seem to support this, like his nice S2 and strings off of it.

If he were to get buffs, I'd rather see him either get a potential tool to help him get in (They could make Spin be this thing, since it's not really being used otherwise), or better damage/reward for when he does get in. Giving him a safe string that leads to a meterless combo just seems boring to me. It'd certainly be a buff, and who wouldn't want that for their character, but I don't think it aligns as well with the initial concept of the character in MK1.
 
LEGEND

LEGEND

YES!
Marlow said:
Why would he need a strong ranged normal when his gameplan is about getting in and being right next to the opponent? To me, the character is design is that when he's right next to the opponent, he's got the better tool kit. The caveat is that he has a harder time getting in. Most of his moves seem to support this, like his nice S2 and strings off of it.

If he were to get buffs, I'd rather see him either get a potential tool to help him get in (They could make Spin be this thing, since it's not really being used otherwise), or better damage/reward for when he does get in. Giving him a safe string that leads to a meterless combo just seems boring to me. It'd certainly be a buff, and who wouldn't want that for their character, but I don't think it aligns as well with the initial concept of the character in MK1.
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I think the more important part is the "good mids". You can't have a rushdown character that the opponent doesn't have to respect even when +3 and right in your face.

the second part "safe strings that combo without spending meter" would be nice since that is another weakness of Lao's. Its a weakness that a grip of other characters share, sure. But I don't think it makes sense for a rushdown character to be this way.

Edit: I think they really wanted a straight forward mixup character with Lao. But His F2 takes too many resources to make it safe or deal any kind of damage, and the other end is B4 which again requires resources in order to get any damage off of. To top it off he has B33 / B34. Again requiring resources to get any damage off of B33, and while difficult, It is technically Fuzz-able to a degree. So to me his design is kind of a failure. The buff suggestions would allow him to play the game, or they could fix his "intended design"
 
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Marlow

Marlow

Champion
Just wondering, what characters actually have safe strings that combo without spending meter? I feel like most of those strings usually start on a high, or a slower ranged mid like Havik's B22.

Why doesn't the opponent need to respect Lao when he's +3? His S2 is going to beat any mid or high they press, and if Lao reads a low like D1 he can block and punish with his own D1 which leads to a jailed string, or he can beat them with one of his own fast lows and again get a chance to jail and pressure. I'm legit asking by the way, this isn't me trying to be a dick, I just want to understand.

Also, is meter somehow hard to generate? I guess I don't see needing meter to launch as that big a deal, since it seems relatively easy to build.
 
Marlow

Marlow

Champion
I think giving him a better close range mid, to enforce his 21 string, would make sense. Something relatively safe, but not plus, maybe in the -4 range. Maybe make his B2 have better hit advantage on it's own?

They could speed up his B3, but that string already leads to a safe 50/50, so it's already kind of strong.

Not sure what other move they could adjust.
 
just_2swift

just_2swift

MK1 is the best MK period.
Make spin a just frame launcher when it's cancelled at the right frame it would launch.

Gives us lao players to hang our hats on similar to MKXL orbital hat 44 2 frame link
 
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Marlow

Marlow

Champion
Would it be crazy if they made spin -6 on block (and kept it how it is currently, with it not launching)? That way he'd have a tool that could potentially get him in to the range where he wants to be, at the risk of the armor being broken or getting in but having to block a mix up.
 
LEGEND

LEGEND

YES!
Marlow said:
Just wondering, what characters actually have safe strings that combo without spending meter? I feel like most of those strings usually start on a high, or a slower ranged mid like Havik's B22.

Why doesn't the opponent need to respect Lao when he's +3? His S2 is going to beat any mid or high they press, and if Lao reads a low like D1 he can block and punish with his own D1 which leads to a jailed string, or he can beat them with one of his own fast lows and again get a chance to jail and pressure. I'm legit asking by the way, this isn't me trying to be a dick, I just want to understand.

Also, is meter somehow hard to generate? I guess I don't see needing meter to launch as that big a deal, since it seems relatively easy to build.
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The main thing a good mid would do is get a punish on more of the low pokes that people mash after 21 is blocked. It also would discourage micro ducking. Your summary of his close game is correct. Its just not very good. I figure this gameplay would be stronger given he has no ranged normals / way to play footsies outside of D4. He should have an up close game that is better than something most characters can do.

Marlow said:
Also did I imagine it, or did they change it so that regular held spin can also move now, not just EX spin?
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regular spin can move its just very slow.
 
Marlow

Marlow

Champion
Wouldn't D4 stuff most low pokes after 21? Or if they're mashing D1, just block and then it's a free D1 into pressure?


LEGEND said:
regular spin can move its just very slow.
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They should speed it up. It would be a cool tool, without being braindead or over powered.
 
LEGEND

LEGEND

YES!
Marlow said:
Wouldn't D4 stuff most low pokes after 21? Or if they're mashing D1, just block and then it's a free D1 into pressure?
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yeah thats correct. But thats part of what i'm saying. He obviously has things to do. Its just not very good or unique in comparison to most of the cast. . . for a character that is missing other standard tools for some reason unknown.

Even his B33/B34 mixup is technically fuzzy-able. My buddy is fairly consistent at it. Feels very bad to have a low reward mix-up that isn't opening someone up
 
LEGEND

LEGEND

YES!
So OnlineCale used Lao/Sektor in Grand finals to win the recent local here in Socal. Came from Losers side so he had to reset the bracket and went on to 3-0 iirc.

I've used this team quite a bit, but I didn't really see the vision until watching him play. You basically just play lame and fish for instant hat toss. On hit you shoot a rocket out and go in for a 50/50 on their wakeup. If you don't have Sektor loaded then just keep playing lame. Also I did not know this, but you get a beefy throw combo from double rocket. like 26%

It definitely seems like a good pick against certain characters that can't easily punish the air hats, either on read or wiff.
 
just_2swift

just_2swift

MK1 is the best MK period.
LEGEND said:
So OnlineCale used Lao/Sektor in Grand finals to win the recent local here in Socal. Came from Losers side so he had to reset the bracket and went on to 3-0 iirc.

I've used this team quite a bit, but I didn't really see the vision until watching him play. You basically just play lame and fish for instant hat toss. On hit you shoot a rocket out and go in for a 50/50 on their wakeup. If you don't have Sektor loaded then just keep playing lame. Also I did not know this, but you get a beefy throw combo from double rocket. like 26%

It definitely seems like a good pick against certain characters that can't easily punish the air hats, either on read or wiff.
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Nah I'm not settling for that. Lao needs buffs. Restore the wushi. Bring pride back to the white lotus.
 
M2Dave

M2Dave

Zoning Master
Trickywizard said:
What happened to Goro? He got nerfed?
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Kung Lao's EX b,f+2 got nerfed.

The second hit only comes out on hit.

If you want the second hit to come out on block, you have to spend another bar, but you are safe at -2 on block.

Because of this nerf, Goro is no longer Kung Lao's best kameo.

If you want to launch after EX b,f+2, Mavado is better than Goro because Mavado's launching kameo attacks have a shorter cooldown than Goro's up punch.

Trickywizard said:
Is Sektor and Lao still best kameos?
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Sektor is the best, arguably followed by Janet and Mavado, albeit Goro remains a solid pick.

You can play an effective zoning, hit-and-run gameplay style with Sektor.

Zone with instant aerial hat, which is the buff that he received to compensate for the armor nerf, and threaten f+2 or b+4 after calling Sektor's missile. When timed properly, the missile makes f+2 and b+4 launch.

Sektor's double missile leads to back throw combos.

Kung Lao's b+1, the six frame normal attack, and 2,1, +3 on block, guarantee kameo teleport.

2,1,2 jails into the first hit of Sektor's flamethrower.

Sektor also gives you access to the best fatal blow in the game.

Most recent tier lists rank Kung Lao very low. The reality is that current Kung Lao/Sektor is likely better than pre-patch Kung Lao/Goro.

You have to be willing to zone and play lame, which is understandably not how most Kung Lao players want to play.

For me personally, Kung Lao/Sektor is the most fun that I have ever had with this game.
 
Trickywizard

Trickywizard

Noob
M2Dave said:
Kung Lao's EX b,f+2 got nerfed.

The second hit only comes out on hit.

If you want the second hit to come out on block, you have to spend another bar, but you are safe at -2 on block.

Because of this nerf, Goro is no longer Kung Lao's best kameo.

If you want to launch after EX b,f+2, Mavado is better than Goro because Mavado's launching kameo attacks have a shorter cooldown than Goro's up punch.



Sektor is the best, arguably followed by Janet and Mavado, albeit Goro remains a solid pick.

You can play an effective zoning, hit-and-run gameplay style with Sektor.

Zone with instant aerial hat, which is the buff that he received to compensate for the armor nerf, and threaten f+2 or b+4 after calling Sektor's missile. When timed properly, the missile makes f+2 and b+4 launch.

Sektor's double missile leads to back throw combos.

Kung Lao's b+1, the six frame normal attack, and 2,1, +3 on block, guarantee kameo teleport.

2,1,2 jails into the first hit of Sektor's flamethrower.

Sektor also gives you access to the best fatal blow in the game.

Most recent tier lists rank Kung Lao very low. The reality is that current Kung Lao/Sektor is likely better than pre-patch Kung Lao/Goro.

You have to be willing to zone and play lame, which is understandably not how most Kung Lao players want to play.

For me personally, Kung Lao/Sektor is the most fun that I have ever had with this game.
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Thanks!

I agreed Lao is very fun to play with Sektor.
I tried JC for like 2 months and it was effective but boring. I’m having way more fun with Lao/Sektor now.
Might drop JC and main Lao.
 
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