“Perfect balance” is neither possible nor desirable. So the faster people can get away from that notion, the better off we’ll be.
What we really want is a diverse set of characters that aren’t made obsolete by someone else in the cast and don’t have a ton of unwinnable (or crushing) matchups. I think if you can manage that, the balance team has done their job.
At first when I saw your GT I thought you were a friend of mine that used to play KI (because his gt is Ragnarok too) so I picked Gargos with the intention to troll him a little XD And then I realized who you were! 
I tried Gargos against SaltGod and Tswag. They would wait, play patiently and get me between gaps, avoiding double jumping is good. Doesn’t mean this match up is easy. But yes, on paper Gargos has things to deal with Sadira. I was so salty after losing to SaltGod with Wulf just because of Sadira’s instinct…Can’t tell you how much. I know I should not let her jump but if I can’t take them to the corner they seem to find ways to escape. I must be more agressive.
@Iago407 better backdash or better damage in instinct (not much but Hisako destroys you in instinct, Orchid destroys you with simple damage, same as Kim Wu or other characters) or something to deal with multiple proyectiles. See Fulgore or Kan Ra for instance.Or a rework on the linkers. I can’t be sure because it’s not that I want him op.
But in short, having a second character isn’t a bad idea, but it takes a lot of work too (if we are talking about high level gameplay).
I think it’s a bit of a trap to assume that a really good player doing well with a character automatically equates to the character being good or even much better than a lot of people thought. Of course, it doesn’t mean the opposite is true either, but still.
Yeah that’s probably the question I should’ve been asking. I agree that he’s declining, the question was whether you think he’s declined too far and I agree with you that the answer is no, he has not declined too far.
I was also curious if you or Maru or think that his decline will continue given that this has been the trend, especially as more characters have come out, but I’m guessing neither of you own a crystal ball. 
I think that could be said for a lot of characters, specifically with regard to counter breakers, but I certainly agree. I’m just curious why you think that sentiment might be uniquely true for Wulf, or is it?
Do you think that any other characters, like Riptor, for example, make Wulf obsolete? I suppose it’s not a black and white question, as some characters touch on what other characters can do, the question is just how much.
I’m guessing you don’t think wulf has a ton of unwinnable matchups. I certainly don’t think he does. Obviously he struggles a lot against zoning characters, but that’s more or less part of his character design. Do you think he needs any help in that regard (not just a new move or whatever, but anything that springs to mind). Just curious.
I agree with the backdash and while I think the ship has sailed on increased damage in instinct, I’d still love to see it.
I think there’s a relatively common belief that Wulf’s a sort of entry level character and I see that to an extent, which is why having feral cancels seems a bit odd, as I don’t know many entry level players that would be able to take advantage of the concept to any great extent, but maybe I’m in the minority on that. It’d be nice to have something in instinct for the entry level players to get them excited as well.
I’d be curious to see what Wulf could get deal with multiple projectiles without unbalancing him. I like the idea, I’d just be curious to see what could work in terms of implementation. I don’t think they could give him a power devour move like Spinal has where he could just hold it down. I’m sure giving him a move that required precise timing, where he could bat a projectile back at the opponent as a fire bat would also be OP. So yeah, I dunno. I like the idea though, as I do think he needs something on the defensive side in this regard.
SaltGod, Tswagg, and Kalypso are some of the greatest Sadiras out there. Salt is a friend and he’s amazing. It would be tough against those guys even with Gargos
No, Riptor does not invalidate Wulf. They’re actually very different kinds of rushdown characters. In a lot of ways Riptor isn’t even at her best at RTSD - she’s at her strongest (I think) while she’s playing her extremely potent frame trap game.
Both Wulf’s divekick (especially the divekick) and faster runs->hamstring actually deal with (most) multiple projectile attacks very well.
And when talking about damage in instinct, it’s good to remember that Hisako doesn’t really do any extra damage in instinct, it’s just that she resets the bejeezus out of you. Wulf is a character who also has very strong reset tools, except that his aren’t dependent on whether he’s in instinct or not. I think good high level Wulf play should incorporate resets with some regularity - they are very difficult to stop, and particularly so online.
To be clear, I don’t think she invalidates Wulf. I think that there’s some overlap, same goes with Wulf and TJ, but I was more wondering if there was enough of an overlap in terms of what Wulf can do that other rushdown oriented characters can do so as to necessitate (probably a strong word, more like prefer, I guess?) moving Wulf in a more unique direction, but based on your answer, I’d say that you think not, especially at high levels.
I think that Wulf is viable, and I think that his move set is relatively unique when taken as a whole, even if I think that there are other characters that have some aspects of his move set to go along with a lot more stuff that make them unique. I guess I wish Wulf had a lot more going in that “outside of the overlap” department as well, but I’m guessing you think he’s already great in both number and viability of things that are uniquely Wulf. I’d like to see more, but if you don’t, that’s cool. I’m guessing the devs are more in line with your way of thinking regardless.
Wulf and Riptor are very different characters that control the fight in really different ways. I don’t think there’s much overlap between them at all, really.
Wulf benefits from lockouts because his feral doubles (which are not very useful outside of lockout) can be used to rack up lots of damage. He’s not unique in being able to get good damage off lockout, but I think he has a particularly good motivation. I admit I haven’t done the lockout math for him.
If I get a lock out I use another combo for damage depending on the shadows I have. using some linkers is not bad at all either =)
Dude flash is in a class of his own. 
Super Saiyan Wulf! I enjoy watching his streams got me inspired to pick up the dog again.
I think Wulf is good now compared to pre-season3.
I actually discovered that the AI Wulf will do this on Kyle difficulty. I’ve been jumping back into the game after a bit of hiatus and decided to do some mirrors versus the AI to see if I could get back into shape without having to deal with people, and Kyle difficulty Wulf seems to love resets. Lots of blow outs into dash through mixups.
I also learned that certain things I thought were easy punishes with Wulf are actually pretty safe. The dog has a surprising amount of frame advantage sometimes. Learned some dirty new tricks today.
Also I feel like saying that there’s overlap between Wulf and Riptor or TJ because they’re both rushdowns is kinda like saying there’s overlap in the function of a chainsaw and an as because they both chop wood. These characters may fit the same role, but do so in very different ways.
Wulf definitely has the best normals of the bunch (Overpower= 
), mixups from every direction, and he’s got comparatively solid defense. He can approach you in ways that you never saw coming from ranges you’d never expect and take his turn back when you thought they’d be locked down.
TJ is a vortex monster with a command grab and a plethora of target chains and in combo tools to make his combos both snazzy and difficult to break, though he struggles when he’s on his back and has to keep his momentum up despite his Last Breath mechanic. But when he gets going you need to pray for the right break because he’ll reset you so hard a good TJ can practically pull a MvC infinite if you’re wrong.
Riptor is a hit and run marvel who can be in your face with unrelenting pressure (she’s got enough block stun to keep you locked down for seconds at a time) and be gone by the time you’re ready to retaliate. Some of her best pressure tools almost double as zoning tools, with her huge heavy normals and a host of projectile attacks.
I will say that all these characters make pretty great use of Flip Out, and that they do all have some mad up close mix up game, but having played all of them extensively I can certainly say they all feel very different. Each one embodies an important part of the rushdowns spirit. Sabrewulf is hard to block, TJ won’t let you block, and Riptor forces you to block.
As for not seeing Wulf that often, of course he’s gonna be less common. There’s 27 characters instead of 8, and with Combo Assist the easier motions Wulf has aren’t as much of a draw.
Another way to explain the lack of Wulf is that I haven’t been on KI in a while. I’ve been working on fixing that 
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Niet. Your post is jus’ right… You know, like ze dog…
Wulf is fine. He just works harder for his wins in S3 
