Sonya:
Sonya is ranked about # 10 from 15 characters in MK4. Easy combos from a grounded Hp and 2 Infinites rank her up this high. Sonya have weak normals in comparison with other characters, this limit her to ground traps and fight for that grounded Hp big combo opening that doesnt come often. She has good setups for offensive games but she can also play defensivly escpecialy against jumpers.
Her basic moves are like everyone else except for her Hk and Hps. Her hk is a mediocre aa but if used in punishment mode it can be easily followed by a Leg Grab or Jk into Air throw. her Hk also set ups her inf. Her aahp are standart and in ground they set up her other inf. very good Lps for rushing and standing Lk is pointy and have good reach. The crouch kick and punch could be useful sometimes if you have a plan what to do after it since it will push away the attacking opponent.
Sweep has decent range and speed and its hard to punish if blocked. RH is very slow (like all mk4 chars) . Jump HK have nice height and reach and is perfect for double jump kicking in the corner. Jump Lk is good as Jump Lp. Jump Hp is standart. Crouched Lk have very good reach and speed and sucky/useless crouched Hk.
Projectile is very generic and doesnt set up zoning or punishments. It can be seen a mile away and is easily jumped over. Dont do it, unless you know the opponent will jump over it and aa counter him. Its a good finish for combos where you will miss specials like flip kick or leg grab/bike kick.
Leg grab is fast as ever and do decent damage. Very good as a wake up but dont over abuse it. It can interrupt some Lp rushdown but also can the normal throws so dont use it or you will be left in punishment state. it has no hit limit and must be blocked crouched. Its a good idea to use it for a punisher far from opponent (like ducked fireballs and etc) where its not 100% sure the Flip Kick will hit.
Bike Kick is weird. In MK3/UMK3 it could be hardly punished but here is other story. It does good damage and has no hit limit. It can be used for a crossover jumps too but since this game is really faster than UMK3 you should have good reaction time. It also can open those "corner resets" when its done in corner pressure which can open the opponent for a free throw (back into corner). This move also has low recovery time even if you hit with it so dont rush immidiately after it.
Air throw has normal priority and should be ranked 3rd after Quan Chi and Scorp. Does good damage and has no hit limit. Air Throws effects much like UMK3, they work best close to the ground and they are much more impressive than in UMK3. Her Air Throw can be used against jumpers, crossovers and of course in combos mostly. In MK2 you could cancel the pushback with air throw but in MK4 this is fixed.
The cartwheel Kick is probably her most valuable special. It set ups juggle situations and can be followed by an aaLp and another cartwheel and then Jk and Air throw. if blocked you must punish her fast because the recovery is quick. if done in the corner you will dash out of it at the first hit. It can snuff sweeps and sometimes as an anti crossup but the timing is hard. It has a little recovery time if done one after another. Step in and out through fireballs and use it is one of the basic strats of her, you can get massive damage if you manage to get them near the corner using this. Its possible to get the opponent out of corner using it but its very difficult and useless to try in a real vs match and count on it, better choice would be if you get someone near the corner with Flip Kick to try Jump HP HK + Air Throw (depends what juggle you did before, so its not registering as maximum damage).
The Flying Punch isnt that good. Sometimes it can be used as an aa but you must predict the jump very early. Easy punishable even from far distance. Still it can be good setup in corner for a jab pressure, but kinda risky, depends on which character your opponent using. Can be used also as a finish of juggle. This move has no hit limit.
Sonya has 2 infinites (exluding the new wpn inf). The first one is because her specific HK. Basicaly its SUJK, HK, repeat and works on all characters, its actually useless because her second inf is a lot easier than this one. Her second infinite is HP, HP, SUJK, Repeat and should be done close to the opponent. The most easier way to get it is by delaying the SUJK while the HP, HP animation runs. It has one weakness and its that its not starting with Knee.
Her weapon has some good setups. Drawing it during the combo will juggle the opponent but you cant add any juggle after it. LP is very fast and can be used as a punisher or wakeup and even aa sometimes if timed correctly. The HP is better choice for anti air and will send the opponent for about jump distance away from you, which could give you time for rush scenario. B+LP can be used for jump backers, you can sometimes use it even twice (the second one will be blockable, but as a wakeup). B+LP is the most useful because it can open the opp into juggle both mid-screen (leg grab) and corner. It is possible to get few hits with B+LP in corner which will do massive damage, but its kinda risky count on this, there is also an infinite using this weapon which is completely useless and we will not go into details about it, otherwise it should be done in close corners and you must do few hits in corner when the last one gets them out of corner, then run under the opp and do aaSUJK followed by another spinning attack into the other corner and repeat it, again there is no sense to try it in a vs match. All weapon attacks if blocked will push the opponent away but still you can be punished with moves like Flying Kick, Roll, Lift and etc.
Turning Off the Maximum Damage will make Sonya really deadly because of her infs. Both of them will be deadly if she gets you. Thus including her ridicilious damage shit with weapon in corner will make her one of the deadliest characters in the game, you will need one mistake to loose your energy.
Basic Juggles:
1. HP, HP, HK, HK, Flip Kick, Jump HK, Air Throw (7 Hits, 40%)
2. HP, HP, HK, D+HP, aaHPx2, Flip Kick, Jump HK, Air Throw (8 Hits, 37%)
3. HK, HK, Flip Kick, Jump HK, Air Throw (5 Hits, 38%)
Advanced Juggles:
1. HP, HP, HK, HK, Flip Kick, aaLP, Flip Kick, Jump HK, Air Throw (9 Hits, 46%/49% if you delay the Flip Kick because it will hit twice)
Video!
2. HP, HP, SUJK, HP, HP, HK, D+HP, aaHP, Delayed Flip Kick, Jump HK, Air Throw (11 Hits, 49%)
3. HP, HP, HK, D+HP, aaHPx2, Jump HK, Leg Grab (8 Hits, 37%)
4. HK, HK, SUJK, HK, Flip Kick, Jump LK (6 Hits, 45%)
5. (Near Corner) HK, HK, Flip Kick, Jump HP HK, Air Throw (6 Hits, 40%)
6. (With Weapon) HK, HK, Flip Kick, B+HP, Flip Kick, Leg Grab (6 Hits, 40%) *The Game randomly displays the hits and the damage*
Punishers:
1. aaHP, Jump HK, Leg Grab (3 Hits, 22%)
2. aaHP, Flip Kick, Jump HK, Air Throw (4 Hits, 22%)
3. aaHP, Flip Kick, aaLP, Flip Kick, Jump HK, Air Throw (6 Hits, 31%)
4. SUJK, HK, Flip Kick, Jump HK, Air Throw (4 Hits, 43%) (or Leg Grab/B+HP with Weapon)
Video!
o you make an advanced guide like in ultimatemk3
