Hey all,
So I took Mileena to the Training Room for the first time today and started working on some strings and kombos. I did as I figured and took her "Twisted Sister" Tournament Variation, removed Kahnum Dash (to keep Ball Roll), and I added Air Soaring Sai. It really does seem that all of her combos pretty much revolve around Amplified Ball Roll.
Anyway, I'm using Raptor's day 1 combo video as a general starting point. For starters, I'm mostly using B1, 1 or 2,3,3 or simply 1,1 followed by Amplified Ball Roll, and then I'm finding things get inconsistent.
I can generally land B1, 1, 4 (Krushing Blow) consistently, at least in training. I found after dashing you needed to wait a beat before continuing the string or it'll whiff.
That string's a real pain in the ass when trying to get that KB. The hitbox on B11 against a juggling opponent feels so weird. Even the pros are still dropping that KB combo, so don't worry, it's just a matter of getting the timing down.
I'm having lots of trouble connecting things after a Dash, Uppercut though. I can usually land F1, Stabbyscotch or F1, 2, 4. Usually. F2 and F4 though will whiff every single time. The recovery time on Uppercut seems a bit too long. Any trick to it? Interestingly, sometimes when I go to do F1, Stabbyscotch, the F1 will also take too long and whiff. If I knix the uppercut, I can land the enders every time, but obviously I loose out on a good chunk of damage.
Yeah, I went through the exact same problems at first. The recovery on D2 takes some getting used to, but the best way to practice is to just cut out the enders and focus on getting familiar with when you're able to input F1 on the earliest frame possible. I think the window for landing the F1 once you're able to move again isn't as tight as it may seem, but trust me, the timing will become second nature after a bit of practice.
As for connecting F2 and F4 after an uppercut, either my timing's off or those enders are only possible in the J1 combo route, but the recovery on the D2 seems too long for either of those two to connect. Speaking of...
Also, following up Amplified Ball Roll with a jumping attack, everything whiffs after that. I can never land, for example, the F2 or F4. Again, any trick to it?
The trick there is to
really delay the J1. The opponent needs to be a fair ways past the apex of them getting launched into the air in order for it to work. Also, in case you aren't doing it already, after the J1, start buffering in the input for either F2 or F4 so that they come out at the exact frame you touch the ground again.
Edit: Also, Stabbyscoth in general, when are you throwing it out, outside of the above kombo? I find it's range is pretty poor and it's less reliable than I'd like. Overall, I actually find Mileena's range to be pretty poor, and I say this as a Ravenous Mileena main from Mortal Kombat XL (so I'm not accustomed to her extra Piercing normal range).
This one's a bit tricky, because it isn't just about Stabyscotch, but also her B1. The two are basically best friends. You condition the opponent to block the B1, and then start catching them with the Cmd Grab. But as you said, the range is abysmal. As such, you're best bet is to get familiar with cancelling forward dash into both of them to help extend their reach. It might sound slow, but people are still getting caught by Baraka's B2, and after extensive testing, I've found that forward dash into either of those moves from round start distance is roughly the same speed, even faster the closer you are. Her F1, even though it's a high, is absolutely ripe for abuse as well since people will likely hesitate to duck in the neutral in fear of Ball Roll.
It might be because she's new and people are still learning how to fight her, but I've fought a lot of people who just stand there and block, probably expecting me to do some unsafe, YOLO bullshit. It's the perfect time to practice catching them with a surpise DashxxFDB2 before people start getting familiar with the MU.
Plus frames are another great way to get it out. If you hit someone with a F1 or a D1, you're plus enough and close enough for B1 to jail, so if you expect them to block it, you can hit 'em with Stabyscotch instead. And since the meterless Cmd Grab itself leaves you plus enough and close enough for B1 to jail after a microdash, it turns into the same guessing game all over again, unless they use the right wake up option. Seriously, I've hit people upwards of six times in a row with her Cmd Grab. Funniest shit I've ever seen.
I hope these help. If you have any other questions, by all means, let me know.
