Guide Moves That Beat Enhanced Shake

[Finaeous]

Thought it would be useful to post a list of moves that beat out :en Shake since they vary from character to character. This way Smoke players will know what moves to look out for in each matchup, since nothing sucks more than making a successful read and trying to shake it, only to discover that that particular move just happens to beat out :en Shake. (Of course, having a list of this nature works both ways, but that's the way it goes.)

Oh, and I'm also pretty sure the same moves (plus projectiles) will beat out Liu Kang's parry and Cyber-Sub's ice statue parry.

D1, D3, and D4 are universal counters for each character. These crouching pokes will always beat :en Shake. Sweep is almost a universal counter. Only Jade, Kano, Stryker, Baraka, Sheeva, Quan Chi, and Smoke himself are unable to beat :en Shake with a sweep. is also almost a universal counter. Projectile X-rays cannot beat :en Shake, or normal shake for that matter (Kitana, Sektor, and Kenshi). Obviously, since Johnny Cage has a parry for an X-ray, his won't beat :en shake, nor will it lose to it.

Baraka
Normals: D1, D3, D4 (Note: Baraka's sweep loses to :en Shake)
Specials: Chop Chop Blades
:en Specials: :en Chop Chop Blades, :en Blade Charge,

Cyber Sub-Zero
Normals: D1, D3, D4, Sweep
Specials: Slide, Close/Mid/Far Ice Bomb
:en Specials: :en Slide, :en Ice Bomb, :en Teleport,

Cyrax
Normals: D1, D3, D4, Sweep, Last hit of 1,1,1 Second and third hits of 2,2,F1
Specials: Close/Mid/Far Bomb, Chest Saw
:en Specials: :en Rag Doll, :en Chest Saw (if close, will lose as projectile), :en Teleport,

Ermac
Normals: D1, D3, D4, Sweep, B2 (charged)
Specials: TK Slam, TK Push, Airblast, Hover Slam
:en Specials: :en TK Slam, :en TK Push, :en Airblast, :en Hover Slam,

Freddy Kreuger
Normals: D1, D3, D4, Sweep, B3
Specials: Close/Mid/Far Hell Spike
:en Specials: :en Hell Spike,

Jade
Normals: D1, D3, D4 (Note: Jade's sweep loses to :en Shake)
Specials: None
:en Specials: :en Shadow Kick, :en Staff Overhead, :en Glow (any move will beat :en Shake while :en Glow is active),

Jax
Normals: D1, D3, D4, Sweep
Specials: Dash Punch, Close/Mid/Far Ground Pound, Gotcha Grab
:en Specials: :en Dash Punch, :en Ground Pound, :en Gotcha Grab,

Johnny Cage
Normals: D1, D3, D4, Sweep, B2 (charged), Last hit of 2,1,B4
Specials: None
:en Specials: :en Shadow Kick

Kabal
Normals: D1, D3, D4, Sweep
Specials: None
:en Specials:

Kano
Normals: D1, D3, D4 (Note: Kano's sweep loses to :en Shake)
Specials: None
:en Specials:

Kenshi
Normals: D1, D3, D4, Sweep
Specials: Rising Karma, Spirit Charge, Close/Mid/Far TK Slash, TK Flurry
:en Specials: :en Rising Karma, :en Spirit Charge, :en Close/Mid/Far TK Slash, :en TK Flurry

Kitana
Normals: D1, D3, D4, Sweep
Specials: Cutter, Fan Lift, Square Boost
:en Specials: :en Cutter, :en Fan Lift, :en Square Boost

Kung Lao
Normals: D1, D3, D4, Sweep, B3, Second hit of 2,4,1+2 and 2,4,1+3
Specials: Teleport~1
:en Specials: :en Teleport~1 or ~2 or ~3 or ~4,

Liu Kang
Normals: D1, D3, D4, Sweep (Note: Liu Kang's sweep will lose to :en Shake if done from Dragon Stance)
Specials: None
:en Specials: :en Flying Kick, :en Bike Kick,

Mileena
Normals: D1, D3, D4, Sweep, Last hit of B3,B4
Specials: Roll
:en Specials: :en Roll (loses during overhead hits, wins once it's on the ground),

Nightwolf
Normals: D1, D3, D4, Sweep, F3, Second hit of B1,1,1 Both hits of F3,B4
Specials: Choke, Hatchet, Lightning
:en Specials: :en Choke, :en Hatchet, :en Shoulder, :en Lightning,

Noob Saibot
Normals: D1, D3, D4, Sweep
Specials: Up Shadow, Teleslam
:en Specials: :en Up Shadow, :en Teleslam, :en Shadow Tackle, :en Shadow Slide,

Quan Chi
Normals: D1, D3, D4 (Note: Quan Chi's sweep loses to :en Shake), Last hit of 2,1,4
Specials: Trance, Close/Mid/Far Ground Burst
:en Specials: :en Trance, :en Close/Mid/Far Ground Burst,

Raiden
Normals: D1, D3, D4, Sweep, Last hit of 2,2,B4
Specials: Superman, Shocker, Vicinity Blast
:en Specials: :en Superman, :en Shocker, :en Vicinity Blast,

Rain
Normals: D1, D3, D4, Sweep, B1
Specials: Lightning
:en Specials: :en Lightning, :en Teleport, :en Geyser Kick, :en Roundhouse (Note: only beats :en Shake if not charged. Will lose to :en Shake if charged at all.),

Reptile
Normals: D1, D3, D4, Sweep, B1, Last hit of 1,2,B1 Last hit of 3,2,B4
Specials: Slide
:en Specials: :en Slide,

Scorpion
Normals: D1, D3, D4, Sweep
Specials: Takedown, Hellfire
:en Specials: :en Takedown, :en Hellfire,

Sektor
Normals: D1, D3, D4, Sweep, B3, B1, Leg Lift~4, Last hit of 1,1,B1 Last hit of 1,2,2
Specials: Flamethrower, Teleport Uppercut
:en Specials: :en Flamethrower, :en Teleport Uppercut

Shang Tsung
Normals: D1, D3, D4, Sweep
Specials: Soul Steal
:en Specials: :en Soul Steal,

Sheeva
Normals: D1, D3, D4 (Note: Sheeva's sweep will lose to :en Shake)
Specials: Grab N Punch, Ground Pound, Jump Stomp
:en Specials: :en Grab N Punch, :en Ground Pound, :en Jump Stomp,

Sindel
Normals: D1, D3, D4, Sweep
Specials: Hair Whip
:en Specials: :en Hair Whip,

Skarlet
Normals: D1, D3, D4, Sweep
Specials: None
:en Specials: :en Red Dash~Red Slide, :en Red Dash~Up Slash, :en Red Dash~ Down Slash,

Smoke
Normals: D1, D3, D4 (Note: Smoke's sweep will lose to :en Shake)
Specials: Smoke Bomb
:en Specials: :en Smoke Bomb,

Sonya
Normals: D1, D3, D4, Sweep (Note: Sonya's sweep will lose to :en Shake if done from Military Stance)
Specials: Leg Grab, Kiss, Arc Kick
:en Specials: :en Leg Grab, :en Kiss, :en Arc Kick,

Stryker
Normals: D1, D3, D4 (Note: Stryker's sweep will lose to :en Shake)
Specials: Baton Trip
:en Specials: :en Baton Trip,

Sub-Zero
Normals: D1, D3, D4, Sweep, Last hit of 1,3,B4 Second hit of 2,1,2 and 2,1,4 Last hit of F4,1+2
Specials: Ground Freeze, Slide
:en Specials: :en Ground Freeze, :en Slide,

 

[Konqrr]

Awesome list, though it is kind of hard on the eyes. Add some color ^_^

 

[Finaeous]

Heh, I'll see what I can do to make the formatting better later on tonight. Kind of burned out from typing all that, haha.

 

[ApocaLips]

Its anything without the projectile and physical properties. It also isn't supposed to counter low hits, but it's glitched and randomly does so. Same glitch as johnny's x-ray and cyber-subs parry.

 

[Finaeous]

It's definitely not random in what counters. Only a handful of characters have command normals outside of sweep and low jabs that will counter :en shake, and they're 100% consistent. Hitting low, mid, or high doesn't matter.

Certain special moves also won't counter :en Shake while their enhanced counterpart will (Johnny Cage and Liu Kang, for example).

 

[fleshmasher]

This is really great especially because there seems no real rule of thumb that works for all attacks.

I wouldn't have thought that Jade's un-:en Specials are all :en shakable.

Edit: Also note that :en shake beats Kung Lao's Spin and :en Spin, and all of Kabal's Specials/Wakeups.
:en Shake for Knockdown pressure? Indeed LOL.

 

[Finaeous]

One thing that I'm not sure of is how :en shake interacts with invincible wakeup attacks if it connects during the invincible frames. Not sure if the invincible move would win out or what would happen. Hm.

Also note that :en shake beats Kung Lao's Spin and :en Spin, and all of Kabal's Specials/Wakeups.
:en Shake for Knockdown pressure? Indeed LOL.

The downside with Kung Lao is that his B3 combo starter counters :en Shake so Smoke has to be careful about using it on his wakeup. Even trade, I guess, haha.

 

[G4S KT]

One thing that I'm not sure of is how :en shake interacts with invincible wakeup attacks if it connects during the invincible frames.

I would be very surprised if :en shake didn't counter wake-ups, unless they are an attack that otherwise would beat it.

 

[D_Matt_Ma]

Some characters flat out beat this move with almost no problem. Kenshi and Jax were the ones that stood out to me. It doesn't even stop gotcha and dash punch or any of Kenshi's moves.

 

[Finaeous]

Yeah, it definitely has an impact on how you'd want to use it during certain matchups.

For example, normally you could use :en Shake to protect yourself from crossup jump attacks, but Ermac could do a crossup jump and knock you out of the Shake with an Airblast.

And then there's the fact that Noob can use :en Shadow Tackle and :en Shadow Slide to beat both normal and :en Shake. Not sure if that was known before, but it could definitely throw you off your game if you've been shaking his clones and he suddenly throws out an :en one that knocks you out of Shake.

Meanwhile poor Kano is just screwed, haha. All he can do is downpoke or burn an if he wants to counter it.

 

[TyrantRevolver]

(Of course, having a list of this nature works both ways, but that's the way it goes.)

Yeah I know right.... thanks! I main Kenshi and I played against a good Smoke player so this is helpful!

 

[G4S KT]

so of the most annoying moves in the game we've got:

Raptile dash yes
Kung Lao hatspin yes
Nightwolf shoulder sometimes
Raiden superman no
Jax dash punch no

I can live with that. Wish it countered dash punch though. I hate that move.

 

[Finaeous]

so of the most annoying moves in the game we've got:

Raptile dash yes
Kung Lao hatspin yes
Nightwolf shoulder yes
Raiden superman no
Jax dash punch no

I can live with that. Wish it countered dash punch though. I hate that move.

Just to clarify:

Nightwolf shoulder - yes
:en Nightwolf shoulder - no

 

[Finaeous]

Updated the list to include Rain's moveset.

 

[G4S KT]

Bad news guys, EX Shake loses to more stuff and is much more random than we thought.

Other things that beat EX Shake:

Kung Lao's teleport > grab
Nightwolf's f+3
Sektor's "spark" normals (I don't know the inputs. That shit where he shoots fire out of his hands and chest)

All very dangerous moves

EDIT: these are already in the list. derp. Well, they're unexpected wins so it's good to call attention to them.

 

[Finaeous]

Bad news guys, EX Shake loses to more stuff and is much more random than we thought.

Other things that beat EX Shake:

Kung Lao's teleport > grab
Nightwolf's f+3
Sektor's "spark" normals (I don't know the inputs. That shit where he shoots fire out of his hands and chest)

All very dangerous moves

EDIT: these are already in the list. derp. Well, they're unexpected wins so it's good to call attention to them.

Actually, there are other moves that beat :en Shake that aren't listed yet. When it came to testing combos I originally only thought to test the first hit of the string but didn't test second, third, fourth, etc hits in strings. Most lose to :en Shake like you'd expect, but of course there are some exceptions. For example, I know off the top of my head that the second hit of Nightwolf's B1,1,1 string will beat it. So will the final hit of Sektor's 1,2,2.

The problem with testing hits in strings past the combo starter is that it's so goddamn tedious. I plan on updating the list a few characters at a time as I work through the roster again, but it's gonna take a while, heh.

 

[Demonfang10]

Liu Kang's Ex Bike Kick Beats it I think

 

[Finaeous]

Okay, so I lied about the update taking a while. Went on a marathon tonight checking everyone's post-starter hits in their strings and have updated the list accordingly. Characters affected are Cyrax, Johnny Cage, Kung Lao, Mileena, Nightwolf, Quan Chi, Raiden, Reptile, Sektor, and Sub-Zero.

Some moves with the exact same range as the move preceding them in the string I was unable to test since I couldn't figure out a way to get the move to hit Smoke without getting hit by the move before it. If anyone has a suggestion on how to pull that off I'm all ears. Pretty tired at the moment so maybe I'm not thinking of something obvious.

Also updated the list with Freddy Kreuger's moveset.

Btw, if a PS3 player wants to test Kratos' moveset out against :en Shake I'll add him in.

Now I'm going to bed.

 

[xInfra Deadx]

I'm sure that Kano's EX Ball beats EX Shake as long as you don't delay it. Ex Choke I think beats it too.

I'll let ya know on Kratos as soon as I get a chance...

EDIT: Ex Choke does NOT beat the EX Shake.

 

[G4S KT]

yessssss I've been looking for this thread forever.

It needs to be updated since the most recent patch changed some things. One I know for sure off hand is that EX shake now loses to Sektor's b3

THREAD STUCK, OP UPDATED WITH SEKTOR INFO.

 

[xInfra Deadx]

Alright...for Kratos's moves:

Normals: D1, D3, D4, Sweep, 2nd hit of B1, B4.
Specials: Nothing.
Enhanced Specials: Helios Flash, Hermes Rush (as long as you don't delay it.)and his X-Ray.

Yeah...that's not much at all...

 

[STB Bodam]

Well, this is very helpful. Did not know Lightning beats it.

 

[tshkn]

why cant this game at lest follow the rule about how high counters work STAY GODLIKE NRS!!!!