Question - Scorpion I'm considering Scorpion as a Pickup Prospect

[FluffyKittenPops]

How good is Scorpion as of current date? Which variation is his best or is he all balanced? Which variation to use? I feel like they nerfed his pressure?

 

[Mitsuownes]

Scorpion is a mid character. His most popular variation is probably still Hellfire. His pressure got nerfed hard (Buff Liu Kang) but is still strong in the offense.

Since he is one of the best anti-zoners in the game, picking him up might be a good idea.

 

[shmatka]

It depends on how you want to play the character. Ninjitsu is very footsie and spacing based which may work well for you coming from Takeda. If you're looking to branch away from that focus, inferno has decent mixups and mind game potential. Hellfire was hella solid for pressure but after the 214 fbrc nerfs and whatnot I'm not sure what kind of state it was left in.

 

[oaoo94]

How good is Scorpion as of current date? Which variation is his best or is he all balanced? Which variation to use? I feel like they nerfed his pressure?

If you're picking up scorpion I reccommend picking HellFire. Even though his FBC is pokable. His flame aura is useful against jump ins and teleports.

His Ninjutsu variation is good for wiff punishing and long rage footsies.

And his Inferno variation has decent zoning and an annoying vortex. Same as hellfire.

He's a pretty balanced character and very honest. I suggest picking up all 3 for different match ups.

 

[FluffyKittenPops]

How should I approach combos most of the threads are outdated

 

[oaoo94]

How should I approach combos most of the threads are outdated

Ninjutsu you want to master the spacing with your swords

Inferno you should be tricky when using the minions. Especially the low minion because that's the core of inferno's gameplay.

Hellfire is about using smart and safe pressure.

But all of them benefit in a way with the teleport cancel.

 

[usedcarsalesmang]

what is Inferno's vortex?

 

[Mitsuownes]

what is Inferno's vortex?

Doesn't exist.

 

[usedcarsalesmang]

Doesn't exist.

probably exists only online

 

[FluffyKittenPops]

Ninjutsu you want to master the spacing with your swords

Inferno you should be tricky when using the minions. Especially the low minion because that's the core of inferno's gameplay.

Hellfire is about using smart and safe pressure.

But all of them benefit in a way with the teleport cancel.

I'm thinking about Hellfire and Ninjustsu . but his pressure fbc is gone

 

[shmatka]

I'm thinking about Hellfire and Ninjustsu . but his pressure fbc is gone

If I may make a personal reccomendation: start with ninjitsu. With your experience as a takeda player, I think it will be easier for you to learn his tools and spacing. I think ninjitsu will prove a good stepping stone, as you can apply takeads footsie knowledge to the new character to help learn his tools, and once you get comfortable with his play style it'll be that much easier to convert to the slightly high execution pressure based variation. Just my $.02

 

[FluffyKittenPops]

If I may make a personal reccomendation: start with ninjitsu. With your experience as a takeda player, I think it will be easier for you to learn his tools and spacing. I think ninjitsu will prove a good stepping stone, as you can apply takeads footsie knowledge to the new character to help learn his tools, and once you get comfortable with his play style it'll be that much easier to convert to the slightly high execution pressure based variation. Just my $.02

What combos does he have? And I guess ill pick up ninjustu

 

[shmatka]

B2 and f2 are great tools. A total scrub combo that I started out with was something to the effect of: 214tele, 11spear, 123 (ender). I played scorp for about a day as inferno, so I'm probably not the best person to ask. But based off of my scrub combo above you can kinda experiment with starting off of 123 instead of 214, replacing 11spear with f2 or b2 (one extends the combo, can't remember which) or any other fancy strings/ specials you find that you can sprinkle in to optimize for certain situations.

 

[oaoo94]

I'm thinking about Hellfire and Ninjustsu . but his pressure fbc is gone

That's why I said Smart and Safe pressure lol don't try to go for FBC pressure. FBC into blocks and Punish their pokes. Play that mind game with them. Then go for FBC pressure. And so on and so on.

Now I don't know how punishable his FBC is, so I'm just going by Liu Kangs FBC-just not as good lol,

 

[Perdition]

Scorpion is really annoying to use now. All I can say is beware of opponents who turtle against Scorpion. You have to be ready to grab a lot to open people up with Scorpion.

 

[Raiderhorn]

As a Ninjutsu main his best two variants are Hellfire and Ninjutsu. Inferno is too stressful to use and can have a real hard time against teleporting characters, which there are quite a lot of online, I find (Takedas, Mileenas, Tanyas, Kung Laos, other Scorpions...). Especially the Kung Laos, they're everywhere online nowadays. I'll try to give a good summary of each variation but there is a bit of bias coming from my ninjutsu knowledge..

Hellfire is very good for pressure and some footsie game. His flame aura can be used to anti-air jumping opponents (and those pesky dive kicks)/regular wakeups and lead to full combo punish. Fireball run cancels are nice and can throw off your opponent with low/oh/throw mixups or pokes to bait your opponent into making a move which you read and punish accordingly and yes it has been nerfed however it doesn't mean it can't be used. Probably the best of the three because of pressure options (look at tournament placings with scorpion, they're all hellfire - I can't find any ninjustu placings but maybe there has been) and can also zone if done properly but it's hard. Flame aura can also be used to get a slight increase on throw damage by like 2%. Decent meterless damage on this variant as well so you can save your meter for an enhanced move, wakeup, or breaker.

Ninjustu is heavily footsie game. His f2/b4 are armor breaking tools which are deadly for his corner game (even midscreen in some MU's) with the f2 being a launcher. His b2 is a very good anti-air and juggling move as well. Ninjustu gets very good meterless damage meaning you can save meter for a wakeup (that you must be careful with!) or a breaker. You shouldn't ever use an enhanced move to extend a combo because his meterless damage is strong as it is. Has a strong vortex that can be mixed up between regular strings/throw. It is possible for the opponent to escape the vortex with armor/fast pokes which few know about or even attempt (in my experience) because they mostly respect you due to your options; the vortex is in your favour because you can either blocking their armor reversal, backdash, or use a f2 launcher. After a throw midscreen you can quickly run and follow up with f2 to stuff wake-ups and is safe against some of the cast if it's blocked (can't remember how much of the cast, it's been discussed somewhere...). His f2 can be unsafe unless spaced properly and while his b2 is a good anti-air it can struggle against characters with long reach jip's like Kotal Kahn or skilled Tanyas. This variation also has decent corner carry. What this variation lacks is meter building properties.

Inferno is a yolo variation to some extent with zoning capabilities. His zoning can be hard to master against skilled opponents who know the MU because it's slow startup frames can be easily read between the low/OH minions (mid hitting minion is blocked either way). Conditioning is the key to this variation, I find, and then doing something with your minions your opponent won't expect (hence why it's the 'yolo' variation) and hoping to catch them off guard. He does have a vortex but it's limited because of inferno's options. This variation is very unsafe on the whole once you play with it for a while... On top of this if you try to zone a teleporter with your minions you're going to fail because they won't hit the opponent in time. This variation is easily counterpicked because of that. And if you start getting zoned, it's a struggle to get the pressure back in your favour unless you make a correct read/yolo move.

On the whole it's hard to escape an opponent's corner pressure with Scorpion and must involve good reads. Scorpion's wakeups are very unsafe with the only 'safest' one being a teleport cancel but can still be punished. It's also possible to stuff his wakeup teleport before you teleport behind the character. His d3 is a good poke tool and d4 is an amazing footsie tool which can also lower his HB. Teleport cancel behind is unsafe but if used effectively it can throw off the opponent. If your opponent is reading your behind teleport cancels you can also teleport cancel full screen, which benefits ninjutsu and inferno to give you room for space control. Throws are good for regenerating stamina and gives Scorpion space which should be used lots - not a lot of throw escapes are made online. In today's game he does have a place and can survive but does struggle in some areas. If handled properly he can make it.

Hope this helps.

 

[FluffyKittenPops]

As a Ninjutsu main his best two variants are Hellfire and Ninjutsu. Inferno is too stressful to use and can have a real hard time against teleporting characters, which there are quite a lot of online, I find (Takedas, Mileenas, Tanyas, Kung Laos, other Scorpions...). Especially the Kung Laos, they're everywhere online nowadays. I'll try to give a good summary of each variation but there is a bit of bias coming from my ninjutsu knowledge..

Hellfire is very good for pressure and some footsie game. His flame aura can be used to anti-air jumping opponents (and those pesky dive kicks)/regular wakeups and lead to full combo punish. Fireball run cancels are nice and can throw off your opponent with low/oh/throw mixups or pokes to bait your opponent into making a move which you read and punish accordingly and yes it has been nerfed however it doesn't mean it can't be used. Probably the best of the three because of pressure options (look at tournament placings with scorpion, they're all hellfire - I can't find any ninjustu placings but maybe there has been) and can also zone if done properly but it's hard. Flame aura can also be used to get a slight increase on throw damage by like 2%. Decent meterless damage on this variant as well so you can save your meter for an enhanced move, wakeup, or breaker.

Ninjustu is heavily footsie game. His f2/b4 are armor breaking tools which are deadly for his corner game (even midscreen in some MU's) with the f2 being a launcher. His b2 is a very good anti-air and juggling move as well. Ninjustu gets very good meterless damage meaning you can save meter for a wakeup (that you must be careful with!) or a breaker. You shouldn't ever use an enhanced move to extend a combo because his meterless damage is strong as it is. Has a strong vortex that can be mixed up between regular strings/throw. It is possible for the opponent to escape the vortex with armor/fast pokes which few know about or even attempt (in my experience) because they mostly respect you due to your options; the vortex is in your favour because you can either blocking their armor reversal, backdash, or use a f2 launcher. After a throw midscreen you can quickly run and follow up with f2 to stuff wake-ups and is safe against some of the cast if it's blocked (can't remember how much of the cast, it's been discussed somewhere...). His f2 can be unsafe unless spaced properly and while his b2 is a good anti-air it can struggle against characters with long reach jip's like Kotal Kahn or skilled Tanyas. This variation also has decent corner carry. What this variation lacks is meter building properties.

Inferno is a yolo variation to some extent with zoning capabilities. His zoning can be hard to master against skilled opponents who know the MU because it's slow startup frames can be easily read between the low/OH minions (mid hitting minion is blocked either way). Conditioning is the key to this variation, I find, and then doing something with your minions your opponent won't expect (hence why it's the 'yolo' variation) and hoping to catch them off guard. He does have a vortex but it's limited because of inferno's options. This variation is very unsafe on the whole once you play with it for a while... On top of this if you try to zone a teleporter with your minions you're going to fail because they won't hit the opponent in time. This variation is easily counterpicked because of that. And if you start getting zoned, it's a struggle to get the pressure back in your favour unless you make a correct read/yolo move.

On the whole it's hard to escape an opponent's corner pressure with Scorpion and must involve good reads. Scorpion's wakeups are very unsafe with the only 'safest' one being a teleport cancel but can still be punished. It's also possible to stuff his wakeup teleport before you teleport behind the character. His d3 is a good poke tool and d4 is an amazing footsie tool which can also lower his HB. Teleport cancel behind is unsafe but if used effectively it can throw off the opponent. If your opponent is reading your behind teleport cancels you can also teleport cancel full screen, which benefits ninjutsu and inferno to give you room for space control. Throws are good for regenerating stamina and gives Scorpion space which should be used lots - not a lot of throw escapes are made online. In today's game he does have a place and can survive but does struggle in some areas. If handled properly he can make it.

Hope this helps.

Whats his Ninjustsu vortex? i need some combos.... like.. off of his nip and b2

 

[Tweedy]

Scorpion is really bad imo. He has trouble opening people up, has no good advancing mids, no real pressure, is a vortex character with no vortex, etc.

 

[Scoot Magee]

Scorpion is really bad imo. He has trouble opening people up, has no good advancing mids, no real pressure, is a vortex character with no vortex, etc.

Imo Ninjutsu b2 is an amazing advancing mid. It can be punished but it gives a huge reward and generates respect in the neutral game.

 

[FluffyKittenPops]

What are his best high dmg combos found for ninjustu?

 

[Matix218]

What are his best high dmg combos found for ninjustu?

Standard combos ending in teleport are as follows

F2, b2, b2, jk, tele, 21, spear, jop, 4, tele

B2, b2, b2, jk tele...see above

Njp, back walk, b2, b2, jk tele... see above

214, tele, 12 spear, jop, 4, tele

114, tele, 21 spear... see above

Ex teleport, b2, b2, jk, tele, 21, spear...see above

 

[Tony at Home]

Doesn't exist.

Tell me then. Why do pro's in tournament get hit by f4? Seriously asking I'm curious.

 

[Mitsuownes]

Tell me then. Why do pro's in tournament get hit by f4? Seriously asking I'm curious.

- Nerves
- Mindgames (you can delay your low/overhead)
- Opponent respects low too much

And so on. You can fuzzy guard all of it.

 

[Sage Leviathan]

Tell me then. Why do pro's in tournament get hit by f4? Seriously asking I'm curious.

Even someone with the greatest reaction time is not immune to conditioning.

 

[Tony at Home]

- Nerves
- Mindgames (you can delay your low/overhead)
- Opponent respects low too much

And so on. You can fuzzy guard all of it.

Fuzzy guarding isn't reacting to something. Reacting to it would be holding low, and then blocking high when they see the overhead coming. Fuzzying is holding low for a set number of frames, and then holding high after that set number to control for a mixup with a large frame distance.

Reacting to something is completely different because reacting is not vulnerable to simply delaying the quicker moves. To react you wouldn't have to commit yourself to changing your block after a certain set number of frames, you would just block against the quicker option, and react to the slower option.