Newbie Guide to Rock

TheBattler

TheBattler

[08] Mercenary
I think we should make a newbie's guide to Rock. He's definitely a slightly difficult character for newbies to play, because most of his basic moves while he's standing are very situational (oh my God, 6B+K, WTF?) and his lack of range is definitely surprising. When I first picked up Rock, I was aghast at the way he holds his weapon and how easily stepped some of his attacks are. I was also really taken back at how weak some of his attacks are (this was all before I actually realized what his game was. All the attacks that I managed to land on enemies that would knock them down, I didn't know I had to follow them up with a ground throw).

So, what I did was I sat down and taught myself how to learn Rock. That's right. I had to teach myself to learn him before I could teach myself to play him.

What I'm thinking is just a small little guide that gives a general direction to people new to Rock, so they wouldn't have to play Rock the entirely wrong way for months.

Plus, it'll help to liven up this slow ass board just a little bit. ;-)
 
Basically, if you want to play Rock you have to stop thinking about direct damage. Your entire game is pretty much ground throw loops and tech traps, and the better you get at recognizing when to go for the ground throw and when to go for the tech catch/low throw, the better you'll be at actually doing damage. Then learn JF PT and how to interrupt with 6K and the occasional 4B. From there you'll probably want to spend a lot of time working on your defence, since Rock has trouble hard punishing a lot of characters and you have to be able to look for the right openings. Oh, and bull rush 25/8. And keep your fingers crossed.

Many of the rounds I win with Rock now involve complete ground throw destruction. If I guess right and my opponent guesses wrong then I can just keep putting the boots to them, and it's not uncommon for them to lose 1/2+ of their bar before one of us lets up. It's a lot harder to win close matches, because once their asses get tight near the end of a round it's hard to get an opening. I try to throw a lot now, because Rock's lows aren't really anything to write home about (2A+K is surprisingly easy to set up, but once people are watching for it you're not going to hit them) and his mids are actually decent, if very linear.
 
I don't think there's anyway to really write a beginners guide for Rock, the dude revolves around throws and wakeup. It's his strength, when you know the ins and outs of ALL his throws, then you've essentially got half of the story down. The rest is about move application (not that big a list), defense and critical finish game.
 
Rock isn't a beginner's character...

learn another character first get your basics up then come back to Rock.

Rock isn't for lazy players.... his move execution might be easy but the character itself isn't


-LAU
 
LAU said:
Rock isn't a beginner's character...

learn another character first get your basics up then come back to Rock.

Rock isn't for lazy players.... his move execution might be easy but the character itself isn't


-LAU
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True. Rock is not for the weak of heart i picked him up after fucking with sets in SC3 but that game was shortly lived for me so we were reunited in 4 and its been beautiful ever since.:) but Lau has that shit on the money get the basics down then return to Rock. If u must try messing with Asty.
 
page said:
...Rock has trouble hard punishing a lot of characters and you have to be able to look for the right openings.
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In a situation where they themselves do a move that's at a disadvantage I think the best way for Rock to "punish" is to just throw them... 63214:+G throw is good because most players will just start blocking when they're at a disadvantage... And when they start breaking your B throw, then mix it up with A throws and 3Bs or whatnot. Basic mindgames I guess, haha... People just usually react like they've used to... disadvantage -> block. If they decide to attack from a bad position then it's 6K to the face, but I guess this is just common knowledge... heh.

But, I haven't played many REALLY good players... Haven't really played much at all...
 
Perhaps another thing that may help some people (including myself). Don't think about the opinion that he's low tier during a match. Every time I loose, I may think "aah rock is so unsafe; aaah he sucks!" I should forget about that while I'm playing. That'll take up my attention span and I won't play as well.
 
Ooh I got the whole guide:

IvyFanboy's Super Fuckin McAwesome Guide to play Rock Right!
  1. Grab
  2. Grab again
  3. Grab a hooker and celebrate, you just won
 
D_Matt_Ma said:
Good Question. There is one use, although it's far from making Rock good. 1K on a grounded opponent allows Rock to recover with advantage. It allows Rock to rush in with wake-up.
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Waths a wake up?

Can someone tell me some tech trap of Rock Please?
 
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