Grey Damage: Why Ultra Combos II is the Best Loadout for Gen in USFIV

Lol… I said “Loadout” as if this was Halo 4.  It works tho, so I’m sticking with it; this is the way of the #SHENANIGAN.





Anyway, I’ve managed to get the evil eye treatment when I’ve told fellow Gen players that I always use Ultra Combos II in my matches.  In my mind, it’s the most logical, sensible selection; frankly, I think people only choose Ultra Combos I for comboability and style points which, frankly, I care little to nothing about.  Put simply, Gen is an assassin; sacrificing damage for added hits is not what being an assassin is all about.   The point is to kill without warning and get the fork outta dodge before Gen dies of old age.  Not quickness of body movement; quickness of victory.


So let’s get right to it.  Gen is a special character when it comes to Ultras; he has two different fighting styles, so for each loadout, he gets TWO Ultra Combos, giving him a grand total of FOUR  Ultra Combos.  In his first loadout, Ultra Combos I, he has his dashing ‘Zetsuei’ ultra and his mid-air ‘Ryukoha’ command grab ultra; in his second loadout, Ultra Combos II, he has his ‘Shitenketsu’ pressure points ultra and his ‘Teiga’ flying kick ultra.  And of course, in his Ultra Combo Double, he has accesss to all four of these.

Now, a rookie would say, “AWESOME!  I can have FOUR ultra combos in a match!  That makes me unpredictable and gives me an advantage!  I’ll pick the Ultra Combo Double!”  Well, it’s not exactly that simple.  First of all, when you accept Ultra Combo Double, all your ultras take a damage reduction.  So while you may have four options, none of them will be as potent as they otherwise would be; frankly, there are some basic and EX combos employing normals that could offer just as much if not more damage.   Also consider, in a normal round, the most you’re gonna get to use ultras is twice.  Is having four options really worth the damage-reduction tradeoff?  It’s big on versatility… but too much of a power sacrifice.  Let’s explore other options.

Now, textbook players respect extended combos and juggles and such that allow them to put on displays and demonstrate their precision.  From this belief, they make the argument for using the Ultra Combos I loadout.  Ultimately, they want to connect Gen’s dashing ‘Zanei’ super into the dashing ‘Zetsuei’ ultra--- or any other series of setups into his Zetsuei, blah blah… looks great.  And it would be excruciatingly damaging, except for the fact that the longer the combo, the more the damage gets scaled back.  Plus, you also make your game predictable--- you now have two ultras that mimic your two supers, meaning the opponent knows which two things to watch out for: air command grabs and ground dashes.  A little more power, but much increased predictability.

…But why compromise on power or predictability when you can have both?

I employ Ultra Combos 2.  Here’s why.  This loadout includes Gen’s ‘Shitenketsu ‘thousand hands attack--- practically a command grab--- and his ‘Teiga’ flying kick.  There’s little power scaling, as both these moves are difficult to combo; in most situations they hit clean and max out the damage.  ‘Teiga’, though some people knock it, is ridiculously dangerous.  It can be launched any time you get airborne; that means at the start of a jump, the peak of a jump, or just before touchdown--- frankly, if your opponent is airborne with you and you can get in range of their hitbox, they’re powerless short of trading hits.  Plus, even after all these years, folks still panic and try to crouch-block on this move--- IT’S AN OVERHEAD, GUYS! lolol So you’ve got a 50/50 of landing the hit even when playing brain-dead!  As far as Shitenketsu… some would say that this thousand hands attack is what makes Ultra Combos 2 loadout less preferable.  The attack does grey damage instead of regular damage, so it’s not guaranteed to yield big results; you have to put in a little extra work for it.  Personally… I PREFER the grey damage.  Because it makes the opponent RUN.  If an opponent receives significant yellow damage, yeah, they may panic.  But when they’re only POSSIBLY hurt and have to make a split-second decision on whether to conserve all the health they can or risk that grey damage becoming yellow damage… you now gain a free psychological advantage (which makes it easier to connect with c.LK, btw, watch dem ankles!).  Add to this that neither of your ultras is anything like your two supers--- your Gen is now worthy of the deadly assassin title.  It’s all about making your opponents say, “What the freak just happened?  Why am I dead?  Where did my health go?”  That’s the sound of an assassination.

…Or a #SHENANIGAN, if this goes against your principles >:-)