Teutonicknight

I can instant block online, but yeah, the timing is a good deal different from offline. And with the risk involved, I can see why you'd be scared, because by the time I was almost used to it, it mainly just got me hit most of the time. It's usually better to use instant blocking on blockstrings after the first normal block, that way you're at least blocking actively. Now, when you can time every combo with every character perfectly during lag, you've been playing way too long, lol. Heck, if you can use Makoto effectively online, you've been playing too long, or you have satelite, wired, reinforced connection.

I knew that, but what if he is not using Deadspike at all, and is just patiently guessing you with pokes?

Pretty much everything. All of his moves can literally lock you down. If you try jumping, he can just press D, and if you block, you are back in the corner, try DPing, he can outprioritize it with something else or DP you back. What would you recommend in the corner against Ragna?

You know, I'm glad Makoto's not that stupid. Besides, I don't really entirely hate Ragna, I'd rather fight him over quite a few other people, and at least his playstyle is somewhat linear. And I think the only true bs to his Ex incarnation is that he has power and speed with top quality defense, whereas Makoto has a lot of the worst crap in the game, and has some of the most unreliable combos and moves. Top that off with the shortest range in the game. Btw, good luck getting out of a corner against Ragna, this scenario is Makoto's worst nightmare. I have not found any effective way to get out of a corner with her against Ragna. If you don't have a burst, you're very screwed.

You forgot to mention that he doesn't even need to use meter to do serious damage in the 4-5k range. Now when he actually decides to use meter, he can easily get 6.5-7.5k without even doing anything optimal. All it is is timing from there on, and it's not even all that strict either...

Ragna's overpowered in Ex. I'm putting that bluntly. And I was using Ragna for a good amount of time during CT and the beginning of CS. I wouldn't be playing BB right now if it wasn't for Makoto, she is just that much more fun to use over him to me. But yeah, the Makoto vs Ragna matchup is like trying to fight Twisted Metal 2 Minion with Warthog. You both play similar, except he beats you in every other way. Idk why they gave all that power to someone who actually has range and normals with a freakishly good DP. Try figuring that out...

Yeah, timing on that move is pretty tricky when you first play, I honestly thought the combo didn't work for a second, lol... I just wish Makoto had some real advantages in Ex, because I can't really point out anything that makes up for her glaring weaknesses that someone in the cast can't do better.

Lightning Arrow is pretty much a useless move now. It's one of the few specials in the game that can't combo without CH, does not hit overhead, slow, and risky as hell since it is easy to react to. It has uses, but I only use it sparingly.

What Bibi said, AV is not really all that practical for approaching at all. You can't block if they try attacking, and there's roughly a 90% chance you're going to get hit. It's a little too predictable. edit: also, as for Hakumen, you have to play freakishly smart if he is good. Makoto can actually hold up decently against him if you know what you are doing. But overall, he's an ass to everyone, and not just Makoto.

Yeah, clones are pretty gimmicky anyways. Makoto's hitbox is too big, and you will most likely just get beat up that way.

That's exactly like I said. There's not a whole lot of variety in her mixups, but she has them where they really count. Ranger has a point on her overhead though, Makoto is usually within that certain distance to block the second hit most of the time, and that second hit is really what does the damage.

Either way, you have to play flawlessly if it is a good Lambda. It they know what they are doing on the defensive, it's a tough fight. And no, her stuff is not all that easy to block, and on top of that, you can't be blocking for long anyways since she breaks primers pretty quickly.

That's with every other character though, and they got better everything, and most generally keep pressure better. She relies on punishing a lot more than everybody else. I agree with Candy on the Lambda matchup though. It's not hopeless, but f**k, getting in on her with Makoto is easier said than done. And to make things worse, she can always just burst you away, making you go through hell all over again. And if you burst her to get out of her pressure, you just helped her by creating space.

The key to succeeding with Makoto in Extend is punishing rather than blindly rushing. Makoto feels more like a punisher rather than a true rushdown fighter in Ex.

Works every time.

Tao's pretty much the most luck-dependant character ever next to Arakune and Noel. Yeah, she has a lot of variables that can save her more often than not. Not to mention pretty much every one of her hits goes into a hellishly long combo that does just as much damage as some of Makoto's stuff at half the speed.

Either way, it's another thing in her arsenal, just in case you somehow screw up in OD.

Since lvl 3s come out automatically in OD, say you do parry them, will the lvl3 5D be fast enough to make it comboable? That would be sweet. edit: Makoto has a 10k combo now? That'd be sweet to try out, but with all those resources, dang, it'd be situational.

I'm talking about actually stunning the person, as long as whatever they hit you with is; 1. Part of their body 2. In their hand That kind of change would not make Makoto broken I think, it would still be a risky move, but it would give her a way to deal with people that that just poke her the whole match. I knew I could parry some of Litchi's stuff and it would work properly, but against other long-reaching characters like Valk, Ragna, Mu-12, Hakumen, Tager, and Lambda (her normals mainly), parry does not work at all. I've lost count of how many times it failed to catch Ragna, when it should have worked.

Hakumen's is pretty much "Alright, I'm almost dead... lemme just press 4 buttons and kill you already". Ragna's is basically the same as ours- higher attack power, new combo routes that you normally can't do except his attack boost is higher and he regains health. It's not like the guy has range and defense or anything. edit: Anyways, I'm not too worried about it. I know for a fact Arcsys is never going to get the balancing right unless something really weird happens. As long as Makoto stands a chance, it's fine. But I want her to have the fun factor of her older incarnations without any of the brokeness.

Arcsys logic pretty much goes, if it ain't broke, break it anyway. If it is broke, fix it, but then break it again. I wouldn't really want that kind of upgrade. Makoto's moveset is actually extremely solid. The main problem is, half of them don't work like they are supposed to, and has the worst DP in the game. If those were fixed without being too ridiculous or too underpowered, I'd be happy. The upgrades to her midscreen are big bonuses, and is a nice direction for her, and her overdrive at least makes a difference. I'd still like to see upgrades on her actual moveset though.

That's why I would question how they would make it good against projectiles. But the damn thing SHOULD be able to catch long weapons. Whenever someone like Ragna gets rewarded for something he didn't see coming that I had planned, I feel cheated out of the damn match. It's bs and annoying that it doesn't catch Hakumen's pokes, Ragna's sword, Tager's hands, etc... Yet Hakumen can grab you with an unblockable halfway across the screen. Doesn't make sense to me at all.

Make it catch long-poking attacks, and it would be fine. If the weapon is in the guy's fricken hand, that crap should be knocked out of the way. But nope, the opponent gets the reward for your hard work. >.> An alternative command during parry that would deflect against projectiles would be nice, but idk how they would pull it off.

That's somewhat good to hear.

In wouldn't really want it back to that amount of broken, but just a bit more useful would be nice. Although admittedly, those parry shenanigans were a ton of fun while they lasted.