Zviko
Warrior
I mean, I can do that too but even pros don't flawless block every gap every single time. Also, we are talking about on hit, not on block. Why would I even do storm cell on block after that string.
I mean, I can do that too but even pros don't flawless block every gap every single time. Also, we are talking about on hit, not on block. Why would I even do storm cell on block after that string.
I was talking about B31 on hit. I don't mind the gap on block, it is what it is. My issue is that there's literally nothing Raiden can do if the opponent breaks after the 1. Even if you know the opponent is going to break, you can't finish the string or cancel into any kind of special move for damage. I feel like there should be a trade off where if I can choose to go for less damage, but have it be guaranteed damage.
You can fly cancel and get the knockdown pressure. If they break then their defense bar recharges far longer than ours so we definitely have the advantage. I get that it’s stupid that you get punished for hit confirming but it is what it is. Your suggestion to armour break will only apply to TW and doesn’t apply to any other variation, hence why I said it was meaningless
It wouldn't just apply to TW, I'm talking about the 2+4 part of the string. Even if it didn't armor break, if it could just complete the string and not whiff, giving the additional damage, that would be fine.
I guess if they sped up the startup on the last hit you’d get the hit fast enough before they reach the ground, though this would be a pretty minor change. I can get behind it but I don’t see much usage for this beyond allowIng TW to not have to spend bar to state safe on hit. I say that this only applies to TW because only TW gets a meaningful use out of this change, the other two variations have 0 reason not to hit confirm into summon lightning to both get the armour break and get more damage, especially since the hit box of DB2 was buffed. And if you want to use the string in TW, might as well bait the break and not do storm cell, or react with fly cancel and let them waste their bar, or just do B3 stand alone which is slightly safer, and grants massive hit advantage for you to jail into another mix. Again, not saying I don’t want buffs, I just feel that the 2+4 itself is just pretty useless in general, and even when they buffed it to come out on block, they never actually addressed why this string is problematic in the first place, which is the huge FB gap and that even if you try to stagger you’re -9
Summon Lighting doesn't connect. At least not against Jacqui. They drop out of the B31 too fast.
This variation isn't as bad as people make it out to be (that's always been the case with Raiden in general) but you do have to be on point, tight with your frames, and have solid matchup knowledge, which in my opinion is why it has it's reputation. People want easy gratification and don't want to put in the work using the tools available without calls for buffs or excuses. I think it could use a little help though.
All due respect, I think it is. I'm always super hesitant to complain, but the 3rd variation is completely redundant. There's no reason to pick it over the other two other than just to try something different. No corner carry, worse mobility, worse damage, no additional safety. And the Lightning Rod doesn't actually offer any better zoning or setups. It doesn't offer any better matchups. There's just no reason to pick T&L right now.
It's a weird variation, and there are a lot of small nuances, different kinds of mixups, setups, and ways of controlling space that aren't present in the other variations.
To do that and show how all the pieces fit into a bigger picture I would have to put time and effort into some kind of detailed video tutorial, not sure if I want to yet. Here are a few match vids I made playing randos from like a month ago, I've made developments since and play a bit different now.
What I'm saying though is that there's very little that you did in those matchups that you couldn't have also done with either TW or Raijin.
It's a different set of tools with a different meta behind it and theres a lot I didn't do as well. MB lightning rod does offer additional safety, more times than not in my experience and can lead to some nasty conversions and sequences. Really depends on the matchup, against heavy zoners/runaway I prefer to use TW but can still manage vs most of the cast. All of the little things add up.
Really? However in any case the string is still problematic and I honestly don’t think that buffing the last hit will affect any meaningful change. I don’t mind it but until they fix what wrong with it there still isn’t much point in using that string.
It’s not about easy gratification. It’s about having tools that don’t conflict with each other and to allow Raiden to play the game. If you look at what I’ve been posting for the past year you will know I am the number one person who does NOT call for buffs, only fixes. T&L doesn’t work because there are so many problems with base Raiden and the variation does nothing to compensate for those problems. Not to mention the advantage you get from AMP rod is so bad and it stays out for far too short a time, and during that period you lose your launcher and F11, or any other string with a staff.
F3 has ever so slightly more range but might get low profiled by pokes, but the overhead is actually 12f start-up so it's surprisingly useful to catch people trying to whiff punish.
Except Raiden in V1 and V2 are already great at footsies because of his great buttons. V1 and V2 all have moves specifically designed to create space and hence opportunities for whiff punishing. I think NRS should expand on the set-up potential of V3 with what @Marlow said earlier and just remove jo push and give him all the setup tools, and make it so the rod interacts with more moves. Then we would have 3 distinct variations: V1 with mobility and anti zoning, V2 with safety and discharge, V3 with setups and space control.
I like having the Electric Rod move though, because it lets you lock down the opponents movement. That way theoretically you could put the opponent in a position where the cloud is out, but they're in the bubble and can't move to avoid the cloud.
Wish that move was better
At this point I feel like he's mostly good. He's got two solid variations in V1 and V2 which compliment each other. Mostly I'd just hope for minor changes:
