I’ve read other posts about the frame traps with Shadow Influence, so I’ve been trying to use it, but it doesn’t seem to be working for me. I made a short video of what I’m experiencing. I feel like I’m missing some critical information.
I finally found the relevant information. Still, crap, that means I really need to be careful on the timing.
Yep! No grab will land during hit or blockstun. For what it’s worth, that’s one of the reasons you see Hisako’s ticking with possession instead of influence - possession is super active, so it will just “land” whenever they’re hittable again, no timing required.
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I guess a better question/topic then is “what are good opportunities/setups to land S Influence?”. I noticed in the practice room that you can’t land this on someone coming down from a jump if they are about to jump again either.
Am I correct in guessing that Light Possession is better for ticking right after a normal because it has less than half the startup time and suck-in speed seems to be roughly equal at short distances?
Once again, thanks for taking the time out of your day to answer.
You can never grab someone who is holding up. While characters still have hurtboxes right before they jump (there are 4 frames after you press up before your character actually takes to the air), their throw box disappears the instant they press up. So you can strike someone who is trying to jump (and if you hit them in the pre-jump frame window they will take the hit as if they were grounded), but you can never grab someone who is trying to jump.
Yep 
The best time to hit shadow influence is when the opponent is in range of shadow influence. It’s not really a “setup” kind of grab - its strength is in its blinding speed. It comes out as fast as a jab, and cannot be jumped after the screen freeze.
That said, I tend to think it’s best used as a surprise near the extremes of its (very large) range. Dash->shadow influence is a serious thing, because Hisako’s dash is fast and shadow influence is even faster, meaning that even at half screen she can be a threat. If you’re close, then you’re better off using regular influence - the light one is even faster than the shadow, and all versions are better at beating throws than their meter using big brother.
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Combining it with the dash in is generally how I’ve used it, but I’m encountering a lot of people who get spooked by the dash forward and jump back right before I hit the S Influence, so I’ve been looking for a way to trap people into taking it. It sounds like that’s just the risk you take on that call though. Oh well.
I’ve also recently discovered the huge damage of a S Possession ender, so now I’m really conflicted on what I should be saving my meter for
If they’re afraid of the dash, then use that fear to steal space on them. Back them into the corner and then maul them. A lot of playing grapplers effectively isn’t really about landing grabs - it’s about using the fear of grabs to get people to make bad decisions.
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Yeah… this is going to be a huge adjustment in mindset/approach for me. It didn’t sink in initially that I had signed up for a grappler, and it’s a game I have no solid grasp of