I'm just gonna break the news on breaking blocks.

[PapaLemur]

Yeah, GPD has alluded to it and I believe the striking deep dive may have mentioned it but, breaking through the guard is a powerful mechanic. Kenetic did it to me on the first day and I didn't know why I was getting knocked down even though I was blocking.

Your goal is to get their guard to shift to the center or the sides. This means if they are rocked and getting hit with straights, their guard will block straights better, but will leave the side of their head exposed. This is why GPD is telling people to use 1-1-1-4. Three straights to lead their hands where you want and then hammer them with hooks to bring them down. I've been finishing fights in the first minute now.

Ideally, once people know this, they will block the straights and then dodge the hook to counter or run when rocked. Just an incredible amount of nuance here.

[Solid_Altair]

I just made a detailed post in another thread, about this FFFS set up... and some extra stuff. Weird timing.

[PapaLemur]

Quote: Originally Posted by Solid_Altair

I just made a detailed post in another thread, about this FFFS set up... and some extra stuff. Weird timing.

Yeah, I actually read it just now after I posted this. Feel free to repost in here since it's its own thread.

[Solid_Altair]

I labbed this for quite some time, yesterday. Here is what I found to be optimal against a guy whose block bar is high... F = Front; S = Side.

FFFS (or SSSF), then follow up with FSF (or SFS).

Examples:

1-1-2-3... 2-3-6

1-2-5-4... 4-5-4

1-6-5-4... 3-2-3

1-1-2-lead HK... 3-2-lead HK
_______________

If the opponent's bar is a mid level, then I recommend:

FFS or SSF

Examples:

2-5-lead hook kick (Conor can do it)

3-4-5
_______________

THE SYSTEM

Now... to the logic of this stuff... and this is just my interpretation of it. I'm far from sure this is the case.

The bar that you see is a summary, a very good summary of what are likely two bars in the back end.

Using strikes in one direction (front or side) eats the bar, setting up a penetration for the other direction... and only the other direction. If you keep hitting someone's block with just straights and uppers, you won't penetrate at all.

Furthermore, the % of penetration doesn't correspond to the bar 1 for 1. It's a curve. This means that if the bar is about halfway depleted, you'll do considerably less damage than half of your strike's damage. The penetration starts to get serious when the bar is very low. And if the bar is depleted, the attacks gets through fully.

Short Term:

So, if you just want to do some damage through the block, with a couple of strikes, go FS, or SF. Though I must say that unless you wish to be extra careful, it is usually wiser to start with the head, just for spacing, and following up to the body, for likely a clean hit.

Going Big:

If you want to deal a considerable damage or high damage, you need to build up more breakthrough (deplete the bar a lot). This is done by using many attacks of the same direction (Front or Side), before cashing in with the other. You don't need to do this with a single combo - you can do it with a couple of them. And if you're ambicious, you can even try to use two combos, where the first already breaks the block completely, while second takes advantage of the already rekt block; like teh examples at the top of this post.

Don't Miss!

As GPD and others have mentioned, things will get interesting as we get better at the game and become more used to reading the opponent's patterns. It shall be hard to break someone's block, if he notices that you're starting with a jab and guesses that you're going big. Then he can safely dodge to the side, to avoid the likely 2nd and 3rd strikes that would come from the front (straights or uppers). So, it will become more and more important to mix things up.

[SMOKEZERO]

There's work to be done on the right stick if your to have success defensively. Axis reset is terrible.

The block break mechanic is great btw

Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

[smokeface]

Ive been doing simple 1-2-3 and it's been messing people up. When they are rocked with their back against the cage I do this over and over until they are out. Sometime I throw the 3 to the body just to mix it up and make it look good.

Sent from my SM-N950U1 using Operation Sports mobile app

[AeroZeppelin27]

I love this feature. I often use a 1-2-3 3-6-3 to confuse the block when I back my opponent up. I love the way a smart combo can break even the tightest guard.

Another good one if your opponent is on the fence and your Ferg or Felder,
1-2-3 or 1-5/1-6, close in, then lead into spinning elbow you'll eclipse the guard and elbow them behind the ear, its bruuutal.

[GameplayDevUFC]

I'm currently working on tightening up a bunch of frame breakpoints thanks to the help of Solid's labbing.

The slip out of block should be a bit more reliable across different rating ranges.

Should make this feature really shine once retail hits.