Get the Knockdown/Push to the Corner
The goal with combos is to end them in a way that gets you some kind of advantage beyond just damage. You can end combos into a knockdown, or corner carry to put yourself in a better position. Each ender you choose will set up a different situation after the combo, so think about what you want to accomplish.
Example enders:
- ... > 2D
- Hard knockdown close to Ky, allowing many okizeme setups.
- ... > 2D > 214S
- Corner carry with a knockdown farther from Ky that still allows for good oki. Can give the opponent a soft knockdown if too many normals are used beforehand, such as j.H > 2K > 2D > 214S.
- f.S/2S > 236K
- Corner carry and damage option, but with weaker oki due to Stun Dipper's short knockdown time.
- ...(airborne opponent) > 5H/2H > 214K
- Large amount of corner carry.
- ... > 632146H / 236236P
- Overdrive ender for high damage, and in Ride The Lightning's case a huge amount of corner carry, wallbreaking from a slightly further distance than round start position.
5H > Foudre Arc Loops
5H launches opponents vertically on air hit, putting them in the perfect position for Foudre Arc (214K) afterwards. This sequence can be looped off a wide variety of starters for a large amount of corner carry as long as 5H hits the opponent in the air, including (but not limited to) Red Roman Cancel's launch, anti-air 5P/2H, and CH 6H. When the corner carry is enough to reach the corner itself, 5K 6H after the second 214K is very likely to wall stick, earning you Positive Bonus from the resulting Wall Break.
6H Wallbounce
In the corner, 6H will bounce the opponent off the wall on hit. This allows combo extensions with 214K (if far enough, that is. 6H > 214K will whiff if Ky is too close to the corner) and Shock State 623S/H for increased damage.
214S OTG Relaunch
In the corner, combos that don't push you out too far can be ended in 214S and picked up with an Off-the-Ground hit to continue the combo, taking advantage of the applied Shock State to increase your damage.
Essentially, there's a short time after an opponent is hit by 214S that they can be launched into the air again if struck by an attack. The most reliable move you have to do this with is 2K, since it's very fast, reaches a long distance, and gatlings to 6H to allow you to wallbounce the opponent.
If you think the opponent may be too far to hit an OTG relaunch, you can also PRC the recovery of the 214S to make the confirm much easier.
Example routes:
- c.S > 6H > 214S, 662K > 6H > SS 623H, 5P > 623H
- CH 214S, 66H > 623H > c.S > 6H > 623H > 623S
j.D Launch
Ky can launch grounded opponents with j.D, allowing him to follow up with an immediate airdash into another aerial button, such as j.P to float the opponent higher, j.S for damage, j.H for midscreen BNBs off of c.S, or j.K for consistency. After the followup air button, Ky can further juggle the opponent by using c.S if close enough, or 2K > 6H when near the corner to extend the combo.
j.D can also be hit confirmed off of a normal or counter hit c.S, and j.D launch routes boast the greatest meterless wall carry out of all grounded Ky combos.
5[D] Pickup
After any Red Roman Cancel (easiest with 66RRC) and also certain counterhits (such as c.S), Ky can use a fully charged Dust to pop the opponent up in the air, allowing certain combo pickups. The most common route after 5[D] popup is 2S > 5H > 214K > ...
This works anywhere on the screen (except the corner when used off ch c.S instead of RRC) and is consistent against all characters. It will also work if the opponent is launched high airborne in any other combo route.
2H > Foudre Arc
2H (2) universally combos into 214K against all grounded opponents if they are in Shock State
If 214K hit your opponent while they were in Shock State, you can usually link 5K or 2K and cancel into Stun Dipper (236K) to end the combo, depending on the character and spacing. A 5K link will not work on some characters at all. 2K is more reliable since it reaches further. The 2K link works on everyone except for I-No. She requires you to be point blank with your 2H, otherwise 2K won't reach. On the larger characters like Faust, Potemkin, Leo, and Nagoriyuki, you can instead end the combo with Dire Eclat (214S) instead of 236K, since their hurtboxes are bigger than the other characters on whom max range 2K > 214S will not work on. This will reapply Shock State, making it preferable over Stun Dipper for these characters. If near the corner, Ky can opt for 2K > 6H -> special cancel to secure a wallbreak.
In Dragon Install, Ky's combos are greatly improved in damage and Okizeme, but they execute somewhat differently. Know well about how the DI specials change to create your own efficient DI combos.
- The specials are ranked in efficiency for their usage within DI combos, as opposed to neutral or other usage.
H Vapor Thrust (623H)
- Pre DI: Reversal starter, Shock State combo filler, wall breaker.
- DI: Better reversal starter (+), all purpose Combo filler (+++), not a good wall breaker (very mild -), air-to-ground combo converter (+).
In DI, H Vapor Thrust is significantly buffed that it pops the opponent very high on hit, even on normal ground hit. Links to a c.S on hit even in midscreen. However, the time to confirm a midscreen hit as a launcher is quite tight, allowing merely 1~2 hits before 623H only, and the route is only reliable when in very limited range (e.g. 5K/2K/c.S > 2D > 623H). Be sure that the opponent is opened up or you will end up with a blocked DP and the round ends. When the opponent is cornered, the confirm window becomes wider with c.S > 6H > 623H.
Notably DI, 623H launches lower and pushes back further as combo time lengthens. To counter this effect, Ky needs to launch the opponent early in the combo, with normals or DI 623H to build up the height, then the rest of the combo can go on with decreased push back and enough height in the air.
Other than combo filler, DI 623H has a less seen use: you can actually use j.623H to confirm air hits into ground combos. This must be done high to gain enough frames to attack before the opponent hits the ground.
623H is "the wall breaker" before DI, but in DI it becomes a 3-hit move, resulting lower wall break damage. Use 5[D] when close and with enough time, or 6H as a quicker and longer substitution.
Stun Dipper (236K)
- Pre DI: Mid-range soft knock down securer.
- DI: High damage hard knock down securer, great ender of midscreen combos (++).
Stun Dipper is another greatly buffed move in DI. It now HKDs opponents allowing Charged Stun Edge Okizeme, making this move far beyond a mid-range soft knock down securer. Easiest way to utilize DI Stun Dipper is to simply cancel from 2D to add free damage without losing any bit of Okizeme. For short combos in midscreen, Stun Dipper works well against airborne opponents, but usually you need to delay the input for a full hit. Moreover, DI Stun Dipper gets 80% extra damage, making it an optimized ender in case of both damage and Okizeme midscreen.
e.g. 5K > 2D > 236236P, 5H > dl 236K(, 236H) Damage: 171
5K > 2D > 236236P, 5H > 214K(, dash button236H) Damage: 160
Foudre Arc (214K)
- Pre DI: Mid-range hard knock down securer, corner combo filler.
- DI: Basically works the same, but the damage is poor when compared to other DI moves (-). More inconsistent issues with 3 hits (-).
DI Foudre Arc works pretty much the same in DI, but the damage is much lower than DI 623H. This means the more Foudre Arcs you use in a combo, the poorer damage it will deal. As a mid screen HKD ender, it deals less damage than Stun Dipper with no other advantage. However, Foudre Arc still holds the place of the corner pusher when the opponent is out of DI 623H's range.
Another issue of DI Foudre Arc is the increased hits. DI Foudre Arc tends to whiff some hits when used late in combo, due to the opponent is pushed out of its range in previous hits, which can lead to combo drops or failed wall sticks. When used too close to Wall Stick, this move can itself Wall Stick and then Wall Break, resulting a very poor ender: it is not damaging at all and impossible to convert into a super Wall Break.
Dire Eclat (214S)
- Pre DI: Mid screen close range hard knock down ender, frametrap meterless CH combo starter, high damage Shock State applier in corner combos.
- DI: Still a nice close range hard knock down ender (~), more damaging frametrap meterless CH combo starter with larger push back (~), no more Shock State during DI, and it is a overall bad move mid combo (--).
Dire Eclat is always "the move" to cancel into after 2P/5P*n > 6P, in DI or not. It still holds the ability to start meterless frametrap CH punish combos, with improved damage during DI.
e.g. Corner CH 214S, 5H > 214K, 665K > 6H > 236K WS 5[D] Damage: 234.
When used mid-combo, the increased hits makes the push back so hard that OTG pick up is extremely hard. If you are in range of DI Dire Eclat, you can almost always do 623H instead to reach much higher damage with even easier execution. This move also has the same multi-hit based problem just like DI Foudre Arc, making it a poor Wall Sticker.
Stun Edge (236S)
- Pre DI: Rarely used in combo without RC.
- DI: Optimized Wall Sticker, but with some very tight calculation and execution (+).
DI Stun Edge gets 100% damage boost, hits quite hard at 60 damage, and it only deals two hits, which makes it perfect to wall stick even from a distance (actually it does the job better when used from a distance). However, when used point blank in the corner it can Wall Break from itself if a miscalculation happens, or even executing the combo slightly slower can lead to a early Wall Break. On a successful Wall Stick, use 5[D] when close, or 6H as a quicker and longer substitution. Other than that, it remains the same with high damage boost, and works well with Purple Roman Cancel.
e.g. Midscreen c.S > 623H, c.S > 5H > 623H, c.S > 236S WS, 5[D] Damage: 273
... > 214S WS WB Damage: 260
... > 6H WS, 5[D] Damage: 272 (so use 6H WS instead if not so confident.)
S Vapor Thrust (623S)
- Pre DI: Shock State anti-air reversal starter.
- DI: Anti-air reversal starter (mild +).
DI S Vapor Thrust is not as damaging as 623H, but you occasionally need to use it for its speed and to cover cross-ups with its more vertical travel direction. It pops up significantly lower than the H version so it needs some height already built against an airborne opponent. You will have to decide which move you should use to catch the opponent falling, depending on their height, distance, and how the hit connects. It is usually not a good idea to use this move mid-combo, since this move deals significantly lower damage than other DI specials (60), and it lacks the forward hitbox or momentum to reliably land both hits.
Charged Stun Edge (236H)
- Pre DI: Okizeme meaty starter, Burst free combo filler, usually works with a RC.
- DI: Pretty much the same, but with longer hit animation for heavier button to follow up (+).