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Bandit Revolver

Ragna Critique and Self-Improvement Thread

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Would 5D(1)>DS be good, or should I just lay off of it altogether.
As soon as they see 5D they know they can just hold up-back. It can't go into any low attacks and the only thing that isn't punishable on block is deadspike. But due to deadspike's slow startup, they'll probably just jump out anyway. Better of skipping 5D altogether. It doesn't add anything useful to your blockstrings.

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Stop using 5D on block altogether. It's unsafe whichever way you look at it. For frame traps use 2A > 2C.

As previously mentioned, you can't do much off of 5D on block, there is no mixup since they only need to block high. Dash cancelling the first hit is unsafe too.

Best to just stop using 5D, unless you are playing against noel and using it on her wake up, or using it against people when you have them in the corner if you think they are going to jump out.

5D > DS is not good on block, try find a less predictable way of going into DS like 2B > DS. Better players will just keep using reversals on you everytime you try doing stuff off 5D

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1. Combos. You could be getting a lot more damage off of a lot of things that you're just going into HF after. It looks like you're assuming you're midscreen when you're a lot closer to the corner than you think. Also, when your back is to the corner and you land a 6C, it's a great time to dash cancel, then microdash under the falling opponent and 5D. This puts them in the corner and gets more damage than just 6C>DC>5D>DC>5C etc.

2. Meter usage. You seem to be holding onto your meter a bit much. Ragna sweats meter. There were a number of combos where a RC would've given you a lot more damage/better positioning and a few where efficient meter use could've won you the round. If you die with meter, it's completely wasted, so if you're in a tight spot, don't be afraid to DP>RC.

3. Pressure. Something I find myself doing all too often is just dialing in the 5B>5C on block. 5C is pretty bad on block, honestly. It pushes you too far away for 2C, 5D is even lamer on block, 2D ends your pressure (but does great to catch people holding up-back) and all of Ragna's specials, save for deadspike are unsafe on block.

DS can reset pressure rather well against some characters, but it starts up slow and it can't cancel into anything, so even though it's +3 it's pretty much begging to be up-backed when your opponent sees they blocked it. 2B and 2C are good for resetting pressure because they recover fast, and you can cancel them into a number of normals for frametraps. Just lay off the 5C, it's a really bad habit to autopilot with it.

Thanks for the feedback.

I actually went into training mode and improved my combos the next day, but I'm still unsure on whether to burn the meter while my opponent still has burst. Is it better to use the meter to force a burst, or save the meter for a blocked 2D, DP, or GH to continue pressure/stay safe?

Yes, autopilot is always bad, but old habits die hard. I'm still working on this.

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Some major things i want to touch on:

1. Your pressure needs a lot of work, as previously mentioned. The only thing i kept seeing was 5B > 5C > DS/GH/2D. Not only is your pressure repetitive, you aren't really making use of ragna's fundamentals. Ragna's 2C is + on block, so you oughta be throwing that out more. Also micro dashing and using 5A is good for if you think people will try to jump out. No one was punishing you for that pressure you were using, so i can understand if you think it's pretty legit. Against Better players, they'd be using a lot of DP's in your pressure or reversals...there were too many holes in your pressure.

2. Your Hitconfirm needs a lot of work as well.

3. I think you need to play more with Ragna overall in order to realise his strengths and weakness, and how to utilise him properly. You also need to work on your match ups, but that will come with you playing more.

Thanks for the feedback.

I actually went into training mode and improved my combos the next day, but I'm still unsure on whether to burn the meter while my opponent still has burst. Is it better to use the meter to force a burst, or save the meter for a blocked 2D, DP, or GH to continue pressure/stay safe?

Yes, autopilot is always bad, but old habits die hard. I'm still working on this.

I honestly couldn't tell you how to use your meter. It's something you need to use your own judgement for. It depends on so many things, the match up and how the course of the match is going. For instance, if you are playing against lambda, you'd wanna lock her down, so maybe spending meter on mix-up might be best for THAT MATCH-UP, it hoenstly depends. I guess what i'm trying to say is let your instincts take over, they should tell you what to do in a specific situation. You shouldn't have to think "let me use meter for this", you just do it. Also, you should use meter irrespective of if they have a burst or not, it's better than sitting on 100 heat. Just don't use BK when they have a burst, for obvious reasons.

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I know I dropped a lot of combos and missed some hit confirms but any advice would be helpful. I have some other matches from this set I need to upload so I'll probably edit this post when I get those.

http://youtu.be/wuiQeNo2jaQ

I'm not the most qualified but I'll give it a shot

I won't go much into combos and hitconfirms because you mentioned that yourself...but yeah a bit of work might be needed

Generally I can tell that you don't know how to play this matchup very well, Mu is a character where as Ragna you have to plan your approaches better, you seem to be just double jumping your way in most of the time (especially in matchups like these) Mu's anti airs aren't amazing but they are good enough to keep you out if you keep approaching from the air all the time

You seem to be having trouble keeping her in the corner which is by far the best situation for you in this matchup, her DP is the only thing she has to keep you out and its pretty baitable (although if you get hit with it, its back to her keeping you out game (though to be fair you did bait it quite well a few times)

8:24, Nice CS xD

If you are going to try Cross up D ID try being a bit closer before you commit to it, you seem to keep trying it from about two character lengths away and keep ending up in front rather than behind

GH/6B are both very risky moves but when you have meter its a least worth a shot if you opponent is just going to block low all day, they may not see it coming

12:29 lol that made my day

Hope this helped even a little

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Avoid doing 214A\214B during neutral unless you -really- think it's a good idea. It's really risky and the payoff is not really that good. You have much better, safer ways to approach than that. I also noticed some lack of combo optimization, as you went for routes that gave less damage and meter, though not by a very large margin. Try Barrier blocking a bit more as well, really helps depending on the matchup(like the Arakune one where you kept eating chip damage during curse).

Overall though, it could be a lot worse. You got a lot of stuff down already and it's more of a question of earning experience with the character.

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Dem HFs.

Hmm..there isn't really much to comment on because your Ragna seems to be quite solid overall all. One thing I would say though is that there is something you could try to catch arakune's backdash.

On his wake up, you can piano a meaty 2A~5B~5C.

If he blocks the meaty 2A, you'll just gattling into 5B. If the 2A whiffs, 5C should come out. It's quite hard to be consistent with this though.

Also try to learn more optimal combos. Most of what you need can either be found in the combo thread, or learnt from watching Japanese players.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRoyE5rK0lQ&feature=c4-overview&list=UUSWFwW7yDCCwwajY97IaZ3w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNPZQPvPDlo&list=UUSWFwW7yDCCwwajY97IaZ3w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=In3gYTzIpX0&list=UUSWFwW7yDCCwwajY97IaZ3w

This should be it for the week. Working at 4 videos a week again, just the excess for now to make up for lost time. YouTube is being a pain in the ass about audio but ignore that for now while I attempt to figure that out for more videos in the future.

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vs Tager

Avoid using ground bloodscythe against Tager. It's not too difficult for him to backdash 360/720 on reaction to the move, provided that the player is competent enough. Also, take your time against tager, you seem to be in a hurry to finish him off, you not only have better field control, you have better mobility. You should be playing patiently and reacting to what he does.

If Tager jumps > Air grab/run under 5B/run under to other side (avoid trying to anti-air due to whiffs made possible by j.2C)

If uses 2D > jump punish/backdash punish

etc. The aim of the game is to frustrate the tager player, making him more likely to make mistakes, which could end in your favour. Don't be afraid to throw out a few 5Bs or 5Cs for spacing purposes.

vs Azrael

Most Azrael's tend to base their mixup on 2C, which is not something they should be doing. So they'll either do 2C > 3D or 2C > 6D. It's good to note that Azrael can also gattling 2C into 3C, which makes for a good frametrap. It's not incredibly hard to poke Azrael out of 6D or 3D, so you'll need to react to the animation of the move in order to punish it. It might be slightly trickier to poke out of 2C > 3D, as 3D is 3 frames faster than 6D. Be mindful of when Azrael uses 2C on block and react to what he does next. Avoid mindless mash or you'll get frame trapped by 3C.

2A~5B~5C option select can be pretty useful against Azrael's backdash. Alternatively you could use a delayed 5B to punish backdashes and keep the Azrael honest, especially on wakeup.

vs Platinum

This is more general gameplay than advice against platinum, but make your BS attempts less telegraphed. You mostly used it after 5C which is a bit predictable (Since typical Ragna players use stuff > 5C/2C > drive/special). Using predictable BSs becomes even more dangerous when playing against characters whom possess a good anti air. :|

vs Amane

You nearly got out played, Good call on the Carnage scissors to finish the match. You can usually use Carnage scissors like that on reaction to an amane using 236D~B/C. But that becomes a guessing game because the amane player can use the A version to bait your reversal.

Hope this helps.

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Work on my 5C mix-up to an extent is where I need to work at since I realize I'm doing special or super right after it. TK Blood Scythe is pretty hard on the pad so those winded ones come out when I least expect them and my attempts to keep the pressure up. I'm not familiar with Azrael move list or follow ups so I'll throw him in the lab to see what you're trying to say, much of his movement is telegraphed if you ask me.

passive play was never my thing but I realize you're right. Against a more competent Tager player they can punish normal blood scythe quite easily, I don't think I was hanging onto any heat so I was really disrespeting the player no matter how you look at it. Thanks for the advice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_GIgmy1PCA&feature=c4-overview&list=UUSWFwW7yDCCwwajY97IaZ3w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ejmDlRmASc&list=UUSWFwW7yDCCwwajY97IaZ3w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPG_zf5LchQ&list=UUSWFwW7yDCCwwajY97IaZ3w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNaHm1OGiQw&list=UUSWFwW7yDCCwwajY97IaZ3w

My last few uploads till next Saturday.

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Personally, I wouldn't use mixup off a 5C..or even 5C on block when I'm pressuring unless i'm trying to frametrap with 2C > 5C. Once you use 5C on block, you immediately kill your pressure, which is why I avoid using it unless need be. Mixup off 5C is not generally recommended because you have limited options anyway. Off 5C, you are either going to do one of the following:

5C > GH

5C > 2D

5C > BS (to reset pressure but really risky as I've explained)

5C > 3C (You'll most likely be out of range to hit 3C on block)

5C > DS

These options can be made unless if the oppoenent just blocks low and reacts to what you do, not to mention that most of those options are unsafe. The best thing to do would be to whiff 2C and continue pressure, but that's only useful if you know the opponent won't mash you out of your next attack (which will most likely be 2B or 5B). You can maximize your mixup options by using mixup of say 2A or 2B, where you can start going into 6B, 3C, throw etc, ontop of the specials and drives listed above.

When I'm pressuring with Ragna and using normals, I usually stick to using his A normals (except 6A), his B normals and 2C and 3C. Ragna's A normals (2A, 5A) are pretty good to use for pressuring opponents. Not only that, but they also have less pushback, allowing you to stay longer in the opponents face. 6D is a more reliable pressure reset than BS, because not only is it safer, it has less pushback, meaning you can continue pressure with A normals instead of using 5B after using BS. I'm not saying rule out these less reliable options, I guess i'm just trying to say that you should explore different methods of pressure, instead of putting heavy reliance on specific strings like 5B > 5C > stuff or other predictable strings.

Do things like 2A > 2A > dash 2A > 2B > stuff or 2A > 6D > j.D whiff > Stuff. Try to mix it up.

As for the videos..

vs Terumi

0:48 and 2:53. That's what I was talking about earlier, doing stuff after 2C or 5C is just too predictable. People expect that from Ragna because it's what all typical Ragnas do. Although it's hard to determine if that Terumi player was autopiloting or not. Sometimes it doesn't hurt to just wait after 2C, to see what your opponent is going to do.

Don't know what to say about your matches against Tao, Bang and Hazama though. Just seems like you need to play those match ups more and get used to them. Tao's crawl can low profile Ragna's 5B, so be careful when thinking to start pressure with that.

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As for the videos..

vs Terumi

0:48 and 2:53. That's what I was talking about earlier, doing stuff after 2C or 5C is just too predictable. People expect that from Ragna because it's what all typical Ragnas do. Although it's hard to determine if that Terumi player was autopiloting or not. Sometimes it doesn't hurt to just wait after 2C, to see what your opponent is going to do.

If you're mentioning the Soutenjin corner counters I can definitely bait them because we as Ragna players normally give them away. You can say I kind of lost the thrill of baiting them since I don't have BK to buffer after the C moves. Maybe I'll start counter with ID at that point.

match-ups are really new in this game. We need to start discussing them if anyone wants to stand any kind of chance against the competition. Last night all my losses were against Hazama player that properly knew how to mash their neutral game into jC loop, 10 losses and that's from 3 different hazama players. Other match-ups are more or less experiment and just learn from it I guess but we definitely need to open up that section.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFWz2naxQGQ&list=UUSWFwW7yDCCwwajY97IaZ3w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kL433SnXEg&list=UUSWFwW7yDCCwwajY97IaZ3w&feature=c4-overview

Second video is roughly 16 minutes long with multiple match-ups so I think I'll start uploading like that from now on. First video is against Izayoi, I really thought Carnage Scissors would work at that point. T_T;

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jfbuq9trVds&feature=c4-overview&list=UUSWFwW7yDCCwwajY97IaZ3w (Against a Tager, dat ending)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycHgcx59QiE&list=UUSWFwW7yDCCwwajY97IaZ3w (multiple players)

Enjoy the videos or critique as usual. I'm still as reckless and effective as ever so don't expect much change in my style.

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Recorded some good matches with Jona Valk- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP1X6AftkuI

any experienced Ragna mind telling me what i should do more vs Valk? this is the only good Valk we have in SoCal so im not too sure on approaching this matchup. any feedback is helpful!

Well I would provide critique but doubt my advice would be any good for you since I'm the kind the person to overwhelm my opponent and go for unsafe attempts in any match-ups so if you still want an ear from my perspective I'll gladly share what I can.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nm_ol4dUxTo&list=UUSWFwW7yDCCwwajY97IaZ3w#t=05m36s

Another video of me in action, just a tinsy bit of lag but feel free to critique or just enjoy. I'm out of practice due to some PS3 issue but I'll attempt to get to weekly uploads again.

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