The Ever Present BlazBlue
I spent some time today playing ranked matches in BlazBlue. I learned where some of my weaknesses are from the tournament, so I've been watching for them. I got to play a good Taokaka player online twice, which was rare and very useful. I've discovered that one of the things I was doing wrong against Taokaka is spacing.
Normally, I like keeping opponents at the maximum range of a 5A attack. This doesn't really work out well with Taokaka, since her 2A is faster than Noel's 2A, and Noel's 5A goes right over her head when she's crouching. What I should be doing instead is keeping her at 5B range. While the 5B goes over her head just as much as the 5A, at that range you're also at the edge of 2C. If Taokaka is starting her B&B combo, she's probably going to be starting with 2A. The correct response, then, is to backdash and immediately 2C. This should catch her in the middle of her move, and since she should be ducking, should combo into 3C etc.
I also fought a couple of Arakunes, and found that I have a similar problem against them. My usual range is exactly correct to be hit by Arakune's j.2A. This, of course, he can combo that into cursing and juggling you. I also have a problem with his 6C. My gut reaction, and what I always do when I see it coming out, is to 5A. The problem with this is that from frame 7 on, Arakune is airborne, and my 5A just whiffs. I think there should be a way to hit him out of it. The prime candidates right now would be 6A and 6C, the more likely being 6A. If neither of these work, I suppose I'll just have to get used to blocking through it, which is a bad option for me because it allows him to get away from me and reset his zoning.
Finally, I fought an insane Noel player. The first thing he did was yell in my ear. Apparently he uses the same color as me, and ranted at me for stealing it (I picked first, so he got the next color). He was saying things like "yes infantry Noel, I will take you back" over and over again. It was kind of creepy. He was a really good player, got off all the combos and everything, but I can't help wondering if part of the reason that he beat me was that he was crazy. It was totally impossible to predict what he was going to do next, because he kept doing really random nonsensical things. Occasionally he hit, and sometimes he got a combo off of it, which he completed. I won the first round, but then he got weirder and weirder. I suppose that's one way to win at fighting games.
Anyway, good times...
Normally, I like keeping opponents at the maximum range of a 5A attack. This doesn't really work out well with Taokaka, since her 2A is faster than Noel's 2A, and Noel's 5A goes right over her head when she's crouching. What I should be doing instead is keeping her at 5B range. While the 5B goes over her head just as much as the 5A, at that range you're also at the edge of 2C. If Taokaka is starting her B&B combo, she's probably going to be starting with 2A. The correct response, then, is to backdash and immediately 2C. This should catch her in the middle of her move, and since she should be ducking, should combo into 3C etc.
I also fought a couple of Arakunes, and found that I have a similar problem against them. My usual range is exactly correct to be hit by Arakune's j.2A. This, of course, he can combo that into cursing and juggling you. I also have a problem with his 6C. My gut reaction, and what I always do when I see it coming out, is to 5A. The problem with this is that from frame 7 on, Arakune is airborne, and my 5A just whiffs. I think there should be a way to hit him out of it. The prime candidates right now would be 6A and 6C, the more likely being 6A. If neither of these work, I suppose I'll just have to get used to blocking through it, which is a bad option for me because it allows him to get away from me and reset his zoning.
Finally, I fought an insane Noel player. The first thing he did was yell in my ear. Apparently he uses the same color as me, and ranted at me for stealing it (I picked first, so he got the next color). He was saying things like "yes infantry Noel, I will take you back" over and over again. It was kind of creepy. He was a really good player, got off all the combos and everything, but I can't help wondering if part of the reason that he beat me was that he was crazy. It was totally impossible to predict what he was going to do next, because he kept doing really random nonsensical things. Occasionally he hit, and sometimes he got a combo off of it, which he completed. I won the first round, but then he got weirder and weirder. I suppose that's one way to win at fighting games.
Anyway, good times...