KOF XIII: Raiden

[Dark_Chaotix]

Well the reason why he was "top" was because he had that DK that could pretty much along change the way the game was going or even kill you depending on stock. Since it was an anywhere juggle, you could do massive damage just from a sA anti air. I think this made it hard to "get in" in fear of a counter DK. Have to be patient and have the ability to play with just punches when doing charging the DK (if you are doing 2 at once).

Im not sure how his change of charge will change his physical gameplay because other then that I dont think he is that much of a huge threat.

[The Monster]

Well the reason why he was "top" was because he had that DK that could pretty much along change the way the game was going or even kill you depending on stock. Since it was an anywhere juggle, you could do massive damage just from a sA anti air. I think this made it hard to "get in" in fear of a counter DK. Have to be patient and have the ability to play with just punches when doing charging the DK (if you are doing 2 at once).

Im not sure how his change of charge will change his physical gameplay because other then that I dont think he is that much of a huge threat.

Yeah I'm curious myself. Well I always assume with any bigger size character , if the guy playing that character can land combos in any fighting game (doesn't honestly matter which). The opponent can either take the hit or he has to play a paitence game and work around the blows. I guess unfortunately for this game in this case , this heavy type character in particular's move was extremely good. I honestly don't even blame them for changing it up. I can't see them toning down his strength or anything though , he seems very balanced for a heavy/grappler type character. Lot of people around the webs are saying he's got better combo ability then Zangief does haha XD .

[Dark_Chaotix]

Here are example of ingame combos and how the flow of the game can be changed rather quickly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTOs7j5F74M" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (at 4:30mins)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alEDvHTBUt4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (At 2:45mins and watch till the end of that match. Then at 7:00mins)

I dont mind the dk, it just needs a change of properties. Out of all the grapplers, he is by far the most versatile and agile. But seeing how Cralk has autoguard on his SAB now maybe he wont be the only grappler being used.

[The Monster]

Here are example of ingame combos and how the flow of the game can be changed rather quickly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTOs7j5F74M" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (at 4:30mins)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alEDvHTBUt4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (At 2:45mins and watch till the end of that match. Then at 7:00mins)

I dont mind the dk, it just needs a change of properties. Out of all the grapplers, he is by far the most versatile and agile. But seeing how Cralk has autoguard on his SAB now maybe he wont be the only grappler being used.

Damn yeah. I kinda felt like that King was a little spammy but regardless it's most likely easy to take down someone like Raiden with a fast character , esp if you know what you're doing. That's the challenge of playing a heavy. Not dying XD.

The other one was awesome , I love how he got his Shen to go all rage mode and he just wiped him up. I saw a lot of Clark and Ralf play on Shoryuken , I don't know if Ralf is considered a grappler but I can honestly say those 2 look amazing as well. Who knows. I say even with the DK nerf , Raiden is still going to be a beast in the right hands. He's just a bad ass.

[Toxic Avanger]

Initially I was in refusal to touch Raiden because I can't have him with a Tank top, he only has single shoulder strap suits; but eventually I decided to give him ago again (One of my most played characters on my very short time with the arcade version). At first I used him just like I used him on the arcade, without really using bars and stuff like that; but now that I can have more calmly a try to the game, I choose to dwell for some time into a universe that I never cared in the arcade version.

In the arcade version there it was this hidden, secret character that many players loved and he was called Drop Kick-san. Drop Kick-san (also known as Duh!! ) had no damage problems, no problems against tiers, no problems of resources, no problems of language nor natural resources nor love issues nor racist deals... but he only had a single move (ergo, his name). Now in the console version, Duh!!-san is almost gone and thus only the very few (none) that preferred Raiden are left.

Raiden is basically a semi fast 1 hit character with a somewhat easy execution. What he doesn't have is "damage", he has standard damage for a heavy character but "complicated damage" that most of the cast has he does not. This is of course, at first glance. Once we learn to do some of his complicated inputs we have access to regular "meaty" damage that other characters have.

Raiden basically has a problem, and that is that if you are not used to his inputs, you'll have to waste meter in order to achieve his damage, and that's a big waste as in you could burn 4 bars and still not get a decent combo, however that can change with the help of what's left Duh!!-san, this is because he can drive cancel moves without using the HD bar (part of the reason of why he was so over the top in the arcade version).

Jp (hold D) , cr , cr , -> , -> Release ,
- 1 power bar, 1 drive cancel and half energy damage. This is the bare minimum for Duh!!-san to be effective and the biggest draw of the combo is that you don't need to held the button before the combo starts. You can start the combo from the ground by holding B and still use Duh!!-san; but that requires some conditions; you either delay as much as possible the B > A > A+C part (which is hard as hell) or you input B > A > A and then the EX tackle (this needs zero distance and thus is not going to happen often unless you blocked a big or something.
- There is a catch, though; the EX tackle must lead the enemy to the corner else the drive cancel will whiff, this is common to all of Raiden "advanced" combos. However this condition is quite easy to fulfill since the tackle covers almost half the ground on any stage. In this case If the enemy is not going to end up in the corner you are better off doing B > A > command throw or the ranbu DM.
- The weakness of this combo is that there is almost no point to extending it into using more bars and more drop kicks, as the payoff is marginal

Jp , cls , HD Mode , cr , [ -> , -> ] x 2 , ->
- Uses 5 bard and HD mode and does close to 900 damage; but since it uses 5 bars and a simple loop is stupid and you are better not using it, however this is the basis to better things, so understand it a bit.

Jp (hold D) , cls , HD mode , cr , -> , -> release -> (repress ) -> ->
(continues from previous line) ---- -> , -> release -> ,
- Pretty good damage for a 2bar combo AND you only needed to use a single button for DUH!!-san. If you want to add a Neo MAX you need to cancel the last DUH!!-san with the Neo Max instead of the C tackle. Ending the combo with the Crazy Train is pretty weak so don't bother with it. but if you want to see it, cancel the last DUH!!-san with a C dokugiri and then do the Train.
- The key of the combo is to hold as soon as the cls is starting to connect, and to input the moves after the Dokugiri as soon as possible, if you delay them too much then the combo won't hold out.
- I'm pretty sure that the lariat ending version of this could be a 100% if the first drop kick is a max charged one (by holding D before the combo begins, and starting the combo with a jumping C instead), and if the second one can reach level 2 or better (press B when HD mode starts and release it as the last drop kick).

.Jp (hold D) , cls . HD Mode (hold B) , cr , -> , -> release -> (repress ) ->
(continues from previous line) ---- > -> -> , -> release -> -> release -> C.
- The most efficient damage I know of for 2 bars and the hyper drive, however is pretty much impossible to improve; if you want higher damage you should use a Neo Max version of the previous combo. I always aim for this since I play Raiden first.
- 3 DUH!!-san in a combo. For the lulz I have been trying to improve this combo and as of now I have managed to use 5 EX tackles and 4 drop kicks (whiffed the fifth one).

edit : I think I forgot to mention that all combos can start from a ground attack, if you press cls ~ hold before going into HD mode.

[Sogetsu]

I must disagree... my friend never liked to use Raiden because of Drop Kick, and now he is loving the new one making combos and winning with skills instead releasing 2 Buttons after few seconds

Not all people like to abuse characters, there are players who even feel bad when their main characters are indeed for abuse mechanics of the game easily
And also, watching some nice gamers using Raiden, it feels a really good character now

[Sogetsu]

Hi, today playing on the 360 my friend was wondering what moves should use with Raiden sometimes to counter while the enemy is pushing him with short hops on the corner for example

At the moment he found useful and s or c (But the enemy must be really near on air or front), as well for normal pokes but only when he is the one pushing and controlling the range

Obviously the works but not when you have not time to perform it because a character like Kula, K or Kyo is cornering you and constantly pushing

Your toughs on this?

[Dark_Chaotix]

Added console changes and movelist to first post.

[The Monster]

My only compliant about Raiden is that he doesn't have a stationary grab. And I think if they gave him that it'd be an all out game changer. His Raiden Bomb is great but it misses a lot of time due to a smart opponent and leaves the poor guy open for a lot of damaging combos. IMO he has a tough time as it is comboing now , even with his charge drop kicks. I noticed Clark,Ralph, and I think Goro even have stationary grabs but they're not normal grab animations ..they're usually like something else fancy. I'd really love to see Raiden get a normal grab similar to dare I say? Zangief. But other then that I honestly love his moveset , Raiden Bomb just opens up too much and Poisen Mist should be a different combination of buttons as the controls like to confuse it for Raiden Bomb.

Just My 2 Cents as a Raiden Mainer.

[SonicTempest]

Um...Raiden has a command grab. HCF+K. Also has a super grab, even.

[The Monster]

Um...Raiden has a command grab. +K. Also has a super grab, even.

Are you referring to the basic grab , where he picks you up by the skull and tosses you? Because that's not what I mean if that's what you mean XD.

I mean like a basic generic grab , He lifts you up and bear hugs you and tosses you. Again you're talking to a guy who's still learning the KOF lingo .. so you're most likely going to be right and I'm going to have to check this out XD.

[Iie-Kyo]

Do you know what the difference between a normal throw and a command throw is?

This is NOT KOF lingo - this is lingo that has been in fighting games for years.

A normal throw is any type of throw you can execute by pressing back/forward + C or D. They can be teched by pressing f + C/D when they attempt to grab you.

A command throw is a special move type of throw that is usually executed with some sort of command, such as , or , f + P/K. They are inescapable once they hit.

Raiden has a command throw. It's + K. As a "Raiden Main" you should know about this. It's in his move list.

[The Monster]

Do you know what the difference between a normal throw and a command throw is?

This is NOT KOF lingo - this is lingo that has been in fighting games for years.

A normal throw is any type of throw you can execute by pressing back/forward + C or D. They can be teched by pressing f + C/D when they attempt to grab you.

A command throw is a special move type of throw that is usually executed with some sort of command, such as , or , f + P/K. They are inescapable once they hit.

Raiden has a command throw. It's + K. As a "Raiden Main" you should know about this. It's in his move list.

No this is just a classic case of me confusing myself. Just disregard everything I've typed. Also I know what a normal and a command throw is . I was talking about animations in general but I guess I didn't elaborate too well on that. Once again my bad. And I used the parenthesis as a joke like "oh yeah bro I'm totally legit and I main this character and I'm better then you" , which in reality I'm not AT ALL XD. (But I do consider Raiden to be my favorite and I do use him the most , so technically he is a main of mine). But yeah before I make an even bigger fool out of myself , gonna end this.

[Dae-Han]

Raiden Is a grappling Character with many more tools at his disposal than just grappling. Although on the console version of KOF 13 his Dropkick has been "nerfed" it hasn't limited the characters ability to completely dominate space, and be able to turn around a match at any point. Here are some tricks that are Essential to becoming a good Raiden Player.

Headcrush/Follow Up's

After doing Raiden's Headcrush command throw you are given a perfect amount of time and spacing to perform some interesting follow up's.

Headcrush/Crossup

After doing Headcrush, wait for a fraction of a second then perform a super jump in the direction of the opposing character. By doing this you will land behind them, an ambiguous move, as in his air trajectory you appear as if you are going to land in front. By pressing (Air D) you will land a hit regardless of if they are standing or crouching, as long as they are blocking in the regular direction. The beauty of this cross up is that you can't guard against it either way if you are crouching, therefore I have designed an array of mix ups for when your opponent gets wise to what you are doing.

Headcrush/Mix Ups

The "fake" crossup

After performing Headcrush immediately perform a super jump, please note that the jump must be executed in the first active frames after Headcrush. If you do this properly, Raiden will appear to be crossing over the opposing character, but will actually drop down in front as they wakeup. This move is too early to hit them with (Air D) however I would reccomend ''Crouching Light Kick, Standing Light Punch, Headcrush'' as the opponant will be expecting you to hit them high, and wont guard against the low attack, and also, the combo ends with a headcrush, leaving you with another possible set up.

Crossup to Crouching Light Kick

After doing Headcrush, wait for a fraction of a second then perform a super jump in the direction of the opposing character. Wait untill you land then perform ''Crouching Light Kick, Standing Light Punch, Headcrush'' this mix up is for if you think they suspect you to hit them high with an (Air D) so they have to block high.



The other things you can do after Headcrush is wait for a second then do a regular high jump and either land and do another headcrush, do Air D which hits high, or go for crouching LK. After doing the other mix ups people tend to sit and block so I find they are less likely to try to on wakeup, and therefore a basic "clarke" style jump in and grab works nicely


What If they block?


HP Shoulder Tackle Fake/Headcrush

After any of the jump in's that I have mentioned above you can perform Crouching Light Kick, HP Shoulder Tackle (fake, Headcrush)

The HP Shoulder Tackle Fake gives you enough frames for the Headcrush to come out. If you do two crouching LK's the EX Headcrush will work.



General Tips

Raidens standing LP is a great anti air, is perfect if you are playing against people who jump a lot

I recommend the use of his LP Poison Spray against fireball spammers, as it is quick and stays active for a decent amount of time. It is also a good and fast anti air.

'''Dropkicks''' are essential for corner combo's, they link after his shoulder tackle without the use of HD bar and only take 4 seconds to generate. Also I have found that if you are pressuring someone with his shoulder tackle, if you have buffered the dropkick, executing it immediately after his shoulder tackle usually connects, as people usually try to jump or press buttons after blocking the shoulder tackle.

[Gunsmith]

Added Tutorial and Video to first post!