Rain General Discussion

[Ermaculate_Slim]

Yea Idk if I'd call him a zoner.Water beam's start up is kinda slow Id say hes more of a space control type character. He has good range on his buttons with good push back. He also has a good AA with his back 3.

 

[DarksydeDash]

How do we feel about ending combos early into meaty whirlpool and using an overhead kameo like Scorp?

 

[exeeter702]

How do we feel about ending combos early into meaty whirlpool and using an overhead kameo like Scorp?

Not sure how you would set that up in time tbh.
Scorp OH is a "special move" type of assist, not a passive on screen assist.

 

[Arqwart]

Yea Idk if I'd call him a zoner.Water beam's start up is kinda slow Id say hes more of a space control type character. He has good range on his buttons with good push back. He also has a good AA with his back 3.

Is he turning out to be like MK11 Jade where his projectile game is too slow and unsafe to be practical as a core style but his midrange options are silly?

 

[SaladPlateLover]

I saw some guy doing set ups where I think it was whirlpool into another whirlpool and set up with his overhead. Mixing that up with overhead cameos could be a strat to give opponents a headache

edit: found it

 

[exeeter702]

Is he turning out to be like MK11 Jade where his projectile game is too slow and unsafe to be practical as a core style but his midrange options are silly?

not even close to being "silly". If he had jades normals, he would be a functional character at the very least.

 

[SaladPlateLover]

not even close to being "silly". If he had jades normals, he would be a functional character at the very least.

Why even get the game early if you're so easily dissatisfied? I got to play for only one night, had so much more fun than I expected I would that it makes me wish I did get it early. Instead I'm glued online to anything mk1 Rain related because I have that much of an ich.

 

[M2Dave]

Why even get the game early if you're so easily dissatisfied?

"Premier zoning character"

 

[STB Bodam]

I've got to admit that I'm not in love with him from a design standpoint as far as his gameplay and aesthetics in this game but I think there might be some potential for viability but he's going to be so execution-heavy that I don't see many people sticking with him for too long. I've always been an MK9 fan when it came to his design and I wish he would've stayed closer to that with flashy combos and strong rush-down. I'm sad that his Roundhouse cancels and Bubble soft-resets didn't become a permanent fixture in his repertoire similar to Kabal's dash cancels and instant-air fireballs.

It feels like everything in MK1 is under-designed and the hurt-boxes are so incredibly wonky and inconsistent for Rain's best tools (his Stormy Weather and Whirlpool) which is unfortunate. I haven't found any Kameos that work for me yet and I'm honestly feeling just generally disappointed. I was so hyped for this game but it's just not doing much for me and I kind of hate that we got less normals because of the air combos and the Kameos. I hope they do an online mode where it's just 1v1 and leave the Kameos off; of course, that likely won't happen since that seems to be the whole "selling point" of the game but I'd prefer it.

I'll monitor this thread though in hopes that someone can reignite my excitement for this game and playing Rain in it.

 

[popmaster501]

I've got to admit that I'm not in love with him from a design standpoint as far as his gameplay and aesthetics in this game but I think there might be some potential for viability but he's going to be so execution-heavy that I don't see many people sticking with him for too long. I've always been an MK9 fan when it came to his design and I wish he would've stayed closer to that with flashy combos and strong rush-down. I'm sad that his Roundhouse cancels and Bubble soft-resets didn't become a permanent fixture in his repertoire similar to Kabal's dash cancels and instant-air fireballs.

It feels like everything in MK1 is under-designed and the hurt-boxes are so incredibly wonky and inconsistent for Rain's best tools (his Stormy Weather and Whirlpool) which is unfortunate. I haven't found any Kameos that work for me yet and I'm honestly feeling just generally disappointed. I was so hyped for this game but it's just not doing much for me and I kind of hate that we got less normals because of the air combos and the Kameos. I hope they do an online mode where it's just 1v1 and leave the Kameos off; of course, that likely won't happen since that seems to be the whole "selling point" of the game but I'd prefer it.

I'll monitor this thread though in hopes that someone can reignite my excitement for this game and playing Rain in it.

Just refund the game at this point. If you're satisfied day 1 of the game, why keep it?

 

[exeeter702]

Why even get the game early if you're so easily dissatisfied? I got to play for only one night, had so much more fun than I expected I would that it makes me wish I did get it early. Instead I'm glued online to anything mk1 Rain related because I have that much of an ich.

If you arent actually playing the game then please refrain from pushing back against criticisms or dissatisfactions from those that are actively playing it. The character (and the game) has problems. Because you are still in some kind of pre honeymoon phase because you got to lick rain for a split second and now want nothing more than to play him means nothing.

I want nothing more than to be proven completely wrong and will patiently be waiting.

My opinion? mk1 Rain is trash outside of some extreme gimmick setups or knowledge checking an unfamiliar opponent. He cant zone for shit, despite them having the audacity to call him a zoner. So many elements of the game work against him. The irony here is that im convinced his best ability to perform will be centered around close range kameo assisted whirlpool shenanigans.

This dude is absolutely undercooked, full stop.

 

[SaladPlateLover]

If you arent actually playing the game then please refrain from pushing back against criticisms or dissatisfactions from those that are actively playing it. The character (and the game) has problems. Because you are still in some kind of pre honeymoon phase because you got to lick rain for a split second and now want nothing more than to play him means nothing.

I want nothing more than to be proven completely wrong and will patiently be waiting.

My opinion? mk1 Rain is trash outside of some extreme gimmick setups or knowledge checking an unfamiliar opponent. He cant zone for shit, despite them having the audacity to call him a zoner. So many elements of the game work against him. The irony here is that im convinced his best ability to perform will be centered around close range kameo assisted whirlpool shenanigans.

This dude is absolutely undercooked, full stop.

The game came out 2 days ago and yesterday you already decided he isn't worth playing. Even if you feel that's enough time for his flaws to stand out that much, just relax, they will buff him.

I wouldn't be nearly as excited to play more if he was simply a good zoner. Eager to explore those whirlpool gimmicks with cameos. I see there's a clear contrast between us in what we want from this character there. But yeah I really only had time to do whirlpool okis on noobs which obviously aren't even gonna work on them in short time. Wish I could have sat in training mode to look for real ways to pressure.

Imo the biggest issue for Rain is that he has nothing in neutral to spend his meter on, though he builds it very faster from free portals on whirlpool. Portals come out quickly but can't position them and I think his teleport should have some invincibility as he's entering.

 

[sprintz98]

Definitely not an easy character to play. I have been pairing him with scorpion kameo mostly for meterless combo extenstion but the spear pullback move is useful for Rain as well. I actually really like that he is very neutral heavy and his zoning isn't braindead spam since most of his zoning tools are fairly slow. The way I have been playing him is utilizing block dashing to create whiff punish opportunities with S211 which combos into DB1 with scorpion kameo. B2, B4, and his D3 are also all great buttons to use in neutral with nice disjointed hitboxes. They made sweeps in this game really strong for some reason and his B4 is no exception. His ground eruption tool DB3 is by far his fastest zoning tool so I use that alot and when they start jumping I use S2 or DB1 (on read) to anti air which also has a combo route with scorpion kameo. Full screen I am using his FDB4 for projectile immunity and then fireballing with BF1 and DDU projectiles. I haven't really found much use for whirpool in neutral and it seems to be a move thats dependent on kameo to setup properly. Portal also seems to be move where Rains depth really seems to be at and I haven't experimented with it all that much as of right now.

For offense I am just doing strike throw mixups (F213 or throw) and using his F32 as a schimmy tool as its slow as fuck (28 frames) but safe. F3 on its own is easily reactable but it being slow is also useful as it catches people who press a button thinking you are about to throw them. Offensive game plan is kinda basic atm and I definitely need to experiment with other kameos that improve his offense but the scorpion kameo is just so nice as it allows him to extend any combo and most importantly allows him to combo off of his armored move (DB3).

A 41 percent 1 bar BNB w/ scorpion kameo: F21 DB1 amp J142 (far scorpion kameo when the 4 in J142 lands) S4 (time max hold S4 as they are coming down from scorpion popup) B2 DB3

Meterless BNB w/ scorpion kameo: F21 DB1 (far scorpion kameo) J243 F2 DB3

Armored BNB w/ scorpion kameo: DB3 amp (scorpion kameo) J243 S1 DB3

 

[sprintz98]

I just found out you can cancel f3 into throw. Thats neat

 

[domwillb]

Rain

Has anyone figured out how to do Whirlpool brutal? Or is it just bugged?

 

[DarksydeDash]

Besides Cyrax and Sub Zero, is there anyone else that lets Rain combo into the fully charged projectile?

 

[Jdizzle31]

I was unsure at first but after labbing this character for hours I am convinced he's solid at the very least.
Some early impression stuff
safe over head launcher
insane range on his d3
great anti-air with his standing 3
multi hitting stand 2 that shreds armour. do not try and wake up against this character
2112 is only -5 and has pushback
good options off his standing 1, 11, 114
His F2 mid and follow up string is not bad
B2 low is is a decent button. best utility i have found is to use it for whiff punishing certain moves or forward dashes

He definitely benefits from having a kameo that gives meter less damage as his overhead is his only meterless launcher apart from ancient trap.
Sub zero is by far my favourite. not only do you get the meterless damage from most his hit confirmable strings but freeze also unlocks great setups with his charged water beam. I found a nice 30%+ combo that you can do off most strings that ends in charged water beam into trap into a hard to blockable. Or over 40% if you go for damage

 

[sprintz98]

I was unsure at first but after labbing this character for hours I am convinced he's solid at the very least.
Some early impression stuff
safe over head launcher
insane range on his d3
great anti-air with his standing 3
multi hitting stand 2 that shreds armour. do not try and wake up against this character
2112 is only -5 and has pushback
good options off his standing 1, 11, 114
His F2 mid and follow up string is not bad
B2 low is is a decent button. best utility i have found is to use it for whiff punishing certain moves or forward dashes

He definitely benefits from having a kameo that gives meter less damage as his overhead is his only meterless launcher apart from ancient trap.
Sub zero is by far my favourite. not only do you get the meterless damage from most his hit confirmable strings but freeze also unlocks great setups with his charged water beam. I found a nice 30%+ combo that you can do off most strings that ends in charged water beam into trap into a hard to blockable. Or over 40% if you go for damage

Hmm that sub zero kameo idea sounds interesting. I have been struggling hard against characters that outzone rain such as liu kang, reiko, and sindel. His projectitles are just too damn slow and geyser doesn't go full screen so the sub zero armor will be useful against those matchups. What is the combo that you are doing that is giving you that setup/damage?

 

[M2Dave]

I was unsure at first but after labbing this character for hours I am convinced he's solid at the very least.
Some early impression stuff
safe over head launcher
insane range on his d3
great anti-air with his standing 3
multi hitting stand 2 that shreds armour. do not try and wake up against this character
2112 is only -5 and has pushback
good options off his standing 1, 11, 114
His F2 mid and follow up string is not bad
B2 low is is a decent button. best utility i have found is to use it for whiff punishing certain moves or forward dashes

The overhead launcher has 28 frames of startup.

Reiko and Sub Zero have Rain's d+3 (as d+4) except their version is -6 on block. Rain's d+3 is -12 on block.

Lots of characters have very good anti-aerial attacks in this game. Besides, why jump on Rain? All the projectiles are slow and can be flawless blocked.

I agree that standing jab and f+2 are good, but how do these moves complement Rain as a "premier zoning character"? They really do not.

Reiko, Shang Tsung, and Sindel have access to far superior projectiles, and their up close game is as good as, if not better than, Rain's.

I agree with @exeeter702 . My initial impression is that Rain appears to be one of the weaker characters in this game. I hope to be proven wrong because I really want to use him. He is the primary reason why I purchased this game. I love Rain's character design, and when I heard that he was going to be a "premier zoner", I was ecstatic.

 

[sprintz98]

Not going to lie he definitely feels weak. Besides the fact he gets outzoned due to slow projectiles, I feel like he has really tough time up close as well and overall find his buttons to be lacking. d3 has nice range but it doesn't have enough hit advantage to lead to pressure as well as being really bad on block. D4 is a comically awful poke. f2 is decent but I find its range a little lacking. The worst part of it though is the follow up f21 is a low and whiffs against people holding up. Having a real tough time against people not respecting hit advantage and holding up in general. There is also a gap in that string for some reason. Also not a fan of his s1. It has a weird hitbox and the follow up s11 whiffs sometimes as well. s3 is plus but slow and garbage range and can't really do shit with those plus frames either. Also not impressed with his b2 either even though it has better range. F3 is ridiculously slow but at least you can cancel it into throw and it kinda synergizes with hard to block portal setups. s2112 is his best combo string by far but unfortunately has a gap as well for some reason.

Idk why but in this game they decided to give characters way less combo strings which I find a bit disappointing. Overall his zoning sucks ass and his space control is mediocre at best because he really doesn't have any great normals. I also haven't found a kameo that makes him feel like a complete character. If anyone has some tech please let me know because right now I'm not feeling good about him.

 

[Jynks]

Just had a thought, I'm not at home so can not test... but has anyone tried combining rain with Scorpian Kameo? Like if you dropped a portal, used scorps pull back to drop the other portal full screen... and now you can jump in and out as well as do that mater beam between the portals...

 

[exeeter702]

Just had a thought, I'm not at home so can not test... but has anyone tried combining rain with Scorpian Kameo? Like if you dropped a portal, used scorps pull back to drop the other portal full screen... and now you can jump in and out as well as do that mater beam between the portals...

I mean sure, you could, but why on earth would you bother. Think about this for a second. You are setting up a portal, using a cameo charge, setting up another portal, and maybe burning a bar to use confluence beam, all to be mildly annoying for a moment.

Even if confluence hits, what are you getting out of that for your bar spent? The scenario might look cool, but it's the equivalent of that Indiana Jones scene where he shoots the posturing swordsman.

 

[errormacro7]

Just had a thought, I'm not at home so can not test... but has anyone tried combining rain with Scorpian Kameo? Like if you dropped a portal, used scorps pull back to drop the other portal full screen... and now you can jump in and out as well as do that mater beam between the portals...

Scorpion is IMO the best kameo for Rain. I've been playing with him for a while and Scorpion's Far Fire Breath is a godsend for Rain because it maximizes his combo potential tremendously. This also allows him to combo off of his EX Geyser on wake-up. Get over here is another great tool to just run off and start zoning again.

Just watch Roethor.

 

[Jdizzle31]

The overhead launcher has 28 frames of startup.

Reiko and Sub Zero have Rain's d+3 (as d+4) except their version is -6 on block. Rain's d+3 is -12 on block.

Lots of characters have very good anti-aerial attacks in this game. Besides, why jump on Rain? All the projectiles are slow and can be flawless blocked.

I agree that standing jab and f+2 are good, but how do these moves complement Rain as a "premier zoning character"? They really do not.

Reiko, Shang Tsung, and Sindel have access to far superior projectiles, and their up close game is as good as, if not better than, Rain's.

I agree with @exeeter702 . My initial impression is that Rain appears to be one of the weaker characters in this game. I hope to be proven wrong because I really want to use him. He is the primary reason why I purchased this game. I love Rain's character design, and when I heard that he was going to be a "premier zoner", I was ecstatic.

I don't disagree. I'm just trying to play to his strengths. That being said I don't see zoning being one of them. I love set play characters and his trap and charged water beam have potential which is the main thing that caught my interest. Frost orb is another set play tool I want to experiment with when I get the chance.
Also I really struggle to imagine how any character will ever be able to win as a traditional projectile zoner in this game. There is too many universal counters in the form of kameos

 

[exeeter702]

A few other bits of info for those who haven't had the chance to play rain

His bubble shield is a poverty version of jades purple drank. It is durability based instead of duration based. It absorbs 2 projectile hits, and if you burn a bar on it, it then becomes a salvation army version of jades shield via following rain for a couple seconds. Meter burn version does not gain additional armor on projectiles. Reiko for example shits in this move with his projectile. Also it does not protect against old man Sheng up skulls. Comically the best perk about bubble is that rain is mildly obscured while standing inside it, depending on the stage (lol) so you can sometimes get away with a pool or full charge beam if the opponent for whatever reason is respecting your space and doesn't make out which move you are doing.

Rains whirlpools deactivate when he is hit, so you will never get a scenario where you trade blows with a glue eater who gets in your face as you finish the year long startup of pool, and they hit you and then get sucked under.
Rain can be hit out of portal jump up until the very last frame when he is going through and vanishes. It is by no means an escape tool, not that it was intended to be. Just know that it's not really even a mobility tool either unless you commit to the multiple stage maintenance required to set them up in advance. It this point in time, it is a tool to set up mixups in corner or maybe mid screen if you are lucky.

This is more of a personal wish and not something I was outright expecting. Rain God having zero projectile invincibility or even being about to go over them at full hight, is a hard pill to swallow in light of all of his other tools being so slow. Being able to juke some projectiles by doing rain God at the right time would be nice. As it currently stands, you are able to get hit out of at every moment. And some characters can even FB on reaction to it.