GamerBlake90
Blue Blurs for Life!
Just so we're clear - I'm addressing those who are fighting against Batman, not the ones using Batman, and this sort of criticism I want to offer is not meant to offend any players whatsoever. Anyone who knows me will understand that I tend to point out holes in everyone's gameplay, casuals and tournaments alike, in the interests of helping them overcome bad habits and replace them with better ones. I myself am guilty of doing things that I would go back over and criticize myself over...a lot.
Right, so down to business.
Here's a general rule of blocking against Batman: if you know enough about the character, you will be wary of his b1 low starter and therefore crouch-blocking a lot. Off of the b1, he can complete the following strings, one of which this thread will cover:
b1 1 3
b1 1 2
I bolded and italicized the string I will talk about. Specifically, b1 1 2, which hits in the following order of attack levels:
low, mid, overhead.
Whenever I see someone get hit by the third part of this string, it baffles me to no end. I will explain why.
After you block the b1 low starter from Batman, if you notice he is completing the string in one of the two orders I listed, stop crouch-blocking and stand-block instead. You have absolutely no reason to eat the overhead portion of his b1 1 2 string. If you're attempting to counter-poke or armor out in the midst of that string or his b1 1 3, I have some news for you...that won't work. There's no gap in those strings wide enough to allow for an attempt at an interruption.
I realize you can form a bit of a mix-up by replacing the overhead in his b1 1 2 string with his low-hitting slide (bf3), but considering that a blocked slide can be punished with a combo and you're at -2 off a slide that hits the opponent, why would you even go for it when you can opt for the safe overhead? You can't even capitalize on the knockdown a slide gives you.
However, from a knockdown off the overhead hit in b1 1 2, Batman has quite a good amount of advantage for HKD set-ups (I believe this stands for "hard knockdown). He can stuff your Wake-Up attempt with a meter-burned f3 or b3, or cross you up to confuse you, or even release his trait if it's active to worsen your situation. And if you stop using Wake-Ups, Batman can prey on this with his insane pressure game. Should you be caught in the corner, you'd best hope that the Dark Knight sacrifices his offensive control by accident.
On block, Batman is left at -4. It's not much disadvantage, but combine that with the pushback from his overhead and you should be able to retreat with a backdash rather than potentially get checked by an air blast or another armored launcher, or start your own offense if you have a fast enough normal to take advantage.
So...yeah. Don't keep eating the b1 1 2 string. Save yourself some health, dude. And before some other concerns are raised in this thread, I'm gonna address them now.
"What if Batman doesn't go into a string after his b1? He might go for another b1 and if I stop crouch-blocking then, I might get launched for a combo."
Indeed, you will, and this is exactly why I said, "if you notice he is completing the string in one of the two orders I listed." If he doesn't go into a string off of the b1, keep crouch-blocking. Because the first two hits of b1 1 2 are low and then mid, you can crouch-block both and then immediately stand-block so as to dispel the possibilities of getting launched by the low and knocked down by the overhead. You kill two birds with one stone as long as your reactions are sufficient.
"What if he goes for the f3 overhead after just doing a b1?"
The f3 overhead is twenty-nine frames, according to the in-game frame data, and a general rule I've come to learn about fighting games is that you can fuzzy-block, or block at the correct height on reaction, against any moves that are more than twenty frames. This remains true even if they meter-burn the f3 overhead. Once you're trained to recognize the animation of Batman's f3 overhead, you'll be blocking it more often. Alternatively, they can dash-cancel the f3 and take advantage of your hesitation so as to resume their offensive momentum or get some distance in order to zone. If they cancel the f3 with a forward dash, continue crouch-blocking.
"What about his infamous b2 3 string? The second hit is overhead."
If you see Batman's b2 in motion (described by a backwards swipe of mechanical bat claws), one of two things will happen: either he will complete the string you asked about, in which case you immediately stand-block after the b2...or like with b1, he won't go into the overhead and instead will attempt to trick you with his low launcher yet again. If you see Batman pause in his offense after a b2, quickly return to a crouch-blocking position. You also ought to keep in mind that Batman is at -9 on block from a naked b2. This more than likely means you can escape the follow-ups with a backdash before they hit, because it would take eighteen frames for his b1 to follow or fifteen for his six-frame jab which can be ducked. Same for his six-frame d1 becoming fifteen frames off a blocked b2.
"And his 1 2 3 string? The third hit is low."
Refer to my answer to the first bolded question. If you see Batman do his 1 2 string, definitely keep crouch-blocking to prepare for the low. I will also point out that if Batman has enough meter to spare, he can Bounce Cancel into a f3 overhead (ff + Meter-Burn) which can catch you off-guard. It's not a mix-up you see often because players understandably want to conserve their meter rather than blow it on Bounce Cancels, but I assure you, they can be useful.
One last thing I will point out.
Off of b1 1, rather than go into the overhead or the launcher, Batman can cancel into a meter-burned Batarang that will allow for a block advantage of 38. This is usually followed by a jump-2 into more offense from Batman. So after blocking a meter-burned Batarang, stand-block the jump-2 and then start holding down afterwards so that the b1 will become less of a cause for concern.
I think this just about covers everything I wanted to say. If any of this information I've presented turns out to be incorrect later on, I apologize in advance and will make the necessary edits. My only aim is to improve your defense against a character like Batman rather than just let you take damage for no reason at all. Online, this will be much easier said than done, but offline...you'll be surprised as long as you practice what was covered here.
And a quick disclaimer: this is not an attempt to downplay Batman. He's a very versatile character who possesses an answer for just about every situation this game has to offer. A candidate for top five, in my opinion.
Now I must return to guard duty for the sake of Gotham. Leave your comments here if you have any questions that I didn't address and I'll try to answer them.
*puts on his bat mask and swishes his cape around himself*
Right, so down to business.
Here's a general rule of blocking against Batman: if you know enough about the character, you will be wary of his b1 low starter and therefore crouch-blocking a lot. Off of the b1, he can complete the following strings, one of which this thread will cover:
b1 1 3
b1 1 2
I bolded and italicized the string I will talk about. Specifically, b1 1 2, which hits in the following order of attack levels:
low, mid, overhead.
Whenever I see someone get hit by the third part of this string, it baffles me to no end. I will explain why.
After you block the b1 low starter from Batman, if you notice he is completing the string in one of the two orders I listed, stop crouch-blocking and stand-block instead. You have absolutely no reason to eat the overhead portion of his b1 1 2 string. If you're attempting to counter-poke or armor out in the midst of that string or his b1 1 3, I have some news for you...that won't work. There's no gap in those strings wide enough to allow for an attempt at an interruption.
I realize you can form a bit of a mix-up by replacing the overhead in his b1 1 2 string with his low-hitting slide (bf3), but considering that a blocked slide can be punished with a combo and you're at -2 off a slide that hits the opponent, why would you even go for it when you can opt for the safe overhead? You can't even capitalize on the knockdown a slide gives you.
However, from a knockdown off the overhead hit in b1 1 2, Batman has quite a good amount of advantage for HKD set-ups (I believe this stands for "hard knockdown). He can stuff your Wake-Up attempt with a meter-burned f3 or b3, or cross you up to confuse you, or even release his trait if it's active to worsen your situation. And if you stop using Wake-Ups, Batman can prey on this with his insane pressure game. Should you be caught in the corner, you'd best hope that the Dark Knight sacrifices his offensive control by accident.
On block, Batman is left at -4. It's not much disadvantage, but combine that with the pushback from his overhead and you should be able to retreat with a backdash rather than potentially get checked by an air blast or another armored launcher, or start your own offense if you have a fast enough normal to take advantage.
So...yeah. Don't keep eating the b1 1 2 string. Save yourself some health, dude. And before some other concerns are raised in this thread, I'm gonna address them now.
"What if Batman doesn't go into a string after his b1? He might go for another b1 and if I stop crouch-blocking then, I might get launched for a combo."
Indeed, you will, and this is exactly why I said, "if you notice he is completing the string in one of the two orders I listed." If he doesn't go into a string off of the b1, keep crouch-blocking. Because the first two hits of b1 1 2 are low and then mid, you can crouch-block both and then immediately stand-block so as to dispel the possibilities of getting launched by the low and knocked down by the overhead. You kill two birds with one stone as long as your reactions are sufficient.
"What if he goes for the f3 overhead after just doing a b1?"
The f3 overhead is twenty-nine frames, according to the in-game frame data, and a general rule I've come to learn about fighting games is that you can fuzzy-block, or block at the correct height on reaction, against any moves that are more than twenty frames. This remains true even if they meter-burn the f3 overhead. Once you're trained to recognize the animation of Batman's f3 overhead, you'll be blocking it more often. Alternatively, they can dash-cancel the f3 and take advantage of your hesitation so as to resume their offensive momentum or get some distance in order to zone. If they cancel the f3 with a forward dash, continue crouch-blocking.
"What about his infamous b2 3 string? The second hit is overhead."
If you see Batman's b2 in motion (described by a backwards swipe of mechanical bat claws), one of two things will happen: either he will complete the string you asked about, in which case you immediately stand-block after the b2...or like with b1, he won't go into the overhead and instead will attempt to trick you with his low launcher yet again. If you see Batman pause in his offense after a b2, quickly return to a crouch-blocking position. You also ought to keep in mind that Batman is at -9 on block from a naked b2. This more than likely means you can escape the follow-ups with a backdash before they hit, because it would take eighteen frames for his b1 to follow or fifteen for his six-frame jab which can be ducked. Same for his six-frame d1 becoming fifteen frames off a blocked b2.
"And his 1 2 3 string? The third hit is low."
Refer to my answer to the first bolded question. If you see Batman do his 1 2 string, definitely keep crouch-blocking to prepare for the low. I will also point out that if Batman has enough meter to spare, he can Bounce Cancel into a f3 overhead (ff + Meter-Burn) which can catch you off-guard. It's not a mix-up you see often because players understandably want to conserve their meter rather than blow it on Bounce Cancels, but I assure you, they can be useful.
One last thing I will point out.
Off of b1 1, rather than go into the overhead or the launcher, Batman can cancel into a meter-burned Batarang that will allow for a block advantage of 38. This is usually followed by a jump-2 into more offense from Batman. So after blocking a meter-burned Batarang, stand-block the jump-2 and then start holding down afterwards so that the b1 will become less of a cause for concern.
I think this just about covers everything I wanted to say. If any of this information I've presented turns out to be incorrect later on, I apologize in advance and will make the necessary edits. My only aim is to improve your defense against a character like Batman rather than just let you take damage for no reason at all. Online, this will be much easier said than done, but offline...you'll be surprised as long as you practice what was covered here.
And a quick disclaimer: this is not an attempt to downplay Batman. He's a very versatile character who possesses an answer for just about every situation this game has to offer. A candidate for top five, in my opinion.
Now I must return to guard duty for the sake of Gotham. Leave your comments here if you have any questions that I didn't address and I'll try to answer them.
*puts on his bat mask and swishes his cape around himself*
