ATP2014
The best mediocre Batman
For the last few weeks, I had decided to abandon Kung Lao and represent the Emperor of Outworld. I stuck with War God, learning his combos, set-ups and general strategies. He's a really fun character who focuses on footsies, something that I enjoy thoroughly.
Despite this, there were a few things about him that just seemed off. Granted, Kotal is in no way bottom tier, and this goes double for War God. However, the changes I list below are some things that I think would enhance his gameplay as a whole, while simultaneously not over buffing him to the point of stupidity.
Please let me know what you think! I'm sure most of these ideas have been floated around before, but I haven't seen anything comprehensive as of now. As I stated, I played only War God, so my suggestions for the other 2 variations may not be the best.
Universal:
Increase the hitbox of the second hit of 114
- As most people know, 114 Air Grab is one of Kotal's best pressure tools, allowing him to be plus, gain bar, and set up significant chip if the opponent has no bar. However, all too often the second hit of the string will whiff on opponents, even though it is listed as a mid and the first hit of the string is blocked. A slight increase on the hitbox is all that is needed.
Increase the hit advantage on Air Grab
- Frankly, the hit advantage on the Air Grab special is bad. Kotal has almost no time to move in and start pressure, and in many cases he simply has to allow the opponent to wake up or risk being punished. Increasing the hit advantage somewhere between 8 to 10 frames would be ideal.
Sun God:
Allow Kotal to choose which direction he throws his opponent at all levels of Sun Choke
- A minor pet peeve of mine, but I have never liked command grabs that switch sides. When you finally have cornered your opponent and get a grab on them, you toss them out of the corner and have given them better positioning DESPITE getting the hit. Allowing the player to choose which side to throw their opponent is a quick fix for this.
Reduce the recovery of Sun Ray/EX Sun Ray to 15-20 frames
- This variation has the biggest problem with zoning of the 3, as it lacks the large sword normals of War God and the defensive totem of Blood God. To compensate for this, Sun God should be allowed to throw out this special that will heal him or damage the zoning opponent without having to wait an eternity to recover. The frame data of Sun Ray/EX Sun Ray in the other variations would remain unchanged.
Blood God:
Decrease recovery of Blood Offering to 15-20 frames
- This was a tricky one, as making this special recover too fast would make Blood God's damage output even crazier than it already is. However, I think it is fair to give him some help in the damage department since this variation has no true mixups and is likely considered the weakest of the three. The frame data of Blood Offering in the other variations would remain unchanged.
Add a new move similar to Blood Offering that gives Kotal one hit of armor
- Another tricky one, as I don't want Blood God to be the new Bane. However, I still think it would be fair to allow Kotal to sacrifice life in exchange for one hit of armor that would expire after a period of time. Having this new move recover in 15-20 frames may be a bit much, but the overall concept of the idea is what I'm trying to promote.
War God:
Increase hit advantage of Low Sword
- This follows the same reasoning behind the suggested buff of the Air Grab, with Kotal being at too much of a disadvantage on hit to get anything going. Increasing it to around the same hit advantage of Overhead Sword, which sits at 10 frames, would be ideal, and would allow the Kotal to take advantage of getting the hit without being too strong.
@Pnut
@Mr Aquaman
@Qwark28
@UltraDavid
@GGA Fill Pops
@TOKi
@Madzin
@AK L0rdoftheFLY
@EntropicByDesign
@Karnage
@STB Hellbringer
@Eldriken
@SwagMountains
@Anyone else that plays Kotal
Despite this, there were a few things about him that just seemed off. Granted, Kotal is in no way bottom tier, and this goes double for War God. However, the changes I list below are some things that I think would enhance his gameplay as a whole, while simultaneously not over buffing him to the point of stupidity.
Please let me know what you think! I'm sure most of these ideas have been floated around before, but I haven't seen anything comprehensive as of now. As I stated, I played only War God, so my suggestions for the other 2 variations may not be the best.
Universal:
Increase the hitbox of the second hit of 114
- As most people know, 114 Air Grab is one of Kotal's best pressure tools, allowing him to be plus, gain bar, and set up significant chip if the opponent has no bar. However, all too often the second hit of the string will whiff on opponents, even though it is listed as a mid and the first hit of the string is blocked. A slight increase on the hitbox is all that is needed.
Increase the hit advantage on Air Grab
- Frankly, the hit advantage on the Air Grab special is bad. Kotal has almost no time to move in and start pressure, and in many cases he simply has to allow the opponent to wake up or risk being punished. Increasing the hit advantage somewhere between 8 to 10 frames would be ideal.
Sun God:
Allow Kotal to choose which direction he throws his opponent at all levels of Sun Choke
- A minor pet peeve of mine, but I have never liked command grabs that switch sides. When you finally have cornered your opponent and get a grab on them, you toss them out of the corner and have given them better positioning DESPITE getting the hit. Allowing the player to choose which side to throw their opponent is a quick fix for this.
Reduce the recovery of Sun Ray/EX Sun Ray to 15-20 frames
- This variation has the biggest problem with zoning of the 3, as it lacks the large sword normals of War God and the defensive totem of Blood God. To compensate for this, Sun God should be allowed to throw out this special that will heal him or damage the zoning opponent without having to wait an eternity to recover. The frame data of Sun Ray/EX Sun Ray in the other variations would remain unchanged.
Blood God:
Decrease recovery of Blood Offering to 15-20 frames
- This was a tricky one, as making this special recover too fast would make Blood God's damage output even crazier than it already is. However, I think it is fair to give him some help in the damage department since this variation has no true mixups and is likely considered the weakest of the three. The frame data of Blood Offering in the other variations would remain unchanged.
Add a new move similar to Blood Offering that gives Kotal one hit of armor
- Another tricky one, as I don't want Blood God to be the new Bane. However, I still think it would be fair to allow Kotal to sacrifice life in exchange for one hit of armor that would expire after a period of time. Having this new move recover in 15-20 frames may be a bit much, but the overall concept of the idea is what I'm trying to promote.
War God:
Increase hit advantage of Low Sword
- This follows the same reasoning behind the suggested buff of the Air Grab, with Kotal being at too much of a disadvantage on hit to get anything going. Increasing it to around the same hit advantage of Overhead Sword, which sits at 10 frames, would be ideal, and would allow the Kotal to take advantage of getting the hit without being too strong.
@Pnut
@Mr Aquaman
@Qwark28
@UltraDavid
@GGA Fill Pops
@TOKi
@Madzin
@AK L0rdoftheFLY
@EntropicByDesign
@Karnage
@STB Hellbringer
@Eldriken
@SwagMountains
@Anyone else that plays Kotal
