yeah i think you're right. I've found that depending on the situation, itsuu>a/b/c can hit at least some frames behind her. anyone know anything more specific about this?
I used to have a ton of trouble with Tao's until i started playing her a lot more evasively. my current theory on playing Tao [as Litchi] is that you want to stay away from her unless you know she's down. Her recovery time is too quick and even though she hits lighter than anyone else in the game, her combos are such that you should treat her like a heavy hitter.
[when half of your health goes down off of being aerial raped in the corner you'll know what I mean.]
I play keep away and try to set up traps for her. One of the things that I think it is important for people to remember about Taokaka is that her character is all about being able to move around you freely and attack quickly which makes reacting hard [especially on the cross up] but as a Litchi player, we too have great maneuverability.
j.d is great for getting away from Tao's tomfoolery and if you gauge distance right you can even get a hit off of her when you throw the staff down not to mention it puts you further away.
j.2d is a little more specialized but still very effective. if you manage to hit tao with either of the two initial attacks and then you launch the staff right away, you can start a pretty decent combo that brings you right to that lovely corner with 6C.
I'll say this, I'm pretty friggen good with itsuu but against Tao its just way too much of a gamble unless you're absolutely sure she's not going to cross you up or bait you so I'd say only use it in combo.
for christs sake do not forget about riichi. in this match hikkake is gonna cover your ass a lot. you know those times when you're all "Ohmagad staff plx!?" [we've all been there:8/:] if you use it right it will at least cross your opponent up if not hit them. [in my experience]
edit: don't forget that you can throw the staff down in mid air with j.D and then riichi to it before you hit the ground. i suggest using the hikkake version but to each his own
I guess where I'm at is just play her a lot more cautious than you do most other characters. I'm sorry if this offends any Tao players, but I gave her a shot online just for poops and giggles and she is absurdly easy to be good with. I mean, if you have the faintest skill in quarter/half circle fighting games, then you can just mash buttons together and throw in a few quarter/half circles and you're already pulling off some good combos with her. with that in mind, your best bet is to flat out just not get hit by her. she punishes off of almost everything. and watch those throws in combo. she can loop you to death with that shit.
that's all I have for now. I just woke up so hopefully this wasn't completely incoherent.
