I don't see why not--I mean if you think using Raiden will give you a competitive advantage online then use him.

As for whether Raiden is god tier or broken online--online is absolute trash, so it is pretty difficult to determine. I say use him...it's not like the online matches will actually be fair competition anyway.

I think I must be having a very diferent online experience than others. Mine rarely lags, and Im able to do all the things online that I can do offline.

Same here, actually.


And about Raiden, it is really getting annoying. I do think he's a tier above everyone else. Is he broken? Hmmm, if he's not, he's definitely not far from being broken. It's that phucking teleport, Jesus...

Even though I don't main Raiden I still have a better record with him than with any other character online (Kung Lao is close though). I spent so much time in practice mode with Kitana, Ermac and Sektor. Plus, I've played the hell out of Sub-Zero and Mileena in the demo and I've practiced a bit with them in the full game just to adjust.

Then comes Raiden, a character that I spent maybe 1 or 1.5 hours in the practice mode with, had troubles in the arcade mode on expert level (because we have a "know-it-all" AI), almost gave up on him, yet online he simply shits on other characters. That teleport literally phucks up your opponent's mid. Teleport and throw, teleport and sweep, teleport and superman, teleport and cross-jump over the opponent for a combo, teleport and block, teleport and X-ray, teleport and teleport. That's all you need to do, really.


I'm starting to get annoyed with Kano as well. Any tips on how to punish those annoying upwards cannonballs?

As for Kung Lao, I only wish his uppercut was a tiny bit slower, the rest is fine.


Btw, Zero, your avatar is awesome!

He's not broken if you know exactly what's gunna happen..

' Teleport, grab, superman - teleport, grab, superman - teleport, grab, superman '

Thanks for the avitar compliment. I main Kano, and the way to beat the up ball is to stand just outside of its landing range then sweep. He has to recover from a botched one if it doesnt make contact. You could also stand back and time projectiles. Kano has no teleport, and thus is subject to zoning.

exactly yet the issue is that ppl base their "shits broken" ideas from the online experience it makes no sense

There are more people playing the game online, than playign in tournaments, so I believe that online play has some priority. Especially for a guy like me where tournaments arent readily an option.

Me too, I only have slight lag

My opinions on Raiden

He has some moves that could be toned down and he would be fine, slow his fly down to were you can safely block it in lag if you see it coming without worrying about a delay, but fast enough to easily punish a missed attack. His painfully long kick combo needs some damage tuning and his teleport needs to be changed to Cyrax's speed.



That won't ruin him and it will show you whose the true fans and who are just spammers and cheapo's.

I'm trying to main Raiden at the moment and must be doing a shitty job cause i have a lot of trouble finding an opening with him. He has no low starters and his B3,1,2 and 3,3,4 combo starters are slow as fuck. If people just block high and don't rely on zoning or projectiles I'm normally screwed. And the timing to continue a combo after a shocker grab is insanely strict and easily fucked up with even the slightest bit of online lag. If anybody out there wants to tell me how exactly i get my Raiden up to "God Tier" by all means please enlighten me.

But I do agree that in a laggy online game a spamming raiden can be much more difficult than he would be offline.

^ They way I try to go for Raiden's combo strings is I do the teleport(1) and then jump over(2) the opponent and try to start a combo with a cross-over jumping punch(3) and then follow it up with his combo(4) [b+3, 1, 2 or 3, 3, 4 or most often 2, 2 into shocker and then after the shocker b+3, 1, 2 -> yes, the timing is tricky].

Also, I think his f+2, 3 is a good string to start a combo.

Your working to hard, all you do is put then in a corner with back3, 1, 2, fly. then in corner just do 3,3,4 (X3) and mix in a sweep or throw once in a while.

Raiden Online. Both ?

The enhanced version does a double teleport.
But this move is so fast that the EX version isn't a big variation.

What I propose :
- Normal version with a longer recovery time
- The enhanced version woud be the one with a little recovery time.

The double teleport should have been a separate move.
The command could have been for example D,D, Up.

And for the double teleport, same system :
- Normal version with a longer recovery time
- Enhanced version with a little recovery time.

Raiden is the only character that really give me trouble now online.
If another character beats me, I know its because my opponent was better.

But with Raiden, its different.
If my opponent is repetitive, it will be easier, but against a strong player, its useless.

You my friend are a GOD SEND! This has been working perfectly for me, I now say I'd win over half my match ups as Raiden, although I only play online which i'm sure is a huge factor.



Thanks man appreciate the tip, even with the smallest amount of lag its easy to fuck up the timing with continuing a Raiden combo after the shocker grab, so it works to take it easy like that cause Raiden is ballin in the corner. Just 3,3,4 and repeat 2 and a half times ending with the johnnyboughtacaaaarrr move for a good 34% I think. And if they block high I just switch it up with a sweep, grab, or raidens 2,2,B4 combo since it ends with a low.

HOWEVER, getting back on topic, as much as I love playing as him, I admit Raiden is pretty broken online. Even if you don't spam his moves most of his set ups start with the teleport which is impossible to react to online. I have a lot of fun maining him and trying to get good with him but since I've picked him up it is incredibly hard to find people who don't rage quit on me or just quit out after the match. And I've played some mirror matches with people who are better with Raiden and I completely understand the frustration when playing against him online.

So now I kinda regulate my Raiden usage by only using him if people pick Raiden, make their selection hidden, or pick Kung Lao because I'm fucking tired of losing to Kung Lao's. I don't stick to this too strictly, but for the most part that's what I do. And of course I still use him every once in awhile because he's fun to play as.

^ Glad I could help.

Like you, I use Raiden sparingly. The reason is I know his moves and a few decent combos, but I haven't really mastered him. The reason for that was that I couldn't play online from the start so I was forced to play arcade ladder and my Raiden kinda sucked against the "I-know-what-your-next-move-is-gonna-be" AI lol.

I usually pick Raiden if I play 10 or more matches against the same opponent because I never pick the same character twice and I have practiced and know how to play cca. 10-12 characters, so I leave Raiden as one of the last choices. Also, I like to use him against Kung Lao players.

My best anti-Raiden picks are Kitana and Sektor. I can easily punish Raiden's blocked johnnyboughtacar with a 40% Kitana combo (no meter used) + her square wave boost is good to get away from Raiden's teleport follow ups. Sektor works because he has a combo that starts with a low attack and can be extended into an advanced combo (30% no meter, 40% one bar of meter used)- I use the combo when Raiden player teleports, I jump over them and start that combo with a cross-up jumping punch. Most Raiden players online forget to block low and that's when Sektor gets them (he can start the same combo with a medium hitting kick as well, from a special stance he has).

However, if I run into a very skilled Raiden (or Kung Lao) player, I'm pretty much screwed up no matter who I use. I'm good, but not that good.

I keep reading how Raiden is god-tier and probably the only one tier-wise, but, he is one of those I have a hard time playing with.

I definitely lack practice with him 'cause he is not my strongest character.