Ultra Street Fighter IV/Rufus/Combos

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Omega Ver.

Combos

Rufus combos often begin with a divekick (at any point in a jump, press down-forward and MK together). Because the divekick can afford Rufus different durations of hitstun depending on how high or low on the opponent's body it lands, and because it can also lead to different timings for pressing the next button after the divekick, it is important to practice combos from a range of divekick heights (and against different characters when standing/crouching due to the effect this has on character hurtboxes).

Any combo ending in Galactic Tornado can be followed with a juggle into UC1 (in the corner only, with one or two exceptions), or he can use Red Focus Cancel on the first hit of Galactic Tornado to score a crumple and continue the combo as he sees fit (anywhere on screen).

Essential combos

• st.LK, st.HP xx Galactic Tornado
• st.LK, st.LK, st.HP xx Galactic Tornado
  • The above are "the Rufus BnB" - on certain characters (and from certain positions after landing a crossup divekick) only one st.LK is possible before the st.HP. The link from st.LK to st.HP is a "one frame link" requiring very precise timing from the player. However it is widely agreed that it's essential that the aspiring Rufus player learn this combo in order to score sufficient damage when the opportunity arises.

• st.HP xx Galactic Tornado
  • Rufus' basic punish for blocked attacks which leave the opponent at significant disadvantage. Also, from a very low-hitting divekick Rufus can combo directly into this without a st.LK beforehand, which makes the combo easier and removes the damage scaling added by the st.LK attack in the "BnB".

• cr.LP xx EX Galactic Tornado
  • a nice simple punish for lots of situations where the st.HP punish above is too slow or doesn't reach far enough.

• EX messiah kick FADC UC1
• j.HK (air to air), UC1
• st.LK>st.HK, UC1
  • Three basic ways to land Rufus' ultra combo 1, all essential to his game especially at low to intermediate level. Only the third of these can be preceded by a divekick, making it perhaps the most common way to land Rufus' ultra during pressure. The first combo above can be extended as follows if the messiah kick has pushed the opponent near the corner: EX messiah kick FADC snake strike, UC1. The second can be used with an EX snake strike if Rufus doesn't have ultra available.

Other combos

• cr.LK, cr.LP, (cr.LP), far st.LP, st.MP xx EX Galactic Tornado
  • This combo starts from a low attack and can be useful after divekicking early to avoid actually hitting the opponent. The player can experiment with the number and type of light attacks at the start of this combo to achieve satisfactory spacing to ensure that the st.LP is indeed the "far" version of the move.
  • As well as ending with a juggle into UC1 at the end of this combo (in the corner only), Rufus can use FADC after inputting the EX Galactic Tornado (after the vacuum effect has started but before Rufus' arm connects) anywhere on screen to continue the combo as he sees fit (e.g. by linking a st.LK>st.HK target combo and juggling with ultra).

• cr.LK xx Galactic Tornado (LP version)
  • This can be performed immediately after a divekick and will either combo if the divekick hits or perform a blockstring if the divekick is blocked (or combo from cr.LK if the opponent blocks everything standing). Low damage.

• far st.HK, UC1
  • Rufus' far st.HK is very good at avoiding low attacks, and in some matchups this can be a useful way to land an ultra combo. far st.HK can also juggle as an anti air against some characters trying to jump away.
  • In the corner, this can be extended to far st.HK, f+HP, UC1.

• st.MP, st.LK>st.HK, UC1
  • Most useful if you can land a st.MP counterhit on the opponent's wakeup by timing it to interrupt the startup of their crouch tech/other button.

• st.LK, cr.LP xx EX Galactic Tornado
• st.LK, st.MP, cr.LP xx EX Galactic Tornado
  • Often used after a crossup divekick whose spacing may have led to the usual "BnB" failing to connect, these provide reasonable damage for one bar of EX meter. In addition, the second can act as a useful frame trap with slightly delayed timing if the player sees that the preceding divekick was blocked.

• df+MK (rolling attack), cr.LP xx EX Galactic Tornado
  • This only works if the first attack hits as a counterhit, so the player will need to practice checking for the "counterhit" symbol appearing on screen before inputting the EX Galactic Tornado.

• nj.HK, st.HP xx Galactic Tornado
  • This is Rufus' standard high-damage punish when standing close to a dizzied opponent. If the opponent is further away, the nj.HK can be replaced with a j.HP for slightly less damage.

• EX messiah kick FADC EX messiah kick
• j.HK (high air to air), LK messiah kick (plus LK ender)
  • Two new juggles in USF4 which weren't possible in previous versions of the game. The first is expensive so should only really be used for fun, or if it will end the round. The second is a useful modification of Rufus' j.HK, EX snake strike combo, providing a good option if Rufus doesn't want to spend meter.

• nj.HK, st.HP xx EX Galactic Tornado FADC st.HP xx EX Galactic Tornado
  • This requires four bars of EX meter but, if continued with a UC1 juggle at the end, was Rufus' most damaging combo in previous versions of the game (when ended with an UC1 juggle in the corner). In USF4, it is superseded by...
• nj.HK, st.HK xx Red Focus (hits) xx dash forward, st.HP xx EX Galactic Tornado
  • There is also a variation of this which requires Rufus to backdash from the from the Red Focus hit then walk forward a little to land a far st.HK and continue the combo (also works midscreen with slightly different timing).