Beta is out and I'm using Diego to get a feel for him. I'm pretty much only going to be using him for the duration of the beta to get a feel for him because the ninjas haven't been changed so significantly that I'm going to be putting time into them (except for Hayate's new string enders).
Pros:
Hits hard
High Damage Throws
Fully Charged GBs are amazing
Ts God Tier wall detection
1PP
Diego is a "guess right" character. When he gets a hit in it will almost always hurt. He has good juggle damage when he gets a launch but getting to the launch is an issue.
His throws are pretty strong, being that he is a slower speed striker this makes sense. HiCounter 41236T is just LOL against DZ walls.
236P fully charged is just wonderful. Very plus but I don't think more than +15.
It's a bug in the Beta but when an opponent is between you and the wall and you are just inside the circle of the Colliseum you can T and get a wall throw. Keep in mind wall throws are unbreakable. It's a bad case of "Where's the Wall?" and I love it.
1PP is probably my favorite string right now. 16 frame low tracking into +1 GB (will go into details why his GBs suck later). Crushes highs. Natural combo on HiCounter and Back Turned opponents. Knock backs into wall bounce. It's just a very good "Get out of Jail" string.
Cons:
Very close range
Air height requirement for air throw
Lack of mixups
Slow/GB
Lack of options/tools
Lack of range
Holds have problems
SLOW SDS with 7K.
Did I mention he has almost no range?
41236T Wall Detection
Also, he's tall.
I don't see how Japan thinks he is Top Tier/OP, 1PP is not the deciding factor people. He has too many issues that leave him in the dust, my guess is he is a middle to Cruiser weight. At least in this beta.
His range is probably slightly longer than Honoka. Hell, I'd go so far to say she has more range across all their strikes. He has issues with whiff punishing because of his range, his long range strikes are very slow and have to almost be used strictly as a reactionary strike instead of recognizing the opponent will whiff. Even his Break Blow is ridiculously short range. He just doesn't have the reach to beat out the roster across the board (going from pas roster experience mind you).
I can't really find a good way to optimize a combo into his air throw. If you stun into 8K KP then T it just feels inconsistent. It might be because of online but I can't get it consistently at all so I've resorted to juggles.
His mixups are bad. His pokes are P and 6PP. His string variations are either a tracking knockdown or nontracking knock back. No good low enders. Yeah his 2H+K is decent but it knocks down on Counter and he is still standing during it. 1K is his only good low kick because it has some stun but it's speed isn't all that great.
He is a slow striking character. 11 frame high, 13 frame mid, I want to say 13 frame low. His 66P/1PP/PPPP is +1 on GB but +1 isn't anything to be scared of when fighting against him when using anyone that is a 10 frame or faster character. Unless you are another 11 frame character (or Bass) you don't need to respect his GBs at all. Against Kasumi she is able to use her safe strings to bait STRIKE PUNISHES. Diego is so slow that you don't want to use anything above 14 frames to try to punish safe strings. I had a moment where I blocked a Kasumi 6PP and tried to 1PP and got beat out by ANOTHER 6P. If Diego were a 10/12/12 he would have something to go with but he just doesn't have the speed to compete with the majority of the cast as is.
His air bound is 214P. That is his only air bound and barely jumps over lows. You have to use it immediately after a launcher. Options after that are a Close Hit 66P or BB options. Really only good after a wall stun 8K. He lacks tools to make his striking game dangerous outside of getting a hit. If Japan thinks Diego is top tier then why do they not think Leon is top tier in 5? Leon dealt far more damage and had far better mixups and GBs and even if his 33P was his only tool it is better than anything Diego has. I know comparing him to Leon is biased but they both share similar traits. Rachel is a better comparison but she has a couple tools to hep her out.
7K is SLOW. Without a good lift stun or deep stun don't consider using this much. Best time to use is after Fatal Rush or Wall stun. It has to be about 20 frames but is very reactable and compared to what the ninjas have it's very bad. But hey, it is a Sit Down Stun when it lands.
His T has God Tier wall detection but his walled 41236T is something that needs work.
His holds play to him right but not to the game. His high punch hold leaves him at advantage but at such a range that he can't connect against smaller characters with 6P. His holds also leave him a a range where he can't avoid the wakeup game.
His height gives him natural issues against crushing attacks. Because of his height a lot of his mids are kind of high up, they are fairly easy to crush. Even Hayate has no problem ducking under Diego's mids. I've seen 3P, 6P, and BB being ducked by all the ninjas so far.
Yeah Diego is fun but I just can't see him being OP. 1PP is not the reason, being +1 as a 11 frame jabber is not all that great.
I find myself using the same strings over and over (mostly due to a lack of training mode): 1PP and 6PP. Yeah if you get 4P you have a P and K mixup but the 4P itself is about 16-17 frames. 9PP is a decent bounce but the string ender is so obvious you should never be hitting with it.
Thoughts?
Pros:
Hits hard
High Damage Throws
Fully Charged GBs are amazing
Ts God Tier wall detection
1PP
Diego is a "guess right" character. When he gets a hit in it will almost always hurt. He has good juggle damage when he gets a launch but getting to the launch is an issue.
His throws are pretty strong, being that he is a slower speed striker this makes sense. HiCounter 41236T is just LOL against DZ walls.
236P fully charged is just wonderful. Very plus but I don't think more than +15.
It's a bug in the Beta but when an opponent is between you and the wall and you are just inside the circle of the Colliseum you can T and get a wall throw. Keep in mind wall throws are unbreakable. It's a bad case of "Where's the Wall?" and I love it.
1PP is probably my favorite string right now. 16 frame low tracking into +1 GB (will go into details why his GBs suck later). Crushes highs. Natural combo on HiCounter and Back Turned opponents. Knock backs into wall bounce. It's just a very good "Get out of Jail" string.
Cons:
Very close range
Air height requirement for air throw
Lack of mixups
Slow/GB
Lack of options/tools
Lack of range
Holds have problems
SLOW SDS with 7K.
Did I mention he has almost no range?
41236T Wall Detection
Also, he's tall.
I don't see how Japan thinks he is Top Tier/OP, 1PP is not the deciding factor people. He has too many issues that leave him in the dust, my guess is he is a middle to Cruiser weight. At least in this beta.
His range is probably slightly longer than Honoka. Hell, I'd go so far to say she has more range across all their strikes. He has issues with whiff punishing because of his range, his long range strikes are very slow and have to almost be used strictly as a reactionary strike instead of recognizing the opponent will whiff. Even his Break Blow is ridiculously short range. He just doesn't have the reach to beat out the roster across the board (going from pas roster experience mind you).
I can't really find a good way to optimize a combo into his air throw. If you stun into 8K KP then T it just feels inconsistent. It might be because of online but I can't get it consistently at all so I've resorted to juggles.
His mixups are bad. His pokes are P and 6PP. His string variations are either a tracking knockdown or nontracking knock back. No good low enders. Yeah his 2H+K is decent but it knocks down on Counter and he is still standing during it. 1K is his only good low kick because it has some stun but it's speed isn't all that great.
He is a slow striking character. 11 frame high, 13 frame mid, I want to say 13 frame low. His 66P/1PP/PPPP is +1 on GB but +1 isn't anything to be scared of when fighting against him when using anyone that is a 10 frame or faster character. Unless you are another 11 frame character (or Bass) you don't need to respect his GBs at all. Against Kasumi she is able to use her safe strings to bait STRIKE PUNISHES. Diego is so slow that you don't want to use anything above 14 frames to try to punish safe strings. I had a moment where I blocked a Kasumi 6PP and tried to 1PP and got beat out by ANOTHER 6P. If Diego were a 10/12/12 he would have something to go with but he just doesn't have the speed to compete with the majority of the cast as is.
His air bound is 214P. That is his only air bound and barely jumps over lows. You have to use it immediately after a launcher. Options after that are a Close Hit 66P or BB options. Really only good after a wall stun 8K. He lacks tools to make his striking game dangerous outside of getting a hit. If Japan thinks Diego is top tier then why do they not think Leon is top tier in 5? Leon dealt far more damage and had far better mixups and GBs and even if his 33P was his only tool it is better than anything Diego has. I know comparing him to Leon is biased but they both share similar traits. Rachel is a better comparison but she has a couple tools to hep her out.
7K is SLOW. Without a good lift stun or deep stun don't consider using this much. Best time to use is after Fatal Rush or Wall stun. It has to be about 20 frames but is very reactable and compared to what the ninjas have it's very bad. But hey, it is a Sit Down Stun when it lands.
His T has God Tier wall detection but his walled 41236T is something that needs work.
His holds play to him right but not to the game. His high punch hold leaves him at advantage but at such a range that he can't connect against smaller characters with 6P. His holds also leave him a a range where he can't avoid the wakeup game.
His height gives him natural issues against crushing attacks. Because of his height a lot of his mids are kind of high up, they are fairly easy to crush. Even Hayate has no problem ducking under Diego's mids. I've seen 3P, 6P, and BB being ducked by all the ninjas so far.
Yeah Diego is fun but I just can't see him being OP. 1PP is not the reason, being +1 as a 11 frame jabber is not all that great.
I find myself using the same strings over and over (mostly due to a lack of training mode): 1PP and 6PP. Yeah if you get 4P you have a P and K mixup but the 4P itself is about 16-17 frames. 9PP is a decent bounce but the string ender is so obvious you should never be hitting with it.
Thoughts?
