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RurouniLoneWolf

[CF] Kokonoe Neutral Tips and Tricks Guide

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Evernote link for easy passing around
 
Overview

 
 
In terms of neutral, Kokonoe is a somewhat complex character. In terms of difficulty to learn and master, she's definitely closer to Rachel and Carl than she is closer to characters like Ragna and Jin. The path to mastering Kokonoe's neutral game involves a lot of learning how to create space, intercept pursuers and how to strategically use her Graviton drive. Only when you've gotten great at these skills will you be able to reliably use her Banishing Ray and fireball in neutral to help you cover an approach. 
 
 
Creating space

 
 
Creating space is a key part of Kokonoe's gameplan because she has good tools to help her win the neutral game if she can create enough space to safely put them out. Creating space mostly comes down to two things.
 
IABD
Creates a lot of space but you're committed to it until you land
 
(Repeatedly)  backdashing
While it won't create as much space as an IABD, it does give you more control over how far you go and gives you a better ability to react to the situation as you retreat.
 
 
Intercepting opponent's trying to chase

 
 
As far as good pokes go, Kokonoe doesn't have many good options. A lot of your buttons aren't all that good at poking in a straightforward poke vs poke situation. So a lot of playing Kokonoe's neutral game comes down to learning how to move in ways that'll help you overcome the shortcomings of your pokes by taking advantage of the element of surprise. This will in turn give incentive to your opponents to be cautious of blindly chasing after you and will give you time to setup stuff like B Banishing Ray.
 
Jump forward/falling j.B
 
A good option to intercept pursuers at closer ranges. The jump forward is meant to make a poke whiff and then punish it with your falling j.B. 
 
Jump Back > Air dash j.B
A good option to intercept pursuers from further out. The jump back is to convince opponents that you plan to continue to run away and catch them off guard when you air dash forward. 
 
j.2C
Another good option when you have 50 meter to rapid cancel on block because of how huge j.2C's hitbox is 
 
Dash 2A
Probably her best option for a ground poke because 2A has decent range, quick startup and low recovery. Doing dash 2A after walking back, back dashing or air back dashing can be a great way to intercept an opponent trying to chase after you. 
 
3C
3C has great reach and hits low, making it great to use as a poke sometimes. However, it's important not to overuse it. 3C might have great reach but its reach is only low to the ground. Opponents can jump over it and punish it more easily than most ground pokes. Choose your times to poke with 3C wisely and always make sure to have it well spaced to minimize chances of getting punished on whiff
 
 
Kokonoe's Drive: Graviton

 
 
Kokonoe's drive is a subtle but very powerful tool in neutral. When used strategically, the graviton's that Kokonoe can place on the stage can be very useful. 

Perhaps one of her most useful Gravitons in neutral is 6D or j.6D. 6D/j.6D has a number of uses that can help you out a lot in neutral. It's primary use is to hinder approaches. By placing a graviton at the other end of the screen away from Kokonoe, the gravity will always be pulling opponents away from Kokonoe and will slow down the rate of their advance regardless of whether they approach from the ground or air. In addition to slowing their approach, it can mess up the opponent's spacing for their footsies. In situations where an opponent might usually perfectly space a ground poke or IAD jump in, they might find themselves just barely whiffing as the graviton pulls them away just those few pixels they needed to connect. 
 
As an extra bonus, 6D can also be great in neutral as an emergency escape option. If you're being rushed down and don't think it's a good time to try and intercept the chasing opponent, you might consider using your teleport to escape to your 6D graviton  
Use set 6D to escape with teleport - https://youtu.be/mfeTXorLZEA?t=2262
Escaping during pressure - https://youtu.be/agfXw8P4RZs?t=2850
 
Another important use of Graviton's in neutral is using the activate special to push opponnents where you want them to go. A good example of this is the above situation where you use 6D/j.6D to teleport away from an opponent. If the opponent still insists on chasing after you after teleporting, you can activate the graviton you just teleported over towards to push them away and give yourself a chance to toss out something. In more tight situations, you can do stuff like super jump back > j.1D > j.236D to forcefully create space between you and your opponent
Using activate to create some space between you and your opponent - https://youtu.be/agfXw8P4RZs?t=2179
 
While activate can be good for creating space, it can also be just as equally good at opening up your opponent though it's a bit more risky. Lets use an example situation where you've set a 6D/j.6D graviton and your opponent is still somewhat at the other side. If you have banishing ray down on the ground, you could try activating the graviton while an opponent is approaching you to catch them by surprise  and force them into Banishing Ray. If they get opened up, you'll get a full combo, corner carry and oki. If they blocked, then you have a chance to start pressure or throw out a fireball. In situations where you don't have a Banishing Ray down, you can also try taking advantage of activate surprising opponents and messing up the spacing to open them up with a dash 2A or a well spaced 3C. 
 
However, as mentioned earlier, activate can be a risky option to use offensively. On the one hand, a good activate can open an opponent up but if you misjudge your opponent's intentions, a bad activate can also end in you getting opened up or it could end up putting the opponent right next to you, where they want to be. Be sure to use it very wisely.
 
Something you should also look out for is matchup specific uses for the graviton's pull and activate's push. A good example of this is Arakune. For a character like Arakune that wants to be in the air, you might consider using 3D instead of 6D just to weigh him down and keep him at lower heights where he'll be easier to reach. 
 
 
 
Banishing Ray B (22B)

 
 
Because sometimes you need to forcefully draw a line in the sand to make people understand that you don't want them in your personal space.
 
This is usually the end game of successfully creating space between you and your opponent. Banishing Ray B is a strong option to discourage people from approaching Kokonoe. On block, it'll let her start pressure and on hit, it leads to a pretty damaging combo as a starter. Opponents won't be able to approach without being very cautious. 
 
While Banishing Ray is keeping them at bay, this is a good time to summon a fireball and use a graviton to guide it towards an opponent to cover an approach. 
 
Although Banishing Ray is hard to get around, quick movement can still be used to get around it without being harmed. Air dashing is the best and only option for most but other characters may have more options. Characters like Taokaka and Valkenhayn that have extra movement options and speedy movement can make strategic use of these options to get around Banishing Ray. 
Video Example - https://youtu.be/agfXw8P4RZs?t=2306
 
Also, make sure to always remember what you learned about creating space and intercepting people trying to give chase. Without this as a basis of your strategy, it's easy to choose poor situations to try and put down Banishing Ray B that can easily result in you getting hit out of placing it, followed by a punishing combo. 
 
 
Dealing with Air Approaches

 
 
6A 
Kokonoe's Anti-Air. Great vertical reach but lacking in horizontal reach. You'll mostly want to use this in situations where the opponent has to commit to the jump in. 
 
Jump up j.A 
Ora! Ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora!
 
As far as air to air normals go, Kokonoe's j.A is pretty good as far as j.As go. It has a wide hitbox so it's hard to whiff. It's multi hitting so it's pretty easy to hitconfirm into a full combo. Best used in situations where an opponent doesn't really have to commit to doing a jump in when they're in the air and at horizontal spacings where 6A will whiff. 
 
Jump up j.B 
Also a good option for dealing with air approaches. It's 2 hits so it's easy to hitconfirm like j.A. Unfortunately, it doesn't have as wide a hitbox as j.A though, especially in the vertical reach aspect. A lot of times it's better to use j.A. That said, j.B is a more damaging starter compared to j.A and can be worth throwing out in situations where you recognize that j.B will connect. 
 
 
 
Round Start

 
 
So, lets cover her round start options which should now make a lot of sense now that I have explained all the pieces of Kokonoe's neutral game.
 
Microdash Barrier
Microdash barrier is a good basic round start option to dash under people trying to jump or IAD towards you expecting you to try and run away to put down Banishing Ray. Depending on what they did, you might be able to punish them on reaction to what they were doing or start your own pressure. 
 
Microdash Barrier > 2A
Small variation of the above tactic. This one aims to catch people being passive at round start to see what you do. If you confirm that they're doing just that during your microdash barrier, toss out a 2A to try and get pressure started early. 
 
IABD
Attempt to retreat to create space between you and your opponent. During this time, be sure to confirm the situation
 
IABD j.C
A variation of the above tactic. During the instant air backdash, if you see that the opponent is chasing after you from the air, use j.C to catch them 
 
IABD j.6D
Another variation of the core instant air backdash to create space tactic. This one has you setup a j.6D graviton at the end of the air backdash to hinder any attempts to chase after you
 
IABD > confirm that the opponent isn't chasing > land 22B
Another variation of the core instant air backdash to create space tactic. This one focuses more on what to do when you've successfully created space. During the instant air back dash, observe what the opponent is doing. If they aren't chasing you, then you can put down Banishing Ray
 
Superjump back > 6D > Use additional air options based on situation
Instead of instant air backdashing, super jump back and summon 6D. While this is happening, you can confirm the situation to decide how you want to retreat with your remaining air options. This option is more dangerous than the IABD routes because it's slightly easier for most of the cast to reach you but it can be a good option to use against people who have already been trained to expect an IABD and are already expecting to have to chase you back pretty far. 
https://youtu.be/agfXw8P4RZs?t=1738
 
Walk Back and Observe
A low commital round start option. It won't create space or put you in a position to go on the offensive but it will put you in a good spot to react to round start jump ins with 6A as well as give you a chance to see just what sort of things the opponent likes to go for at round start. 

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Any advice on dealing with or getting in on some of the more heavy-handed zoners like the Murakamo units or something like Es if she gets started with keep-away tactics etc?

It's really hard to get gravitons/flame cages out or teleport/jump/jump barrier at the right time before they recover and counter. Without meter, I feel like you gotta hold dat.

5C only helps against the slower/low durability stuff and black hole is a big gamble (maybe super ball is better for this), but they both cost meter while these characters can get their stuff out much easier.

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On 10/31/2016 at 4:17 PM, darklightjg1 said:

Any advice on dealing with or getting in on some of the more heavy-handed zoners like the Murakamo units or something like Es if she gets started with keep-away tactics etc?

It's really hard to get gravitons/flame cages out or teleport/jump/jump barrier at the right time before they recover and counter. Without meter, I feel like you gotta hold dat.

5C only helps against the slower/low durability stuff and black hole is a big gamble (maybe super ball is better for this), but they both cost meter while these characters can get their stuff out much easier.

This reply is quite late. Sorry. Didn't realize I wasn't following the thread to get alerts. I've fixed that now though. Not much to say though other than the general be patient and have good movement for Nu-13. Jump forward barrier block and do small dash forward and barrier brake when you can to try and get swords to whiff and gain ground. One Kokonoe specific thing you can do though is do super jump straight up and use 3D to place a graviton on her, which will open 2 extra options for you. It gives you the possibility to read a D sword and teleport past it to the Nu player for either a punish or start pressure. A poor read might end in you getting bopped though so be careful. It also gives you the possibility of jumping into a space where her swords can't easily reach and throwing out Flame Cage/fireball to track towards her. Can't recommend using either 5C or Black Hole. Risk reward is pretty skewed against you.

That's about it. I don't think dealing with Nu-13 with any character with the average movement options is hard to deal with. You just need to, again, be patient and have good movement that minimizes the risks you're taking. Once you have these 2 things down, it's pretty straight forward.

Also, note a lot of what I said was mainly aimed at Nu-13, which is worst case scenario. Lambda has a similar toolset but the bulk load of her rewards come from a different place than zoning in neutral, which makes approaching her overall more manageable for you. Es doesn't have good zoning tools. Breunor's primary objective is to be used every now and then to make an opponent more cautious about their movement and get them to move in certain ways. Extended use of Breunor can be blown up for low risk using patience and good movement for most characters with average movement options. In Kokonoe's case, you can just do super jump up > Set the Graviton on them > j.214A to deal with it if they're trying to do this since unlike Nu-13 and Lambda, Es doesn't have anything to hit you in this space from the ground.

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