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edollarports

[+R] Potemkin Gameplay Discussion

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Hey everybody! I started this new thread to discuss +R potemkin, since we don't have a thread and no one wants to discuss this lovely huggable character.

I'm not sure exactly where I want to go with this, so the organization might be a little whack. Apologies if you have trouble finding shit. I want to go over the basic changes to Potemkin in +R, and what this means in respect to his gameplay. I understand that explaining these changes will take a basic understanding of how Potemkin worked in AC, so I'll do my best to establish context.

In the long run, I might update a rough guide to Potemkin in general, although I'm sure a lot of what I say will have been covered somewhere else, oh this forum or otherwise.

So, for now, this is not a guide on how to play, but rather my attempt to explain Potemkin's game and what +R means for it, both from a technical and overall gameplan perspective.

Potemkin Overview

In GGXXAC, Potemkin was regarded as one of the better/best characters in the cast. He's about as fast as mud, so he used the threat of BIG normals and specials to either slowly advance or halt enemy approaches.

As the grappler of the game, Potemkin had massive damage, the ability to easily combo into a knockdown, and the mixup to open people up and keep them honest. Defensively, Potemkin had a large hittable box, but his great backdash and command throw worked well with GG's innate blocking mechanics, making him a defensive powerhouse as well. He also took hits like nobody's business, with all that health.

His weaknesses were that he could be zoned and pressured in ways that denied him his defensive and neutral options, leading to several poor matchups (Testa/Eddie come to mind. Sure, they beat lots of people, but Potemkin in particular has a rough time with those compared to what he normally could do). Nothing that was unwinnable though.

--------------+R Changes-----------------------------

From here on, I'm going to start mentioning more specific things, like Potemkin's moves and such. If you need help, you can look it up in old threads or on the Dustloop AC wiki, or ask here if you can't find it.

A list of Potemkin +R changes can be more or less found right here.

I believe that overall these changes are a nerf. +R potemkin has lower damage, and is not as safe as he used to be. He also is more meter hungry and more reliant on the corner to gain greater reward. Most of the nerfs are either direct damage nerfs or just removal of "silly" things that Potemkin could get away with and easily convert off of, but don't affect his gameplan in itself. Most of his normals and specials still do what they used to, outside of combos.

Normals:

5P now has increased untechable time. This makes it better for combos (5P now combos into 2S, 2H, heat, and APB easily on air hit now) and makes it a bit easier and more rewarding to confirm off antiair 5P (it happens, sometimes). Outside of combos, usage unchanged.

2P now prorates and hits low, as well as not cancelling into itself. This is mostly just to reduce Potemkin's reward off of it (not like 2P 2K 2D ever did much anyways) and to make 5P Potemkin's only self-chainable normal.

5K and 2K now prorate 90%, like most other character's fast low options. This is just a straight up hit to Pot's damage. 10% loss of damage from reliable low starters might be sad, but hey, at least Pot has em (sup, Tager). Usage is the same. They standing/think they're gonna jump/holding up on wakeup? Tell them NO, POTEMKIN says SIDDOWN.

6K now deals more damage but loses the 2H gatling in exchange for a 2D one. It's also now throw invul frames 1-15, instead of frames ?-? like it was before. This is mostly a reward reduction, losing Potemkin the meterless heat followup he used to get, although he keeps his knockdown. It's also more reliable for stuffing throws now. Bigger combos are unchanged (giganter, hammerfall, etc) and usage is essentially the same.

2S is 1f faster, making it slightly better and letting you combo it off of 5P. Otherwise, nothing of note.

6H changes are big. Before, it was this huge normal that had a +50% dizzy modifier. Random 6H CHs or backdash tags could get you a dizzy and just win you the round. Now, it is .75x modifier, but a combo tool. 6H wallbounces, allowing for followups (megafist, heat in the corner, hammerfall (hard)). It's also the reliable followup to Slide Head FRC. It prorates 50% so that 6H starter doesn't just lead to death in the corner. Guess they wanted to hit Pot damage here too. Thanks to Circ for the tip.

2D forced prorate 80%, level 4->3. This means less damage after a sweep, especially off a K starter (5K/2K/6K all prorate), as well as it being less safe on block. However, it is now special cancellable! This is a great buff for Potemkin, giving him the option to HF in and continue pressure. Previously, Potemkin would have to commit to either HF(B) or 2D to check them low. Now, he can check low and keep going! In addition, this allows for some combos like 2D Heat Knuckle on Faust (maybe some others?) and 2D HFB FRC 5K etc. A better move and seeing a lot more usage in blockstrings after the special cancel.

j.K and 5D are no longer special cancellable/slower, respectively. No real effect. No one got hit by 5D and no one special cancelled j.K, so it might even be a buff.

j.S is slower, has 60f untech on air CH, and plummets 25f on air hit. Lost special cancel, but that's a buff if anything like with j.K. The big part here is the plummet. With it, Potemkin gained a new slew of air combos (peak of jump j.S, fall with them, low j.H, land, ground combo). This move enables Potemkin's rejump combos and lets him get big damage off of launchers (2H HFB, 2H FRC, j.S CH).

j.D untech time 16f-40f. This makes it the safe knockdown option for ending air combos (stuff, j.S -> j.D) when Potemkin just needs that one hit or the opponent is too low or something.

Specials

Slide Head (236S) is the most noticeable of the "silly" thing removals. It's lost its OTG knockdown, instead gaining an FRC and the groundbounce property. This means that when you randomly/skillfully slidehead someone, you can no longer HFB, 5K pickup. Instead, you must expend meter to FRC it, then follow up with 2S (if you're in range) or 6H. This makes slidehead meterless deal no damage, and instead only grants you the knockdown without all the damage/meter that Pot gained in AC. In addition, Slidehead no longer is invul except for the feet frames 1-16, but above the knee invul instead, making it less likely for slidehead to low profile things and lead to reward as it did before (antiair slidehead the gawd).

Mega Fist (236P/214P) now knocks down. This is mostly a buff, as it gives Potemkin new combo paths into Megafist, as well as increasing the reward off of megafist. Forward megafist (236P) also gained an FRC point way before it comes out, but is also highly unsafe on block now. This lets potemkin do mixups/block out of a poor megafist, but also gets him punished for his mistakes.

Hammerfall ([4]6H) is now slower to come out at long range, and lower level. It has less recovery, making it about as unsafe as it always was (horribly so). However, the FRC point has been delayed to AFTER the active frames (meaning there's a frame where you're not armored), and with the attack level down, the move is no longer as absurdly plus as it was in AC on FRC. It's still very plus though. The untechable time has been increased from 18f to 22f, meaning combos off of it are still readily possible even with the delayed FRC, although the nerfed GB- means less damage.

Hammerfall Break (P during HF) has gotten its own FRC point from frames 3-10. This essentially is a ghetto 25 meter RC off of special cancellable normals, in the vein of Millia's 236S FRC. It's good for about anything you can think up for it and is a great tool in Potemkin's arsenal.

Potemkin Buster (632146P) This is a big one. Potemkin Buster no longer possesses its FRC point, but deals more damage up front. In the corner (and with great effort midscreen on some, I guess), it's possible to link afterwards for great damage, even with the GB- increased. This is one of the changes that made Potemkin's game more corner-based. Potemkin can no longer get an easy oki and more damage for 25 meter, or MASSIVE DEATH for 75 midscreen. It also throws farther, giving him a bit less momentum after the buster, but more corner carry! It's still the core of Pot's game and usage is mostly unchanged.

Heat Knuckle (623H) and Extend (63214H during HK) have been changed to increase Potemkin's corner carry/reward at the expense of his midscreen game. Extend is now always untechable, making it always a good ender. However, you may want to consider it using out of corner, now: Heat Knuckle's massive (dumb) meter gain has been shifted to extend, meaning that Potemkin can't gain infinite meter off of midscreen oki into stuff into heat knuckle until they die (bye giganter loops midscreen (does anyone still do those?!)). Instead, you'll want to get your meter and blast them to the corner, where you are far scarier. If you really need that next mixup over the meter/damage that extend provides, you may of course still have your midscreen knockdown. Heat Knuckle also can be FRCed on whiff, if you got the meter.

Judge Gauntlet (63214D), Pot's first FB, now has an option to cancel in 4f by hitting P during the charge. I suppose this could act as a poor man's HFB (it's 20f if you do it fastest possible) and it's a decent gimmick (gaunt, P, buster). Otherwise, this move retains most of its properties from AC...aka it's not really that great.

Aerial Potemkin Buster (j.632146D), on the other hand, is now a big part of Potemkin's combo game. With the increased untech time, added FRC point, and the changes to Pot's combos, it is now a solid and common metered path in tons of Potemkin's combos. It is easy to combo into and out of it in the corner, and midscreen, APB has PB's old FRC point, letting you get midscreen damage and knockdown in exchange for meter. Outside of combos, it's used how it was before (don't).

--------Changes to Gameplay------------------------------

Besides having less reward, Potemkin's gameplay is mostly the safe on defense and neutral, just less randomly profitable. I'd like to use this space to jot down some notes on pressure and combos though.

Pressure

With the new changes to 2D, Potemkin can HFB AFTER he checks the opponent crouch blocking, thus commanding an entire new layer of respect he didn't have before. In addition, with 5P's untech time increased, he can catch jumping player with 5PPP and still confirm knockdown.

Combos

Potemkin's combos from the old games are mostly still here, but AC+R sees different optimal combos- some of Potemkin's flashier combos are in the air now. In addition, HFB FRC lets Potemkin do links he couldn't before. Note that as before most places with heat can be subbed for 2H HPB. I'm not really optimizing here.

Slidehead Combos

With the slidehead changes, Potemkin must FRC unless he's point blank to pick up after slidehead's groundbounce.

If close, he could do

Slidehead FRC 2S Heat.

Otherwise,

Slidehead FRC 6H...

...........236P (knockdown.)

...........HF (can FRC to followup, moves you towards corner big time)

...........Heat (only if close to corner).

2D combos

2D is special cancellable! This leads to new combos, such as:

Gatling, 2D -> Heat Knuckle (Some characters, FA)

Gatling, 2D -> HFB FRC 5K/2K/whatever, combo into HPB or Heat

Air combos

There's way too many air combos to list that I've seen, and I'm sure they're pretty hard/character specific, but the premise is that with the new j.S, Potemkin can launch and still get knockdown after an air combo.

A basic combo would be:

5K 2S 2H HFB j.P j.K dj.K j.S j.D

Something more advanced would be:

5K 2S 2H HFB j.P j.K dj.K j.S j.H land 6P/2S heat extend No delay between j.S and j.H! Guess Potemkin's just a big boy.

These new combos grant more damage, corner carry/knockdown, and keep you on top of your opponent, which Extend might not do normally midscreen after 5K 2S 2H.

In addition, air combos can be extended or made easier via 2H FRC (also burst bait! :3c).

New Buster Combos

Off of ground buster, midscreen, Potemkin can no longer combo reliably. However, on some wide hitboxes, such as Anji, he can do

PB 5S 2S Heat.

In the corner, Potemkin gains tons of options. The basic would be

Corner: PB 5K 2S Heat

However, he could also use 5P, c.5S, or on some characters, straight 2H. His followup gatling can have more or less normals depending on character/timing. I don't know optimal combos.

Air Potbuster now also is used in combos. It grants big corner carry and damage.

A basic setup would be the same one used in AC:

Near Corner: Gatling 2H HFB j.P j.K TK7 APB, stuff (depends on GB at this point).

In addition, 2H FRC can be used to set it up with much less proration:

Stuff 2H FRC sj.APB

Midscreen, APB can be followed up with FRC or f.5S on some characters for more damage/closer knockdown.

In the corner, APB can be looped, like it was in AC. However, the combo seems to be easier now and I see more people doing it.

Corner: Stuff APB 5P/c.5S APB, stuff etc.

Even Potemkin buster can lead into it. Just sub in a PB for the first APB in any combo:

Corner: PB 5P/c.5S APB BIG DAMAGE

Potemkin gets a lot of big meterless damage and even bigger metered damage in or near the corner in +R!

For what I've written today:

Potemkin is less gimmicky and less rewarding in +R. However, his strengths as a character still shine. His reward returns to its old glory near the corner, and his defense is as good as it was before. Special cancellable sweep and new FRCs make Potemkin a much more solid character during pressure, especially with his new hard-to-earn meter.

I think I'm done for now. I don't know what to write next/if anyone even wants me to, but if anyone has any improvements, suggestions, I'm listening! I did this because I thought the Pot forums were too quiet, and I love this character and this game too much for that. I'll probably update, and definitely will if someone wants me to.

So please, if you have any comments/request/anything, I'll be here. Thanks for reading!

Edited by E$ports

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Quick correction: 6H is only INITIAL prorate. It does not force an additional 50% midcombo, only when used as a starter. This is very important! Confirmed in Vita +R.

Additionally, j.S > j.H isn't a delay, you'd do it more or less like a regular gatling. Potemkin falls fast.

Aside from that this was a pretty great write-up, and I thank you for doing it.

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Fixed! I thought I read 6H was force prorate somewhere. Guess I was wrong. And man potemkin falls fast/j.H is slower than I thought.

If you have anything else, I'll be sure to correct it. Thanks!

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Quick correction: 6H is only INITIAL prorate. It does not force an additional 50% midcombo, only when used as a starter. This is very important! Confirmed in Vita +R.

Additionally, j.S > j.H isn't a delay, you'd do it more or less like a regular gatling. Potemkin falls fast.

Aside from that this was a pretty great write-up, and I thank you for doing it.

J.S j.HS often should be delayed a little bit to get the j.H to hit lower. At least in the example used in this thread. That combo hits halfway to the ground if you just gatling it like normal, but you can get it super low to the ground if you delay the j.H. I mean, you're still chaining it so you don't have all day to delay it, but the height difference for when j.H hits is notable and you want to hit them pretty low to get the good follow ups.

Also, we have like no threads for +R combos and stuff.

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You're right, and that's become more apparent as I play on stick instead of the Vita pad. :v:

Also we absolutely need some new threads up. I guess I'll get some started today. Might need to get a new mod, raekw0n seems MIA.

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Ok, so what are people spending their meter on? In combos spending meter doesn't seem to add much. At least HPB and APB seem like almost a waste against characters who you can do long combos on.

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In combos, adding an APB near the corner will lead to BIG DAMAGE. For example, 2H HFB TK APB is big. Slidehead FRC is a big drain of meter too. Adding extra cS TK APB in combos will be pot's main meter filler it seems. Past that, traditional RC uses (hammerfall FRC etc) are still present, as well as the new pressure HFB FRC.

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In combos, adding an APB near the corner will lead to BIG DAMAGE. For example, 2H HFB TK APB is big. Slidehead FRC is a big drain of meter too. Adding extra cS TK APB in combos will be pot's main meter filler it seems. Past that, traditional RC uses (hammerfall FRC etc) are still present, as well as the new pressure HFB FRC.
The APB thing is exactly what I'm complaining about. On characters you can get a full combo on the APB has a tendency to add only 10 damage for 25 meter. Unless it lands in the corner 2H HFB TK APB isn't even worth doing with less than 100 tension. The air combos just add so much damage and are so tight on proration/hitstun decay. I guess I could just spend meter outside of combos more. Nothing wrong with that. I just wish I could blow meter making sure someone was dead more often.

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APB only adds 10 damage? On most characters you can do APB 5S 2S heat in the corner for damage. Or at least 5S heat. That's got to be more than 10 damage.
I was talking about not in the corner. As in, unless you are in the corner already why bother? Mid screen full air combos do so much damage and get so much corner carry and that spending meter on combos outside the corner feels like a waste.

And since the other combos do so much more corner carry when I combo Into the corner 99% of the time it is a combo where APB can't combo into 623H

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Using APB midscreen for corner carry isn't a terrible idea, especially on characters with meterless APB followups... unless you've fucked up your untech time and get nothing. Even just the APB is nice if it gets you to the corner, though.

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