A bit of speculation/comments/impressions on T6 Raven.
Even though T6 is still fairly new, from the looks of things, as of the present moment, Raven plays very similar to 5.0 and DR, with two major differences.
1. SDW okizeme isn't as large of a factor in Raven's gameplay as it used to be, due to new staple combos brought about by the [B!] system. It's a plus, in my opinion, because the 50/50 SDW oki mixups were horribly against Raven's favor in terms of risk/reward ratio.
2. He actually has a punisher. Two of them, as a matter of fact. Both are safe and have solid range, and one of them is a natural combo, 2-hit mid, mid combo. Somebody at Namco was paying attention. A definite plus.
While these two changes don't drastically change Raven's playstyle, they are definite welcome additions to his repertoire.
Moving on, some of his bread & butter is still intact, so most 5.0 and DR players won't take long to feel as comfortable with Raven as usual.
UT: 1+2 break throw, lots of damage.
1,2: Standard 10 frame pokes.
d/f+1: Same as DR/5.0
qcf: Diagonals can still be done from them, as well as ws moves, which is solid. These functions, combined with the standard qcf moves, makes this stance very formidable, as I'm sure most of you already know.
Those, in addition to f,f+4 and f+2,3, are most likely going to be a solid Raven player's foundation. A well-balanced diet of pokes, punishers, stances/maneuvers, throws, and lows. Learning how to utilize these moves to their fullest should be every Raven player's first priority. Afterwards, the trickier/flashier stuff comes into play (SDW and reversals).
SDW got beefed up, but I think it will play less of a role in Raven's game than in DR and 5.0. Sure, there are more ways to get into SDW, and even safer ways, but that doesn't mean SDW itself as a stance is very safe. I can see people going for the occasional SDW mixups with his new SDW mids to try and land a SDW d+3 (clean hit trip) for a combo, but outside of that and some combos, I think that's it.
Reversals are more or less just flash, glitter, fluff, whatever you want to call it. The old 1,2 to b,b+2 probably still works, as do the other ones. Not much to say about them.
All in all, the addition of f+2,3 and f,f+4 and his new combo potential makes T6 Raven the best iteration so far. His crazy juggle damage is still there, plus safe, solid punishers, and his solid B&B. Throw in a few off-the-wall moves and strat possibilities and you've got a very solid character. Still not top tier material, but closer than ever.
Comments?
EDIT: It seems d/b+2,1 isn't as good as it used to be, which also lessens the range of uses for d/b+4.
Even though T6 is still fairly new, from the looks of things, as of the present moment, Raven plays very similar to 5.0 and DR, with two major differences.
1. SDW okizeme isn't as large of a factor in Raven's gameplay as it used to be, due to new staple combos brought about by the [B!] system. It's a plus, in my opinion, because the 50/50 SDW oki mixups were horribly against Raven's favor in terms of risk/reward ratio.
2. He actually has a punisher. Two of them, as a matter of fact. Both are safe and have solid range, and one of them is a natural combo, 2-hit mid, mid combo. Somebody at Namco was paying attention. A definite plus.
While these two changes don't drastically change Raven's playstyle, they are definite welcome additions to his repertoire.
Moving on, some of his bread & butter is still intact, so most 5.0 and DR players won't take long to feel as comfortable with Raven as usual.
UT: 1+2 break throw, lots of damage.
1,2: Standard 10 frame pokes.
d/f+1: Same as DR/5.0
qcf: Diagonals can still be done from them, as well as ws moves, which is solid. These functions, combined with the standard qcf moves, makes this stance very formidable, as I'm sure most of you already know.
Those, in addition to f,f+4 and f+2,3, are most likely going to be a solid Raven player's foundation. A well-balanced diet of pokes, punishers, stances/maneuvers, throws, and lows. Learning how to utilize these moves to their fullest should be every Raven player's first priority. Afterwards, the trickier/flashier stuff comes into play (SDW and reversals).
SDW got beefed up, but I think it will play less of a role in Raven's game than in DR and 5.0. Sure, there are more ways to get into SDW, and even safer ways, but that doesn't mean SDW itself as a stance is very safe. I can see people going for the occasional SDW mixups with his new SDW mids to try and land a SDW d+3 (clean hit trip) for a combo, but outside of that and some combos, I think that's it.
Reversals are more or less just flash, glitter, fluff, whatever you want to call it. The old 1,2 to b,b+2 probably still works, as do the other ones. Not much to say about them.
All in all, the addition of f+2,3 and f,f+4 and his new combo potential makes T6 Raven the best iteration so far. His crazy juggle damage is still there, plus safe, solid punishers, and his solid B&B. Throw in a few off-the-wall moves and strat possibilities and you've got a very solid character. Still not top tier material, but closer than ever.
Comments?
EDIT: It seems d/b+2,1 isn't as good as it used to be, which also lessens the range of uses for d/b+4.
Last edited by Starwinderbeta on Feb 1st, 2008 at 12:02
..i used this yesterday to set up SDW d+3 b+4,4 B! SDW f+2,4,3+4....worked for me most of the time, but badly punished on block 
