The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match/Wolfgang Krauser

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Wolfgang Krauser

Introduction

Krauser can do just about anything in the game. If you want fireball zoning, brutish normals, steel-tight safety on offense and defense, and some command grabs thrown in for good measure then look no further than this German Overman. Despite the nerfs in Final Edition he is still a solid character, but requires to be not one dimensional in gameplay.

Final Edition Change List

Kof98umfe00.png

  • Close Snkc.gif has been made 2F slower
  • Far Snkc.gif has damage reduced
  • Far Snkd.gif has damage reduced
  • Ground Snkc.gif+Snkd.gif has damage reduced, forward reach decreased
  • Kaiser Duel Sobat has damage decreased, no invin on Strong version, +5F recovery
  • Leg Tomahawk has damage reduced
  • Blitzball has damage reduced, faster startup for Hard versions, Strong versions more recovery
  • Kaiser Wave has damage reduced
  • Unlimited Desire has had recovery frames increased, changed so even if you press buttons at the same time, it will have no effect

Moves List

Throw

b or f+C - Breakable, rollable, leaves back turned if unteched.

b or f+D - Breakable, unrollable, leaves front turned.

The D throw will be the preferred option since it guarantees hard knockdown. If you can't throw a cl.D comes out instead having a botched C throw attempt cause cl.C to whiff.

Normal Moves

Standing A - Basic anti-air against short hop and cancelable.

Standing B - Looks promising, but whiffs on small crouching hitboxes.

Standing C - Reaches nearly half-screen but it whiffs crouchers. Okay as an anti-air or for tagging the startup of other standing normals/specials, but st.D is better.

Standing D - Actually reaches half-screen and hits crouching hitboxes! Highly reliable ground poke that's difficult to punish from max range. Leaves Krauser open to hops depending on the timing and spacing, but that's what st.CD and st.C are for.

Standing CD - The legendary 「GOD KICK」. It's one of the fastest CD attacks in the game (with 0F of input lag compared to the usual 4F on normals). If it somehow trades, it forces a knockdown.

Close A - Like most Close A attacks, this hits mid and is cancelable. Chains into itself or into cr.A/cr.B.

Close B - A low kick which is cancelable into specials, though it can't be chained into anything else.

Close C - The only reason to use this move is if you fail a C throw attempt.

Close D - Krauser's staple close heavy move. It's not actually a low, and you'll be getting more mileage out of cr.C.

Crouching A - A lighter, chainable cr.C that's a little faster and more plus on block. Use in hitconfirms, cancel into a Blitz Ball or ride the frame advantage for further offense.

Crouching B - Standard low kick. Chain into cr.A for a hitconfirm, use it to punish whiffed jump-ins, et cetera, et cetera.

Crouching C - Highly abusable grounded poke and good anti-air. The horizontal hitbox extends beyond Krauser's fist and the hitstun and recovery are great. Imagine Ralf's cr.C, only now you have good specials to cancel into on block or hit.

Crouching D - One of the crappier sweeps in the game. It doesn't even reach as far as his foot travels in the animation, so stick with cr.B or cr.C. Only use as a meaty or in the occasional frametrap/whiff cancel though it's easily hopped or bopped on startup.

Jumping A - Works as a jump-in, but his other jumping attacks are better.

Jumping B - A cross between a Jojo pose, the Captain Morgan stance, and a chicken dance. Has near ST levels of active frames, meaning that a super early hop j.B can still hit crouching characters. Doubles as a jump-in and air-to-air, just mind it's short horizontal range in air exchanges.

Jumping C - Body splash! Whiffs against the smaller crouching characters, but crosses up standing characters. You'll sometimes have to make them fear j.D and j.B before you can earn a cross up. Whiffing j.C into a command grab might work as a twitch bait, though the opponent can meaty you with a cr.B for a full combo.

Jumping D - Deep downward kick. Use early to stop grounded AA attempts (and gain frame advantage or ABC into a combo) or time it deeper to link a followup. Works as an instant overhead against mid height crouchers like Mary and Kyo.

Jumping CD - Finally, a horizontal jumping attack. Good for air exchanges or for controlling the low air space from a neutral hop. Must be timed very late to hit crouchers, but it's possible and once you've got it down j.CD becomes Krauser's best air normal for gaining the initiative from a (hyper) hop.

Special Moves

Lift Up Blow aka Raoh Punch - hcb,f+K - One of the most satisfying 1F throws in the game. Tosses the opponent behind Krauser for a hard knockdown which can set up a j.C cross up, safejump, ambiguous roll, or whatever you feel like. Works as a useful BnB ender.

Kaiser Suplex - hcb,f+P - A delayed, invincible commmand grab. A wonderful tool on oki or against mashy or roll/evade happy opponents. Forces hard knockdown and corner carries about half the stage.

Phoenix Throw aka Kaiser Dunk or "HAH!.. HMPH, PHOENIX" - qcf+P - Krauser's Fatal Fury counter which only catches jumping attacks and special moves that have aerial state. The reward for landing it is wrecked by the risk if you whiff it, so stick with st.CD for anti-airing. Useful in whiff cancels i.e. cr.D xx qcf+P in case the sweep gets hopped. Disables blocking, allowing for qcb+B, qcf+P to be unblockable fullscreen.

Blitz Ball-Upper - qcb+P - High Tiger. Weak version has better startup and recovery while the heavy one's more delayed but travels faster. This will whiff on some crouching characters and you wont be able to toss another Blitz Ball until it gets off screen. Controls the hop space from a distance, so if you're outside sweep/slide/DM range you can force the opponent to stay stationary while you sneak in an ABC charge. Works as a meaty due to fuzzy wakeup hitboxes.

Blitz Ball-Lower - qcb+K - Low Tiger. Hits mid and behaves like the Upper version. Easy to use for zoning, blockstrings, and meaties, but leads to less awkward situations for the opponent than the Upper version. Can't be ducked underneath by DMs or slides, but is easily hopped when done outside of a blockstring. Once the opponent is looking for a Jecht Shot to hop over, you can start baiting them into diving into your st.CD or use their anticipation to get in closer.

Leg Tomahwak aka Blade Tomahawk - qcf+K - An odd Crack Shoot overhead. Prone to whiffing when done close to the opponent, so it's limited to mid and long range. Best used with Extra meter so that you can toss it out as a hail Mary anti-air/overhead, ABC it, and link a followup in the corner on hit or at the least gain frame advantage on block. You can link a cr.A reset off of it in the corner. D Version is unsafe on block. B version leaves you prone to command throws since you still stand around for awhile.

Kaiser Kick - dp+K - Another gimmick move, this time a drop kick. Knocks down on hit, but is incredibly poor on block since Krauser always falls on his back for a while. B version goes halfscreen, the D is fullscreen. If you perfectly space it (and maybe ABC the recovery) you might be safe, but chances are you will get punished for using this move.

Kaiser Duel Sobat aka HA HOO HOAW - rdp+K - Your standard move to combo into. These kicks are freely cancelable into qcb+P/K and qcf+K. The light version doesn't move forward, but it combos from lights and forces a hitreset. The Heavy version starts with a forward hop kick which forces a knockdown.The last kick's hitbox is really nice! No longer safe on block like in regular UM. D version puts you in a aerial state, so be warned that if you get hit. It effectively gives your opponent a free counter hit combo.

It should be also noted that both versions of Kaiser Dual Sobat have an absurd disjointed hitbox for the 2nd hit. The B version effectively can be a wall of red for any sweeps, moves or attacks that put their vulnerable hitbox forward. The first hit of both versions can also protect Krauser partially by some hop attacks.

Super Moves

Unlimited Desire - qcf,hcb+P - As the name suggests, this DM lasts forever. Deals decent damage as a ranbu super and even has a chunk of invuln on startup. SDM version ends with a Raoh Punch ender which will cause a side switch. Unsafe on block.

Kaiser Wave - f,hcf+P (hold P to charge) - Light version travels slower and recovers better, the heavy one's better for combos. Don't even think about jumping this. Pretty bad on block and rollable, but against anyone using Evade you can toss this out fullscreen safely. Quick Max combo ender of choice.

Gigantic Cyclone aka Gigatec Cyclone - hcb,hcb,hcb+P - You read that right: three hcb motions. Though difficult to land, it's a cool 1F command grab with good damage. The obvious setup is to buffer the motion during an empty jump or a roll/evade.

Frame Data

Move Name Hitbox Startup Advantage on Block Advantage on Hit Recovery
Far A 6 -2 0 9
Close A 3 0 +2 6
Far B 6 -4 -3 9
Close B 6 -2 +1 8
Far C 10 -1 +1 14
Close C 5 -4 -2 14
Far D 8 -8 -6 19
Close D 4 -1 +1 10
Crouching A 2 0 +3 5
Crouching B 4 -4 -2 9
Crouching C 5 -7 -5 11
Crouching D 8 -7 KD 16
Standing CD 8 -4 KD 17


Combos

  • cr.B/cl.A/cr.A cr.A xx rdp+B/hcb,f+K/qcf,hcb+P

rdp+B free cancels into qcb+B for a fireball meaty on hit. Go for the command grab if you can buffer it properly and want the knockdown. If you have meter, the DM nets great damage.

  • cl.D/cr.C xx rdp+D/f,hcf+C/qcf,hcb+P

Krauser's standard damage combos.

  • cr. A xx hcb , f + A

Only way to combo Kaiser Supex.

  • (counter hit) j.CD, st.C/cr.C/st.CD/j.CD/qcf,hcb+P

Unlike some other ranbus, Unlimited Desire can connect from a counter hit. Depending on spacing and meter, rehopping or taking the hit reset may be the safest option.

  • (corner) (counter hit) st.CD xx qcb+B/rdp+K

Krauser's usual 2-in-1s can naturally convert into a short counter hit corner combo. Pretty neat.

  • (Extra) cr.A xx st.B Quick MAX cr.C xx f,hcf+C
  • (Extra) st.B xx Quick MAX xx st. D xx qcf , hcb + A xx St. D (Do St. D if in the Corner)

Staple Quick Max links into cr.C or st.D ender.

  • (Extra) (anti-air) qcf+K ABC f,hcf+C

The DM is pretty finicky, so if you think it wont connect link a far C or D.

  • (Extra) (Corner) qcf+K ABC st.CD/cl.D

You get a little more juice if you ABC the qcf+K, but you link a cr.A after it naturally in the corner.

  • (corner) (Crouching Choi) cr. B xx cr.B xx cr. B xx cr.A
  • (corner) (Tallish Characters like Rugal etc) (Standing Only) cr. B xx cr. A xx dp+D

You can combo into the DP+D from cr. A alone at close range anywhere if you feel like it.Requires to execute the dp+D very fast or won't combo. Warning your opponents can safe roll to recover faster than you. Only do against an opponent who doesn't safe roll often.

  • (corner) (Brian Only) cr. C xx qcf+B xx Cl. D
  • (While opponent is knocked down) Meaty Cl. D, Cr. C xx rdp+D/ C version of Kaiser Wave
  • (opponent cornered) Mid or Far away Blitz Ball A or B, MAX version or regular Kaiser Wave (C Version)

Kind of a gimmicky hit confirm. Use with caution.

The Basics

  • If your opponent is far away. You will want to be throwing out A or B high and low Blitz Ball mixing some fast C or D Blitz Ball every now and then. Watching closely whether or not they jump over it or roll/evade to follow up with an attack with the A or B versions.
  • If you have your opponent in the corner and they get hit with an A or B Blitz Ball. You can combo a Leg Tomahawk or Kaiser Kick. Somewhat Close range it's possible to hit them with a Far C depending on position and size of character.
  • Play footsies with Cr. C and Cr.B and Cr.A. If your opponent is very close to you, only use Cr. B, Close St. B and Cr. A.
  • Fighting at a range poke with your Far.D
  • Cr. A on hit to Cl. D is one of Krauser's useful frame traps. Just make sure to cancel to something safer if blocked.
  • C/Max Version Kaiser Wave is your preferred super to Combo into since it covers more range with the faster projectile speed. Since Unlimited Desire seems to drop more often at shorter distance than Kaiser Wave.
  • Leg Tomahawk D version and B version to a lesser extent gets more priority from it's hitboxes. The further away it connects with the opponent

Advanced Strategy

Advanced Mode

Run

  • Having added forward mobility doesn't hurt, but Krauser can manage without running. cr.C xx rdp+D combos from max range, so he can often get a full punish without needing to run in.
  • Being able to run into a command grab or blockstring is a nice bonus, though.

Roll

  • Leaves Krauser vulnerable to unblockable fireball setups.
  • Allows for ambiguous roll setups from command grabs, rolling to avoid annoying DMs (Eiji's fireball DM), or the ol' abare roll into command grab/Gigatec.

Adv. Meter

  • SDMs do little added damage so he could battery for another character or save up for GCCDs/GCABs/MAX mode.
  • More likely to have meter stocked at any given time to land a DM.

Extra Mode

Dash

  • Krauser has so much reach that you might not want to risk overextending yourself during run startup and instead may prefer the faster walkspeed and safety of Dash mode.
  • Krauser is less reliant on dash punishes than other characters.
  • Dash into command grab or normal throw is a good 50/50, especially after the opponent whiffs an attack.

Sidestep

  • Incredibly safe and difficult for most of the cast to punish heavily.
  • Offensive Sidestep Cancel could be used to extend combos.
  • Easy, safe followup to Sidestep attacks (rdp+D).

EX Meter

  • cr.B cr.A ABC cr.C xx hcb,f+C is his most damaging combo.
  • Quick Max shenanigans (i.e. fishing for qcf+K juggles) plus early j.D can be ABC'd into a full combo.
  • Plenty of guaranteed meter charge setups from knockdowns and meaty fireballs.

vs. Advanced

  • Fireballs can be rolled through and potentially punished for a full combo.

vs. Extra

  • You can fireball freely, especially with Kaiser Wave, since they will usually opt to sidestep which gains them little ground.

Match-Ups

Vs. Clark

Always be careful when attacking near Clark since some of his Command Throws have a great deal priority of throwing out of the startup of your attacks. The catch is though he loses to fireballs, and hop attacks. He'll try to Napalm Stretch you if you hop attack, but you can try to bait them out with empty out of range hops. Try your best to throw him off balance with hitting him out of his attacks/special moves to throw him off to respect your Normals a bit more. Hop/Jumping B is a great attack for air to airs against Clark if he decides to do such.

Vs. Leona Heidern

Leona is much akin to an angry bull in this matchup. With you unfortunately wearing red. The Leona player will be trying to rush down at you full speed if you even think of throwing a fireball at them. You're going to want to be doing some far A. and far B. AA if they to do try to do some hop attack pressure and st. CD if regular jump AA. Punish accordingly if they throw out anything unsafe on block. Whatever you do, don't try to jump in much on the Leona player, It's not a good idea. In general with this matchup you want to score soft/hard knockdowns against the Leona Heidern player as much as you can via Throws, AA, Dual Sobat Combos, to reset the pressure game and play smart.

Just a word of warning:

Be extremely cautious of fighting Leona if she has meter. You'll lose air to airs to V Slasher, and Leona players aren't afraid to use this super for anything that leaves you open/ they can iframe through. It won't take her long to go through 3-5 bars for your whole team if you do anything careless. Make sure to play more tight and careful once you see she has meter.

Vs. Ex Ryo

You can zone fairly well, but EX Ryo can zone quite better than you. Don't try to have a fireball war with EX Ryo. Ryo's fireballs can come out and travel faster than your Blitz Balls, and he can beat the Blitz Balls with his Max version of Haoh Shokouken. Try to advance up close to him through rolls when Ryo throws fireballs, and advancing forward at a safe pace. Being up close to Ryo limits his options and makes him somewhat more predictable. Be always mindful of throwing attacks/advancing near Ryo. His Kohou has a great deal of invincibilty frames, and can beat alot of attacks. For the most part fight Ryo on the ground, and don't jump/hop at him unless you have a solid read he won't do AA.