Question about crouching low hits in MK9 system

[SGNL606]

So my question is about the low hits in MK9. Pardon me if it may seem long-winded, this is just how I roll when I ask questions. :taz:

I play the Street Fighter series and also dabble with BlazBlue as well, and low hits in those games can be used to start a combo, crouching-light Kick in street fighter, for example.

But to me, at the moment in MK9, that these low hits in MK9 cannot be combos from and serve as a different purpose. Now, keep in mind that I'm not asking about combo strings that start low or have a low hit inside a combo, I'm talking about down+1, down+3, down+4. It seems that they're there just to poke at an opponent and provide that little stutter in your opponent's rhythm during a match. For me I guess it goes into the category of 'MK9's Footsies'.

So, are these attacks just a plain as they seem to be or am I missing something? Also, do you think you can say what goes through your own mind when you're about to perform these low hits, e.g. Are you like me and just looking to find a hole in your opponent's string? What do you use down+3, down+4 for? Do you use them as a form for high/low mix-up without having to commit yourself to a combo string?

 

[leek]

More so used to interrupt something, such as d+1. It can interrupt a lot of teleports, jump-in's, combos that are linked but have a slight frame disadvantage where you can interrupt, and etc etc. d+3 is more for getting a little space as it does a very miniscule amount of damage and d+4 is for a quick push away that does IIRC 3% damage to keep away.

 

[Sao87]

So my question is about the low hits in MK9. Pardon me if it may seem long-winded, this is just how I roll when I ask questions. :taz:

I play the Street Fighter series and also dabble with BlazBlue as well, and low hits in those games can be used to start a combo, crouching-light Kick in street fighter, for example.

But to me, at the moment in MK9, that these low hits in MK9 cannot be combos from and serve as a different purpose. Now, keep in mind that I'm not asking about combo strings that start low or have a low hit inside a combo, I'm talking about down+1, down+3, down+4. It seems that they're there just to poke at an opponent and provide that little stutter in your opponent's rhythm during a match. For me I guess it goes into the category of 'MK9's Footsies'.

So, are these attacks just a plain as they seem to be or am I missing something? Also, do you think you can say what goes through your own mind when you're about to perform these low hits, e.g. Are you like me and just looking to find a hole in your opponent's string? What do you use down+3, down+4 for? Do you use them as a form for high/low mix-up without having to commit yourself to a combo string?

Yep they are about as plain as they seem. But they are definitely not pointless.

cr.1 is typically the fastest attack for everyone (with some exceptions kung lao/reptile). The main use of this string is to stop pressure, lets say you are going up against a kabal using his run stop block pressure. If you know what this looks like you can stick out a cr.1 to stop him from repeating it.

cr.3 is mostly used for similar reasons but I find myself using this more offensively. If you are using a character that doesn't have a low options this might get people to crouch, this might interrupt strings that people are starting, or you might just use it to poke into tick throw setups (since you're an sf player I assume you know what I mean by tick throw).

cr.4 is the slowest of the 3 but obviously has the longest range and can be canceled into special moves. You will see a lot of reptiles stick this out and then cancel into the green hand. That isn't because it is great damage but because it is a great mix up, the opponent has to block low and then high. In fighting games you want to minimize risk and maximize reward so try to find your characters best specials if they have one that compliments this poke. With Kung Lao, ill toss a low hat after a cr.4. As Johnny Cage I my best option is to follow it with a flash kick, but I risk being punished so I would use this sparingly (perhaps only for an xray setup, since people might try to punish the whiff).

The short answer is you use cr.1's and 3's to fill the holes in your pressure game and to combat opposing pressure. the cr.4's might provide mix up opportunities, low pressure when needed.

 

[SGNL606]

Awesome, thanks for the quick and informative replies. Didn't know about the properties of cr.4, definitely gonna test it out in the lab.

 

[Konqrr]

Basically GTFO me moves.