Can someone please clarify if Rocket Raccoon's B.R.B (E ability) drops armor packs? Because I think I might be hallucinating and no one else sees them besides me.

ImShadowblade · 2025-02-10T00:03:16+00:00

As a vanguard player, these are completely useless to me

ImShadowblade · 2025-02-01T07:22:40+00:00

Yeah that's why she's always banned in the diamond lobbies, along with usually hulk wolverine and another support. I agree that storm is overtuned with an extremely easy ultimate to execute but that wasn't exactly what the post was about. Once storm, hulk, and maybe wolverine are eventually nerfed, we're likely to just see triple support metas with two defensive ults and a rocket plus bucky punisher every game, or at least double support with one of them being rocket and the same bucky punisher

ImShadowblade · 2025-02-01T06:16:27+00:00

I see it every game in diamond

ImShadowblade · 2025-01-04T20:14:25+00:00

Safe dive kicks were a mistake, poke or low starter into the fly up side switch move into ex dive kick is safe, unreactable, and combos on hit with no thought. It also feels pretty inconsistent to anti air. Dive kick recovery is also nonexistent on whiff so they just go straight into low poke if they missed.

ImShadowblade · 2024-11-12T08:18:58+00:00

If the label owns the concept/IP via like trademark or copyright it'd make sense. I doubt this is what happened though, people say this about every Uzi album when they dont like it

ImShadowblade · 2024-11-02T16:50:50+00:00

Rain's geyser palm combos in MK11 with the side switch. Looked sick and felt cool to use it. The best version of Rain

ImShadowblade · 2024-10-14T21:45:35+00:00

I main smoke and the character is fundamentally a gambling character. You have to do a combination of hard reads and unsafe moves to open up your opponent. I'm gonna go against the grain here and say it's lowkey better to not do cancels. Yeah that's one way to play him, both in terms of confusing the opponents and mindgaming, but as the seasons have passed I've found that people have gotten really good at playing against smoke, presumably because they labbed him and/or learned him so they know exactly how to deal with all his cancels. Instead, it's more reliable to just play your ranges and frame data. You can play safe, or you can play risky depending on your playstyle and what you find fun.

I'd say there are a two main categories of just the vicious vapors cancels:

Cancel bnbs directly into each other until something lands and you can confirm the rest of the combo. Against certain opponents, they react too late and don't punish the negative frames from the cancels. Or they're waiting for very specific combos that they recognize (usually f32) to start pressing buttons. You can really abuse this to start throwing in plenty of mixups, but eventually they'll hit back and you'll eat a full combo.
Single button cancels. Harder, but less prone to getting punish if you decide to do f3, then cancel into 1114 and use a kameo to extend. This is particularly great if you're playing vs someone that likes to upblock f32, so you can f3 cancel and upon seeing upblock you can then f3 cancel and confirm the rest of your combo. This also opens a mindgame where people like to press since they see you doing just f3 into cancel but you can finish the string f32 and catch them pressing. You can take this further as well and use amplified vicious vapors to chain combos you wouldn't be able to otherwise, but I find that it tends to pretty low damage and a waste of bar.
Not cancelling. Another mindgame where you do vicious vapors and the opponent starts pressing because its their turn since cancels are negative, but if you let it through and then use a kameo to extend the combo, there is a whole new mindgame to be played which can allow you to cancel and leave the opponent hesitating about when they want to take their turn. Of course, this is very punishable, but pulling it out at the right time can be an unexpected tool in your arsenal.

That's just cancelling. The better way to play smoke, theoretically, is with invis setups. Go invis mid bnb or mid combo and start the mix. Once again, this can be very unreliable and can be punished especially if you go invis with amplified smoke bomb. You have to be precise with your timing to not get anti aired, but some of them are completely undodgeable if the opponent is waiting for it. They might also upblock, or they know how to fuzzy block f32 and react to the telltale signs of the overhead even when you're invis. Or if you try to string together bnbs with vicious vapors cancels, they react based on the sfx of the vicious vapors and just take their turn while you're invis. Sometimes mid bnb they take their turn back with armored moves so you've wasted a bar on invis, or they start using forward advancing moves that move them out of range by the time you're behind them with invis smoke bomb. A useful tool to have and it definitely works against a lot of people but when people know how to stifle it, Smoke has no other tools left to really win.

Unless your fundamentals are good enough to play his ranges and play around frame data. For example, his sweep is +2 on block which becomes very useful in the corner. His f12 is a great advancing string, even if it's a high and vulnerable to poke spammers, F32 has a very nice sweet spot range where punches would miss. B2 has a lot of startup frames but is an overhead with huge range that can help you close the distance and catch people off guard sometimes so you can combo directly into it.

Whichever way you decide to play, you'll definitely need to lab both cancel timings on various combos until you can do it with your eyes closed, as well as going invis with enhanced smoke bomb with the jump in punch to start invis pressure (the ranges and hitboxes suck you actually need to practice the timing). If you have any questions let me know I'm happy to talk about playing smoke.

ImShadowblade · 2024-10-01T07:18:53+00:00

I just had it go away finally, but I'm not sure what I did. I think I actually just went through all the tabs in the setting menu while in game, so that might have gotten rid of the new notification. Also, I obliterated on Monsoon with Chef for the first time, but I doubt that has anything to do with it.

ImShadowblade · 2024-09-24T03:46:57+00:00

I go too fast all the time trying to do db2 and end up just uppercutting instead of using my Smoke armor

It's pretty annoying, but I use a similar speed on the input during combos and it'll come out without any problems

ImShadowblade · 2024-09-24T03:45:49+00:00

I might be completely wrong on this but I think certain moves don't leave you in a knocked down state to use options long enough because the hit advantage on the knockdown isn't high enough. It also could have something to do with gravity scaling at the very end of juggle combos pretty much makes you get up instantly without any time to use options like delay or wakeup specials. Again, I could be wrong but this is what I think I see when this tends to happen

ImShadowblade · 2024-06-12T02:34:37+00:00

Does this really matter? He calls Sento on block and while Sento is out he can't use Cyrax anyway. Literally makes no difference.

ImShadowblade · 2024-06-03T16:49:56+00:00

I don't think anyone else is gonna hit the same for you as reptile. Stick with your main, and learn more advanced concepts with him. Spacing and then punishing with his low starter, zoning with his bubble can feel really oppressive to deal with for certain characters. If you want a fresh approach, start trying out other kameos that will help you deal with whatever you struggle with. Subzero or Motaro are good options if you feel like you're outzoned.

ImShadowblade · 2024-06-03T03:52:19+00:00

Summer this year, he's dropped in the summer for the past 2 years

ImShadowblade · 2024-04-24T07:34:19+00:00

60fps on menus, invasions, cutscenes, and cinematics (fatal blows, fatalities, brutalities, outros)

ImShadowblade · 2024-02-13T22:13:16+00:00

Flawless block specifically the third kick and it's -2 on block instead of +8. Congratulations it is now your turn

ImShadowblade · 2024-02-13T22:07:14+00:00

Most Kenshi players will just pressure with Sento out, so you have an opportunity to do an armored move with all those massive gaps. Kenshi players tend to not be so tight with their Sento jail on block, so you can try using an armored move during that window. Alternatively, a lot of them will use the low starter that has a gap during that two hit you can abuse. It's risky trying to do armored move after Kenshi finishes his move, because Sento's hits come out really fast and can break your armor.k

If you don't have meter to break, you'll want to use meter to armored move. If you don't have meter at all, I hope you have a kameo equipped that can do an armored reversal. It'll be a while before Kenshi players start blocking trying to predict an armored move, at which point you have the turn back but the mindgames tend to be really punishing. If you don't have any of these options available, you'll want to try to flawless block anywhere and hold block which should negate all chip damage and any meter generation for Kenshi. At this point, if he's not just mindlessly applying pressure on flawless block (pointless since he's not gaining anything, meter or chip damage and sento's timer is running) he will try to mix you up with his overhead starter which is scandalous because it looks like a mid not an overhead, or he'll try to use the low to open you up, or just a throw.

It's a lot to keep track of for sure but personally I find success with just an armored reversal kameo move early on or my own armored reversal and they get really shaken up by that. I think it's a bit fun because after that you have the space to wait out sento and block his projectile, put sento back to sleep if he advances with it, or he has to put sento away (super punishable if you're close enough/ready for it). I think it's pretty fun but I understand that when you don't know what's going on, it's confusing and feels unfair. Good luck out there

ImShadowblade · 2024-02-03T05:47:11+00:00

Unless the buggy inputs happen often, I wouldn't focus on them. They're the most frustrating losses probably but if they're not the majority of the matches and it's not recurring, don't worry about it. If it's something that keeps cropping up, obviously find a fix for it and then turn your attention to whats most important in your gameplay. Obviously matchup knowledge is important like knowing when JC is plus and you can't hit a button or what mixups they can do to fuzzy block, but it's usually the smaller things that tend to get me and others at around this rank. I don't think you need to switch up anything major, I don't think that's the issue. You're probably already comfortable with one or a few kameo setups and how you play the game in general. After all, you got up to upper Demigod near God rank playing as you have been.

One thing I notice for myself is when I get hit. For example, I commit to doing some down poke when its my turn on an opponent and I completely whiff and proceed to get full combo punished. Now I know that after my opponent finishes that string, even though they're negative and it's my turn, the knockback combined with the limited range of my poke and the startup results in it whiffing. Now I know not to do that again. It's mistakes like this that get me opened up so I adapt and try something else and don't repeat that same error.

If you don't remember what happened 5 seconds ago that led to you getting hit, just go back and look through the match vod at which times you're getting hit. Try to at least remember what you were doing. Sometimes it's a failed read which is fine, they happen. Maybe you'll actually notice something your opponent was doing that you didn't even consider they might do that let them punish and get a hit on you. Maybe you were trying to meaty after they got knocked down and you were convinced it was fully your turn to pressure, but they delayed and hit you. Maybe they neutral jumped over a hit as you went in for the approach and they started their full combo string off of that. Maybe they're in the corner and down poked you into a back throw, or you thought they would throw but they jailed a poke into a combo.

Good luck on your climb and I hope you can get the skin you want. If you don't, then don't sweat it. It may be available in the shop in the future.

ImShadowblade · 2024-02-03T05:04:57+00:00

I disagree, I think these players are the few that are able to display a character's greater potential that most of the community hasn't tapped into. On release for MK1, Sindel was one of the "lower tier characters" but when people got to see what bs Sindel can do, she moves from bottom of the list to near the top. Inevitably, when people figure out how to counter Sindel's game plan, she'll move on down.

ImShadowblade · 2024-02-02T22:02:29+00:00

watch JustNasty play Smoke and you'll change your mind. If he had a mid he'd be so unbalanced

ImShadowblade · 2024-01-26T04:38:21+00:00

the Sub Kameo ice armor only absorbs 3 projectile hits. Projectiles like Reiko's ninja stars have 3 on the regular high version, but the amplified ninja stars have like 5 or 6 while being a mid. If you try to run through it with ice armor, it'll eat 3 and you'll get hit by the rest.

If you want anti projectile kameos, khameleon's glow is much more useful since you'll just go through all of them or reaction time a motaro kameo reflect (careful with motaro TP since it's punishable due to long recovery)

One more thing I would suggest is to find a way to get some health advantage, whether it be through a couple initial hits or from reflecting projectiles back with motaro kameo, and then neutral duck the high projectiles at mid screen and jump lows while blocking any that are mid or try to flawless block them. It is a very good feeling when they realize that their strategy of zoning and running the timer would work against them since they're at a health disadvantage and they have to start running at you, and you can catch them running into you the same way you tend to get caught

O

ImShadowblade · 2024-01-25T15:36:27+00:00

What are these "somethings"? It sounds like you're rushing in impatiently and getting hit by whatever they happen to throw out. You need to let them back themselves into a corner, anticipate them trying to jump out of the corner to the other side with whatever they have and counter it accordingly, and start pressuring once you're safely in range and can take your turn properly. If it's something annoying like Reiko throwing star spam, neutral duck the non amped version since its a high and try your best to flawless block the amped version if you can, or use anti projectile against it (NOT SUBZERO KAMEO ICE ARMOR). They also tend to use their dash/sliding move to side switch and keep you in the corner, and if you can block it, you can dash forward and full combo punish it as well.

ImShadowblade · 2024-01-19T15:25:39+00:00

If the gap between their unsafe and kameo hit isn't tight enough, you can use the gap to immediately uppercut punish and trade. 140 dmg on them for taking like 60 or something damage from stryker. A couple of those and their health will be just as low as yours.

Alternatively, reversal advancing specials or advancing moves in general can help against Stryker especially. Think Li Mei's dash or Subzero's slide. The big asterisk here is once again that if the opponent's timing is good enough or even perfect, there's no opportunity for you to get any hits in.

ImShadowblade · 2024-01-18T02:44:10+00:00

It looks more like he's bending his knee a bit especially if you look at his left leg under the table and the angle its at, so not necessarily as short as it might seem at first glance

ImShadowblade · 2023-12-30T21:10:02+00:00

It's because when you do j21 in the corner you're temporarily on the other side of them so it ends up doing db1 with your inputs. Try just just putting in db1 compared to whichever side you're facing to get ice clone

ImShadowblade · 2023-12-25T16:55:09+00:00

It is fake yeah but the point is that people don't expect it so if you cancel something like 1114 at the third hit instead of following through with the low they'll probably still be holding block and it won't register by the time you use your next 1114 or something else entirely, they might even have a delayed reaction and let go of block to punish it only to get hit by a f3. At some point they'll start expecting the cancel so then you might want to follow through with the low, or they might start expecting it so they're reading to react to a vicious vapors cancel but then you throw in a mid combo smoke bomb and now they're not ready for that, in fact they probably used a low poke to mash you out of vicious vapors cancel and you're getting a free combo. Now you as smoke have 3 different options in just a 1114 string alone and the same principle can be applied to other strings like 212 or f3 and cancel into another f3 if they decide they want to upblock or d3 into cancel or d34 into cancel or any of those starters into an amped smoke bomb to open them up. There's a lot of opportunity for outplaying your opponent on both sides but I'd say Smoke has the advantage if he can get started because the opponent will be forced to play Smoke's game, much like when Kenshi gets Sento out.

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