[CT] Taokaka Combo & BnB Thread

[Ronove]

[a bit OT] I'd love to record my stuff as well, but I keep plugged my PS3 directly to my monitor than my tv and I honestly have no clue what equipment I need to record stuff. :X

[GreyFlcn]

Horizontal Drive Loops, Simplified:

So for the longest time I really had no idea how to get a worthwhile drive combo going with Tao.

(Always kept whiffing on the second drive)

Originally I thought it had something to do with the timing of when you use D.

But it surprised me that it has a lot more to do with the timing of when you press C.

________

Start off your usual set of "launcher" moves to get your opponent airborne:

(For instance, the easiest being a couple 2A's, and then a 3C)

Then from there hold 6 (keep doing this for the rest of the loop)

And then quickly press D.

Now here's the crucial part:

You have to wait (!), till you FALL to the same height as your opponent.

As soon as that happens then press C.

And then quickly press D.

(REPEAT)

With this, it's easy enough to pull off 3-5 C+D loops.

________

Now clearly you can get a lot more fancy than just this alone, but hey this is a rather scrub friendly interpretation of drive loops.

Since it's surprisingly easy.

[unkyrona]

It's all so obvious now...wow that's a huge help.

[GreyFlcn]

No problem. Now I need to work on DiagonallyUp drive looping. Currently I'm instead favoring the newbie diagonal drive combo: 6C,236CC,2D,B+C, (236AAA) OR (236236D) Also I need to start reliably getting the cat spirit 2 to connect at the end of a drive loop. (Although I guess I could go newbie, and substitute in an air throw)

[Konton]

lol So I realized today that the combo I use off Tao's 6A is pretty gain-less aside from the ground game. I've been using 6a -> j.a -> j.c -> JC -> j.a -> j.c -> cat spirit two -> into ground game. Does 1420 damage. In just half an hour I taught myself to do a basic taunt combo that I came up with. I'm pretty proud, lol. 6A (1 hit) -> JC -> j.2D~B (hit) -> Taunt -> 236cc -> 2d~6 -> j.c -> 8d~6 -> j.c -> 8d~6 -> j.236bb -> j.236bbbb. Does 3737 damage. That's quite a difference, haha. It even brakes 4k when you start the combo with 5B. 4059 I believe. I still can't get the combo where after the taunt you 214D though. It's too hard.

[Ronove]

Regarding taunt combos in general, one thing I noticed from watching Kazu, Keita and other japanese Tao players is that they include a taunt whenever they manage to land any drive move cancelled into b on an airborne opponent that's almost close to the ground. Example: in one match vs a Noel (can't remember who it was), the Noel was trying a jump in, the Tao (I think it was Keita doing this) did a 4d~b right away and as he landed he went Taunt->236cc->etc. Basically, rather than intentionally try to setup a taunt combo with the usual startup of 5b->6a(1) he would exploit any chance given by a d~b move that would allow him to juggle the opponent with the Taunt right after. I think it's a pretty interesting way to increase the possible amount of setups for taunt combos. It's certainly not easy (and it's harder to pull off online), but it gives more options to Tao players and less predictability.

[GreyFlcn]

So what's the general theory on how reliably connect a Cat Spirit 2 at the end of a drive loop? Does it only work on horizontal-up drives? Do you start the CS2 before or after they are the same height as you?

[Ronove]

The general rule is to wait a fraction because you don't want Tao to be higher than your opponent since CS2 will elevate her even more. You atleast want to be at the same height or slightly below. So that's why usually you don't perform the CS2 right after the 9d, because you want Tao to be there to hit them with the first 236bb and still be able to follow up with an 236bbbb, else the opponent won't be in range. Keep in mind though that with characters with a huge hitbox you don't really need to do this (see Tager). So when you go to training mode to practice this it's better if you test it on Jin or Noel. Once you learn to land the 236bb->236bbbb on them you can basically do it without problems on the rest of the cast.

[Konton]

The general rule is to wait a fraction because you don't want Tao to be higher than your opponent since CS2 will elevate her even more. You atleast want to be at the same height or slightly below. So that's why usually you don't perform the CS2 right after the 9d, because you want Tao to be there to hit them with the first 236bb and still be able to follow up with an 236bbbb, else the opponent won't be in range.

Keep in mind though that with characters with a huge hitbox you don't really need to do this (see Tager). So when you go to training mode to practice this it's better if you test it on Jin or Noel. Once you learn to land the 236bb->236bbbb on them you can basically do it without problems on the rest of the cast.

In short, there's a short delay after 9d and then CS2 -> CS2 is in rapid succession.

[XDest]

Don't know if this has been found, but... (Corner) 3C D~B [hit] 5B 2D~6 j.C 9D~9 D~A 9D~9 236BB 236BBBB [3605]

[Beatrice]

What is the purpose of the a cancel in that combo? (And in the rest of the a cancel combos) Is it similar to why one uses 2d~b that it nets you a frame advantage so you can actually make the connection or some such?

[lurch_E_bean]

What is the purpose of the a cancel in that combo? (And in the rest of the a cancel combos)

Is it similar to why one uses 2d~b that it nets you a frame advantage so you can actually make the connection or some such?

From my experience, ~a cancels are mainly used for positioning to continue the combo. The two ways they seem to be used are to 1) drop below an opponent to hit with a 8d(~6) followup, etc., or 2) land on the ground, do a standing hit or two, then launch into a new drive loop.

For XDest's combo, there's no way you're going to hit a 9d~9 after a 5d unless you ~a cancel. A j.c would probably work instead of d~a, but I think the d~a nets you a little more damage.

The opposite seems to be true for ~c cancels, you use that to get up even with your opponent, usually so you can use a 5d follow-up instead of 8d, since you can have as many 5d's as you can hit with, but only 2 8d's at a time. Instead of finishing a corner combo with 8d, 8d~6, you might be able to pull off 8d~c, 5d~a, 8d~6 instead. (I'm no expert with the ~c cancel trickery, so I don't know if this is legit, but it looks like what the last Japanese combo video was doing a lot.)

Speaking of d~c cancels, it seems these are only useful in the corner, or randomly messing with your opponent with drive fakes. Anybody find any other tricks with it?

[XDest]

Yeah, it does around 200 more damage than the usual one off D~B [hit].

[Pirateyoshi]

I never actually read any of the taunt combos, and was trying to do 236CC in the double taunt variations. Now I can do then yayy. I still cant do the 6C 66 Taunt ones though. ; w;

[XDest]

(corner) 3C D~A [hit] taunt 236CC 2D~6 j.C 9D~9 236BBBB 2D~6 [4036] Easy taunt combo, no j.2D~B required. Edit: (corner) 3C D~A [hit] taunt 236AAAAA 2D~6 j.C 9D~9 j.C 9D~9 ... 236BB 236BBBB [4063] Even easier!

[Konton]

Which combo could be called the "basic" taunt combo? I'm having a bit of trouble pulling them off right now and would like to know which of those is the more basic one then, after mastering it, I can add little alterations.

5b -> 6a (1 hit) -> JC -> 2d~B -> Taunt -> 236CC -> drive juggle.

[lurch_E_bean]

Do you have a video of that combo lurch? I"m having trouble with the timing on 2d > 5d~6

Finally got some video capture goodness:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itFmqsvXdkE

First combo.

[Konton]

(corner) 3C D~A [hit] taunt 236CC 2D~6 j.C 9D~9 236BBBB 2D~6 [4036]

Easy taunt combo, no j.2D~B required.

Edit: (corner) 3C D~A [hit] taunt 236AAAAA 2D~6 j.C 9D~9 j.C 9D~9 ... 236BB 236BBBB [4063] Even easier!

Yay! Now we can brake the 4k barrier off 3c!

[XDest]

(corner) 3C D~A [hit] taunt 236CC 2D~6 j.C 9D~9 236BBBB 2D~6 [4036]

Easy taunt combo, no j.2D~B required.

Edit: (corner) 3C D~A [hit] taunt 236AAAAA 2D~6 j.C 9D~9 j.C 9D~9 ... 236BB 236BBBB [4063] Even easier!

Hmm, I keep getting too far away when I link into this in real matches, and have only gotten it off once. Can anyone think of any changes (other than putting in a 5C instead of a taunt), to make this combo work right?

[.otter.]

(corner) 3C D~A [hit] taunt 236CC 2D~6 j.C 9D~9 236BBBB 2D~6 [4036]

I would remove that drive at the end.

4Kdmg<3.9Kdmg+knockdown.

The most likely reason 3C, 5D~A, Taunt is too far away is simply because you have to do 3C REALLY deep. Like dash into their body then sweep.

You can't really do that with a real opponent. If they are a more chubby character just 3C at a typical range and it should work.

[YellowGuy]

Hmm, I keep getting too far away when I link into this in real matches, and have only gotten it off once. Can anyone think of any changes (other than putting in a 5C instead of a taunt), to make this combo work right?

Hi, I'm new here. Nice to meet you guys.

That taunt combo can be done if you did ([optional]5B) 3C 5D~A 66 taunt 236AA 2D~6 j.C 9D~9 j.C 9D~9 ... 236BB 236BBBB. The timing is pretty difficult for the dash and then taunt. I can get the dash and taunt maybe once out of 20 tries >.> I did manage to finish the combo once but it's not really worth the effort.

I changed the combo a bit and I got the damage to around 4128 with it.

3C 5D~A taunt 236AA 2D j.5D~C j.5D~A j.9D~9 j.C j.9D~9 236BB 236BBBB (all drive cancels are hits)

Here's a combo I'd like to share (pretty sure it hasn't been listed and sorry if it is)

(corner) 5B 3C 5D(~C) j.5D~A 5C 2D j.5D(~C) j.5D~A j.9D~9 j.C j.9D~9 236BB 236BBBB (close to 4k damage) The combo can be done with or without the drive cancels in the brackets. This works with all characters except carl, and rachel.

For those 3 you can do the following:

5B 3C 5D(~C) j.5D~A 5C 2D j.5D~A j.9D j.9D~9 236BB 236BBBB (3.7k ish)

[Sileh]

Hello again Tao's;

After much frustration trying to pull Cat Spirit 2 combos off on the cast and not being 100% sure what works with who; I compiled this small list of Cat Spirit 2 compatibility, with a few small tweaks for damage.

Tao's Cat Spirit 2 Combos: Character Specific

We'll start off with Arakune and Tager. Remember watching that Japanese video where the Tao takes the opponent off the screen? Well this similar combo is completely doable in a normal match and it happens to hurt the opponent like hell at the same time:

5B -> 6A (1hit) -> JC -> j.2d~b -> 5C -> 2D -> (5d~6 -> j.c) x2 -> 5d~6 -> j.a -> j.c -> 9d~9 -> 9d~9 -> (option one: air-throw -> 236cc) (option two: 236bb -> 236bbbb)

Next is BANG BANG BANG! Mister big shot also has a character specific combo that makes him different from the rest of the cast:

5B -> 6A (1hit) -> JC -> j.2d~b -> 5C -> 2D -> (5d~6 -> j.c) x2 -> 5d~6 -> j.a -> j.c -> 9d~9 -> j.b -> 9d~9 -> (option one: air-throw -> 236cc) (option two: 236bb -> 236bbbb)

The Imperial sociopath Jin has his own specific combo for you to practice:

5B -> 6A (1hit) -> JC -> j.2d~b -> 5C -> 2D -> 5d~6 -> j.c -> 5d~6 -> j.a -> j.c -> 236bb -> 236bbb

This combo is for V-13, Ragna, Lichi, and Hakumen:

5B -> 6A (1hit) -> JC -> j.2d~b -> 5C -> 2D -> (5d~6 -> j.c) x2 -> 5d~6 -> j.a -> j.c -> 9d~9 -> (option one j.236bb -> j.236bbbb) (option two: if you are feeling risky do an air throw -> 236cc. The reason I do not recommend this is because the throw tech is visible when done on these characters, whereas with Bang, Tager, and Arakune it is much harder to see.)

Noel, Rachel and Tao herself have the least damaging applicable combos albeit Carl:

5B -> 6A (1hit) -> JC -> j.2d~b -> 5C -> 2d~6 -> j.c -> 9d~9 -> j.236bb -> j.c -> 9d~9 -> j.236bbbb

Carl:

Sorry folks, I was unable to pull anything in the Cat Spirit 2 repertoire up for Carl besides corner moves. Unfortunately, Carl has few combos worth a damn that you can pull off on him, so I would recommend studying the ones that do work in depth.

[Ronove]

Good stuff, Sileh. I'm actually compiling the new combo thread under TaoFTW's supervision, so all the stuff you guys post here will be gathered and re-organized in a new thread. On an other note, I suggest everybody to train the "universal combo" that Tao can use against anybody on the cast (works on Carl as well except that you need to make it shorter by using one less vertical drive loop) I'm talking about the 5b->3c->5d~6->j.c->236b->j.2d~b->5c->your preferred vertical drive loop route (2d~6->j.c->9d~9->etc etc) I have a small tip for those who have a little trouble with the "j.c->236b->j.2d~b" bit of that combo. If you ever played street fighter, you certainly know about 2-in-1 motions. If not, I'll explain it right now. When doing j.c and 236b, rather than pressing c and then doing 236b, you quickly do "2c->36b" basically you input the c attack during the 236 motion, right at its beginning, and at the end of the 236 you do the b. This way you don't need to let the stick go on neutral again, you take advantage of the fact that Tao's j.c can come out no matter what directional input you give. This way the j.c->236b will come out easily and you'll be able to calmly do the following ->j.2d~b which works in the same exact way as the one present in taunt combos (so if you nailed the timing in the taunt combo you'll nail it in this one as well).

[Hintalove]

Hey, I had a couple quick questions about combo fundamentals. The first being, could some one expain the more advanced drive loop variations? Piecing together how to start the taunt combos is easy enough but I know that doing 236cc 2d jc 9d jc 9d 236b is not the optional way to end those combos, and generally isn't even giving me a knockdown. What is the theory behind maximizing damage in the drive loop it self? Second being, I don't quite get it, but doing 236cc after taunt seems pretty unstable. I get it to work in the normal taunt combo, but off stuff like 6c 66 taunt 236c it usually is too slow. Lastly, how staple is backthrow > command jump > 2d~b taunt? Seems like I always end up facing the wrong way after the b cancel and end up whiffing my taunt. What is the timing supposed to be for canceling the throw?

[Ronove]

- 236bb->236bbbb ender will give you a knockdown. It's obvious that if you do only one 236b the enemy will tech before he hits the ground. The reason you do all that 236bb->236bbbb (rather than just doing 236bbbb) is because besides maximizing damage you want to nail your enemy on the ground so that you can play a little of mixup on oki or immediately start your pressure game. - As for 236c, don't hold the C button if you're inputting it after a 6c or after a taunt. You need it to come out immediately. You only hold it a little when you backthrow (although it's not really necessary) - for your third question: I do it with the same timing I do the 236c (right as Tao's foot touches the ground after her little hop during the backthrow animation). If you're whiffing the taunt you might be missing the timing of your ~b cancel (which is actually not canceling at all). What kind of sound do you hear when canceling the drive? You can tell it from that if your ~b cancel succesfully followed or not.