KOFXIII FAQs Construction - Building a FAQs guide for KOFXIII players

[Great_Dark_Hero]

Greetings all fellow members, and KOF enthusiasts,

The purpose of this guide and thread discussion is to build a FAQs (frequently asked questions) guide to provide assistance to those who intend to play KOFXIII and improve their overall skill. The guide will also elaborate on KOFXIII game play mechanics and some specific strategies whenever possible to give players a better understanding of the game. This thread will be used for constructing a concrete guide for new players, especially ones that come from different fighting games getting into KOFXIII. All fellow KOFXIII players and DC members, please feel free to submit your own FAQs for the thread if you have some available. This thread will be utilized to construct a big time KOFXIII FAQs guide for newer players.
The most helpful questions will be put on showcase for the KOFXIIII FAQs.


Q:"How can I effectively use hops?"
A:In the KOF series Short hops are done by simply pressing up in whatever direction you are jumping for the character to jump slightly into the air. Hyper hops are done by quickly pressing down and then tapping up in the direction you intend on going. Both versions of the hops can be used for both defensive and offensive manuevers. Short hops will help you conduct instant overhead (which basically revolves around the player, using the appropriate normal move during a hop) when you jump towards them. Short hops allow make it easier to mix up your offense and conduct safe jumps (safe jumping requires players to jump in a manner where they can land in time to guard and avoid any incoming attacks when necessary). The purpose of hyper hops are to close and open gaps between both characters quickly. Hyper hops used as an offensive tool allow players to apply a high pressure
game plan and rush the opponent down.

Q:"Are there Alpha Counters in KOFXIII?"
A:No. There are other options that have similar concepts however: The Guard Cancel Roll and the Guard Cancel Blowback. The Guard Cancel Blowback is the closest thing to a "Alpha Counter", while the Guard Cancel Roll serves a different cause. To use the Guard Cancel Blowback, the player must press D and C at the same while guarding an attack, and the character will perform their default Blow Back move to knock incoming
opponents away and provide space.

Q:"Is there Negative Edge in this game, like SF?"
A:Not really but you can still influence your ability to perform special moves and DM's by holding buttons for a little longer for the game to register your command as you are still doing another special move. This is extremely useful if you are conducting HD combos or trying to complete the trials.

Q:"Are the trials useful in this game for real game play in KOFXIII?"
A:There are some elements in the trials worth knowing but most of the trials in KOFXIII are extremely impractical or useless (meaning that some of the combos in the said trials might consume way too much meter for little damage, or unreasonably complex combinations of attacks that also lead to less than noteworthy
combos.

Q:"Are there any 50/50's in this game?"
A:No. The rolling mechanic nullifies 50/50's completely.

Q:"What characters are good for beginners to utilize?"
A:For beginners - Terry, Andy, Robert, King, EX Iori, Athena, Shen, and Kensou are generally considered to be very beginner-friendly.

Q:"My opponent keeps rushing me down and pressuring me with so many mix ups. How do I defend myself?"
A:Be sure to block the opponents attacks accordingly. If you are cornered, carefully take initiative to get out of the corner. Look for ways out. If the opponent is attempting a jump in, you can roll out of the corner. You may also jump over the over the opponent if you anticipate them pressuring you on the ground. The best way to get out of high pressure in the corner is to Guard Cancel Roll out of the way, because there will be no risks to take and you will not have to worry about the opponent hurting you during your roll recovery or throwing you.  Also keep in mind that standing normals can beat out jumping normal moves, jumping normal moves can beat low normal moves, and low normal moves beat out standing normal moves. You can use normal moves to counter act the opponents movements. A well timed special move or Desperation move can help you too.

Q:"How do you build meter easily?"
A:You build meter by whiffing certain special attacks, successfully attacking the opponent, guarding against any kind of special move, and getting hit by the
opponents moves. In this version of KOFXIII however, when on defense (blocking or taking damage from hits/combos) your meter builds faster.

Q:"How do you unlock Billy and Saiki?"
A:You must play through the Arcade mode and defeat them once.

Q:"Are EX Kyo, EX Iori, and EX Mr.Karate just powerful versions of the characters or are they different?"
A:All DLC characters play completely differently from their counterparts but are completely balanced by the game standards.

Q:"When should I roll?"
A:When you perform a regular roll, you are invincible to all attacks except for throws. Use the roll to avoid projectiles, avoid cross-ups or jump-ins, and get out of the corner while the opponent is trying to pressure you. If you perform a Guard Cancel Roll, the character is completely invincible from start up to the very end of the characters rolling sequences, throws included. Also, you can extend the distance you travel when you roll by double tapping forward on your control pad/stick
or while the character is running.

Q:"What characters have moves that can specifically negate/reflect projectiles?"
A:Elisabeth, Shen, Athena, Kula, and K'. There are other characters that can deal with projectiles differently by using certain special moves at the correct time or by having special moves that can outmaneuver projectiles altogether.

Q: "My opponent is crazily spamming projectiles! How do I counteract this?"
A: Time your jump-ins so that you can capitalize on the opponents poorly timed projectiles. Also, blocking is also a good idea because when you block projectiles or any other special moves for that matter, your character is the one building meter. Some special moves can ignore the properties of a projectile as well. You can also roll through projectiles but be careful of meaty attacks and throws. Roll carefully through the projectile and cautiously advance towards
your opponent.

Q: "I'm from SFIV. How does the meter system work in this game? Is it similar to the Revenge System, too?"
A: The Revenge Meter in SFIV fills when the opponent is getting hurt only. The Revenge also allows characters to utilize Ultra Moves, which is the characters most
powerful of that SFIV game. There is also a four bar system for SFIV that fills by traditional means.
The Super Meter and Drive Meter of KOFXIII serves various purposes:
The Super Meter is meant for EX Moves, Supers, EX Supers, Guard Cancel Rolls, Guard Cancel Blowback, and Neo Max. The Drive Meter is meant for cancelling special moves into special moves (drive canceling), cancelling special moves into super moves (super canceling), using raw Neo Max, and using Hyper Drive Mode. The meter system

Q:"What are the CD attacks used for? They seem so useless!!"
A: The CD attacks are blowback attacks or knockdown attacks. When hit the opponent with these, it will cause a techable knockdown, but you can not attack (juggle) the opponent after hitting the opponent with this, unless you get a counter hit from the CD attack. This is trustworthy for spacing yourself. The characters in this game have different uses for this and they can also whiff cancel them into different special moves.

Q:"Does this game have normal move links?
A: Yes but they are mostly not necessary as they are not intergral to KOFXIII. The KOFXIII engine focuses on chain canceling normals. It should be noted however that linking normal moves with others can cause some big damage and provide a little more offensive maneuvers - but they are not mandatory due to the
nature of the game.

Q:"Are there any unblockable set ups in this game?"
A: Yes, but this mostly applies to characters with command grabs. There are also moves in this game that allow characters to outright break the characters guard and it is also possible to Guard Break through a large sequence of moves, especially with Hyper Drive I.E. Evo Moment #13 - BBZ Ascends Beyond Super Saiyan

Q:"Are there Focus Attacks and FADC's in this game?"
A: No, but the CD attacks and the drive canceling that allude to this system however. CD attacks used to knock the opponent away (that which can also be
whiff cancelled and use during jumps), and drive cancels can be done by inputting special move notations immediately after another special move.
You can never drive cancel out of projectile moves. But, you super cancel into the character Super move (or EX Super) by inputting the characters Super move
notations after the projectile (or the special move).
There are some special moves that can not be drive/super canceled from period.

Q:"My opponent keeps hopping at me and pressuring me too much! What should I do? DX"
A: Stay calm and block any incoming attacks. If the opponent is hopping towards, use the character standing C (standing HP) or a good standing normal to beat the opponent out of the air. You can also roll out of the way while that are hopping towards you. Another way to stop incoming hop attacks is to utilize characters stand   or   normal as most characters have one or both options to stop them.

[desmond_kof]

Q: "My opponent keeps tick throwing me with a normal throw and/or command throw. Is there any way to stop it?"

A: Try alternate guarding: http://dreamcancel.com/2012/01/16/learning-with-laban-tick-throws-and-alternating-guard/


Q: "How can I practice hit confirming in this game?"

A: In training mode set the dummy to either standing or crouching (depending on if you want to practice standing hit confirms or crouch B hit confirms), and set guard to random guard.


I'll add more later.

[Great_Dark_Hero]

Q: "When is it okay to roll?"
A: A good time for you to roll is to avoid jump-ins/cross ups, make certain moves whiff(miss) so that you can punish, go through projectiles, and get out of bad situations.
When the character starts to roll, they are invincible. But, there is a slight period of vulnerability after the roll to get punished and you can be thrown out of rolls as well. Guard Cancel Rolls make the character invulnerable for the whole time, however.  Time the characters rolls carefully.
You can also extend the distance of the characters by tapping forward twice on the control stick/pad or while running.

[jonhova]

Controlling space offensively and defensively is probably the most important difference for people transitioning from Street Fighter based games.

[Great_Dark_Hero]

Q:"Can you use move combinations from the character trials in a real match?"  
A:The majority of the character trials in KOFXIII are either useless or impractical. This will either be because the combo consumes way too much meter for minimal damage or it is extremely situational.

Q:"Are there any good grappling characters in KOFXIII?"
A:The following grappling characters are Vice, Raiden, Daimon, and Clark.

Q:"What non-grappling characters have command throws in their arsenal?"
A:Kyo (EX Move only), Beni, Elisabeth, Duo (Neo Max only), Shen, Hwa (DM only), Ash (Neo Max only), Saiki (DM only), Yuri, Maxima, Iori, EX Iori, Takuma, Robert, Athena, Mr. Karate, and Kensou (DM only)

Q:"I can't use DP's on wake up because my opponent keeps hitting me during the input. How am I supposed to get out of offensive pressure properly on wake up?"
A:The reversal window this game is not very huge at all. Better options for escaping pressure on wake is to perform a well timed roll, use a standing normal, block, use a guard cancel roll, or utilize a guard cancel blowback. Recognize the situation so that you can get out of pressure safely and twist the match your favor.

[desmond_kof]

Q: Can all character combo of a throw in a corner? I saw Benimaru and Kensou do it.
A: No, only Benimaru, Kensou and Chin can juggle an opponent after a throw.

Q: Can you combo into command throws?
A: Yes, you sure can but only instant command throws.

Q: I play Marvel. Does this game have a magic series when doing combos? Like light attacks, medium attacks into heavy?
A: No. The combo flow is either a heavy punch or kick into a command normal, into a special move or a super, or a light normal into a command normal into a special or super, etc. Different characters have different cancelable normals. More info can be found here: http://wiki.shoryuken.com/The_King_of_Fighters_XIII/Combo_System

Q: How can I find out if a certain move causes a hard untechable knockdown?
A: In practice mode turn on "passive mode" which will cause the dummy to automatically tech when they are knocked down. If a certain move has a hard knockdown property, they will not tech when they hit the ground.


Q: I'm having trouble performing a certain motion sometimes. Are there any motion shortcuts or bufferings?
A: Yes there are! Here is a post outline many different motion shortcuts you can try: http://dreamcancel.com/forum/index.php?topic=168.msg1446#msg1446

Q: Does every character have a normal air throw? How do you do it?
A: No. Only Clark, Mai, Benimaru and Yuri has an air throw. You perform it by pressing towards, or away, or down and pressing heavy punch or kick (Benimaru and Mai only have a heavy punch air throw) while in the air and being close to your opponent. They have no whiff animation, only the normal will come out if the throw is out of range.

[Smashbro]

I have some questions but don't know the answers to so it might be usefull for the FAQ (coming from someone really new to kof)

Are there character roles? I come from SSF4 and I play Balrog, is there set roles such as turtle or rushdown?

Are there any characters that can combo from CD Attack?

Is there a place or way that  show how people who KOF write thier move anotation, or is not a set way to write it.?

Sorry if you wanted answers, I just saw this on the front page and thought these would be good for someone new to KOF



Edited to make more sense

[AirLancer]

I have some questions but don't know the answers to so it might be usefull for the FAQ (coming from someone really new to kof)

Are there character roles? I come from SSF4 and I play Balrog, is there set roles such as turtle or rushdown?

Certain characters may lend themselves to a defensive style of play (such as Saiki, Leona), and others to a rushdown style (Kim, Claw Iori). That being said, most characters have the tools that, when combined the various movement options available, allow them to switch styles as needed.

Are there any characters that can combo from CD Attack?

The blowback attack causes a soft knockdown, and puts the opponent into an unjuggleable state. However, characters with moves that have the Anywhere Juggle property can combo after a CD attack. Moves with that property allow characters to juggle an enemy which would be untouchable by normal attacks, such as after you hit an airborne opponent with a normal. Such characters and moves include but are not limited to:

K': j.qcb+B/D, qcfhcb+AC
Vice: hcf+BD
Takuma: fbf+AC
Hwa Jai: dp+BD
Elizabeth: qcfhcb+A/C

Are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

Is there a place or way that  show how people who KOF write thier move anotation, or is not a set way to write it.?

The one I use now...

s.X: Standing
c.X: Crouching
cl.X: Close standing
j.X: Jumpping

f+X: Holding torwards
b+X: Holding backwards
d+X: Holding downwards

QCF+X: Quarter-circle forward. Down, down-forward, forward
QCB+X: Quarter-circle back. Down, down-back, back
HCF+X: Half-circle forward. Back, down-back, down, down-forward, forward
HCB+X: Half-circle back. Forward, down-forward, down, down-back, back
DP+X: The "Dragon Punch" motion. Forward, down, down-forward. Made famous by Ryu and Ken's Shoryuken.

DC: Drive Cancel/HD Cancel

A: Light Punch
B: Light Kick
C: Heavy Punch
D: Heavy Quick

qcf+A = quarter-circle forward motion and press light punch.

cl.C = Close Standing Heavy Punch

Example Robert mid-screen 2 meter combo:

cl.C, f+B, dp+C DC qcb+D, qcfhcb+AC

[desmond_kof]

Okay, I was thinking of some questions that I want YOU guys to answer. Tell me how you will answer these to make them helpful for new players:

Q: Do I REALLY need to learn how to do HD combos in this game? They look tough.

Q: Does all standing and jumping normals hit crouching opponents?

Q: I have no one to play with locally. Can I play this only online?

Q: Does team order really important?

Q: Are there any disadvantages to using Guard Cancel Rolls and Guard Cancel CD attacks? I feel like using those are the only way to escape offensive pressure.

[solidshark]

Q: Do I REALLY need to learn how to do HD combos in this game? They look tough.

No, you don't. It's certainly not the only way to win; the meter game in XIII offers a lot of options to do HD's, several drive cancels to extend combos, or another way you want to play. If you're trying to get the most out of playing, I would at least know some easy/intermediate ones. The ones who get the most out of any fighter are the ones who look into everything about it.

Q: Do all standing and jumping normals hit crouching opponents?

No, there are some exceptions. Off the top of my head (though I could be wrong), Terry's st.D, which acts like an anti-air, probably won't hit a crouching Chin.

Q: I have no one to play with locally. Can I play this only online?

You can play this online, but it probably won't be consistent or offline perfect. If you find people online that you have good connections with, add them to your friends list. If you can, make sure your connection strength is as strong as possible with a wired connection, limiting any internet use (especially Skype), not using the voice option during playing. It's not completely unplayable, but it's not as optimal as we wanted it to be.

Q: Does team order really important?

For meter consumption, yes. Putting a character that uses a lot of your built meter shouldn't be on point, and a character who doesn't need meter to win easily, or someone who builds meter really well should go up front. You can also set team order according to match-ups.

Q: Are there any disadvantages to using Guard Cancel Rolls and Guard Cancel CD attacks? I feel like using those are the only way to escape offensive pressure.

Relying on them to always get you out of offensive pressure is certainly a disadvantage. Some characters can make better use of that meter with an EX/DM that can beat out an opponent's attack. GCAB/rolls or GCCD/blowbacks should be a last resort, when your character has no other solution, and usually trapped in the corner.

[HiguraShiki]

When playing KOF, I always tend to mess up when it comes to hit confirming. Is there any way to practice this properly.
Usually I play King, Kyo, and Terry. What should I focus on when trying to hit confirm with each character?

[Reiki.Kito]

Start off simple. Set the dummy to Crouch and Random guard. Do your usual blockstring.

With Terry, you can start off pretty easy with d.B, d.A, d.C. If they block, do a fireball or don't do anything but block. If you hit them, do A burn knuckle.

For King, stick to d.B, st.B, df+D. If it hits, do B Tornado Kick. If it's blocked, do B venom strike.

With Kyo, switch between st.C, df+D (1 hit) and d.B, d.A, df+D (1 hit). If it hits, do D Shiki Kai (Sometimes it's even good to do it on block since some characters have a hard time punishing it). If its blocked, do A Oniyaki or B Shiki Kai (B shiki kai is safe). Remember though, you have to train your brain to cancel df+D before the second hit because the second hit on block isn't safe.

Again, you're just trying to train your brain to see a situation and respond fast enough to that situation. Once you get really good, you'll be able to respond to 2 or one hit hit-confirms much easier.

[DCLam]

KOF is hard don’t get me wrong though. Tbh it’s probably the hardest game I’ve ever played in my entire gaming life but the thing I see is that many experienced players on here already assume newcomers come from other fighting games and already got their fundamentals down like spacing, movement, setting up an opponent correctly, etc. I’ve started taking this game more seriously for almost 4 months now ever since I got my stick back in November and I’m still struggling to figure out till this day the mentality that goes behind KOF fundamental wise and trying to understand the flow/rhythm to playing this game comfortably. Fundamental wise as in referring to stuff like when is it the right time to jump in at my opponent, when is it not the right time to roll or knowing when I wasn’t supposed to have hopped back in this situation but to have vertical jumped instead. Tips and advice on stuff like how to tell if I am I abusing this move too much, am I attacking too little or blocking too much, or how to improve mixing up my game would greatly help. It would be nice if this FAQ could also cover such things and not so much on basic system stuff (like how to do a guard cancel roll/blowback) that can be easily found in the manual that came within the game box.

[Great_Dark_Hero]

Q: "I hail from CVS2. Does KOFXIII possess Custom Combo's like CVS2 does in it's A groove system?"
A: Yes, in a manner of speaking. The "custom combos" of KOFXIII consist of making use of the drive meter and HD mode. The drive meter has two segments and the player can cancel special moves into other special moves or super moves at the cost of one segment. If the drive meter is full, the player can enter HD mode and conduct customizable combos that way, as it allows you to freely cancel special moves into other special for a limited time. 

Q: "I'm a CVS2 player, new to KOFXIII! I use the P and K groove a lot in CVS2. Does this game have the Just Defend mechanic like the K groove does? The P groove replicates the mechanics of 3S while the K groove is designed to imitate the mechanics of Garou: MOTW and Samurai Showdown BTW..."
A: There isn't. But, KOFXIII does have multiple defensive options that relate to making use of meter to conduct Guard Cancel Rolls and Guard Cancel Blowback. There are some character with autoguard that allow them to attack without worrying about getting hurt in the process. Ryo is also a character who can replicate the P and K groove mechanics of CVS2 to an extent.

Q: "Is it possible to play this solo or does it have to be played with 3 team characters?"
A: There are options for playing solo characters. However, by arcade, online, or offline tournament game play standards, it is necessary to learn at least three characters as it is a part of KOF's tradition of 3v3 matches.

Q: "Hello. I play CVS2 competitive and I use C groove a lot because it gives me access to multiple Super moves and other standardized mechanics. Does KOFXIII, have multiple versions of super moves and options?"
A:Yes. The characters in this game will always have two versions of a super move and one Neo Max. A regular super move will cost one meter. A EX Super Move will cost two meters and is usually far powerful than a regular Super Move. A Neo Max is the characters most damaging move, which will cost three meters and a full drive meter. However, if the character is in HD mode, they can use Neo Max moves for two meters instead, making it a very useful mechanic. 

Q: "Which characters have regular projectiles as special moves or special move that can register as projectiles?"
A: Kyo, Beni, Terry, Andy, Joe, Ash, Saiki, Duo, Mai, King, Yuri, K', Kula, Kensou, Athena, Leona, Robert, Ryo, Takuma, EX Iori, Mr. Karate, Mature
NOTE - some of the character's projectiles are suited for different purposes or have different properties. There are also plenty of special moves that give the character long range options. 

Q: Are there instant overheads in this game like there are in 3S?
A:  Yes but they are done manually. You simply perform a short hop into the air and use a normal move that will hit the opponent. This is a very good method of applying some high functional offense.

[desmond_kof]

KOF is hard don’t get me wrong though. Tbh it’s probably the hardest game I’ve ever played in my entire gaming life but the thing I see is that many experienced players on here already assume newcomers come from other fighting games and already got their fundamentals down like spacing, movement, setting up an opponent correctly, etc.

Honestly, a lot of experienced players DO come from different fighting games, especially here in USA. My first fighting game was playing SF2 back in the 90s casually. So this FAQ will try to help people relate and compare things from various fighters into KOFXIII.

I’ve started taking this game more seriously for almost 4 months now ever since I got my stick back in November and I’m still struggling to figure out till this day the mentality that goes behind KOF fundamental wise and trying to understand the flow/rhythm to playing this game comfortably. Fundamental wise as in referring to stuff like when is it the right time to jump in at my opponent, when is it not the right time to roll or knowing when I wasn’t supposed to have hopped back in this situation but to have vertical jumped instead. Tips and advice on stuff like how to tell if I am I abusing this move too much, am I attacking too little or blocking too much, or how to improve mixing up my game would greatly help.

It sounds like to me you need to analyze your own gameplay by watch videos, getting tips from players that play against you and watching match videos of intermediate to advance players, and figuring out why they do certain things in certain situations. This FAQ isn't for match or gameplay analysis.

It would be nice if this FAQ could also cover such things and not so much on basic system stuff (like how to do a guard cancel roll/blowback) that can be easily found in the manual that came within the game box.

This FAQ is covering "why" you would use something in certain situations and the advantages and disadvantages of using it.  Also, this FAQ is for new players either coming from different fighters or if KOF is their first fighting game...but moreso if you are coming from a different game since a majority of FG players haven't started with KOF.

But if you have any questions you want answered to help contribute to our cause, please share them!