[KOF Arena] "Attack opportunities made by bold decisions” Countering multiple-strike skills

Feb 13, 2023

Safe reaction to multiple-strike skills: Guarding then dodging forward

Multiple-hit skills have low damage, but it’s difficult to find gaps to counter, and they can easily destroy your guard gauge, so they’re difficult to deal with. If you don’t have escape or emergency dodge when facing a fighter with a multiple-strike skill, you can fall to their combo rather easily.

The safest way is guarding the skill and using emergency dodge forward when there’s a gap. This can reduce the guard gauge loss while parrying the opponent’s skill. However, you need to watch out against skills that have very quick hits like Leona’s Baltic Launcher or Ralf’s Vulcan Punch, as emergency dodge can be used when you attempt to dodge forward.

▲ Minimizing the guard gauge loss by guarding Ralf’s multiple-hit skill and parrying by dodging forward.

▲ If the timing is miscalculated, EMERGENCY appears and your emergency escape is used, so you need to be careful.

Aim for the timing when the opponent’s Super Armor is deactivated!

1. Opponent uses a multi-strike attack skill
2. Guard the skill, then use a basic attack or a quick skill when there’s a gap
3. If counter is successful, keep attacking with the gained initiative

Some of the multi-strike skills have a big motion when connecting the following motions. When these motions are connected through combos, it’s impossible to counter, but if you guard in advance, there’s a big gap, and you can counter.

This is a high-risk-high-return method, so it’s very difficult, and you can get hit by the opponent’s multi-strike skills. If the opponent’s multi-strike skill connects to a motion where it causes you to be airborne, you would have to pay for it by using escape. However, if you succeed, the opponent wastes their cooldown, and they would completely give up the initiative.

▲ Even skills that don’t seem to have a gap, there are some if you know them.

▲ If you fail to counter after guarding, it’s critical because you waste your skill and it becomes harder to gain initiative.

Multi-strike skills that are counterable?

Skills that are counterable are limited to skills that have big gaps between the motions and those that lose Super Armor early. To get used to these skills’ counter timing, you need to practice enough in practice mode. After you do, attempt to counter when being attacked in actual fights. If you succeed, you can get to your opponent more effectively.

Managing your HP and PG decides the outcome of the game. When you get used to countering after guarding, your win rate will increase drastically, and you can aim for higher tiers. It may be difficult to attempt, but it’s important to gain experience by countering skills that are easy to counter.