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Zangief General Discussion Thread

ChoseDeath

Seriously Casual Player.
Right people, I thought that we Gief players need to stick together here. Share your Combos, Tech and Strategies here.
He sucks. And I'm sad :(

Seriously though, I think his V-Trigger is pretty terrible, lol. I'm having trouble adjusting to him. Crouching Jab and Short followed by standing Roundhouse crush counter is sexual. That's all I have so far!
 

Shark Tank

I don't actually play these games
I'm just going to say, you need to master the instant air spd to do well with him. That's how I feel.
 

JJvercetti

Warrior
I usually use crouch HP for anti air, stand jab is the best but I suck at using that.

Standing combos I have used are:
f.hp>s.lk>Lariat
c.mp>s.lk>Lariat

Some Gimmicks
c.hp,Vtrigger tap, c.lp x2 VT tap, spd
 
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I use standing jab for an anti air and lariat is still actually really good it stops cros ups if done on reaction imo gief is really good in this game just different
 
I haven't had many matches with rashids but I do know his light mixer is minus 2 his ex tornado is I believe plus I don't understand Laura I feel like it's never my turn when do I get 2 press buttons
 

ChoseDeath

Seriously Casual Player.
I haven't had many matches with rashids but I do know his light mixer is minus 2 his ex tornado is I believe plus I don't understand Laura I feel like it's never my turn when do I get 2 press buttons
While I'm whining, I totally agree with you! Why is SPD 5 frames and why is EX not invincible?! Lol. Hold that pressure, lol. We'll figure it out!
 

ChoseDeath

Seriously Casual Player.
So the best thing I've got so far is that st Fierce is a great anti-air as it absorbs jump attacks. Headbutt is my favorite move for stuffing backdashes because it immediately grounds the opponent. Use your normals to harrass the opponent and bully them and throw an SPD in. That's by far the most effective methodology for Gief. That should be BASIC grappler 101, but I think it is literally the only way to play Zangief in this game. And Zangief vs Rashid is 9-1 Rashid. For realz.
 

JJvercetti

Warrior
So the best thing I've got so far is that st Fierce is a great anti-air as it absorbs jump attacks. Headbutt is my favorite move for stuffing backdashes because it immediately grounds the opponent. Use your normals to harrass the opponent and bully them and throw an SPD in. That's by far the most effective methodology for Gief. That should be BASIC grappler 101, but I think it is literally the only way to play Zangief in this game. And Zangief vs Rashid is 9-1 Rashid. For realz.
Nice tips, I usually prefer stand jab to anti air since it leaves them standing next to you and they seem to get worried. I also have no tips for Rashid, all I know is that if you are in range you can V-Trigger and pull him through his trigger.
 

ChoseDeath

Seriously Casual Player.
Nice tips, I usually prefer stand jab to anti air since it leaves them standing next to you and they seem to get worried. I also have no tips for Rashid, all I know is that if you are in range you can V-Trigger and pull him through his trigger.
You know, I started using st Jab like you said originally and you were right, it's a nasty AA. I would also like to add that jf Jab hits way further down that it looks like it does and you can get some decent jump ins with it, especially if they think you are going to empty jump SPD and they are not blocking but trying to escape.

Seriously with Rashid, I can't deal with him because you can't react to his kick versus his punch. If they get kick happy you can armor, but if you fuck up and they do his spin thing, you're doomed. I have a friend that plays Rashid and I'm going to train with him soon.
 

countrypistol

Kombatant
(Disclaimer: I've lost more matches with Gief than I've won)

I've been maining Gief since day 1 and have had real trouble with him, but I'm slowly getting an idea as to how you're meant to play him.

First off, his anti air game is solid. Standing jab is a great panic button, c.hp, air spd, and lariat for predicted jump ins (I prefer lariat, although I think c.hp does a touch more damage). He seems to be weak against cross ups at first, but you can react to cross ups with jump back jab with a large margin for success. Even if you cock it up, it results in a standing reset and not a full convo unlike the others.

I would avoid charged standing hp as an anti air as many jump ins will break the armour before you get the hit (The charged start up is actually 32 frames), and then there's Fang and Chun with their two hitting jump ins... The same applies to using v skill.

V Trigger should be comboed into in most instances. You can punish projectiles and bad whiffed pokes, but for the most part you want to confirm into it. Bear in mind when in V Trigger you can cancel into the cyclone from any normal (making his mids more dangerous).

With fireballs, don't v skill absorb them all. Four absorbs will get you one v bar, but you also take white damage with each one, so if you fuck up before it's recovered it will hurt. Mix up neutral jumps with v skill absorbs. Neutral jumps will force the neutral game too as whilst the fireball is on the screen, the opponent cannot throw another, allowing you to close the gap a little more. The jump will also buy you time to replenish white life from any previous absorbs.

I think the key to a good Gief is as follows;

1) Knowledge of ranges.

Gief's range is deceptively narrow. Anywhere within his medium kick/spd range is where he becomes scary, but making the opponent fear that range will require excellent spd execution, spot on c.lp-s.lk into lariat/spd hit confirms and anti airs (preferably with a hard hitting anti air, not standing jab). When they start keeping away, then use s.hp and s.hk, but don't just throw them out. They don't reach much further than s.mk, and are easily punishable.

2) Execution

I've mentioned SPD's, but you'll also need to master all his 720 super punishes from his normals, and the combos that end in them. Bafael and James Chen (UltrachenTV) have a bunch of great super tech that they've shared (standing 720 is especially dangerous, but fucking hard as balls to pull off), that once mastered will really open Gief up. It'll require practice though.

3) Patience

Walk your opponent down, neutral jump their fireballs, grab them when they walk that bit too close (this is harder than it seems execution wise), anti air their jump ins and force them into the corner where you can v trigger/super combo punish them. It's not easy as many players will just attempt to rush you down, and keeping them off without his old lariat and spd is tricky, but I don't think it's impossible.

4) Match up knowledge (obviously)

Knowing what you can SPD punish and what you can't will be vital in the long run. It may seem everyone just jumps out of Gief's grasp before you can throw them, but looking at the frame data on SRK this doesn't appear to be true. Lots of players are doing unsafe block strings at the moment and are going unpunished. It will take a lot of lab work to find where these holes are and lots of match play to efficiently spot them, but getting those Heavy SPD's in will be worth it in the long run.

Gief is not a character you can hide behind; success with him depends on your ability as a player. The great thing is that he will force you to make good decisions and learn the game instead of relying on gimmicks and reckless, unpredictable play.

There is a lot more that can be said about him, combos and hit confirms, etc, but I thought I'd share my 2 cents. I'm really enjoying him and I believe that over time we'll begin to see some really scary Gief players emerge as he definitely has the tools to succeed.

On a different note, does it bug anybody else that SRK requires an invite to join? I tried signing up a month ago only to find out I needed to be vouched for by a member just incase I was an ad bot. It would have been nice for them to advertise that point on the sign up screen.
 

ChoseDeath

Seriously Casual Player.
(Disclaimer: I've lost more matches with Gief than I've won)

I've been maining Gief since day 1 and have had real trouble with him, but I'm slowly getting an idea as to how you're meant to play him.

First off, his anti air game is solid. Standing jab is a great panic button, c.hp, air spd, and lariat for predicted jump ins (I prefer lariat, although I think c.hp does a touch more damage). He seems to be weak against cross ups at first, but you can react to cross ups with jump back jab with a large margin for success. Even if you cock it up, it results in a standing reset and not a full convo unlike the others.

I would avoid charged standing hp as an anti air as many jump ins will break the armour before you get the hit (The charged start up is actually 32 frames), and then there's Fang and Chun with their two hitting jump ins... The same applies to using v skill.

V Trigger should be comboed into in most instances. You can punish projectiles and bad whiffed pokes, but for the most part you want to confirm into it. Bear in mind when in V Trigger you can cancel into the cyclone from any normal (making his mids more dangerous).

With fireballs, don't v skill absorb them all. Four absorbs will get you one v bar, but you also take white damage with each one, so if you fuck up before it's recovered it will hurt. Mix up neutral jumps with v skill absorbs. Neutral jumps will force the neutral game too as whilst the fireball is on the screen, the opponent cannot throw another, allowing you to close the gap a little more. The jump will also buy you time to replenish white life from any previous absorbs.

I think the key to a good Gief is as follows;

1) Knowledge of ranges.

Gief's range is deceptively narrow. Anywhere within his medium kick/spd range is where he becomes scary, but making the opponent fear that range will require excellent spd execution, spot on c.lp-s.lk into lariat/spd hit confirms and anti airs (preferably with a hard hitting anti air, not standing jab). When they start keeping away, then use s.hp and s.hk, but don't just throw them out. They don't reach much further than s.mk, and are easily punishable.

2) Execution

I've mentioned SPD's, but you'll also need to master all his 720 super punishes from his normals, and the combos that end in them. Bafael and James Chen (UltrachenTV) have a bunch of great super tech that they've shared (standing 720 is especially dangerous, but fucking hard as balls to pull off), that once mastered will really open Gief up. It'll require practice though.

3) Patience

Walk your opponent down, neutral jump their fireballs, grab them when they walk that bit too close (this is harder than it seems execution wise), anti air their jump ins and force them into the corner where you can v trigger/super combo punish them. It's not easy as many players will just attempt to rush you down, and keeping them off without his old lariat and spd is tricky, but I don't think it's impossible.

4) Match up knowledge (obviously)

Knowing what you can SPD punish and what you can't will be vital in the long run. It may seem everyone just jumps out of Gief's grasp before you can throw them, but looking at the frame data on SRK this doesn't appear to be true. Lots of players are doing unsafe block strings at the moment and are going unpunished. It will take a lot of lab work to find where these holes are and lots of match play to efficiently spot them, but getting those Heavy SPD's in will be worth it in the long run.

Gief is not a character you can hide behind; success with him depends on your ability as a player. The great thing is that he will force you to make good decisions and learn the game instead of relying on gimmicks and reckless, unpredictable play.

There is a lot more that can be said about him, combos and hit confirms, etc, but I thought I'd share my 2 cents. I'm really enjoying him and I believe that over time we'll begin to see some really scary Gief players emerge as he definitely has the tools to succeed.

On a different note, does it bug anybody else that SRK requires an invite to join? I tried signing up a month ago only to find out I needed to be vouched for by a member just incase I was an ad bot. It would have been nice for them to advertise that point on the sign up screen.
Just in case you just started playing Zangief this game... Snake Eyes my brother. Check him out if you don't already know. Also excellent post!