So I had about 10 hours on Friday with Duelist where I played
@Pig Of The Hut mostly and had some practice time. I also had about 2 hours today with smarr and homelee and have a few thoughts to share.
I can't stop thinking about how I can make this variation successful and what setups and strats will be effective so I am just going to put my thoughts on paper and talk it out with guys who already are playing him like
@Cat and guys who are thirsty for knowledge about Liu Kang.
Also because I don't remember the names of stuff I'll use input numbers and made up names.
"LIGHT" stance:
In Duelist you start off in the game in light stance which gives you access to 3 unique moves.
1) high fireball - decent basic fireball but nothing special. EX version knocks down and is very very plus on block so you can use as a good frame trap on block. In the corner if it hits you can juggle after for a decent combo. It can also be done in the air.
2) low fireball - No EX version but other than that it is the same as above.
3) heal chant - This moves heals you at .05% ever little bit. I mean...if you have a time out on your hands and you want to troll or get a little bit of life back real quick. It cannot be cancelled into any specials or X-ray but it can be dashed forwards or backwards out of it. I think that is kinda dumb and overall it seems more useless than Cyborgs ever was.
Combos don't seem to change and but the value of this variation is having two stances that work better against different variations but it all being in one character. The projectile game in light stance differes so much from dark stance that it can drastically change some MU.
"DARK" stance:
The fireball and setup game is very different here so I'll go through them like above.
1) high orb - This special has NO hitbox until it is cancelled. It travels across the screen at a slower pace and can be stopped at any point in its trajectory with db1. (The moves list says it is fdb 1 but I was able to do it with just db1 thankfully.) Even after it is cancelled, the hitbox doesn't appear right away but rather it acts just like Martian Manhunters regular orbs, exploding after a certain amount of time. When it explodes on block it appears to act as a mid hitting normal that is neutral but on hit pops you up for a combo. This can be done in the air as well.
The MB version does more damage and explodes almost immediately after it is cancelled and is more plus on block. It also grants a pop up and combo on hit.
2) Low orb - Acts 100% like the high orb except that it is lower to the ground. It is not actually a low which is a bummer...however it can be fun to fill the screen with orbs at different heights to fluster your opponent. There is no limit to how many orbs you can have on screen at a time.
3) power charge - has 3 stages and can be held down or cancelled out of by dashing. It actually charges to level 3 rather quickly and can be linked after a string for quickness. It causes the orbs to explode more quickly and do significantly more damage. For example, a MB orbs that hits does 18% damage and pops you up for much more damage.
I much prefer the dark stance when playing pigs kenshi due to his reflect and teleport in possessed variation but against
@AK Smarrgasm I had more success (lol don't get your salt on me) with the light stance against his sub zero. Subs ice clone absorbs all projectiles in both stances regardless of if they are cancelled. Kenshi cannot reflect the orbs so each stance has an easier time and I shouldn't have to switch variations as much.
Strategy:
I foundmyself cancelling most strings into his spin fist (db2). It is -1 and causes a far knockdown that lets me set up orbs or run in for oki.
His combos felt limited due to not having many launchers like the variation cat has been using. Once I got people used to seeing the strings into db2 I would cancel mid string to orbs and instant j1 or d1/d3 and do it again. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't but I know execution will be challenging and that it will keep my interest.
I'm hoping someone else has had some time with this variation and can give me new things to try.
Cheers!
