Stan McJeeves

As I said the last time around, Arc knows what they're doing, and they probably won't majorly nerf any character (except for Tager). From the looks of it, it looks like Arc is trying to get every character to be around B tier strength by buffing the lower end characters and nerfing the higher end characters. Either way, we'll probably see a bunch of ugly stuff, followed by some miraculous changes at the final test. I'd be more than happy if they could ditch the same move proporation on her drive and make her have no loops while keeping decent damage and pressure game. That way, we could hopefully get off the boring one way combo track Tao currently has in CS2.

Sorry for not responding sooner, I've been away. Original post updated.

Thanks a bunch for the quick response.

As always, Thanks for the updates, Riku. Original post updated. I do have one question though. What does "de costas pra corner" translate to? My Spanish isn't too good (if it is Spanish), but it seems to loosely say something like "near the corner" or "back to corner". Is that correct?

Thanks for the information, Riku. I have added a miscellaneous information section to the original post for stuff like this.

If I'm close enough to the ground (and in a corner), I've had some success with grab fail > j.2D~B > Land > 5D~A > loop. The problem with this strategy is that it's rather predictable and easily blocked, but it seems to work just fine for me online in random matches. I'd be interested to see if anyone else has other options besides this one. On a side note, I may have written that incorrectly, as I haven't played in a few days, but I do know for sure that you can pick up from an air grab fail with j.2D~B > land.

AB2 combo fixed and corner starters added. Thanks for the updates, Riku and Ronove. I'll add the damage amounts after I test them later (or anyone who wants to test them can post the damage amounts).

Without the loop, your damage will be greatly reduced (~1500 off of 6A instead of ~3300). I'd suggest trying to learn it.

Combos have been sorted, and the AB2 combos have been organized by starters, so they should be easier to read. Thanks for the input, Riku. If you have any other suggestions, feel free to post them (same goes for anyone else).

What I usually do against characters like Jin is delay the 9D~9 in the combo. When you get to the 9D~9 -> 3D~3 -> 236B x5 part in your combo, just be sure to add a bit more delay before you do the 9D~9. That way, you'll be lower when you get to the cat2, and you should be able to finish the combo. Also, I have updated the original post. Please notify me if I made any mistakes, as I'm pretty darn tired at the time of writing this.

Thanks for the post, Riku. I'll update the original post (and add credit to it) when I get home tomorrow, if I'm not sleeping or something due to the long flight.

Personally, the best use I can find for heat with Tao is a CA or an AB2 combo, since those do ~5000 damage. The only time I've ever used a RC as Tao is on the rare 6B > RC > 6A starter due to landing a 6B during a blockstring.

I'll be sure to give credit in the original post (along with posting the AB2 updates) once they're posted and when I get back to my computer on Saturday/Sunday (posting this from a phone).

Challenge mode combos in CS2 ( at least for Tao) aren't the best way to deal damage, but they'll help to improve your reflexes and execution. You should probably do Tao's challenge mode until you're comfortable with her playstyle, and then try to learn the j.8D~A loop and the combos listed here (or just go straight to learning the loop and these combos if you're already familiar with Tao.)

ChargingStar, these combos are for CS2. Also, if you need help with anything combo related (understanding notations, combos, so on), don't hesitate to ask, as I'm all more than willing to help out (and I'm sure everyone else here is too).

Adding a 2C FC to a grab only adds roughly ~450 damage, and you don't really have any other uses for meter when doing a 4B+C starter. Your best bet is to do the normal BnB, and then go for an AB2 ender with your meter. As for the best damage for most situations, starter > j.8D~A loop > BnB ender is your best bet, since your combos can't be too long due to same move proporation on Tao's drive.

Thanks for the update, Riku. Original post updated. As for dashing with the new loop, I can only do the loop properly 70-75% of the time with the dashes, so I avoid using dashes unless it's on one of the more damaging starters.

That depends, sorta. While I usually don't drop the loop while dashing, I generally don't dash and give up one loop on things like 6A and the less damaging hits to avoid risking a dropped combo, as you'd only do ~100 extra damage anyway. For stuff like the rare 6C CH or a Drive CH though, I always use dashes, as it's worth the risk.

I tried that once, only to end up still not being close enough for the last j.8D~A. Then again, I only used one dash when I tested it. It may be possible to omit a dash or two, as long as you dash more than you omit. Once I get BBCS2 on my PS3, I'll be able to do more testing with my fightstick, as the PSP's D-Pad is killing me. Thing is, if you can do the dash once or twice, you might as well just dash for all of the loop.

That combo won't work at all in CS2. 6C no longer wallbounces unless it's a CH (you can't wall bounce if you chain into the 6C either). Also, 2C only does a FC when fully charged, so even if 6C wallbounced, it would be completely impractical due to the charge time.

Speaking of blockstrings, does the new j.B have any use at all? I was thinking that something along the lines of j.D~C > j.B > 5A/B > ect in a block string could have some sort of effectiveness, considering the first hit is an overhead. Other than the possible use in blockstrings, I really can't seem to find a good use for the new j.B, even after playing CS2 for a good 3 weeks now.

As Riku pointed out, Tao definitely does feel easier to play. It took me around a week to get the tauntloop down perfectly, but I was actually able to get the j.8D~A loop into muscle memory in about an hour or so. As for Tao seeming like a 1-combo character, I think we'll be seeing a few new combos and tricks once CS2 hits the consoles. That way, the pros will have more time to play around with her in training mode to find some more combos and the like. I'm definitely looking forward to the improved 214D, as it'll be pretty fun to be able to quickly bounce around the opponent now. One question though: I know I might be going nuts, or it may be due to updates, but CS2 seems to feel a lot slower and a lot more generous than CS` when it comes to reaction times (and how much time you have to string moves together). Has anyone else noticed this? I've noticed this with a lot of characters besides Tao too.

As far as I know, I don't think the combo you have in bold works. The following is pretty simple, and it's Tao's basic BnB combo ender: (j.8D~A loop) -> 2D~C -> j.8D -> j.5D~6 -> j.C -> j.8D~6 -> j.3D -> 236B x5 As for the new loop (the j.8D~A loop), what I usually do is jump (and hold the stick at 8), press D, then cancel with A, and repeat. So to answer your question (if I'm reading it correctly), yes, you can just hold the stick up instead of needing to push it up twice. If you need more info about combos and the like, check out Tao's CS2 combo topic. http://www.dustloop.com/forums/showthread.php?11373-CS2-Edition-Taokaka-Combo-and-BnB-thread.

Thanks for the update, Riku. Original post updated. EDIT: Also added edits from Riku's first post and changed the the post's format to be easier to read.

Thanks to Riku, we have some CS2 info set up now. http://www.dustloop.com/forums/showthread.php?11373-CS2-Edition-Taokaka-Combo-and-BnB-thread. That should be a good amount of info for now. I still need to test the midscreen AB2 setups on more characters, though.