Tony at Home
Master
F2 is one of Sonya's best pokes. It has very good range (better than b1!), and it is not very negative on block (-3).
F2B1 is a hard knockdown but doesn't lead to good advantage, so I don't like to use this full string in the neutral as much. I will generally use it if I catch someone jumping out of a poke, because it's easy to convert into pressure (d1, f2b1)
Covert Ops in particular has very few safe strings, and that's likely to limit how often she has the option to parry, given how terrifying parry's damage potential is.
(Reminder of how terrifying parry is)
F2 is a beefy +16 on hit. Even with that +16 it has quite alot of recovery which is actually very helpful for giving you valuable time to hit confirm to see if this single move has hit or been blocked. +16 is actually enough that even at F2's outer distance you can do a run into her high starting string 121 (which is +2 on block) and it will jail:
Needless to say, you also have the option of doing b14, just shorten your run cancel to a small 'hop'
Notice that in the above I need to do a run immediately after F2 for this to hit, so I'm doing my inputs as Sonya is still in the middle of the move. This works as an option select because there is more recovery on block than hit. If I hit the run will come out, if I am blocked the run will not come out. This in addition to the hit animation gives me a nice visual indication of whether I should follow up with a block string or not.
So on block run does not come out, and if I'm using f2 correctly, I'm generally going to be at a distance where my opponent has a limited set of moves that can hit me. Also, I'm only -3. This is where parry SHINES.
(Regular parry works as well for most opponents. D'Vorah is unique in that her d1 is a far-reaching mid poke, so it requires an EX here)
You can see in the above gif I am doing my run input but it is not coming out. I then see that I haven't hit and Sonya isn't running and just do her EX parry anticipating the opponent may wish to take advantage of me being -3.
If you've taught your opponent to respect your defensive options after a blocked -3 that's when you can really start abusing them by continuing pressure on block. b1~MS Grab is always a really good option and few opponents are ever expecting it.
(You know you're doing something right when you've earned enough respect to turn a -3 on block move into a throw)
Notice I'm still doing my run input after a blocked F2 just so I still OS a run if it's hit. Really, with +16 I don't see any reason to not want to run and continue pressure with F2 whenever I hit. So I think Sonya players should make it a habit to replace "F2" as a command in their minds with "F2, run"
Do be careful about getting predictable with the parry, as many players will just opt to jump forward on you after a blocked f2. Simply don't forget your traditional defensive tools of backdash and d2 and you should be fine. If your opponent jumps in on you after a blocked f2 and you backdash, against all but a few characters you will whiff and force a tripguard punish.
Whelp, that's F2 folks. It's pretty good for Covert Ops.
F2B1 is a hard knockdown but doesn't lead to good advantage, so I don't like to use this full string in the neutral as much. I will generally use it if I catch someone jumping out of a poke, because it's easy to convert into pressure (d1, f2b1)
Covert Ops in particular has very few safe strings, and that's likely to limit how often she has the option to parry, given how terrifying parry's damage potential is.
(Reminder of how terrifying parry is)
F2 is a beefy +16 on hit. Even with that +16 it has quite alot of recovery which is actually very helpful for giving you valuable time to hit confirm to see if this single move has hit or been blocked. +16 is actually enough that even at F2's outer distance you can do a run into her high starting string 121 (which is +2 on block) and it will jail:
Needless to say, you also have the option of doing b14, just shorten your run cancel to a small 'hop'
Notice that in the above I need to do a run immediately after F2 for this to hit, so I'm doing my inputs as Sonya is still in the middle of the move. This works as an option select because there is more recovery on block than hit. If I hit the run will come out, if I am blocked the run will not come out. This in addition to the hit animation gives me a nice visual indication of whether I should follow up with a block string or not.
So on block run does not come out, and if I'm using f2 correctly, I'm generally going to be at a distance where my opponent has a limited set of moves that can hit me. Also, I'm only -3. This is where parry SHINES.
(Regular parry works as well for most opponents. D'Vorah is unique in that her d1 is a far-reaching mid poke, so it requires an EX here)
You can see in the above gif I am doing my run input but it is not coming out. I then see that I haven't hit and Sonya isn't running and just do her EX parry anticipating the opponent may wish to take advantage of me being -3.
If you've taught your opponent to respect your defensive options after a blocked -3 that's when you can really start abusing them by continuing pressure on block. b1~MS Grab is always a really good option and few opponents are ever expecting it.
(You know you're doing something right when you've earned enough respect to turn a -3 on block move into a throw)
Notice I'm still doing my run input after a blocked F2 just so I still OS a run if it's hit. Really, with +16 I don't see any reason to not want to run and continue pressure with F2 whenever I hit. So I think Sonya players should make it a habit to replace "F2" as a command in their minds with "F2, run"
Do be careful about getting predictable with the parry, as many players will just opt to jump forward on you after a blocked f2. Simply don't forget your traditional defensive tools of backdash and d2 and you should be fine. If your opponent jumps in on you after a blocked f2 and you backdash, against all but a few characters you will whiff and force a tripguard punish.
Whelp, that's F2 folks. It's pretty good for Covert Ops.
