Dingding123
Smash Journeyman
It's been a while since I've played elite smash but I'm kicking butt and taking names once again! My modern take on Ken is that, like many other characters in ultimate, his meta is nothing like his gameplay from his respective game! Basically if one considers his moves in neutral as grabs Ken is very much a "grapple character"; ironic since actually going for raw grabs is one of Ken's worst tactics thanks to his cancels and rapid lights being strictly better options for dealing with shields. Since Ken is fairly large and unfortunately isn't drowning in disjointed hitboxes, his plan online is to go for attacks that will obliterate shields, swat people out of the air and/or potentially deal 30- to upwards of 50 damage in one string. The guide is a little long-winded but it's everything I know about Ken Masters in elite smash!
Ken's neutral tools alone aren't gamebreaking in the slightest - making them fairly weak in the mighty realm of Ultimate - yet alongside his cancels he's molded into a force to be reckoned with. Connecting nair on taller characters can lead to a fastfall -> close heavy neutral into either a Tatsu, spinkick or Shoryu, any of which will result in a 40+-% combo - this is Ken's bread & butter and is primarily why I equate him with a grapple character from non-Smash fighting games despite not having a fantastic actual grab. If he lands that combo consistently he's golden; if the nair pokes near the end of his jump at low %'s, however, he can still eke in a dtilt ->Hadoken. To shield poke with nair safely, Ken can do a fullhop -> fastfall -> nair, but watch out for fast OoS upB's upon landing. Heavy neutral can also be used in neutral as opponents might run directly into it, block it (plus a followup heavy spinkick and lose most of their shields) or get hit by the large arcing kick when approaching afterwards. While Ken wants to stay mobile, heavy neutral is a very strong close-range tool with a very high potential payoff that hits for 12% at worst with its long-range arcing kick and the kick version also moves him forward slightly and ends faster than his smash attacks. Finally, forward-to-down spinkick can be used mid-dash to approach incrementally, as while not being a super-disjointed move it can outright stuff some approaches and ends more quickly than most other non-light moves, plus at some lower %s it can lead into a guaranteed grab!
Online Ken's dsmash is surprisingly one of his best moves, thanks to it being cancellable! Dsmash -> heavy 1/2-circle spinkick is extremely powerful as it obliterates shields down to a pebble and even pokes through some full shields on smaller characters! Dsmash alone can also be enough to gimp or outright KO near a ledge as well. It doesn't offer as many options on shields as dtilt but it's much easier to use online and more immediately rewarding, granted it's riskier as well if it whiffs entirely. Dsmash -> Hado is possible as well, but dtilt -> Hado is a bit more consistent across %'s. Reliable damage is important online as well, making this move one of online Ken's best tools against grounded opponents.
Some of Ken's specials can be used in neutral but most of them should largely be used sparingly as their risks can often not be worth their rewards in some MU's. Tatsu is the most useful of Ken's specials in neutral - it doesn't always net Ken a lot in neutral situations (and can even be punished for connecting at lower %s) but it's a decent tool for swatting people out of the air or catching them as they land/jump; at mid %s it can lead to a free jab+Shoryu as well so be aware! Hadoken doesn't do much damage nor is it as gamebreaking as Wolf's blaster but it's still a way to hit people offstage or as a combo from dtilt/dsmash/aerials at low %s and can hit people teching from afar as well when nothing else will reach. DownB is only sparingly useful unless you've got the aerial shimmy down pat (good luck pulling it off online consistently!), but it will save you from a Falco bair followup or some anti-air single hit pokes while fastfalling, granted the latter of which Ken should be keeping his airdodges fresh for.
Ken's KO moves can be used in neutral but are obviously risky; however they all have some tricks to them that Ken can use to make using them more efficient. Fsmash is fairly strong against slower characters but gives even online opponents enough time to figure out exactly where he is. 1/2-circle spinkick consistently connects after light utilt and can kill confirm near the ledge at high %'s; other than that it is both roughly as risky as fsmash to use in neutral while being harder to execute online. Speaking of smashes, they can all be extended slightly by Ken's dashing turnaround animation! Just turn around in the middle of a full-on dash and let a smash attack fly and Ken will slide a bit while smashing; it's easily most noticeable with fsmash. Usmash will come out of a starting dash sliding a bit as well. Fair won't KO until very high %s but bair is much more deadly - practice RAR'ing it on Ken as unlike other characters he and Ryu will always try to face opponents!
Raw Shoryuken is Ken's strongest KO tool but must be used with caution, even online. If he's on Battlefield (or a Battlefield-esque stage) and you have a read on someone feel free to throw out a raw Shoryuken there so long as Ken will land on an above platform, minimizing the risk of getting punished so long as it isn't blocked. Fullhopping floaties will often not be able to keep up with a grounded Shoryu either. The safest raw Shoryu kill confirm is to stay grounded, throw out the motion when an opponent might be aerial (~ fullhop level) and then press A if the aerial happens (or just press upB if you're not a traditional fighting game geek as it will often KO anyway!).
Dodging is one of Ken's most dangerous tools against grounded opponents as it allows him to potentially punish with one of his meaty heavy neutral combos, and is often Ken's best tool for landing as well when used sparingly. Ken's spotdodge is quite good but can only really punish grounded approaches (or really bad aerial ones). His rolls aren't great either but can catch characters trying to poke, making its reward equally amazing; however it's very important to only use fresh as it slows way down after repeated dodges. His air dodge is sometimes one of his only tools for getting him out of aerial situations but shouldn't be spammed regardless; when in doubt go for the ledge! As for blocking, it's mostly useful for warding off weaker projectiles and dash attacks and is online Ken's only enabler to go for grabs; Shoryuken can come OoS but it's difficult to consistently pull off accurately online and whiffing it is extremely dangerous.
As far as basic online stages go, Battlefield is a friend in many respects. Bair and usmash reach the side platforms as well as falling utilt and fullhop hadoken. Against characters whose gameplan is mostly aerial, grounded Shoryuken will KO them while they're midair at high %'s - as early as 80% on the lightest characters - and will land Ken on a nearby side platform relatively quickly in case he whiffs. On Final D Ken loses those platform tools, but at least it makes it easier to deal with people camping near ledges.
There you have it: my updated Ken Masters general online guide! Never actively have a poor connection - it's actively not fun in this year of quarantine and it can even help the other character out more than Ken! I might edit this essay of a post later to make it look more appealing - regardless thanks for reading!
Ken's neutral tools alone aren't gamebreaking in the slightest - making them fairly weak in the mighty realm of Ultimate - yet alongside his cancels he's molded into a force to be reckoned with. Connecting nair on taller characters can lead to a fastfall -> close heavy neutral into either a Tatsu, spinkick or Shoryu, any of which will result in a 40+-% combo - this is Ken's bread & butter and is primarily why I equate him with a grapple character from non-Smash fighting games despite not having a fantastic actual grab. If he lands that combo consistently he's golden; if the nair pokes near the end of his jump at low %'s, however, he can still eke in a dtilt ->Hadoken. To shield poke with nair safely, Ken can do a fullhop -> fastfall -> nair, but watch out for fast OoS upB's upon landing. Heavy neutral can also be used in neutral as opponents might run directly into it, block it (plus a followup heavy spinkick and lose most of their shields) or get hit by the large arcing kick when approaching afterwards. While Ken wants to stay mobile, heavy neutral is a very strong close-range tool with a very high potential payoff that hits for 12% at worst with its long-range arcing kick and the kick version also moves him forward slightly and ends faster than his smash attacks. Finally, forward-to-down spinkick can be used mid-dash to approach incrementally, as while not being a super-disjointed move it can outright stuff some approaches and ends more quickly than most other non-light moves, plus at some lower %s it can lead into a guaranteed grab!
Online Ken's dsmash is surprisingly one of his best moves, thanks to it being cancellable! Dsmash -> heavy 1/2-circle spinkick is extremely powerful as it obliterates shields down to a pebble and even pokes through some full shields on smaller characters! Dsmash alone can also be enough to gimp or outright KO near a ledge as well. It doesn't offer as many options on shields as dtilt but it's much easier to use online and more immediately rewarding, granted it's riskier as well if it whiffs entirely. Dsmash -> Hado is possible as well, but dtilt -> Hado is a bit more consistent across %'s. Reliable damage is important online as well, making this move one of online Ken's best tools against grounded opponents.
Some of Ken's specials can be used in neutral but most of them should largely be used sparingly as their risks can often not be worth their rewards in some MU's. Tatsu is the most useful of Ken's specials in neutral - it doesn't always net Ken a lot in neutral situations (and can even be punished for connecting at lower %s) but it's a decent tool for swatting people out of the air or catching them as they land/jump; at mid %s it can lead to a free jab+Shoryu as well so be aware! Hadoken doesn't do much damage nor is it as gamebreaking as Wolf's blaster but it's still a way to hit people offstage or as a combo from dtilt/dsmash/aerials at low %s and can hit people teching from afar as well when nothing else will reach. DownB is only sparingly useful unless you've got the aerial shimmy down pat (good luck pulling it off online consistently!), but it will save you from a Falco bair followup or some anti-air single hit pokes while fastfalling, granted the latter of which Ken should be keeping his airdodges fresh for.
Ken's KO moves can be used in neutral but are obviously risky; however they all have some tricks to them that Ken can use to make using them more efficient. Fsmash is fairly strong against slower characters but gives even online opponents enough time to figure out exactly where he is. 1/2-circle spinkick consistently connects after light utilt and can kill confirm near the ledge at high %'s; other than that it is both roughly as risky as fsmash to use in neutral while being harder to execute online. Speaking of smashes, they can all be extended slightly by Ken's dashing turnaround animation! Just turn around in the middle of a full-on dash and let a smash attack fly and Ken will slide a bit while smashing; it's easily most noticeable with fsmash. Usmash will come out of a starting dash sliding a bit as well. Fair won't KO until very high %s but bair is much more deadly - practice RAR'ing it on Ken as unlike other characters he and Ryu will always try to face opponents!
Raw Shoryuken is Ken's strongest KO tool but must be used with caution, even online. If he's on Battlefield (or a Battlefield-esque stage) and you have a read on someone feel free to throw out a raw Shoryuken there so long as Ken will land on an above platform, minimizing the risk of getting punished so long as it isn't blocked. Fullhopping floaties will often not be able to keep up with a grounded Shoryu either. The safest raw Shoryu kill confirm is to stay grounded, throw out the motion when an opponent might be aerial (~ fullhop level) and then press A if the aerial happens (or just press upB if you're not a traditional fighting game geek as it will often KO anyway!).
Dodging is one of Ken's most dangerous tools against grounded opponents as it allows him to potentially punish with one of his meaty heavy neutral combos, and is often Ken's best tool for landing as well when used sparingly. Ken's spotdodge is quite good but can only really punish grounded approaches (or really bad aerial ones). His rolls aren't great either but can catch characters trying to poke, making its reward equally amazing; however it's very important to only use fresh as it slows way down after repeated dodges. His air dodge is sometimes one of his only tools for getting him out of aerial situations but shouldn't be spammed regardless; when in doubt go for the ledge! As for blocking, it's mostly useful for warding off weaker projectiles and dash attacks and is online Ken's only enabler to go for grabs; Shoryuken can come OoS but it's difficult to consistently pull off accurately online and whiffing it is extremely dangerous.
As far as basic online stages go, Battlefield is a friend in many respects. Bair and usmash reach the side platforms as well as falling utilt and fullhop hadoken. Against characters whose gameplan is mostly aerial, grounded Shoryuken will KO them while they're midair at high %'s - as early as 80% on the lightest characters - and will land Ken on a nearby side platform relatively quickly in case he whiffs. On Final D Ken loses those platform tools, but at least it makes it easier to deal with people camping near ledges.
There you have it: my updated Ken Masters general online guide! Never actively have a poor connection - it's actively not fun in this year of quarantine and it can even help the other character out more than Ken! I might edit this essay of a post later to make it look more appealing - regardless thanks for reading!
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