Peabnut Bubber
Smash Cadet
On stage, many people wouldn't think to use Dair. Laggy, strict vertical hitbox, and it can even get reflected back at you since it is a projectile. It seems like an all around bad move, right?
Well, like everything in Mega Man's arsenal, there's more to it if you dig a little deeper.
Firstly, Hard Knuckle can be auto cancelled. The minimum height needed to auto cancel would require the full height of Mega Man's short hop followed by his double jump. You want to auto cancel every time you are on a stage without platforms. We'll talk about platforms later.
"Okay, big whoop, you can auto cancel Dair." Well, it is a pretty big whoop since you can now follow it up with another move. "Which move?"
Up tilt
"Oh."
That's right. Hard Knuckle combos into Mega Upper. It combos into other moves as well, and depending on stage position, these can be kill combos. I've tested some %s on a level 9 Jigglypuff as well as a human player, and here is what I have:
Dair > Sweet spotted Up tilt (~30% - 35%)
Dair > Sour spotted Up tilt (~30% - 71%)
Dair > Up smash (~40% - 65%)
Dair > Fair (~48% - 93%)
Dair > Bair (~37% - 100%)
Dair > Pellets (Once Dair starts knocking people down, you can Lemon Lock them if they miss the tech)
Let's talk about some cool stuff. Hovering. Hard Knuckle allows you to hover for a short amount of time. Everyone already knew this, but lemme tell you about the application it has with platforms. Battlefield, specifically.
One can stand atop one of the two side platforms, use the hovering granted by Dair to shoot your fist in-between the middle platform and the side platform, and choose to land on either platform. It may not seem like much, but if you connect with Dair and your opponent gets popped up into the air, you can land on the top platform and Up smash/Up tilt.
I find this works best against aggressive characters with a good air game.
There's one last technique I'd like to share. If an opponent goes for the ledge, hit them with a single pellet. They will miss the ledge, and you have the opportunity to go in for a quick Dair meteor smash if they try to double jump to it from below the lip of the stage.
All in all, Hard Knuckle is a risky move. You have to be accurate, smart, and patient in order for it to work. This, I believe is what Mega Man is all about.
Well, like everything in Mega Man's arsenal, there's more to it if you dig a little deeper.
Firstly, Hard Knuckle can be auto cancelled. The minimum height needed to auto cancel would require the full height of Mega Man's short hop followed by his double jump. You want to auto cancel every time you are on a stage without platforms. We'll talk about platforms later.
"Okay, big whoop, you can auto cancel Dair." Well, it is a pretty big whoop since you can now follow it up with another move. "Which move?"
Up tilt
"Oh."
That's right. Hard Knuckle combos into Mega Upper. It combos into other moves as well, and depending on stage position, these can be kill combos. I've tested some %s on a level 9 Jigglypuff as well as a human player, and here is what I have:
Dair > Sweet spotted Up tilt (~30% - 35%)
Dair > Sour spotted Up tilt (~30% - 71%)
Dair > Up smash (~40% - 65%)
Dair > Fair (~48% - 93%)
Dair > Bair (~37% - 100%)
Dair > Pellets (Once Dair starts knocking people down, you can Lemon Lock them if they miss the tech)
Let's talk about some cool stuff. Hovering. Hard Knuckle allows you to hover for a short amount of time. Everyone already knew this, but lemme tell you about the application it has with platforms. Battlefield, specifically.
One can stand atop one of the two side platforms, use the hovering granted by Dair to shoot your fist in-between the middle platform and the side platform, and choose to land on either platform. It may not seem like much, but if you connect with Dair and your opponent gets popped up into the air, you can land on the top platform and Up smash/Up tilt.
I find this works best against aggressive characters with a good air game.
There's one last technique I'd like to share. If an opponent goes for the ledge, hit them with a single pellet. They will miss the ledge, and you have the opportunity to go in for a quick Dair meteor smash if they try to double jump to it from below the lip of the stage.
All in all, Hard Knuckle is a risky move. You have to be accurate, smart, and patient in order for it to work. This, I believe is what Mega Man is all about.
