Guide - Liu Kang Liu Kang Living Guide Thread

[Ares_Supreme]

So i've been trying F44 FBxxRC and it doesn't seem like a block string... I will continue to practice it to see what i'm doing wrong.

 

[WITNESS]

So i've been trying F44 FBxxRC and it doesn't seem like a block string... I will continue to practice it to see what i'm doing wrong.

Its not unless you do f12.

 

[SLH7671]

I can tell you a good drinking game, take a shot for every string that grants advantage on hit with Liu Kang.

 

[AK L0rdoftheFLY]

The problem with his block string pressure is that he's not scary off of anything on hit and he gets outlined at the same time. Very honest character but doesn't abuse anything really.

holy shit an Eric Warda siting!

 

[its_ezie]

Disagree with the last statement. He gets to play his game against most of the cast and there is next to no risk in anything he does. He is good at zoning and he can deal well with people once they get in. He's a nightmare in the corner as well. I don't think a character who's fundamentally as solid as he is will ever get phased out. It depends what happens with patches though.

completely agree. i think he can play footsies pretty well too. Only problem i have is going up against GM sub zero. Your worst nightmare is trading fireball with iceball. How do you personally deal with people once they get in on you?

 

[its_ezie]

For anyone who is new to Liu Kang. This short round demonstrates just how deadly pressure can be in MK games.

b12 is 0 on block right?

 

[Phosferrax]

b12 is 0 on block right?

b12 is about minus I think. Used for breaking armour if you read it.

 

[Ares_Supreme]

b12 is about minus I think. Used for breaking armour if you read it.

yeah i agree. wouldnt recommend what i did here unless you notice that ur opponent has no idea how to deal with it. I usually use it when I read that they are about to armor just once instead of 40 times like this video.

 

[AssassiN]

With the next patch, it looks like Liu's F21 might not be +2 on block anymore:

Corrected many normal attacks that were intended to be 0 or negative on block were being overridden to be +2

 

[darkyjolie]

Why??? f**k

 

[kaseyk]

I dont think it was +2 he is negative on everything outside of f213 fbrc

 

[AssassiN]

I dont think it was +2 he is negative on everything outside of f213 fbrc

It was not supposed to be +2, but because of a bug or a mistake it was.
You could use B12 to punish almost any attempt at poking out. If you think they would block you could input F21 again.
Liu's should check the frame-data after the patch, a few things have changed. The cancel advantage is still wrong.

According to the frame-data:
F21 is now -3 on block(tested it and that seems to be the case)
1 and 111 are +2 on block
3 and 4 are +2 on block

There is simply no reason anymore to use F21 on block.
Not sure what the point is of using those normals and strings on block, they have no range and 111 easily whiffs on crouching opponents.

 

[Phosferrax]

Cool, Liu gets over nerfed again. It might still work because of the long delay between the 2nd and 3rd hit of f213. But why did they make it minus and not neutral? The poke/block option select would still make it pointless against anyone with a 8f poke. This affects FF in a much heavier capacity than the other variants.

 

[Shrewskis]

What are you guys using to anti air? standing 1 doesn't work like mk9. I've had a little luck from d1 but not really. I've mostly been using d2 but it's not great. Any suggestions? hows u4?

 

[kaseyk]

It was not supposed to be +2, but because of a bug or a mistake it was.
You could use B12 to punish almost any attempt at poking out. If you think they would block you could input F21 again.
Liu's should check the frame-data after the patch, a few things have changed. The cancel advantage is still wrong.

According to the frame-data:
F21 is now -3 on block(tested it and that seems to be the case)
1 and 111 are +2 on block
3 and 4 are +2 on block

There is simply no reason anymore to use F21 on block.
Not sure what the point is of using those normals and strings on block, they have no range and 111 easily whiffs on crouching opponents.

exactly those strings that are plus are all trash . i never trust frame data always seemed to me f21 was never really plus 2 felt more 0 or -2.

to me the patch changed nothing , was hoping for fixes though like the whiff issues and orb breaking

@Shrewskis liu doesnt have a good AA , u4 and d2 work about the same except u4 allows for follow up both are unreliable .
iafb are good for air to air and i find best option is to get out of the way of air attacks

 

[Ares_Supreme]

If I have the space and can read the jump I always b2 and they go smashing into the ground. i cant do iafb in thise game

 

[Shrewskis]

@kaseyk thanks man. I'll just try n bait the jump in and f4 pressure them and b2 like I've been doing. It may be worth learning the u4 aa though for weak jump in punch characters though

 

[its_ezie]

ps

b12 is about minus I think. Used for breaking armour if you read it.

psh i have a hard time doing that. i actually just broke armor from jaxs dash using f4. shocked me because i wasnt trying to

 

[Gurimmjaw]

Could someone explain to me why NRS keeps nerfing Liu Kang? I swear every patch there seems to be a Liu Kang nerf. The character doesn't even have a true 50/50 or a good overhead. Wouldn't surprise me if NRS nerfs him in the next patch as well. This getting a bit ridiculous.

 

[WITNESS]

Liu Kang didn't get nerf people he can still do all the same stuff before stop whining

 

[kaseyk]

Liu Kang didn't get nerf people he can still do all the same stuff before stop whining

I agree nothing noticeable changed that i can tell . If anything liu is better do to other characters nerfs .

Aside from dvorah being my kryptonite mu lol liu's in a pretty good spot after the latest patch .

 

[Alakai]

Liu Kang didn't get nerf people he can still do all the same stuff before stop whining

I disagree. Losing f21 was a big nerf to ff pressure. I'm trying to replace it with 111 now but it starts with a high and simetimes the second punch whiffs. Standing 3 or 4 being +2 now don't do much either. I'm not saying liu is ruined but I think that ff got hit harder than dualist or df.

 

[AssassiN]

Liu Kang didn't get nerf people he can still do all the same stuff before stop whining

You really think that?
For Dragon Fire it's not a big deal, he still has his fireball cancels while Dualist still has stance changes and orbs for pressure.
But Flame Fist has absolutely nothing but zoning and chip, atleast with F21 he had a frame-trap. I really liked using that frame-trap, now it's back to F4 or throw with sometimes using B2 after FB cancels.

I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out that FF now is Liu's worst variation instead of Dualist.

 

[WITNESS]

You really think that?
For Dragon Fire it's not a big deal, he still has his fireball cancels while Dualist still has stance changes and orbs for pressure.
But Flame Fist has absolutely nothing but zoning and chip, atleast with F21 he had a frame-trap. I really liked using that frame-trap, now it's back to F4 or throw with sometimes using B2 after FB cancels.

I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out that FF now is Liu's worst variation instead of Dualist.

Yes because I never needed to use F21 and I still do good against people

 

[Charybdis]

I'm planning on switching mains every month, cos there's too many characters I want to play and I want to get as much mileage out of MKX as possible. I've used FF with Liu since release and will be switching in 2 weeks time and I think that might be good timing.

Liu's fireball cancels have a pretty high execution requirement. I can do them in practice 9/10 times but I don't trust myself to do that in live sets, let alone in a tournament. I've always veered wildly between zoners and grapplers so I was using FF for the zoning and using Liu's great pressure with F44, B21, F21 etc. But really, I can feel this nerf. It's not huge and it doesn't stop the core gameplay of FF, which is the zoning and getting a 25% meterless combo ending with the buff straight into meaty low fireballs, but it absolutely restricts you to that. Liu just doesn't have that pressure game anymore. Don't get me wrong, B21 is a great string for stuffing wakeups and armour and I have a lot of corner success mixing B21 into D1 with B2 and a NJK, and a run-in F444 string really catches people out (provided you don't mash out the jumping kick at the end which is begging for a D2) but unless you want to play a full zoning game, stay away from FF. At the highest level, presuming you can hit your cancels consistently, it's now easily his worst variation.

I agree that F21 isn't key to Liu's game and it doesn't affect the overall viability of the character, but I dunno, I feel it subtracts from his pressure significantly in FF. It could just be psychosomatic though