General Gameplay Questions Thread - POST YOUR GAMEPLAY QUESTIONS HERE

[Manta]

Understanding attack heights:

There are three different heights at which you can throw an attack and these affect how your opponent is able to block them, depending on if they are airboune, standing or crouching:

Middle (Normal); Most moves fall into this category, these attacks strike at a standard height and may be blocked using a normal or crouching block (assuming you don't crouch under the attack entirely).

Low; a great deal of normal and special moves (And the odd Overdrive) hits low and must be blocked while crouching.

High (Overhead); All standard attacks made while airboune as well as a select few normal and special moves made on the ground, must be blocked high, although it is not uncommon for an overhead move to be unable to hit a crouching character. Generally speaking, overhead moves performed while on the ground tend to have longer startup times that most other moves, most promenantly the dust attack, which is always an overhead (Yes, even Testament's)

Not that some attacks look like they come from the air (Sol's bandit revolver, for instance) but to ensure that there aren't quick and cheap overheads, they hit middle instead.

Exceptions:

If you are on the ground and you attack your opponent while they are airbounce, they MUST use faultless defense in order to block it.

Any kind of block may be used against projectiles and Instant kill moves (Except Zappa's and May's, which are command throws).

What does it mean to punish a move?

Punishing your opponent's moves is when you attack your opponent when they're recovering from a move, usually because they've performed a move expecting it to hit, but you've managed to block it and your block stun is shorter than their move's recovery time (If you do or don't depends on a number of factors). Also, whiffing a move entirely is often punished by human players. If you sense that you're about to get punsihed for a move all is not lost, it still may be possible to RC (Or FRC if your move has such a point). This can lead to certain reverse punishment situations which are best described by an example:

Let's say Slayer gets a little cocky and decides to pull out his trusty "Dead on time" (632146 S) out of the blue. Ky easily sees this coming and blocks, and at the same time inputs 632146, ready to use ride the lighting as punishment. Slayer, suddenly seeing how stupid he was, decides to roman cancel his move the moment it hits the block (That's a full tension bar gone now) and decides to block himself. Ky doesn't see the cancel in time and starts his ride the lightning, sailing right into Slayer's block, Ky then feels his chin meet the upside of Slayer's fist, launching him spiralling into the air where he promplty gets a beating for his lack of attention..

[shtkn]

um... how about high jump cancel, and how to read frame charts?

i think most n00b questions have been mentioned in this thread, good jorb everybody

now here's my contribution

BOSS I-NO megalomania (heart gun) attack patterns:

When fighting Boss I-No in Arcade Mode, after I-No loses a certain amount of life (approximately at 1/4 intervals of her life bar), she jumps to the back of screen and the entire background goes dark as she gets ready to perform a special Boss-only move called Megalomania. Danger Signs appear on the screen showing where the attack will go. There are 3 possible patterns that she will use.

PATTERN 1: wide curve starting from the bottom-up

Just move to the back and let everything float over you.

PATTERN 2: sine wave

First, stand underneath the safe spot in the curve (where the danger signs are not present), then as she releases her attack, the safe spot will move towards I-No, so just follow it along (if you're potemkin, this might be annoying just cuz pot is so damn big). Just take small steps forward, but be careful to not accidentally do a dash.

PATTERN 3: shotgun blast (everything right in front of i-no)

first move right next to I-No, then as she's about to shoot, jump, and double jump straight up to avoid the attack. Unlike the other attack patterns, I-No releases all her balls at once, so just make sure you get enough time in the air by double jumping at the apex of your initial jump and you should be fine.

Notes:

- DO NOT JUMP OVER I-NO, OR HER ATTACK WILL AUTOMATICALLY HOME IN ON YOU

- You can not hit/throw/IK I-No out of Megalomania

- I-No might FRC Megalomania, into another attack pattern, but don't worry, once she starts shooting, she can't change the attack pattern so just make sure you are in the safe spot once the attack goes off.

edit: yeah, i drew crappy ascii art diagrams, but the forum software destroyed all the formatting i used to draw it with, so no pictures for you

[shtkn]

um... how about high jump cancel, and how to read frame charts?

i think most n00b questions have been mentioned in this thread, good jorb everybody

now here's my contribution

BOSS I-NO megalomania (heart gun) attack patterns:

When fighting Boss I-No in Arcade Mode, after I-No loses a certain amount of life (approximately at 1/4 intervals of her life bar), she jumps to the back of screen and the entire background goes dark as she gets ready to perform a special Boss-only move called Megalomania. Danger Signs appear on the screen showing where the attack will go. There are 3 possible patterns that she will use.

PATTERN 1: wide curve starting from the bottom-up

Just move to the back and let everything float over you.

PATTERN 2: sine wave

First, stand underneath the safe spot in the curve (where the danger signs are not present), then as she releases her attack, the safe spot will move towards I-No, so just follow it along (if you're potemkin, this might be annoying just cuz pot is so damn big). Just take small steps forward, but be careful to not accidentally do a dash.

PATTERN 3: shotgun blast (everything right in front of i-no)

first move right next to I-No, then as she's about to shoot, jump, and double jump straight up to avoid the attack. Unlike the other attack patterns, I-No releases all her balls at once, so just make sure you get enough time in the air by double jumping at the apex of your initial jump and you should be fine.

Notes:

- DO NOT JUMP OVER I-NO, OR HER ATTACK WILL AUTOMATICALLY HOME IN ON YOU

- You can not hit/throw/IK I-No out of Megalomania

- I-No might FRC Megalomania, into another attack pattern, but don't worry, once she starts shooting, she can't change the attack pattern so just make sure you are in the safe spot once the attack goes off.

edit: yeah, i drew crappy ascii art diagrams, but the forum software destroyed all the formatting i used to draw it with, so no pictures for you

[_Ruka_]

Help a noobie out plz, I'm having alot trouble when you guys post things like 2369+S, I believe this is some kind of motion involving slash but I'm not familiar with it, any help would be thx.

[_Ruka_]

Help a noobie out plz, I'm having alot trouble when you guys post things like 2369+S, I believe this is some kind of motion involving slash but I'm not familiar with it, any help would be thx.

[Koozebanian Fazoob]

Put a basic notation guide on the FAQ now.

[Koozebanian Fazoob]

Put a basic notation guide on the FAQ now.

[Kirby]

Umm...Jump Install? I assume by that do you mean a midair throw?

[Kirby]

Umm...Jump Install? I assume by that do you mean a midair throw?

[Manta]

Nothing to do with it.

It's when you can double/triple jump or airdash when you shouldn't be able to.

There are many variations of this, but due to not fully understanding it myself, I'll leave it for another to explain.

[Manta]

Nothing to do with it.

It's when you can double/triple jump or airdash when you shouldn't be able to.

There are many variations of this, but due to not fully understanding it myself, I'll leave it for another to explain.

[pulsr]

ill use mays dolphin as an example because its probably the easiest to explain with. if you were to frc mays dolphin you will notice you cant jump/iad even though you are in the air. this works because for some reason the game things you are actually still on the ground(kinda weird yeah) however if you were to charge back then press upforward hardslash. the game realizes you are trying to jump and will consider you airborne so when you frc the dolphin tada you can dj iad. well thats how i see it.

this effect works on normals that are jump cancelable. however you can also get this effect to work on moves that arent JCable. example if may were to do k s hs dolphin (using [4]9hs) may wont be able to iad or dj because HS isnt a JC, hence the game wont think you are in the air because you couldnt jump in the first place. HOWEVER if may were to do k,s7,hs[4]6_9hs the game would think may jumped during the slash but you canceled the normal into another normal, so you maintained your jump properties.

i guess the easiest way to really explain what a Jump Install is would be...

Canceling a JCable move into a jump, but canceling the jump into a normal. giving you the properties of jumping storing your double jump/iad

[pulsr]

ill use mays dolphin as an example because its probably the easiest to explain with. if you were to frc mays dolphin you will notice you cant jump/iad even though you are in the air. this works because for some reason the game things you are actually still on the ground(kinda weird yeah) however if you were to charge back then press upforward hardslash. the game realizes you are trying to jump and will consider you airborne so when you frc the dolphin tada you can dj iad. well thats how i see it.

this effect works on normals that are jump cancelable. however you can also get this effect to work on moves that arent JCable. example if may were to do k s hs dolphin (using [4]9hs) may wont be able to iad or dj because HS isnt a JC, hence the game wont think you are in the air because you couldnt jump in the first place. HOWEVER if may were to do k,s7,hs[4]6_9hs the game would think may jumped during the slash but you canceled the normal into another normal, so you maintained your jump properties.

i guess the easiest way to really explain what a Jump Install is would be...

Canceling a JCable move into a jump, but canceling the jump into a normal. giving you the properties of jumping storing your double jump/iad

[shinquickman]

Yeah, lets just leave it to Old Man Dan to answer it technically.

[shinquickman]

Yeah, lets just leave it to Old Man Dan to answer it technically.

[Koozebanian Fazoob]

I wrote way too much about JIing, let me know if it's not basic enough to understand.

[Koozebanian Fazoob]

I wrote way too much about JIing, let me know if it's not basic enough to understand.

[Saiten]

IB is instant block right? how to you do it--and what effects does it have?

[Saiten]

IB is instant block right? how to you do it--and what effects does it have?

[Manta]

Instant block is when you press back to block immedeatly before an attack hits you (How many frames that is I'm not sure). Your character will flash white if you did it correctly. The benefits are that you remain in block stun for a much shorter period of time and also, your tension gain is increased momentarily after you do it. Instant blocking may even be used while you're still in guard stun from a previous block if your opponent attacks you again. The purpose, of course, is to allow you to break your opponent's attack strings and go on the offensive yourself more easily. Also, the technique is far more useful with some characters than others.

[Manta]

Instant block is when you press back to block immedeatly before an attack hits you (How many frames that is I'm not sure). Your character will flash white if you did it correctly. The benefits are that you remain in block stun for a much shorter period of time and also, your tension gain is increased momentarily after you do it. Instant blocking may even be used while you're still in guard stun from a previous block if your opponent attacks you again. The purpose, of course, is to allow you to break your opponent's attack strings and go on the offensive yourself more easily. Also, the technique is far more useful with some characters than others.

[Koozebanian Fazoob]

It's not a lot of frames less guard stun, but it's still important.

Level                    1      2      3      4      5

Standing Hit            10 F   12 F   14 F   17 F   19 F

Crouching Hit           10 F   13 F   15 F   18 F   20 F

Air Hit                 10 F   12 F   14 F   16 F   18 F

Standard Guard           9 F   11 F   13 F   16 F   18 F

Faultless Defense       11 F   13 F   16 F   19 F   21 F

Instant Block            7 F    8 F   10 F   12 F   14 F

Air Standard Guard      10 F   12 F   14 F   17 F   23 F

Air Faultless Defense   12 F   15 F   18 F   24 F   27 F

Air Instant Block        4 F    6 F    8 F   10 F   12 F

Ground Counter Hit      +0 F   +2 F   +4 F   +8 F  +12 F

Air Counter Hit         +6 F   +9 F  +16 F  +18 F  +?? F

At best you can get 4F less recovery on the ground, but in the air you can get 6F.

[Koozebanian Fazoob]

It's not a lot of frames less guard stun, but it's still important.

Level                    1      2      3      4      5

Standing Hit            10 F   12 F   14 F   17 F   19 F

Crouching Hit           10 F   13 F   15 F   18 F   20 F

Air Hit                 10 F   12 F   14 F   16 F   18 F

Standard Guard           9 F   11 F   13 F   16 F   18 F

Faultless Defense       11 F   13 F   16 F   19 F   21 F

Instant Block            7 F    8 F   10 F   12 F   14 F

Air Standard Guard      10 F   12 F   14 F   17 F   23 F

Air Faultless Defense   12 F   15 F   18 F   24 F   27 F

Air Instant Block        4 F    6 F    8 F   10 F   12 F

Ground Counter Hit      +0 F   +2 F   +4 F   +8 F  +12 F

Air Counter Hit         +6 F   +9 F  +16 F  +18 F  +?? F

At best you can get 4F less recovery on the ground, but in the air you can get 6F.

[shinquickman]

Just for the purpose of stastistics, how much time do you have to IB a move in:

A. the first hit?

B. in between block?

C. After a succsessice IB?

I've noticed attemting to IB in between blocks is harder than IBing a t first or after another IB.

[shinquickman]

Just for the purpose of stastistics, how much time do you have to IB a move in:

A. the first hit?

B. in between block?

C. After a succsessice IB?

I've noticed attemting to IB in between blocks is harder than IBing a t first or after another IB.