General/Other - Sonya Blade Sonya General Discussion Thread

lslick said:

I think you are undervaluing that parry....It parries, highs, mids, overheads, throws and physically hitting special moves...That's pretty much everything in the game outside of jumping attacks, lows and projectiles....Not only that but like you mentioned, if you guess right with the meter burn, you net >35% in a combo and you can push your opponent into the corner or get yourself out of it...That's pretty good if you ask me

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I've stayed away from it for the most part, since when I try to throw it out I get combo'd from a low or a jump in, or it just gets flat out stuffed and I wasted a bar for nothing. I'll try to get used to using it to punish specials, that seems like its best use. But I'm scared to use it now because it takes a few frames before it will even parry anything, compared to CSZ parry which was 2 frames fast, the fastest thing in the game.

I'm not saying it's bad, and I'm definitely going to try to get used to punishing specials for bigger damage. But that startup just scares me, and I haven't discovered any good AAs Sonya has other than NJP. Even going for the easy uppercut AA almost always either trades hits or even just gets outright stuffed by jump ins.

RampaginDragon said:

I've stayed away from it for the most part, since when I try to throw it out I get combo'd from a low or a jump in, or it just gets flat out stuffed and I wasted a bar for nothing. I'll try to get used to using it to punish specials, that seems like its best use. But I'm scared to use it now because it takes a few frames before it will even parry anything, compared to CSZ parry which was 2 frames fast, the fastest thing in the game.

I'm not saying it's bad, and I'm definitely going to try to get used to punishing specials for bigger damage. But that startup just scares me, and I haven't discovered any good AAs Sonya has other than NJP. Even going for the easy uppercut AA almost always either trades hits or even just gets outright stuffed by jump ins.

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In terms of AA people, you have to commit to one of these options which you might not like:
1. Block
2. D2 really early which means you have to do a hard read
3. D2 when you react to it but it might trade
4. Backdash and block
5. Ex Leg Grab
6. Ex Arc Kick

5 & 6 allows you to beat out their jump-in via eating through their attack

Those are our only options unfortunately =[

Hey everybody, decided to join Tym, for Sonya strategies and discussion I'm still an amateur but would like to learn and contribute.

As far as Anti Air, I would like to include onto that list MS, 3 if timed correctly it'll trash people up in the air, also sonya's
Jump in punch (6frames) followed by air throw works well.

But I agree I kind of wish they included her rising bicycle kick as an additional special move in the game, it would work well As AA and with juggling.

lslick said:

I think you are undervaluing that parry....It parries, highs, mids, overheads, throws and physically hitting special moves...That's pretty much everything in the game outside of jumping attacks, lows and projectiles....Not only that but like you mentioned, if you guess right with the meter burn, you net >35% in a combo and you can push your opponent into the corner or get yourself out of it...That's pretty good if you ask me

*Should note that it loses to Liu Kang's Dragon Kick

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Definitely, definitely. You guys need to remember that a lot of people who play the advantage game are going to struggle the most with parry. Those players who always go for a mixup post d1 or d3, throw it out there and you'll make them second guess every time they attempt something they thought was low-risk. It's psychologically super powerful, even if non-metered.

But yeah, I agree with others that if I could trade parry for some other good tool, I probably would.

Okay so this isn't gameplay related at all lol, but why the fuck do Sonya's alternates look almost exactly the same? Haha. Gameplay wise, has anybody really been focusing on Demolition? I know I'm too in love with Special Forces to play anything else lol

HGTV Soapboxfan said:

Okay so this isn't gameplay related at all lol, but why the fuck do Sonya's alternates look almost exactly the same? Haha. Gameplay wise, has anybody really been focusing on Demolition? I know I'm too in love with Special Forces to play anything else lol

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Lol...Yeah her alts are basically the same...She is wearing a tshirt and a vest with different padding lol.....I was going to mess around with demolition before covert ops but then I saw how much easier is it to do things there that I kind of never went back to it lol....I'll sit in the lab after I get out of work today and I'll post my findings for demolition. I am curious to see if she has any form of invincibility with her grenade wakeup. I hope it doesn't get stuffed easily cause it does cost 2 grenades. Granted wakeups aren't free anymore so I wouldnt be surprised if it did get stuffed

lslick said:

Lol...Yeah her alts are basically the same...She is wearing a tshirt and a vest with different padding lol.....I was going to mess around with demolition before covert ops but then I saw how much easier is it to do things there that I kind of never went back to it lol....I'll sit in the lab after I get out of work today and I'll post my findings for demolition. I am curious to see if she has any form of invincibility with her grenade wakeup. I hope it doesn't get stuffed easily cause it does cost 2 grenades. Granted wakeups aren't free anymore so I wouldnt be surprised if it did get stuffed

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Yeah if it is invincible or something that would be a huge plus for that variation. Can't wait to see what you find!

Sonya should get a Barack Obama skin because she calls in the drone lol

HGTV Soapboxfan said:

Yeah if it is invincible or something that would be a huge plus for that variation. Can't wait to see what you find!

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Sat in training mode for like 5 mins so far since I have time before I actually have to head to work....In the corner, the grenade wakeup beats out armored moves except for X-ray....Tested it with Kung Jin's ex Bo Swing. If you time it correctly, you will trade with her. I also tried to F3 it to try to stuff it but that didn't work. I know that his F3 stuffs a lot of armored wakeup moves but the blast hitbox is pretty damn good lol

*Tested it vs all variations of Kung Lao's spin, and she either beats him out of it clean or she trades with him. And the trade isn't bad cause sometimes she gets lifted but Kung Lao is also knocked back so he can't confirm off of it. And sometimes the trade just knocks her down.

*Second edit, she is basically safe if she does it midscreen. She rolls so far away that if you try to react, she can block as soon as her roll is done. I tried to use ex slide from Sub Zero and I got knocked out of it and if I waited until the explosion went away, she was able to block in time. I also tried Scorpion's teleport. If you anticipate that wakeup, you can teleport before she does the move and you can hit her from the other side but that's a hard read so that's a gamble. I also tried to punish with disjointed hitboxes such as Kenshi's push and Scorpion's spear and that didn't work either. I will continue to further test it but I have to head to work now =[

*Third edit, Quan Chi can't do portal grab from warlock variation cause it actually doesn't track her lol

lslick said:

Sat in training mode for like 5 mins so far since I have time before I actually have to head to work....In the corner, the grenade wakeup beats out armored moves except for X-ray....Tested it with Kung Jin's ex Bo Swing. If you time it correctly, you will trade with her. I also tried to F3 it to try to stuff it but that didn't work. I know that his F3 stuffs a lot of armored wakeup moves but the blast hitbox is pretty damn good lol

*Tested it vs all variations of Kung Lao's spin, and she either beats him out of it clean or she trades with him. And the trade isn't bad cause sometimes she gets lifted but Kung Lao is also knocked back so he can't confirm off of it. And sometimes the trade just knocks her down.

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Yo that's actually awesome and could be really useful against knockdown heavy characters!

HGTV Soapboxfan said:

Yo that's actually awesome and could be really useful against knockdown heavy characters!

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I made a second and third edit from that post I made so far....I will continue to test out other options around it. And I will find some more stuff out for it....But that will be after I get out of work though....I might stream me sitting in training mode trying to discover some stuff...But I'm not sure if they fixed the problem of using the game in windowed mode for PC....I will keep everyone posted though

I'm sure this has already been addressed, but what can Sonya do to get in? Both of her moves for getting in are punishable. So is there an optimal time to use them? Can I have a few examples? It's my biggest issue with her as of late, and I'd like to be done with it.

Permafrost said:

I'm sure this has already been addressed, but what can Sonya do to get in? Both of her moves for getting in are punishable. So is there an optimal time to use them? Can I have a few examples? It's my biggest issue with her as of late, and I'd like to be done with it.

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f2 lets you cover a lot of distance and establish a game. Whether on hit or block, you can close with b13 if you just want to go for it. If they're respecting it and you're playing covert ops, you can go directly into db21 or even start buffering a run into other options. Her low starter of b332 is actually pretty safe, so you can poke with that and hit-confirm with it. Other than that, just walk or run and whiff dive-kicks to get around stuff. She's a very simple character that is extremely powerful.

Permafrost said:

I'm sure this has already been addressed, but what can Sonya do to get in? Both of her moves for getting in are punishable. So is there an optimal time to use them? Can I have a few examples? It's my biggest issue with her as of late, and I'd like to be done with it.

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In general just walk forward and be patient when getting in. Know the range you can dive kick over stuff so that you can threaten with that as well, which will lessen the amount of projectiles they throw at you and make it easier to move forward. If you're really struggling to get in I suggest her Special forces variation. Get a drone up and come in behind the homing missle. Also just a thing to note is that her run seems really good so you can definitely close space rather quickly.

Has anyone tested the 123 option select with Sonya? I'm on pc and having to use joy2key on the keyboard so I can't press more than two buttons and try it out.

Colares said:

Has anyone tested the 123 option select with Sonya? I'm on pc and having to use joy2key on the keyboard so I can't press more than two buttons and try it out.

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I haven't tested it myself but it's something on my to do list

You can F2 Option select military stance took me a lot of tries but I have bad execution.
I'll keep trying to make sure and try to find other moves.
Works F2 into demolition bomb but needs practice and quick reaction to explode the bomb in a combo or it's useless since f2 is 0 on block.
Haven't tried with the common moves or other normals because I haven't learned a lot of sonya to know optimal strings to apply it.
They are done by F2+BD2+other random inputs

F2 OS works really well in demolition with the stun grenade. That and blowing up armored wake-ups has really drawn me to this variation. What does everyone do to reload grenades? I find myself ending combos prematurely to either end with a grenade toss for oki setup, or reload grenades.

Shiizu said:

F2 OS works really well in demolition with the stun grenade. That and blowing up armored wake-ups has really drawn me to this variation. What does everyone do to reload grenades? I find myself ending combos prematurely to either end with a grenade toss for oki setup, or reload grenades.

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That's exactly what I have been messing around with since it has more recovery than summoning the drone so I think ending combos with a special cancellable normal is what we have to do in this variation

F+4, I've been messing around with it, you can go into military stance after the first hit for a fast reverse Kartwheel low poke, I find leg grabbing very easy after the two hits, how do the rest of you use it in general?

Also B+2 how can I make this move useful? I like the distance it covers but there should be more to it.

Dedlock said:

F+4, I've been messing around with it, you can go into military stance after the first hit for a fast reverse Kartwheel low poke, I find leg grabbing very easy after the two hits, how do the rest of you use it in general?

Also B+2 how can I make this move useful? I like the distance it covers but there should be more to it.

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I use F4 in conjunction with F2 since both of those moves are special cancellable and they leave you at neutral. In terms of B2, I don't every use it. I should look into it some more since it does lunge her forward a good distance but I know some people use it in the middle of combos.

Dedlock said:

F+4, I've been messing around with it, you can go into military stance after the first hit for a fast reverse Kartwheel low poke, I find leg grabbing very easy after the two hits, how do the rest of you use it in general?

Also B+2 how can I make this move useful? I like the distance it covers but there should be more to it.

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We're talking about B2 in covert ops or demolition right?
I don't use B2 enough since Sonya's other normals are so good, but when I remember to use it, it definitely surprises the opponent. It's got decent horizontal range and speed, pops them away, and could be used as a whiff punish. Could refill grenades in demolition variation as a follow up.

People not using JP into run d1, bfk for AA is confusing. Also air grab.

She's got a couple problems but AA ain't one.

REYTHEGREAT said:

im i the only one having problem with dd1, or db1 in her demolition variation?

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Just continue practicing the command in training mode =[

Sonya can duck under Raiden's wakeup shock grab (ex and normal) which hits mid. I thought that was interesting.

I'm having a real tough time getting parries to work on a read. You have to guess and can't do it on reaction to most things.