Although I am not new to fighting games having played SF4 from vanilla to ultra/guilty gear/blaz blue I got an xbox one and decided to give KI a try. So as a new player (as of today 3 weeks) I decided to main TJ(currently ranked Killer). What i have found most irritating is the lack of online information there is on TJ. Like Street fighter has Shoryuken.com, anime fighters has dustloop.com. KI has ultra-combo.com but its dead. So i have done my own research and watched what matches I could online (mainly ua bass vs devilmaycare/robelo sets) and I am going to start to post/continue my findings.
So before I start I just want to talk a little about my views and opinions about TJ, and to give a overview for new players that are considering playing TJ. Firstly I just wanna say is HOLY SH*T is he fun to play when you are on the offense.
Pros +
- Fun to play
- hard hitting
-can be hard to break
-extremely mobile
-has a great tool kit - juggles (is a special state when your opponenet is knocked into the air and able to be continuasly hit for a āair comboā while you are on the ground or air)
- godlike instinct with extra last breath utility
-great oki setups (oki=okizami which is your options when your opponent is waking up off the ground) - power line gives 1 hit of armor (which in turn you can cancel the on hit armor into any of other 5 options out of powerline)
-HP that staggers
-Auto Barrage trait is amazing - target combos
- best flipout/reset (flipout is when the opponent is airborn the move causes them to do a backflip and land on the ground on thier feet also called a reset) usage in the entire cast
- Great High/Low Mixups
- Cannot Be zoned out by projectiles
- Can Cancel any of his normal attacks into a special
Cons -
-terrible defensive options without meter (block/backdash/roll) some matchups at the beggining you feel smothered
-has some terrible matchups without extensive knowledge of the character (im looking at you spinal(instinct)/ fulgore/ riptor/ mira)
-is very execution heavy
-has only 2 grounded buttons that are plus on block (outside of instinct
- tremor(recapture) is easy to break and hard to guess when opponent is going to break (can be broke from start to finish) for counter breaker
- has alot of slow buttons for neutral game
- does not have many good pokes
-learning how to manual (a manual is linking a attack instead of canceling into an auto double) everything is required as he only has 3 auto double animations and they are reaaaaaally easy to tell and combo break (lights are punches to face, mediums are punches to kidney, heavy are slow uppercuts)
and thats my 2 cents on tj.
as for new players if you have not been to the dojo (games training mode that teaches you about the game) I highly recommend doing so. KIās training mode is probalby the best I have ever seen in a fighting game yet, that teaches you how to play. if you are not familiar with what TJās moves are or what he can do or anything about KI i recommend reading infil guide very very informative and props to him for making it.
aswell if you do not know what hitstun, blockstun, frames, startup/active/recover frames, -/+ on block/hit or what a meaty attack is. or how frames or meaty attack work, short quick guide only takes 10-15 min to read, I recommend you read
http://forums.shoryuken.com/discussion/106615/basic-frame-data-guide-for-newbies
very informative and you will learn the ins and outs of all fighting games as they follow these same rules.
for reference
- xx means to Cancel (Cancel means to cancel the recovery portion of an animation)
- (>)means to Link (Link means to let the animation completely recover (opponent is still in Hitstun/Combo/Juggle state) which lets you continue the combo. this is when frame data is important)
- ~ target combo cancel
- st standing
- cr crouching
- jp jumping
- cl close
- recap recapture (an attack that grabs the opponent out of the air knocking them to the ground on there feet still in combo state can perform cancel into Auto Double,Linker,Shadow move or ultra, can link a manual after)
- Opener (an attack that starts a combo state, can cancel into a Auto Double, Linker, Ender, or ultra after, or a Manual depending on the Opener)
- Linker ( a special move that cancels into an Auto double, Shadow move, Ender or Ultra, or Links into a Manual)
- Auto Double (after you perform an opener or linker, you press 1 of the 6 different strength of buttons, and your character will cancel into 2 attacks of the same strength in a row, speed is determened by button strenght can perform a Linker, Shadow move, Ultra or Ender after)
- Ender (ends a combo)
- *S Shadow version of the special move ( Shadow moves can be used as an Opener or Linker)
- U Up
- D Down
- B Back
- F Foward
- BD backdash
- LP light punch
- MP medium punch
- HP hard punch
- LK light kick
- MK medium kick
- HK hard kick
- L Light
- M Medium
- H Hard
Season 3
Special Move List
-Backfist (B,F+ LP) (Opener)
-Shoot toss (B,F+MP) (command grab, causes Juggle state)
-Power Line (B,F+HP) (Can be Canceled into LP(backfist), MP(shoot toss), HP(armor), LK(fakeout), MK(roll), HK(flying knee)
-Fakeout (B,F+LK)
-Roll (B,F+MK) is projectile/Upper Body invulnerable
-Flying Knee (B,F+HK) (Opener)
-Tremor (D,U+LK/MK/HK) (Opener, causes Hard Knockdown to opponents infront of TJ, also causes a Recap to airborne opponents)
-Cyclone/Vortex (D,U+LP,MP,HP) (does 2 hits 1st hit launches 2nd hit catches on the way down(second hit can be fired off early if you press the button again)
Command Normals
-Target Combo 1 MP~HP(causes stagger (opponent is left in a dazed combo state for a certain amount of time) on HP hit)
-Target Combo 2 MP~MK
-Target Combo 3 LP~LP~LP~LP (can Cancel out of any LP in the chain)
-Target Combo 4 jp.LP~LK (causes Flipout)
-Target Combo 5 jp.LP~MP (causes Juggle state (opponent is in a Juggle state and can be followed up with another hit while in the air)
-Target Combo 6 jp.LP~HP (causes Hard Knockdown) (opponent cannot Quick rise)
-Superman Punch D+F+HP (Overhead) (opponent cannot crouch block an Overhead attack, Lower Body invunerable)
Rollercoaster D+F+MP (Opener)
Turn Around Punch jp+B+MP (Opener) (Punches backwards, crossup attack)
Shadow Moves (can be used as an Opener (cannot be broken if used as Opener) or a Linker (can be broken if opponent combo breaks on any 3 hits of a Shadow move)
-Shadow Powerline (B,F+2 different Punch buttons) (5 hits) (5th hit can be canceled,causes a side switch and can be canceled into a Linker, Shadow move, Ultra, Auto Double, or Ender, can only Link a LP after canceled 5th hit. 5th hit does extra damage and causes Wallspat, 5th hit cannot be broken)
-Shadow Cyclone/Vortex (D,U+ 2 Different Punch buttons) (5 hits) (Cyclone (4 hits) is invunerable on startup until 3rd hit, Vortex (1 hit) is not invunerable and cannot be fired of early)
-Shadow Flying Knee (B,F+2 different Kick buttons) (5 hits) (lower body invulnerable
-Shadow Tremor (D,U+2 different Kick buttons) (5 hits) (causes recapture, only version of Tremor that can be used as a Linker)
Openers (Openers are an Attack the starts a Combo state.)
Rollercoaster (D+F+MP)
Turnaround Punch (Jump(any direction)+B+MP) (cross up)
Spinfist (B,F+LP or LP Cancel from Powerline)
Flying Knee (B,F+HK or HK Cancel from Powerline) (can Manual a L/M/H after Opener)
Tremor (D,U+LK/MK/HK) (can Manual LP)
Shadow Moves
Powerline
Flying Knee
Tremor
Linkers (linker is a special move that Cancels into another attack) (Different attack strengths: Light(1 hit) Medium (2 hits) Hard (3 hits, to get a hard linker you have to hold down either Light or Medium button, because the Hard buttons cause an Ender) Shadow (4-5 hits)
-Backfist (B,F+LP or MP)
-Flying Knee (B,F+LK or MK)
-Cyclone (D,U+LP or MP) (Launcher causes opponent to become in Juggle state, does not do the second hit Vortex)
-Any Shadow Move any Shadow Move can be used as a Linker ( opponent will be able to break if not locked out after 3 successful counter breaks on any hit of a shadow move) certain Shadow Moves have exceptions
Enders (Ender is a move that ends a combo)
-Wallsplat Powerline (B,F+HP) (opponent hits the wall if near ends of the stage and bounces forward still in combo state)
-Launcher Cyclone/Vortex (D,U+HP) (knocks opponent into the air, need at least 2 combo meters for 2nd hit (vortex))
-Battery Tremor (D,U+HK) (gives a big boost in shadow meter)
-Damage Auto Barrage pressing all 6 different strength buttons (adds extra damage)
-Side Switch (B,F+HK) Flying Knee (switches to the other side of the opponent)
-Advantage auto barrage with the 2nd press of the same strength button (removes all potential damage and leaves you at a 4 frame advantage)
Auto Barrage
To perform the Auto Barrage Ender, when you do an auto double after a linker, you press a different strength of button before the second hit of the auto double, after pressing all 6 different button strengths you will get the Damage Ender (its a big punch downward and your opponent will ā ā ā ā himself as he looks at the damage), to get the Advantage ender you perform the auto barrage but you press a button that you have already pressed.
C-C-C-Combos
So as far as i know (again only 3 weeks so im not sure if other characters are like this) TJās combos are pretty much just custom made up on the fly. what do I mean by this? example: normal fighting games go like HP>cr.MP>cr.MP xx Special move. TJ isnt like that. example: a TJ combo would go something like this LP/MP/HP vortex(launcher)>(st/cr/jp)LP/MP/HP/Tremor>(did you recap? No)> vortex/(st/cr)LP/MP/HP> etc.
looks really confusing doesnt it? You see with TJ after each move you do you have (x) amount of options to choose from for your next part of your combo.
so for new players-intermediate players here are some combos for you to play with in the training room mode.
Beginner
- MP~HP xx Powerline
- MP~HP xx Backfist xx Auto double > Ender
- MP~HP xx Backfist > Auto Barrage
- MP~HP xx Flying Knee xx Auto Double > Ender
- MP~HP xx Flying Knee > Auto Barrage
Intermediate
-
MP~HP xx Fakeout > HP xx Backfist xx Auto Double >Ender
-
MP~HP xx Fakeout > Cr.MK xx Backfist xx Auto Double > Ender
-
MP~ HP xx Fakeout > MP~HP xx Shoot toss > st.LK (flipout) xx Roll/Fakeout (side switch/same side) (meaty) grab/MP~HP/Shoot toss
-
MP~ HP xx Fakeout > MP~HP xx Shoot toss > MP Vortex/Cyclone > jp.LP~LK (flpout) >(land before opponent) (meaty) grab/ MP~HP/ Shoot toss
-MP~HP xx Fakeout > HP xx Shoot Toss > (have to let them fall to around waistline for MK to connect) st.MP~MK xx Roll > st.LK(flipout) xx Roll/Fakeout (side switches/same side) (meaty) grab/ MP~HP/ Shoot toss
-
MP~HP xx Fakeout > MP~HP xx Flying Knee xx Auto Double > Ender
-
MP~HP xx Fakeout > MP~ HP xx Shoot Toss xx LP/MP/HP Tremor (catch in Air) xx Auto double > Ender
-
Vortex/Cyclone > LP/MP/HP Tremor xx Auto Double >Ender
-
Vortex/Cyclone > LP/MP/HP Vortex/Cyclone > Tremor xx Auto Double > Ender
-
MP~HP xx Fakeout xx HP xx Shoot Toss xx LP Vortex/Cyclone > LP/MP/HP Tremor (Catch in Air) xx Auto Double > Ender
-
*S Vortex/Cyclone > MP xx MP Vortex/Cyclone > MP/HP Tremor xx Auto Double xx Ender
-
*S Vortex/Cyclone > LP > MP xx MP Vortex/Cyclone > MP/HP Tremor xx Auto Double xx Ender
Advanced
-
MP~HP xx fakeout xx MP~HP xx Shoot Toss > MP xx MP Vortex/Cyclone > HP xx Tremor xx Auto Double > Ender
-
MP~HP xx fakeout xx HP xx Shoot Toss > HP xx MP Vortex/Cyclone (first hit whiff) > HP xx MP Vortex ( first hit whiff) > MP/HP Tremor xx Auto Double > Ender
-
*S Vortex/Cyclone > HP xx MP Vortex/Cyclone > HP xx MP Vortex/Cyclone (first hit whiff) > HP xx MP/HP Tremor xx LK Knee(linker) > Ender
` MP~HP xx fakeout xx MP~HP Shoot Toss > LK Tremor > HP manual > MK Flying Knee (linker) > MP~HP manual > Ender
-
MP~HP xx fakeout xx MP~HP xx Shoot Toss > cr.HP xx Roll > st.LK(flipout) > Roll/fakeout> (side switches/ same side) >(meaty) Grab/MP~HP/Shoot Toss
-
MP~HP xx fakeout xx MP~HP xx Backfist xx any 3 strengths of auto barrage (has to end in HP auto barrage)> drop Auto barrage > cr/st.LP xx *S Flying Knee xx Ender
-
MP~HP xx fakeout xx HP xx Shoot Toss > HP xx MP Vortex/Cyclone (first hit whiff) > HP xx MP Vortex ( first hit whiff) > MP/HP Tremor > HP manual xx MK Flying Knee > st.MP manual xx Ender
I will go into his Instinct next post. because that is pretty much its own post. but there is some basic-advanced combos for newer players to play around with in training mode. as you get comfortable with them, the beauty of TJ is you can start to customize your combos and do pretty much anything you want. thats what makes him so fun to play with for me.
Hope you enjoy
bye for now
Now for TJās Instinct (the bar under your health). First of an instinct puts your character into a special state allowing them to do things the normally could not do. The meter is Filled by taking damage or Combo Breaking. Once the meter is filled press HP+HK to activate instinct (when instinct is activated it freezes the frame and your character goes into a activation sequence when the sequence is over the frame continues)
So what does TJās instinct do. well if you have played Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3 its like X-Factor minus the damage, if you have played Street fighter 5 its like Nacaliās V-Trigger.
TJās instinct lasts about 8 seconds and he gains a huge speed boost in walk, backwards walk, dash, backdash, less startup frames on all normals/moves, less recovery frames on all normals/moves and all his normals/moves become + on block(due to less Recovery frames, does not change the amount of Hitstun/Blockstun). If you have a full instinct Gauge when you die for the second time you enter Last breath mode and you are resurrected for 20% health and 4 seconds of your instinct for a comeback.
now what makes this so good, is you can combo any normal/move after a HP, you gain access to combos you normally could not do, you can combo a Light/Medium Manual after Spinfist Opener. your pressure when opponent is in block is insane, when you enter instinct you are going to open your opponent up because youāre high/low mixups become almost impossible to block because they are so fast. TJās Instinct also allows him to break the games manual rules, (the manual rules are as followed: for Light Manual you have to do a Light Linker, for a Light/Medium Manual you have to do a Medium Linker, for a Light/Medium/Hard Manual you have to do a hard linker.) when you are in instinct to do a Light/Medium Manual you only have to do a Light Linker, for a Light/Medium/Hard Manual you only have to do a Medium Linker. at lower levels of play this is not really relevant, but as you get better and play better people you can Force a lockout with a Light Linker going into a Medium Manual.
Im still testing out combos for instinct mode there is not alot of footage or online information about instinct mode that I can find but here are some comboās
beginner
-MP~HP>MP~MK xx Backfirst xx Auto Barrage
intermediate
-MP~HP xx Shoot Toss > st.MP/HP xx Fakeout > st.MP/HP xx Fakeout > st.MP/HP xx Roll > cr.LP/MP/HP/MK xx LK/MK/HK Tremor xx Auto Double xx Ender
-MP~HP xx Shoot Toss > st.HK > st.MP/HP xx Fakeout > st.MP/HP > Fakeout > st.MP/HP xx Roll cr.LP/MP/HP/MK xx LK/MK/HK Tremor xx Auto Double xx Ender
-MP~HP xx Shoot Toss > st.MP/HP xx Fakeout > st.MP/HP xx Fakeout > st.MP/HP > st.MK xx Roll >cr.LP/MP/HP/MK xx LK/MK/HK Tremor xx Auto Double xx Ender
Advanced
-MP~HP>MP~MK xx Backfist > L/M Manual xx L/M Linker > L/M/H Manual xx L/M Linker > L/M/H Manual xx Ender
-MP~HP>MP~MK xx Flying Knee > L/M/H Manual xx L/M Linker > L/M/H Manual xx L/M Linker > L/M/H Manual xx Ender
and thats all I have to say about TJās instinct, when I find/come across more comboās I will edit and post them 
Season 3 Frame Data
I though it would be useful for more advanced players to have TJās frame data here, so here it is.
Frame Data
(Move) (Startup/Active/Recovery) (On hit/On block) (Special properites)
Grounded Normals
st.LP 4/2/13 +1/-1
cr.LP 4/2/13 +2/-1
cl.MP 7/4/23 -5/-6
Far MP 8/2/24 -4/-5
cr.MP 8/2/22 -2/-4
Rollercoaster 11/1(*2)/22 -2/-2
cl.HP 19/4/29 -11/-12 (causes Stagger)
Far HP 10/4/27 -7/-8 (causes Stagger)
cr.HP 9/3/19 +1/-2
Superman punch 22/5/12 +8/+1 (Overhead, Lower Body Invunerable)
st.LK 5/3/14 +1/-2 (causes flipout/reset)
cr.LK 5/3/10 +3/-2
cl.MK 7/4/28 -10/-11
Far MK 10/2/24 -4/-5
cr.MK 7/3/15 0/-1
cl.HK 10/3/31 -12/-13
Far HK 16/6/19 +1/+2
cr.HK 12/2/23 +66/-3
Target Combos
cl.MP~MK -10/-11
Far Mp~MK -4/-5
cl.MP~HP -11/-12 (stagger)
Far MP~HP -7/-8 (stagger)
LP~LP 4/13/13 -2/-3
LP~LP~LP 4/13/2 0/-2
LP~LP~LP~LP 4/13/12 +1/-4
j.LP~LK 7/6/4 +15/+8 (flipout)
j.LP~MP 6/3/4 +16/+12 (juggle)
j.LP~HP 7/4/4 +20/+17 (Hard Knockdown)
Jumping Normals
jp.LP 5/3/4 +15/+8
jp.MP 7/3/4 +16/+12
jp+B+MP 9/4/4 +16/+12 (crossup)
jp.HP 19/6/4 +20/+17
jp.LK 7/6/4 +15/+8 (flipout/reset)
jp.MK 7/6/4 +16/+12 (cross up)
jp.HK 12/6/4 +87/+16 (Hard Knockdown)
Specials
Spin fist 8/3/10 +1/+0
Shoot Toss 20/2/41 +60/- n/a (command grab, ground bounce)
Power Line 9/3/27 +23/-3 (wall splat)
Powerline Cancels
LP spinfist 8/3/10 +1/+0
MP shoot toss 16/2/42 +60/-n/a
HP powerline 9/3/27 +23/-3
LK fakeout 17/0/0
MK roll 21/0/0
HK flying knee 7/11/18 +2/-12
Vortex/Cyclone
LP 6(3*)/1(4)/20 +76/-9 (Launcher)
MP 7(3)/2(4)/20 +76/-9 (Launcher)
HP 8(3)/4(*4)/20 +76/-9 (Launcher)
Tremor
LK 23/32/5 +11/-6 (recapture)
MK 22/33/29 +8/-8 (recapture)
HK 21/35/5 +5/-10 (recapture)
Fake Out 17/0/0 +na/-na
Roll 21/0/0 +na/-na (Projectile Invulnerable,Upper Body Invulnerable)
Flying Knee 16/10/17 +4/-10 (Lower Body Invulnerable)
Shadow Moves
Powerline 5,3/1/28 +17/+2 (Super Armor, Wallsplat)
Flying Knee 2,12/15/29 +6/-0 (Projectile Invulnerable)
Tremor 3,20/9/30 +12/-4 (Lower Body Invulnerable, Recapture)
Vortex/Cyclone 2,7/7/21 +61/-11 (invincible during Vortex, Launcher)
If you ask for help, usually someone will help you out.