dot_Nova

Please only post links to videos if you actually need advice or help.

There wasn't much I could pick out since it doesn't look like the Ky knows the MU very well. But in general - While you're on offense, stop using hammerfall > RC in tight blockstrings or to gain distance in neutral (5:28 and . Use it to bait and punish mashing/jumping(in the corner) rather than as a blockstring extension. Vs Ky, there isn't an immediate need to get in since Potemkin can handle neutral just fine. If he isn't punishing or guarding 6K > HFB correctly then do strings into that instead otherwise save the meter and opt for poke instead. - For Ky matchup, use 2K more if you do a meaty low. At the right spacing it goes under his DP making your meaty safe. You don't have to do it all the time but it adds more of a guessing game and makes reversals more risky. - If you're too far for PB > 5P > f.S > heat in the corner, I believe you can do 2P > 5P > f.S > heat on Ky (check me on this) - Ky's hurtbox is pretty wide so you could optimize your combos a little better. 2S > 6K works on him very often. (Like on Faust, Elphelt, and Potemkin). You can do a 2K meaty or a regular jump > j.H after hammerfall. - 10:35 : you could have PB'd after eating the first ht. - And english voices? ew.

In General: Work on your conversions and try to do strings and confirms other than 2P > 2K etc.Stop jumping into them/teching into them and using j.D. Or stop using j.D while they're not below you. It's good for baiting antiairs but it's terrible if it's blocked as you are slightly minus. It's also easy to blitz.You're relying too much on hammerfall as a reversal and to move yourself forward, in some situations it's okay as a guess while in others (like Leo) you're better off saving meter and playing footsies. If your opponent keeps jumping out of PB, do more solid strings/find ways to weave in 6K > HFB (I saw you do this once so I'm assuming you're comfortable with this string). Work on timing your meaties better and your HF distance so you're closer to them after 2D. Need to pick better times to press buttons and which ones to do in situations, you seem to opt for 2P quite a bit.Megafist Forward is -4 on block. You're safe against most characters if they normal block it but use 2P very sparingly if they know they it's minus or if they're escaping after blocking.Pick your buttons better in different situations. You have a bad habit of using j.D to fall in neutral or when you messed up, using heat fist after your defensive burst if they're in the corner, using ICPM after they burst, trying to press a button on wakeup. These options are fine to use but pick the times you use them better or do these things more sparingly.Work on your ground game and be more patient. Don't autopilot into pressing a button or into blindly taking a bad gambleThis is really important: Don't do the 6K loop/conversions unless you got them on completely lockdown because you're giving up a lot of momentum trying to do them. They're difficult and if you opt for the knockdown or a simple combo into heat fist you'll save a lot of meter and net around 60-70% of the damage. Tip regarding double hammerfall after slidehead: Input the first hammerfall as [4]64HS. The game will read the 64HS and still give you hammerfall while you already start charging for the second one. vs Ky Don't try to be safe vs his DP by walking back. You're just giving up momentum. A meaty spaced 2K will cause his DP to whiff. 2D > Super jump > meaty is also possible vs Ky. You can do 2D > HFB > 2K meaty. (1:08 is a good example. So is 2:08)Be more willing to play a ground game. I didn't see a single f.S or 2D for poke.Use 2P > HFB and 2K > HFB more sparingly. They're really minus so really it'll only work once or twice before they start mashing (like the ky did) or jumping out. All of your PB tick throws were the exact same. (1:50 -> 1:55 example, 3:45 also)Avoid using ICPM/(ICPM > YRC)to regain distance after you get bursted. You are really vulnerable in neutral and you will get punished if it fails. (2:12, 3:16)Refrain from using j.D unless you're baiting an antiair. It's not that great of a move if they block it or if they're not directly under you (like 0:48 and 4:06)Specific Stuff: 1:44 Don't flick SE CSE O(split ciel charged stun edge). You won't gain anything out of it. Trust me. At that particular situation, you could have jumped and then double jumped to delay your landing until it disappeared.vs Faust Winners Finals Same thing with the j.Ds and ICPMsTry to react with 6P rather than press it preemptively. Confirm that he is falling down first. Several times he would be really high in the air and throw a bomb bag and you would use 6Specific Stuff: 3:57 : Opt for an air throw if he's right above you. 2HS is preferred only if you see them already inputting something or if they're in the air right in front of you7:59 : This situation is fairly specific. But try to get used to meteor timings. Instead of backing away and double jumping leaving you vulnerable and literally inviting him to come pressure you, do a very short string and then end it before the meteors come. If you're feeling really ballsy, go for a tick throw or flick them(really hard). You have about 3.5 seconds before they fall on you. If you still prefer to stay back, then go ahead but don't double jump back into the corner, jumping and blocking is fine though just in that particular situation you put yourself in a really bad spot.9:41 : I'm going to assume this was an input error, but if you were trying to go for 6K it doesn't work off megafist forward.15:53 Don't try to bait bursts after dust. Just go for the combo. Even if you were to block the burst, you would land too far away to easily punish it. vs. Leo Opt for safe jumps whenever you can. Don't try to make a hard read and block/bait his DP, you're giving up momentum. 2D > super jump > j.s/j.HS works perfectly, regular jump > j.S/j.HS works after heat extend in the corner. (0:29 and 0:44 and 9:11) You did at 1:07 so keep that up.Leo's wakeup time is a bit slower than others while he's faceup. Delay your super jump after PB just a tiny bit before doing your jump in.Use FD more while blocking Leo in stance. IB is fine but doesn't net you much as he still is in close and his normals are very quick. Using FD pushes him out too far to continue his stance pressure allowing you to poke/slideheadNeed to play more ground footsies with Leo. If he's in stance, slidehead or flick. If he's not in stance, use your f.S, 2D, 5HS. Control the space in within your 2D range as none of his normals can go past that move.Specific Stuff: 1:20 An example as to why you need to avoid starting your string with 2P. At that distance he got pushed too far so you couldn't score a knockdown. That move is -13 on block and the second hit is lv 4. So when you IB'd it, it's actually -17, plenty of time for a stronger punish.1:33 Don't bother trying to block burst after dust. Same reasoning as in Faust match3:52 The followup after 6P that high in the air is a super jump into j.P > j.P > j.K > j.S > ICPM or j.K > j.S > j.H > ICPM.5:52 After flicking a projectile, unless they're a full screen away, don't use hammerfall. Just walk forward and watch what your opponent does. It'll save you meter and give you much better positioning to react. In this situation, you could've walked forward and either attempt a heat fist or YRC OS 6P.6:13 Pot buster after an OTG is not recommended. You are actually slightly minus after OTG ICPM and still have to wait the 9 frames before you can grab your opponent's wakeup.vs Faust Grand Finals He's blocking meaty j.D after he got hit once so you're overusing it. Opt for different strings and then throw in a 5D once he's not looking for it anymore. Mix it up or your opponent will catch up to your lack of variety.Try to stay grounded vs Faust. The person in the air actually is at a disadvantage vs a grounded opponent. You can't match his normals with your air normals so unless he's right above you or you're pressuring him, don't jump. You're also not gaining anything from double jumping backwards like that in neutral. (like 5:08)You're relying too much on hamerfall. Only do it with 50 meter so you can RC it if they block or YRC if it whiffs.In general, you need to be a lot more patient in this MU. Megafist and Hammerfall are okay to use but you're using it too much (like after item toss or at neutral). Megafist is good vs. f.S and Hammerfall is recommended only with meter. Only 10% of the hammerfalls you threw out actually benefited you.Specific Stuff: 1:12 Funny tip: Springboard doesn't trigger immediately so you can actually flick it as long as it's not meaty.2:12 Example of how easy it is to punish ICPM > YRC4:38 2K > f.S > heat fist will work from this distance5:00 CH 2HS > 6HS does not work unless you HFB your 2H.5:54 Don't do 6K > Trishula as a block string.

Input jump after j.H right before hitting the ground. j.H > 8 > c.S > 28 > etc

Disclaimer: It's a tournament and I'm sure the man was nervous so I'm sure he knows a good amount of what I put down here already. I mostly looked for the bad things in his gameplay so I apologize if I mention something incorrect or missed any particular strong points. I need some work in these areas too so take this with a grain of salt. Offense: I think his offense for the most part is fine. Against the Leo and early on against the I-no, it looked pretty free as neither of them would do anything while defending and let Pot do whatever he wanted. Neither of them use FD or become proactive against his tick throws. However, once the I-no started to IB and adjust, it put him in bad situations and he never changed his mixup. If you go for PB, try to change the setup into it. Some opponents react to HFB while others will pay attention to the setup you used before then. I also noticed he would try to make a read most of the time at the end of his pressure string. Either opted for heat fist or PB or try to bait a button press. Need to do more solid pressure and vary more often to keep them guessing. Once your opponent is looking to jump or backdash, ending a string with 2D makes them more scared to try something as it results in a knockdown. Need to vary between j.S and j.H during jump-ins, I don't believe I've saw him use meaty j.H at all. It has more blockstun making it harder for your opponent to jump or backdash out and, because of the hitbox, it will actually catch backdashes of some characters if your jump in was slightly delayed. Also, against characters without DPs, doing 2D > hammerfall close gap > 5K/2K/2P has merit as well as it's much harder to backdash a meaty low and it's much easier to bait a blitz shield. Additionally, since you're on the ground, you have many more options than if you were doing a jump in increasing the risk of doing blitz shield against you. Don't use 6H all the time as you lose your momentum if they didn't backdash and they get blown across the screen even if they do get hit. Delayed meaty 5K/5H/f.S will catch backdashes just as well. The reward may not be as great but the tradeoffs if they were to block are much less than using 6H. Try to set up using 5D better, if it's not working as a meaty then try putting in a meaty move > 5D instead. It will definitely throw your opponent off as they'll be looking for a low during your string. Summary: Adjust your mixup based on how your opponent is reacting and what he is and isn't doing on defense. Conditioning is the key. Explore more offensive options to keep your opponent guessing. If they're not doing anything then by all means keep grabbing them but once they've adjusted start adjusting too. I can nitpick his offense but I believe he's doing a good job and can do an even better one the more explores his options, opponent mentality, and risk/reward. Defense: I think his defense was pretty good. Good reactions and very good at blocking especially against the I-no. His anti-airs were also very good. Just needs to pick his backdashes better and know when he can actually PB or when he should continue blocking even after making their jump in whiff. Also, try not to jump all the time after you tech in the air; once you do, your falling will be very predictable and put you in a bad spot. Sometimes it's better to wait until you're close to the ground and neutral tech. Neutral: This is the big one. Really needs to play footsies more and need to work on his approaches. His weakness in neutral was really showing against the May player. Relies on slidehead way too much. After a defensive burst, he always HFB > slidehead and was punished for it several times. Also, he needs to spend his meter better. Using YRC to keep your slidehead safe is fine but there's no need if they're across the screen. It's a good tactic to bait your opponent in but use it too much and you'll keep losing meter. I only saw slidehead > YRC work twice(against the I-no and once against the May), other times it was a waste of an action and meter. Like at https://youtu.be/DxgcPcNHK-I?t=58m24s he caught the May but then right after he wasted meter for no reason. He relied too much on hammerfall in neutral. Sometimes it worked but a majority of the time he spent meter to YRC it or he was punished. Also, using hammerfall > RC on a blocking opponent is not something you ideally want to do to get in. That option is better suited to bait mashing and jumps (ex: 6K > delayed HF > RC). Need to learn which normals are best suited to which MU and distance. For example, 5H is not good against I-No at mid range as she can go under it but at max range, it keeps her from using HCL and throwing out notes. f.S is good mid range as serves the same purpose max range 5H does but has less startup and gatlings into other moves. Against May, if you're outside of her f.S and 5K range, 5H and 2D are very good moves to poke with. Megafist forward also jumps over her mid range normals and lands a hit as well Be more content with pushing your opponent to the corner and getting occasional hits rather than spending all your meter getting in as Potemkin's mixup isn't very strong anyways. There will be times where it's worth it however, like if they're in the corner or you're low health and need to get momentum back immediately. It also looked like you were always trying to do something in neutral. Whether it be using slidehead, hammerfall, jumping towards them while they're on the other side of the screen or jumping and then doing j.P. There is merit to not doing anything in neutral if they're out of range of your moves giving you time to think and react better to what your opponent tries to throw out. I saw him start to slow down against the May which was really good as it got him a couple of slideheads when May would try to set the beachball or dolphin. Specific stuff: -Don't try to air to air May. It's impossible. The only time you can get away with it is if they're trying to air dash out of the corner and then you can super jump j.P since there's only one direction she can go in. -Learn when she has to end her string in dolphin, you can't punish her after blocking the dolphin but you can use hammerfall to eat the dolphin hit and punish her (I saw you doing this near the end of the set to punish vertical dolphin but you can also do this against the horizontal dolphin). -Try to train yourself to blitz j.2H or jump and block it. It works just like Potemkin's j.D. She can't YRC out of it once she's falling and so it's very easy to punish. If you jump and block it, once you land there is no more blockstun and you can punish her (keep in mind it has 0 landing recovery so PB might not be possible if he's holding up but you'll still be at an advantage) -Against I-no and May, 2D > super jump > something and throw > jump in meaty are not real. Both of them can easily backdash or mash 6P to punish you. Opt for hammerfall in > meaty instead. HOWEVER, if they don't know this then by all means go ahead and jump in. If they're backdashing rather than mashing 6P, use backdash OS to punish their backdash (2D knockdown> super jump > j.H > input PB > 2K/5K/2P etc.) If they backdash, your PB will come out and punish, else your following move will come out instead. Note: this will only work at certain distances, if they are too far out after 2D knockdown, PB will whiff. You can also do the same OS with less risk using S and K, just replace PB with either button. If they are mashing, you can bait the mash with j.D (try not to resort to this, pick a time to use it once to scare them, use it too much and it's easily punishable) Summary: I think he's doing very well defensively. A lot of good anti-airs and I think he blocked every dust too. Just needs work on neutral and his approaches and expand his offensive options.

there's no reason. 6K> trishula does much more damage than 1.0 combos. You'll still have situations where you catch them in the in the air and the corner with a CH and do 4-5 6Ks because they'll be high in the air and you'll be unable to loop trishula. However, instead of cancelling the last one into HFB > 2S/2H, just opt for trishula into heat, j.K > j.H > ICPM, super, etc. In the previously mentioned situations, you can also just opt into .... (6K > HFB) x2 > 5HS [you can omit the 5HS if you're not comfortable with the break] > gigantor > 6H > HFB > 6K > delay trishula > heat extend. Opting for this costs 50 meter and will cost you a knockdown but it builds a lot of stun and it's much easier than the original combo.

Keep in mind, this MU is terrible and everything I'll be listing requires a lot of practice and just getting used to playing against Zato. About Summon and Unsummon Summon is 38 frames but Eddie can do an action at frame 10. But also keep in mind his shadow moves have startup and the startups are much longer if he's doing a direct summon instead of summon > move. Eddie recall is 29 frames. When he summons, if you're already mashing 2P you'll hit Eddie. If he recalls, there's a lot of things you can do to punish. FD Zato to push him away while trying to normal block/IB Eddie. Can also try to BD/fuzzy jump/megafist back after blocking Eddie to avoid getting command thrown or get out of pressure. Learn what normals Zato has to do in order to make Eddie pressure frame tight and get used to what options he has to do to open you up. Pay attention to Eddie meter so you know what options he's allowed to do and what combos he's allowed to go for since they all cost a certain amount of meter. For example: Eddie P is lv 1(11f blockstun) so Zato needs to do a move while grounded because there's not enough blockstun to do a jump-in safely. Also, because there's so little blockstun, he needs to do a move that'll keep you on the ground and also give Eddie enough time to recover for another attack. Most Zato's opt for 2K or 2P > 2K since it's fast and +3 giving him time to dash forward to keep the gap closed. In General (Aside from the stuff I told you about the Sol vid) - Calm down and be patient when he's far away and making you block. After drill, if Eddie isn't out, there is nothing he can do besides summon. If he does do drill, regardless of distance, spot check for Eddie with 2P. If he summons, Eddie comes out and your 2P will hit. Else, you'll get a 2P whiff. He can delay the summon but doing so partially gives up his momentum. If Eddie is out: 2P, 2D, megafist back to kill it. - Slidehead is really hard to get on Zato because of flight and drill so use it sparingly. Mostly approach by walking/hammerfall YRC(if he's within range). Just use your judgement when trying to slidehead because the time you spend trying to knock him down is time you can spend getting closer ESPECIALLY if he has no Eddie available. Zato doesn't want anything to do with Pot without Eddie gauge so they'll usually try to stall or fish for a drill. - Go ham on offense and YRC your jump-ins during his reversal timings to throw off his blitz shields. Tips - Zato pressure without Eddie is usually .... > 2S > drill > summon or .... > 5H > drill > summon. 1. If he does 2S > drill, it's not frame tight you can megafist over. However, he can punish by doing summon > S instead of drill. 2. Do 2P to Eddie check after blocking drill 3. Backdash after blocking drill. If he does anything but shadow > K you'll dodge it. 4. Hammerfall after blocking 2S or 5H. You'll eat the hit and punish him. He can YRC the drill and punish you but he will have to be already trying to do so to punish you. Specific Nitpicking: 16:48 - you can't PB people in reject state. Counts as hitstun so you can't grab them. If you were trying to bait his blitz, watch his meter next time. 16:50 - Hard to recognize, but you should be able to 6P/blitz his IAD j.S after blocking Eddie P. (I'm 90% sure on this, lab it to make sure though) 18:36 - You could've RC'd and killed 18:50 - PB OS is really handy here. Input PB right before your j.H lands. If he blocks j.H, PB won't come out but if he backdashes, you'll PB him during his recovery. 21:00 - You can mash/jump out of that. Direct summon startup of shadow K is 25 frames. At work right now so can't check out the whole video.

BTW, after heat extend in corner after ANY combo, RC > super jump forward > 6H > trishula > heat fist might be burst safe during trishula. It might depend on their weight as the higher they are the more likely this'll be correct. Will be a good idea to lab this so you won't have to hard bait a burst. For combos with only 1-3 hits before heat fist > extend (like the one in the video), for max damage, you can do sj/megafist foward whiff > 6H > HFB > 6K > delay a bit > trishula > heat. (It does a lot of damage and is especially worth it if their risc gauge is cranked up even in the slightest).

- Regarding PB on their wakeup, there are 9 frames after they wakeup in which they're throw invul. So a PB on an opponent's wakeup should only be done when you've conditioned your opponent into thinking you're going to do a normal instead (so save it for once per round/match). But yeah you're right, it's very risky against characters with DPs. - Try to get used to spacings for 2S > 6K combo. After doing it enough, you'll know when it'll combo for knockdown and when you should opt for 2D instead. On Sol, I don't recommend doing 6K because it's easy for him to DP after HFB. 6K > HFB on block is +3 and Pot 2P is 7f startup meaning there's a 4 frame gap in which your opponent can do something (like 5K and DP). Regarding PB after 6K Keep in mind, if it hits there's 6 frames after hitstun in which they're throw invul so: 6K is lv 4 move = 19f hitstun HFB = 15f total 19 - 15 + 6 = 10 frames in which they're throw invul meaning (if you're frame perfect) you can PB at frame 8. That gives your opponent plenty of time to recognize HFB and BD/jumpout/DP because people aren't frame perfect. Damage + knockdown > PB. Rarely will there be a situation where PB is a risk you should be willing to take (game ending/6K route finisher won't be enough to kill) On block there's 5f after blockstun is over in which they're throw invul so: 6K is lv 4 move = 18f blockstun HFB = 15f total 18 - 15 + 5 = 8 frames in which they're throw invul meaning (if you're frame perfect) you can PB at frame 6. After 6K > HFB, 2P is best to keep momentum. f.S is also good to clip short BDs (if your opponent BD's after 6K, f.S comes out). PB is good after conditioning your opponent into thinking you're going to try to do something else. Sorry for bombarding you with info. I figured it's a good time to introduce some math/stuff to keep in mind for all players in general.

With Sol, a lot of your damage is going to be from footsies and basic combo -> 2D stuff. - What were all the 6P's on his wakeup for? - Fafnir is +2 on block and on IB is -2. PB is 3f startup so it's not fast enough to punish him. - Flick gunflame if he's not YRC'ing it. Megafist forward is also an option. - 2D > sj is not a safe jump. Do a regular jump forward. - Do more solid combos. Opt for the knockdown rather than the PB. Same with pressure, I almost never try to do PB stuff if Sol is willing to DP like a madman. - Don't always try to bait DP with BD. Just block it, backstepping gives up all your momentum and gives them 21 frames to do anything. - When falling into him, expect him to be ready with an antiair. j.D will beat all of his antiairs and make it more difficult to throw you as your hurtbox is shifted upwards. Or just FD into him to guarantee you won't get hit. Don't just try to contest with falling j.H. Also, in GG, the person below you has throw priority if you're both in the air so don't try to throw him when he's trying to throw you either. Tech in a direction he wouldn't expect or late neutral tech as closely to the floor as you can. - Try not to whiff punish S normals with jump-ins, he can DP very easily. Instead, whiff punish moves with 5H if you're out of fafnir range. Jump-in whiff punish H moves and gunflame (if he has no meter or doesn't tend to YRC) and wildthrow is fine though. Fafnir is very very difficult to whiff punish however as you only have 15 frames to jump, fall, and j.H. - Use your other normals to poke. Learn Sol and Pot's spacings, like if you're in range for 2P, what moves can he do that are also in range and how fast are they compared to your normal? Don't spend all of your efforts into trying to counter what he's doing and reacting to big specials, throw some moves out there, force him to play footsies as Pot's normals are much longer. (Good moves at midrange: f.S, 2D [it is very difficult for him to punish 2D], flick, Close in: max range 2P (if you're charging and he blocks 2P then tries to DP you'll be blocking or you can go into solid pressure) A giant thing I noticed is that you've never moved forward outside of jumping into him or HF. Charging is important but so is knowing when to walk forward and poke rather than walk backwards into the corner. Be more willing to contest him so he doesn't get away with throwing out anything he wants for free. Like at 6:38 to 6:49, jumping backwards to avoid gunflame is not recommended. Eventually you kept moving backwards until you put yourself in the corner. https://youtu.be/u57qXK17380?t=5m39s Notice with FAB vs this Sol, practically all his damage is from footsies and defensive PBs and is only jumping in the air to meet the Sol in the air as well. Because he jumped later, he's below him giving him air throw priority and prevents Sol from getting jump-in pressure and gimmicks (kudakero > YRC). Once he's in and is pressuring/gets a combo, instead of trying to push his advantage, he's playing very safely and is being as solid as possible since Sol's 5K is fast, 2D goes under EVERYTHING (even hammerfall) and DP is a big threat. Playing solid gives him more of a surprise factor when he finally goes for the PB or hammerfall gimmicks. Nitpicky stuff: 4:38 and 4:58:- practice safe jumps so you won't have to jump in and FD giving up pressure/ free hit if he misses reversal timing. 3:05 and 6:27 - 2D beats fafnir and so does hammerfall (he didn't have meter so let it rip) 5:46 - the combo after heat extend is RC > s.J forward/megafist forward whiff > 6H etc. 6:11 - try to not slidehead after burst. It's not a good habit and is very unsafe.

It should work on every character as long as you don't put so much into your combo that they tech midway. Also, they need to at the certain height to make j.H into ICPM consistent because if they're low they can tech before ICPM hits.

Are you sure double trishula works? I've tried it on normal hit and they fall too quickly. In the few times I've been able to lab at casuals I see ICPM route doing more damage than heat fist and gives oki. In a lot of MUs I would rather learn the specific situations instead of defaulting to blowing them across the screen. I've had moderate success doing ICPM combos midscreen. I just would like to know if someone has specific things to know about height/hitboxes/weight so I know which route to try to go for. Like, if they're too far in front I have no choice but to use heat fist. But if they're right above me, which ICPM air combo should I take depending on height/hitboxes/weight? I can only play so often before my next major so I'd like to know .

What route do you take to get ICPM ender on Potemkin in the corner? He's really heavy so after the reps into trishula, I opt for 5HS > heat extend and then catch his tech with f.S or just back off and then keep him in the corner. Also, hammerfall > RC > c.S > f.S > air stuff to icpm seems really character specific. Anyone have any idea what characters this route works on? (I know it works on Elphelt). Which routes are there on other characters based on weights and hitboxes? I would lab but no console :/ I have the same question about ICPM conversions after CH 6P too. All these combos seem really specific to each character rather than just their weights.

That's what I do to help me keep rhythm. If it works for you then I don't see a reason to stop.

Post a videos of your matches for CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM on how to improve on gameplay. The more matches you post, the more help people can give on your gameplay and on matchups. Have on open mind when receiving suggestions, we're all only trying to help. Don't be shy. If you're having trouble, odds are someone else is having the same problem too.