Raynex
Intelligence + Speed + Power
I'll be adding to this thread / improving the organization whenever I have the time. My purpose is to discuss how to open up opponents, use F23 intelligently, and expand on his knockdown game, among other things. This thread's creation was spurred on by a question asked by M-Aran-X in the Superman general discussion thread. Hopefully this leads to more great discussion.
(My apologies about the lazy look of things, I will make it more aesthetically pleasing I promise!)
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As one of the best characters in the game, Superman isn't one with too many weaknesses. You have to first come to terms with the only real downside to playing him: he doesn't have tricky ways of landing hits at neutral during the stand up / footsies game. His only stand-alone overhead clocks in at a sluggish 30 frames, ergo Superman has no good overhead. Do NOT focus on using overheads when they block low, due to its speed it is relatively easy to defend against. Superman needs to utilize some pretty unconventional methods to open up skilled players. Alright, here we go.
This is by far the most important thing to remember. Superman has the easiest time opening up opponents when he creates hard knockdown situations. Okay, so his stand up game is bland...but his oki game is great. Cross-up overhead dives, safe B1 combo starters, air dash mix-ups, solid grab range, and I haven't even gotten into the corner shenanigans with cross-up F3s, cross up dashes and the like. Your aim with Superman is to hit them once, make them either hit the floor (hard knockdown) or corner them (flying punch if close) and mix them up on wake-up until they die. This is where Superman shines! I could go on and on about hard knockdowns but I'm sure you get the idea. Practice your setups so that every knockdown gives you the opportunity to run a tricky mix-up and land a hit for 40+%. Superman doesn't win matches by hitting you many times, his mix-up is too shit for that to happen. He wins by being patient, hitting you once or twice then UNLOADING damage. His big damage is the reward you get for patience and a well rehearsed and varied knockdown game, complete with tricky setups.
Whiff punishing with F23 is fantastic, but everyone and their mother knows its coming. As time goes on and players improve their spacing and patience, it won't be as big of a threat. Don't get me wrong though, I still think its the best string in the game and the crutch of his mid-range footsies. It is for this reason I believe we need to focus on applying it differently to increase our repertoire of tricks, bolster F23's longevity, and make this bland character less bland.
(My apologies about the lazy look of things, I will make it more aesthetically pleasing I promise!)
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OPENING UP OPPONENTS
As one of the best characters in the game, Superman isn't one with too many weaknesses. You have to first come to terms with the only real downside to playing him: he doesn't have tricky ways of landing hits at neutral during the stand up / footsies game. His only stand-alone overhead clocks in at a sluggish 30 frames, ergo Superman has no good overhead. Do NOT focus on using overheads when they block low, due to its speed it is relatively easy to defend against. Superman needs to utilize some pretty unconventional methods to open up skilled players. Alright, here we go.
- GRAB GRAB GRAB. Why is grab so important, even when they're low blocking and doing nothing? Because it is one of the only ways, in ANY fighting game, to elicit a response by forcing your opponent to press buttons to break the throw. Throws force action, which means if you condition them to expect it by having a healthy throw game and peppering it in unexpectedly, they will naturally have to open their defenses more to deal with it. Once your throw game evolves you'll find countless ways to land hits because you've established the threat of throw. In my experience, I think it's best to create your own throw setups so you have a whole slew of situations you can use it in. Don't always set it up with D1~throw. Dash in and throw, B3 (blocked) then throw during blockstun. Heat zap then throw. F2~trait~throw. F3 / B3 charge dash-cancel throw. Superman has to use his throw more than most characters in Injustice (yet no one does and I don't know why) because his mix-up is sub-par. It's simple, effective, and gets you hits once you learn to manipulate throw break situations!
- Opening them up isn't always necessary. Any string into breath or heat zap effectively pushes your opponent to the corner. I remember posting something about this the other day. Think about it like you're two boxers in a boxing ring. All of you must have seen this scenario before: boxer A bullies boxer B with a flurry of punches and corners him. Boxer B puts his hands up in defense but continues to get hammered by a rain of punches, then the ref goes in to split them up and stop the massacre. Pushing your opponent to the corner is a huge advantage for you, and whether you're opening them up or not you are still doing chip damage plus gaining positional advantage all the while. Once the corner comes into play they have to get out immediately otherwise they risk getting tagged by "a flurry of punches" aka 50%-72% combos. That's why people opt to pushblock (they blow a meter, win for you), jump (AA them, win for you), try to interrupt pressure with D1 (whiff punish with F23, win for you), do nothing (keep up the offense, throw, [MB] F3, etc). Accept that people like to block excessively at times, and do not mistake that for negative. With Superman it can be a good thing, even with his shitty mix-up. It all depends on where you are on the stage! Remember, the chip damage is NOT the focal point. its minor but it still exists as a miniscule bonus for your efforts. You won't be stringing 3 reps of F23~breath on blocking opponents all the time, but when you do try to look at the upsides. Sure you're not opening them up, but a few reps may just get them to the corner, and that's where the real fun begins.
- Opening them up isn't always necessary, part 2. If their life bar is low and you only need about 20-30%, activate trait and start doing heat zaps / [MB] heat visions. Trait increases chip damage: Heat zap does 7+% if its blocked, [MB] heat vision does either 3 or 4%. A few of those and your opponent want to naturally close the gap, annoyed by your high chip zoning. Getting clipped while jumping or dashing is bad for them too, as a trait powered Heat zap does more than 10%! If they cross the screen with jumps or forward dashes, you can AA or punish the dashes with F23.
- B1~[MB] Breath is one of my all time favourite things to do with Superman. The [MB] breath is safe, the B1 is far reaching and the combo itself leads to respectable damage (especially in the corner). There are a variety of ways to implement this "free guess" at a combo, and catch unsuspecting opponents who forgot to watch their feet. My recommendation would be to try and use it after walking backwards, say after a F23~Breath, or after your opponent gets up off the ground. In my experience, walking backwards out of point blank range eases your opponent's mind and they usually choose to stand (either to walk towards you or do something else). Little do they know you're actually at max range for B1, which has similar range to Aquaman's B1! I'm sure you guys can find more ways to sneak this in.
- Don't bounce cancel for mix-ups. Wasting two bars for a reactable 30 frame overhead makes no sense, there are better uses for meter.
- Don't bounce cancel for mix-ups. Wasting two bars for a reactable 30 frame overhead makes no sense, there are better uses for meter.
- F23~Breath x1 or 2, visually confirm stand block, then take a risk with F2D1. People get so caught up with this blocking that they sometimes forget to block low. If you catch them in the corner with F2D1, you get the exact same combos normally provided by landing 223. You know what that means? F2D1, 3~Trait, 3~[MB] Breath, Heat Zap to all that goodness. This is not to be overused, but in certain situations, against the right player, it might just work.
OPENING UP OPPONENTS (b):
Superman's Hard Knockdown Game
This is by far the most important thing to remember. Superman has the easiest time opening up opponents when he creates hard knockdown situations. Okay, so his stand up game is bland...but his oki game is great. Cross-up overhead dives, safe B1 combo starters, air dash mix-ups, solid grab range, and I haven't even gotten into the corner shenanigans with cross-up F3s, cross up dashes and the like. Your aim with Superman is to hit them once, make them either hit the floor (hard knockdown) or corner them (flying punch if close) and mix them up on wake-up until they die. This is where Superman shines! I could go on and on about hard knockdowns but I'm sure you get the idea. Practice your setups so that every knockdown gives you the opportunity to run a tricky mix-up and land a hit for 40+%. Superman doesn't win matches by hitting you many times, his mix-up is too shit for that to happen. He wins by being patient, hitting you once or twice then UNLOADING damage. His big damage is the reward you get for patience and a well rehearsed and varied knockdown game, complete with tricky setups.
I'll be adding more points to this when my hands recover from all this typing. There is more s much more I want to share about oki theory.
GETTING MORE MILEAGE OUT OF F23
Whiff punishing with F23 is fantastic, but everyone and their mother knows its coming. As time goes on and players improve their spacing and patience, it won't be as big of a threat. Don't get me wrong though, I still think its the best string in the game and the crutch of his mid-range footsies. It is for this reason I believe we need to focus on applying it differently to increase our repertoire of tricks, bolster F23's longevity, and make this bland character less bland.
For starters, I've had to change my thinking a bit. Some players will F23 at their opponent regardless of what they are doing. If they get in range, they do it because they either get a combo or start a blockstring. Win-win, right? Every single decision you make matters, even the ones where you apparently have nothing to lose. If you F23 at literally EVERY opportunity possible, your hit ratio won't be that high. Sure you might hit their block, but then we get stuck in the scenario no Superman likes: how do we open them up from here? The answer is to save your F23 and not use it as often. Stop FORCING yourself to hit their block, because once you do it becomes hard to open them up. I've seen players pop trait, air dash mix-up, and even try dashing in after a blocked breath, all of which are unreliable. You're only at +1 after breath (soon to be 0); so you don't have the frames to safely apply mix-ups afterwards. It takes an unprecedented amount of self-control to not F2 when you are in F2 range, but I think its important to practice restraint here. You won't be put in this "how do I open them up" situation as often. After all, F2 is much much better as whiff punish tool. F2 has deceptive range, is very quick + safe and leads to a full combo. It will connect twice as much if your opponent is focusing on other things and not expecting it.
Keeping your opponents mind off F23 to make it more effective:
- Do more heat zap more, especially at mid-range. It is +19 on block which means it has virtually no recovery. If they avoid it by crouching you can still F23 and beat out anything they press. Some opponents might feel the need to dash forward after blocking one from farther away. You can punish all dash in attempts With F23 on a read; this will come up more often than you think.
- Walk in close, then walk back. Don't hit a single button and DON'T F23 just to hit their block. Remember once they block F23, Superman's mix-up is ass. Ease in slowly and be patient, then float back like a boss. Float in REALLY close if you're brave enough. Most people cannot handle Superman coming in close, they panic and do something. Watch for jumps (dash under F23), and watch for limbs they stick out (whiff punish F23). Because every Superman on the planet does F23, they will expect it and act sporadically in fear of it. They might backdash or jump or [MB] something, and THAT'S when you strike. Use F23 reactively, adopt a samurai mindset and break your opponent with the fear of F23 without actually using it! If they have the composure to do nothing when you're that close, then congratulations you've gotten into close range spacing for absolutely zero cost.
Keeping your opponents mind off F23 to make it more effective:
- Do more heat zap more, especially at mid-range. It is +19 on block which means it has virtually no recovery. If they avoid it by crouching you can still F23 and beat out anything they press. Some opponents might feel the need to dash forward after blocking one from farther away. You can punish all dash in attempts With F23 on a read; this will come up more often than you think.
- Walk in close, then walk back. Don't hit a single button and DON'T F23 just to hit their block. Remember once they block F23, Superman's mix-up is ass. Ease in slowly and be patient, then float back like a boss. Float in REALLY close if you're brave enough. Most people cannot handle Superman coming in close, they panic and do something. Watch for jumps (dash under F23), and watch for limbs they stick out (whiff punish F23). Because every Superman on the planet does F23, they will expect it and act sporadically in fear of it. They might backdash or jump or [MB] something, and THAT'S when you strike. Use F23 reactively, adopt a samurai mindset and break your opponent with the fear of F23 without actually using it! If they have the composure to do nothing when you're that close, then congratulations you've gotten into close range spacing for absolutely zero cost.
GENERAL SUPERMAN STUFF
- Refrain from starting all blockstrings with F23. Use B23~breath, 3~breath, 3~zap B2~zap, 22~breath, etc. Keeping it varied, visually, is always a good thing. By giving them a pattern to recognize (F23~breath) you are preparing them for pressure and they will be more comfortable while you do it. Don't let them get comfortable. Especially with the zap strings (they are interruptable obviously) which play on your opponents fear and passiveness: if you do zap in a string and they block low (zap whiffs) you can still F23 and beat out a ton of shit because of its non-existant recovery. If it gets blocked you're +19, so you can grab / [MB] B3 or F3 for more block advantage / B1~[MB] Breath SAFE LOW combo starter / another zap / B23~zap or breath. You get the picture!
- Once you get your opponent into the corner your standard mix-ups improve. F3 is a slow overhead but its +9 on block. If it hits you get 70+%, if they block it you can frame trap with F23~breath into another guessing game or you can throw while they're in blockstun. Because being in the corner negates pushback, if you make them block heat zap / F3 / B3 they'll still be point blank and reeling from 7+ frames of blockstun. Midscreen you normally can't do much but in the corner they have to deal with it as long as you connect with their block. How do you connect with slow moves? By conditioning your opponent to not throw out whiffs or buttons in general. You pressure them, they continue to block, you make a read while on the offensive then you do slower moves with heavy frame advantage to give you entirely new possibilities.
- Once you get your opponent into the corner your standard mix-ups improve. F3 is a slow overhead but its +9 on block. If it hits you get 70+%, if they block it you can frame trap with F23~breath into another guessing game or you can throw while they're in blockstun. Because being in the corner negates pushback, if you make them block heat zap / F3 / B3 they'll still be point blank and reeling from 7+ frames of blockstun. Midscreen you normally can't do much but in the corner they have to deal with it as long as you connect with their block. How do you connect with slow moves? By conditioning your opponent to not throw out whiffs or buttons in general. You pressure them, they continue to block, you make a read while on the offensive then you do slower moves with heavy frame advantage to give you entirely new possibilities.
