Skye

1. Lurk the forums, preferably the character you want to play. 2. Get a run down on combos and match ups. 3. Go into training mode to hone your execution. 4. Start playing human opponents. 5. Continue lurking for new info. 6. Repeat steps 3-5 when necessary.

I like Arakune's teleports. I remember it was a rule of thumb to never use them in CT, but then I watched Souji videos.

That's our issue to why this won't work.

You can dive cancel with any unused dive variation. So if you use the j2a, you can dive cancel with b or c, provided you didn't already use one of them. Likewise if you use j2b, you can cancel with a or c. I dive cancel with c.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbBZ6MZf688 Signal - Jin combo movie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbBZ6MZf688 Signal - Jin combo movie

At the end of the day, it is. Well a tier list is composed from the highest level of play, not necessarily even, because there's no set way to determine how much better one player is from another. That's why tier lists change over time.

I could easily get the money to pay for venue and participation. From there, my worries would be getting a ride and borrowing a PS3 stick. Can't guarantee that I'll get one of my own by then, and I suppose until I can solve that particular issue, I'll reserve myself.

I always saw a tier list as an accumulative match up chart dumbed down with rankings. Of course as time progresses, characters and tiers change the more is discovered about them that changes a few match ups, for better or for worse. Sure it's a list in theory, but it's reflected from what is seen in practice.

Ragna won't always 6a you're air to ground. If he does, then that works out for you. You can do more than just j214x to bait and punish them. And with proper conditioning, Ragna will be too scared to. A fight is a two way street, if Ragna is rushing you down, he has to commit to it or let you go free, since his "jump cancellable on block" moves are short ranged. He'll have no time to bait anything if he's on the offensive. That's a luxury Arakune has.

The new tier list is more akin to SJ's character ranking, not an actual tier list, unless those top players incorporated the accumulated match ups when ranking the character.

There's a typo on Ragna's 6a notes. "5-16F head invun, hit cause float, 70% same mvoe prorate, final 3F(17-19F) has more vertical reach"

I said it was very risky. On the flip side, there is no 100% certainty that Ragna will destroy Arakune. Again, it's not a 100% rush down, it's condition heavy. Also, it's not a full fledged strategy to resort to. Alternate, adapt to the changes. It is possible to force Ragna into a defensive stance. You don't seem to understand the concept of stuffing an attack, and unless the Ragna is mashing 5b and ID, Arakune can get an offensive. And even if Ragna is mashing, bait and punish them. Stuffing an attack is a player tactic to employ, not a character trait, so it's not a necessary element of the match up.

Hey, what's the 100% corner combo? Wasn't it [5a > 6b] IAD jd > 5d > ja > jc > jd? I couldn't do that. Too hard. So I made an alternative. I made IAD 5d > ja > jc > j2a > DC 5d > sja > jc > jd Does 1920 if I recall, 100% curse, works on everyone (I'm assuming including Makoto). For Arakune, Rachel and Carl, you are required to j/9 to hit them with the jc. Everyone else, you can j/8. It won't work on some characters if you super jump the first air combo.

Ok, time for Skye先輩's tips. You can do this match up 2 ways, you can go for an condition heavy rtsd strategy, going for frame traps, conditioning and DP baiting, or you can go purely defensive and by that, I don't mean block his shit, but of course do that if it comes to it, Arakune should rather dodge the fuck out of Ragna, and wait for a chance to slip. RTSD Pros Hard to predict Good Conditioning Bait DPs into FC (or other 100% curse) combos. Quick curse with continued pressure. More meter gain than a purely defensive approach RTSD Cons Very risky. Conditioning is player specific. If you fuck up, it's Ragna time. Hard to regain momentum once lost. Cat & Mouse Pros Tests patience of opponent, impatience breeds recklessness. Opens room for unexpected kune counter attacks. Good when point lead is acquired. Timed Clouds and party bugs make for good zoning = less room to maneuver for Ragna. Cat & Mouse Cons [*]Requires yomi and good mobile execution. [*]Negative Penalty. [*]Zoning must be well timed and positioned. Other tips [*]This is a great match up to learn to block. IB > backdash or jump out is essential and choosing which option determines how safe will Arakune be. [*]Optimize dodging over blocking, especially if Ragna has meter, but don't get too confident, block when necessary. [*]ID whiffs on a crouching Arakune. [*]Ragna can ID out of 6a (blocked) > 5d, to mix him up, do 6a > 2b, on hit, follow up to 2a > 5b > 5d, if Ragna IDs, block and punish. [*]If Ragna likes doing meaty lows on your wake up, do 6c > 5c > 2c on wake up, it will stuff any low (or general 2x {3c included} variation) Ragna can do, if you have meter, follow up with RC > 5d > ja > ja > jc > j2a > DC 5D - 80% (if dive cancelling is too hard then just do jd for 70%) [*]Try not to meet Ragna in the air, his jc will beat most your pokes. If forced into an air v air situation, ja is the preferred poke. [*]Condition DPs. [*]6a is more annoying but less threatening, because Ragna can gatling or jump cancel on block, instead of a descent, try jd, since Ragna has to preemptively 6a, you can jd on reaction. [*]ID is less annoying, but more threatening, faster start up means, it more or less has to be yomi'd instead of reacted to. Frame 1 HBF invulnerability, safe if Ragna has meter. Try to dodge this attack, either way, unlike 6a, you can punish this on block easy. [*]Backdash midscreen HFs, Arakune has a guaranteed punish, good to know if Ragna likes to include it in his pressure. [*]Barrier block his strings, with good barrier, Ragna has to take risks or expend meter to continue pressure. [*]If at all possible, curse Ragna from a short distance as to give him far less time to run when cursed. [*]If a cursed Ragna has half health left, go for primers. [*]Be fast, maximize Arakune's movement. You'll need speed to keep up with him.

Give it a shot.