Projectiles

[B1gblack]

lately i have been getting trashed by my competition at my local arcade...they are ok but the only reason they win is because of my lack of knowledge on how to keep them at bay especially with projectiles. none of my projectiles seem to work no matter how hard i try and no matter what i do it just doesnt work they always miss which leaves my zoning game as "suck ass"  its getting a little irritating now that my strategies dont really work help a brother out please

[foger]

Zoning is tough in kof compared to other games - everyone has options against projectiles in this game. I find you need them as supplementary zoning tools instead of primary ones. Or you just need to adjust your spacing so you can punish whatever fireball avoidance strategy they're going for. It's kind of a mix. You cant just try to keep people out with fireballs from mid/full screen in this game, it you need to be moving a lot to keep them on their toes

[nilcam]

Which character are you playing?

[bigvador]

it depends on the character u use like me for example the only fireball i ever used in KOF is kensou to me he has the best zoning because of his back flip compared 2 other fireball characters hes the only 1 who create space while being able 2 cancel into a reverse dp or a fireball

but as nilcam asked who do u use???

[B1gblack]

well i use kensou,king, and andy i dnt really have anyone else for projectile game

[bigvador]

with king i always mix up between high and low and also if they r mid screen then most people can see a fireball comin so its better 2 attack if someone is mid screen

i would say same goes 4 andy but i dont use him

[Ryyudo]

Fireball zoning doesn't seem AS strong in this game as Capcom games.  As bigvador said with King, mix hers up.  Try to do read fireballs i.e. full jump backwards, do one at the top of your jump while they may be expecting one low to the ground.  At lot of players here surprisingly  get hit by that one the most because they expect one shooting AT them. 

Also, on the reverse, you wanna shoot fireballs based on YOUR outcome.  Like if you expect someone to jump, do the B version, so you recover faster and hit them with a far s.D to keep them out.  Alternatively, if someone is rushing you down, do the airborne D version, so you fly backwards and force the opponent to guess through few fireballs. 

Of course, if they get through two, maybe one if close enough, you're in for a world of hurt.  Just play carefully, see what your opponent likes to do in response to fireballs and read it.  Versus just trying to throw them out and zone.  Pretty much reverse of Capcom style games, I suppose

[hiltzy85]

With Andy, if you find that they jump over your fireballs a lot from far away, try using the light (A) version, and then if you think they're going to jump, do a forward hop (or hyper hop) and air CD.  Andy's air CD seems to be pretty good, and if you can catch them like this a few times, they might stop jumping towards you to get over fireballs.

[Stone Drum]

late reply but, with Andy, from far away, you can do light fireballs and use the command dash elbow thingy db-f.a to edge toward the opponent and trail the fireball.  Wait for the opponent's reaction and either throw them if they roll towards you or dp them if they jump.  If they back up, you've successfully put them in the corner.  And wave backdashing is great at getting back to a distance, as is doing a j.cd to knock them back and use the recover time to set up your zoning game.