Junior Member
Some of these changes were needed but some things were still left unchecked which should really be looked at.
- Kensei's mind games vs Raiders
It's cool Raider gets a new mixup ability with his cancles into Stunning Tap but, I never thought the Raider would end up replacing the Kensei's playstyle for mind games but better. Raider is able to perform an unblockable, his Raiders Fury, and force a turtling opponent to move or try and parry which helps the Raider open them up with his stun tap (not to mention how quick it is). This seems unfair because of how the Raider is able to perform his unblockable at the start of an attack; the Kensei has to commit to a doge and a light attack that connects or from afar which most times comes up too close or too short, to initiate his new unblockable second chain attack. This can be somewhat predictable as they can just block, guard brake in midst of the doge at times, and or parry the incoming attack in which the recovery leaves him open to a guard brake. High level turtling opponents make it nearly a nightmare for him as they can just bait out his feints and guard breaks and punish him on it. Kensei players may get some occasional hits in but some may not want to wait for the entirety of a match just to get some hits in only to end up in either a tie or defeat. Maybe a suggestion could be a charge move? For example, a new move could be implemented where a person could charge a top heavy unblockable attack right off the bat similar to shugoki's charge attack; maybe it could be called Dragon's Decent? Ultimately this would help to put more tools in the Kensei's arsenal as he would still have his ability to switch into his canceled unblockable into side heavy with hyperarmor for people trying to poke him out of his unblockable, Dish out some damage for turtling opponents, and have the opportunity to play a better mind game that suites certain situations. Furthermore, for players who might see this as unfair they might want to give some of the other characters a thought at what they've got in their arsenal. The list goes as follows:
- Warlord gets a nearly free light after an unblockable headbutt
- Valkerie can get a shield bash knockdown to open up for free hits
- assassins such as orochi can get free unblockables after deflects
- nobushi and conqueror can still get an unblockable out after an initial heavy attack is blocked
- Lawbringer basically gets free lights after shoves
- Warden gets a shoulder bash that locks you in stun for some fair lights and how fast it is
- shugoki gets an unblockable off the but although can be parried, he can still throw out headbut disables enough to change the tide of battle
With these benefits to the other characters, I think it's safe to say that Kensei could use a boost here and is all I could make note of for the upcoming patch.
With any other reasonable suggestions others may have, please post them here with supporting and debatable reasons why the improvements may be needed.
Senior Member
