SSFIV AE Barlog: Time to make a switch?

balrog
#1

Hm. So I haven’t actually read too much on it but apparently Rog is getting some nerfs (isn’t he fine the way he is?). I also use Rose btw, who’s Orbs are getting a frame of startup (eh, whatever). I guess I’ve got a couple of questions.

If I do, who should I switch to?

  • I’d like to use someone who’s been improved but not tremendously. Someone who’s like mid-upper tier at best. (No Fei, Akuma, whatever). I’ve been fuckin around with Vega with pretty good results against really good players. Also, my style of play is rushdown, mix-up with sections of heavy zoning at different times. Vega has really suited this thus far.

Also, is anyone else making the switch from Rog to another? Is it because of any nerfs? Is it because someone else you like is getting buffed?

Has anyone just said “Fuck it, I’m using Fei”??

#2

Nope. Dat Rawg fah lyfe!!!

You learn, adjust your playstyle, and own!

#3

I don’t know if I will switch, I played him for a bit and his nerfs really didn’t seem to bad I managed to get a 5 win streak (max you were allowed before being booted off) a couple of times, and other than the matchups where the st.jab is gdlk I really didn’t notice too much difference.
I think I will stick with Rog while it is still in the arcades because I only have so many pound coins, but when it hits console I might switch to Fei or one of the twins.

#4

I think people should stick with Boxer. Most people have not even really used him to his potential anyhow. If you do want a character with more 50/50 comeback stuff, you should definitely switch if Boxer ended up not meshing with your style.

#5

let me get this straight

you “heard” balrog got nerfs(not even sure what they are) and you want to switch characters?

lol

#6

I have played AE and I do not feel like the nerfs are game ending. He is still good. There is really no reason to switch if you like his playstyle.

#7

@foger Ok well I know his HB is getting nerfed somehow. That’s all, not sure if it’s dmg or recovery.

@everyone I don’t see Rog as like, his nerfs are just turning me off and I’ve gotta switch. Maybe it’s just like change. With a new iteration comes new methods of play. Maybe I’m subconsciously getting bored of Rog? I don’t think so. I think I just like using a lot of other characters. I hate it though, I get so much shit for using other characters (even though i never said I’m switching but rather I want to ‘pick up’). I guess I’d have to be like Floe’s level of play for it to not matter to anyone.

@Leoncio random thing I noticed. I played you a few times on Saturday on PKSkyler’s account. GGs. Haha.

#8

From my understanding the changes have been (Thus far, some may be just flat-SUPER changes and not Super AE changes), Standing Jabs now not effective against crouchers, reduced hitbox on Jumping Fierce, and a huge recovery period on his Headbutts.

So, the only thing there that’d effect me as much are the Jumping Fierce nerf and the Headbutt issue.

To put some meat on it, the jumping fierce change is pretty big - It was a great AA move and so far people have said the difference is extremely noticeable, so thats a bad thing no matter how you play - With that in mind, Jumping RH is still a solid Normal.

Headbutt nerf only effects me because I absolutely love using HB on TKD’s for crossover//pretend-crossover mindgames and meter building - The change should NOT effect you too many other ways because it’s not meant to be used outside of combos - Yes, we used to adore this as a fireball avoiding/meter builder but Rog isn’t exactly lacking in ways to avoid fireballs without Headbutt, so that just takes adaptation.

The Standing Jab change wouldn’t effect me too much because I rarely ever used it up close and the only time I really mix it in to what I’m doing is if I want to use a FSJab into Headbutt on a standing opponent whom I feel is too far away for a CShort or CJab while getting charge time.

I’m sure SJab will heavily effect games / mathups that emphasised it, such as Sagat/Abel, even Gief to an extend, but it won’t be a horrendous game changer.

Those are just the three nerfs I can think of and if those were the only ones then I can’t see how Rog still wouldn’t be a pretty solid character, especially if you take into consideration that I’m sure he’s not the only character in the roster being changed, possibly for the worse.

#9

Jumping fierce got nerfed, but it is still a very good air attack. The horizontal range didn’t decrease, only the vertical range did. This means that you cant use jumping fierce to stuff ground anti airs anymore(such as guile, chun li). Also jumping fierce along with jumping roundhouse active frames got decreased, so you’ll have to adjust.

Headbutt recovery on hit did not increase…all your mixups are still there, unless you had a mixup that involved whiffing headbutt

S jab nerf is pretty big for the players that abused it in their style…I only see people who relied on S jab to not like Balrog anymore

Balrog is still in the upper tier of characters in AE…you’ll just have to work harder.

#10

As said, headbutting over people on UTK to change sides, meter building etc Obviously it has no effect on connected headbutts!

#11

So Balrog cannot headbutt (all punches?) to avoid hadokens? That’s a hurter. Oh well, gotta train to use that fierce kick/punch to avoid them.
That’s a viable move to avoid them, right?

#12

Aye his neutral jump fierce has a wiggle, can pick direction - Doesn’t move very far but it’s better than a purely vertical jump and the NJFierce itself is a great normal. I only use NJRoundhouse vs characters with high jumps, specifically Bison when I want to hit him out of Headstomps as the hitbox is completely horizontal, maybe even higher than Balrogs head.

Headbutt whiff recovery not only stumps his fireball avoidance/meter building but makes it far inferior as a wakeup option. I know headbutt itself never was a great defense/avoidance tool but now with that change, any matchups where you normally could headbutt to safety during certain pressure/wakeup scenarios pretty much makes it even less viable.

At the end of the day I’d dislike the changes but ultimately it would teach me to be a better Rog, because the most stable methods of all the above require less risk and more work on mobility in general rather than relying or using already risky moves even pre-nerf.

#13

Anyone who drops Balrog because they think that his nerfs are too critical is just dumb. I’ve played a lot of AE and the only nerf I really even notice is the headbutt recovery and damage nerf. I’m aware of what his nerfs are but none really make a difference overall except the headbutt recovery and damage nerf. Standing MP buff is useless. Standing LP nerf is really on match-up dependent therefore in no way a viable reason to drop a character.

#14

I honestely think we ended up winning more than we lost with the overall nerfs happening around the rest of the cast.

However… FREAKING SAGAT WHY WON’T YOU GO AWAY, WHY DID YOU HAD TO RETURN

#15

Is there any change in Balrog’s Jumping HK? I hope not…for me its one of the best jump ins in the game hits deep and nice to follow up with a combo. I prefer J.hk above J.hp. They nurfed HB, s.lp on crounching opponents. I sure hope J.hk is left alone…

Some one has the answer?

#16

As far as I remember, I’ve not read anything to indicate JRH was nerfed at all - If it was, I imagine it just had active frames reduced, same as JFP.

That is not a guarantee as I’ve not been keeping too up-to-date with AE considering I’m still a GFWL PC player who gets to enjoy Balrog in his original strong form :wink:

#17

Thanks for the reply,

We will see when AE hits the consoles in june (atleast thats what i read)

#18

balrog seemed relatively weaker in AE, most likely because of new characters’ buffs, not necessarily rog’s nerfs.
regardless, its a good reason for me to give gouken a try :stuck_out_tongue:

#19

To be fair, it actually allows you to combo EX Rush Upper on crouchers too. So it *is *useful up to an extent.

#20

That’s stating the obvious, wouldn’t you say? :stuck_out_tongue:

Personally I think cs. mp has a fair share of problems that make it kind of impractical to use:

-It whiffs on some shorter characters when they crouch (Blanka, Honda, possibly more), and some characters seem to have low normals that make it whiff. (For some reason I keep losing to wake up cr. mks from scrubby Ryus when I try to use it as a meaty. I might be mistiming it though.)
-Has poor horizontal range, which makes it both risky and hard to use. Push back from jump-in attacks will usually put you out of cs. mp range, and if you want to hit confirm cs. mp in a ground combo string you have to be point blank, which is a bad place to be in some matchups/situations.
-If cs. mp combos were really useful, I think I’d see it used more often in Japanese match vids, but so far I rarely ever see it. Japanese Rogs are still playing him thqe same way they did in Vanilla and Super…

I can see it being useful in certain situations, but its really not all that good.

Anyway I still think Rog is decent and fun to play in AE, but you have to take bigger risks to land good damage.