KOF XIII: Maxima

[Robocop Two]

So where does Maxima really excel? He looks like he has a hard time against the faster characters, especially those with fireballs (Athena and Kensou), but once he gets in their faces it looks very pretty So what are his best ways in if you can't force them to come to you?

[PenPen]

Late to reply because I'm starting to use him in my main team as the starter, but against guys like King, who likes to spam fireballs, your only way is to move forward slowly and then react accordingly. If I had more confidence in the timing of his autoguard moves I'll do that to counter projectiles, like a standing far C/D to counter the fireball, so when they try to jump in after throwing one, they get hit by your attack instead.

I actually have a few questions...dunno if anyone would be able to answer?

How do you do that far A stock gain? I think you sorta do it when the other char is doing something. But I'm not sure. It'd be useful if I can do this consistently.
And EX hcb+K doesn't grab the opponent after a df+C, I'd just like to confirm whether it can grab or not. Yeah.

[Toxic Avanger]

How do you do that far A stock gain? I think you sorta do it when the other char is doing something. But I'm not sure. It'd be useful if I can do this consistently.
And EX +K doesn't grab the opponent after a +C, I'd just like to confirm whether it can grab or not. Yeah.

The bug to charge stock with the jabs involves doing , (air) and the (air) shouldn't come out. I actually don't know the true details of the bug, probably it only works with the A the button cannon.

I think that you can EX after the as anti air but it's quite bitching to achieve. You need to land the as deep as possible and then after the enemy flies up as they are going down again you need to catch them with the EX (similar to how people juggle as anti air and the , but that one is much easier). Against ground enemies EX is easier to achieve, if you notice it's even in the SNK playmore combo vids for K''s team.

Maxima fighting fireballers is always weird, supposedly his normal DM should go through fireballs, like an Haoh shokoh ken or something; shouldn't his EX move go through them with autoguard as well?. Furthermore, since Maxima jump is kinda lower in height than other characters it means that there is a certain distance and timing where you can jump punish some fireballs that other characters can't. In fact when I pulled out that oftenly the other party whined that Maxima was strong against fireballers, which of course isn't the case

[PenPen]

Hm that df+C anti air into hcb+BD isn't working for me. Tried hitting the df+C low, high, delaying the hcb+BD but Maxima just passes through the airborne opponent.

I also tried the far A bug! I think it worked for about 1 time out of 5. I did to the backstep into air VAPA KANNUN, if you do it late while backstepping, Maxima will scream "VANA KANNUN" but nothing will come out, he lands on the ground before the move is executed. And you gain stock, but I think this might be different from the standing far A thing. Still, pretty useful.

[Kane317]

Hm that +C anti air into +BD isn't working for me. Tried hitting the +C low, high, delaying the +BD but Maxima just passes through the airborne opponent.

I also tried the far A bug! I think it worked for about 1 time out of 5. I did to the backstep into air VAPA KANNUN, if you do it late while backstepping, Maxima will scream "VANA KANNUN" but nothing will come out, he lands on the ground before the move is executed. And you gain stock, but I think this might be different from the standing far A thing. Still, pretty useful.

As far as I know and tried; .C anti-air does not connect into +BD and have not seen evidence to prove otherwise either.

The good news is this (Ash from DC):

Apparently Maxima can DC his +BD on first hit (knee on the way up) to +B. The +B will miss and afterwards you can re-juggle. You can use your imagination on how useful this will be. I got this from the Japanese bbs.

d.B > d.A > .C > +BD > followup -> DC +AC > +C (opponent low) > +BD (1hit) > DC +B > EX super or +C > whatevers

Ends up doing 75%+ depending on how you finish the combo. Of course this uses 100% drive bar, but if you choose to HD active at the beginning, you can loop the part with .C > +BD > +B

Kinda impractical to be used often, but if you need to output that kind of damage is a good option.

Don't know if you wanna burn that kinda juice but it's an option.

[PenPen]

Actually I read that from the DC forums and wiki so I thought it'd connect. Oh well.

That dp+BD thing does look awesome but it burns a lot of stock if I'm going to loop it.

I'm using Maxima as my first guy because he doesn't need stock to be effective.

[Kane317]

I'm using Maxima as my first guy because he doesn't need stock to be effective.

Really? When I was using him I felt like he *needed* stock to be effective, especially on the defensive side. That being said, that was the first few weeks of playing XIII and maybe I just was not inexperienced enough back then.

BTW, how's HK doing with XIII, I know it's not that popular but is there at least a small dedicated group of players you play with PenPen?

[PenPen]

I think he sorta suits both ways. Obviously with stocks you gain access to his EX VAPA KANNON (air or not) along with his godly dp+BD. But overall even without stocks, the dude can deal out some serious damage. Also the fact that once you got either version of his head-grab move in, they'll start second-guessing you a lot more. I don't think stock-building with Maxima is a problem, I gain stock pretty fast with him. There's also an advantage where they aren't used to facing Maxima. I have a pretty good run with him (relatively speaking since I usually get pwned), and he's actually in my main team now.

I also use his autoguard hard normals to some effect against people and it's definitely easier to block certain attacks and thwart them from trying to come forward (and much easier to time than say 2k2). I almost never used his air VAPA KANNUNs, I know the autoguard in the EX version is awesome though, but my Maxima rarely goes off the ground unless I'm sure my jump attacks are at least trading, or jumping in.

And XIII is pretty much left behind in HK, only a few arcades carry it, and it's not always played. Some better players still play this game though, but they're in the minority. I guess at least from my observations from online forums, there's at least 15-20 guys from these forums who are still playing XIII.

[The Monster]

I'm really intrigued by this character a lot. He seems like one of those characters that no one really unlock their full potential until later on. Can't wait to try him out. Digging the Iron man Beam in his chest .

[Dark_Chaotix]

At least maxima has a Low starting combo with cB. The timing from cB to cA is abit tricky so to bypass that when you do cB double tap A twice and by the time of the second press it will come out. Can lead to heap of things like EX grab, DM, +A etc.

[The Monster]

I'm very surprised Maxima didn't get a default color inspired by oldskool Megatron. The way his head is shaped with his hair would have fit perfectly. Haha

[Dark_Chaotix]

console changes and movelist vid added to first post.

[keech]

http://youtu.be/HTAIQeu8sf4 all 'bout his autoguard moves

[Bugle/Hawk'M]

During ON Show 37 it was noticed that Haregoro did Maxima's command grab, but didn't do a follow up. At first it seemed like a screw up, but then he crossed up on wakeup and did a big combo. I did some messing around with it in training mode and it turns out it is a pretty good mix up opportunity because it crumples and is a hard knockdown that leaves the opponent just a bit away from the corner. It is easy enough to get the body splash, but getting a jump B to cross up is more difficult, so it is a trade off of damage/ease of use/obviousness. With meter/drive Maxima can get a lot of damage off of the grab's follow-up, so this might be a tactic better left for when you are out of meter or saving meter and gambling on the mix up in order to land a big HD combo.

[Vicio]

Hm that +C anti air into +BD isn't working for me. Tried hitting the +C low, high, delaying the +BD but Maxima just passes through the airborne opponent.

I also tried the far A bug! I think it worked for about 1 time out of 5. I did to the backstep into air VAPA KANNUN, if you do it late while backstepping, Maxima will scream "VANA KANNUN" but nothing will come out, he lands on the ground before the move is executed. And you gain stock, but I think this might be different from the standing far A thing. Still, pretty useful.

The DF +C to BD works. You have to close thou, also make sure your opp is not too high or low. It is doable, but its tight timing.

BTW; Maxima is on my main team now. =D

My fav combo is J A, Vapa kannun! Good damage, can beat most uppercuts if timed right. My Maxima can beat the best Mr. K in UFO because of this combo.