The Unloved Kensei (Kensei Buff Idea) | Forums

[A_Rabbat]

Kensei is a solid character class if your opponent isn't one who decides that "turtling" is the only option in combat. If your enemy will not take your feint bait then you are without a doubt going to be fighting a wall, a wall in many cases that is better armed than you are for fighting the strategy they themselves rely on. Kensei is a class of fundamentals and nothing more.

Sure you can combo into a finisher by slamming your opponent with heavy attacks hoping this isn't the time they decide to parry or by swinging wildly into the air as you approach them, but when you do they can easily block the side heavy incoming or parry the overhead. The Kensei excels at lower skill level play and with feints can be a contender in the high level arena, if and only if the enemy player doesn't decide that only blocking attacks and slinging out a lightning fast zone attack is the best way to defeat your enemy (because right now it is).

My proposition, give the Kensei two new abilities. The first ability being a mix up from a heavy attack into a Helm Splitter much like the Raider has a heavy into a light. The second ability would be Superior Light Attacks, giving the Kensei's lights the ability to ignore blocks and continuing on with the combo chain acting like a heavy. This gives the Kensei two abilities to open up a turtle that don't require you to condition a parry for the entirety of the match. The draw backs to these changes would be that the Kensei would have to pause after the second light attack to restart Dawn of the Steel Sun, giving the enemy player time to react if the second light breaks through. Another change that could balance this would be to lower the damage of the second light attack in Dawn of the Steel Sun from 20 to 15.

On a personal level the Kensei speaks to me in a way that no other character does, I connect with the Kensei. I love the aesthetic, I love the idea of the sword saint, but right now my Kensei feels like just a minion with a Nodachi. Please give us something to work with, it feels like it's take take take with the Kensei, it's time to give something back Ubisoft. Thank you for your time and even though I'm not able to enjoy Kensei right now I'm still having a blast in game.

[SAVAGE_CABBAGE1]

Kensei is a solid character class if your opponent isn't one who decides that "turtling" is the only option in combat. If your enemy will not take your feint bait then you are without a doubt going to be fighting a wall, a wall in many cases that is better armed than you are for fighting the strategy they themselves rely on. Kensei is a class of fundamentals and nothing more.

Sure you can combo into a finisher by slamming your opponent with heavy attacks hoping this isn't the time they decide to parry or by swinging wildly into the air as you approach them, but when you do they can easily block the side heavy incoming or parry the overhead. The Kensei excels at lower skill level play and with feints can be a contender in the high level arena, if and only if the enemy player doesn't decide that only blocking attacks and slinging out a lightning fast zone attack is the best way to defeat your enemy (because right now it is).

My proposition, give the Kensei two new abilities. The first ability being a mix up from a heavy attack into a Helm Splitter much like the Raider has a heavy into a light. The second ability would be Superior Light Attacks, giving the Kensei's lights the ability to ignore blocks and continuing on with the combo chain acting like a heavy. This gives the Kensei two abilities to open up a turtle that don't require you to condition a parry for the entirety of the match. The draw backs to these changes would be that the Kensei would have to pause after the second light attack to restart Dawn of the Steel Sun, giving the enemy player time to react if the second light breaks through. Another change that could balance this would be to lower the damage of the second light attack in Dawn of the Steel Sun from 20 to 15.

On a personal level the Kensei speaks to me in a way that no other character does, I connect with the Kensei. I love the aesthetic, I love the idea of the sword saint, but right now my Kensei feels like just a minion with a Nodachi. Please give us something to work with, it feels like it's take take take with the Kensei, it's time to give something back Ubisoft. Thank you for your time and even though I'm not able to enjoy Kensei right now I'm still having a blast in game.

His best asset is his unpredictability, he has possibly the most versatile moveset in the game. Just learn all of his unblockable mix-ups and you're a beast.

[A_Rabbat]

His best asset is his unpredictability, he has possibly the most versatile moveset in the game. Just learn all of his unblockable mix-ups and you're a beast.

I understand you're trying to help but I understand how to play Kensei, that isn't what this thread is about. This thread is about looking for alternatives to give Kensei a better baseline kit, which he doesn't have.

I know how to turn a top heavy finisher into; a side heavy, a pounce, a guard break. I constantly fish for parry attempts to let out a overhead light or parry. I know how to play Kensei, but all I am playing with Kensei are baseline fundamentals that every other class can do to an extent. This isn't about "git gud" this is about Kensei is missing tools in his kit and needs to be buffed. Every class aside from Warden, Peacekeeper, Conqueror, Warlord and Valkyrie need to be buffed and we need people making suggestions. I'm sure they've thought of my suggestion before and if not well maybe they'll see it. They need outside eyes because the way their in house plays the game might not be the same way the rest of the player base does.

Thanks for your feedback otherwise.

[SAVAGE_CABBAGE1]

I understand you're trying to help but I understand how to play Kensei, that isn't what this thread is about. This thread is about looking for alternatives to give Kensei a better baseline kit, which he doesn't have.

I know how to turn a top heavy finisher into; a side heavy, a pounce, a guard break. I constantly fish for parry attempts to let out a overhead light or parry. I know how to play Kensei, but all I am playing with Kensei are baseline fundamentals that every other class can do to an extent. This isn't about "git gud" this is about Kensei is missing tools in his kit and needs to be buffed. Every class aside from Warden, Peacekeeper, Conqueror, Warlord and Valkyrie need to be buffed and we need people making suggestions. I'm sure they've thought of my suggestion before and if not well maybe they'll see it. They need outside eyes because the way their in house plays the game might not be the same way the rest of the player base does.

Thanks for your feedback otherwise.

The Kensei is a fundamental character, built for new players to learn off of, he has the same fundamentals as every other character, but he can do them better, his mix-up game is possibly the best in the game. However, imo, he has a good kit, but he needs some much faster lights, they are far too slow, I used to mistake them for heavies.

[A_Rabbat]

The Kensei is a fundamental character, built for new players to learn off of, he has the same fundamentals as every other character, but he can do them better, his mix-up game is possibly the best in the game. However, imo, he has a good kit, but he needs some much faster lights, they are far too slow, I used to mistake them for heavies.

The Kensei still needs his own flavor, it's not that he can do these things better because he can't. The Raider and Shugoki can feint their unblockable into a guard break without any other requirements and any other player can feint into a guard break as well. Warden can feint their heavies into lights because they are faster than Kensei's. Please expand on what makes you think he can do his mixups better than any other character since every other character can do exactly what Kensei does (aside from Conqueror who cannot feint, you got me there)?

[SAVAGE_CABBAGE1]

The Kensei still needs his own flavor, it's not that he can do these things better because he can't. The Raider and Shugoki can feint their unblockable into a guard break without any other requirements and any other player can feint into a guard break as well. Warden can feint their heavies into lights because they are faster than Kensei's. Please expand on what makes you think he can do his mixups better than any other character since every other character can do exactly what Kensei does (aside from Conqueror who cannot feint, you got me there)?

I'm saying he has a strong mix-up game due to his unblockable feints being able to chain into any attack that he has with amazing speed, no other character can do it as fast and as misleading as the Kensei, except for a god tier Zerker. And the Zerker's attacks coming out of the feints aren't nearly as powerful as the Kensei's.

[A_Rabbat]

I'm saying he has a strong mix-up game due to his unblockable feints being able to chain into any attack that he has with amazing speed, no other character can do it as fast and as misleading as the Kensei, except for a god tier Zerker. And the Zerker's attacks coming out of the feints aren't nearly as powerful as the Kensei's.

Oh but wait a minute, yes they can. I asked you to expand, not repeat the same thing over and over again. Every class can mix up their attacks with feints. Every class can do what the Kensei can do with the feint mix up. The only difference is that most classes have a way to open up a turtle that Kensei cannot guarantee without imposing a grand strategy that can again be ignored by just blocking any of the Kensei's first two attacks and rolling away on the third. If your argument is that you should just whip attacks out into the air I'm already doing it but I don't think that is the way the class was intended to play.

[SAVAGE_CABBAGE1]

Oh but wait a minute, yes they can. I asked you to expand, not repeat the same thing over and over again. Every class can mix up their attacks with feints. Every class can do what the Kensei can do with the feint mix up. The only difference is that most classes have a way to open up a turtle that Kensei cannot guarantee without imposing a grand strategy that can again be ignored by just blocking any of the Kensei's first two attacks and rolling away on the third. If your argument is that you should just whip attacks out into the air I'm already doing it but I don't think that is the way the class was intended to play.

I don't really know what you want me to elaborate on, I said he is better than you may think because he has more unpredictability in his mix up game, that's about as detailed as I can get, because I have never played him, so I don't know the names of the moves, but have been destroyed by quite a few as they have beautifully outskilled me with their mix up..

[UbiJurassic]

Thanks for the suggestion, Zed-Ra-O! We appreciate the feedback!

[MasceMa]

How are you giving feedback on something you clearly dont understand... If you havent played the character then you really dont understand what he is saying, just because those mix-ups worked on you doesnt mean they work on everybody. Going into any of the kensei heavy finishers can get you parried, gaurdbreaking can be countered which leaves your best bet as canceling into a light and thats if you can even get to the third string of his combo. It can be incredibly difficult to open up a turtle as kensei all of his suggestions give kensei some tools to deal with them so that he can get to his heavy finishers.