Proper Raph Guide

Belial

King of Hundred Swords
From what I've seen so far on this SA, there is a lot of whine and not a single attempt to actually analyze what kind of character Raphael is. Most posts are filled with doom&gloom, like author feels compelled to end "by the way, raph sucks" at the end of each his post. To my experience it's always been fun uncovering new stuff and ways to apply it, but if you feel like everything is bad before you even try yet dont give this char up - you're a masochist.

I'd like to share my opinions on Raph. I wont convince you he's not bad. That's probably still the case. But I firmly believe that last thing a normal person wants to hear is complains and excuses. If you do - you really be better off not playing video games any time soon. They're all a disappointment one way or another.

Playing Raphael you will quickly find, that he is a very repeatetive character. Frankly, though he is supposed to be reliant on gimmicks still he get extremely predictable with those. Why that happens is usually b/c you dont have much choice with your first move. For offence you usually go with 3B, for wake up, you usually go with 1K or 66A+B. Its quite easy to forsee and it negates gimmick main point - unpredictability. Thats why its usually not hard to deal with either prep, or wakeup or whatever else. I am going to talk more about adding variation to the game later.

Also there is another major weakness, that stops Raphael from placing higher in a tournament. (Just in case you think you're smart its not step). Looking at the paper Raph seems better than alot of characters, but in reality his standings are always poor. That weakness Raph lacks for succesful tournament play are alternate routes for victory. Very few people actually can or try to unitlize Soul Gauge damage. Usually if you get blocked too much that mean you're dead. Even less people try to utilize his limited, but potent, RO game (I guessed it was missed inbetween the tears and whine) and finally Raph might be the worst char for wallgame. That doesnt leave you with a lot of options.

What most people fail to realize is relativity in char knowledge. When you play character he always will seem weak to you. During my discussion with S-U at Cannes he strongly believed that Kilik is not strong character. I well know how much effort it takes to make a character win. You cannot truly tell the difference before you main a character and your opponents learn to beat this character. If you simply switch from time to time to a higher tier character to make a point - you usually win b/c of your opponent ignorance, not character strength. You lose a lot with your mains due to your opponents awareness of your character, they learned all punishment and counters.
This is a trap of self-deceit you have to get out of. If you truly believe your character is weak - STOP. Give it up, pick a different one. The longer you cling to unloved character the more disappointing the game will become for you.

I too thought mitsu was weak, before I got to play against strong mitsu. He was using all the same stuff I did and suddenly i realized how intimidating and hard to counter all this moves were. It was a real eye opener to me. Since then, I always tried to keep an open mind. B/c you never know how much your opponent goes through to beat you. Instead of looking for excuse - look for opportunities.

I hear a lot that Raphael is steppable. Well. He definitely is. But there are few things to be aware of.
1) If your opponents chose to take advantage of step, that usually means he is defencive. You must see advantage here - most important advantage you will ever get in fighting game - initiative. At the moment your opponent choses passive defence (step) - it means he is INTIMIDATED. You can now do absolutely anything you want. Bait a wiff, run up and throw, create space etc. Remember, if you do not use this, your opponent will. Do not allow yourself to be intimidated by step. It is your oponent who chose to be passive. If you miss this point you can never be succesful be it fighting game or life.

2) Raphael range is really a chore. It doesnt look like this when your opponents can seemingly easily escape everything by simple sidestep, but it really is. Better range means you can really stay away in range where wiff is safe. Your enemy will have to come closer at some point. Main point here is with proper spacing you take less risk than your opponent. If you cannot take advantage of this - you are missing a big part of your char's game.

Offence:
3B - is the most often used move. You will have to realize how much diversity this move has, and how different situation on guard/wiff can be. With entering prep~VE at bigger range you can escape punishment. 3B into prep A is a basic "frame trap" and empty 3B leave a lot of range while being annoying enough.
3B~BB is your main punishment move, use it a lot, but I dont recommend going into prep after. instead try to mix up.

A+B/A+BA - this move has a lot of uses, it TC, tracks step and if you dont end can set up a nice reverse mix up, if you're not using this, you should try to.

236B - is primarily a wiff and -17 unsafes punisher. But it is also a safe, quick mid that covers a lot of distance and deals a lot of SG damage. If you have trouble getting in - this move is definitely worth looking at.

WS B - Is a great poke, also on people who love to 8wr, since it has some tracking. Creates a lot of range, has some evasive properties. Overall it is somewhat similiar to Kilik's WS B.

44AB - Its a decent transtion to prep, but you mustn't aim for it getting blocked. Usually its a good tool if you think your opponent will 8wr. If they stay down after CH , prep K:K will get a ground stun, it works more often than one can suggest. I dont know why.

6K - is a decent poke, that will help you get around some 2A set-ups from your opponent. Its not to be overused, but the fact it is there will get you out of trouble alot of times.

66B - a long range wiff punisher. but more importantly it will track SSL at far range. It really is something to worry about, since damage is good. after stuff like 1A at far range you should try it at least once. If you want to punish from going backwards buffer it like 41236B.


Reverse mix-up:
4B - is your best friend for ducking high moves and punishing major unsafes. There is not much else to say about it.

6K

B+K (VE) - is a decent tool at evading certain situations. it can help you get around many otherwise troublesome stuff. For ex 1K (hit) B+K can get you away from Astaroth 6K and at the same time, if nothing happens. it allows you to mix your opponent up.

44K - best Raph TJ move. It serves same purpose as 6K but is better in almost every respect. It and also will track a bit. I really recomend to review your use of this move, if you lack it in your game - please implement it in your game.

44B - is a lovely move until they start to GI this. It gets worse from there. You really have to consider its placement, but it gets better and better the less life you have left, b/c it evades much more stuff, than other evades. If your opponent doesnt GI it he's probably done for.

4A - I dont like it, and think its just bad.

Punishment
3B~BB

236B

6BB - is good, IMO, only as a punisher of moves 3B cannot punish.

22_88B - you main sidestep punishment option. trouble with applying it generally comes from your opponent being defencive most of the time and you having no tools to provoke him into wiff. If that is the case - remember what I wrote at the beginning of this "guide". Learn to provoke your opponent.

Soul Gauge
To work on the gauge, similiarly to how you have to be keen on your spacing, you also will need to be good with your GI, otherwise - its not going to work so well. If your reflex is trained enough you can really pull this off. There is no point in actually trying to force your opponent too block - its too much risk and too little reward. So make a list of whats GI'able on reaction against most characters and practice this. most chars 44B's, 25+ moves are all subject to consideration.
Raph's post GI is not very impressive, going from 33K:B (46) to something like 66A+B or 4B for around 60. I really suggest using 66A+B though, since I like its position on guard.

Ring Out
33_99K:B - RO forward. (pretty poor, but yet)
THROWS. throws are a huge part of raph ro game.
A+G - will RO to raphael's right. which means, if you can align yourself correctly (its not hard) you get to mix it up with
B+G - the dreaded newbie destroyer, will RO forward at a good distance too. Dont forget how much damage star wars stage will net you off this too.
left side throw! - also RO's to the right side. its a pure mix up. So once you train your opponent to fear throws, use 33K:B or whatever you want to make them get up again.
VE K - RO left/forward. Also (i dont think its known - after WS B VE K is a full tech trap. Most people will not fall for it, but it might be worth trying anyway.

Wake up
Raphael's wake up options seem somwhat limited, but after most KD's you can opt for the following
1K - cant be rolled by most characters.
66A+B - can be rolled to the left (afaik).
Also some people will learn to detect or simply time when they get up, to block both. If they do, or if you want some variety, just use B+K~VE until they get up. Mixup then.

Stance
VE - sadly is not a very good mixup, and its the main point why a lot of prep (easiest way to set VE up) is not a good idea. Once your opponent start ducking A and punishing K you must stop using this stance as a mix up unless you can make it unexpected. Also near the edge or walls it gets significantly better. VE K into wall combos into 33K:B. There has been certain degree of sucess if an empty VE is followed by basic moves. Since throw breaks in VE require concentration and also opponent pay attention to VE A, it is hard for him to react accordingly after. Just another gimick to add to your list. To a certain extent you can cancel your combos to trade them for VE-mix up (i.e 4B~prepA 3B~prepBB~B+K~VE mixup instead of finishing prep BBB:B), thats especially useful near the edges/walls.

Prep - the key to making this stance work is make it unexpected. Only damaging option in it are SEA B and prep A, both on CH. So your best bet is to SEA A quickly and move on. However, if you use prep transition in around 30% or less of your game it can become pretty annoying. Just consider how much your opponent will have to keep in mind then. Once you annoy him enough with plain 3B or prep SEA A , you can then sneak damage in. I realize it sounds a bit overcomplicated, but its really not that hard. When people get annoyed they get predictable. A simple prep A will then be not only hitting a lot, but also safe as they fail punishment.

I pretty much missed out on some points, but right now I gotta go. So feel free to argue, ask, or curse me. I will try to post some extras later.
 
Good post.
To add on, 4A is bad because of it's low damage and lack of safety (what was namco thinking?!).
But Raphs should use it because of it's in-built step that is superior to a normal step (in terms of avoidance).
For example, against Kilik's Asura. It's so much easier to block, then 4A to avoid the follow-ups rather than block, then step (Although, if you did the step option, you get a free 44A+B on Kilik!)
 
for wake up, you usually go with 1K or 66A+B. Its quite easy to forsee and it negates gimmick main point - unpredictability. Thats why its usually not hard to deal with either prep, or wakeup or whatever else. I am going to talk more about adding variation to the game later.
A+B,A is nice also same risk of 66A+B but tracks n the opposite side

Very few people actually can or try to unitlize Soul Gauge damage.
There was an older guide who said how strong SG is....with raph you can easily reach a critical SG dmg in 2 rounds that means high psychological advatage imho.


I hear a lot that Raphael is steppable. Well. He definitely is. But there are few things to be aware of.
1) If your opponents chose to take advantage of step, that usually means he is defencive. You must see advantage here - most important advantage you will ever get in fighting game - initiative.
can we discuss about this?
Against VERY strong and aknowledges opponent i have a problem....
They can step and they know that applying a TC fast move will probably beat all my tracking option on the weakside :/
For sure they'll hit me if i try to run or other, i can take risk and hit, but for example Kilik WSb will outdamage raph even if my prediction are right most of the time....
I see the problem like combination of damage, linearity, high moves and frame

But most of all superTC moves screw 90% of raph moves.



2) Raphael range is really a chore. It doesnt look like this when your opponents can seemingly easily escape everything by simple sidestep, but it really is. Better range means you can really stay away in range where wiff is safe. Your enemy will have to come closer at some point. Main point here is with proper spacing you take less risk than your opponent. If you cannot take advantage of this - you are missing a big part of your char's game.
This is so true *O*

A+B/A+BA - this move has a lot of uses, it TC, tracks step and if you dont end can set up a nice reverse mix up, if you're not using this, you should try to.
A+B is -16 o.O i stop it only against kilik >.> following by a 4B make his autogi whiff /._./
TC is at latter frames :O
serious random whiff problems

236B - is primarily a wiff and -17 unsafes punisher. But it is also a safe, quick mid that covers a lot of distance and deals a lot of SG damage. If you have trouble getting in - this move is definitely worth looking at.
OMG are you sure?
I thought it was -20 >.> plz its very very important to me.

WS B - Is a great poke, also on people who love to 8wr, since it has some tracking. Creates a lot of range, has some evasive properties. Overall it is somewhat similiar to Kilik's WS B.
Great tool but kilik WSB is lame >.> stun in NH?

44AB - Its a decent transtion to prep, but you mustn't aim for it getting blocked. Usually its a good tool if you think your opponent will 8wr. If they stay down after CH , prep K:K will get a ground stun, it works more often than one can suggest. I dont know why.
*O* never thought of that...must try...


44K - best Raph TJ move. It serves same purpose as 6K but is better in almost every respect. It and also will track a bit. I really recomend to review your use of this move, if you lack it in your game - please implement it in your game.
i say that from 2 years /._./
It has a strage htbox also so it hits at distance where raph cannot be hit


4A - I dont like it, and think its just bad.
U main mitsu...

I was wondering if for ex against relic its a 100% safe answer when you'r out of relic A first hit.

22_88B - you main sidestep punishment option. trouble with applying it generally comes from your opponent being defencive most of the time and you having no tools to provoke him into wiff. If that is the case - remember what I wrote at the beginning of this "guide". Learn to provoke your opponent.
GREAT SG dmg

Soul Gauge
To work on the gauge, similiarly to how you have to be keen on your spacing, you also will need to be good with your GI, otherwise - its not going to work so well. If your reflex is trained enough you can really pull this off. There is no point in actually trying to force your opponent too block - its too much risk and too little reward. So make a list of whats GI'able on reaction against most characters and practice this. most chars 44B's, 25+ moves are all subject to consideration.
I find that 11B SG damage worth sacrificing a whiff punish for SG damage.
If they expect to be punished its difficult they will try to step or GI......

B+G
Dont forget how much damage star wars stage will net you off this too.
left side throw! - also RO's to the right side. its a pure mix up.
Against laser walls B+G throw miss last hit leaving the opponent chance to hit you while u are performing throw animation O___o wtf....


Prep - the key to making this stance work is make it unexpected. Only damaging option in it are SEA B and prep A, both on CH. So your best bet is to SEA A quickly and move on. However, if you use prep transition in around 30% or less of your game it can become pretty annoying. Just consider how much your opponent will have to keep in mind then. Once you annoy him enough with plain 3B or prep SEA A , you can then sneak damage in. I realize it sounds a bit overcomplicated, but its really not that hard. When people get annoyed they get predictable. A simple prep A will then be not only hitting a lot, but also safe as they fail punishment.

I pretty much missed out on some points, but right now I gotta go. So feel free to argue, ask, or curse me. I will try to post some extras later.
SEAA is +0 on block also /*o*/

I want to add that sometmes you punish with 3B prep a TJ move.....
Then its the perfect chance to SEB that will lead to SEBA (advantage on block tracking) or SEBB (TC heavy damage combo OR -2 on block HUGE SG damage).


I want to add a thing:
Raph leg is long so 2K is looong
2A has a good pushback

and AB:
Abusing it makes ppl duck the second hit....but:
1) is safe
2) you can stop A (-2) and mixup with 3K or other fast mids (probably they'll block but they won't be able to punish and you still get pushback).


My opinions >.< after years of raph.

P.S. @belial...consider that lot of things works mostly with mitsu :S but with cass for ex VE is a suicide .-.
 
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236B say its 20 no reason not to believe it really. I just had an outdated info. Gotta test that.

There are two different splat against moving wall on SW stage. And damage is huge (~90)

I think its not worth sacrificing damage opportunies in favor of SG. Just isnt.

prep/SEA tricks are somewhat lacking. I wouldnt base my game around it against knowledgable opponent. Every time your prep/SEA move gets blocked you actually worsen your situation.

4A is unsafe, disadv on hit. Hardly a good move. Aim for damage , not for evasion. Low risk/low reward options are just not worth it.

A+B force a lot of hesitation. Never mind that if last A CH you get a combo. It is a viable tool, believe it or not.

Considering your trouble with spacing - try to experiment. Raph has great range and great movement. I will try to rec Kilik vs Raph next session.
 
I will try to rec Kilik vs Raph next session.
looking forward to see how you approach that match up imo its raphs hardest by far
I wish my fight at FSAK with Dman was recorded so I could give some examples but I try to play completely reactionary and counter kilik with a mix up 3B(when out of asura range) 6B, 4K, and 3K
 
Belial, reiterating the above Kilik Asura example: Yes, step would net me a free unblockable. But the timing is a lot stricter, if I screw up I take 2 hits of Asura. But 4A gives me a consistent evade (4A will whiff) into a free punish. Less damage, yes but its a lot easier and more consistent especially in the heat of battle.

4A is definitely not something spammable, but by saying its bad, I'm afraid people will avoid it like a plague and miss out on an option.
Of course, we could keep saying its bad and hope Namco gives it back it's CH stun. :D

Straight up, I haven't tested 4A against all characters or anything. It's just that I've been using 4A since SC2 (where its uber good) era till SC4 and mainly for its evasion (so the block is not much an issue).
The CH damage reduction is what's hurting.

Damage is what wins the game, but you also require opportunities to inflict them.
 
This is a really good 'guide'! Like reading your insight into characters!
 
prep/SEA tricks are somewhat lacking. I wouldnt base my game around it against knowledgable opponent. Every time your prep/SEA move gets blocked you actually worsen your situation.
But Sea is +0 ._. why should it be bad....follow with 2K and you'll get easy +4 most of the time or even 2A followed by throw

4A is unsafe, disadv on hit. Hardly a good move. Aim for damage , not for evasion. Low risk/low reward options are just not worth it.
I know unsafe and heavily negative on hit, but against relic is it worthy? when you are out of relicA (quite easy) it shoud be perfect answer.

A+B force a lot of hesitation. Never mind that if last A CH you get a combo. It is a viable tool, believe it or not.
I tested it....A+B offline leads to a lesser disadvantage, but if my oppo knows raph i won't be able to attack after it....I just consider one of the few raph lag tactics >.> online exactly cause offline never works :| (at least with ppl i played with).

Considering your trouble with spacing - try to experiment. Raph has great range and great movement. I will try to rec Kilik vs Raph next session.

Actually spacing is my strong point :)
I have dealing with supertechcrouch mostly :| cause i tend to use B a lot .-.



If possible if you'll be able i'd like to see some vids against sisters.....
ty ._.///
 
Could you expand on what you mean by RO game for Raph? How could he have a RO game when he can't control his opponent's movement? He can answer his opponent's movement maybe but we know he doesn't have the risk/reward to control it, don't we?


The psychological lessons are valuable. Let's all take heed, thank you Belial. Raphael play needs to break out of a shell it is in right now. I also, selfishly, like seeing mention of the same moves, that I have been thinking about much in my own theorization about the character. But I just can't say that an analysis like this doesn't miss something.

At the very least, this: While Raph is carefully arranging these tools to create whatever game he supposedly has here, the opponent is, with much greater efficiency, screwing with Raph. The amount of time you have left to do anything you plan is something that only decreases as/while you are forced to deal with more offensives from the other guy. And the other guy has 50/50s.
I think the term here is "the opponent doesn't have to respect Raph's options." He can brazenly ignore them just a couple times and the damage will favour him. I think this is what eats at Raph players the most.

That could be where Raph's peerless spacing comes in, perhaps you mean. And "provoking." If you know what makes your opponent attack, you win, I guess.


Side points: 1. If 44K tracks to hit someone, the BT 2B will likely be short. Anyone know a better oki for this situation?
2. 44B has many more answers than GI. Belial, could what you mean by "reverse mixup" explain what you said about 44b?

*Mandritti carefully timidly steps back into shallow end of theory craft pool again*
 
236B - is primarily a wiff and -17 unsafes punisher. But it is also a safe, quick mid that covers a lot of distance and deals a lot of SG damage. If you have trouble getting in - this move is definitely worth looking at.

236B is i20 and -12 on grd... It's safe but yur not going to be punishing -17's any time soon...
To add, 3(on hit)~SEA B is a frame trap... I feel like Raph's worst matchups are against Ivy, Amy and Setsuka, primarily because of punishment, Set's "Umbrella" can potentially punish Raph's AB... I'd like to bring Raph's 6K to light, it has an incredible use at close range, much better than 3B at this range, as it's i16 (same speed as 3B) but is able to Tech Jump over 2A pokes, etc... 6K is a great close range poke and sets up frame traps on hit...
 
@mandritti great point completely ageree on the poking issue :| i said the same lot of times...
For the 44K thing i never went short with 2B except if you hit enemy on TJ ._.
 
Hi I'm pretty new to Raph so I'm gonna go right ahead and ask away. What about 66A? is it a move that many of you Raph users definitely recommend?
 
Advantages: long range, covers a wide arc, + on hit(you'll see a lot of people try to attack right after eating it, so going for a 6BBB CH is not that bad), and relatively safe.

The problem is that if you overshoot your range (and having the opponent not be at tip range) they can step the move VERY easily. You'll end with them behind you or to your side, so it's another risk there.
 
I must say I like Belial's view on fighting games (should I call it philosophy of fighting games ?).
In Garou MOTW, there was a character (Kain) that was just a mid-tier. But a japanese player (Charles' Wain) worked on Kain et devised a guard crushing style that made Kain a top tier.
Thus, Charles' Wain was nicknamed the guard-crusher.

Well, I doubt Raph will suddenly become a top-tier, but who knows ?
 
Good guide, especially the part addressing player mentality when it comes to looking at one's own character through the opponent's eyes.

Something I would like to add is, in my personal experience I've found that taking time off to play a different game that requires you to use a different approach to fighting can often help you come up with new stuff that you otherwise wouldn't think of.
 
i still think raph is low tier....or mid low at best...
Having a huge hole in moveset that result in few almost impossible matchups...(mid range left tracking starts with an unsafe i20 -.-).

Its plain bad balancing....

If your opponent has a good backstep/range/speed (see ivy AND setsuka) you just have to take huge risks even to perform a safe attack like BB.

If your opponent has a reliable supertechcrouch (i.e. not mitsu, i'd say sophitia and voldo) can pass under 90% of raph moveset (BB included).

Unfortunately i am not good at explaining that and is not the same issue talked tons of time...i just find awful that on the paper opponent can use a mechanic strategy that completely destroy raph on risk/reward without any move that can even the match....(and i say again i checked tons of time the whole moveset).
 
I think raph is almost high mid or even high mid you just have to play mega lame
even though he is super lacking in some areas the combination of range+average speed is still so good he doesn't need a ring out game or or oki game

I don't think setsu has good movement at all. her step speeds are slow and the distance is super long the worst type of step to have imo because it takes so long to finish
also I dont get this whole gripe about super TC...does no one use WR B or 2B?

by destroy risk reward I assume you mean step and 8wr....tbh step isn't the problem for raph 8wr is far more problematic but he has a good option for both.............******44AB or 44A(B)********* both are really good despite what people say 44AB might as well be safe with its knock back and force crouch and 44A(B) is the only prep transition that can be used for rush down

Raph has a few things that make him deserving of mid or high mid tier
-Long range safe CF game.....seriously it makes him THE BEST ZONER in SC4...the CF makes it so they cannot idly sit by and wait you out
-Ranged pokes-his pokes are second to only algol...but raph has more long range pokes instead of just spamming BB, this gives raph more versatility
-22B VE B:B- it's safe to say a raph who can't do this JF is just screwed....I lost the ability to do this JF after I stopped playing for a long time for school, I'm currently working on it again.
-good step and 8wr- his backdash sucks but his 8wr speed backwards is pretty cool... his step is fast but covers a lot of distance meaning its active frames are shorter its really good......



of course raph would be MUCH better undoubtedly high mid tier with a good standing CH fisher

another thing raph mainers need to explore is 1K/11B force blocks on knock downs
 
i just think you have yet to meet someone who play against raph with just ranged fast pokes...

At that point u need some left tracking midrange of 17 frames max but raph simply doesn t have any....

Ex hit at -4 backstep left, out of 4K range then guard....

What can u do?
22/88B if blocked can be interrupted so is not viable.

Obviously is not something that every character can do.......but few can and its enough...

I perfectly agree on raph strong points but those works only against aggressive players....if they play your same style then raph's strong points lose fo importance and his weakness becomes too evident...

He really needs a mid tracker at decent range to discourage backdashing...
 
If your opponent is backdashing, pull out 236B. Seriously, more Raph players need to abuse that move when the opponent is scared... I whore that out all the time.
 
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