Messages

16

Robert Garcia / Re: Robert Garcia (Console)

« on: November 30, 2012, 05:15:12 AM »

Hey guys, just wanted to share a reallly really easy 4 bar HD combo that I recently have been doing. You can start it from about 40% of the stage away from the corner and closer.

4 bars, HD, 921dmg

J. C, st. C, fwd. B xxHD, st. C, fwd B, C DP xx ex dive kick, A fireball, C DP xx A fireball, C DP xx lvl1 Ranbu, Max Cancel

Short and sweet, and very hard to mess up in a real match!

17

Training Room / Re: David Kong is here to answer your noob questions!

« on: November 30, 2012, 02:17:47 AM »

Hi im new at KoF, im play Kof in past but is long time ago, dont know about HD mode and Neo Max,just know Super aka DM
im big fan of Art Of Fighting Team, what best formation, what put first Ryo or Robert, I Think takuma the last because He is Sensei.
and Ryo doesnt have target combo to special,like Robert and Takuma Crazy flying kick loop
who is master Ryo or good high level player Ryo so i can see in Yutube

Thanks for help

Hello and welcome! Check out the video below, featuring Kaoru. Kaoru is considered to be one of the best Ryo players in the world. This is a first to 5 set between him and Mr. KoF of SoCal.

18

Training Room / Re: David Kong is here to answer your noob questions!

« on: November 26, 2012, 08:58:16 AM »

Well, although there are generally accepted rules of what makes a good point/anchor, at the end of the day it's all about what you make of it. For example, Justin Wong runs King as his anchor despite the fact that King is a horrible anchor, and still manages to do well in every tournament he enters. So in that sense, if a character is not working out in a certain position, it may be wise to switch around your order. Also, perhaps there are unexplored facets of your character that would resolve the problem (for example, learning a different combo that uses more meter than you have been using previously, so that your character is more potent on anchor when fully stocked).

It sounds like your opponent having tons of meter during the last round is a problem for you. If this is the case, I would analyze it separately to see what exactly you are doing to give him that much meter. Are you consistently landing HD with your 2nd? If so, maybe your 2nd should be your anchor. This is all just food for thought, but in the end team order is something you need to decide on for yourself. I've seen many great players play really weird/dumb team orders for whatever reason and it totally works out for them. The most important part is to have confidence in your game plan.

On paper, team synergy matters. If someone came up to me and asked if Shen, Duolon, Kula is a good team order, I'd say hell no and that he should run Kula or Duolon on point. However, in practice I've realized that team synergy doesn't matter nearly as much as the skill of the player. Your team in particular is not bad. You lack a truly top tier character, and among Andy Terry Liz all three are not known to be strong anchors, but all three can function as point or 2nd successfully. It then comes down to who's HDs you are most consistent with, because that character will bring you the most comebacks. You can play any of your characters well enough to be great anchors, it just takes a little more work than traditional anchors like claw Iori or Shen. I guess the whole point of what I'm trying to say is, don't sweat the details. Just keep grinding with your team, and the best order will present itself to you naturally.

19

Training Room / Re: David Kong is here to answer your noob questions!

« on: November 23, 2012, 12:54:06 AM »

one thing to keep in mind about air to airs is that the player that is the highest up into the air will tend to win if both players use typical air to airs(usually horizontal) simply because the lower player will whiff or be hit in the head early. Beni for example jumps high so for characters with for example j.A's like Ryo or Joe that hit high up that's a good option if your opponent ends up higher up than you for one reason or another.

this is good stuff. i use andys j.A over j.B for the same reason.




anyways, i could use a bit of advice with team choice and synergy... ive been playing since release and even a lil bit before that messing with the arcade version. after all this time i still just cannot settle on a 3rd character for my main team. its really holding me back.

for a long time ive just been doing [ Andy / X / Terry ] and [ X / Andy / Terry. ] i really want my team to be [ Andy / Terry / X ]

ive spent time on other characters but cant settle on anyone that feels right for 3rd. these are characters ive tried learning from best to worst:

1. Andy
2. Terry
3. Elisabeth
4. Mai
5. Iori
6. Vice
7. Athena

 Iori was the obvious first choice... i stuck with him for awhile and im just not liking the feel of him.
 i originally picked up Elisabeth as anchor because she can hurt with a little meter and a lot, but the opponents amount of meter is too much of a problem for me with Elisabeth. i really like this character and shes my 3rd best, but i have to put her on 1st or 2nd to work. similar issue with Vice, the opponents meter just keeps me at bay in the last round. i felt more restricted than with terry, which is the main reason i want to get him off 3rd.

ive been reccomended to pick up takuma as anchor for the same reason i was wanting to put elisabeth there. i feel like with takumas lack of defense i will just be having the same problems i am with other characters ive tried to put on anchor. as much as i feel Terrys lack of tools hurts me in the last round, atleast he has a great jab for hops and decent command normal for jumps.

Unfortunately, settling on a 3rd character (or any character for that matter) is not an issue that someone else can help you with. What character you play (and the reason you want to play them) is a very personal decision for every player. If you are considering all of the above characters and really have no preference for any of them, I recommend considering tiers (Iori and Vice would be better choices than Mai, and arguably Athena).

What I can say for sure, however, is that you SHOULD make a committed decision, and don't look back. Remember that ANY character you pick up will be weak in your hands initially, and you will get bodied over and over again with that new character. This doesn't mean that the character is not right for you, but merely that you need to stick with that character more to get better. Therefore, switching between lots of characters trying to decide on a 3rd based on your match results is not productive. You will only get your 3rd character on par with your other two if you stick to that character for an extended period of time. Also, be open minded in your team order. I definitely recommend putting whoever your new character is first in your lineup, because your first character will inevitably get the most playtime throughout casual sessions. I hope this was helpful!

20

Training Room / Re: David Kong is here to answer your noob questions!

« on: November 14, 2012, 09:18:36 AM »

-HD mode. I haven't figured this one out yet (aside from some HDBypass shenanigans). Is it just for showing off, or a legimate way to guard break a defense and get and huge chunk of damage in? How important to ones game is it to have HD combos mastered?

-Run in game. I am clueless about that one as well it seems. Last time I was playing online I really had trouble to hit after run ins and also to defend against a run in (as if the opponent was always able to hit me first). Is there something I am missing? How does a run-in game plan look like? Mix up high and low with hyperhops, break and use special, fastest pokes / reversal?

- Is there a good resource for learning block strings creating pressure in the corner and escaping in the corner? There seem to be a ton of videos when it comes to combos but blockstrings not that much

Hey there! It seems like the other guys have answered most of your questions, so I'll just add my two cents regarding these topics.

HD mode is extremely important for most characters in the game. Very few characters have really bad optimized HD combos (King and Duolon). Remember that for any character you play, the combo you do should be geared towards METER OPTIMIZATION. This means, do the most damage as you can with a given combo starter and specific amount of meter. This will take some looking around/experimenting in training mode.

If you ever have full HD and your opponent has over 700 life, you will almost always need to do a meter efficient HD combo to kill them. Not being able to do this combo means that in these situations, you will not be able to win the match when you otherwise could have. This may be important or not, depending on how good/competitive you want to be.

When running, you can cancel your run into any normal attack or special move. However, you CANNOT cancel your run into a block. If you run and then hold back, there will be a couple frames where you are vulnerable. When playing online, even a couple frames of lag could make you very vulnerable while running. In terms of running in or rushing down, there is no set formula per se. What you should really be concentrating on is the movement and intention of your opponent. Remember to think critically, because telegraphing your offense with specific hop or attack patterns will not work in the long run. It may win you a couple matches here and there, but it won't make you a better KoF player.

When learning block strings, there are two things to consider:

1.) Is it safe on block? If not, what can it be punished by, and does my opponent know?
2.) Can it be easily guard cancel rolled and then punished?

Most of the time, your block strings will be a slightly modified version of your actual BnB combo that is safe on block and not easily guard cancel rolled. This will vary largely by what character you are playing.

I hope this helps! It's always great to see new players get into the game, and I hope you get a chance to play offline soon! In the long run, online play can actually hurt your KoF abilities.

21

Training Room / Re: David Kong is here to answer your noob questions!

« on: November 12, 2012, 08:29:40 AM »

I've hit a rut in the neutral/footsie and defensive aspects of the game.

I'm trying to do more trip guard punishes against jump-ins and I understand the concept of it. However, I don't understand how players are able to visualize that a trip guard punish is viable at certain points. I'm assuming there's some reading involved but is there a good rule of thumb when attempting a trip guard punish? I can understand against normal and super jumps but I've seen players trip guard small hops and I don't understand how they read/react to that. A slight misjudgment could mean they eat a combo. I know this is what separates the good and bad players but any insight on this would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry for the late reply! This is an excellent question. Anti airing with a low (what you're referring to as trip guard), is in essence the same as anti-airing normally. The major difference is that a successful anti air low B can lead to a full combo, which is obviously very important. The only rule of thumb that I can suggest would be that your anti air low will only work if your opponent is 1.) hopping or jumping in from slightly too far away to hit you (meaning they have mis-spaced their offense) or 2.) they have pressed their jump in attack way too early (this is common if they are attempting an air-to-air, rather than a jump in).

Basically, if they have timed/spaced their jump in perfectly, your anti air low will get beat out by their jump in and you will eat a full combo. In terms of being able to visualize/react to jump/hop ins, the first thing to take note of is the range of your low attack. You want to constantly remember that your low B is in fact an anti air tool, but only at specific ranges against different characters. Remember that sometimes an anti air low simply won't work, and that other anti-air options will be necessary. Knowing these specific ranges will require some training mode, and over time this reaction will become instinctual. With that said, it's pretty hard to do haha. That's why you only see it consistently being done at the highest levels.

Also, a note about terminology: Trip guard refers to a mechanic in games which allows characters to recover instantly as they land and block right away. If trip guard was in KoFXIII, anti airing with lows into full combos would actually be impossible (unless you're Vice LOLOL). "Trip guard" as a term has unfortunately been misused by many stream commentators (including myself, regrettably) so that people say it to mean the exact OPPOSITE of what it actually means. What we're really talking about when most people say trip guard is anti airing with a low.

I hope this was helpful!

22

Training Room / Re: David Kong is here to answer your noob questions!

« on: October 20, 2012, 10:51:31 PM »

My question is:

The air to air game:  I almost ALWAYS lose this.  My friend plays Beni, Iori, Kyo.  I play K', Mr. Karate, and Saiki.  In my attempt to establish and offense I've been really trying to counter act his jumping normals because moves like Iori's J. D are so good that they often beat out my anti air attempts.  You'd think with Mr. Karate's j. CD I'd be doing a little bit of work, but I pretty much always get hit.  I've tried to adjust the timing of the attack (hitting earlier or later in the arc) but nothing seems to work.  I imagine that with time and experience I'll eventually work this out, but I was hoping you might have some general advice for navigating the air.  It feels like footsies are really happening in the air in this game, rather than on the ground.

This is just the tip of the iceberg, as I have so many more things to work on, but I figured it was a good place to start, as it's one of biggest problems. Thanks in advance, and sorry for the long winded question!

Great question! Like you said, the air to air game is a very prevalent aspect of this game, and needs to be learned in order to play competitively. The first important thing to remember is that air normals have startup and active frames just like all other moves. In that sense, footsies in the air share some principles with footsies on the ground. It's all about touching your opponent with your active hitbox before he does the same to you.

First off, when jumping, you must mentally be prepared to go for either an attempt at an AIR TO AIR, or an attempt at a JUMP IN. I put these two terms in bold because they are two completely different decisions. The optimal spacing and timing for an air to air is different than the optimal spacing and timing for a jump in for any given air normal.

When attempting an air to air, you must be EXPECTING your opponent to be in the air already when you press your attack. In that sense, this is a READ. That's why at high levels, you see players whiffing hop CD at certain ranges over and over again (Tokido's Karate comes to mind). It's because they are simply controlling that space, which is the hop trajectory of your opponent.

If you are going for a jump in, generally speaking you will be pressing your button much later in your jump than you would for an air to air.

There is some inherent risk to an air to air if you do it at close range. Because you are pressing the button earlier than you would for a jump in, most air to air attempts can be ducked and possibly anti air'ed with a low. If both players go for an air to air at the same time, the player whose attacks comes out FIRST will always win. This is why moves like Karate's jump CD are so good (it has extremely quick startup). If your Karate's jump CD is consistently being beaten by Iori's jump D, that means Iori's attack is active before your attack is active. This will always happen if you are trying to REACT to their air to air attempt with your own air to air.

General rule of thumb: You won't be able to react to an air to air attempt which is spaced and timed well with your own air to air. Instead, you want to REACT with either an anti air low or something invincible. You CAN react to a jump in attempt with an air to air, because they will be pressing their attack much later than if they were to go for an air to air.

Remember that going for air to airs is going to be a matter of reading and prediction. Do your attack before your opponent does his, and your attack will win. I hope this helps!

23

Training Room / Re: David Kong is here to answer your noob questions!

« on: October 03, 2012, 01:01:20 AM »

Hey guys,

Just wanted to put it out there once again that I'm still active in this thread and here to help! Please don't hesitate to submit questions at any time!

24

Training Room / Re: David Kong is here to answer your noob questions!

« on: September 03, 2012, 12:06:57 PM »

I'm glad I could help. I hope you become a total boss at Kof.

25

Training Room / Re: David Kong is here to answer your noob questions!

« on: September 02, 2012, 12:08:59 AM »

From the way you are describing it, the troubles you are having stem from a lack of footsies. Unfortunately, these issues are not simple problems to fix, because the answer in these scenarios is to develop better understanding of fundamentals.

For example, for the problem of the frame trap sweep with Andy, the most brutal punish for this would be a hop attack that grants you a full combo by counter hitting the sweep. You mentioned that you get hit if you try to jump. This simply means that you are not hopping early enough to truly PREDICT the sweep. In these situations, a difference of a few frames the is the difference between getting hit and landing your punish. The skill to have an instinctual understanding of this kind of timing comes with practice and experience, and in most cases this is what separates great players from average ones.

In regards to closing distance, I would advise you to re-think the context of your goal. It is not always important to close the distance. Remember that patience is a two way road in fighting games. The important thing is to always have more patience than your opponent if he is far away. Simply having patience in this situation will solve the problem of getting in for you. Eventually, your opponent will throw a bad fireball, or give up on zoning and try to attack you. As soon as this happens, the tide has changed directions in your favor. If it's hard to get in, then stay out. Find ways to play your own zoning games in response to those of your opponent. With that said, knowing particular facts about your characters is also useful, so:

With king, ex air fireball is excellent from a distance. The air version has MUCH faster start up than the ground version, so do something like, forward hop, and right before you land, EX fireball. This blows through all non ex fireballs and punishes slow moves. It'll also beat andy's elbow at mid range clean.

With Kim, air EX hangetsuzan is completely invincible from start to finish. If you tiger knee this move, it completely controls about 40% of the screen. It's a great tool in footsie range and is safe on block at max distance. It's so invincible that it will beat all  regular uppercuts if you jump in with it. Also, Kim's stand D is invincible to lows, so if andy is going to sweep, simply st. D and get a full combo.

Shen woo can use his back hand move to negate fireballs. Because of this, Shen Woo builds a lot of meter if your opponent if willing to zone. Use this tool as often as you can, and then you have EX bionic arm super to blast through whatever you want.

I hope this helps.

26

Offline Matchmaking / Re: SoCal KoF

« on: September 01, 2012, 01:41:48 AM »

yo dude, you live in santa ana? we have sessions at UC irvine every tuesday in the student center. You should stop by!

27

General Discussion / Re: KOF XIII 8th General Thread: KOF EVOlving 2012

« on: August 08, 2012, 04:58:29 AM »

Mad KoF is confirmed for SB!!! SSOOOO sad I can't go  it's gonna be sooooo hypeppppepepe!!!!

28

Podcast / Re: Drive Cancel Radio Episode 12: Chicago KOF

« on: August 08, 2012, 12:53:20 AM »

Awesome episode!! Sorry I had to miss it. We're planning on doing more "Scene Spotlight" kind of episodes in the future as well.

29

General Discussion / Re: KOF XIII 8th General Thread: KOF EVOlving 2012

« on: August 04, 2012, 01:09:41 AM »

TRB currently has a logistical problem involving having way too many good matches to fit into a 5 hour stream window. Unfortunately, scheduling conflicts made it so that kof finals were pushed back hella late. We'll try our best to discuss this issue with level up and see if we can arrange a more consistent stream schedule so that the viewers are not disappointed in the future.

30

General Discussion / Re: Tier lists and Character Discussion Thread

« on: August 03, 2012, 12:26:56 AM »

Also, Vice is soooo good lol. Her defense is bad in the sense that she lacks any good close range anti air normals which cover her head, but her 1 frame invincible command grab can definitely be used as a defensive tool to make up for that once you've blocked the jump in.

I am also one of the few Vice players that thinks she's an awesome point character, simply because she is amazing at building meter without building meter for the opponent. every single sleeve does not build ANY meter for the opponent on block, hit or whiff. on hit, combo-ing into command grab also builds 0 meter for the opponent. you can also kara into sleeve from stand CD for a very significant range boost.

her far stand B is also cancelable, so you can frame trap into fwd A or into sleeve from very good ranges. same thing with her sweep. her j. B is also great and has a ton of horizontal range and is active for days. you can combo off of it at very far ranges as well.

but yeah, my point is her neutral game is very very good, and very few vice players actually utilize it. (i'm still working on it myself lol). the idea that her entire game is based off of J. cd into EX sleeve is a misconception, although I don't deny that it's still a huge part of her anchor game.

Also, the fact that every single practical HD combo can be done the same way on every single part of the screen is totally awesome.