Master Raven strategy

The Basics

Raven is a mid-ranged character that largely, likes to play a hit-n-run game. Because of her below average block punishment and lack of low-risk panic buttons, Raven prefers to have breathing space to move around. And movement is everything for this character. Ideally she is not a character to spend much time staying rooted in place or constantly in the opponent’s face.

Raven is a character who must be swift and quick-footed as movement is both Raven's strongest defense and offense.

Weaker block punishment means spending more effort on actively baiting whiffs & CH fishing. Few plus-on-block options means using movement for mental frame advantage or quickly closing gaps to capitalize on indecision from the opponent. This means a lot of Raven's neutral is open-ended & comes down to the player's discretion & ability to read their opponent, rather than following a structured gameplan (as such you can’t really flowchart with Raven). But there are key fundamental areas that every Raven player should seek competence in, as a foundation.

In short, Raven's neutral needs you to be good at a few things: whiff punishing, CH-fishing, basic footsies (moving & poking) and reading the opponent. Nearly all of which requires good spacing. Have a fair grasp of these concepts and you'll pretty much be able to play Raven however you like.

KEY CONCEPTS

Whiff-punishing/Keepout:

Whiff-punishing

This is a straightforward skill. This is about playing defensively and getting the opponent to commit to an approach 1st or exploiting the opponent's impatience. As mentioned, Raven's block punishment is below average but she is compensated with stronger whiff punishment. Raven has a host of whiff punishers that cover a variety of different ranges.

Raven's best and most rewarding whiff punishers are CD~iWS1 and 4~3. I would list ff3 here as it would undeniably stand as Raven's best whiff punisher on paper but in practice, with ff3's hitbox problems, I can only recommend using ff3 with moderate caution; unless you’re hoping to be disappointed. ff3, notoriously, has a tendency of going right over many high-crush lows, so unless you are 100% certain ff3 won't fail; you’re better off using it pre-emptively when you suspect the opponent will run/attack into it rather than reactively as a whiff punisher.

Which brings us to iWS1 and 4~3.

4~3 has fair range and a very low-hitting mid hitbox. Which makes it great for scooping up low profile stances such as Ling's AoP and thus a highly-reliable whiff-punisher. It may be a bit awkward having to dial an input like 4~3 on reaction (especially when playing on pad) but it’s something you can adjust to with time. 4~3 does have 3 extensions but do not mistake these extensions as a vehicle for mixups. These extensions exist to cover your ass in case you messed up your whiff punish (maybe you were too slow or whiffed). So you use those extensions to prevent the opponent from punishing you for throwing out 4~3. It should also be noted that all 3 extensions can be avoided by SWR, further weakening their utility as a mixup tool. But if the opponent does SWR, they lose their chance to punish 4~3.

Onto iWS1, you may not be able to realise its utility as a whiff punisher at first. iWS1 does require using a crouch dash but its actually a strong whiff punisher precisely because of that. Raven’s crouch-dash is very swift and can extend the range of iWS1 further than you’d first expect.

iWS1 is JDCR’s go-to whiff punisher with Raven and I’ve linked some example footage to help you see why. JDCR uses CD~iWS1 for whiff punishment like it was an EWGF, which makes sense for him being a decades long Mishima player.

Both 4~3 and CD~iWS1 are also good for whiff punishing attacks that end in crouching status as df2 doesn't launch crouchers & ff3 is unreliable.

The execution requirements of these whiff punishers, admittedly puts them out of the easy-to-use category but I am ranking whiff punishers by reward and utility. And by those metrics, 4~3 and CD~iWS1 stand at the top. What follows are easier whiff punishers that are either less rewarding or come with some caveat.

Listed below are go-to whiff punish options ranked by range coverage. (Always keep in mind, that most of the time, a whiff is a free launch if you are in the right place, at the right time and are expecting the whiff. But if you are not confident in getting the launch, then using a faster punisher is always better than nothing).

Close range 1+2 db2,1 Df2 (doesn’t launch crouchers) 4,1

Mid-range F4 (use this especially if you have rage. F4 combos into Raven's RD for over 100dmg in the open)

Long range f2,3 (Longest reaching whiff punisher that’s still quite fast) CD~iFC3 (fast and long-ranged low. Great if you just need to chip away the last bit of health) 3~4 (if the opponent's whiffs something with huge recovery)

Keepout

Keepout is about preventing the opponent from closing the gap or entering certain ranges. Either for the purpose of controlling space or simply to punish the opponent for advancing. This is important for Raven because she lacks (low-risk) panic buttons and must try her best to prevent the opponent from getting. If the opponent gets in, the she's seriously on the backfoot.

Thus when it comes to keepout, Raven has several options for a variety of ranges. These buttons work very well, again, when you think the opponent will run/attack into them or if you want to ward off approaches.

Outside Range2 - Qcf4 Range2 - ff4 Range 1 ~ 2 - f4 Range1 – uf4, standing 4, 3,3 Range 0 ~ 1 - bb2, iWS2

Chip Game:

Essentially this is just about moving and poking to chip away at the opponent’s health. Maybe you’re just trying to close out the round without committing to something big, or you’re trying to badger your opponent into over-extending or generally getting a feel for how they like to play.

Typically Raven plays her chip game around the 3,3 / CD~iWS1 range. This is a truly neutral position. From here Raven is at her most comfortable because she is one backdash away from causing 90% of moves to whiff and one crouch dash away from closing the gap to push a practically unreactable FC mixup or CD into standing pokes such as d3, df1, db2 or uf4. A position where Raven is within range to whiff punish most things with CD~iWS1. This is where Raven usually wants to be most of the time, especially if her mid-ranged pokes out-reach her opponent’s attacks.

Learning how to play a good chip game is a largely fundamental skill that relies on footsies (i.e your ability to dance around the opponent and engage in poking/counter poking). Another skill tangential to this is being able to play hit-n-run. This may sound similar to playing the chip game but what I’m referring to is how Raven likes to play when mounting an offensive. Raven is a character that does not like to spend a lot of time at range 0. She’s not really built for upclose brawling. Because of this, on paper Raven wants to get in fast, quickly find an opening and then re-evaluate to either keep up pressure or return to a more neutral position. One particular match that demonstrates this well is GoAttack’s match against Joey Fury.

Otherwise JDCR’s Raven is great for studying how to maximise Raven’s poke game.

CH-fishing:

While Raven does not have a wide-array of CH tools; what she does have is more than adequate for her kit. The lynchpin of Raven’s CH-fishing game is her CH ws2, which easily stands as her best button and exemplifies why movement is so important for her. Indeed, you could centre your gameplan almost entirely around fishing for that ws2 CH. That’s how much utility this move has. I will explain how below, but if you need some video examples, here’s a link to Pinya’s run at the 2019 MasterCup AA Dojo event where he bested several top players quite convincingly and key to his victory was his use of ws2.

So for starters, ws2 is a safe CH launcher with an i13 startup, which converts for 78dmg in the open and over 100dmg with walls. That makes it a highly profitable CH tool if it hits. You only need to land this twice on an infinite stage or just once on a walled stage to put yourself in a really good position to secure the round.

While that all sounds great, a CH tool is only truly valuable in its actual CH-fishing ability. That CH damage means little, if the move doesn’t lend itself to securing a decent CH rate.

CH-fishing with ws2 basically requires 3 elements: - Execution to pull the trigger on iws2 at any moment - Getting a sense of the opponent’s timing - Having the creativity to use ws2 at unexpected times.

I’ve put together a mini-compilation on how Pinya utilizes iws2. Pinya uses it in wide variety of different scenarios. Not just as part of a CD mixup but whilst backdash cancelling, after a SS and even after transition out of BT. It’s that type of ingenuity that makes Pinya’s Raven deadly and gets his opponents to respect him in the neutral. This how you can maximise ws2’s potential. Notice how in most of the examples, its largely just Pinya playing with his timing.

Range-0 Game:

Despite that Raven isn't built to excel up-close, she still has decent enough tools to hold her own and it is thus important to know how to fight up-close with Raven (many, many Raven players do not know how to fight upclose & because of that, end up committing to high-risk tactics or are otherwise unable to initiate an offensive effectively). Range0 fighting carries similar principles from playing the chip game. Being able to play a few steps ahead is most vital when it comes to engaging the opponent up-close. Successfully calling out their tendencies will lead to the opponent freezing up more often, which'll allow you to subject them to further torment.

This essentially boils down to your own fundamental skill: Your ability to use your discretion and your understanding of the matchup. Some characters require you to duck them a lot, some need you to step a lot or exploit some other weakness (eg. Their lack of panic buttons).

Tissuemon is absolutely the best Raven main at range-0 fighting. As a demonstration I’ve linked a compilation of Tissuemon’s bulldog playstyle (which is very common amongst Japanese players) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPmJrKKXGxU?t=906. Notice how Tissuemon pressures Asim and Kkokkoma long enough that they run into a qcf4 or df2. This occurs at 18:24 and 18:44 of the clip.

BT Game:

A lot of people over-complicate Raven’s BT stance or become too intimidated to use it. This is a result of not understanding BT well, as one need only follow a few simple rules to make the most out of BT.

Like uf4, the “mixup” with BT is whether the opponent will press buttons or not. Will the opponent respect or challenge my BT? It’s up to you gain intel on your opponent to determine on which side they fall and exploit their behaviours.

If you find the opponent keeps trying to challenge or interrupt you in BT, then you need to start paying strict attention to how you enter BT. When entering BT on block (i.e with negative frames) Raven is very vulnerable to being interrupted or stepped. You are better off simply turning back around with b3+4 than committing to something. When entering BT on hit (i.e with plus frames) it becomes unwise to challenge Raven and therefor possible for you to callout the opponent’s impatience with her i8 jab string BT1,4 or her BT1+2 powercrush. Also more of Raven’s BT options become harder to step when she is plus, even linear options like BT f4,3.

Hit-confirming your BT transitions like this is important to do anyway (its true of majority of stances in the game). As it allows you to make more informed decisions rather than random guessing or throwing stuff out on a whim.

If you find the opponent isn’t pressing buttons then there are multiple ways you can take advantage of that.

Firstly, there are 3 common behaviours that should call to your attention:

- The opponent is twitch-ducking a lot - The opponent often commits to a side-walk or backdashes when you’re BT - The opponent simply freezes up.

If the opponent is twitch-ducking, you basically want to use tactics that don’t need you to care if the opponent happens to be ducking or not. Your best bet for this is to use db2 loops. You can loop db2 into manual exit or db2 into BT f2 repeatedly. This quickly mounts pressure on the opponent and they will be eventually urged to commit to something (especially if you start throwing in a few BT d4’s or even a BT f4,3). They will eventually retaliate and it’s on you to determine when. You can either finish the BT f2,3 string for a CH launch or sidestep after BT f2 to cause them to whiff. You lose nothing by sidestepping and can continue pressuring them or go for a raw FC mix.

If the opponent is stepping, you can respond with either BT b3 or BT d4 as BT b3 is homing and BT d4 tracks both ways. If you notice the opponent is repeatedly stepping to a particular direction then you can use BT f2 or BT 3,4 to cover SSL while most of Raven’s other BT options cover SSR (BT b2, BT f3, BT1+2, BT ff3).

If you really want to spice things up, you can also enter FC from BT by holding DF. This will re-align you with the opponent and apply mental pressure on the opponent as Raven’s FC mix is a different kettle of fish from her BT mix. And of course you can transition to BT again (either through ws3+4,B or uf4,B or cc into b3+4). Remember this is all dependent on whether the opponent will respect or challenge you. If you suspect they’ll respect you or just freeze up, this a great way to mentally overwhelm your opponent if you can seamlessly flow from BT to FC to regular stance in any order, all the while stepping and sprinkling pokes or CH-fishing moves along the way.

KEY MOVES

ws2

Arguably Raven's best button. This move exemplifies why movement is so important for Raven. A thorough explanation on ws2 has already been covered in the CH-Fishing section above.

FC df3+4,4

Dubbed spinaroonie/windmill/quicksand depending on region, this is Raven's strongest low. Windmill is effectively a hellsweep but has to be done from crouch. Dealing 38dmg, this makes it one of the higher damaging unseeable KND lows (for contrast Kazuya’s hellsweep deals 33dmg). Definitely a low the opponent will be urged to duck, as the damage piles up fast (2 windmills = 76dmg. 3 windmills = 114 dmg etc.) and the opponent is also left in an unfavourable position after being hit by Windmill.

Raven’s Windmill also has the added benefit of significantly lowering her hurtbox, making it crush highs & go under certain high-hitting mids like hopkicks & some orbitals. Whereas most hellsweeps/hellsweep-like moves are vulnerable to highs. This on top of the fact that Raven’s CD itself has the largest high-crush window (generic snakedashes are very vulnerable to highs and true Mishima wavedash only slightly less so); these factors aide in Raven’s Windmill’s ability for CH fishing or otherwise deterring the opponent from trying to disrespect/challenge her FC mixups.

Furthermore Windmill tracks stepping in both directions. It only loses to a hard SWR.

Looking at all these advantages, it becomes clear why Windmill is what essentializes Raven’s FC game. The threat of Windmill itself can sometimes be enough to get the opponent to duck just at the sight of Raven crouching or CD’ing towards them. If you keep yourself in Raven's optimal position, then the opponent will have to be on edge and wary of you crouch-dashing once into a windmill which isn't easy to react to.

The only drawbacks to Windmill are its limited range (shorter than Mishima hellsweep) and of course if the opponent blocks it just once, you are eating a full combo. Windmill is the only high-risk move Raven will have to consider committing to at some point. All other high-risk moves can easily be dismissed without losing much value to Raven's neutral.

db2 / df1

Raven's primary mid-checks. While Raven's df1 is i14, what's interesting about her mid-checks is that they both cover a different direction. Raven's df1 tracks fully to her left (SSR) while db2 to her right (SSL). Not many characters are blessed with fast, low-commital options to cover both directions. Contrast with Armour King for example, for whom, both of his fastest mids (df1 and df4) lose to SSR.

Some people are unsure what to do after df1 hits. It is +7 on hit and pushes the opponent to Raven’s right (useful for keeping the opponent pinned to a wall or corner). This gives you plenty of leeway for a lot of options, but the strongest offensive option is to start crouch dashing immediately after df1 hits. This puts the opponent into a very undesirable position. They are too negative to keep you out from closing the gap and they have very little time to react to the potential CD mixup (especially if they chose to backdash immediately after being hit). And if you’ve hit them with CH ws2 enough times, they’ll be conditioned to respect you. You could even dash into raw BT. The principle is the same. If you find the opponent is trying to interrupt you, then you can frame trap them with just about anything since you are +7 (iWS2, df3, 4,1 or CH confirm with 1,1,4).

Anytime you have plus frames as Raven (or really anytime you are confident the opponent will hesitate), is a free opportunity to CD in and close the gap.

3,3 (ABUSE THE HELL OUT OF THIS)

A i14 ranged poking tool where each hit tracks to a different direction (while it covers stepping well, it is vulnerable to hard SWL). No need to bother with the 3rd hit or the BT cancel as they're quite lacklustre in comparison to 3,3 itself (of course you can use them if you know you’ll get away with them, but just know that their risk/reward ratio is genuinely terrible). You can sort of think of 3,3 as Raven's df1 with better range and tracking, but worse frames on block. 3,3 is really good at keeping opponent's at bay and a generally low commitment move since the string jails. This move is your best friend when it comes to playing Raven's chip game. A basic rule when it comes to using Raven's 3,3: on hit = keep your turn, on block = back off.

bb2 (BEST CLOSE-RANGE KEEPOUT BUTTON)

Many people only show interest in this move for its sabaki parry properties but end up over-looking how strong bb2 is on its own. bb2 is an excellent close-range keepout tool. Its a natural, jailing, mid-high string that tracks both directions (not even Alisa/Zaf/Lili can successfully step this move). The pushback on block makes it practically safe and useful for giving yourself some breathing space.

bb2 is definitely a move to use in close-quarters as it has great coverage (i.e covers many options). You can use it if you think the opponent will run/attack into it, try to duck or step you. Its best to think of this move, as a means to halt an offensive before it starts gaining momentum. If you already find yourself in the midst of being pressured, bb2 becomes riskier to use.

Furthermore bb2 deals a chunky 36 dmg and nets you a free uf3, making for a total of 46dmg. On top of that if bb2 lands when the wall is to Raven’s right, you can pick-up the opponent with b44 for a full combo! [Timestamp is 12:46 since wiki external link formatting is messing with the url]

bb2’s weakness are its limited range and very bad whiff recovery, since it is after all a defensive move used to call out approaches. You should therefore not use this move, if you suspect the opponent might backdash.

uf4

This is a multi-faceted tool that’s great for keepout and comes with a powerful mind-game on block.

To start, uf4 is a low-crushing KND mid with extremely fast whiff recovery. It is one of Raven’s few moves that she can whiff freely without much risk (FYI a standard jab has 17f recovery while uf4 has 19f).

When used defensively, uf4 is something you want to use when you think the opponent will run into it. Especially useful for closing out rounds when the opponent is forced to commit to an approach.

For offensive purposes, uf4 can be used to apply mental pressure. This is because uf4 provides a different kind of mixup where the “mixup” isn’t about forcing a mid/low guess but determining if the opponent will press buttons or not.

Uf4 is -4 on block, which means you can safely sidestep if the opponent presses buttons.

Uf4 can also transition into BT, which is very useful if the opponent hesitates. Because it means they now have to deal with a BT mixup after blocking uf4.

This is why uf4 has a strong mind game on block. If the opponent presses buttons, they risk whiffing and getting launched. But if they respect uf4, they could be subject to a BT mixup. And the opponent will be compelled to press buttons to interrupt Raven, as that is the only way to avoid guessing on the BT mix. Even if the opponent doesn’t press after blocking uf4 and you can still sidestep into crouch, which forces the opponent to quickly react to a FC mixup.

This mind-game makes uf4 a particularly useful option from her CD. You can opt for uf4 if you don’t want to commit to the high risk ws1/windmill 50-50 and you don’t want your turn ended for having ws2 blocked. If uf4 is blocked, you get a mind-game. If it hits you get a KND.

1,1,4 (ABUSE THE HELL OUT OF 1,1)

A new addition in S4 and a very good one at that. Raven's 114 is a G-clef string and vastly improves her range 0 game. Raven does not have a generic m4 (she has to commit to 4,1 for a full combo which is very risky) so she’s had to rely on finding space to slip in an iWS2 to ward off pressure safely. But now with a i10 CH-confirmable string, she has an easier option to threaten the opponent with and command respect when fighting upclose. Even just repeated use of 1,1 helps to keep opponents in check as the 2nd hit is mid and tracks to Raven's weak-side (SSL).

d4

While FC df3+4 is a great power low, Raven's d4 is one of her best low pokes. It can be thought of as a somewhat distant cousin to a generic d4. Generic d4's are usually i12 while Raven's is i21. Raven's d4 comes at the cost of being significantly slower for having longer reach, tracking in both directions and causing toe-stun on CH. Otherwise Raven's d4 has largely similar application to other d4's.

Since d4 leaves Raven in FC, it is a common tactic to use d4 to setup for a CH ws2 if the opponent decides to press buttons (or Windmill). While this may work occasionally, it is not a water-tight setup as d4 is -2 on hit, meaning that anything that’s i14 or faster will beat Raven’s ws2. However if you find the opponent is pressing buttons mindlessly after d4 hits, you can freely sidestep to make them whiff since you are only at -2. This creates a sort of mind-game. If the opponent presses buttons after d4 hits, they risk being stepped but if they don’t press that leaves Raven free to CD in their face (don’t forget that Raven can CD directly from crouch state, a property unique to her).

ff4 (BEST MID-RANGE KEEPOUT BUTTON)

A handy keepout mid with variable range (thanks to the ff input) that’s also virtually impossible to step. Ff4 is not homing but it may as well be. It is very useful for calling out steppers, particularly after bt d4 or 2,4 on hit or b3 or qcf1+2 on block (basically anything with pushback or low minus frames). So if you find the opponent keeps getting hit by ff4 in these set-ups, you can confirm they're either pressing buttons (and you could probably score more dmg with iWS2 next time) or rely on stepping as a common response to these situations. If ff4 is getting blocks, that means next time you can close the gap with a CD as they're not pressing buttons. can watch here how Tissuemon repeatedly catches out JDCR with ff4 after nearly every BT d4. [Correct timestamp is 45:00]

ff4 also has decent whiff recovery which combined with its animation, makes it quite hard to whiff punish.

df2

While slower at i16, Raven's df2 is compensated with a deceptive phantom range and also being an elbow attack (i.e it cannot be parried). This gives Raven’s df2 better utility for punishing whiffs than block punishing. Raven’s df2 also tracks to her weak-side (SSL).

As with 4~3, df2’s extensions are not for pushing mixups. They’re there to cover you in case you messed up.