This topic is about “Glitch Jabs” in UMK3, as well as Run Jabs, Kara Jabs, the differences between the 3, the similarities between the 3, and determining just how good these tactics or mechanics are for the game.
I need to point out before I get into this that I 100% completely understand the issues people have with Glitch Jabs. The fact that they're even called "Glitch Jabs" alludes to how everyone perceives them. Because they actually AREN’T a glitch, believe it or not. On paper, it's a ridiculous concept. In fact, if you were to tell me about Glitch Jabs when I started getting into UMK3 competitively back in late 2006, I probably would have been pretty turned off especially at that time since there was a far more limited understanding and knowledge of them. When people hear or learn about GJ's and what they are, they immediately call them broken and look at them in a negative light. And I don’t blame them, as I said the concept itself is pretty absurd. Even though being able to attack while blocking actually exists in some other fighting games, it’s just not something you would see as an inherently "good" thing. However, you won't fully grasp how they affect the game until you put down the pen and paper, and start trying to understand how they work with your own, firsthand experience.
There's an obvious divide of people on either ends of a cliff. On one side of the cliff, there are those who are against the Jabs. And on the other side of the cliff, there are those who are for the Jabs. And my goal is not to forcibly push everyone off their cliffs, but to try and build a bridge between the two cliffs so that everyone can meet in the middle and better understand each other instead of shouting at one another from their respective cliffs.
Now to lay some groundwork. For those that have no clue what Run Jabs (RJ’s), Kara Jabs (KJ’s) or Glitch Jabs (GJ’s) are in UMK3, allow me to explain. There's something called "Run Jabs" in UMK3. The name of this tactic is axiomatic or self explanatory. You run, and jab, which is typically performed with a low punch (LP), but you can also technically do a run jab with a high punch (HP). Run Jabs are used to apply pressure, force mistakes, and to do nasty chip damage. Then we have something called "Kara Jabs". Kara Jabs are the same as Run Jabs, but KJ’s are when you're canceling each jab with another button. The most effective button to cancel the jab with is the block button. Doing a KJ cuts the animation of the jab nearly in half, allowing you to rush down with the Jabs much faster. What KJ’s also do, is when you're canceling your jab with block, you're basically throwing out a safe attack that if countered you can block it immediately. If someone sweeps you while you’re rushing down with KJ’s, if done correctly, you will block the sweep automatically. But you do have to be holding down back while you throw out each KJ. Doing so allows you to block sweeps and anything else without having to necessarily block it on reaction. Holding back while you do each jab also prevents counter jabs from being able to throw you. This is pretty tricky to master, considering each time you KJ, you want to be moving forward, but then you have to go into down back right after you move forward to avoid them being easily countered by a sweep. Once the KJ IS countered with an attack, the Kara Jabber is forced into the block animation. So for a short amount of time, the Kara Jabber is in block stun. KJ’ing is also useful for baiting. Throw out a quick jab and cancel it with block to force someone to do something. For instance, you force them to teleport, then since you kara jabbed, you block and then punish.
“Glitch Jabs” (GJ’s) are taking Kara Jabs a step further. GJ’s are you being able to throw out multiple Jabs in one place while being able to automatically block any attack your opponent throws at you (aside from the unblockable specials moves such as Sheeva and Jax’s ground pounds, Sheeva's telestomp, etc). Again, while you’re doing these GJ’s, you still have to be holding down+back to avoid sweeps, but it's easier with Glitch Jabs since you're typically not trying to advance then quickly go to down+back+block. However, you can also do a “Rushing Glitch Jab” (RGJ), which allow you to apply insane amounts of pressure virtually completely safely. This is using them basically as a Run/Kara Jab. But you're throwing out multiple jabs each time.
The GJ’s work the same as KJ’s. If you get hit, you're forced into block stun. And that's ultimately the best way to exploit/counter them. Once you stop someone from advancing and glitch jabbing, it's your turn to go on the offensive since they're basically frozen (in block stun) for a brief time.
So, for the ones on the cliff who are against GJ’s, based on the description and everything I have just layed out, it’s very easy to understand why they aren’t in favor of them. Logically, I have no issues with admitting that it’s a completely broken mechanic that in a lot of situations cheapens the experience not only for the players, but also for the audience/viewers watching the matches. Even though as I said there are some games where you can attack & block at the same time, in most games, this could potentially be a game breaking mechanic. However, the reason they're not as absurd as they seem in UMK3 is really because of Run Jabs. There's nothing really like Run Jabs in any other games. In UMK3, everyone has very similar normals, just with different properties (range, startup frames, recovery frames, etc). So every character in the game can Run/Kara/ & Glitch Jab. Some are far better at it, or benefit from them far more than others, like Kabal for example. But since Run Jabs are such a big part of competitive UMK3, converting them into Kara and Glitch Jabs isn't too crazy and absurd as it would seem. If I haven’t made it clear up until this point, I would like to point out that it's only HP and LP you can do any type of Jab with. So no High Kick (HK) or Low Kick (LK) “jabs” or anything, lol.
The Glitch Jabs can be beaten and countered once you get over the concept of them. Some of the people who are on that cliff can't though. Some people will read the above and out of close-mindedness will automatically dismiss them and UMK3 altogether. The people who get past the concept and actually take the time to experiment with them, generally in my experience come to realize they can be defeated and they're not as ridiculous as they sound on paper. I feel like stubbornness and ego oftentimes get in the way especially in regards to this topic. I was as close-minded as anyone else at first, I was one of the many on that one side of the cliff shouting that it’s broken. I was really frustrated that this tactic seemingly dominated the game and meta. I even was ready to give up on the game. But, before I did I decided to just go into the lab and try and figure anything out I could about thess GJ’s and if there were any reliable ways to counter them. So, REO and I got together with really the goal being to show everyone just how busted GJ’s were and the fact that they completely ruined the game. REO and I were training partners and at the time, we both 100% agreed that GJ’s were absurd.
So in our efforts to expose GJ’s and really put on display just how broken they were, we both actually came to a very different conclusion. You can even ask REO himself about this (if he remembers, this was awhile ago). We tested every aspect of the GJ’s. He would play me and ONLY would Glitch Jab, and at first he was winning. I then started to experiment on different ways of getting around them. I was shocked at how easy it is to exploit them once you get the Glitch Jabber into block stun. Before I knew it, REO simply could not win when he was only Glitch Jabbing. Once that happened, we switched and the same thing happened. I was winning a lot at first, then HE started finding ways around the GJ’s as well, again, to the point to where I couldn’t just win by GJ’ing. So we switched again, and he started using them sparingly and not solely relying on them. Then he started to win again. Then we BOTH started using Glitch and Kara Jabs in our game, but not abusing them, because we couldn’t abuse them. This is when the game suddenly was completely different for both of us for the first time in years. At the risk of sounding dramatic or cheesy, It’s as if we unlocked a whole new layer of the game that was right under our noses the entire time. We were having really fun competitive matches and I wasn't standing there watching him Glitch Jab the air, and neither was he watching me do that. And neither of us wanted to do that because we knew we could counter it.
Of course in that training session I didn't learn everything there is to know about the Jabs. It did open me up to them though and it was like a key unlocked my closed mind. I completely changed my position on them after that session.
When I went on to play other players after that session, I started just absolutely dominating everyone I played who did not have a clue how to beat my newly found tactics (again, I know how cringey that sounds, but whatever). And the players who just GJ'd, I would 10-0 them now. Both sides either weren't use to playing players who used them, or playing players who knew how to beat them.
Now, I obviously realize talking about all of this and mine and REO’s anecdotes isn’t exactly going to just change the minds of all of you who are still on that cliff shouting. And I also understand that a lot of you just don't think they make the game better and also make the game look boring and goofy. I know some of you said that the jabs aren't "high level" and they require no skill or talent. And maybe just doing them without ANY other tactic, that doesn't require much skill, I would agree. As I mentioned above though, that's not going to work on players who know what to do. What does require skill is incorporating these Jabs into your already developed game. And being able to, on reaction, stop someone from simply abusing them. You have to go into the lab against someone who is using them nonstop. And for the first however many games, just have your training partner essentially do nothing but GJ. Once you start finding ways to counter them, then you have your training partner still use them a lot, but not ONLY using them. And then you can just go on from there, but I promise you that this is the best way to learn how to counter them.
Because once you're using them, your opponent is using them, and both of you know what to do against them and how yo counter them, you'll realize that maybe they aren't as game breaking as you first thought. Cause I can sit here and tell you all the different ways I've found to beat them, but I think experimenting yourself is the only way you'll actually try and overcome the Glitch Jabs, and the only way you’ll stop shouting from your side of the cliff, and take that first step out onto the bridge.
It's too good! - Sirlin
"Only in the most extreme, rare cases should something be banned because it is “too good.” This will be the most common type of ban requested by players, and almost all of their requests will be foolish. Banning a tactic simply because it is “the best” isn’t even warranted. That only reduces the game to all the “second best” tactics, which isn’t necessarily any better of a game than the original game. In fact, it’s often worse! The player requesting the ban may not fully grasp that the game is, in fact, not all about that one tactic."
I need to point out before I get into this that I 100% completely understand the issues people have with Glitch Jabs. The fact that they're even called "Glitch Jabs" alludes to how everyone perceives them. Because they actually AREN’T a glitch, believe it or not. On paper, it's a ridiculous concept. In fact, if you were to tell me about Glitch Jabs when I started getting into UMK3 competitively back in late 2006, I probably would have been pretty turned off especially at that time since there was a far more limited understanding and knowledge of them. When people hear or learn about GJ's and what they are, they immediately call them broken and look at them in a negative light. And I don’t blame them, as I said the concept itself is pretty absurd. Even though being able to attack while blocking actually exists in some other fighting games, it’s just not something you would see as an inherently "good" thing. However, you won't fully grasp how they affect the game until you put down the pen and paper, and start trying to understand how they work with your own, firsthand experience.
There's an obvious divide of people on either ends of a cliff. On one side of the cliff, there are those who are against the Jabs. And on the other side of the cliff, there are those who are for the Jabs. And my goal is not to forcibly push everyone off their cliffs, but to try and build a bridge between the two cliffs so that everyone can meet in the middle and better understand each other instead of shouting at one another from their respective cliffs.
Now to lay some groundwork. For those that have no clue what Run Jabs (RJ’s), Kara Jabs (KJ’s) or Glitch Jabs (GJ’s) are in UMK3, allow me to explain. There's something called "Run Jabs" in UMK3. The name of this tactic is axiomatic or self explanatory. You run, and jab, which is typically performed with a low punch (LP), but you can also technically do a run jab with a high punch (HP). Run Jabs are used to apply pressure, force mistakes, and to do nasty chip damage. Then we have something called "Kara Jabs". Kara Jabs are the same as Run Jabs, but KJ’s are when you're canceling each jab with another button. The most effective button to cancel the jab with is the block button. Doing a KJ cuts the animation of the jab nearly in half, allowing you to rush down with the Jabs much faster. What KJ’s also do, is when you're canceling your jab with block, you're basically throwing out a safe attack that if countered you can block it immediately. If someone sweeps you while you’re rushing down with KJ’s, if done correctly, you will block the sweep automatically. But you do have to be holding down back while you throw out each KJ. Doing so allows you to block sweeps and anything else without having to necessarily block it on reaction. Holding back while you do each jab also prevents counter jabs from being able to throw you. This is pretty tricky to master, considering each time you KJ, you want to be moving forward, but then you have to go into down back right after you move forward to avoid them being easily countered by a sweep. Once the KJ IS countered with an attack, the Kara Jabber is forced into the block animation. So for a short amount of time, the Kara Jabber is in block stun. KJ’ing is also useful for baiting. Throw out a quick jab and cancel it with block to force someone to do something. For instance, you force them to teleport, then since you kara jabbed, you block and then punish.
“Glitch Jabs” (GJ’s) are taking Kara Jabs a step further. GJ’s are you being able to throw out multiple Jabs in one place while being able to automatically block any attack your opponent throws at you (aside from the unblockable specials moves such as Sheeva and Jax’s ground pounds, Sheeva's telestomp, etc). Again, while you’re doing these GJ’s, you still have to be holding down+back to avoid sweeps, but it's easier with Glitch Jabs since you're typically not trying to advance then quickly go to down+back+block. However, you can also do a “Rushing Glitch Jab” (RGJ), which allow you to apply insane amounts of pressure virtually completely safely. This is using them basically as a Run/Kara Jab. But you're throwing out multiple jabs each time.
The GJ’s work the same as KJ’s. If you get hit, you're forced into block stun. And that's ultimately the best way to exploit/counter them. Once you stop someone from advancing and glitch jabbing, it's your turn to go on the offensive since they're basically frozen (in block stun) for a brief time.
So, for the ones on the cliff who are against GJ’s, based on the description and everything I have just layed out, it’s very easy to understand why they aren’t in favor of them. Logically, I have no issues with admitting that it’s a completely broken mechanic that in a lot of situations cheapens the experience not only for the players, but also for the audience/viewers watching the matches. Even though as I said there are some games where you can attack & block at the same time, in most games, this could potentially be a game breaking mechanic. However, the reason they're not as absurd as they seem in UMK3 is really because of Run Jabs. There's nothing really like Run Jabs in any other games. In UMK3, everyone has very similar normals, just with different properties (range, startup frames, recovery frames, etc). So every character in the game can Run/Kara/ & Glitch Jab. Some are far better at it, or benefit from them far more than others, like Kabal for example. But since Run Jabs are such a big part of competitive UMK3, converting them into Kara and Glitch Jabs isn't too crazy and absurd as it would seem. If I haven’t made it clear up until this point, I would like to point out that it's only HP and LP you can do any type of Jab with. So no High Kick (HK) or Low Kick (LK) “jabs” or anything, lol.
The Glitch Jabs can be beaten and countered once you get over the concept of them. Some of the people who are on that cliff can't though. Some people will read the above and out of close-mindedness will automatically dismiss them and UMK3 altogether. The people who get past the concept and actually take the time to experiment with them, generally in my experience come to realize they can be defeated and they're not as ridiculous as they sound on paper. I feel like stubbornness and ego oftentimes get in the way especially in regards to this topic. I was as close-minded as anyone else at first, I was one of the many on that one side of the cliff shouting that it’s broken. I was really frustrated that this tactic seemingly dominated the game and meta. I even was ready to give up on the game. But, before I did I decided to just go into the lab and try and figure anything out I could about thess GJ’s and if there were any reliable ways to counter them. So, REO and I got together with really the goal being to show everyone just how busted GJ’s were and the fact that they completely ruined the game. REO and I were training partners and at the time, we both 100% agreed that GJ’s were absurd.
So in our efforts to expose GJ’s and really put on display just how broken they were, we both actually came to a very different conclusion. You can even ask REO himself about this (if he remembers, this was awhile ago). We tested every aspect of the GJ’s. He would play me and ONLY would Glitch Jab, and at first he was winning. I then started to experiment on different ways of getting around them. I was shocked at how easy it is to exploit them once you get the Glitch Jabber into block stun. Before I knew it, REO simply could not win when he was only Glitch Jabbing. Once that happened, we switched and the same thing happened. I was winning a lot at first, then HE started finding ways around the GJ’s as well, again, to the point to where I couldn’t just win by GJ’ing. So we switched again, and he started using them sparingly and not solely relying on them. Then he started to win again. Then we BOTH started using Glitch and Kara Jabs in our game, but not abusing them, because we couldn’t abuse them. This is when the game suddenly was completely different for both of us for the first time in years. At the risk of sounding dramatic or cheesy, It’s as if we unlocked a whole new layer of the game that was right under our noses the entire time. We were having really fun competitive matches and I wasn't standing there watching him Glitch Jab the air, and neither was he watching me do that. And neither of us wanted to do that because we knew we could counter it.
Of course in that training session I didn't learn everything there is to know about the Jabs. It did open me up to them though and it was like a key unlocked my closed mind. I completely changed my position on them after that session.
When I went on to play other players after that session, I started just absolutely dominating everyone I played who did not have a clue how to beat my newly found tactics (again, I know how cringey that sounds, but whatever). And the players who just GJ'd, I would 10-0 them now. Both sides either weren't use to playing players who used them, or playing players who knew how to beat them.
Now, I obviously realize talking about all of this and mine and REO’s anecdotes isn’t exactly going to just change the minds of all of you who are still on that cliff shouting. And I also understand that a lot of you just don't think they make the game better and also make the game look boring and goofy. I know some of you said that the jabs aren't "high level" and they require no skill or talent. And maybe just doing them without ANY other tactic, that doesn't require much skill, I would agree. As I mentioned above though, that's not going to work on players who know what to do. What does require skill is incorporating these Jabs into your already developed game. And being able to, on reaction, stop someone from simply abusing them. You have to go into the lab against someone who is using them nonstop. And for the first however many games, just have your training partner essentially do nothing but GJ. Once you start finding ways to counter them, then you have your training partner still use them a lot, but not ONLY using them. And then you can just go on from there, but I promise you that this is the best way to learn how to counter them.
Because once you're using them, your opponent is using them, and both of you know what to do against them and how yo counter them, you'll realize that maybe they aren't as game breaking as you first thought. Cause I can sit here and tell you all the different ways I've found to beat them, but I think experimenting yourself is the only way you'll actually try and overcome the Glitch Jabs, and the only way you’ll stop shouting from your side of the cliff, and take that first step out onto the bridge.
It's too good! - Sirlin
"Only in the most extreme, rare cases should something be banned because it is “too good.” This will be the most common type of ban requested by players, and almost all of their requests will be foolish. Banning a tactic simply because it is “the best” isn’t even warranted. That only reduces the game to all the “second best” tactics, which isn’t necessarily any better of a game than the original game. In fact, it’s often worse! The player requesting the ban may not fully grasp that the game is, in fact, not all about that one tactic."
