Introduction:

Frames  The obvious:

Frames  The not-so-obvious:

Basic SS/SW takes 6 frames to execute.

Next time before you are going for a i13 from +4, please think it through. A successful SW from your opponent into a launcher would take 50%+ health from your whiffed, autopilot i13.

Frames  from -5 to -9:

Conclusion:

 by NoodleHeadLevel: IntermediateThis guide requires players to have a basic knowledge of frame data. It is absolutely necessary to know how frame works before continuing the guide.Have you ever felt that you are stuck or plateaued in Tekken? Have you noticed that you have been hit by so many setups in your offense? Have you wondered why the good players move the way they are, and do not attack as often as you would have? I will try and use this guide to help you understand the gray area of Tekken: -9 to +9. By no means that the concept in the guide is absolute in Tekken, but you may take whatever you find useful here and apply the knowledge in your gameplay.In a typical frame data, you often see the numbers (with + or -) under block, hit, and CH. Similar to other fighting games, moves in Tekken require recovery, be it from completing your own attack, or from blocking your opponents. The number you see under each category shows thebetween you and your opponent. For example, a +4 means that the attacker recovers 4 frames faster than the blocker, or that the blocker recovers 4 frames slower than you (-4 on his side). In general, you will have to wait for the attack or block recovery to end in order to either execute the next attack or to block.For most characters, their fastest attack takes 10 frames (i10) to execute. A move that causes -10 on block means that if the blocker can immediately follow up with an i10 attack, it cannot be blocked in time (due to the attacker is still recovering from his attack), resulting a guaranteed damage.Using the same concept, you should be punishing -10 with i10 attack, -13 with your i12/13 attacks, -14 with your i14 attacks or faster, and huge minus with your launchers. On the other hand, you want to prevent using too many attacks that are punishable for your opponent to take free damage off you.Whiffing happens when your attack misses your opponent. In high level Tekken, whiffing, even when done strategically, is strongly discouraged due to the fact that the defender can instantly retaliate at any point of your missed attack without block recovery. This allows experienced players to easily punish close-range whiffs regardless of the speed of the whiffed attack.As mentioned earlier, the fastest attack for most characters is i10, therefore moves that recover as slow as -9 are considered safe because there is no attacks that can inflict guaranteed damage. When nothing is guaranteed, the next thing in peoples mind would be: Are you in frame advantage, or are you in frame disadvantage?Lets go back to the basic mechanics of frames for a sec: Frame advantage/disadvantage indicates the relative recovery between you and your opponent. As you recover faster, you may out-speed your opponent with attacks of the same frame by executing earlier than your opponent can do. In fact, you can often out-speed your opponents fastest options with slower attacks that may potentially give you higher reward. This simple mechanics gives birth to not only the concept of, but also a (mis)conception  You should apply pressure by using frame-trap when you are in +, and block when in   .To expand such idea further, players may feel safe to use i13 attacks in a +4 situation, or to throw out a safe, i15/16 launcher after a +7. Moreover, when players block a move that seems safe, their first response would be to perform a check jab knowing that there will be no moves that can interrupt the attack After all, why not?BecauseIn other words,. Do note that the -4 is relative, as the disadvantage can come from blocked -4 from your attack, or +4 from your opponent after his attack hits you/ guard breaker is blocked. This idea can be expanded to higher s for slower attacks, as long as the slower attacks are linear and the difference between the recovery and attack speed is within 6 frames to each other. For example:In summary, a minor frame advantage, even up to +4, is not as advantageous as you may think.If you have been patient enough to read through the wall of text, you should have a good idea that the frame difference down to -4 allows opponent to side walk against your immediate attack, so what about -5 and beyond? Does it mean that you can limit your opponents movement with your jab when your opponents attack is of higher minus frame (-5 to -9)?The answer is: Not necessarily.TTT2 is a game of patience and ruthless punishing. A simple mistake, such as a whiffed jab can lead to 50%+ off with proper punishment and well-executed tag assists. While it is true that a jab against a -5~-9 opponent may prevent them from successful side walk, it does not prevent the possibility for them to iws/ifc you, or using attacks with evasive properties. The possibility that the crush exists may force you into using more fast mids (generic d/f+1 and/or d/f+4). Of the two, d/f+1 offers better frames on hit and block, as well as slightly wider hitbox. Therefore many may prefer using d/f+1 as the go-to mid.But here comes another problem: By using i13, you are widening the SW availability down to -7. That said, if your opponent has successfully conditioned you into throwing out mids than highs, he now has the ability to SW after a move that gives -7 on block. Moreover, the frame that allows SW evasion increases as the distance between the two players widens. In a range 2, you may SW successfully even at -9 against a d/f+1 retaliation.By now I think Ive got you guys paranoid enough about the risk of attacking in the + frames when it isnt + enough to give you guaranteed damage. This is exactly the reason why most of the top competitions do not attack as often as you may think, or use frame trap in their core games. Of course there are many other things that good players do that I have not mentioned here (i.e. feint, SW_f realign~d/f+1 check and so on ), but that will have to wait til my next guide if I have time to write it up.Now go back and watch the Korean match again, and you may see something that you had never paid enough attention before. Remember, when you are within -9 and +9, think before you act!

Last edited by NoodleHead on Jul 11th, 2018 at 16:22