Autopiloting

The worst thing about autopiloting in this game, I think, is that you lose alot of options that are naturally available to you. Every time that you make a split second decision like playing out the scenario you've done a million times in training mode, you're effectively limiting yourself to a level that is immune to improvement. That is one of the reasons Thor isn't regarded very highly in most of the speculated tierlists you'll see on sites like Shoryuken.com. When a character like Magneto autopilots, he still has a chance of getting a random airgrab that could kill you. Thor is a character of extremes. His correct guesses mean alot but his moves have very specific purposes. His command grab, for instance, is designed for people who are strictly blocking so if you want to use it then you have to scare the opponent into either blocking or simply not pressing buttons long enough to fall victim to it.


Think about it. If you finally get in on someone with a Mighty Strike and they block it, 90% of players will automatically go into their standard block string and mixup from there. The opponent's already blocking, why not skip to the direct counter and punish? A better option would been to mighty strike in and then go for the command grab since you know his mind's on blocking. Or say they just blocked your assist and are about to leave blockstun, what is your option? A big part of this game is remembering your opponent has options. If you can predict that, Thor WILL kill them. Alot of times in tight situations, I'll set bait like a Mighty Smash or a ground assist like X23's ankle slice and approach. Knowing that Thor's coming, common player mindset is to hold up-back to ignore the mixup and reduce blockstun. That is when I can meet them with a midair command grab.

This concept will be continued in a later post.