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Kohaku's Magical Garage / How to build a blockstring
« on: November 20, 2007, 06:47:06 PM »
This is sort of related to the "What is the definition of a blockstring?" topic, but this will go more in depth of how to actually go about making an effective blockstring.
I'll start with a hypothetical situation. What happens if you dash up to your opponent and press 5aaaaaa as quickly as possible? Obviously, if the opponent is not blocking for whatever reason, they'll get hit and will be comboed by the rest of the 5a's, but if they blocked, then they will block the entire chain. In fact, all the opponent really has to do is block the first 5a. He/she can just let go of the controls and they will just autoblock the rest of the 5as. This is due to Melty Blood's autoblock system(I don't know if there's a formal term for this, but I'll use this for now). It's used in a lot of other games as well, like Guilty Gear. One of the consequences of this is that if the opponent is looking to counterpoke you, then they can just mash on their jab while blocking the 5a's and they won't get penalized at all for doing this, since the 5as come right after another without any gap in between. If the autoblock system was removed, they would probably have to add in some sort of red parry system like 3s.
So how would you go about punishing people who try to counterpoke during strings? You would have to create a situation where you trick the opponent into thinking they can attack you, but in reality they can't because they're either behind on frames or have to deal with a very high priority move. The idea is that instead of just pressing buttons fast one right after another in blockstrings, attacks should be delayed, creating very small gaps where the opponent leaves blockstun and is allowed to do something that will probably get interrupted by your next attack. There's a lot of terms for this, eg. frametraps, counter hit setups, staggers, etc but they all refer to this. The difficulty in making these strings is that the gap has to be made small enough so that the opponent will be counterhit if they try anything, but big enough so that they can get out of blockstun.
So first off, here's an example video of a crappy blockstring that unfortunately a lot of players use:
http://www.norematch.com/mb/videos/Blockstrings/Shitty%20Blockstring.wmv
The string in this video is just Akiha 2abc5a, every button pressed immediately after the other. At first glance, it might seem like an acceptable string, since it's very easy to hitconfirm 2abc into a combo or a 5a whiff cancel to make her safe. But if it's the only string that's used, it's not good at all because first off, it gets killed by shield bunkers, and even worse, against better players they will just bara, and this is a lot more painful than a bunker if they're using someone like Kouma or Satsuki.
So how can we come up with something better? First off, we can start with a simple blockstring that almost the entire cast can use. Although the character used in all of the example videos here is Akiha since she's the character I'm most familiar with, the method applies to everyone.
http://www.norematch.com/mb/videos/Blockstrings/Stagger%202a%20into%202a.wmv
The string used in this video is 2a staggered into another 2a. This is a very easy string that is for the most part universal. I programmed the dummy Akiha to do 2a staggered into 2a using the Dummy Record function, and I'm controlling Nanaya and trying to counterpoke after blocked 2a. After blocking the first 2a, I am literally mashing on low jab, but you can see that Nanaya gets counterhit for trying to poke during this string. This is the general way that most characters can deal with people mashing on jab during pressure.
It's also worth mentioning that this is really powerful when used in conjunction with throw setups. Many characters have an easy throw setup with dash momentum 2a(blocked) into throw. The reason this works is because 2as in this game generally have very little blockstun and pushback, and the dash momentum makes it so that the attacker is still in throw range after the dash 2a(blocked). The difference in timing between 2a(blocked) into throw and 2a(blocked) staggered into another 2a is very small, so the guy on defense for the most part has to guess. This is also why characters with command throws have such fearsome stagger strings. Besides the extra damage and frequently the invincibility, command throws usually have longer range, so characters like White Ren and Kouma can do this same setup but without dash momentum, allowing them to attempt this in more situations.
Now we move on to Akiha 2a staggered into 5b:
http://www.norematch.com/mb/videos/Blockstrings/Stagger%202a%20into%205b.wmv
Akiha 5b is one of her most important normals in pressure, as its hitbox goes all the way to the floor, has clash frames, and she has many options off of a blocked 5b. Here, the gap between 2a and 5b is a little smaller than 2a to 2a, since 2a has faster startup than 5b. In this video, Akiha does 2a staggered to 5b three times in a row. Nanaya is mashing on jab the first 2 times, and tries to react to the blocked 2a and counterpoke the third time, but all 3 times Nanaya gets counterhit. 5b knocks down crouchers, so Akiha can just hitconfirm the 5b into a makeshift combo(5b5aa jump cancel into aircombo).
Next is Akiha 2a staggered into 5b again, but with a slightly larger gap:
http://www.norematch.com/mb/videos/Blockstrings/Stagger%202a%20into%205b%20late.wmv
Here, Akiha does the string four times in a row. The first two times, I try to react to the 2a and jab out only to get counterhit by the 5b. The 3rd and 4th time, I am mashing on jab after seeing the blocked 2a and as a result I successfully counterpoke Akiha. What does this mean? Clearly giving 2a into 5b a larger gap loses to mashers, but this is still as good a string as the previous one because we've already shown that mashing during pressure is bad because of 2a staggered into 2a. In fact, this is probably better than the previous string because most good players won't mash, and thus this should catch players trying to react to the blocked 2a with a poke more often.
Next we have another common Akiha stagger string, 5b into 5c:
http://www.norematch.com/mb/videos/Blockstrings/Stagger%205b%20into%205c.wmv
5b is a lvl2 normal, and 5c is a lvl3 normal. This means that 5b puts the defender into blockstun for a longer period of time than 2a, so the gap between 5b and 5c is a bit larger than the one between 2a->2a and 2a->5b. 5c is another important normal in Akiha's pressure game, as it also has clash frames and has a hitbox that is very effective in catching people trying to jump out of pressure. In this video, Akiha does 5b staggered to 5c three times in a row. The first two times, I'm trying to poke out by mashing and by reacting to the 5b, and I get counterhit both times. The 3rd time, I try to jump out after the blocked 5b, and I get hit by 5c.
Finally, yet another common Akiha stagger string, 5c into 2c:
http://www.norematch.com/mb/videos/Blockstrings/Stagger%205c%20into%202c.wmv
Since 5c is a lvl3 normal, it puts the defender into even more blockstun than 5a and 5b, so the gap here is even larger than 2a->5b and 5b->5c. Same explanation as the previous videos apply here, I get counterhit trying to poke out after 5c.
So with all this above information, we combine it to get a good string: 2a5b5c2c. This is a fairly common string that Yukinose uses quite a bit. That gives a total number of three different areas in this string(2a->5b, 5b->5c, 5c->2c) where the defender can be baited into trying to counterpoke. 5b, 5c, and 2c are all easily hitconfirmable to combos if they hit. This is just an example of one of the strings that Akiha can use.
What we can learn from this is that to make a good string, first figure out all your move properties(what moves have clash frames, what their startup is, what lvl they are, etc). Then go into training mode and make use of the Dummy Record. Record your character doing your staggered string in question, and then play it back and try to see if you can poke out or not. Practice and try to get a feel for the timing of the delays, so that the gap is small enough so that the defender cannot safely counterpoke but big enough so that the defender gets out of blockstun. And finally, work on hitconfirm skills as it would suck to successfully bait the defender into attacking but not be able to convert the trap into a full combo.
Also, this isn't the whole story on blockstrings, there's also stuff like whiff cancels to get frame advantage and whiff chains. I might go into these in another post.
I'll start with a hypothetical situation. What happens if you dash up to your opponent and press 5aaaaaa as quickly as possible? Obviously, if the opponent is not blocking for whatever reason, they'll get hit and will be comboed by the rest of the 5a's, but if they blocked, then they will block the entire chain. In fact, all the opponent really has to do is block the first 5a. He/she can just let go of the controls and they will just autoblock the rest of the 5as. This is due to Melty Blood's autoblock system(I don't know if there's a formal term for this, but I'll use this for now). It's used in a lot of other games as well, like Guilty Gear. One of the consequences of this is that if the opponent is looking to counterpoke you, then they can just mash on their jab while blocking the 5a's and they won't get penalized at all for doing this, since the 5as come right after another without any gap in between. If the autoblock system was removed, they would probably have to add in some sort of red parry system like 3s.
So how would you go about punishing people who try to counterpoke during strings? You would have to create a situation where you trick the opponent into thinking they can attack you, but in reality they can't because they're either behind on frames or have to deal with a very high priority move. The idea is that instead of just pressing buttons fast one right after another in blockstrings, attacks should be delayed, creating very small gaps where the opponent leaves blockstun and is allowed to do something that will probably get interrupted by your next attack. There's a lot of terms for this, eg. frametraps, counter hit setups, staggers, etc but they all refer to this. The difficulty in making these strings is that the gap has to be made small enough so that the opponent will be counterhit if they try anything, but big enough so that they can get out of blockstun.
So first off, here's an example video of a crappy blockstring that unfortunately a lot of players use:
http://www.norematch.com/mb/videos/Blockstrings/Shitty%20Blockstring.wmv
The string in this video is just Akiha 2abc5a, every button pressed immediately after the other. At first glance, it might seem like an acceptable string, since it's very easy to hitconfirm 2abc into a combo or a 5a whiff cancel to make her safe. But if it's the only string that's used, it's not good at all because first off, it gets killed by shield bunkers, and even worse, against better players they will just bara, and this is a lot more painful than a bunker if they're using someone like Kouma or Satsuki.
So how can we come up with something better? First off, we can start with a simple blockstring that almost the entire cast can use. Although the character used in all of the example videos here is Akiha since she's the character I'm most familiar with, the method applies to everyone.
http://www.norematch.com/mb/videos/Blockstrings/Stagger%202a%20into%202a.wmv
The string used in this video is 2a staggered into another 2a. This is a very easy string that is for the most part universal. I programmed the dummy Akiha to do 2a staggered into 2a using the Dummy Record function, and I'm controlling Nanaya and trying to counterpoke after blocked 2a. After blocking the first 2a, I am literally mashing on low jab, but you can see that Nanaya gets counterhit for trying to poke during this string. This is the general way that most characters can deal with people mashing on jab during pressure.
It's also worth mentioning that this is really powerful when used in conjunction with throw setups. Many characters have an easy throw setup with dash momentum 2a(blocked) into throw. The reason this works is because 2as in this game generally have very little blockstun and pushback, and the dash momentum makes it so that the attacker is still in throw range after the dash 2a(blocked). The difference in timing between 2a(blocked) into throw and 2a(blocked) staggered into another 2a is very small, so the guy on defense for the most part has to guess. This is also why characters with command throws have such fearsome stagger strings. Besides the extra damage and frequently the invincibility, command throws usually have longer range, so characters like White Ren and Kouma can do this same setup but without dash momentum, allowing them to attempt this in more situations.
Now we move on to Akiha 2a staggered into 5b:
http://www.norematch.com/mb/videos/Blockstrings/Stagger%202a%20into%205b.wmv
Akiha 5b is one of her most important normals in pressure, as its hitbox goes all the way to the floor, has clash frames, and she has many options off of a blocked 5b. Here, the gap between 2a and 5b is a little smaller than 2a to 2a, since 2a has faster startup than 5b. In this video, Akiha does 2a staggered to 5b three times in a row. Nanaya is mashing on jab the first 2 times, and tries to react to the blocked 2a and counterpoke the third time, but all 3 times Nanaya gets counterhit. 5b knocks down crouchers, so Akiha can just hitconfirm the 5b into a makeshift combo(5b5aa jump cancel into aircombo).
Next is Akiha 2a staggered into 5b again, but with a slightly larger gap:
http://www.norematch.com/mb/videos/Blockstrings/Stagger%202a%20into%205b%20late.wmv
Here, Akiha does the string four times in a row. The first two times, I try to react to the 2a and jab out only to get counterhit by the 5b. The 3rd and 4th time, I am mashing on jab after seeing the blocked 2a and as a result I successfully counterpoke Akiha. What does this mean? Clearly giving 2a into 5b a larger gap loses to mashers, but this is still as good a string as the previous one because we've already shown that mashing during pressure is bad because of 2a staggered into 2a. In fact, this is probably better than the previous string because most good players won't mash, and thus this should catch players trying to react to the blocked 2a with a poke more often.
Next we have another common Akiha stagger string, 5b into 5c:
http://www.norematch.com/mb/videos/Blockstrings/Stagger%205b%20into%205c.wmv
5b is a lvl2 normal, and 5c is a lvl3 normal. This means that 5b puts the defender into blockstun for a longer period of time than 2a, so the gap between 5b and 5c is a bit larger than the one between 2a->2a and 2a->5b. 5c is another important normal in Akiha's pressure game, as it also has clash frames and has a hitbox that is very effective in catching people trying to jump out of pressure. In this video, Akiha does 5b staggered to 5c three times in a row. The first two times, I'm trying to poke out by mashing and by reacting to the 5b, and I get counterhit both times. The 3rd time, I try to jump out after the blocked 5b, and I get hit by 5c.
Finally, yet another common Akiha stagger string, 5c into 2c:
http://www.norematch.com/mb/videos/Blockstrings/Stagger%205c%20into%202c.wmv
Since 5c is a lvl3 normal, it puts the defender into even more blockstun than 5a and 5b, so the gap here is even larger than 2a->5b and 5b->5c. Same explanation as the previous videos apply here, I get counterhit trying to poke out after 5c.
So with all this above information, we combine it to get a good string: 2a5b5c2c. This is a fairly common string that Yukinose uses quite a bit. That gives a total number of three different areas in this string(2a->5b, 5b->5c, 5c->2c) where the defender can be baited into trying to counterpoke. 5b, 5c, and 2c are all easily hitconfirmable to combos if they hit. This is just an example of one of the strings that Akiha can use.
What we can learn from this is that to make a good string, first figure out all your move properties(what moves have clash frames, what their startup is, what lvl they are, etc). Then go into training mode and make use of the Dummy Record. Record your character doing your staggered string in question, and then play it back and try to see if you can poke out or not. Practice and try to get a feel for the timing of the delays, so that the gap is small enough so that the defender cannot safely counterpoke but big enough so that the defender gets out of blockstun. And finally, work on hitconfirm skills as it would suck to successfully bait the defender into attacking but not be able to convert the trap into a full combo.
Also, this isn't the whole story on blockstrings, there's also stuff like whiff cancels to get frame advantage and whiff chains. I might go into these in another post.
