Handling Rushdown Pressure as Zangief?

[Meebly Glort]

Been playing a lot of Gief lately, and I'm finding that when pressures from characters like Ken, Guile, and Kimberly, especially in the corner, I'm unsure how to react. Feels like I'm unable to keep up, or I'm trying to juggle too many plans in my head.

Gets a little frustrating as it feels like I have nowhere to go and nothing to do.
What's the best option for this? I know I can Drive reversal, but that feels a bit like a bandaid, as once I reversal them they're right back on me and we're back to square one.

What's optimal for Gief under pressure?

[level3]

following thread, since curious

[[ODT]Piccolo]

Meebly Glort eredeti hozzászólása:

Been playing a lot of Gief lately, and I'm finding that when pressures from characters like Ken, Guile, and Kimberly, especially in the corner, I'm unsure how to react. Feels like I'm unable to keep up, or I'm trying to juggle too many plans in my head.

Gets a little frustrating as it feels like I have nowhere to go and nothing to do.
What's the best option for this? I know I can Drive reversal, but that feels a bit like a bandaid, as once I reversal them they're right back on me and we're back to square one.

What's optimal for Gief under pressure?

I struggle alot with this atrocious D-pad on my controller to do a wake up 360/720/G-motion when pressured at the corner. If you're lucky enough to jab+tick throw Guile(Heck you can use lariat to past through his sonic boom barrage), throw him again until he backs off to avoid a spd set up. Follow Snakeeyez and watch his replay matches on how he deals with this kind of pressure. It's satisfying. We know parrying is always the best option for projectiles when playing Gief and it's also an option when pressured at the corner. I don't want to risk drive impact at the corner against Ken players until they're burned out.

"Kimberly"

She has almost no answer for Zangief's Jump in Lowkick/Med after watching Snakeeyez bodied a Diamond Kimberly player last night. She even falls for the Tundra Storm counter.

EDIT: I'm currently playing Zangief to give Ryu a break.

[Gabe Ate My Zombies]

I know it sounds like obvious advice, but don't get stuck in the corner. Wait for them to pick an option that's not safe and jab (your jab has very good range) or react to something that leaves them open to a throw. A normal back throw will put them into the corner and is often better than a command grab since you then get corner pressure. You have an anti-air grab and lariat to punish bad jump-ins. Sometimes the best thing you can do is just block and be extremely patient until you can sneak in a normal and start taking back space.

You want to be pressuring THEM into the corner the whole game and be very aggressive to gain position. As a grappler, your life bar is almost another form of meter and you spend the round conditioning them to block. When they start blocking, you can go for tic throws and other shenanigans as you slowly pressure them into the corner. You want to get really good at parrying common strings if you can and get an idea when people are going to tic throw so you can counter with a command grab. Parrying also gets you out of the corner for free with a back throw and is optimal since you get so much damage reduction off parries anyway.

I play Cammy but I fear a Gief that can react to my options and knows frame data well enough to slip in jabs and cancel into a combo.

[mandingarojo]

I main Gief. Gief is a slow giant, but when he connects, he causes ton of damage. I red in this forum that Gief is garbage In the corner, I don't believe that but instead I, as a good hard-as-a-rock head, am trying to figured out what to do: Actually I'm medium gold, so nothing definitive,

I believe there's a common conception about how to attack Gief in the corner:

1) They will try to hit you with LP/K, high or low, you must guess, as they prevail over otrer hits, and then some combos -modern or not, doesn't matter- and dive impact to hit you against the corner and continue the attack.

2) Jumps, to avoid the reversal SPD/ XSPD. Then, LP/K and a combo.

3) Grab you.

4) Dive impact and combo.

So, my strategy is try to guess what the rival will do and act in consequence:

1) Just get cover. GIef is slow in reaction, so switching between high and low coverage is tricky. Problem with that is that, if your rival grab you instead, you are defenseless. Other alternative is uding XSPD, which made in good timing will prevail over a hit and can grab and hard punish your rival. Again, Gief is slow in essence, so it works for me maybe 1/3 of the time.

2) This is a typical reaction atainst Gief, because the XSPD, reason while many people do it frequently. A proper solution to this is a lariat, but much more effective is jumping too, heatbut in the air, heatbut in the ground and lariat -yes, a combo-. Or, heatbut in the air and SPD in the ground. Problem is that many rivals will jump after hitting the ground, lefting you defenseless until you recover from the SPD.

3) Grab too, tie grab. But mutch more effective is jumping and SPD when landing. Problem here is: if your rival hit you instead of jumping you won't jump and you will be exposed to a combo. Also, if you are slow, your rival will grab you again when you land or LK/P, which will prevail over a SPD. Also, if your rival hits you LP/K, it will prevail over the grab, so you won't grab him back.

4) SE is excellent to cut a dive impact.

Problem, like every char in the corner, is to guess what your rival will do. Most rivals tends to repeat the attack; let's say he hits you in the corner, probably the next one will be a new hit or try a grab. Which one will use as a second attack is something you have to predict -yes, by luck in my case- , I prefer to jump normally to receive the second attack, as many players will do a LP/K and a combo, and then a grab.. But almost for sure, after two hits attacks, normally the third attack wiil be a grab,

And many times your rival will jump when you are in the corner, a normal reaction for somebody that have a Gief in the corner, because the XSPD.

This is just an essay of what I figured out so far. Once I reach platinum I will tell more rertain, but for now these is what I have. At least, It is an start, but don't rest in my oppinion as solid. My strategy works, I would say, 1/3 of the time.

Hope it helps you.

[ryu600RR]

fastest move by frame:
low short and SPD throw, both 4f, depending on range to keep out

against jump ins:
EX lariat is untouchable, but can't beat cross up

last resort, parry until they dare to walk up for a throw, at which point it's your advantage

[enko]

Meebly Glort eredeti hozzászólása:

Been playing a lot of Gief lately, and I'm finding that when pressures from characters like Ken, Guile, and Kimberly, especially in the corner, I'm unsure how to react. Feels like I'm unable to keep up, or I'm trying to juggle too many plans in my head.

Gets a little frustrating as it feels like I have nowhere to go and nothing to do.
What's the best option for this? I know I can Drive reversal, but that feels a bit like a bandaid, as once I reversal them they're right back on me and we're back to square one.

What's optimal for Gief under pressure?

You can't react. You can't counter DI most of the time either from block or on wakeup (in the corner), it seems to be by design. All the characters you mention will spam you for free, there is no recourse aside from DI + Fwd which requires 2 bars on meter.

I am Plat 4 gief. Thinking of just dropping him at this point.

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

You have to mix it up no matter which option you pick. My characters I play reegularly are in the gold 3 to gold 4 range. If you parry to much they will normal throw you. If you spam lights to much they will punish with faster lights themselves. You just have to play the guessing game and the best answer is not being in the corner. I gave up on him way before plat rofl but I agree with the guy above you are often screwed. Beyond mid/high gold I don't have much answers I have manon in plat and while she felt strong in gold I struggle with her the same way I struggle with gief now. I actually play Kimberly in that range and I do feel like gief is in trouble when I get one. Kimberly has a bunch of options that the same looking rush can create. If she slides you block and manual spd. If she goes high though and you low block you gonna get hit hard and combo'd. If she runs up your chest leaping backward goes out the window since you are cornered but you have to jump often to avoid throw and that leaves you open to her doing the dive kick instead. The best advice I can give as a Kim player is use your attacks that have armor to get the advantage for a manual throw if possible. If Kim has you cornered she has advantages but she still has to come to you.

[C1REX]

Meebly Glort eredeti hozzászólása:

What's optimal for Gief under pressure?

Not sure if optimal but I do a lot of drive reversals against rushdown charackters. People rarely do them but for gief and dhalsim they feel essential.