This is what I know...
1. Possessed is in all likelihood still his best variation. Even though you pretty much HAVE to burn bar for decent combo damage, you're gifted for it by gaining better space control, the DF4 ender, and the Teleport + ensuing knowledge that the opponent has to base his fight around said Teleport.
2. Balanced is NOT, and I repeat as fucking loudly as giant letters can let me repeat, NOT, as bad as it was prepatch. no fucking way.
Yes, we don't get armor on EX Rising Karma anymore. But how many other characters are currently dealing with similar issues?
You know what we do have now? A fucking slew of specials that all work in tandem the way they're supposed to now!
Tele-Flurry actually works! Spirit Charge not only works, but it got buffed AND armored! Combine that with the buffed B1 we got last patch AND the fact that now EX Overhead Slash is a launcher that, when mixed with either said working Tele-Flurry from full screen or whatever ender I'm close enough to throw out, gets me a guaranteed sixth of a lifebar AND optimal screen positioning, and what do you get?
I've spent more time in the lab and online this weekend than I ever have before, and this character has NEVER felt as good as he does now. Is he perfect? Fuck no. Is he top tier? SUPER fuck no. But he WORKS THE WAY HE WAS FUCKING INTENDED TO FINALLY, which is all I have been waiting for for the last year and a half.
I don't give two fried eggs worth of fuck what the meta was like before this patch, because literally NONE of it matters. I've been dealing with these godforsaken games and patches and tiers and oh my for five damn years, which is long enough to know the difference between a character that's worth bitching and moaning about and a character that isn't, and at this point, the devs have done all they can do to out the sword back together, and I for one think they did a fucking solid job.
Balanced is in OUR hands now. Enough hand holding and waxing nostalgic. Either put up or die. Even MK9 Sheeva and Kano had Michael Bolton and Beenee Weenies behind them to the end, and those characters were GARBAGE compared to what Balanced is capable of in this meta. Find a better character if it's that depressing, because I really don't see what the hell it is about him that's bad enough to warrant anyone still being salty. Yes, he could've turned out better, but he could've turned out a whole lot worse, too.
tl;dr: I'm taking my sword to NEC, turning my inner Bear Jew up to 100, and bringing home some Nazi scalps. anyone wants to join me or test my blade, I am not a difficult Box to find. I'll be the crazy Puerto Rican with the black nails, the Slipknot t-shirt, and the stuffed monkey in a Tremor costume draped on his shoulder like a pirate's parrot.
I'm the fucking captain now.