Ronove

I'm not really worried about damage or combos (anyone who thought that she'd have no combos in CS2 needs to have his head checked), I was worried whether they'd nerf too much her neutral game and approach. As long as they're not nerfing too much her moves' hitboxes/properties and she can get in as usual I am fine with having a damage nerf. I like the fact that 3C is special cancelable and not drive cancelable, finally people will stop using 3C in blockstrings (it was too easy to reset/safely get away by drive canceling that right away) and learn to hitconfirm. As for people discussing tiers, you guys need to realize that: - you can't discuss a character's possible tier placement solely based on its changes (what about the other characters? We still have to know how much they've changed for the better/worse) - it's too freaking early. so please drop the "low tier/high tier" discussion already and let's try atleast to discern the useful information. Lol. Guess there was people who liked to "abuse" full-screen drive. I am glad they toned that down, Her drives might be used for mobility but they made her way too good in CS1.

They buffed 6A though.

Playing both, I'd say this matchup depends mostly on the Valk player. In terms of movement Valk > Makoto and given Makoto's hard time at getting in it's better to play this matchup passive until you force Valk to pick a risky option, once you get in always end for oki and consequently stay on his arse the whole time, he has no solid reversals untile he gets his 50% (though I have yet to see a Valk player using a CA, most of the times it's spent for RC/or combo ender with his KoF super), and your 2A > his 2A. Cornered Valk = hopeless Valk Valk's blockstrings can be easily IB'ed however keep in mind that 5B from almost max range can be staggered and they will do it knowing Makoto has no way to punish these pokes from that distance (unless you IB>parry), specially since Valk's blockstrings tend to push him away real quick. His 6C will dodge your lows so even if it's slow they can still catch you off guard. If they're using it at the end of a blockstring you can IB the previous hit > parry overhead and make them afraid of using it. Don't just block the overhead though, it's freaking +6 on block, and be aware that he can kara-wolf cancel the move as well: if your parry "whiffs" because of that and he's getting in with the wolf fakeout get ready to block or DP (depending on the timing/distance). If Valk resets his pressure with a fakeout (4D/7D) get ready to block a [w]j.B and be ready for mixup as he lands (it's either [w]5A>[w]5B > crossup [w]j.B, or the command grab). Wolf mode pressure can be slight of a pain in the butt you'll have to patiently block (not easy to IB wolf 5A) and wait until he resets, then parry as he gets back in. He could also try to get away with his wolf 236A/B (kinda like Bison does with the psycho crusher), parry that shit. But if he uses 7D he'll end up falling diagonally there's enough time to use 6A/DP. Just be aware that after his shoulder special he will wolf cancel away (if you IB'd, that is. If you just blocked he might keep pressuring with [h]2A but you can IB all the stuff that comes after). If Valk hitconfirms a poke from max/medium range he'll go for the shoulder special unless he's within range for 3C > walk 2B. If he ends the combo with 236A (and he still doesn't have 50% meter) he can still bait your reversal DP (however most Valk's will be eager to keep pressuring or wolf cancel). Also, watch the hell out for his 2C. Bait it, use j.2C/double jump whatever just make that move whiff because even if it trades it's in his favor. As for air vs air, his j.C is good but Makoto's j.B has a good vertical hitbox (and it's faster) if you see Valk approaching from fullscreen with his wolf cancel'd dash don't be afraid to jump and j.B. His human form j.B is a pretty good antiair but doesn't seem to have a huge vertical hitbox (but it hits behind as well, so be careful for that), meaning that if you're above him you're almost safe since his only option it's his j.214B. If you happen to block his j.B in the air be ready for j.214B (if they attempt that it's a free air IB for you). Overall this is a matchup that requires a little patience, though you can't let the Valk player take the initiative it's not easy to get in, so basically it all boils down to patiently wait/create the opportunity to turn the momentum and RTSD. Though remember the more the game drags, the more it turns in Valk's favour, he can gain meter as fast as Makoto and move/fool around as he likes. It may also occur a situation where Valk is just sitting around and just pokin and playing footsies until he has 50% meter for easy hitconfirm > RC combos. When things become like that just be careful and IB/parry as much as possible. Once you get a knockdown it's your turn to make him feel sorry for not having chosen to be aggressive right from the start.

Sure is, you get one more overhead other than 6B. We don't know if it'll be jump-cancelable on block (likely not, else it'd make her mixup pretty damn safe) and what level the move will be/frame (it could still be safe like current j.B is when done deep on block). With three lows and two overheads I'd say that it doesn't look that bad, especially since IB has been nerfed it means her blockstrings might last a little more and allow for longer pressure mixups rather than being as quick as possible (since with the way IB is right now it murders Tao and it's better to have short blockstrings and stagger shit or reset asap).

- Play ST, learn fundamentals - or play 3s - or play GG you can learn proper spacing and fundamentals from any of these games, though ST is likely the best one since you have limited options (no parry, no airdashing or double jumps) forcing you to level up your ground game first and foremost. And, unless your character requires it (like say, Arakune) try to jump as less as possible and instead try to think about all of the ground options you have at all the ranges, what you can stagger at certain distances and whatnot. Don't use the frame data as a bible but more like a way to figure out at what extent a move can be effective. Certain pokes/moves may still be safe from max distance even if they're negative on block. This of course applies reversely when you're defending, knowing what your opponent is able to do from certain ranges (not just being limited to use a poke but knowing if they can walk back > get in > attack) to prevent to be caught again into an other combo when you're trying to escape. Know the real holes and know when the opponent is actually trying to fool around to condition you from picking what could be the most appropriate option. The rest comes with practice. You may even choose to not play any of these games and just train with BB, it's fine as long as you pay attention to all these details before going all-out on your opponent. [edit] forgot to say: it's also not a bad idea to have single elimination tournaments as well. Most (if not all) of the japanese players have developed strong fundamentals because they're put in an environment where they may be eliminated with just one single loss, they're forced to bring the best out of every little thing they can do. Having double bracket with best of 3 sets does not put the same kind of pressure.

Yeah. In CT using her drives on neutral was a bit of a gamble because most of the characters had good moves that would practically negate that option. That coupled with the fact that it wasn't as easy to capitalize off them (less recovery) unless it was against Arakune (CH 2D) or via RC. The risk/reward ratio wasn't as good as it is in CS1. In regard of her playing style, it's not like it'll change drastically anyway. It'll be more similar to the way we played her in CT except we don't know if she'll have back her knockdown combos or if she'll have to instead go for 3C > oki, sacrificing damage in favour of keeping up the pressure.

a-cho ranbat part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2rz57u7ldg part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPO937BaXMg part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdxd6vzeuyc part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TINPqHSsvY

They should make that online system work outside of Japan as well though. Y'know, I'd be willing to play CS2 coin-op rather than being stuck with CS1. :\

This a hundred times. In CT her drives were not that that great, they were only useful to cover distance in certain matchups but else it was better to move her around normally while playing footsies/air footsies. In CS her drives became so good that it pretty much "forced" alll Tao players to abuse them as much as possible (little risk/huge reward). That's one thing I didn't like that much.

Within two weeks we'll know anyway.

There's a shitload of Umineko characters they can choose from before having guests from Higurashi

Do freaking want. need I say more? :D

I am not 100% sure but it should refer to the move having staggering properties.

Even if you don't play online it's good because it will force other people to "accept" that tournament standard is 4:3, it's good to get them used to it so there won't be any complaints at all.

Hehe, yep we can't really tell until them japanese get their hands on Tao Mk.III and begin dissecting her and finding out new setups. But still some of these nerfs look a tad bit too much. One thing people here are forgetting is that she's getting back her old CT cat2. If ArcSys gave it back then it can only mean that there'll be ways for her to end her combos with it and get her precious knockdown back (which means a lot for Tao, especially since they're toning down her overall damage). And despite all this drama I still can't wait to try new Tao and see how she plays, too bad the damn Nesica system rules out non-japanese arcades (else I would have been able to play this in January :[ )

Indeed it would. Let's just hope they release a worldwide patch as soon as they can after the arcade release (but I doubt they will, I mean they might want to squeeze money out of the japanese arcades first before updating the console version).

If they have any ranked mode they should force 4:3 mode since that's the arcade standard. And then let people choose the ratio in custom matches if they really want to play with widescreen.

Heh, I don't about that... he shouldn't be able to reset safely his pressure anymore with the changes they've made to his wolf cancel (even if IB got nerfed), so basically if his pokes get blocked his pressure just ends there and he simply has to "retaliate" rather than keeping up the pressure in wolf form as he's currently able to do. He's going to rely a damn lot on footsies now, imo.

I understand Hawkeye's point of view regarding the fact that Tao really has dumb ways to easily get in and out and pretty much capitalize as much as she wants while avoid ugly shit (doesn't really happen equally in all of the matchups but generally that's how she plays, hit and run), but still some of these changes are a bit way too much. I'm perfectly fine with taunt loop and other high damage stuff being taken out (AB2 combos were cool though, wish they would find a way to keep them), and I'm fine if they make her drive cancels a little less safe to use, but... was it really necessary to nerf her 3C like that? To not even allow it to link a drive move? That's a serious blow, which makes me question how japanese players will cope with it and how they'll be able to find new stuff to combo from. It's not like Tao has plenty of routes, in neutral situation when being on ground you either go for 5B > 6A when you're in range, or go for 5B > 3C. Other routes like 5B > 5C > etc 5B > 2B > etc usually occur during a blockstring (when it's too late to hitconfirm into a 6A or 3C). Oh yeah, they restored the CH 5C > 6C route but you can't expect that setup to occur frequently unless the opponent is mashing or unless you have amazing ground footsies. Which is probably why a lot (if not all) of the Tao players feel a bit desperate. Although we don't know if all these nerfs will actually make it to the final coin-op version, some of them are a little too harsh and practically kill a lot of her basic and standard options she's always had. So yeah, while I understand the attempt in wanting to make the character less autopilot/free-out-of-jail at the same time overdoing it is just going to alienate it too much from its userbase. But again, I think we're still overracting at this and until the official version is out and until we see some japanese pros findind out new shit I won't be pulling my hair yet (but still keep fingers crossed).

They're normal, you simply have to get used to it. The combos you listed simply involve a sequence of jump canceled strings, so if you're having trouble you're probably inputting the jump cancel too late. Just move the stick on 9 as the attack you're jump canceling connects, and then let it go back to neutral position (5) meanwhile you execute the j.C or j.B or whatever and do the same thing again if you're jump-canceling one more time. It only takes practice and in the specific case of Tao it does take quite a bit of patience. Her learning curve may be a little steep especially for people coming from SF background rather than an airdashing fighter background (GG or MB) but it just takes constant practice.

As I said in the earlier post it might still be possible to 236A RC 3C, but we'll probably follow with 2B rather than 2C.

Yep, we don't have any unless them japanese players find a new way to link stuff from her 3C without using meter. Or simply put, right now we have 5B > 6A combos and that's it. But anyway, even though things are looking not that great I still want to be a bit confident and just hope new things will be found out as the game officially comes out. It's just a shame I probably won't have the chance to play this iteration on coin-op due to the Nesica online system (unless they find a way to use this outside of Japan). Stuck with coin-op CS1 :\

If I am not wrong 3C meterless combos will disappear in CS2. At the previous loketest it looks like they changed the move so that it would push opponents farther than 2B's range (hence it shouldn't really be able to link to other stuff anymore without using a rapid cancel). Besides that, even with the current Valk 3C combos are not that convenient since they require him to be on the opponent's face (if you hitconfirm at max range or even at mid range chances are that 2B will still whiff). That, and if you land a air-to-air j.C (opponent being above) you'll already knock the opponent down so when you land you can immediately go into 2B > 5C/2C > etc