Sentinal tatics - Master the mutant assassin

[Dan Hibiki]

Anyways... I'm seeing too much bitching and not enough strategy in this topic, so I'll get a discussion started again.

Even when not fighting a cheap opponent, Sentinel is at too much of a disadvantage in my opinion. Cyclops absolutely owns Sentinel, for instance. Sentinel, thusly, needs to play keep away mostly.

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IN GENERAL

Sentinel is a rather slow but powerful character. When up close, it is important to not use anything stronger than a WP or a WK... not even Sentinel's specials are fast enough to be effective up close.

When out of range of the opponent's quick WP attacks, it becomes safer to use the MP and MK attacks. Nonetheless, while it is safer, it is still very risky to use a slower attack when still in-range of a counter-attack.

At a distance is where Sentinel shines. Use QCF+P (Rocket Punch), FP, d+FP, and Sentinel's mini-sentinel-related specials to keep the opponent pinned on the other side. In the event that they get out of the corner (and you have a chance to notice), either use a QCF+FP (high-aimed Rocket Punch), Sentinel's supers, or super-jump out of danger.

When you need to get in, you should use his uf (jump) air FK. It does multiple hits and gives good advantage for a barrage of quick attacks when you land.

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CYCLOPS

Examples of pretty much guaranteed combos in minimal lag situations that Cyclops can execute on Sentinel exclusively:

d+FK d+FK QCB+FK QCF+LP
d+FK QCF+3P
FK (2x hits) QCF+FP

Against Cyclops, it is best to keep out of range of his d+FK, which is his best combo starter. Do this by using Rocket Punch, FP, his mini-sentinel-related specials, and his supers. In the case Cyclops gets in, duck and block to minimize the amount of nick damage you get due to Sentinel's size.

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RYU

Ryu has a good deal of guaranteed combos against Sentinel exclusively too.

FK (2x hit) QCF+3P
FK (2x hit) d+FP uf (jump) air QCB+FK (difficult to pull off)
FP d+FK QCB+3K

Ryu's major strength in this online game against Sentinel are his quickly-executed super moves with minimal delay. Because of this, Ryu can use strong hit-stun moves, like his FK, FP, and d+FK to set up for a major-damage super combo. While avoiding Ryu is of importance, Ryu is still relatively strong at a distance and able to close in fast, so even at a distance play it safe and don't use poor-recovery distance attacks, like Rocket Punch, too much.

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CHUN LI

Damn, where to begin...

FK rapidly (guaranteed serious damage)
FP QCF+3P
FP QCF+3K
d+FK (f, d, df)+3K

Chun Li's supers are simply too damn fast for Sentinel to keep up with, especially after a hard hit. Avoid corners at any cost, whore hard-hitting spacing moves, such as d+FK, and force Chun Li out of close-range using Sentinel Force.

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Wolverine

Wolvie probably has the most advantage against Sentinel.

d+MK QCF+3P

That's all he really needs. Sweep kick to BBX... too powerful. Keep your distance, but occassionally it will become necessary to fight up-close (use ONLY WP and WK moves) to prevent Wolverine from rushing in and attacking with surprise.

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SENTINEL

Not much here. Just pretty much FP, Rocket Punch, and WP/WK works wonders.

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ONSLAUGHT

You don't get a target much bigger than Onslaught. 'Nuff said.