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Lao any good?

Espio

Kokomo
Lead Moderator
What he has going for him.
Safe hit confirmable mid in forward 4.
Forward 1 is a ten frame safe mid that can stagger.
Forward 1,2 is also safe.
Back 3,2,1 is a safe low starter that ends in low and can potentially set up special cancel scenarios.
A projectile you can make mid and control its arc with down low, straight and upward arc.
Dive kick.
Teleport has a safe overhead and mid option plus grabs.
Good down 1
Z Hat can have strong frame advantage and hits low (obviously you're not gonna be just doing it for free, but it has utility).

I think he has everything he needs to play a well rounded game, it's just nothing is free and he requires a player to utilize his tools well. Everyone saying Baraka and Jade are good and he has the mids, and the mobility to be on par with characters like them (not saying 100% equal, but definitely a very serviceable character if you have the precision to play him).


hes aight , just have to play him like a maniac
I don't think that's true, he has enough going for him that you have latitude and flexibility. Whiffed dive kicks ain't bad though. That's probably why people think he's kind of bleh, this isn't MK9 Kung Lao where you're gonna be just doing shit and laughing like a lunatic. I played Kung Laos that do that and they tend to get blown up by Jade, Cage, Baraka or anyone that can be patient. You're not killing me with yolo dive kick spin or teleport unless I'm playing really sub-optimal.
 

trufenix

bye felicia
knock down pressure, kinda like Robin's batrang.
That sounds right, but I have no idea how to set that up with new Lao, also, if it hits them, they go down and you get completely reset.

The frame data in training says its massively positive on block. Like +20. You probably wont get the move out within punish range though since its startup is real slow so dont try and use it in strings
The amp one is crazy on block, so I think that's the point, but no one stays down or still long enough for it to matter and if it hits them, pressure over. Maybe in the corner, but I play a more zoning lao and have no idea how to tset that up.

Watch Forever King play Kung Lao. He has some great pressure with z hat.
Got a link? Every time I actually watch him he's playing Shao Kahn or fucking Geras. And all watching those characters teaches me is that a patch is definitely coming.
 

trufenix

bye felicia
What he has going for him.
Sorry for picking this apart, but I really want to learn him next. Thank you, btw.

Safe hit confirmable mid in forward 4.
It's safe, but have you actually tried the hit confirm? Is there a buffer trick or something, cause if you wait to see if the second kick hits you're fucked.

Back 3,2,1 is a safe low starter that ends in low and can potentially set up special cancel scenarios.
I feel like there's a gap in there, but I'd love to hear about special cancel scenarios.

Teleport has a safe overhead and mid option plus grabs.
Teleport is a bill in this game, prove me otherwise. Being surrounded by outrageous anti air KB punishes and opponents having aabout a million options on oki makes it absolutely not worth just throwing the z hat instead if they're actually going to sit there that long.

I don't think that's true, he has enough going for him that you have latitude and flexibility. Whiffed dive kicks ain't bad though. That's probably why people think he's kind of bleh, this isn't MK9 Kung Lao where you're gonna be just doing shit and laughing like a lunatic. I played Kung Laos that do that and they tend to get blown up by Jade, Cage, Baraka or anyone that can be patient. You're not killing me with yolo dive kick spin or teleport unless I'm playing really sub-optimal.
As consistent Baraka player since the beta, I think NRS made a conscious effort to make the yolo character type a real thing. It just works too well with too many of the characters to not be intentional.
 

trufenix

bye felicia
Did I say Forever King? I meant Foxy Grandpa lol
Ah, Foxy. I hadn't seen him play Lao since summit where it was clear he didn't know her anywhere near as good as Cassie. That said, as happy as I am that he's repping him and making him look solid, it doesn't look like he knows anything I don't, he's just way better at MK and more importantly, sonix fox has no kung lao practice. Sitting there ducking while 2,1 floats harmlessly over your head and not even pressing d3 is tell tale lack of matchup knowledge.

It looks like he deliberately drops his enders to set up Z hat pressure, he can't hit confirm f+3 either, and fuck me his reactions to raw hits are sooooo good. Yeah, if I could f+1, spin every single thing my opponent sticks out I'd be in top 8 too! )=
 

xSkeletonSmasherx69

NOBODY CAN TRULY DEFEAT ME
Ah, Foxy. I hadn't seen him play Lao since summit where it was clear he didn't know her anywhere near as good as Cassie. That said, as happy as I am that he's repping him and making him look solid, it doesn't look like he knows anything I don't, he's just way better at MK and more importantly, sonix fox has no kung lao practice. Sitting there ducking while 2,1 floats harmlessly over your head and not even pressing d3 is tell tale lack of matchup knowledge.

It looks like he deliberately drops his enders to set up Z hat pressure, he can't hit confirm f+3 either, and fuck me his reactions to raw hits are sooooo good. Yeah, if I could f+1, spin every single thing my opponent sticks out I'd be in top 8 too! )=
He’s a great player and the z hat pressure is legit. You could be that good easily.
 

JTC

ABILITY TO FREEZE
It's safe, but have you actually tried the hit confirm? Is there a buffer trick or something, cause if you wait to see if the second kick hits you're fucked.
Yes its hit confirmable. You check the first hit not the second.
 

Espio

Kokomo
Lead Moderator
Sorry for picking this apart, but I really want to learn him next. Thank you, btw.



It's safe, but have you actually tried the hit confirm? Is there a buffer trick or something, cause if you wait to see if the second kick hits you're fucked.



I feel like there's a gap in there, but I'd love to hear about special cancel scenarios.



Teleport is a bill in this game, prove me otherwise. Being surrounded by outrageous anti air KB punishes and opponents having aabout a million options on oki makes it absolutely not worth just throwing the z hat instead if they're actually going to sit there that long.



As consistent Baraka player since the beta, I think NRS made a conscious effort to make the yolo character type a real thing. It just works too well with too many of the characters to not be intentional.
See if the first hit lands and then do the confirm since it's a one hit multi-kick normal.

There is a gap. Jade has gaps, Skarlet has gaps, Erron has gaps you can down poke him out of and they're still showing up and doing work and all parts of the string are safe so the one interruptible gap you can stagger and be -7 but it's not something most people are going to be interrupting. Back 3,2 by itself is a good string and it benefits from its natural delay for sneaking things in.

It's fine if you feel that way about teleport, but I bet you if I condition you properly I'll hit you with the options multiple times in a set. It's just not free in this game. If you're doing it while your opponent is waiting for you to teleport, that's a personal choice. He has dive kick, jump kick, throws, projectiles and other stuff if people wanna camp and wait for the teleport. They can't cover every option you have and you can delay your rise from teleport too for additional mind games.

You're also welcome to play yolo, but as Sub-Zero says, "is a demonstration required?" I don't see what's "yolo" about Baraka when he has safe mids, safe staggers etc. and they're all his best strings that are this way. His zoning is pretty safe too considering his versatility. I guess people's versions of yolo are very different from mine?? I just don't see it. If they intended him to be played that way, I don't think he'd be as safe as he is or as versatile. Playing risky or conservative with characters like him is a personal choice.
 
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