Overview Combos Matchups Strategy Resources Archive Page

Strategies

Overview

Oro is an unorthodox character with a strong neutral presence in many matchups, but he lacks the kind of moves that easily convert stray hits into big damage or knockdowns. Instead, he uses his quick grounded movement and tricky double jump to play a delicate hit-and-run type style.

Neutral

Oro's best grounded pokes are far MK and 5HK. Far MK is his second farthest reaching normal. It has fast (8f) startup considering its reach, along with a slightly disjointed active hitbox. It is particularly useful in the shoto matchups, where it will cleanly beat shoto 2MK when properly spaced. 5HK doesn't have the disjoint hitbox or the range of far MK, but it makes up for this with absurdly fast 7f startup and heinous stun damage. It does so much stun that even the long stun bar characters can't afford to carelessly get hit. Its speed, heavy priority, and hitboxes make it difficult to contest. Unfortunately, both buttons suffer from the same major weaknesses. On whiff, far MK and 5HK are respectively 26f and 28f long, meaning they are quite whiff punishable. Both kicks are also -5 on block. Additionally, Far MK is -4 on hit, and 5HK is only 1f better at -3 on hit. While this is not always a problem, it can open Oro up to big punishes on block when the opponent has meter, and even on hit against characters with fast supers, like Ken and Chun Li. Finally, both moves have rather high active hitboxes, and they will whiff on short crouching characters like Chun, Elena, twins, and even in the mirror.

Far MP has the same startup as far MK, but with shorter range. It is also less rewarding to land, doing less damage and less stun. Fortunately it has a shorter overall animation at 24 frames; less severe disadvantage on block and hit, at -2 and -1 respectively; and a lower reaching active hitbox. The extra block and hit advantage is useful against characters that can punish Oro's stronger pokes. The lower hitbox is crucial for maintaining Oro's neutral presence against characters that can crouch under his kicks.

2HP is another absurdly fast heavy button, with only 6f of startup. Much like 5HK, it is unfortunately quite whiff punishable, with 18 recovery frames. Unlike that button, it is only -2 on block and +0 on hit. While not a standard "footsies" type move, it is excellent as a whiff punish due to its fast startup and fairly generous disjointed active hitbox. It shines in the Hugo matchup, where it will usually cleanly beat Hugo's standing LP, crouching LP, and standing MP; as well as the Makoto matchup, where it is pretty much Oro's only (albeit good) option to punish Makoto for abusing her 2MK.

2MK is Oro's primary low button. It has fast 6f startup, 4 active frames, and a quick (11f) recovery. It also has a generous disjointed active hitbox, so it tends to have favorable interactions with comparable low pokes. It will often cleanly beat tackle-type moves like Urien's chariot tackle. If you hit someone with it at close range, it can combo into human pillar driver (Oro's hit-grab) for a hard knockdown. All of this and it's even +0 on block, +1 on hit, and +2 on crouching hit; a rarity for Oro pokes.

2HK has both faster startup and less recovery than the average sweep, and it's pretty safe at only -6 on block. It hits farther than it looks, and generally as long as the opponent doesn't have super stocked, it's safe to fish for knockdowns with either bare 2HK, or as part of short block strings.

Despite the 17f startup, 5HP is situationally useful because Oro's leg left at the beginning can dodge lows. The active hitbox also hits quite a bit lower than it looks like it would, with a generous disjoint active hitbox below Oro's arm.

Neutral jump MP is surprisingly good at checking both grounded and air approaches. The angle and the slightly disjointed active hitbox means it tends to interact favorably with anything below Oro's arm.

Oro's forward dash is extremely fast and far reaching. If Oro is able to parry or make the opponent whiff a high commitment move like a sweep, he often has time to dash in and punish with a cl.MP combo. His back dash is also quite good, and he's generally able to move and juke around the screen pretty easily.

Double jump means that Oro rarely has to fully commit to a jump. He can constantly test the opponent by faking jump-ins. If Oro is able to bait a bad anti-air, he should be prepared to land his biggest possible punish.

Poking ideas

5HK beats Dudley’s 5HK (sometimes. . .)
5MK beats Ken’s 2MK (requires good spacing though)
2MP beats Urien’s 2MK (solid poke that stays out for a while)
2HP beats Makoto’s 2MK (great priority, destroys Makoto’s standard pokes)
5MP beats Urien’s 5HP (another solid poke, mix it up)
2MK beats Chun-Li’s 4HP (best low-hitting poke. . . not much to choose from)

Zoning

Even though fireballs are stereotypically considered "not very good" in 3rd Strike, Oro's fireballs are actually pretty good at keeping the opponent out. Since the air fireballs, particularly HP fireball, tend to hit the opponent pretty high up, Oro can be safe even if they parry it.

LP fireball - horizontal fireball; extends Oro's hurtbox before and after the fireball; quite vulnerable to counterpokes; dangerous against Makoto, as she will commonly dash through it.
MP fireball - 30 degree anti-air fireball; less recovery than LP fireball; since Oro's arm goes up, this is a little harder to whiff punish.
HP fireball - 45 degree anti-air fireball, less recovery than LP fireball; harder to whiff punish; used in mid-screen juggles
EX fireball - slow startup, but two hits and tracks the opponent; up version depends on opponent's position

Strings

2LK, 2MK (2LK, 2LK is fine too, but less damage if it hits)
cl.LK, far LK, 2MK (pushes you into zoning range)
cl.LK, 2LK, 5HK (low and high parry, slight frame trap into 5HK)
cl.LK, 2LK, 2HP (variation on Makoto, also comes out quicker)
cl.LK or far LK, 2HK (frame trap into sweep)
UOH, far LK, far MK (don’t use on Chun-Li, Oro, other short crouchers; they can duck the MK)
(Use variations of these for yourself! This is only a guide.)

Anti-air

Grounded anti-air

5HK beats Yang’s divekick (depends on range)
2HP beats Ryu’s j.HK (mix with 5HK for far jump-ins)
cl.MP beats Chun’s j.MK (use sparingly, and use the chance to juggle either a s.HK or another launch (first hit only) into super)
cl.LP beats many close jump-ins (then mix them up when they land)
MP and HP fireball (hits early in the jump so Oro is relatively safe; if parried, Oro usually has time for a followup normal anti-air)

Air-to-air

j.HK beats Remy’s j.HP (the height from a superjump helps)
j.MK beats Q’s j.HP (it’s all spacing, use double jumping to your advantage)
parry -> airthrow (use this after an air parry whenever you can, it does a lot of damage)
nj.MP (hits lots of things, it's really good)
nj.HK (Oro's highest damage and stun jumping normal)

Mixups

cl.MP - hits mid, high parry only; mostly safe; confirmable and is his bnb combo starter
cl.MK xx hcb+P - cl.MK hits mid, high parry only; not really confirmable; -15 on block
cr.MK xx hcb+P - 2MK hits low, low parry only; not really confirmable; -15 on block
meaty MP+MK, MK xx hcb+P OR MP -> chicken combo - UOH hits high, high parry only; must hit meaty to combo
hcb+P - hits mid; cannot be parried; -15 on block
(kara) throw
HP - 2 hits; hits high, high parry only; slams airborne opponents on hit
jump-in, early air 236+K (mash) for 9 hits - hits overhead
jump-in, latest possible air 236+K, MP into chicken combo - hits overhead; chicken kick is +4, but if you hit even one frame too early, it's -7
empty jump, throw - hard to react to this versus latest possible jump-in 236K
empty jump, 2MK xx hcb+P - mix with above, hits low; -15 on block
empty jump, 2LK xx EX uppercut xx yagyou - either you hit them with this into 100% stun, or they block and you die

Kara-Techniques

Oro's best kara normal is far MK, with 28 pixels of kara distance. Unfortunately, his close MK proximity normal makes it tricky to use. Close MK only has 10 pixels of kara distance, and a pretty large proximity activation range. This causes a large dead spot where is too close to get far MK, but too far away for close MK kara throw to work.

5HK only has a 14 pixel kara distance, but because there is no proximity normal on HK, HK~throw is his farthest reaching reliable kara throw.

Kara UOH can be done by simply plinking MK~MP. If you're unfamiliar with "plinking" you basically quickly drum the two buttons so you hit them on consecutive frames.

Human pillar driver (63214+P, his hit-grab) can be kara'd with with far MK. This has niche punish applications, such as punishing Urien's light tackle with 63214 MK~LP. It can also be used in neutral to punish moves like whiffed shoto sweeps.

During Kishin Riki, all of Oro's grounded punches become a command grab version of human pillar driver. You can perform the grab with any punch on its own, but you can kara only if you do the command grab motion; 63214 MK~P.

Kara fireball ([4]6~MK~P) is sometimes useful to manipulate Oro's position on the screen, and to anti-air fireball from unexpected angles.

Super Art Selection

SA1 Kishin Riki

+ fully invulnerable startup
+ new combo from 2HP
- single long meter; takes a while to build
- EX version can be jumped after the super flash
- limited EX usage
- extremely limited combo potential
- much less damage than other supers

This super is not commonly used. The EX version has fully invulnerable startup, and Oro gains a new combo with 2HP xx EX SA1, but those are the only real positives. Both versions have very limited combo potential. EX is a real command grab, but it has startup after the super flash, so the opponent can always react and jump a raw EX super attempt. The 2HP combo isn't really hit-confirmable, and while 2HP is a good move, this doesn't significantly increase Oro's opportunities to land a big combo from neutral. The single big meter also limits Oro's EX usage. Overall this super just lacks the immediate, round-ending combo potential of his other supers, and doesn't provide any benefits to make up for it.

Recommended: nobody

SA2 Yagyou Dama

+ short meter; super is available early
+ 3 meters provides more EX availability
+ unblockable loops
+ 100% stun combos
+- lots of tricky setups to learn
- loops are dependent on stage positioning
- opponent may escape loops with parry
- character-specific escapes require specialized followups
- hard to land on some characters
- EX super has limited applications

This is the one with unblockables. The short bar means the opponent needs to be wary of super earlier and for a longer time. An excess of EX meter allows Oro more liberal access to EX uppercut, which is a pretty good invulnerable reversal. Oro only needs 1 bar to kill with standard unblockables, and with 1.5 bars, he can EX uppercut xx SA2 into 100% stun, potentially stealing any round. It's a scary super to deal with, and allows Oro to be a little more "random" if he feels like fishing for the win. The main downside to SA2 is that every setup is theoretically escapable, so your damage is never fully guaranteed. This is not a deal-breaker, but SA2 requires more specialized, matchup specific knowledge than SA3.

Things to consider when picking SA2:

Some characters have moves that are airborne on frame 1, which will make them flip out of normal unblockables if performed as a reversal. These characters are Gouki (demon flip), Chun (3HK), Hugo (backbreaker), Ibuki (taunt, hien, tsuji goe), Necro (flying viper), Oro (chicken kick), and Urien (headbutt). This doesn't necessarily preclude picking SA2, but if your opponents are good at doing this, you may need to learn some specialized setups.
In addition to a first-frame airborne move (demon flip) Gouki has teleport, which is the only meterless move in the game that can completely escape unblockables. This doesn't make SA2 unusable, but it does require Oro to change how he approaches okizeme.
It's hard to get all 4 super hits on Alex, so he usually needs one less parry to escape. Stungun Headbutt will also completely escape unblockables, but then Alex has to play with Stungun.
Although Dudley is easy to hit with unblockables, many setups against him are fairly loose. Rocket Uppercut and Corkscrew Blow have enough invincibility and fast enough startup to hit Oro before they trade with the ball, effectively escaping the loop.
Any super with sufficient invulnerability can trade with the ball and escape the loop, but many of the best supers for this are rarely used. Oro can also bait this by jumping over and blocking.
SA2 is extra good against characters that Oro can cross up in the corner — Alex, Dudley, Elena, Necro, Hugo, Twelve — because he can still do unblockables when they hit the corner.
Chun's first-frame airborne move is a normal, so she needs to do a true 1f reversal to use it.
The triple dash -> back dash setup on Chun and Makoto is extremely difficult to parry.

Recommended: Alex, Chun, Dudley, Elena, Hugo, Ken, Makoto, Necro, Ryu, Sean
Not recommended: Gouki

You can really run SA2 against anybody though, it just requires more specialized knowledge in some matchups.

SA3 Tengu Stone

+ easy, consistent, high damage combos with EX version
+ 100% stun resets in the corner
+ high chip potential with normal version
- very long meter; limited super availability
- only one meter; limited EX usage

This is the nuke super. It forces Oro to play a bit more carefully, because he has less free access to meter. One advantage compared to SA2 is that damage is more stable. Oro does a big combo rather than a series of resets, so the opponent doesn't get a chance to escape once they've been hit. This is particularly useful against characters that are difficult to loop. Screen position matters less because Oro doesn't need space to cross over the opponent. A second advantage over SA2 is that if Oro is having a hard time opening up the opponent, he can pop 3-stone Tengu to pressure the opponent on block. Between the chip and random hits, sometimes this can do 40% damage even if the opponent never gets properly hit by a combo starter. The biggest disadvantage to SA3 is that if you use it to close out a round, you go into the next round with no meter.

Recommended: Gouki, Ibuki, Necro, Q, Remy, Urien, Yang, Yun
Not recommended: Hugo

You can successfully run SA3 against any character, and it requires less specialized, matchup-specific knowledge to do so than SA2.

Choosing which Tengu to use

This is highly based on player preference. Different players activate both EX and regular 3-stone Tengu in many different ways. In general, 5-stone EX Tengu is the one to use in a combo, while 3-stone normal Tengu is the one to activate for pressure and chip damage. There are situations when it may be preferable to activate EX Tengu, hoping to sneak in an early hit to steal a round.

Basic SA3 (3 items)

This is good for forcing some respect and chipping the opponent. The items last a really long time.

Usually you want to activated non-EX SA3 after a back throw or sweep that leaves the opponent cornered. If you activate just as they hit ground, sometimes the super flash will eat their tech roll input. If you want to activate in neutral, you can throw a fireball and cancel into super to cover the activation, since it does have some recovery. Oro can whiff a move on the opponent's recovery, then just block while the stones hit the opponent meaty.

When applying pressure with the items, don't just mash light kick and walk forward. The items have recovery, so Oro has to stagger his attacks a bit to maximize his advantage. Generic 3-item SA3 pressure is mixing up 5LK with 2LK while walking between attacks or mixing in UOH to counteract the push back. If Oro does get pushed out, he can use UOH or 6MP to move closer again. If the timer is running out, he can try to mix the opponent up with 5HP or 2HK. Both of them hit rather far, force the opponent to guess high or low, and can be made safe if the tengu items are still active. Sometimes Oro can get combos out of this sequence, but it depends on the specific items and the order in which he summons them.

UOH, cl.MK xx human pillar driver is another possible combo after a 3-item SA3 activation. This does enough damage to discourage the opponent from just blocking low the whole time. It also causes a hard knockdown, setting up an okizeme situation.

3-item SA3 is pretty good against characters that lack fast normals or reversals to try to sneak hits through loose pressure strings and steal their turn back.

EX SA3 (5 items)

EX SA3 summons 5 items, and this version is the key to Oro's big tengu combos.

Oro will typically activate this after he hits the opponent with cl.MP. As a punish, it's ideal to do the chicken loop, and cancel last cl.MP(1) into EX SA3. In a situation where Oro needs to confirm the initial hit, he can either do cl.MP(2) xx EX SA3 or cl.MP(2), ~walk, cl.MP(1) xx EX SA3. From there, he can continue with the appropriate combo for either corner carry or damage.

Oro basically has two options for corner carry. The simple option is 5HK, 6MP, 6MP, 5HK, 6MP, 6MP, (5HK). The harder option is fj.HK, land, cl.MK, repeat. If the opponent looks like they might be getting too far way, he can try to pick it up with 6MP in place of fj.HK. If he is able to corner the opponent just before the timer runs out, he can omit the final HK from either version, then finish the combo with a full chicken loop to build as much meter as possible for his next activation.

Generally Oro does not want to activate this outside of a combo, but if it happens for whatever reason, usually Oro can still convert into a big combo if he gets an early hit. If he can land a UOH, often he can link it into cl.MP, and from there into whatever Tengu combo he needs, assuming he has enough timer left to do it.