Rain General Discussion

[DarksydeDash]

Fully agreed with Scorpion's synergy with Rain.

Being able to do a geyser in neutral or off strings, see it hit, and get 28%+ is fantastic!

 

[DarksydeDash]

In regards to the portals, I didn't use them much but what I have found that works is keeping in mind how long they stay on screen and where they are on screen.

For example, you place a portal near you, and the opponent is right on it. now they have to wary of an instant overhead or a legit 50/50 if you do a jump in.

 

[Guds Skyfall]

I’ve been wanting to use him with my favorite character, Sektor, as cameo, but I’m not finding much synergy at all between these two. Has anyone else tried these two and found anything useful?

 

[SaladPlateLover]

WAIT WHAT? You can enter an existing portal and exit through the one he makes during the tp?

 

[Eji1700]

WAIT WHAT? You can enter an existing portal and exit through the one he makes during the tp?

Yeah I keep hearing that Roethor is the one to watch for rain, and it certainly seems he's figured out the gameplan.

Pretty sure he's not a zoner, but sure seems like a setup monster.

 

[DarksydeDash]

Yeah I keep hearing that Roethor is the one to watch for rain, and it certainly seems he's figured out the gameplan.

Pretty sure he's not a zoner, but sure seems like a setup monster.

Nah, he feels like a character that controls space but upclose his buttons are very slow and stubby.

 

[DarksydeDash]

Roethor has a sick strategy where after he ends a combo with db3, he immediately calls a portal. Then when the opponent is on top of said portal he throws the whirlpool at their feet which makes a threat of a low because they are expecting him to teleport out of the portal. If the whirlpool is blocked, now there are + frames to work with in addition to the portal.

 

[xenogorgeous]

Roethor has a sick strategy where after he ends a combo with db3, he immediately calls a portal. Then when the opponent is on top of said portal he throws the whirlpool at their feet which makes a threat of a low because they are expecting him to teleport out of the portal. If the whirlpool is blocked, now there are + frames to work with in addition to the portal.

yep ..... a smart Option Select trap ?

 

[RoboCop]

I've also seen him end by throwing out the portal and then going into the overhead starter for a hard-to-block setup.

 

[Jdizzle31]

WAIT WHAT? You can enter an existing portal and exit through the one he makes during the tp?

I did not even know, i have yet to add potals to my game. How do you even do this?

edit: kinda figured it out. It seems more like a bug but it works

 

[exeeter702]

I did not even know, i have yet to add potals to my game. How do you even do this?

edit: kinda figured it out. It seems more like a bug but it works

There doesnt seem to be any logic to why this works. I thought perhaps its based on if the first portal is in front or behind the portal that is canceled into at the time of cancel. Nope. I thought maybe its a matter of height. Nope

Distance apart at the time of canceling into port seems to effect it certainly.

In the corner, if you set the portal up high, say off of air 142, then go into f3>port. Unlike mid screen, you jump through the top portal instead of teh one you just created from the cancel.

And on top of all that, whenever you initiate this "tech", you are not able to manual port to oldest with the requisite command as you would with normal portal usage, meaning this is never going to be a mixup and is too slow to be an unreactable overhead or low. If rain is canceling in your face with portal. just block high and hit him out of the startup if in range (which is where the threat of a psuedo mix would even be), you have all the time in the world to block low in case they have frost or whatever for a low special to cancel into, and still stand block and visually confirm this. Hell you can stay crouching and just blast him with a down 2 or whatever..

Ill keep testing but I cant seem to figure out the game logic, assuming this is intentional, to replicate it, or to utilize it in a way where I have access to both ports in this situation. In the corner there could have been some tricky tech, if left right mix ups where a thing in MK

 

[Eji1700]

Didn’t they literally demo this on the kombat kast for him? I recall them saying rain can pop out of either portal

 

[exeeter702]

Didn’t they literally demo this on the kombat kast for him? I recall them saying rain can pop out of either portal

You can when setting up two portals normally. There is a unique command in his move list that determines newest/oldest portal hop.

This command does not work when activating portal as shown in the video(s).

 

[SaladPlateLover]

Finally got to play! Honestly he feels better the more I use him and I really unestimated how complex he is which is awesome because he really feels like a mage with many tricks. The only real complaint I have is that his confluence beam needs to have a better reward than 6%. I'll post videos when I start get the hang of things. Here's what I've been trying to do so far:

Up close - I don't use his 11 strings in neutral; only use them for challenging something like Raiden's teleport. 2112 and f213 are great staggers, and I like to cancel them into water gate often. You can put one or two down then do zoning with the threat of them around.

Far range - His zoning is reactive to the opponent's toolset and doesn't have much intiative without cameo. Water shield is a sick move that let's you safely him and his cameo up, as well as conceal your actions; use this against single-projectile characters. If your set ups are scary enough you can summon a cameo and block while obscured to punish rush moves. Use rain god to counter really low stuff, It's actually really good and fast but the input is terrible. In terms of anti-air I think the up-block meta has to flesh out first too see how to use his aa tools properly. Up-block is amazing but there's also high-risk high-reward mind games that come with it. Also right now Sareena is popular as a multi-projectile cameo which counters the shield but wait until people switch up.

Jax - I put down a gate in neutral, then look for a punish with 211 - gotcha grab - roundhouse - b2 - geyser. Leaves the opponent right on the gate for a teleport mixup or you can summon another gate for confluence. I think it can be difficult for the opponent to process since both moves involve summoning a gate. Problem sometimes is that you can't tell which side you'll port to so instead of mixups might have to settle for 2112 stagger pressure. For regular bnbs without a pre-summoned gate or Jax, I'll end with geyser and start ground pound up, then combo that with rain god to dodge the self-harm.

Meter - Just use it for launcher and armour. I don't have a purpose for EX missile or water shield yet. Maybe EX water shield is durable enough for Reiko's shurikens?

Set ups - I'm not a fan of ending combos into water gate except sometimes in the corner maybe. A high portal just isn't as good as one on the ground. Geyser ender is good but you can also end in air-241 x missile charge, then do mind games with the cancel.

Mix ups - I know a lot people use his overhead starter way more than his low, since it is a safe launcher, however I'm confident overheads were overtuned purposely in this game because of up-blocks. Just something to keep it mind as people learn to punish with it.

 

[Ptehu]

ok, so first of all - he is NOT a zoner. Period.

His projectiles are probably one of the slowest in the game and in the projectile war - Sindel, Reiko, Liu is trashing him for sure.

And yea - I know he has his bubble but I'm old. I cannot input dbf that fast on PS5 controller. So zoning game is off the table for me. Especially when people online are abusing Sareena and when I don't have meter for breaker I can go get my tea from the kitchen, drink it, and after that I'm still in the air.

BUT

when I manage to shorten the distance, then fun happens. Nice strings, quite decent overheads and nice mind-games with people trying to block/poke me.

Adding to that his fluent animations, water powers and mage-ish desing - he actually looks and feels great!

Watching this Roethoer (?) guy is also something that is very entertaining. Glad that Rain is not forgotten and even if he is not a top-tier, he can still be used in a decent way.

 

[KH_Seraph]

Problem with his bubble is multi-hitting projectiles tear right through it. Sub-Zero might be the best kameo to use ice armor against matchups like Reiko who throw shurikens all over the place.

On the plus side, it synergizes really well with his zoning anyway, allowing you to actually throw stuff out without getting interrupted like before, and also keeps combo routes open with Sub-Zero’s freeze.

 

[Ptehu]

I tried couple matches with Sub Zero Kameo and holy shit that just works!

Of course I'm the casualest of all casuals so you should not probably blindly trust my judgment but for me, personally - it's the perfect fit for him.

Also Sonic Fox just tweeted (or should I say x-ed) "Rain is much stronger than I thought" [can't get the direct link now] so maybe we should expect some veeery high-level footage to appear shortly.

 

[DarksydeDash]

I tried couple matches with Sub Zero Kameo and holy shit that just works!

Of course I'm the casualest of all casuals so you should not probably blindly trust my judgment but for me, personally - it's the perfect fit for him.

Also Sonic Fox just tweeted (or should I say x-ed) "Rain is much stronger than I thought" [can't get the direct link now] so maybe we should expect some veeery high-level footage to appear shortly.

Rain and Sub Zero might be his most dangerous version because it just takes one touch to potentially take 93%

 

[DarksydeDash]

ok, so first of all - he is NOT a zoner. Period.

His projectiles are probably one of the slowest in the game and in the projectile war - Sindel, Reiko, Liu is trashing him for sure.

And yea - I know he has his bubble but I'm old. I cannot input dbf that fast on PS5 controller. So zoning game is off the table for me. Especially when people online are abusing Sareena and when I don't have meter for breaker I can go get my tea from the kitchen, drink it, and after that I'm still in the air.

BUT

when I manage to shorten the distance, then fun happens. Nice strings, quite decent overheads and nice mind-games with people trying to block/poke me.

Adding to that his fluent animations, water powers and mage-ish desing - he actually looks and feels great!

Watching this Roethoer (?) guy is also something that is very entertaining. Glad that Rain is not forgotten and even if he is not a top-tier, he can still be used in a decent way.

He feels like he has anti zoning tools and ways to bring the opponent to him. He wants to always play in that jump distance range because of Geyser and his strong anti air game.

 

[DarksydeDash]

Weird thing with frame data is that canceling into portal on block with strings like 114 actually makes them safer at -2

 

[SaladPlateLover]

I wish teleporting didn't get rid of the gates. Otherwise you could have a gate behind you, do a combo, end in b2 x gate, tp to the first one, then you're at distance with a portal next to the opponent

 

[exeeter702]

I wish teleporting didn't get rid of the gates. Otherwise you could have a gate behind you, do a combo, end in b2 x gate, tp to the first one, then you're at distance with a portal next to the opponent

If only a portal being next to the opponent was a legitimate threat vs a knowledge check/gimmick. Unless you are in their face with a cameo providing block advantage so you can port safely, or there is some sort of far range low projectile assist to force the portal mix, there is zero threat of a portal being next to the opponent, because they can just hit you out of the hop/exit.

Seriously, portal pressure should not be where people put some focus on outside of canceling into portal summon after certain strings for better frame advantage. Unless it's changed, people are simply going to learn how fraudulent it is and beat it clean every time. The shit Roethar was getting away with in those online tournament streams was downright criminal.

 

[STB Bodam]

A few other bits of info for those who haven't had the chance to play rain

His bubble shield is a poverty version of jades purple drank. It is durability based instead of duration based. It absorbs 2 projectile hits, and if you burn a bar on it, it then becomes a salvation army version of jades shield via following rain for a couple seconds. Meter burn version does not gain additional armor on projectiles. Reiko for example shits in this move with his projectile. Also it does not protect against old man Sheng up skulls. Comically the best perk about bubble is that rain is mildly obscured while standing inside it, depending on the stage (lol) so you can sometimes get away with a pool or full charge beam if the opponent for whatever reason is respecting your space and doesn't make out which move you are doing.

Rains whirlpools deactivate when he is hit, so you will never get a scenario where you trade blows with a glue eater who gets in your face as you finish the year long startup of pool, and they hit you and then get sucked under.
Rain can be hit out of portal jump up until the very last frame when he is going through and vanishes. It is by no means an escape tool, not that it was intended to be. Just know that it's not really even a mobility tool either unless you commit to the multiple stage maintenance required to set them up in advance. It this point in time, it is a tool to set up mixups in corner or maybe mid screen if you are lucky.

This is more of a personal wish and not something I was outright expecting. Rain God having zero projectile invincibility or even being about to go over them at full hight, is a hard pill to swallow in light of all of his other tools being so slow. Being able to juke some projectiles by doing rain God at the right time would be nice. As it currently stands, you are able to get hit out of at every moment. And some characters can even FB on reaction to it.

I know we've got some folks on here that are absolutely dead-set determined to make him work for them in the character's current state but if I'm being honest with myself, I won't be playing Rain much in MK1 unless NRS makes significant adjustments to his kit. I feel like his design came about backwards or something; like they prioritized giving him a bunch of unorthodox tools but forgot to make them work in practical ways. It's like he was designed in Practice Mode to be an experimental character with a bunch of flashy and fun to look at tools and by the time they were done with implementing his specials and trying to make the hitboxes work for them, they lost all motivation to actually have them make sense. By no means do I mean to offend any of you guys that play him/want to play him but there is so much about this alteration of the character that just irks me.

You have no idea how badly I want someone to find something that really pushes this character over the top or even makes use of his "zoning tools" in a meaningful way where he could compete with most of the roster but I don't see it. It pains me so much to admit this because prior to release, I was determined to main him (since this is the first time he's been part of the base roster in the new era) but there is nothing about him that works for me. I envy those of you that can make him work for you.

I remember watching the Kombat Kast where Stephanie shows off what he can do and it felt like they didn't even know what is good about him. That's when I kind of knew how this was going to turn out.

 

[SaladPlateLover]

If only a portal being next to the opponent was a legitimate threat vs a knowledge check/gimmick. Unless you are in their face with a cameo providing block advantage so you can port safely, or there is some sort of far range low projectile assist to force the portal mix, there is zero threat of a portal being next to the opponent, because they can just hit you out of the hop/exit.

Seriously, portal pressure should not be where people put some focus on outside of canceling into portal summon after certain strings for better frame advantage. Unless it's changed, people are simply going to learn how fraudulent it is and beat it clean every time. The shit Roethar was getting away with in those online tournament streams was downright criminal.

Yeah I agree, the gates only work because people get panicky at the teleport and let go of block. I wouldn't mind for faster projectiles but I really would love to see buffs to his gates because I think that's the most interesting part of his kit. For me that'd be starting by making it so the beam does more damage or juggles them higher. That would also make his meter usage a lot more interesting because right now it's just launcher or armor.

 

[SaladPlateLover]

After playing him a bunch, he does feel incomplete and these are changes I wanna see:

-Gates don't disappear on teleport
-Faster recovery on upward missile
-Confluence beam does more damage or juggles higher for combos
-ex shield absorbs unlimited projectiles
-ex straight missile not a straight up waste of meter. Maybe make it a mid, let it charge like normal version, and/or increase damage

I still really enjoy playing him but these changes would be chef's kiss. Try him out with Kano and counter projectiles with shield+knife toss into whirlpool. Against more rapid fire projectiles, his laser beam can help for the full screen game. And lastly call Kano ball while doing gate cancels to safely dash up for 50/50s. If you land the overhead you can cancel ball so Kano doesn't break your juggle.