Author: Casey "Waveflame" Rinaldi

After covering the ins and outs of frame data in his last episode, Frabisaur’s latest entry of The Fighter’s Dojo focuses on applying the concepts of frame data to strengthen your offense when in the heat of a real battle scenario.

The questions answered in this video include: “How do I open up my opponent?” and “How do I create strong offense?” Beginning the video by discussing perspective shifts that can come about from spending too much time playing in Training Mode and against the CPU–such as focusing solely on what you want to do, instead of trying to outwit your opponent and counter what they are trying to do.

After a brief discussion on what frame traps are and how to use them, Frabisaur utilizes the visual aid of Nash putting Balrog into a terrifying chain of mixups, due to the Paradoxical Avenger’s advantageous pokes. He moves on to another integral part of higher-level play that can carry some confusing lingo, the concept of meaties.

A meaty is basically forcing your opponent to wake up into an already active move. Startup frames of animation take time, especially on heavier buttons. After I’ve knocked down the opponent, while they are doing their stand up animation, before their hurtbox becomes active, I can use that time to do all of my startup frames and make them stand up into an already active hitbox. They’re essentially waking up into an attack. The reason this is such a good mixup is because I can use it with an attack or a throw, since they have 5 frames of startup. So [Balrog] gets forced into a terrible situation, where he’s got to guess, “is it gonna be a throw, button or is he gonna try and block on me to bait out that reversal?”

In closing, Frabisaur touches on the importance of having the knowledge and judgment to determine what decisions to make when foes correctly guess and escape your pressure, as well as identifying when the proper time comes to end your offense, depending on your character’s specific tools and the situation at hand. You can see the entire video below. You can also follow Frabisaur on Twitter, and he will be streaming soon at https://www.twitch.tv/frabisaur.

Episode 6 will examine how to apply the concepts of frame data to improving your defense, in order to make you a more well-rounded player regardless of your chosen game.

Source: Frabisaur

Recently, jmcrofts has been doing a series of videos chronicling both some of the things he loves, as well as some of the things he loves about particular games. Last month, he even provided us with his list of the top 10 worst characters [in terms of tiers and competitive viability] in Street Fighter history.

This time, however, he takes a look at five things he hates, followed by five things he loves about the Street Fighter IV series, in order to provide viewers with a balanced perspective and to show both sides of the coin.

SFIV was the title that reestablished the fighting game genre back into mainstream culture, and brought our community to unprecedented heights that many thought we would never reach. With the largest character roster in the history of the series, with a massive 44 fighters, along with new mechanics, such as Ultras and  Focus Attacks, there was quite a lot to learn about the game at and all levels of play. Combine these with Crouch Teching, Option Selects, a pletheora of Divekick and Vortex characters and some of the most celebrated balance in the franchise’s history by the time Ultra’s final patch rolled around and you’ll quickly find that there is certainly a lot of elements that could prove divisive amongst the title’s massive fanbase.

Towards the end of the video, jmcrofts provides a message to viewers about considering both sides of the argument before casting final judgment on any product.

I think it’s important for all of us that you kind of don’t think about things in purely black and white. It seems like for a lot of people they either completely love something and they can’t accept any criticism of it, or they completely hate it and they get upset when people say good things about it. So I think it’s important to kind of be able to acknowledge good and bad things in everything. No game is perfect, and no game is 100% bad with no redeeming qualities.

 Do you agree or disagree with his list? Are there other things you would’ve put in your own? Check out the full video below and let us know how you feel in the comments section!

Jmcrofts has also made “5 Things I Love and Hate” lists about Street Fighter V and Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 as well, that you can check out here and here.

Source: jmcrofts

Moving on with the character balance changes coming to Street Fighter V at the end of this month, VesperArcade now turns his attention to Ken. Mr. Master’s patch notes are pretty light, as he only received the universal changes to his medium and heavy Shoryukens that were covered in a previous video, and his Thunder Kick going from -2 to -4 on block, making it punishable, like it was in Season 1. Though it may seem like a minor change on paper, Vesper feels it has significant ramifications for Ken, and wanted to discuss them in much greater detail.

In Season 1, Ken’s Thunder Kick was already punishable, but in Season 2 it was changed to -2 on block, making it now safe against even the fastest normal attacks. The biggest change, however, is to the advantage on hit, which was changed to +2 from 0. Now, this might not sound like much, but Ken can now combo from his Thunder Kick overhead if it hits crouching opponents, because it actually becomes +3, since it hits them meaty. To be fair, he can’t do this on Birdie, Zangief and Urien, since they’re taller characters, and he’ll only be +2 on hit.

Vesper goes on to showcase the plethora of setups this can provide Ken with, due to having 3-frame specials in his Light Shoryuken and Tatsumaki Senpukyaku, as well as other ways he can mixup with it in the corner for dangerous offense.

So, Capcom making this -4 on block but keeping its combo potential seems like a compromise, without nerfing it too hard. For one, most overheads in the game are -6 right now. You can’t combo after most of them afterwards, yet they can be punished harder than Ken’s overhead after April. You also might argue that Ken’s overhead is slower than normal, since Capcom increased the startup from 23 to 26 frames, the same as Chun-Li’s, so we could definitely spin in circles debating on how to balance this.

Lastly, Vesper provides his traditional “final verdict” on Ken’s standing.

My final verdict on Ken, based on these changes alone, is overall nerfed. Ken will still have his wold corner game, since his throw loops remain untouched, but his opponent can now punish him if he reads correctly on a blocked Thunder Kick. And Ken players might think twice now, before using it when they’re really low on health. Capcom obviously wanted to even out the risk and reward, balance out the scales a bit on this overhead attack, so after this change, I wonder where Ken will end up? I honesty think right now, Season 2 Ken is somewhere in the top 10 region. I personally think he’s the best shoto of the three. But after this change, and Akuma getting a slight buff to his HP, I’m really curious where he will land.

You can view the full video above, and if you’re curious about other changes coming to SFV, you can check out his previous coverage at these links:

• Uppercut changes
• Jump back throw OS removed
• V-Reversal and charge changes
• Alex
• Guile
• Ryu
• Urien
• New moves & Air Force Base changes
• CFN features & Kanzuki Private Beach changes
• Nash
• Akuma
• Vega
• Birdie
• Balrog

Source: VesperArcade

Next up on VesperArcade’s analysis of Street Fighter V’s upcoming April balance changes is Balrog; in Season 2, the Dirty Bull was given many more ways to break through his opponent’s guard and mix them up for a world of pain. With an extra 25 health, crouching medium kick hitting low in exchange for reduced range, standing heavy punch becoming a Crush Counter, throw invincibility on the first 9 Levels of Turn Punch, and several normals gaining more block and hit advantage, Balrog has become quite the force to be reckoned with in SFV’s sophomoric season.

Though some players may currently call him a “robbery character,” due to his high damage output and the powerful comeback potential of his V-Trigger Crazy Rush, it seems the boxer was mostly spared the rod, as the only change he will be receiving will be his health getting reduced back to 1,000. Vesper proceeded to give his thoughts on the matter:

Balrog has some of the highest comeback potential of any character in the game right now. This is definitely mostly due to his V-Trigger. Your health could be gone in just a second. To have Balrog in such a healthy condition with his V-Trigger up seemed pretty overkill I would say. I’m sure not even Balrog players were expecting a health buff in Season 2, and even though Balrog lacks some defensive options, it looks like Capcom only wants grappler characters to have over 1,000 health in the game right now. I see a lot of people talking about “losing or gaining 25 health is not a big deal,” but you have to consider that in Street Fighter V, when you’re low on health, you take less damage. Balrog being a comeback character that can rob you at the end of a match, having above-average health is something to consider, to [not] give Balrog more chances than he should get.

After showing off his current mixups, Vesper provided his final thoughts.

My final verdict on Balrog overall, is very, very, slightly nerfed. I guess in a bubble it would seem like Balrog got nerfed. The fact that this was the only balance change means that Balrog got off CLEAN! I’m honestly surprised Capcom didn’t address his EX Dash Straight. They went after Urien’s EX Tackle and Birdie’s EX Bull Head, but for some reason, Balrog’s EX Straight is the same. This is not only safe on block, this is +1, meaning that it’s still Balrog’s turn. I feel like Balrog will still be one of the strongest characters in the game, even after this very slight nerf.

You can catch the full video above, as well as his previous coverage of other changes coming in the patch:

• Uppercut changes
• Jump back throw OS removed
• V-Reversal and charge changes
• Alex
• Guile
• Ryu
• Urien
• New moves & Air Force Base changes
• CFN features & Kanzuki Private Beach changes
• Nash
• Akuma
• Vega
• Birdie

Do you think this health reduction was enough, or do you feel more should’ve been done to Balrog? Tell us in the comments!

Source: VesperArcade

As the end of the month draws ever nearer, VespserArcade continues his series of looking at all of the changes coming to Street Fighter V in its April update.  This time, he focuses on the “Headbutt-Happy Glutton,” Birdie. In their developer comments, Capcom mentioned that Birdie was initially designed to have a powerful neutral game, and though he overall improved offensively, his Season 2 changes veered away from that vision.

In an attempt to correct that, Capcom has eased up on some of Birdie’s prior nerfs, such as expanding crouching medium punch’s hitbox upwards for active frames 4-5.

Capcom is slightly buffing Birdie’s main anti-air. At the start of Season 2, Capcom actually nerfed Birdie’s cr.MP. First, they added a forward hurtbox to active frames 5-8, to stop it from beating out far jump-ins. They also shrunk the forward, back and upper hitboxes on active frames 2-5, just making it overall a weaker anti-air that will trade more with other character’s attacks, especially if they have good jump-ins. On top of this, Capcom made it knock further back in the air as well, so Birdie players had a tougher time mixing up the opponent with follow-ups afterwards. By expanding the hitbox upwards, it should help Birdie players not trade as much with the opponent’s jumping attacks, as long as it’s timed correctly.

While his crouching medium kick will still have a shrunken upper hitbox and an expanded lower htibox, it has now regained its 10-frame startup from Season 1, making it a slightly more effective tool in Birdie’s neutral game.

Perhaps Birdie’s most significant change is his EX Bull Head, both in and out of V-Trigger, going from -2 to -5 on block, making both versions punishable.

This one is kind of strange I think, because in Season 1, EX Bull Head was -10 on block, and the V-Trigger version was -7 on block, but then in Season 2, they made it only -2 on block. Many Birdie players would just randomly throw this out during the match, and would get huge damage (even though it was reduced on both versions) and a knockdown if it landed of course, or it was just simply safe on block. What made this change even more scary, is that when Birdie’s in V-Trigger, his EX Bull Head has Armor on Frame 1, so he can use this as a reversal if he wants that’s safe when blocked.

Finally, EX Bull Horn is now fully armored from frames 1-20, like it was in Season 1, giving Birdie another defensive option. Vesper also gives his thoughts on where the Alpha veteran now stands.

My final verdict on Birdie, is overall slightly buffed. Birdie got three Season 1 nerfs reverted, and a large nerf to his EX Bull Head, making it unsafe now, but not as much as it was in Season 1. Birdie got some great offensive changes in Season 2, especially with the increased range and hit advantage of Standing Medium Punch, and his improved Crush Counter standing heavy kick, but he did lose some defensive options in return.

You can catch the entire video above, along with links to VesperArcade’s previous coverage of additional changes coming to SFV:

• Uppercut changes
• Jump back throw OS removed
• V-Reversal and charge changes
• Alex
• Guile
• Ryu
• Urien
• New moves & Air Force Base changes
• CFN features & Kanzuki Private Beach changes
• Nash
• Akuma
• Vega

Source: VesperArcade