ryokoalways

No, you can't suck more than not having a legitimate wake-up game, which was CT hakumen.

Additional note, I've come to the conclusion that you will need to land one catch for an opponent that has a legitimate pressure game, and one catch for an opponent that has a legitimate way of forcing a specific pace of game against hakumen, to have an acceptable chance at winning a round. In CS1, you can sit on your ass all day and just IB and play mind games with your opponent that way (neutralizes some pressure), but that's no longer the case, so it's not a reliable way to build meter. You can also no longer just wait for when you want to approach the opponent because you can no longer break out high dmg combo anywhere on the screen (the loss of the throw combo really hurts here, since it did respectable dmg, and doubled as a very good carry-combo). So, I believe taking some chances with catch, especially in the middle of the screen (since you generally won't get face-raped for it), is an approach worth considering. 5D/2D/6D all offer good meter return (jD is still good in this regard) and covers a decent amount of distance, which are both very important as Hakumen's gameplan now revolves around how little meter you end up using to get your opponent into the corner. Against a good opponent, you are not going more than 2 corner lockdowns per round tops, so you have to make it count. Other things to consider is to break the habit of poke>renka>gurren/enma, because as I said before, you want to limit the amount of 2/3 magatama specials to when you are going to dish out dmg in the corner. Using it elsewhere completely neuters your meter, which will kill your game flow after that point. Standard poke combo should now revolve around 5A>5B>enma, gurren>3C/5A, etc/reset variations. These combos will only do around 2k, but the distance covered will be decent, and if you can sneak enough pieces in there (5A>5B, 5A>6A, etc), you can make up for most of the meter you spent.

Pretty sure you can relaunch 3 times off any fatal.

Edit: 2A>5A/5B/2B all works now i think.

Hmm, can anyone confirm whether ragna's dp active frames has been reduced? It seems that way to me.

It's not about the damage (although the damage you get relatively is still very good). It's about the fact that you get a lot of meter off catches now. All catches gets meter back. 6D does base damage. 5D is comboable again. Benefit of new meterless combo parts (5A>6A, 5A>j2A, etc). Landing a catch will always get you a good carry combo or legit wake-up game in CS2. The only problem is landing one is harder.

err, catch was buffed, if you land it. IB is nerfed, giving you less chance to land it. Therefore, catch is now much less threatening.

You hit them with j2A when they are low (so you have to delay the j2A), then the j2A untech time just results in a knockdown itself. You will land as they otg, and if you don't see them tech immediately, throw meaty 2B to prevent roll tech, and you should still recover in time to play standard wake-up game. Due to changes to proration on j2A, this should be easily doable (In CT, you use this to save a magatama on gurren for 6B knockdown, and in CS1, it wasn't necessary because jC was just better). The trade off is some meter gain and damage due to less hits. You also do not get as good a knockdown because you are not close enough for your full range of mix-ups (you are too far out for meaty throw, for example). However, it's justified for a knockdown in any situation.

Currently match-ups look like this: Very difficult: Jin, Taokaka, Rachel, Arakune Somewhat difficult: Hazama, Tsubaki, Noel, Makoto More or less even: Ragna, Nu, Litchi Even: Platinum, Valk Advantage: Tager, Carl, Bang

You can cancel landing of both forward and backward dash into specials since CT. It is a very important aspect of hakumen' zoning/mix-ups. Offensively, problem with hakumen is meter control. You have no room for error with hit confirm and combo selection. The goal is to get to the corner with 3-4 meter, but since everything takes meter (zoning, pressure, carry combo, etc), it is difficult to get there with enough meter remaining unless you don't make mistakes in judgment. Wasn't a problem in CS1, but the meter gain change is a major hit in CS2. In essence, you want to limit use of anything that is not kishuu, enma, or gurren in the middle of the screen (those do not stunt your meter gain). Regarding 5C knockdown, it is just as important as before, as unless you score a knockdown, it is very easy for people to escape the corner against hakumen. I think for certain combos, instead of standard j2A>jC>5C, delayed j2A straight into knockdown may be preferable (ala what I did in CT). Defensively, the changes to IB is the main problem. This part will need to be tested more as without frame data, we don't know what gatlings are not safe. But regardless, there are now less openings, so Hakumen isn't as intimidating when he is blocking (more so than most other characters). jD no longer leads to big dmg, but is still a great tool as it is a good way to build meter quickly. It also gives a legit knockdown. Basically, Hakumen is ok because all the options are still there offensively and defensively. But he is going to be hovering in the middle of the pack because you don't have nearly as many chances per match due to the above. You have no room for error, you have to be more patient than before, and if you don't really understand the character, you are not going to succeed.

I would actually argue that it is a nerf. That was very useful and efficient in the arakune match-up. The new version isn't in any match-up.

That's dora. I'm 100% sure. It felt like something only a faggot would do.

That combo doesn't work, replace the first 2C with a 5B and it will.

My friend told me Galileo plays Makoto now as main. He hasn't touched tager for at least 3-4 months.

Is the 100% curse combo off overhead character specific? I'm leaning towards yes because it seems to barely hit tager. May work against Hakumen too, but I doubt against hitbox any smaller. If someone can confirm/deny, that would be great.

Noted. I will have to check FC myself, as I've been told it works. At the very least, it definitely works on counter against air target.

Part 2 was removed for some kind of violation, although it may just be a mistake as the finals was played in Part 1.

3C knockdown isn't a real wake-up. 5C/6C (in theory) knockdowns give 100% advantage. I don't believe they gave 3C any additional properties to allow for guaranteed lockdown against any wake-up options. And thank you for your efforts.

Could you explain why 5C is better than 6C for knockdown purposes for cases that can be applied? The only potential reasons I can think of are either too much pushback or slide has too little otg time. Although I don't believe either could be the case, as they should be comparable to 5C, or even better. As for for out of range of 5C, in that instance it's not worthwhile to get a knockdown, as you are not in position for a real wake-up anyways. And you can practice new fatal hotaru j2C timing with current 6D>6C(full)>AD j2C timings. It's the same idea: get j2C hit as low as possible for 5C/2C follow-up into regular combo. Another thing to remember is that 5A>j2A works now, so in certain situations, sacrifice some damage and use that part to cover more distance instead of the old jA>jB>etc

I think the new standard may be to use jC>6C for knockdown, and jc>5C only for situations where the former cannot be applied.

I don't know. If I had to guess I would say no. Pretty interesting idea though. I will ask.

It doesn't. And yes, there are really long combos. Corner combos should return at least 2 magatamas this time around.

I think they nerfed 5B mainly to make 5C a more desirable move. You can say 5B got buffed in the sense that you can link into it from 5A now (maybe 2A?). Relative to general changes in cs2, meterless damage is better, poke meter combos are worse, and corner damage is about the same.

Those changes are actually pretty smart. Thanks for posting.

Why wouldn't it? jC untech time was reduced, but that doesn't mean 5C knockdown isn't still viable. It will just be more combo and character dependent instead of being universal.