That classifies as the “something like that” I mentioned. You have to open up your opponent, not be broken and do the upload ender. If you’re not able to start your own combo you’ll have to either wait (not recovering PD) or do a YOLO switch. If you do something wrong maybe you’ll still do the switch (the startup is safe) but the body that is entering battle can pay for your mistake with it’s entire lifebar since ARIA’s bodies are so fragile.
In the end ARIA players will maybe go into defensive mode after a successful break as much as other characters, except while she’s trying to open her opponent she isn’t recovering PD and other characters are.
The point isn’t what you can use to switch, the point is that you need to do “something”. If you just switch bodies right after breaking you’ll start the switch just fine but the other body will most likely get punished unless you’re fighting someone that has no means to punish you at mid range and you were not on the edges of the screen when you broke the combo.
Man this feels kinda weird. It’s like I can get broken but still convert for a big combo if I follow up on it. This was probably intentional, but it also makes things like Poison Trap in SL or any special that builds an especially high amount of PD much more frightening. The fear just doesn’t go away after a break. You still have to work and be patient to get rid of it.
I’m tempted to say it might be too much PD left on the table…? Lil, maybe taking off 75% would be a bit more reasonable rather than only 50%. Though it does feel like certain characters need to make use of these changes to succeed. Kilgore seems especially reliant on the new PD changes to get anywhere, based on what I’ve played of him.
I’ll need to do some more work before I’m certain, and unfortunately I’ll be off on Holiday with my family until the New Year. I’m very interested to see how this turns out. I’m optimistic.
I AM definitely pleased that I can do longer combos and be less afraid of losing my PD. Almost seems like getting broken has become a much smaller concern. It’s cool to see how different it is to S1 where it was essentially a super reversal thanks to the HDK.
So here are my questions: How is this a buff to her and how can she switch safely?
My opinion on this is that after a breaker both players are left in a reasonable distance and in neutral. To “safely” switch ARIA has to do “something” to make the switch safe. She has to either go in and do her own combo using switch ender or go to a VERY safe distance and do the switch (something that half the cast can just punish even from full screen) or knockdown the opponent and do the switch or anything else.
This is not safe. While she’s trying to do this “something” (blocking, backdashing…) her PD isn’t recovering even after 3 seconds, so it she can’t manage to do the switch in 3 seconds she’s already behind the cast in PD recovery.
I agree that after the switch (if she manages to do it) she has an easier time than the rest of the cast because she can just restore all her PD with no chance for the opponent to use that PD again, but then again when she receives any damage (even chip) the regen stops. Also the new body can receive it’s own PD so if the opponent opens you up after the switch you now have two bodies with PD.
So ARIA after a break is in a situation where she HAS to switch and to do that she has to create the situation. This is to me a much more stressful situation to be in than the rest of the cast that just needs to block and flee. I can’t see this as anything other than a nerf to ARIA.
Let me correct that: she has to switch to recover PD.
No I didn’t.
First you said the PD change was a buff to ARIA.
Then some people asked you to elaborate. @FeverAyeAye gave a theory that since she can recover PD in safety after a switch and never worry again until the PD is fully regen this could be a buff to her.
I gave my opinion that I disagree with this theory (and why) and I asked you again to please elaborate in how you believe the PD change can be a buff to ARIA.
If not because of her switching mechanic then how?
Oh ok, that comment was yours (it wasn’t a reply to the original questions, that’s why I didn’t find it).
So you believe it’s a buff when she’s the one doing the pressure. Could be, that would make it a berf since when she’s the one receiving the pressure she’s clearly worse.
Just please be aware that this past reply to me made no sense:
I was talking to @FeverAyeAye about his theory of how switching to safely recover PD would be a buff and I thought you where also discussing that.
Safely to me meant that the old body can recover PD and you don’t get immediately punished in the new body, it would make no sense to have the old body recover PD just to lose the new body when the opponent punishes the point blank switch.
Well ARIA is one of the few (5 characters) to have chip noramls.
I mean if they plan to keep the PD after breaker change then perhaps to balance it out for ARIA hitting her after switching doesn’t cause the regen to stop on the standby bodies then. So if for whatever reason the main body was destroyed and going into the still PD recovering one then it won’t have PD stacked up against it right off the bat.
After a couple days of playing w/ it, I can safely say that I am very fond of the PD changes overall. One aspect I hadn’t considered before they dropped is the improved value of juggles leading to oki now that there is damage already on deck when they quickstand into a mixup.
As an example, just the other day I was talking about how despite Omen’s ability to extend juggles unbreakably, I thought juggling w/ EX.Orda was inappropriate use of meter - now, with a little lab time, I may completely change my tune on that, and start using EX.Orda to stack unbreakable PD before hitting the flipout/sweep. That’s neat and exciting.
Near as important, though, I think this sudden inflation of value relative to technical esoterica helps illustrate the dire need for Training Mode improvements - specifically a bugfix run on ALL KNOCKDOWNS to make certain they are all KD/HKD/blowout as designated (and any other lab-bugs that are gettable, I guess), a similar pass for CORRECT & UPKEPT FRAME DATA, as well as an in-mode MASTER RECORD>FRAMESTEP (being able to record the entirety of a scenario as player controls P1 character & Dummy behaves as assigned or recorded), and a WAKEUP/REVERSAL RECORDING BANK.
…kinda got ahead of myself. Soz.
PD changes are good, the post-break situation feels the same (too early for judgement, methinks), but post-juggle & controlled-blowout situations feel powerful. This is good. Needs more lab-power.
@TheKeits Just want to say that my skepticisms of before were thwarted once I got into the heat of battle. Being broken by a guess is incredibly less painful with RAAM than it was before. Because the possibility of a lockout or cash out is still there, but if they happen to break I can easily pressure them again with the PD still being there as a visible threat.
RAAM and Jago have been a blast for me to work with and characters like Riptor during the RCT seemed like terrible changes st first, but once I got them going, they were a blast.
Whether I’m guess broken or broken on familiarity, I don’t feel like I lost my chance of dealing that initial damage that I would’ve completely lost. Even if we are reset into neutral, the opportunity of even having another chance to cash out some of the damage is substantial.
Good changes all around. I look forward to future improvements and additional changes to gameplay fundamentals for the better of KI.
I’ve had some time to catch up and try out the 3.6 PD/Breaker changes, and I have to say that I don’t like it at all.
Before the change, KI felt like a match of tennis- back and forth, and if you broke a combo, great! You have a fresh chance to get back in the game and return the favor instantly. Now if feels like a scalable Poison Trap went off for the “reward” of correctly breaking a combo, leaving the player who broke it at a severe defensive disadvantage- especially for such a fast-paced game like this one. Whether I win or lose, momentum feels like it spirals out of control way too quickly, and wins feel less satisfying (because I’m more focused on the fight, as opposed to the strange way that PD feels like it rapidly accumulates in 3.6), and losses hurt harder because I know I’d have even more fight left in me if these same fights took place pre-3.6.
The PD changes feel jarring and they hurt the pacing of the game for me.
However, I am absolutely looking forward to Kilgore, and I’m loving the weekly “Here’s something NEW for KI” schedule that you’ve set up for us. As always, I appreciate the fact that you’re seriously considering how we feel about the changes that you’ve proposed in KI. Thanks a bunch for that, & Merry Christmas, KI Crew!
For some characters, the changes to potential damage are absolutely ridiculous (in a bad way). Characters that deal little potential and normal damage don’t really benefit much from this; specifically Kan-Ra. Even though there have been changes made to some characters to deal a bit less potential damage, such as Cinder, Mira, etc. the change is hardly noticeable and puts characters like Ra, in my opinion, on some of the least enjoyable characters. There are situations where the potential damage can be detrimental and frustrating to use characters like Ra. An example is when Kan-Ra has sand out while taking damage in a combo and manages to break it, not only does he receive the 50% of potential damage but also gains a significant amount of potential damage as well if he has to relieve some of the pressure by using sacrifice. To add on, fast hitting characters, nearly everybody but Kan-Ra, can easily cash out the damage on him. Moreover, He’s a slow moving character and even if he manages to curse the enemy some special moves from fast characters still beat some of Ra’s normal and special moves. The change to potential damage, from my experiences, proves to be a double whammy on him and makes him much less enjoyable to play as. I hope this gets looked into as soon as possible so I can enjoy some more battles in Killer Instinct.
