Put on Hold

Greetings, Injustice fans!

I type these words with a heavy heart. Due to several complications, I am placing Injust Adventures on hold until I am able to post in a more consistent and well-executed fashion.

In a way, I feel that this is for the best.

I have not been able to dedicate the time lately that I would like to either playing Injustice or writing this blog, and I do not wish to continue posting rushed and unfocused entries.

I cannot give an estimate at this time for when Injust Adventures will return.

Thank you to all of you who have joined me on my journey.

Interlude: A Selection Process

Welcome back, Injustice fans!

Today I’m listing the handful of characters I’m looking at to replace Aquaman. I’ve included a few things I like about each character that drew me to them. Here’s the list:

1. Sinestro
• Final Shackles. It can work as a vortex and a reset.
• Strong ranged game, with an underrated close game.
2. Zod
• Trait is ridiculous.
• Lots of specials.
3. Lex Luthor
• Crazy set ups.
• Armor trait is cool.
4. Nightwing
• Great pressure game.
• Fast movement, good zoning.
5. Martian Manhunter
• Tons of projectile options.
• Trait gives him silly footsies.
6. Batgirl
• Fast, effective vortex.
• Smoke Bomb. Bola reset.
7. Lobo
• Command grab, rushdown.
• Incredible damage.
8. The Flash
• Fast movement, fast overheads.
• Can punish so many things.

I know those are just some opinions, but I’m on vacation right now. I will develop a more through breakdown of my character candidates upon my return to Wisconsin.

Thanks for reading!

This isn’t giving up, this is letting go.

Welcome back, Injustice fans!

This week I’m giving up on Aquaman. I’ve made a lot of negative comments about Aquaman’s playstyle over the last few months. Yet I kept playing him.

Well, the insanity is over.

I think Frank said it best:
“If you don’t like Aquaman, don’t play Aquaman.”

I’m sure he told me something like that before, but this time it hit home.

Since I’m choosing a new character, I’ve decided to follow Umbreon’s advice. In a way, I have been for some time, if not perfectly.

I’ve been taking notes. I’ve been studying other players. I haven’t gotten to attend tournaments, nor have I been able to find a local FGC community. But I’ve been doing my best to improve.

But before I can truly begin on that path, I must select my character. I’ll be watching tournament footage to find a play style I think looks fun.

Join me next week as I highlight a few candidates for my new character!

Thanks for reading!

A Study in Aquamarine Part 3

Welcome back, Injustice fans!

Happy 2014 to you all. I hope you had a great New Year’s Eve!

This is my last week analyzing Aquaman players in pools matches from NEC14. Like last week, I’m going to go through this quickly (there are a lot of matches) by listing timestamps for you to skip to and describing why those moments drew my interest. Let’s get to it.

Note: Every time I say “he”, I am referring to the Aquaman player in the video.

JamesMK (MMH) vs Ice Angel (Aquaman)

0:26 – he whiffs an F2 and activates Aquaman’s trait to avoid punishment.
1:12 – he uses B12 to whiff punish his opponent’s landing lag.
1:43 – his D1 gets blocked (-3) but he hits MMH out of his jump with F1 and is able to convert that into a combo. I think he got lucky here that his opponent jumped away instead of quickly counter-attacking, as MMH has a few options that could have punished the blocked D1.
1:58 – he reads MMH’s Sky Teleport and punishes it with MB B3. I wonder if that was on reaction…
2:49 – he combos D2 into B12. I didn’t know that was possible due to D2’s long cool down.

CTRL Unknown (Scorpion) vs Atlas (Aquaman)

:29 – he uses From the Deep from way too close and gets punished for it.
2:43 – he traits too late to block after MB Spear hits him.  I’m guessing he was trying to mash it out while his trait was finishing recharging, which caused him to activate his trait while he was being combo-ed. This wasted his trait, forcing another 12 second wait for it to recharge.
2:58 – he does a sweep (D3) from over half-screen, which gets him punished, as it should.
3:04 – he (again) traits too late when reacting to getting hit by Scorpion’s MB Spear.

Flipkev (Zod) vs Insaynne (Aquaman)

1:14 – he hit confirms B1~Trident Rush, then does it again. It surprised me that he didn’t get punished, but according to TYM, Trident Rush is +1 on hit, so I guess this is a practical tactic.
1:40 – he uses sweep as a hard knockdown to set up a cross up attempt. This is a tactic that I have used myself, but due to Aquaman’s mediocre mix up game, it is a gamble.

Outworld (Black Adam) vs Ice Angel (Aquaman)

:16 – His D1 gets blocked. This leaves him -3, but he F1s anyway and gets away with it.
1:47 – he starts the match with an F2. Unsafe, but he gets away with it. I do it too sometimes.
3:05 – he gets in off a whiff punish to take the 1st life bar.
3:20 – he catches Black Adam dashing in, allowing him to MB From the Deep and follow-up by dashing in and using B12 to get the full combo punish. Really shows off Aquaman’s range.

Ken123103 (Superman) vs D-Cent (Aquaman)

1:50 – he whiff punishes Superman’s jump in attack.
2:06 – he anti-airs Superman with B2 and gets a combo (which he drops) out of it.
2:10 – he block punishes Superman’s D2.
2:36 – he connects a B12 off of a B2. I didn’t know that worked. Also, he ends the combo with 3~From the Deep for extra damage and positioning.

Tom Brady vs Theo

This money match should probably be its own post since it is nine games , but whatever. Arguably the best Aquaman player playing one of the best Superman players.

:40 – he catches Superman’s dash with From the Deep. His next From the Deep must have been mistimed because Superman backdashes through it. He punishes a whiffed Heat Zap with From the Deep. His next From the Deep misses Superman’s Rising Grab, he must have mistimed it.
1:03 – his wake up Scoop gets blocked. Still, it is nice to see a high-level player use wake up Scoop. Yes, it is a gamble. But sometimes (okay, a lot with Aquaman) you have to take risks.
1:07 – he backdashes after B12 gets blocked. For some reason I love this. Seems very safe.
1:48 – he jumps late to dodge Superman’s eye lasers.
1:50 – he combos B2->Interactable->B3 into a full combo for huge damage. Wow.
2:00 – he tries using B2 as a meaty attack and gets blown up for it. Again, gambling.
2:35 – he uses From the Deep but Rising Grab goes through it. Must have mistimed it.
2:42 – he blocks Superman’s Low Scoop and punishes.
3:52 – he use D1 (blocked) and cancels(?) into the background interactable! I don’t know how that worked. Is the background bounce an overhead? Was Theo not blocking after the D1?
4:04 – he uses From the Deep but Rising Grab goes through it. Must have mistimed it.
6:05 – He ducks Heat Zap and punishes with From the Deep.
6:27 – he goes D1 (blocked), D1 (blocked), Trident Scoop. I have no other explanation for that working. Each D1 leaves him at -3 frames. Theo must have just gotten mindgamed here.
6:43 – this time, his From the Deep beats Rising Grab. See, it can work!
7:15 – he wakes up with Water Shield to counter Superman’s  Heat Vision. Interesting tactic.
8:10 – he catches Superman’s dash with From the Deep.
8:21 – his spacing baits out a wake up Rising Grab, which he punishes. This might have actually been a misplay on Theo’s part, simply misjudging how far his Rising Grab would reach.
9:31-9:45 – incredible patience, great blocking, and he finds an opening with an anti-air D2.
9:52 – he checks Superman with From the Deep, forcing Theo to wake up blocking.
10:29 – he whiffs From the Deep, but catches Superman’s dash in with D2. Intentional? Can’t say.
10:46 – he punishes Superman’s Heat Vision with From the Deep, like he said you can.
10:49 – From the Deep pays off again. I don’t know why Theo didn’t block this – maybe he wanted to backdash or jump or do an attack – but not blocking got him punished. However, at 13:10 and 13:12, he corrects this mistake.
16:21 – he combos B2 into the background interactable. I didn’t know you could do that.
18:31 – he combos D1 in the background interactable. Again, I didn’t know you could do that.
18:39 – he baits Rising Grab and punishes it with D2.

Like last week, I’m not seeing much in terms of offense created from pressure. Most of it seems to come from whiff punishes and catching jump ins and dash ins with From the Deep.

This seems unreliable at best.

There are some bright spots, like Brady’s use of the background bounce interactables. Also, I learned that you can connect B12 off of both B2 and D2. Good to know. But overall, Aquaman continues to feel like a rather turtle-y character. I’m not loving his style.

I’m not really sure where to go from here. It’s a brand new year. Do I continue the Aquaman experiment? Or do I give it up and search for a new character for EVO 2014?

Join me next week to find out.
Thanks for reading!

A Study in Aquamarine Part 2

Welcome back, Injustice fans!

This week I am looking at more footage of Aquaman players in pools matches from NEC14.

The main things I noticed in this match were:
Aquaman got punished for whiffing From the Deep a lot. (3:42, etc.).
I saw Trident Rush used to end many block strings “safely”. Not sure if this is because Black Adam can’t punish Trident Rush, or if the Black Adam player did not know how to punish it.
The main lead-in to Aquaman’s combos was off of air-to-air J2s.

Style points:
Apparently you can do use a background bounce interactable after a MB From the Deep, setting up a B3 and generating some extra damage in your combo. Cool stuff.

This match didn’t show me much. Basic pickups:
Main damage came off air-to-air J2s and D2 anti-airs.
Trident Rush is punishable (we know this).

This matchup seems entirely about keeping Bane off his Venom. Aquaman’s pokes get blown up by Bane’s armor. The only damage I saw Riyo get in this match was off whiff punishes, D2 anti-airs, and a wake up Scoop. Just a tough loss all around.

This matchup looks rough. Other than conversions from anti-air D2, J2, and wake up Scoop, I saw no offense from the Aquaman players. I guess he did catch Hawkgirl with From the Deep when she was backdashing, but overall this was a one-sided match.

I’m trying to not get too down about Aquaman after watching these matches, especially those last two. After all, the Bane and Hawkgirl players both made Top 8 of NEC14, so they are good players. But it troubles me to see Aquaman struggling to dictate the flow of a match.

This match reinforced my feeling that 80+% of Aquaman’ damage comes off whiff punishes.

Seriously. Almost every bit of damage Aquaman does in this match is off of a whiff punish or some sort of error in the Batman player’s attacking, such as improper spacing or gambling by doing a wake up attack and losing. 1:22, 1:54, 3:06,3:16, 3:19, 3:52, 4:35, 4:57.

The point I’m trying to make here is that Aquaman is not leading into combos through his own offense – he is relying on his opponents to make mistakes. That is not a winning strategy. Hopefully more research will reveal Aquaman players who dictate match tempo more effectively.

Join me next week for my last post analyzing NEC14 Aquaman pools matches.
Thanks for reading!

A Study in Aquamarine

Welcome back, Injustice fans!

This week I’m looking at some matches from NEC14, a championship series in the Northeast. This post will deal with EMPR Theo’s matches from the Top 8. Next week I will look into other Aquaman players’ pool matches from this tournament.

Unfortunately Theo got eliminated in the first round of the top 8, so there was not much footage to look at. However, I did notice a few things:

Theo tended to From the Deep from about where I would expect an Aquaman player should – about 3/4 of the screen, sometimes a bit closer. That means what I’m doing isn’t terribly off.

He jabbed his way out of a handful of tricky situations or pressure strings that I didn’t know you could D1 out of. Good to know, but also could be bad because I already have a habit of D1ing more than I should.

He caught his opponent with B12 often during their landing lag frames. 4:42.
This seems huge. Again, it comes back to finding that proper spacing. Works for punishing whiffed attacks as well. 6:28,

Cross up jump in to grab to grab. 4:45. The second grab got teched but it was a cute mix-up.

Canceling B123 into Trident Rush. 6:24. Normally I’m not a fan of canceling into Trident Rush because it is -11 on block, but doing the full B123 string and adding the four hits of Trident Rush on top of it keeps the opponent in block stun for a long time. Interesting tactic.

Using From the Deep and then jumping against Black Adam’s Lighting Strike. 7:19. This is a post-patch change that makes the Aquaman-Black Adam matchup easier for Aquaman. Being able to chip Black Adama and avoid retaliatory Lightning Strikes lets Aquaman zone more.

Using Water Shield against wake up attacks. 6:53. It didn’t work here because he dashed out and then dashed in, thus getting hit by Black Adam’s Lightning Cage. Still, cool to see it used.

Dash-canceling out of a meter-burned B3 into a full combo punish. 7:37. I knew this was a thing that could be done, but I haven’t seen it often. Cool technique. Probably a better option than just throwing out MB B3s like I tend to. Great against moves that are negative on hit.

Activating Aquaman’s trait after getting an unsafe move (Trident Rush) blocked. 7:49. I talked about this before, but again it is nice to see this tactic in action.

What really struck me from watching these games was that it made me feel like I’m not so much playing Aquaman incorrectly as much as I have a lot of input errors and need to work on my mental game. I’m curious to see what other Aquaman players’ matches look like.

Join me next week as I continue looking at footage from other Aquaman players.
Thanks for reading!

Shifting Gears: Knockdown Advantages

Welcome back, Injustice fans!

This week we are shifting out of neutral and into a new gear, which I call “Oki”.

The word “oki”, short for “Okizeme“, refers to pressuring a knocked-down opponent. Essentially, it is the rock-paper-scissors of the wake up game.

Understanding Oki is important to winning. It’s about gaining an advantage and converting that advantage into a benefit (hopefully leaving you in the position to continuing pressing your advantage).

Some (vortex) characters emphasize Oki situations because they rely so heavily on getting repeat conversion opportunities on subsequent knockdowns. Green Arrow and Killer Frost as good examples.
This is in contrast to a character like Sinestro, who has a vortex he can use, but it doesn’t deal enough damage or give enough advantage to make it his primary strategy.

I concluded last week by revisiting some thoughts from Tom Brady’s videos on Aquaman and acknowledging that I had missed the forest for the trees. Having recognized Aquaman is a knockdown reliant character, I’m looking to develop my understanding of his offense.

Let’s say Aquaman gets a knockdown. What are his options?

A. Block. Safe, but loses initiative. Any frame advantage is lost. Can be the right choice against full invincible wake up attacks at close range, or against fast, far-reaching attacks that are safe wake up attacks like Killer Frost’s Black Ice or Green Arrow’s MB Stinger.
B. Do a meaty attack while the opponent stands up. Risks getting blown up by an opponent’s wake up attack.
C. Just Frame Trident – using From the Deep as a check against possible wake up attacks. The benefit here is that if the opponent anticipates FtD and respects it by blocking, Aquaman can pressure them. If they don’t respect Aquaman and choose to wake up with a wake up attack, backdash, or jump, a properly executed FtD will hit them out of it.

Basically it comes down to a guessing game between B and C.
Will my opponent use a wake up attack or will they respect the potential punish from an FtD and choose to wake up blocking?

The problem I have with this is that if they respect the FtD and wake up blocking, Aquaman lacks the tools to mount a consistent offense (against people who know how to block). Both of his 50/50s are NOT true mixups.

As far as I understand, the best offense Aquaman has is using F1 to set up the 3/B12 quasi-50/50. Other than that he will only likely get damage off of anti-airs on reaction, throws, and raw guesses.

There just aren’t many safe options. I’m not saying that I will never use unsafe moves. But I am trying to play as safe as possible.

Speaking of, here’s what I learned from practicing with Frank last night:

I need to practice more. I missed a lot of inputs, mashed out attacks when I did not mean to, and frame trapped myself by inputting attacks too early or late.

I need to stop using From the Deep unless it is off a hit confirm or following a knockdown. It is too vulnerable both on block and whiff to use any other time.

I need to stop relying on B3 for offense. It’s super punishable on whiff and D2 is a faster anti-air option.

I need to stop D1ing at close range. All it does is leave me -3 on block and get me counter-poked. A throw is a better option when at point-blank neutral position.

That’s all I for now. Join me next week as I analyze tournament footage of other Aquaman players.
Thanks for reading!

Stuck in Neutral 2: Distilling the Options

Welcome back, Injustice fans!

Last week I introduced the concept of the neutral game and raised a few questions about it including:
How important is neutral to Aquaman?
and:
Does Aquaman have an advantage in neutral, and if not can he get one?

This line of thought lead me to attempt to create a neutral game flowchart for Aquaman, in hopes that being selective with my actions in neutral will allow me to take advantage of risks by opponents.

I’m hoping that knowledge of Aquaman’s (best) options in various neutral situations will encourage better decision-making on my part.

Neutral game for Aquaman can be broken down into two main situations: those in which you can From the Deep without getting punished, and those in which you cannot.

Note: I am defining “safe” From the Deep range as at least 3/4 screen away. Anything closer puts you at risk of giving the opponent a free dash or jump in and that never ends well. This rule does not apply to teleport characters. From the Deep is not a good option against them.

Okay, so the opponent is inside of safe From the Deep range. Now what?

It depends. Are they point-blank? At sweep range? At jump in range?

I’ll address Aquaman’s best options at each range based on three categories: startup frames, how negative a move is on block, and how far from the opponent I can be without the move whiffing.

The moves I’m limiting myself to are the Normals listed here. This is because Aquaman’s specials take too long on startup to be used outside of a combo (or in From the Deep’s case, from 3/4+ screen). Let’s look the safe (-6 or less on block) Normals.
Our choices are: 1, 2, 3, D1, F1, F3, B1, B3

Of these, the only ones with above average range are F3, B3, B1, and 3. Unfortunately, F3 and B3 have 20+ frames startup, meaning that can easily be blocked on reaction. The ones with the startup under 10 frames are D1, F1, 1, and B1. Note B1 is the only move in both groups.

This divide creates a split in Aquaman’s flowchart. The slower, far-reaching moves can be used against dashes and jump-ins, and the faster moves used for sweep range or closer.
So the options for each are:
Sweep: D1, F1, B1, 1, D2*
Dash/Jump: B3, F3, 3, B1, D2*

Note: I’ve added D2 despite it being unsafe on block. D2 is a critical anti-air and if it is only used against jump-ins there is no fear of it being blocked.

So through this breakdown I’ve limited Aquaman’s neutral game to ten moves (and their corresponding strings). Can it be trimmed further? I think so.

Let’s drop D2, F3, and B3. They are situational specific moves (and I use MB B3 too much).
We can cut 3 because of its awkward hitbox and lack of combo potential. Same with 1.
So we have, for the most boiled-down neutral game, only three moves: D1, B1, and F1.

F1 sets up the only thing close to a 50-50 that Aquaman has. B1 is a primary footsies tool. D1 is the fastest move Aquaman has and is used in situations where the frame difference between it and B1 or F1 matters (such as against The Flash’s Flying Uppercut).

Okay, so what does that leave us with?
Tom Brady.

And so I’m back where I started…

Huh? Yes, Tom Brady. It seems like he was right (gee, what a surprise). As he said in his video, “Aquaman is an unsafe character who relies on guessing. Pure guessing.”

“You cannot play that way (footsies) against those [certain] characters.”

“You have to simultaneously stop them from doing a wake up attack, a backdash, or jumping in or out.”

It was all there in the videos, and I missed it! In the words of Sherlock Holmes, I saw, but did not understand. However, I think I am beginning to grasp the concept. The important factor now, it seems, is my execution. The strategy is all there for me, but I must make it happen.

Phew. I’m glad that’s over. Join me next week as I explore the concept of Okizeme.
Thanks for reading!

Stuck in Neutral

Welcome back, Injustice fans!

This week I’m discussing The Neutral Zone, an area of Injustice (and indeed all fighting games) that I’m struggling to improve both my understanding and execution of.

A thin line between two conflicted enemies…

No, not that Neutral Zone.

The space between two forces about to collide…

No, not that one either.

So… What is neutral?

Neutral refers to a situation where neither player has an obvious advantage. This is a loose definition, as one can have positional advantage while being at a neutral frame state. But the idea is that both players are standing/blocking and not moving/attacking, much like right before a snap in football or in between rounds in boxing. The automatic separation that occurs between life bars in Injustice is an example of being forced into neutral.

Is neutral position beneficial to Aquaman?

That is a tough question. The cop-out answer is “it depends on the matchup”. But in general I’d say “no”, at least in a vacuüm. I do think there are ways to make neutral advantageous (or at least less scary) for Aquaman. So what situations are beneficial, i.e., when does Aquaman have an advantage, positional or by frames?

Obviously pushing your opponent into a corner is helpful – it limits their options and space to maneuver. But what about other situations?

Frank suggested that I focus on the movement mechanics in Injustice to create advantageous situations for Aquaman by using his range.

Simple enough, right? I mean, come on – he’s got a giant trident!

It’s a little more complex. It’s not just range, but timing. That’s why the movement mechanics, e.g., jump and dash durations, are important. Aquaman’s range doesn’t matter if his attacks are too slow and get stuffed by opposing attacks. All of which means…

Aquaman needs to get the opponent to coax the opponent into an opening.

How?  … That’s the hard part.

Against characters who lack the ability to compete with From the Deep, Aquaman can force them to approach using zoning techniques. From there on he can use D2 and B12/F2 to blow up jump-ins or dashes by overeager opponents.

Sounds easy. Just turtle until your opponent messes up by doing something unsafe, right?

You have to force mistakes. Opponents won’t always make them.

If only, dear reader, if only.

What if the opponent is cautious, or has a rushdown or teleport character that can force Aquaman into close range neutral situations?

Those are the issues I’m struggling with now. I think I can overcome them, but I need to find what Aquaman’s advantages are from neutral, and how to get/press them.

Of course, none of this means anything if Aquaman can’t force his opponent into neutral… Or miscalculates the range of his or his opponent’s attacks… Or doesn’t know how safe each of his and his opponent’s attacks are… Or doesn’t execute well, e.g., blocking slightly negative string and not counter-attacking fast enough to use the small amount of frame advantage he had…

But that’s not the point. Execution errors happen. That’s part of the game.

The point is, I’m hoping that this attempt at flowcharting Aquaman’s neutral game combined with my ongoing practice sessions will help me develop a confident and experienced method of dealing with neutral, so that it is something I am comfortable with and less prone to making poor decisions (such as the classic Aquaman From the Deep spamming or rushing in with J2 as “create offense”).

I’ve only just begun to discuss this topic, so expect to see more of it in the future. I would love to hear any thoughts you might have on the neutral game in Injustice, whether it relates to Aquaman or otherwise, so please feel free to post a comment below or contact me directly!

Join me next week as I continue exploring the neutral game, looking at specific moves and situations as I develop a flowchart for Aquaman’s neutral game.
Thanks for reading!

Stay Out of the Deep End: A Retraction and a Look Forward

Welcome back, Injustice fans!

Last week I said that this week I would unveil my secondary character, who I planned to use as a training partner for my new apprentice(s). Well, about that…

The old bait-and-switch…

I lied.

I’ve opted to not undertake a secondary character. After getting destroyed 9-1 by Frank last night, it’s clear to me that adding another character to my repertoire would not benefit me. I simply lack the fundamental skills that I would need to develop before I even consider learning a new character.

That being said, I intend to redouble my efforts with Aquaman. I know that it is not the character that is flawed (unsafe though he often is) – Aquaman is a tool in my hands. Any shortcomings I experience are due to my play mistakes, not my character choice.

In general, I appreciate Aquaman. He has range, he deals solid damage, and he has some great defensive tools. But I struggle against opponents with good spacing and the ability to block his “not a true 50/50” mix ups. The truth is that I get outplayed, on a technical and mental level.

The technical level is something that will come with practice. I’ve improved on hit confirming F13 and then dashing into B12 ~ combo. I am notably more consistent with it when I’m on the left side of the screen, but that is just something I need to put more practice into evening out.

As for the infamous Just Frame Trident, I have not spent much time developing the muscle memory for it. I’m planning to sit down and develop a flowchart for each character to decide when to use the technique before I devote a lot of time practicing it. It remains a priority.

The mental aspect of the game is a harder one to process. I know that I’ve commented in the past about needing greater mindfulness when making decisions, especially on defense. Yet I continue to crumble in some situations, like after getting crossed up repeatedly by ambiguous jumping attacks or guessing wrong on a 50/50 multiple times in a row.

I’m not sure how to combat these problems, but I feel like that are equally if not more important than the technical issues. If anyone has a suggestion, please share it in the comments section below.

In more optimistic news, I may have acquired a second apprentice. I feel like an idiot using that word, because I’ll be honest with you – these guys are just friends of mine. I’m not some professor teaching them from a lectern. But I do want to help them improve at the game, because competition can help  breed development by forcing adaptation and evolution of strategy. At the least, it will be nice to have people I can practice against in person.

Join me next week as I attempt to unravel the mystery of Aquaman’s neutral game.
Thanks for reading!