Not sure what the fuss is all about with the new breaker. Everyone saying both players were on equal footing before the changes must have missed the fact that the person who didn't break still has stamina to run in, use interactables to close distance/attack with, use of a breaker themselves once they closed ground (w/ meter) if hit themselves, have stamina to bait and back dash, can special cancel still....and this is for like what 7+ full seconds (several more then it takes most to put you in the corner), come on how is that not more one sided? Acting like the new breaker is so unfair and is giving keep away characters SO much more now is IMO wrong, here's why, again IMO;
Breakers distance is still a jump in attack away (and what if the breaker is near a corner) , its not like keep aways can just spam freely without worry. Sure they can walk back (if they can) an instant air this and that, but the other player can advance, block, duck, jump, forward dash, teleport, use interactable, armor, space advancing strings, reversal special, etc....All its doing is giving the keep away character a chance to play their game for a few moments instead of having to deal with rushdown, 50/50 types NORMALLY better close game tools right away. They are spending two bars for this ya kno! Reading that rushdown is now at some disadvantage now when one occurs is hard to swallow, you just took two bars from your opponent, that is not a loss! Most rush down types forward walk speed is much greater then keep aways back walk speed or the have tools to aid them such as better forward dashes, extra armor, great njp's, teleports, blah blah. Now I'm not 100% on this cause I saw no sign of confirmation yet but hear the penalty on stamina is reduced now as well.
I'm a Mournful main so yes this sits well for me cause I can attempt what she's strong at a little more before half the cast rushes to apply pressure again. Sure atm I have some options, but not as many as the opponent. I cant back dash to create space or punish certain strings that have gaps, likely cant armor due to having just lost 2 bars, and for Kitana specifically only have a 8 and 9 frame high/8 frame unsafe d1 as my fastest attacks which pale in comparison to several rushdowns. I float and build meter as much as I can safely but its not likely I'll build one let alone two bars again before my opponent can get back in, and if I am keeping them out they are building bar to help them advance with more options. Yes this overall is helping zoning based gameplay but is was long needed.
On a side note this change along with the timer change means we might actually see matches that have time outs.
@RM NoBrows but in IGAU everyone got one free clash in red health, in MK you are spending two bars for that breaker just to escape the situation. IGAU also had the damage/HP regain feature to it to govern when it was wise/unwise to use it. So if that was the case in this, say my foe causes me to break and has three bars not only is he causing me to lose two bars but now has more stamina to give him a edge on getting back in/limit my options (kinda like the current state). That makes the situation even worst when the idea was I spent two bars to reset the situation to a fair neutral. Same for vise versa, good meter building characters like Kitana/Lao could use this to gain a slight advantage when they made the mistake due to normally having more meter then others.
@wselak how exactly is the person who causes the break, the rushdown in your case being penalized? They just took two bars for meter and their foe is in the same stamina situation as you. So a rushdown having to deal with zoner tools is unfair? Most can counter zone or have tools listed above.
Sorry for the wall and want to stress I'm only stating my opinion, not trying to pick fights with anyone just trying to look at this from a just (and casual
) prospective.
