Sie Kensou (Arcade Version)

[Saitsuofleaves]

You can get more damage from that HD combo:

After the initial hit confirm and HD activation, start with st.B, st.C, (RDP+D (2), QCF+C, QCF+C)x4, QCFx2AC.

His DPs do more damage than the double rekkas, so starting with it at the beginning gives you one more rep and lots more damage. It's not that different and much better IMO.

I know...I'm just a little off with RDP's :p.

I knew there was more too it, but I just wanted to start something, I'm not that good at making a new combo or anything.  I juts wanted to make an HD combo off his new TC.

EDIT:  Okay, yeah for some reason, making RDP the first special in that combo is REALLY not agreeing with my hands and idk why.

But anyway, because of actually having a decent HD combo in the whole, I'm considering moving Kensou to anchor on my team while moving Hwa to point (or just getting a new point battery altogether).

[Raynex]

You'll get used to it in time.

Kensou is at his best in 1st/2nd position. It's not uncommon for 1st position Kensou to HD combo in the very first round. If you're moving him to anchor because you want to run these combos, I think you should reconsider. On point, he has great meterless combos that set up meaty fireball traps, all of which require no drive bar. Also, Kensou's specials/blockstrings are very useful, which means you get that 2 meter quickly (for the HD Neomax). I run Kensou 1st as well, and this is the strategy I use:

Match begins:

- Get those rekka/dp BnBs. Shoot lots of fireballs. Backflip cancel lots. Blockstrings ending in weak fireball.
- If you get a full drive bar but not 2 bars for NM, activate HD mode on your next confirm and end the combo in rekkas for like 35-40%. If you encounter this scenario, you're probably winning this round.

If you defeat the first character with this strategy:

- Play Kensou's neutral game to the best of your ability. Vitality is an issue, so you're really just biding time until you get the bar needed for a big combo. You have to make Kensou's last moments count.
- You probably have enough meter for the NeoMax by now, or you will soon. Fish for the hit confirm for a 60% HD combo.

Congratulations the match outcome is now heavily slanted in your favour lol

[Saitsuofleaves]

Well do you run 360?  I do need someone to train with, because I realize I did none of that lol.

[Raynex]

Sorry dude, I'm on PS3. : (
Just post any questions you have and we'll talk it out. Everyone here is trying to learn Kensou, myself included.


Here's a list of things you SHOULD do when playing Kensou:

- Most of Kensou's normals are cancellable. Use that to your advantage. Poke with long range cr. and cancel it into   fireball or   backflip to keep yourself safe. You can cancel the backflip into a fireball too! Use other normals like st. , st. ,   in a similar fashion.

- After any combo ending in Rekkas, shoot an   fireball, and dash behind it:

If the opponent jumps: AA with cr. xx fireball. (Cancelling into another fireball after the AA for more pressure)
If the opponent rolls: cr. x2 into Rekkas, or if you're too far use  
If the opponent blocks: Mix-up between hop j. / empty hop cr. / throw

- If you land a throw in the corner, you can combo RDP   afterwards and cancel it into   x2 + . You can also DC it into   for more follow-ups.

- cr. , st. , st. confirms. If it's blocked, you're safe. If the st. connects, visually confirm it and link a cr. into Rekka/RDP  /(EX) DM

[milesw]

Heh. Im happy Im atually doing most of the things you said above.

However could you give me a good block string to use off of cr.b

[Sharnt]

cr.B,s.B,s.C in guard
cr.B,s.B,s.C,cr.B,qcf.A... if it lands i guess.

[Diavle]

Sorry dude, I'm on PS3. : (
Just post any questions you have and we'll talk it out. Everyone here is trying to learn Kensou, myself included.


Here's a list of things you SHOULD do when playing Kensou:

- Most of Kensou's normals are cancellable. Use that to your advantage. Poke with long range cr. and cancel it into  fireball or  backflip to keep yourself safe. You can cancel the backflip into a fireball too! Use other normals like st. , st. ,  in a similar fashion.

- After any combo ending in Rekkas, shoot an    fireball, and dash behind it:

If the opponent jumps: AA with cr. xx fireball. (Cancelling into another fireball after the AA for more pressure)
If the opponent rolls: cr. x2 into Rekkas, or if you're too far use   
If the opponent blocks: Mix-up between hop j. / empty hop cr. / throw

- If you land a throw in the corner, you can combo RDP  afterwards and cancel it into  x2 + . You can also DC it into    for more follow-ups.

- cr. , st. , st. confirms. If it's blocked, you're safe. If the st. connects, visually confirm it and link a cr. into Rekka/RDP  /(EX) DM

Thanks for this, will incorporate.

[Saitsuofleaves]

I will incorporate as well.  Now if only there were a primer on Hwa and Saiki...

[Diavle]

I will incorporate as well.  Now if only there were a primer on Hwa and Saiki...

There was solid Saiki and Hwa play on Saturday's level up stream, check it out if you haven't already.

[Saitsuofleaves]

I will incorporate as well.  Now if only there were a primer on Hwa and Saiki...

There was solid Saiki and Hwa play on Saturday's level up stream, check it out if you haven't already.

Alright, I'll check it out

[CCVengeance]

Hey Raynex, Thanks for all the Kensou tips&tricks!
Playing Kensou just got alot more fun.

[Raynex]

Your welcome! I'm glad everyone got a little bit more excited about playing Kensou. I'm new to KOF myself, but watching a combination of SoCal/Japanese matches really gave me a good idea on character strategies and zoning principles. I suggest you all do the same. There is a particularly interesting set of matches featuring Poongko (Yes, the SSF4AE Daigo-Slayer) using a bunch of characters and running train on people. Interesting stuff! I'll post back here if I find any notable Kensous we can emulate.

In the meantime, here are a few more things I use that seem to work well:

- cr. as an AA is interchangeable with st. .   has better vertical reach, so it's better if you're close to your opponent, and cr. lowers Kensou's hurtbox so most jump-ins whiff. Both are great GTFO me buttons and can be cancelled into   Fireball or   flip for zoning/pressure purposes.

- st. is a low hitting normal, so carefully walking forward and poking your opponent's feet with st. , st. target combo can be effective. If you connect, always remember to link another cr. and profit! Empty hop st. is interchangeable with empty hop cr. , and looks weird as hell because he's standing yet still hitting low. Dem mindgames.

- Every now and then (like after rekkas KND, fireball pressure), your opponent might just sit back and try to block your Hop pressure. Try empty hopping into his command grab super. Huge payoff for this one, and it's a 1 frame throw!

- EX Fireball is a ridiculous tool in fireball wars. Moves twice as fast as his D fireball and nullifys other class 1 projectiles + keeps going. Good damage and goes full screen. Don't forget to use this as a round ender sometimes.

- The air   or   is pretty good. If you jump back and manage to land a stray one, you get a free   . But it's super unsafe on block. This move looks like it's best left in combos. The EX version on the other hand is absolutely nuts. Still trying to figure this one out. : /

- On the topic of Kensou's best position on a team: 1st or 2nd exclusively. Kensou seems best suited for early game, and the most he needs to do good damage is 2 meter. Anything more than that is unnecessary. There are many characters that utilize 3+ bar better than Kensou, but few that are as effective as him early on. If there is another character on your team that you feel functions better on point (or if you just don't want Kensou there), 2nd works great too. His HD combos are easy to confirm into and do great damage for relatively little effort. Again, this is all IMO.

*For the record, my team is Kensou / Maxima / King. Might change it to Kensou / Maxima / Kim or Iori. I love King, but she's not the best anchor, and Kensou is a better point...she's kind of lost lol.

[Saitsuofleaves]

I've been noticing cr.C is getting stuffed a lot more than I would like.

And yeah, most know about Poongko, not because he's a "Daigo" slayer, but because he was a KOF player first, so it's no surprise how easily he ran people over people. Idk if he played Kensou at all in his set so feel free to keep looking.  I know for a fact he did not do so in the first 2 hours.

And I think his position on a team can lend itself more to matchup knowledge than anything.  If you see 2+ zoners on another team, don't hesitate to put him second to likely have some EX Fireballs loaded to deal with it.  Without meter, it could be annoying.

[desmond_kof]

http://dreamcancel.com/wiki/index.php?title=Sie_Kensou_(XIII)

Hey players, the Kensou wiki needs some lovin', if anyone has anything like to add (move descriptions, combos, damage values, tips, pro/cons) just add them here with a template of what section for example:
Neomax

"Seigan Senki Hakkei = (qcfx2+AC) - A big ass psycho saw ball, etc.

- Hit Detection: High

- Damage: (16 + 0) x 22, 16, 100
"

or combos:

" No Gauge

- cr. B×1~3, qcf+P~qcf+P~qcf+K

- cr. A×1~2, qcf+P~qcf+P~qcf+K

- ___________

- ___________"

Also, feel free to test others peoples submissions too.

The mod team will look for the submissions and add em to the wiki.

[Saitsuofleaves]

While I'll do my best to help, I think Raynex has the best insight into Kensou in DC for the time being.