Revision as of 16:59, 18 April 2022

Plinking

Plinking, short for "Priority Linking", is a fundamental technique to getting the most out of your combos. It makes difficult combos much easier to achieve.

The Technique

Plinking is done by inputting two consecutive buttons exactly one frame (1/60 of a second) apart. It sounds a lot harder than it really is. However, it is typically very difficult to perform on controllers apart from an arcade stick because of the button layout and design on most pads (i.e. standard Xbox/Playstation controllers). The catch is that it only works if a higher priority command is input before a lower priority button.

The Mechanics

This technique exploits a mechanic in USF4 that gives certain commands priority over others. The formula is relatively simple: medium attacks have priority over light attacks, heavy/hard attacks have priority over both, and kicks have priority over punches. The priority list looks like this:

LP < LK < MP < MK < HP < HK

Plinking allows you get an extra frame to hit the next move in your combo, which makes the notorious one-frame links entirely possible. There are two reasons to use plinking over attempting to hammer the same button twice within 2/60's of a second. One, it is almost physically impossible to do so. Two, the game will not recognize the same button press on two consecutive frames, as it interprets this as the button being held down. A button must be released before it can be hit gain, so the fastest possible mashed input would occur every other frame. Thus, it wouldn't be useful for attempting a one-frame link even if you could physically do it.

The technical explanation for the existence of plinking is most likely to make button combinations like throws, focus attacks, taunts, and EX moves more lenient. In games like SF3: 3rd Strike, it was not uncommon for players to fail an attempted EX special move because they hit the two attack buttons one frame apart. Plinking repeats the first input on consecutive frames and allows the system to register the second input of the higher priority command. When done successfully the inputs should appear like this:

Notice how the first input is registered twice? This is what adds that extra frame to the one-frame window used in many difficult links. Because of the priority system, the lesser input (MP) is ignored in favor of the higher input (HP). This principle applies to any input and any combination of inputs, allowing for a large amount of plinking possibilities.

You can only plink a LK~LP when crouching because Throw takes priority while standing. You cannot plink MK~MP or HK~HP because Focus Attack and Taunt take priority at all times. LP has priority over nothing, so it cannot be plinked by normal means (more on that later).

Double Plinking

This technique is a plink that utilizes three buttons instead of two. It helps make a plink successful if the timing of the first input was a little off. It does not give an extra frame, it simply increases the plink's chance of succeeding. This is because it acts like you plinked twice.

True Double Plinking

The difference between regular double plinking and "true" double plinking is true double plinking actually involves two different plinks in rapid succession. This further increases your chances of hitting the one-frame link. It acts somewhat like an option select, but depends on your timing rather than the opponent's response. An example of this would be adding a MP+LK plink to a HP+LP plink. If you somehow miss the timing on the first plink (HP+LP) the second plink (MP+LK) will come out. This can be useful if you're having trouble with certain links.

Blinking/Slinking

This bizarre plink involves the use of the Back (Xbox) or Select (Playstation) button, thus Blinking or Slinking. The Back/Select button is secretly the lowest priority input in the game, effectively having priority over nothing. Its usefulness is derived from its unique ability to double any input or any combination of inputs, giving an extra frame to each and can essentially plink the combination rather than the individual inputs. This includes light punch (which was previously impossible to plink), grab/throw, and ultras (3-punch/3-kick buttons). This is very useful for trying to do strictly timed throws, or even kara throws, ultras, and anything else. Unfortunately, this technique is not available in Trials mode, as Back/Select brings up a menu screen displaying the combo notation.

On arcade cabinets, the Start button serves the same purpose, although the location of the button can vary to the point where it becomes impractical. Blinking/Slinking is not possible for 3DS users, since the Select button acts as a second Start button. The slink will register and come out if done correctly, but at the cost of momentarily pausing the game. It is therefore not a reliable way to practice the technique, nor is it good to use in online matches.

Kara Canceling

In Street Fighter 4, some moves can be canceled very quickly into another move which gains additional properties it otherwise might not have had. The cancel has to be done 1 frame (and only 1 frame) after the first move is inputted, and this type of cancel is known as kara canceling. Typically, the added benefit is just increased distance, and the second move is typically a throw. The pairing of a kara-canceled move with a throw is thus known as a kara throw.

Kara Cancelling Distance Comparison

Every character in the game has a move which can be kara-canceled, but each individual move typically adds a different amount of distance. Some moves actually give no distance when kara-canceled, and a few moves actually give negative distance, meaning they move the character backward.

Below is a list of the added distance gained when kara-canceling each move. This list is not exhaustive; the logic here was mainly distance, so the moves here are those with the best range. "Lenient" karas, like the ones Sagat has, are not included because they are not technically karas. They may be added at some point in the future, though.

As an example, when Vega performs his far roundhouse kara throw, he adds 0.2892 distance to his throw range (1.07), for a total of 0.2892 + 1.07 = 1.36. As a reference, the stage is 15.0 units wide, and the characters start 3.0 units apart at the beginning of the round. All numbers are truncated values (rounded down).

Note that the proximity range of normals affects how and when they can be used. For example, Evil Ryu's Far HP has a good kara range at 0.2204, but his Close HP doesn't move him forward at all. Additionally, many close normals actually have shorter proximity distance than the character's throw range, which makes them pointless for kara throwing.

Moves with a blue background are special-only karas; they can be used to kara EX specials of a higher priority, supers and ultras. Moves with a red background are negative karas that move backwards a noticeable distance.

Ultra Street Fighter 4 Kara Cancel Data
Character	Kara Canceled Move	Distance Added
Abel	close LK	0.1648
Abel	far LK	0.0908
Abel	crouching HK	0.1738
Adon	close MK	0.3064
Adon	far HK	0.0975
Akuma	close HP	0.1260
Akuma	far HP	0.1777
Akuma	close HK	0.2935
Akuma	far HK	0.0406
Balrog	Any Dash Punch (L/M/H)	0.1100
Balrog	Any Dash Punch (EX)	0.1200
Blanka	far LP	0.2175
Blanka	Forward Hop	0.2213
Cammy	far MK	0.0646
Cammy	crouching MK	0.0306
Chun-Li	forward+MK	0.0600
Chun-Li	Hazanshu (H)	0.0700
Chun-Li	Lightning Kicks (EX)	0.2000
Cody	close HK	0.1020
Cody	far HK	0.1347
C. Viper	Burning Kick (H)	0.0600
C. Viper	Burning Kick (EX)	0.0700
Dan	Dankukyaku (L/M/H)	0.0206
Dee Jay	far MP	0.0176
Dee Jay	close MK	0.1384
Dee Jay	crouching MP	0.0206
Dhalsim	crouching HK (slide)	0.0127
Dudley	standing HP	0.0699
Dudley	Machinegun Blow (H)	0.4415
Dudley	Machinegun Blow (EX)	0.5415
E. Honda	Hundred Hand Slap (H)	0.1200
El Fuerte	far MK	0.0111
El Fuerte	close HK	0.0164
El Fuerte	far HK	-0.0253
Evil Ryu	far HP	0.2204
Evil Ryu	close HK	0.1853
Evil Ryu	far HK	0.0764
Evil Ryu	crouching MK	0.3500
Evil Ryu	forward+MK	0.1320
Evil Ryu	Axe Kick (L)	0.3915
Fei Long	far HK	0.1022
Fei Long	forward+MK	0.0176
Fei Long	Rekkaken (H)	0.1668
Gen	(Mantis) close / far MK	0.2588
Gen	(Crane) close / far MP	0.0502
Gen	(Crane) crouching MP	0.0625
Gouken	close MK	0.1525
Gouken	far MK	0.0515
Gouken	far HK	0.1913
Guile	far MP	0.1864
Guile	close MK	0.2547
Guile	crouching HK	0.1246
Guile	Flash Kick (ALL)	0.2373
Guy	close MP	0.0311
Guy	far MP	0.1350
Guy	close HK	0.2567
Guy	downforward+HK	0.0732
Guy	Hozanto (EX)	0.1456
Hakan	forward+HP	0.0238
Hakan (not oiled)	Oil Rocket (ALL)	0.1200
Hakan (oiled)	Oil Rocket (ALL)	0.1002
Ibuki	standing MK (neutral)	0.1749
Ibuki	crouching MP	0.2187
Ibuki	Kasumi Gake (ALL)	0.2500
Juri	close MP	0.1745
Juri	far MP	0.2661
Ken	forward+MK	0.4126
Ken	forward+HK	0.3253
Makoto	forward+LK	0.3356
M. Bison	close MK	0.0253
Oni	standing HK	0.2421
Oni	back+MP	0.2054
Rose	crouching HP	0.0197
Rufus	close HK	0.0500
Rufus	far HK	-0.0426
Rufus	Galactic Tornado (L)	0.0495
Rufus	Galactic Tornado (EX)	0.0711
Ryu	close HK	0.1853
Ryu	far HK	0.1036
Sagat	close MK	0.1201
Sagat	forward+LK	0.0392
Sakura	close / far LK	0.0539
Sakura	close HP	0.1948
Sakura	far HP	-0.0149
Sakura	crouching HP	0.1056
Sakura	forward+MK	0.0191
Sakura	Shouoken (EX)	0.1000
Seth	far LK	0.0882
Vega	close / far HK	0.2892
Yang	close / far HK	0.1036
Yang	Mantis Slash (H)	0.1886
Yun	close / far LK (Genei Jin)	0.3500
Yun	close MP (non-Genei Jin)	0.1779
Yun	far MP	0.1218
Yun	close MK (non-Genei Jin)	0.0443
Yun	far MK	0.1778
Yun	crouching MK	0.1703
Yun	crouching MK (Genei Jin)	0.1530
Yun	forward+MK	0.1683
Yun	Lunge Punch (L, Normal/Genei Jin)	0.3659
Yun	Shoulder (L)	0.2167
Yun	Shoulder (L) (Genei Jin)	0.3404
Yun	Shoulder (M)	0.1685
Yun	Shoulder (M) (Genei Jin)	0.3704
Yun	Shoulder (EX)	0.2467
Zangief	far HK	0.2206
Zangief	Banishing Flat (L)	0.1300

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{USFIVHeader}}
+{{TOClimit|2}}
+<hr>
+=Plinking=
+Plinking, short for "Priority Linking", is a fundamental technique to getting the most out of your combos. It makes difficult combos much easier to achieve.
+==The Technique==
+Plinking is done by inputting two consecutive buttons exactly one frame (1/60 of a second) apart. It sounds a lot harder than it really is. However, it is typically very difficult to perform on controllers apart from an arcade stick because of the button layout and design on most pads (i.e. standard Xbox/Playstation controllers). The catch is that it only works if a higher priority command is input before a lower priority button.
+==The Mechanics==
+This technique exploits a mechanic in USF4 that gives certain commands priority over others. The formula is relatively simple: medium attacks have priority over light attacks, heavy/hard attacks have priority over both, and kicks have priority over punches. The priority list looks like this:
+LP < LK < MP < MK < HP < HK
+Plinking allows you get an extra frame to hit the next move in your combo, which makes the notorious one-frame links entirely possible. There are two reasons to use plinking over attempting to hammer the same button twice within 2/60's of a second. One, it is almost physically impossible to do so. Two, the game will not recognize the same button press on two consecutive frames, as it interprets this as the button being held down. A button must be released before it can be hit gain, so the fastest possible mashed input would occur every other frame. Thus, it wouldn't be useful for attempting a one-frame link even if you could physically do it.
+The technical explanation for the existence of plinking is most likely to make button combinations like throws, focus attacks, taunts, and EX moves more lenient. In games like SF3: 3rd Strike, it was not uncommon for players to fail an attempted EX special move because they hit the two attack buttons one frame apart. Plinking repeats the first input on consecutive frames and allows the system to register the second input of the higher priority command. When done successfully the inputs should appear like this: [[Image:Plinking.jpg]]
+Notice how the first input is registered twice? This is what adds that extra frame to the one-frame window used in many difficult links. Because of the priority system, the lesser input (MP) is ignored in favor of the higher input (HP). This principle applies to any input and any combination of inputs, allowing for a large amount of plinking possibilities.
+You can only plink a LK~LP when crouching because Throw takes priority while standing. You cannot plink MK~MP or HK~HP because Focus Attack and Taunt take priority at all times. LP has priority over nothing, so it cannot be plinked by normal means (more on that later).
+==Double Plinking==
+This technique is a plink that utilizes three buttons instead of two. It helps make a plink successful if the timing of the first input was a little off. It does not give an extra frame, it simply increases the plink's chance of succeeding. This is because it acts like you plinked twice.
+==True Double Plinking==
+The difference between regular double plinking and "true" double plinking is true double plinking actually involves two different plinks in rapid succession. This further increases your chances of hitting the one-frame link. It acts somewhat like an option select, but depends on your timing rather than the opponent's response. An example of this would be adding a MP+LK plink to a HP+LP plink. If you somehow miss the timing on the first plink (HP+LP) the second plink (MP+LK) will come out. This can be useful if you're having trouble with certain links.
+==Blinking/Slinking==
+This bizarre plink involves the use of the Back (Xbox) or Select (Playstation) button, thus Blinking or Slinking. The Back/Select button is secretly the lowest priority input in the game, effectively having priority over nothing. Its usefulness is derived from its unique ability to double any input or any combination of inputs, giving an extra frame to each and can essentially plink the combination rather than the individual inputs. This includes light punch (which was previously impossible to plink), grab/throw, and ultras (3-punch/3-kick buttons).  This is very useful for trying to do strictly timed throws, or even kara throws, ultras, and anything else. Unfortunately, this technique is not available in Trials mode, as Back/Select brings up a menu screen displaying the combo notation.
+On arcade cabinets, the Start button serves the same purpose, although the location of the button can vary to the point where it becomes impractical. Blinking/Slinking is not possible for 3DS users, since the Select button acts as a second Start button. The slink will register and come out if done correctly, but at the cost of momentarily pausing the game. It is therefore not a reliable way to practice the technique, nor is it good to use in online matches.
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