Cheefoo

As soon as they see 5D they know they can just hold up-back. It can't go into any low attacks and the only thing that isn't punishable on block is deadspike. But due to deadspike's slow startup, they'll probably just jump out anyway. Better of skipping 5D altogether. It doesn't add anything useful to your blockstrings.

1. Combos. You could be getting a lot more damage off of a lot of things that you're just going into HF after. It looks like you're assuming you're midscreen when you're a lot closer to the corner than you think. Also, when your back is to the corner and you land a 6C, it's a great time to dash cancel, then microdash under the falling opponent and 5D. This puts them in the corner and gets more damage than just 6C>DC>5D>DC>5C etc. 2. Meter usage. You seem to be holding onto your meter a bit much. Ragna sweats meter. There were a number of combos where a RC would've given you a lot more damage/better positioning and a few where efficient meter use could've won you the round. If you die with meter, it's completely wasted, so if you're in a tight spot, don't be afraid to DP>RC. 3. Pressure. Something I find myself doing all too often is just dialing in the 5B>5C on block. 5C is pretty bad on block, honestly. It pushes you too far away for 2C, 5D is even lamer on block, 2D ends your pressure (but does great to catch people holding up-back) and all of Ragna's specials, save for deadspike are unsafe on block. DS can reset pressure rather well against some characters, but it starts up slow and it can't cancel into anything, so even though it's +3 it's pretty much begging to be up-backed when your opponent sees they blocked it. 2B and 2C are good for resetting pressure because they recover fast, and you can cancel them into a number of normals for frametraps. Just lay off the 5C, it's a really bad habit to autopilot with it. If you dash cancel the second hit it's -1, so you can kinda trick your opponent into punishing it but make them eat a DP instead. It's a lot like HF in that regard, but it's definitely not worth the risk. Just a bad gimmick to keep your opponent confused (and in the life lead if you do it more than, say, once). Besides that, 5D can only be special canceled, and almost all of Ragna's specials are awful on block.

Wasn't hitstop reduced all across the board? Is that 12f taking that into account? I've never heard of this "starter rating" thing before. Is it a new value that every attack has? I thought I heard somewhere that "combo time" was affected by the starter's button strength: A being the shortest, D being the longest. Is that just a "general rule" or are all starter ratings based solely on the button strength? With all these nerfs to Ragna's untech on BE, DS etc. will he even be able to combo long enough to have to worry about combo time?

I remember seeing a Ragna do DS>DC>purple throw on block. It could've been at a range, though, and I believe that would make it more advantageous on block. I'm surprised HF is still only -4. I thought it was a bit more punishable.

What do you mean? Do you know something we don't know? When is it going public anyway?

I doubt you're ever going to get a raw NH CS. It doesn't prorate very well, and the first hit doesn't do very much damage, so if you were thinking of using it mid combo, a simple 2D RC would probably be a lot better. Actually being able to combo off of CH CS midscreen is pretty awesome. I bet he could've gotten like 3.5k and a bunch of corner carry off that, but alas, Kaqn can't combo for shit. Looks like it helps massively vs. Amane.

Help me... I'm getting majorly scrubbed out by Netplay Noels. Between 2D and 4D mashing, I have no opportunity to attack them on wakeup. Not to mention they get sooo much damage off of it. Noel just gets sooo much damage off of everything. These combos are putting me to sleep. It was mentioned before that 6C and 5D stuff Noel's drives, but if I dare whiff due to late teching or rolling (which these netplayers seem to love doing) I'm pretty much boned. Mashing DP during her dive chains seems like a good idea, right? It has lots of gaps, but what if she does her 214D crossup and ID wiffs? Is it worth the risk?

The only time I'd imagine anyone would do that is after the new 22C dash cancel, and that probably won't be a problem. By the way, does anyone know how much faster deadspike is?

Jin.

You guys do realize Kaqn can't optimize his combos for shit, right?

How nerfed is meter gain anyway? I haven't been paying much attention to meter in all the match videos. Does this mean Hazama won't be able to houtenjin and gain back 50 meter all in one combo, or did he just 2DD through the fabric of reality and dodge yet another nerf?

Actually Ragna can go into 2D from 5C, so it's technically a high/low. If he has meter he can get a pretty decent combo off of 2D RC or GH RC. I think people really underestimate GH and 2D starters. I mean, when does Ragna NOT have meter?

That's just Buppa. He tends to get... excited while commentating.

Ground scythe is still plus on block. Only reason they mentioned TK scythe is because it starts up faster, but I guess that's all it has over the ground version. That being said, ground blood scythe seems really good for pressure and I see it used pretty often. If you're too predictable, it'll probably get you anti-aired though.

What about inferno divider? Assuming you're close enough for it to hit, and if you're by the corner, you could definitely get a lot more with that than a hell's fang. However, if you misconfirm it, ID on block is infinitely worse than HF on block. I've never gotten a 5D raw hit in my life, so I have no idea at what range you'd end up. Speaking of which, can we still do HF without getting punished (sans IB) on block? I know the hitstun was reduced, but it always had strange amounts of blockstun/hitstun so maybe the blockstun is still intact.

I just mash like fuck. Best part about playing on an xbox controller is being able to mash DP inputs easily.

I've been seeing quite a few wiffed bursts. Maybe it's just the fast startup that takes some getting used to, or the hitbox was nerfed.

Izayoi blocked the instant jump A while standing. A lot of characters can do that, but the trick is being able to set it up easily and actually get damage off of it. I'm not sure if Azrael has either of those things, really. I mean, does he really need any more shit than he already has anyway?

How fast is Ragna's dash cancel? I hear it's 22 frames, and is this the same for all of his dash cancel moves? So would 6C>DC be -4 on block and 5D(2)>DC be -2 on block? I know it's still dumb to do it, but it would be nice to know if I could pull the same frametrap gimmicks like hell's fang on block.

http://youtu.be/_dU4oeQg60I?t=4m5s Could 6C>6D>Scythe(>RC>5C>etc.?) be our new corner swap combo?

That's what I was thinking, but maybe 5C isn't jump cancelable anymore?

Did 6C get any new gatlings? Or is it still only jump/dash cancel on block? Cuz you think Kaqn is "good".

I hope it's true, but it actually seems like Tsubaki was just too slow with her dash 5A. As for TK bloodscythe during pressure... you have to realize Ragna has almost no jump cancelable normals on block. They got rid of 6A's JC on block, right? That might mean he actually has NO on-block jump cancels.

Tao doing 3k+ damage AND getting oki. Tao able to do anything>5C>6C. Tao's 236C is faster and apparently plus on block. Holy shit did this character NEED BUFFS?

http://youtu.be/DJ1hUNyuzeQ?t=11m10s Hop agito looks like it's really good on block, leading up to a great mixup opportunity. Maybe it doesn't leave him in front of the opponent in the air if their hitbox is small enough, as he would just fly over them?