Ronove

A good way to avoid that is to input something else inbetween the motion, possibly something that won't cancel the input. For example 214B214C, your pounce super will still come out and you'll "time yourself" while avoiding to see other stuff coming out. I also do this with her berserker barrage super, 236B236D (while being on ground of course) works wonders just as well.

Rushing the input may cause that. Just do it fluently and you should always have the pounce super come out.

character is Kyouko Karasuma from the manga Karasuma Kyouko no Jikenbo, character design by Yusuke Kozaki.

No doubt an arcade stick is a whole lot better in general, not just for executing the TL.

Not really "randomness". Now it's just part of her high risk/high reward mixup. It was really dumb easy to score a CH 5B in CT or a CH 5C poke, so they did a good thing in removing that option. @Cryingvoid You can still use 6C in blockstrings and you can still use it to catch opponents from far when they're falling on the ground trying to do something, and even if they block it you're going to make them aware of that option, so it's still ok. Tao's offensive game relies all in mentally conditioning the opponent on when and how your pressure is going to end between a pause and an other. Sometimes you'll want to end a blockstring prematurely to go for a throw mixup or a jump cancel, you condition them to be aware of that and the following times you throw something different in order to confuse them and get in. 6C is part of that whole mindgame. When they think they can jump back or that they can start doing something that's when you're going to use it. But with that said, 2C now is much better than 6C for that purpose, since you can link it into 6C. You'll notice a lot of japanese Taos now include 2C in their blockstrings for that purpose: keeping the opponent honest at even at max range and at the same time still making them afraid of lows. That's also when you're going to try risky mixups like her 236CC at a certain range.

It doesn't matter if you TL off it or if you go 2A > 3C >etc, the point of using 2A is that it's her best hitconfirming tool besides 5B. Which is why you see a lot of japanese players using it. It doesn't matter if the damage is poor, hitconfirming and getting in everytime is more important.

Simple combo to train cat2loop? 5B > 3C > 5D~B > 5C > 2D~6 > cat2loop with as many reps as the combo allows you to (usually 3 reps). It's a piece of cake to perform because the window to perform each rep is pretty huge. You don't have to rush it at all.

It's part of her pressure mixup, you can't always hitconfirm from 5B or you're going to be too predictable.

just do it like you're "drumming" on the stick, keeping the same rhythm and you'll be autopiloting her regular 5B > 6A > taunt loop almost every time. It's not a rushed motion, but it's steady.

I don't know about the rest of Europe (I know one Tao player in Austria, Bachmut), but over here Tao is actually one of the most played characters (although I'm like the only Tao of the local northern scene, the other Taos are in the central italian scene), much to my amazement. Even our girl gamers of the local scene use her. :3 But heh yeah, in general she is not really as used as one would think. One reason might that she's not exactly a pick up'n'play kind of character.

Might not be practical but it's worth to know it, thanks I'll give it a try. I totally forgot about that setup. Considering how a lot of opponents don't respect Tao when approaching air-to-ground, the chances of getting a CH 6A are still pretty high in a lot of matchups. Damn good stuff.

Thanks, I'll try the second one you mentioned. I'm currently using 6A > 2D~6 > j.2D~C > j.C > j.5D~6 > j.C > .. > 9D~6 > j.2D~3 > 236Bx5 for around 2.4k damage. I tried extending the last bit by adding one more j.C > 9D~6 it looks like the opponent ends up slightly too high for Tao to continue with the CAT2 ender. Which is weird because there is a single taunt combo that has a similar string which does work. I guess it depends on the fact that the combo is started from a 6A. Anyway, I'm going to experiment more and see if there's a way to get some form of oki ender off antiair 6A.

Question: Most damaging combo off anti-air 6A? Since her 6A has been improved and it's definetely a must use now especially in certain matchup (like vs Hakumen).

They're only techable if you're screwing the timing. Of course, if you're talking about online play than anything that Tao does is going to be "easily techable" considering that some of her moves in CS have even less blockstun/hitstun. Either live with it or just don't use her online. In any case there are a couple of really stupid combos that anyone bare people with 0 quality connections should be able to do. One of these is: 5B > 3C > 5D~6 > j.C > 5D~6 > j.C > wait > 9D~9 > j.C > 9D~9 > 3D~3 > 236Bx5 you can even end it with a cat2loop up till x3 repetitions for around 300 more damage. This is really a stupid dumb combo that you can use online and still do fairly decent damage with. You won't go past 4K (unless you start the combo with an unprorated 3C) but atleast you'll still be dealing enough damage. Even single taunt combos should be quite autopilot online (all depending on the quality of the connection, obviously).

They're amusement cho vids, so it's no Kazu nor Keita (who both play in the Tokyo area). As I said in the post above yours, pink Tao in Kansai region means it's most likely either Tsujikawa or Izayoi Matoi.

As an additional tip, I'd suggest you practice taunt looping on Jin first (he's actually one of the easiest character to perform TL on), then switch to practice it on Arakune which has a stricter timing than the majority of the cast. As for the timing between 214D and j.2D~B, at the beginning if you still haven't figured it out the lenght of the "short pause" that's inbetween them, try doing 2147D instead of 214D (basically TK cat leap). The time you spend from moving the stick from position 4 to 7 is the time that you actually should let pass before inputting the following j.2D~B. Once you figure the timing out you won't need that trick anymore and will just do regular 214D > short pause > j.2D~B naturally. Finally, as I mentioned in an earlier post, listening to your own button presses (disabling the audio from the game) is also a good way to figure out the timing and the rhythm when you're still in the first stages of the learning process.

Izayoi Matoi and Denpa use pink as well. However, Neo-Amusement Space A-cho is located in Kyoto if I am not wrong, so the pink Tao in these vids is most likely either Izayoi Matoi or Tsujikawa.

My 2 cents from my initial matchup experience: the charge move can be baited if you're already in the air. Good Hazamas will likely try to stay in the air, using their chains as air to ground/air-to-air zoning. Watch out for his j.B (the kick), he can easily go for j.B > flash kick super if not through the grab. I need to test how reliable is Tao's improved 6A against that. Other than that, this matchup is pretty similar to the Lambda/Nu one except Hazama really can't pressure like Lambda does, but he's definetely better at punishing if he has meter. You either manage to stick on him right away and keep the pressure, or you patiently move around with jumps. His sweep has really good range, so be aware of your spacing even when you're landing on ground.

Every CAT2 loop rep adds +150/200 damage, I'd say it's worth it since I personally find it really easy to do. Just do the 3D~3 > 236B without rushing it, it doesn't really have any sort of super strict timing. It's character specific though, so maybe the reason you're finding it hard is because of that. For practice purposes, try doing this simple string on Noel or Ragna: 236CC > 2D~9 > j.C > 9D~9 > 3D~3 > 236B > 3D~3 > 236B > 3D~3 > 236Bx5 it should be good training to get the right rhythm/timing for the CAT2loop.

Yeah, It's basically like... she falls in a different way from the majority of the cast. First off it's pretty hard to get her at the right height during midscreen tauntloop because it seems she's always bouncing too high no matter how much the delay is, and the more you delay the stricter becomes the timing for the ~B cancel. Second off, even by delaying the the j.2D~B that follow the 214D it's still hard to "push her forward" like the taunt loop normally does with the rest of the cast. Thankfully taunt looping Noel at the corner is not as problematic. Heh yeah, I actually found out that Jin is one of the easiest characters to land the taunt loop on, midscreen or corner. Against him it's definetely better to use taunt loops. Oh by the way, here's a really simple no-taunt BnB that does good damage: 5B > 3C > 5D~6 > j.C > 5D~6 > j.C > ... > 9D~9 > j.C > 9D~9 > 3D~3 > 236B > 3D~3 > 236Bx5 Does around 3.3k damage. If you manage to start it from a 3C damage is around 3.8 On some character it is possible to extend the cat2loop up to three reps making it 3.9k It's a decent alternative to the 3C > 5D~B route.

I've been practicing one of the combos suggested by XDest: 5B > 6A > j.2D~B > Taunt > 214D > .. >j.2D~B > 5C > 2D~6 > j.2D~C > j.C > 6D~6 > j.C > .. > 9D~9 > j.C > 9D~9 > 3D~3 > j.236Bx5 [3830] However it seems like I can't fully land on it on Jin. He seems to tech away before the last hit of her CAT2. Also regarding taunt loopì: am I the only having trouble landind a full taunt loop on Noel in midscreen position? Either she manages to recover a fraction before I land the taunt or like the ~B cancel won't come out because her landing will somehow activate before the cancel does. It's weird, because I can do it no problem on Jin and they should not technically not be that different.

Heh, I guess it all boils down to this most likely. I haven't really fought many of them so this is probably why I'm still in the phase where I'm figuring out how to respond to her new dash attacks and what are the holes in her hit'n'run offense. Thanks everyone for the tips!

I swear I got counterhit by her 236C while attempting to 2D... it's like, the vertical hitbox of that move was still able to catch Tao during the 2D animation while I couldn't do anything to avoid it/block it. But thanks for the tip regarding the superjump, I should rely on this way more with this matchup. Oh, I wanna try that CH 2A as well. If it works then it's problem solved, Lambda players will have to be a little less reckless in their guard breaking game. And I didn't know that her B projectile could stop her spike chaser! That's good. As for her 5A, it's her ghetto antiair, but it's actually pretty easy to bait with jumps and feints. That and I think that a well timed j.B should still beat it. her 2B is still pretty good (especially with a Lambda player that has good footsies), although it doesn't really get into any dangerous combo it will allow them to combo -> knockdown and gradually push you to the corner. Her corner pressure game is really bad for Tao specially without meter. Even if you do manage to escape chances are that part of your guard primers will be gone. And yeah I agree that IAD works well a few times, but as "simple" as it may sound sometimes even just a plain 5D~B from full screen or a quick dash from a shorter distance is enough if you sense that they're going zone the air with swords.

Hmm. They're not really good options, IMO. Or atleast with the little amount of experience that I gathered, her 236C is really good at shutting down Tao's movements when approaching from full screen. Like, even if you try to bait it that move truly has a huge hitbox so chances are that it might still catch you and lock you down anyway, and worst thing of all is that if it does hit it will lead to one of her most painful setups/combos. I think that rather than "mixing things up" with movement (because a good Lambda will zone you or make you choose a path most of the times) would be to try to not give them the opportunity of starting their annoying hit'n'run guard breaking game. It's like, stick on them and try not let them get away, but it's still hard since Tao's pressure game does have forced holes and even with better ~B cancels the opponent can still look for chances to escape (especially Lambda). Of course, it's not a bad matchup per se. Lambda's damage output is low unless she hitconfirms from a 236C, and I'd say if we manage get into a taunt loop and end it with oki ender we're basically on the good way to either force them to waste their burst right away or win the round. But it's also true that Lambda benefits way more from burst usage in this matchup compared to Tao. Tao is at a huge risk of getting guard broken while Lambda barely risks anything unless Tao wants to use 50% meter for her Hexa Edge and you feel like splashing it to attempt a guard break... It looks pretty even but it's somehow not as "easy" to figure out compared to the previous CT matchup. I'd really like to hear TaoFTW's and Rin's opinion (and tips) on this given that they've played experienced Lambda players.

Thought I'd start this thread since I'm currently learning this matchup and is unexpectedly proving to be harder than I thought it would. How do you guys deal with her corner pressure? Her 236C should be "unsafe" but even if it doesn't hit it will still keep Tao locked in position (and it's an air unblockable) not to mention that it does have a huge hitbox. That move coupled with swords and her 236D~C is really annoying since it gets really easy for them to cause guard break (especially if Tao used a burst). Any tips on how to move around efficiently? As hilarious as it may sound I felt I had less trouble manouvering around Nu.