M2Dave
Zoning Master
Boon appears to be teasing a balance patch on Twitter. You can tell because the buffs and nerfs threads have resurfaced on TYM. I am obviously excited just as much as everyone else is. However, I would like to identify the flaws of NRS's patching in this thread. I am not going to call out anyone personally or ask that someone at NRS resign because of Alien. I would simply like to make the argument that as much as the patches attempt to balance the game, they shift tiers more so than anything else, with little to no changes to the meta game. The lack of balance and changes to the meta game can be attributed to the following two reasons.
1. A recurring error is over-normalizing top tier characters who have had success in tournaments or whom social media perceives to be overpowered, even if tournaments results indicate otherwise. About three patches ago the target was Quan Chi. Two patches ago the target was Shinnok. One patch ago the target was Tanya. The current target is of course Alien. While you personally disliked fighting some of the previous top tier characters of the game, ask yourself whether each character was normalized fairly and appropriately. Remember that the goal of a patch is to balance the top tier character, not punish him or her for his or her prior effectiveness so you can have revenge. To be to fair to NRS, I personally believe that the majority of the top tier characters were balanced correctly. Contrary to popular opinion, I think Tremor was balanced justly. Unfortunately, Tremor's balance is ultimately counterproductive when tools from prior top tier characters are removed while similar tools for some top tier characters are kept or transferred to other characters, which introduces my next point.
2. Another recurring error is removing tools from certain top tier characters while either keeping similar tools for certain other top tier characters or transferring them to already buffed characters. Currently, the most conspicuous example is Takeda's EX kunai. Kung Lao's EX hat spin used to be +27 on block (now +7), Quan Chi's EX rune used to be +15 on block (now -1 unless delayed), Shinnok's EX hell sparks used to be +24 on block (now +14), and Tremor's EX low stone shatter used to be +10 on block (now -5). Several other examples (i.e., Erron Black's EX sand grenade, Jacqui's EX up rockets, Liu Kang's EX bicycle kick, Tanya's EX tonfa toss, etc.) can also be mentioned. The point is that the frame advantage on all of those moves was rightfully reduced to prevent monotonous pressure, which also led to safe 50/50 mix ups for some characters. Takeda, who has received at least 20 buffs, managed to keep an advantage of +34 on the EX kunai, which lead to safe 50/50 mix ups. As a result, he quietly emerged as one of the game's super top tier characters. Takeda only represents one example, but I could list many more, particularly pertaining to Alien, Kano, Mileena, and Sonya. While Mileena is a rare exception to the rule, Alien, Kano, Sonya, and Takeda are super top tier characters who revolve around safe and rewarding 50/50 mix ups, a boring and stale meta game that has been observed for more than a year.
By the way, I am fully aware that top tier characters will exist as long as fighting games exist. I am not arguing against the nature of fighting games. I am merely arguing against tier shifting. Why do certain characters' tools get normalized or removed while certain other characters' tools are kept the same or buffed? Why is Kung Lao's EX spin +7 on block while Takeda's EX kunai are +34 on block? Why is Tremor's damage output normalized 10%-15% across the board while Kano does safe 50/50 mix ups in the corner that lead to 45%-50% combos? Why is Predator's zoning getting normalized while Mileena's zoning is getting buffed? Why are Kenshi's footsies and zoning average in this game when offensive options are powerful?
The next patch, if there is one, should focus on actually balancing the game, not tier shifting and tools transfer from one character to another.
1. A recurring error is over-normalizing top tier characters who have had success in tournaments or whom social media perceives to be overpowered, even if tournaments results indicate otherwise. About three patches ago the target was Quan Chi. Two patches ago the target was Shinnok. One patch ago the target was Tanya. The current target is of course Alien. While you personally disliked fighting some of the previous top tier characters of the game, ask yourself whether each character was normalized fairly and appropriately. Remember that the goal of a patch is to balance the top tier character, not punish him or her for his or her prior effectiveness so you can have revenge. To be to fair to NRS, I personally believe that the majority of the top tier characters were balanced correctly. Contrary to popular opinion, I think Tremor was balanced justly. Unfortunately, Tremor's balance is ultimately counterproductive when tools from prior top tier characters are removed while similar tools for some top tier characters are kept or transferred to other characters, which introduces my next point.
2. Another recurring error is removing tools from certain top tier characters while either keeping similar tools for certain other top tier characters or transferring them to already buffed characters. Currently, the most conspicuous example is Takeda's EX kunai. Kung Lao's EX hat spin used to be +27 on block (now +7), Quan Chi's EX rune used to be +15 on block (now -1 unless delayed), Shinnok's EX hell sparks used to be +24 on block (now +14), and Tremor's EX low stone shatter used to be +10 on block (now -5). Several other examples (i.e., Erron Black's EX sand grenade, Jacqui's EX up rockets, Liu Kang's EX bicycle kick, Tanya's EX tonfa toss, etc.) can also be mentioned. The point is that the frame advantage on all of those moves was rightfully reduced to prevent monotonous pressure, which also led to safe 50/50 mix ups for some characters. Takeda, who has received at least 20 buffs, managed to keep an advantage of +34 on the EX kunai, which lead to safe 50/50 mix ups. As a result, he quietly emerged as one of the game's super top tier characters. Takeda only represents one example, but I could list many more, particularly pertaining to Alien, Kano, Mileena, and Sonya. While Mileena is a rare exception to the rule, Alien, Kano, Sonya, and Takeda are super top tier characters who revolve around safe and rewarding 50/50 mix ups, a boring and stale meta game that has been observed for more than a year.
By the way, I am fully aware that top tier characters will exist as long as fighting games exist. I am not arguing against the nature of fighting games. I am merely arguing against tier shifting. Why do certain characters' tools get normalized or removed while certain other characters' tools are kept the same or buffed? Why is Kung Lao's EX spin +7 on block while Takeda's EX kunai are +34 on block? Why is Tremor's damage output normalized 10%-15% across the board while Kano does safe 50/50 mix ups in the corner that lead to 45%-50% combos? Why is Predator's zoning getting normalized while Mileena's zoning is getting buffed? Why are Kenshi's footsies and zoning average in this game when offensive options are powerful?
The next patch, if there is one, should focus on actually balancing the game, not tier shifting and tools transfer from one character to another.