How to battle zoners

[Siren]

I didn't see a topic like this here, and I thought I would start one. Please let me know if there is one.

Alright, in my time playing the kof series, I haven't encountered too many zoners, however when I did I had seemed to be at a loss. I see it happens to other new players as well. I simply want to input my advice of what I know so far, however, I would greatly appreciate other advice, since mine can only take you but so far, I definitely need to fine tune this and will be asking for help in different areas, so please take part in this.

A good zoner of course will not just be spamming projectiles. He/she will be using them consistently and with good timing. They will almost never approach you unless they truly need to I.E. you have life lead. They will be looking for bad rolls so they can punish, they will be looking for bad jump-ins. They will be baiting rolls and jump ins, this is how they will get most of their damage. Understand, that some of them don't even care about k.o.'s a timeout victory is good enough, which it is to me as well. There are a good number chars on this list that can be played like this. K' being one of the most annoying. They don't always need a full projectile to zone, however. Benimaru's  / . A stationary projectile used correctly can stop your rushdown entirely. You being on the offensive will have to bait this yourself and punish correctly. You may have to catch it on startup or use a char that can attack above or directly below it. However, they may start to get wise to this so make sure your not obvious with your baits.

While being on the offensive to a zoner, you will need a lot of patience or your going to screw up and get hit. You need to inch your way to them with good spacing and well timed rolls. keep in mind once you get too close, they will run away. They can do this by rolling a normal with slow start up or recovery, or a correct jump out. You will have to make sure your pressure is on point, you don't wan't to have to work your way back in again, hell I don't think there'll be enough time on the timer left lol. However, if they run away and you have the life lead, let them. Why overwork yourself when your in the lead. Putting a zoner on the offensive now allows you to play the match your way, however, this depends on the character also, this is why I brought up K' earlier. K' doesn't have to zone but he can, but an offensive K' is much scarier. So, you have to watch out for chars that can play the game both ways. I hope this helped out, and I could really use some feedback.

If my advice was horrible, please let me know, just don't be a dick about it. Anyways, I'm just now getting back into kof for 13, so let me know if you wannna match up in 2k2 um on xbl, meh gamertag is Blaque Siren.

P.S. Not all zoning players will annoy just on the battlefield, some will just constantly interrupt you while trying to writing this to test something in training mode. I'm looking at you Kirah lol. 

[desmond_kof]

I have trouble with zoners myself, especially when playing KOF98UM, but in 2002/UM it can be annoying too. Here is what I have to know and understand:

1.) the correct way to jump over certain fireballs, and their specific strengths (hyper hopping over Athena's or Kensou's A version psychoballs or regular jumping the C version)

2.) The fireball heights, for example AOF characters in 98 shoot at an almost shoulder height, so hyper hopping isn't a good idea

3.) how much recovery they have after they released the fireball, like Mai in 2002UM can chase her slow fans and move around while you block it or try to evade them. So if you try to jump over their projectile and attack them, they can dp you or in Mai's case (hcf+K)

3.) which characters can punish or negate certain fireballs (or just having a character with a projectile myself), like Kyo can autoguard qcf + P them, or Yuri can do her qcb + P or qcf + D which has invinciblity, Kim can do qcf + K in the air if you jump over one...certain characters can even duck or slide over certain fireballs

4.) knowing which characters options they have close range, for if you do get into their face after evading the fireball

And that's all I really have so far which helps me a bit...I like to zone myself sometimes, so its always good to know how to exactly fight one to be one.

The way I like to approach someone that likes to space and zone at the start of the match is to slowly walk forward and block or jump over whatever they throw at you. This can freak them out because they will feel that they are losing their space and will try to run away or might start throwing out some unsafe moves. If they run, then I keep chasing them slowly for they won't gain anymore space...but you have to be very careful doing that.

[Siren]

Yea, knowing the other chars recovery speed and projectile speed is a must. You can't use the same strat for each char so it forces you to change up. I also like zone myself, especially when I have life lead. But I always felt more like a jack of all trades so I can mold to the situation. I really appreciate your input bro

[omegaryuji]

Just a few general tips:

-Try to pick up your opponent's tendencies.  Are they advancing behind projectiles to a spot that lets them intercept jumps/rolls, or are they content to keep space?  Do they try to stick to the same tactics consistently or change based on health/meter?  Are they mixing up projectile speeds (if their character can)?  If so, can you notice a pattern?  It can be worthwhile to take a few ticks of chip damage early in a match to get a read on your opponent.

-Work yourself to a range that is to your advantage.  Even characters heavily suited for close offense have other areas where they're good.  For example, obviously Clark is at his best in throw range, but there are spacings where he can react to a whiff (or startup for something slow) with a j.A or j.CD where they'll be very difficult to antiair...even if it doesn't necessarily punish the whiff, it gets him close enough to party.

-Time/health permitting, one of the best responses can be to just walk forward.  You can block immediately unlike running or jumping, and if your opponent keeps backing off, they'll eventually end up in a corner.

-Depending on the matchup, don't be afraid to take risks.  If your fireball only does about 8% to me, but I can get 35% plus a knockdown for punishing you once, I'll take some chances with jumps or rolls since one good guess gives me at least four times as much damage as I'll take for a bad one.  On the other hand, if your fireball can be hit confirmed into a 30% followup, I'll tend to be more patient in my approach.

[desmond_kof]

One more point, in 98/UM the fireballs hitboxes seem much larger to me than in 2002 and in XIII. Plus 98 has the unblockable fireball glitches which makes them really annoying to deal with against certain characters whom have those...

[Siren]

Those were good tips and a great way to look at the match-up.

[necronomiCRON]

You also have to take into consideration the people who zone without using fireballs. For example, when anyone gets cornered they usually freak out and try to find a way to get out of that situation if they aren't used to it. A good player will usually stay at a good range and pay attention to your actions so they can, if possible, counter that action in some way.

[Siren]

Yea, I like to play like that sometimes when the counter is getting low. But experts at that strat are pretty frustrating. It's no longer a battle about fists but wits. It's all spacing and trying to out think them.

[darkTown2]

i have a love/hate relationship with the corner normally i like it since i tend to play more offensive characters, and in other games my characters just for some reason have a good way to get out.

[necronomiCRON]

But experts at that strat are pretty frustrating. It's no longer a battle about fists but wits. It's all spacing and trying to out think them.

It's all about knowing how to counter them. This is why I enjoy KoF. It's similar to rock/paper/scissor, but some actions can be altered. Obviously a downward attack beats a sweep any day of the week, but some sweeps can be cancelled out of without hitting. If you know your opponent is going to counter a sweep with a downward attack; cancel into a special move that will intercept their hop attempt.

[LouisCipher]

What characters counter projectile spamming runaway bullshit?

[Kane317]

Chin.  When I go online I pray that I get projectilers so I can have some fun with Chin.

[Mookie]

how to battle zoners: use one of the 9001 moves in the game that go through plasma.

[Siren]

how to battle zoners: use one of the 9001 moves in the game that go through plasma.

Let me know how that works out for you 
               




                                   ........... Dumbass

[ZeroSoulreaver]

Leona, Benimaru and Athena are good anti-fireball characters.  If you use Baltic launcher wisely you can eat up fireballs and apply pressure while slowly pushing the opponent back.  Also remember earring goes under most projectiles once it hits the ground, you can also use it to trade fbs but the start up time takes a while so its not a good idea. 

Athena has the reflect, phoenix arrow and teleport.  Though she's pretty much a fb char herself you can use her as an anti-zoning tool.  Teleport is good enough to avoid most projectiles.

Benimaru, usually I use a well placed raijinken that does the trick.  It's a good way to push them back as well as eat projectiles.  Also don't forget his homing lightning though it uses meter.

You really shouldn't be trying to get into a fb war with Beni or Leona though.  So you really have to find an opening and get in as fast as possible.