Additional Topic: How to Always Keep The Dee Jay Beat (AKA Using Charge Buffering to Nail Charged Specials In The Shortest Time Possible)
Initially, I mentioned the concept of charge buffering as a topic too short to warrant its own article (you can see it mentioned as one of my bullet points here). Since that time, it has occurred to me that the concept is far more important than I previously realized for Dee Jay, both as a means of cutting down the time required between initiating two charged special attacks and also to further increase his possible combo routes in USF4. Before we consider the applications of this to Dee Jay, though, let’s look at the key input properties in USF4 which make this charge buffering technique possible.
Key Properties for Charge Buffering in USF4
1) Once you let go of a direction on the joystick and move to another adjacent direction, the game often registers a number of additional inputs in the opposite direction as you shift from one direction to another. It helps in this regard if you actually roll the stick slightly in your hand as you move between these two directions. This action is what I have since come to refer to as a "roll pause", meaning you quickly roll the stick in a barely perceptible curve between two adjacent stick points rather than push it hard against the joystick's restrictor gate to navigate it from one input point to another.
NOTE: In all honesty, what I am referring to here is more of a muscle memory hack than anything else and is hard to explain in words. The gist of it is that, assuming you are quick with your roll pause, you will travel between two adjacent points on the stick and actually insert one or more directions in the opposite direction as you do so. You will not think that is the case feeling-wise, but it will be true more often than not (to test this, turn on the inputs in training to see how many inputs you are actually putting in the buffer each time you think you are only inputting in two directions). This property is incredibly useful because it not only makes it easier to activate a
charged special, it also significantly shortens the time before you can begin
charging for another attack that requires such charge. For a more detailed discussion on the topic of input mechanics and how to take maximum advantage of them, see my later post here.
2) The USF4 input system also seems to remember an input for a
much longer period of time than was true for many previous SF games. Meaning, it
will remember a previous input that activates a charged special even when you
press the button for the charged attack while the stick is in another direction
(e.g., activating a Dee Jay Dread Kick with a kick button while the stick is in
the Back direction even though the move is actually initiated with a Toward
direction).
When you combine these two properties into your input for
charged specials, Supers, and Ultras, you essentially cut down the amount of
time required to charge a second, follow-up special by half or more of what it would be by consciously going all the way to a full Towards.
For instance, instead of inputting your Air
Slasher with Charge Back to a full joystick Toward direction and Punch, you can instead roll pause from Down/Back to Back, with a Punch button press during the second Back direction input. This works because when you roll pause from a single direction to the adjacent direction (no matter how small the
shift in stick you think you are doing during the roll and pause), the USF4 game system still counts that
brief moment in between as one or more additional direction inputs. In other words:
Charge Down Back -> Roll Pause to Back + Punch
is actually read by the game’s system as a version of
Charge Down/Back -> Toward -> Back + Punch
even though it doesn't feel this way in your head or hand (!).
Since all requirements for Dee Jay’s Air Slasher are met
with this alternate command - and because the game holds onto the memory of that
input sequence fairly long - you can activate Dee Jay’s projectile consistently
with this method even though you are pressing Punch on a Back direction while never consciously moving the stick in the Toward direction (and despite the
official input sequence for Air Slasher needing to end on a Toward
direction with Punch).
Why use this modified technique? Well,
by doing your inputs this way, you will have already half reached the charge
requirement for a second Air Slasher (or other charged special) before the
first one has even come out. This ultimately means that you can follow up with
a second charged attack after an Air Slasher much sooner than would otherwise
be possible. In many cases, the only thing you are waiting for is the end of
the recovery period after the first Air Slasher before you can unleash your
next charged attack. Ultimately, MORE charge for MORE of the time means MORE fighting options for Dee
Jay; therefore, it pays to learn this lesser known technique to up your fighting prowess, even if only incrementally.
Once you get the hang of activating your Air Slasher with the Down/Back to Back input plus Punch, try taking it to the next level by inputting the following sequence instead:
Charge Back -> Roll Pause to Down/Back + Punch
Note that, because Toward is unconsciously inputted between these two
inputs, the required input sequence for the Air Slasher is still properly met (meaning
the projectile will come out when you want it to). By using this new input
sequence, however, you will now be charging for both Back/Toward and Down/Up
specials in the shortest time possible. This pays huge dividends for scenarios
such as throwing an Air Slasher far from an opponent and then using your Upkicks as anti-air when they jump over it. In previous games, this is a setup
that would never be feasible due to the stringent charge system for past Street
Fighter games. In USF4, however, it is entirely possible, provided the opponent is not
jumping your projectile immediately in front of you (remember: charge buffering
allows you to cut your charge time in half, but you still need time for that
other half to properly hit a jumping opponent; thus, why the opponent must
jump Dee Jay’s projectile from farther out to allow you that time to get the
full charge buffer).
Again, the main reason for using this input hack is to allow Dee
Jay to maintain his charge for a much larger portion of a round than was
previously possible. One of the fixes mentioned early in this guide is to
maintain charge all the time wherever you can, since it is the backbone for all of Dee
Jay’s defense and offense. The charge buffering hack presented here offers a simple (though not
obvious) way to better maintain that goal.
Once you get the hang of activating your Air Slasher with the Down/Back to Back input plus Punch, try taking it to the next level by inputting the following sequence instead:
If that wasn't enough, the charge buffering
trick also has applications for some rather stylish Dee Jay combos . . . IF you have the
reaction time and dexterity to pull them off. So let’s check out a few of them
too before we finish with this topic.
Not only does Dee Jay’s Max Out/Air Slasher have good recovery, it also has a fair amount of hit stun when it connects on an unblocking opponent (possibly more than Guile’s, though Guile’s recovery overall is better). This means that Dee Jay can often follow up an unblocked Air Slasher with additional hits for quick and heavy damage, especially on an opponent in the corner. Here, for instance, are some of the corner possibilities:
1) Jab Air Slasher -> EX Sobat (will also work when your Air
Slasher anti-airs a jumping opponent, even in the middle of the screen)
2) Jab Air Slasher -> Roundhouse Sobat (both hits)
3) Jab Air Slasher -> Roundhouse Sobat (one hit) -> Sobat Carnival Super -> Ultra 1
4) Jab Air Slasher -> Roundhouse Sobat Carnival Super
5) Jab Air Slasher -> Ultra 1 (Sobat Festival)
6) EX Air Slasher (2 hits) -> EX Sobat (2 hits)
All of these combos are demonstrated as possible in one of my videos which you can find right here. When doing these combos, you generally use the Jab Air Slasher because it allows you the largest amount of time to complete the other
half of your necessary charge before releasing your follow-up special, Super,
or Ultra. That said, none of these combos are easy to do in an actual match
because it requires the opponent to not block the Air Slasher at the perfect
distance and for you to notice this early enough to complete the necessary
charge and input for the follow-up attack (some combos only work on specific opponents as well, due to the nature of their hurt boxes). Nevertheless, performing these combos in
Training Mode is a great way to perfect your charge buffering technique, so that
you thereafter have access to all of your specials, supers, and Ultras in the
shortest time possible. I would recommend learning them all for the education, if for nothing else.
NOTE
Using charge buffering and roll pausing also allows Dee Jay to do his infamous juggling Upkick technique. See Lesson 5 in my input mechanics post to get a better idea of how this is done.
Not only does Dee Jay’s Max Out/Air Slasher have good recovery, it also has a fair amount of hit stun when it connects on an unblocking opponent (possibly more than Guile’s, though Guile’s recovery overall is better). This means that Dee Jay can often follow up an unblocked Air Slasher with additional hits for quick and heavy damage, especially on an opponent in the corner. Here, for instance, are some of the corner possibilities:
2) Jab Air Slasher -> Roundhouse Sobat (both hits)
3) Jab Air Slasher -> Roundhouse Sobat (one hit) -> Sobat Carnival Super -> Ultra 1
4) Jab Air Slasher -> Roundhouse Sobat Carnival Super
5) Jab Air Slasher -> Ultra 1 (Sobat Festival)
6) EX Air Slasher (2 hits) -> EX Sobat (2 hits)
Using charge buffering and roll pausing also allows Dee Jay to do his infamous juggling Upkick technique. See Lesson 5 in my input mechanics post to get a better idea of how this is done.
In my opinion, employing these shortened input sequences to implement your specials is an excellent way to execute them in the shortest time possible and without doing another move by accident. So experiment to see how you can get this advanced technique to better work for you. It pays off in ways which you cannot even begin to imagine.
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The Beat comes from within, Mon. |