Table of Contents
Overview
Lee is an exceptionally flashy character. He combines poking, counter hits, crush properties and great startup frames (sometimes in the same move) to murder opponents who turtle as well as retaliate. His high difficulty combos come with terrifying wall carry, and wreak frightening damage at the wall. His unpredictable pace and taunting hitman stance cause your opponents to feel like every committed attack is a mistake, as he chips away your health bar into oblivion. Playing Lee well requires an abstract, high intelligence poking game and solid reactions.
While his combos can require high execution, his pokes are relatively basic inputs, which can carry you in the introductory phases even if you are new. With a little knowledge, a bit of practice, and a bit of taunting, you can make every opponent you face feel stupid as you yell “excellent” in real life. You nerd.
Below is a link to his combos, this includes suggestions for the wall and variants. However, I will cover combo execution, properties, and other factors in this guide too. The link is a good reference though, and is updated for version N. Below that is a frame data link. TL;DR section near the bottom as well. Terminology and input legend at the bottom. If any term confuses you, find it there.
Link to combo thread:
http://www.tekkenzaibatsu.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=132650
Link to frame data:
https://toolassisted.github.io/T7/MOVELIST/#30/LEE
First link is more comprehensive and includes stance transition frames, 2nd link is more accurate and has less approximations.
Basic properties
Lee is not a backsway character, which is good because it means you can KBD the easy way. He can still actually do a backsway though, cause he’s awesome. Average hitbox.
Stances:
Hitman stance (HMS), Mist step (MS, or f~n), Mist backsway (MSB or mist~b). Check the corresponding section for details.
Punishment:
i10: 12 jabs (16 damage, +5 on hit, mist possibility), 21 (18 damage, +6 on hit, hms possibility), 124 (26 damage, -1 on hit, HMS possible with -3 frames), 13:3:3 (42 damage combo, KND)
i11: 44 (22 damage, +6 on hit), 43 (30 damage, -3 on hit)
i13: f1+2 (34 damage, KND and wall splat)
i14: f21 (36 damage, KND and wall splat, followup for 50+ total if not teched)
i15: df2 (60+ damage combo), uf4 (63+ damage combo), f333334 (easy 63+ damage combo, superior range to other i15 launches), b1:12 (29 damage, 41 damage with just, wall splat + KND with just, HMS and MST transition both + on hit)
Crouch punishment:
i10: ws33 (27 damage, -4 on hit but goes into potential infinite kicks), d1 (5 damage, +6 on hit)
i11: Ws4 (16 damage, +5 on hit), FC d2 (8 damage, +7 on hit)
i14: ws23 (36 damage, 54 with ff3 follow up, 79 at wall possible, -14 on block), ws24 (35 damage, -5 on block, wall splat)
i15: uf4 (hopknee, 63+ damage combos)
i18: FC uf4 (flip kick, 70+ damage combos)
Homing moves:
1+2 – i21 mid, 20 damage, high crush, -4 on block, +3 on hit, combo on counter for 60+
BB4 – i19 high, 23 damage, +2 on block, tailspin move, f3+4 follow up on hit for 45 damage total
HMS 3 – i17 high from hitman, armor move, 41 damage unbreakable grab, -4 on block, tailspins
Armor moves:
HMS 3 – i17 high from hitman, armor move, 41 damage hit throw, -4 on block, tailspins
B3+4 – i20, 25 damage, -15 on block but requires ranged punish at tip range. Wall splats.
Tailspin moves:
1224, 213, 223, HMS 3, f33…4, df1+2 3, b243, uf34, bb4, ws24, ssr 3+4, ssl 3+4.
Ws24, 213 and b243 are the important tailspin options.
The Range Game
Lee has several ok options at range, most of them poke oriented or approach oriented. Knowing all your options for range will make you more flexible at any given time.
Key Ranged Move Breakdown:
FFF34: This move is essential, it’s one of his best moves, and is a go to for many ranged situations. If it hits your opponent, they have to hold back to tech out, or they will eat a guaranteed f3+4 for 54 damage or a dash d3. Overuse of this move will get you stepped and punished, but if you alter your timings, range and move usage you can use this as a hard hitting approach option without getting punished. On top of that, it doubles as a frame trap setup, leaving you at +3 frames on block for a few traps.
While we are discussing this move, I will introduce Lee’s frame trap mixup options, since this move gives an easy setup for these (and other moves we’ll discuss). In the case of fff34, after this move is blocked, 223 will interrupt mostly anything for 47 damage on counter hit, and can be made safer through hit confirming (basically don’t commit to the third hit if the first hit is blocked). 44 will beat much of the same stuff for a counter hit combo, and is safe, unlike 223. It will net 50+ damage off the followup on CH. It also does greater damage on normal hit. D3 will subvert any high retaliation, beat most things on speed (although not a generic df1) and give you a bit of poke damage if they hold back (but leaves – on regular hit and is very unsafe on block), while giving you extra damage on the CH knockdown with stuff like ub3 or FC df4. If you are precise, you can even get a full combo from CH d3 if you go into HMS, hold back and do b33 at the right time. D3 can be risky on block though so be sure to mix up your approach sometimes.
When your opponent stops contesting the follow up after fff34, you can open up with Lee’s poke game, which we will discuss in another section. If they start ducking afterwards to deal with the 223, 44, or d3 follow up, you can HMS transition and do 1+2, which can only be beaten by 10 frame moves, which is basically only jabs, while potentially dealing 25 damage, and remaining safe.
Stepping after this move is a good idea as well, especially if they start using panic moves to subvert you afterwards. You can deal with side steppers yourself with 1+2 as well, which can net a full combo on CH in case they follow up step with an attack..
B112: This is probably his most complicated and intricate move to understand, as well as one of his best. B112 is an i15 move, which means it is roughly medium speed, and it has a long range 2nd hit. It hits high mid high, and it’s a natural combo, which means all 3 hits land guaranteed if the first connects, yielding 29 damage. However, there is a very lenient just frame for this move, which requires hitting the second 1 input just as the first punch lands (basically hit the second input as late as possible while still getting it to come out). This makes the damage explode to 41, and it knocks down as well as wall splats. If they don’t tech on the ground by holding back, you get a f3+4 follow up for 63 damage total, and if you get a wall splat with this move, Lee can use his b2~mist~f43, d3 for a whopping 75 damage (or df1, f43, d3 for an easier 73). Getting the just frame also turns the final hit of the move from -11 (with good enough pushback to make it hard to punish) to a completely safe -6 (but still ends with a high). But the move is more than just a poke and a wall threat.
The move can also cancel the 2nd hit into MST, or go into HMS off the 2nd hit, which are both capable of pressuring the opponent (see the respective MST and HMS sections). The MST stance is even camouflaged with a false hit. This will be his most versatile stance transition, as we’ll discuss later.
The downside to this move is that the third hit is a high, which can be crouched if the prior hits were blocked, giving your opponent a chance to hit you. Also, while the 2nd hit has great range, the first hit of the move has significantly less that you might think. This is usually not an issue since your opponent will hold back out of fear for the range of the whole string, but keep in mind a whiffed first hit can get you interrupted and makes MST transition particularly risky.
Another weird detail to this move is that just the first hit (b1 on its own) leaves you at neutral frames (+0) on block, which can make it an odd frametrap tool if you follow up with 223, 44 or d3.
FC DF4: This is a low with solid range. You have to be crouched to do this, but the move can be accessed pretty fast from standing if you hold df till you are crouched and then hit 4 a split moment afterwards. This tracks to the sides pretty well, and retreats Lee after the hit to make it hard to punish him for whiffing. This move can block out your opponent if you use it from mid range, or tag some extra damage off a move which leaves you crouched, such as f3+4. You could also think of it as a high crush, since manually crouching will duck high’s just like any crouch move would, and this move stays crouched throughout, which can make approaching Lee tricky. On counter hit you can get a free slide for 37, or another FC Df4 for a bit less, or you can cancel the crouch with an ff dash to get d, db4 for 42 from any range, or an easy dash up d3 for 33. It does 17 on normal hit. This is also useful after a d3, and is completely guaranteed on a CH d3, and since that move leaves you crouched, the fc df4 followup is very easy. Going into HMS also makes this low -14 on block, which is just safe enough to avoid launch punishes against most characters.
Slide (FC DF, D, DF3): This is an incredible low move. It can reset situations, piss off your opponent, and has sick range, while knocking down on normal hit for a get up 3 guaranteed if you went under the opponent, which yields 30 damage total. Since it must be done from crouch, it is ideal after moves like FC df4, or f3+4, or from a manual crouch from afar. You can scare your opponent by faking it and do WS moves instead (although these generally have shorter range), or simply do nothing and let them freak out. To actually execute this move is a little bit difficult at first, there are a few requirements. Firstly, you have to be crouched, and secondly you need to do the df~d~df without any gap or neutral input. If you turn on command history in practice, you will no doubt notice slight gaps in the directional inputs if you are doing this on d-pad, which prevent the move from coming out. However, the input can be sloppy so long as its continuous, and then the 3 must be hit while df is held (or off anything containing a 3 input, like a 2+3 macro with the L or R buttons for instance). Manually crouching into slide is difficult to do fast, but is very effective. Fiddle with it till you can find a comfortable way of doing it semi-reliably. If you see him shuffle forward a bit while crouched you’ve done the directional input right. This is a bit easier on stick.
MSTB 4: Mist backsway 4 has remarkable range. It takes a while to come out but it’s a low which simultaneously approaches your opponent and leaves you at +3 on hit (which is a phenomenal property for a low). The implication of this is that your df1 will trade with their jab, and that you can utilize his CH trifecta of 223, 44, and d3 to get counter hits against an attempted retaliation. With this much frame advantage 44 is better than 223 here since it’s safer and remains uninterruptible by jabs while yielding greater damage. This move also has a high crush window, on top of the natural high crush window of MSTB.
B4: This move is good but lacks much synergy. It is too slow to be used as a frame trap option after a blocked attack or as powerful mixup in most cases. However, on CH this does insane damage (80ish without walls, ~100 with), but because the move is slow it isn’t easy to land one. The best use of this move is when you feel an opponent is coming at you with aggressive intent from slight range, the redeeming quality of this move is that it is pretty safe to whiff since it keeps Lee back, especially with the HMS transition. The strategy is to literally just throw this out from time to time as a keepout move, and go into HMS liberally, since it still allows for combo conversions off the CH with a MST step into d2. If you just keep using it, it has to land eventually, just don’t drop the combo when you finally get it. It knocks down an opponent if they are hit while crouching, for a free ub3 guaranteed. It also leaves at -3 on block, which is on the limit of contestability with d3 or 223, if you want to be risky with the frame traps, or use an armor move. While the keepout potential with HMS is good, keep in mind the move’s range is slightly reduced when doing the HMS transition, although the side step tracking becomes pretty much like a homing move in both directions. See the HMS section for potential HMS applications.
F21 and 33: These are your easy whiff punish and poke moves for mid range. They are both i14 moves which natural combo. F21 does 36 damage, and though it is -10 on block, the pushback makes it unpunishable by most. However, the 2nd hit is high, which means it can be ducked and launched. You can screw with people, however, by doing f2, f2… in till you catch them ducking, or throw out a d3 trap. The 2nd hit can be delayed and still connect, which opens up a slim hit confirm possibility to make it safer. It also lands a mean wall splat, but without pushback at the wall it becomes jab punishable. 33 is safer, and does 2 less damage for 34. However, 33 can be delayed even longer, and is one of the easiest hit confirms around. If you are new to hit confirms try this move to learn, even at maximum delay this move will always natural combo when in range. While the 2nd hit is still -10 on block, it is similarly difficult to punish without aid from the wall, and because it is easier to hit confirm it can be considered the safer of the two. Doesn’t wall splat though. Pressing 33 too fast will give you a different move, so be careful. 3 on its own can also go into HMS.
FF3: Mid with decent range, with the pushback it is hard to punish without a wall inhibiting it, and only -11 on block anyway. It also wall splats and comes out pretty fast. One of the few Lee moves that really cover distance with minimal risk, just don’t whiff cause the recovery is pretty nasty without an opponent in block stun.
F43: This is an i11 move with a bit of range (super good speed/range ratio). First hit leaves -7 on block, 2nd hit leaves -8, which is safe but it means your turn is up unless you guess a high and duck. However, you can also subvert a turn by transitioning into hitman stance with 4 (or your 3+4 macro) and do a HMS 3 to attempt an armor through 13 frame or slower retaliations. Also, the 2nd hit can be delayed and yields a full combo on CH. This means your opponent may not retaliate after blocking the first hit if they know about it, which can let you get away with a stolen turn. If the first hit lands on CH the 2nd is guaranteed and you do a sizeable 33 damage.
Minor Ranged Moves:
1+2 is a homing move that is safe and gives a difficult combo on CH with ff crouch cancel, df4, b33~mst 213, f21. You can also just hit them on the ground with slide or FC df4, or crouch cancel by tapping up and do f3+4 for a bit more.
MST 3+4 is an easier slide that doesn’t need to be done from crouch, the get up 3 is not guaranteed and the move is slower (to the point of being visible), but it can still be really good for finishing the last bit of health of an opponent from any range.
D~DB4 is your strongest normal hit launcher, can be a tad tricky to punish off a tip range block since it puts out a bit of pushback. Highly unsafe though. Best used as a whiff punish off something major or as a spacing gambit at maximum range. Very slow, generally a risky move.
HMS UF4. You can do 3+4 for a hitman transition out of standing and instantly do this move, it covers range and yields CH combos. However, it leaves at -8, and while that is safe, your turn is up and it’s time to guard, which makes it less of an ideal approach and more of a CH fisher and ranged poke. Hits grounded though. Forces opponent into crouch on block. On normal hit you get ub3 guaranteed as a follow up.
MST 3, 4. This move launches on normal hit and gives good damage combos, but is as unsafe as a regular hopkick (-13). If this move is primed and ready it is great for punishing people who get cocky with the whiffs.
Frame Traps and Setups
So you’ve nailed some ranged options, but now you intend to approach and do the some CH damage. There are 2 components to a frame trap, a setup move which leaves at a reasonable frame differential, and a fast move with counter hit properties to trap them for trying to retaliate after blocking the first component. This is exceptionally useful vs opponents with limited frame knowledge, but the other value in these setup moves is that against an experienced opponent, they will stop challenging you after the setup, opening them up to low and mid poke mixups, for which Lee has many moves (section after this). Fast CH’s are also useful on defense, since opponents will often flail at you even at – frames for easy damage.
Setup Moves:
1 or 2: Simple jab, both i10, and +1 on block, each with different extensions. 1 has slightly better range and 2 has slightly more damage. Jab poking can frequently catch people because they are simultaneously fast and + on block, making them difficult to beat without crouching or subversion, and therefore make an ideal check. Keep in mind a pair of jabs will leave at -1 on block, instead of + with a single jab, but is a natural combo on hit. 214 is also a decent round ender to finish a sliver of health.
FFF34: This is easily his best approach move. This closes long distances and simultaneously sets up your opponent for frame traps, leaving you at +3 on block. This move is essential. Anyone without knowledge of this move will eat an easy 223, d3, or 44 on counter hit for a good part of their health bar. Once your opponent stops contesting followups from this, you can move on to poking (next section) with impunity. For reference, after this move is blocked, 223 and 44 will beat just about anything that doesn’t high crush (223 will even beat armor moves), and d3 will beat any high regardless of its speed, as well as generic df1’s which would otherwise beat it. If your opponent attempts to interrupt, he is playing into your hands because this will trigger the CH properties on these moves that do the killer damage. This also leaves you with great priority with the HMS transition. If you land this on hit and your opponent doesn’t tech, you get a free f3+4 or blazing kick (d~db4) for 50+ damage.
F3+4: Leaves at +4 on block with you and your opponent crouched. This makes almost all your crouch options uninterruptible except by crouch jab (which ws33, ws4 will beat and ws2 will trade with). Drastically limits your opponent, and hurts a ton on hit (and on the ground too). Floor break vs a grounded opponent on the temple stage. One of his best moves on block, check the FC section for more possibilities.
4u3 / d4n4u3: This is an incredibly deceptive move. There is a strange gap between the high kick and the flip, and you can actually be floated out of it with a jab if the previous hit was blocked. If they block the flippy kick instead, Lee is at -1, but the recovery period for the opponent is awkward, which makes timing a retaliation difficult in battle. A 223 will interrupt any retaliation from your opponent that isn’t a jab or magic 4, which makes this a really good bait for the CH trifecta 223, 44, and d3. Starting this with the d4 (i12 low) before going into this string can harass the opponent into being more aggressive afterwards, and since d4n4 is a natural counter hit combo, the flip becomes uninterruptible off a CH d4 starter. D4 can also go into any other usual variant of his 4 moves. D4n433 can also cover your flip against a float attempt, and while this is somewhat unsafe (-13), this is deceptive and gives knockdown off the fourth hit on counter, for the f3+4 follow up (40 damage total). Keep in mind, 434 and 4u3 look visually similar, but give completely different frames, the one with the u3 input is the one that gives frame traps, the other with the neutral 434 input leaves you at a whopping -9, so get it right. At high level this move isn’t that good but can still be used a bit, especially if you anticipate a CH situation.
BB4: Very deadly frame trap setup, and homing as well. It leaves at +2 on block, which means jabs still lose to 44, which is super useful. With the HMS transition the frames are also very nice. F3+4 follow up on hit for 45 damage, or HMS uf4 if you did the transition. If you have mad execution you can even get a combo with a micro dash b33 (personally I don’t think it’s worth trying). Only downside to this move is the fact that it hits high.
UF3+4: This moves leaves at a whopping +5 on block. Most of your tools are uninterruptible after this. It’s a great opportunity for a low poke afterwards if the opponent gives you time. On normal hit, you get a very difficult ff3 followup for free for a bunch of damage. It’s a high though, and awfully slow, which can make it hard to land sometimes. Can HMS transition for very strong frames as well. Useful at the wall or after the opponent techs.
Frame Trap Moves and CH’s:
The prior section of moves put you in a position to get counter hits or contest speed after the hit was blocked, these moves are your follow ups to land CH’s, fast pokes, and combos to scrape out some damage. Don’t force frame traps against patient or frame-knowledgeable players, you can try going straight for pokes (next section) over these if your opponents respect you. These moves also double as defense against an overly aggressive opponent who doesn’t respect your turn.
DF1: Lee’s phenomenal df1, this covers mids with a speed of i13 and good range, and leaves at -1 on block. With the threat of d3, your opponent will be hard pressed to capitalize on that minor frame difference through the use of jabs, which makes df1, d3 a very good sequence since you can get a CH or a free low poke most of the time with this. This also floats an opponent super consistently out of the air for combos. It even has mild tracking to catch steppers. At + frames few moves can interrupt this and it’s ideal against people who deal with the 223, 44, d3 trifecta by ducking. Uninterruptible after db3+4 on hit, and trades with jab off MSTB 4.
D3: The omnipresent high crush, destroyer of worlds, this move is half the key to Lee’s pressure. What it does not do, unlike some of his other lows, is leave you + on hit, instead it leaves at -3, which means you give up your turn on hit unless you guess a high and stay crouched for FC df4 or slide. You can also do a ws33… or ws4 but you are playing with fire. For this reason it’s actually better for your opponent to try and interrupt you and fail since you get a FC df4 follow up and continued pressure off the CH knockdown, or a full combo if you are precise. This can make any situation with close frames tougher for your opponent, since they have to switch from i10 high’s to i13 generic mids to be able to do anything about d3, which almost always allows 44 to beat them, or a 223 attempt. Its also a fantastic cover for mist step, which is normally pretty easy to break with jabs (see the MST section). Highly unsafe on block, despite its speed. You can transition to HMS with this move (see the HMS section).
223: One of the best CH’s in the game. On CH it does 49 damage just by itself, and it comes out at the jab speed of i10, which is insanely fast. Anything jab interruptible becomes a quarter of the health bar if your opponent is greedy. It’s a phenomenal frame trap and defensive move. If the final hit is blocked, it is completely safe. However, due to the risk of getting the last hit ducked and launched, you should learn to hit confirm this to make it far less risky. If the 2nd hit is blocked and there is no third hit on the way, you are at -13, but your opponent will be hesitant to punish for fear of getting hit by the third hit. The easy hit confirm tactic is to check if the first hit landed, then do all 3 hits upon confirmation, but if you are sick you can even hit confirm from the 2nd hit. If you delay the third hit too long, it is no longer a natural CH combo, but you are still safe on block at least. Sometimes at tip range the 2nd hit misses after the first hit lands because of the pushback, it’s kind of BS but it goes with the territory and only happens at tip range anyway.
44: At i11, this magic 4 is one of the best of its kind in the entire game. On CH it yields an easy 50 damage with b11~MST. Both 4 and 44 can be converted into a combo, but it is easier to react to a 44 counter hitting than a simple 4. Also, 44 natural combos for 22 damage on normal hit and is completely safe. Reasonable range too. Because it’s completely safe and yields a combo, it’s a great alternative to 223 as a frame trap element, but its 1 frame slower so often makes the difference between trading with a jab or landing a CH. Worth considering though, they are both phenomenal CH moves. In season 2, 434 also gives you a high damage counter hit launch with a b2 followup, however it is a bit more – than 44. On the other hand, if the full string connects on CH, you can always get b2 with no range dependent ambiguity.
FF4: Difficult move to implement but very powerful, it has a dead serious high crush window, which actually begins almost instantly during the move. On normal hit, it will knock down for a dash up into ub3 or d3, and if you are fast you can even get a b33f for a full combo. If you incorporate it at the right time, you will avoid any high and get an easy 70+ damage with a successful counter hit. On block this is very low risk, -5 and therefore safe, but unless you try ducking a high or something with d3, you are really giving up your turn. Ok range. Be sure to do the ff input as fast as possible, and hit 4 at the same time as the 2nd forward to get it to come out as fast as possible. Delaying the 4 and letting the ff input play out for a bit will give you more range, however.
B3+4: Although not super fast, the early armor window on this move lets you break a retaliation sequence after setup moves for good damage and a wall splat. -15, hence launch punishable, which makes it very risky. However it puts out a bit of pushback on block, which can often lead to this move going unpunished or at least not launched.
B1+2: One move people don’t often mention is Lee’s reversal. It’s a mid and high reversal against either punch and can’t be chickened. It puts Lee behind the opponent, and your opponent has 3 choices. They can hold back to try to turn and guard, or they can hold down and back to duck and turn around more slowly, avoiding highs in the process, or they can grab or dick jab to turn around quicker. The simple option against people who just hold back is to do 223, and land 47 damage, or use the built in 4 follow up for 30 damage. If they grab to turn around this will cause 223 to fail, and reverse dick jab messes up both options, but you can df2 to beat any grab, dick jab or turn-around option that involves attacking. Df2 will not launch someone who holds db, but it will still hurt them. Lee’s df2 is safe as well, so its very low risk. If you really want to shut down someone holding down and back, you can do df323, which starts with mid and is uninterruptible in the rear, for a launch and combo worth roughly 78 damage (12f, 213, f21 follow up). Df323 is unsafe though, so if they just hold back or do the attack turn around they can hurt you if you complete the string (last hit is -16). This is really a really good reversal vs Steve and punch reliant characters.
Pokes
When your opponent stops interrupting your + frames, go for these. You can also use these in neutral situations without setup, which works well against hesitant opponents.
Lows:
D3: As mentioned in the previous section, d3 is a better CH than a poke, but it still hits low and is invisible, and if you are uncertain whether your opponent will try to attack, this is generally a great bet. Either get a few damage and prepare for your opponent’s counter attack or get a great CH followup with FC df4 and pressure. The other thing is that since you recover ducking, your opponent might hesitate or throw out highs as you stay crouched which can help keep up the pressure despite the frame disadvantage. One thing you can do to make d3 follow ups more viable is transition to HMS, and utilize HMS 3 to armor through a jab retaliation or HMS 4 to duck highs with another low, but these can be subverted and launch punished if your opponent ducks.
DB3: Medium speed, but more importantly, invisible low. Leaves at +1 on hit, and therefore gives you the same setups as fff34 on block (223 beats jab, 44 beats anything else on speed, d3 beats highs), but keep in mind the pushback it does on hit might make it tougher to connect things if your opponent holds back. If your opponent knows his frames or starts to realize this, you can also do another poke or check him with df1 to be sure he doesn’t duck after the fact, or go wild and throw out a grab if they freeze. Nobody likes getting hit by lows though, so retaliation is not at all uncommon, it depends on your opponent, and if you do a 2nd one in a row to screw with them, bet your ass a retaliation is coming.
DB3+4: db3’s bigger brother, it’s slower and more visible but quite safe for a low, you’ll usually only eat a generic WS4 for this (unless they low parry). It does 17 damage, but it leaves at an insane +4 frames on hit, making even something like df1 completely uninterruptible. If your opponent contests anything after hit they are dead meat. Since people panic after getting hit by lows, a good sequence is to do db3+4, then df1 to check them afterwards, or a d3. This move will drive people crazy if they can’t low parry it on reaction and are playing defensively.
MSTB 4: This move is a phenomenal ranged approach and poke. It is slow, but it also crushes highs, which means it’s somewhat decent at avoiding jabs. On hit it leaves you at +3, which means your CH trifecta of 223, 44 and d3 will beat retaliation. It is also a great pressure low and has crazy good range, which makes it a good approach or turtle breaker. In short it’s versatile but requires time to come out. If your opponent respects you can go back into another low like db3 or db3+4.
FC DF4 and Slide (FC DF, D, DF3): Mentioned in prior sections, these are solid low pokes from crouch.
Highs and Mids:
These moves are good offensive moves to throw out, so you don’t become overly reliant on the lows.
FF3+4: This grab is highly damaging, and cna turn the tide of a round, especially against inexperienced players. It’s super powerful in green ranks. You get a f3+4 follow up for a whopping 52 damage and a chance at a FC df4 against your opponent if they hold back to get up (they have to stand with up and duck immediately to block), for total of 69 damage. Or you can pursue with slide. The F3+4 follow-up floor breaks, which turns your grab into a combo starter on the temple stage (or any knockdown low where you can follow up with this, such as CH d3). With the wall, you get ff3+4, wallsplat, b2~mst, f43, d3 for 42 + 13 = 55 guaranteed. At higher ranks they will break this grab and he doesn’t have many grab mixups, but you can still mask it through MST step approaches or from crouch (since ff commands automatically crouch cancel). Range is not great though, but MST approaches can help in dealing with that.
Jabs (1 or 2): i10, fast interrupt that leaves at +1 on block. Good for checking an opponent at close to neutral frame margins or after approaching.
33 and F21: Go-to mids for medium speed and range. Check their descriptions in the key ranged moves section for details.
3~3:4: You’ve probably done this move by accidentally hitting 33 too quickly, but what’s interesting is that on the 2nd hit this move has a just frame opportunity with 4 just as the kick lands. If you land it, you get a follow up throw, where you kick them and knock them down. This even goes through guard, and if you land the kick on normal hit it will add the kick damage to the throw. This just frame is not lenient, it is very difficult to accomplish in combat. It can also be used for wall enders in combos but don’t bother with it for that.
F3+4: This move is mid hitting, does 30 damage, and leaves at +4 on block. Both you and your opponent are left in full crouch after this. D1 becomes uninterruptible, as does your WS33… chain and ws4. F3+4 on block into ws33d33 is a death sentence for an opponent with a sliver of life left, especially at the wall. You can also crouch cancel with your command grab, ff3+4. You can also stay crouched and poke with FC df4 if your opponent freezes, or mix them up with ws24 and ws23.
44: fast poke and pester tool, + frames on hit, combo on CH, does good normal hit damage too.
B112: You can use b11 to pester and space, finish the string to get a wall splat, or go into stance transitions. Check the key ranged moves section if you haven’t already for more detail on this really useful move.
F43: Good for playing the “am I going to do the 2nd hit” game, since the 2nd hit is delayable. It interrupts a great deal of move with its i11 speed, and you can transition to hitman and do HMS 3 to beat 13 frame retaliations. Second and first hit are safe but your turn is basically up on block, since you are at -8 or so, and since it’s a NCC the 2nd hit can be blocked even if the first hit normally. Even on CH a delayed 2nd hit allows the opponent to block. HMS 3 will also give a tailspin follow up if the 2nd hit lands on its own with a CH.
Incorporating MST, HMS and Movement options.
Utilizing Lee to an advanced degree will require familiarity with unique movement options, HMS and MST. These can all be used in conjunction with each other to create fluid transitions that make your opponent hesitant to interrupt you.
Moving with Stances:
You have to think of Lee’s stances as a hybrid between a stance, a movement option and a transition. If you briefly tap forward and immediately release, you will get a MST step. You can use MST out of 12, b2, b33, rage drive, and off b11 cancel as well. Tap forward out of MST and you will start a regular dash (which means you can simply double tap forward to do a typical dash like any other character). You can also cancel MST by sidestepping out of it (you can tap f, u, f, u, f, u, really fast to do a stupid looking dance), as well as crouch out of it. More importantly, you can immediately guard out of MST by holding back. If you wait an instance after beginning a MST step and tap backwards (without holding it), you will get a backsway. During the later half of MST step, you will duck highs briefly. You can also MST step out of HMS.
Your attack options out of MST are basically any move which doesn’t require neutral or forward 3, or neutral 3+4 (since there are moves unique to MST which require those inputs). Other than that you can cancel MST into any attack by doing the normal move input out of MST step.
MST backsway (MSTB) will allow the use of WS moves as long as you aren’t holding the back input when you do them, and input the attack button ASAP as the backsway starts. For instance, b2~forward tap (not hold), back a split moment later, and after releasing back, a quick 2, 3 will give you WS 23 out of the B2 MST step. Fiddle with the timing till you get it down. However, you cannot do ws4 out of MSTB because there is a move unique to MSTB with the 4 input (his low hit). Getting consistent with MST, the backsway and move transitions will require the tapping of a lot of directions. Don’t get overly used to holding down directional inputs for these instances.
HMS (which can be accessed from 3+4 normally and off move transitions) also has movement options. You can cancel HMS into MST by tapping forward as previously mentioned. You can guard and crouch guard while in HMS, and this will cancel HMS. You can even low parry out of HMS with df. This differentiates HMS from a lot of other stances because it means you aren’t committed to attacking out of transitions and setups, which make Lee much less predictable. Canceling HMS can be done by blocking an attack with the back input while in HMS, or crouching with db or d. You can do a qcb motion to exit HMS quickly and start moving around again (not mandatory at all). Another possibility in HMS is to sidestep, you can tap up or down to do this, which helps you deal with – frame transitions. And, just like you can cancel HMS by holding down to crouch, you can cancel it by jumping as well if you hold u, uf, or ub.
HMS Transitions:
One easy way to remember the different inputs for HMS transitions is to bind 3+4 to a macro like R2 and hit it after any move that can transition to HMS, this will cover all possible HMS transitions if you aren’t too late or early in pressing it. You can transition to HMS from a lot of moves:
Useful HMS transitions:
Neutral with 3+4, 124 with 3, 21 with 3+4, 3 with 4, f43 with 4, df4 and ws4 with 3, b11 or b1:1 with 3+4, b4 with 3, d3 with 4, uf3+4 with 3+4, f334 with 3, bb4 with 3, fff34 with 3, FC df4 with 3, HMS 14 with 3.
Applying HMS Transitions:
I’ll get into how HMS works as well as general hitman tactics. The fastest move out of HMS is 1 (and anything off the string like 14 or 1111 or 11~MST). The fastest mid move is 1+2 for an i15. On block, fff34, bb4, uf3+4, transitions allow HMS 1 to be uninterruptible by standing moves, as well as uninterruptible HMS 1+2 (although bb4~HMS 1+2 will trade with jab off block). This makes these moves ideal for enforcing frames and low risk poking from HMS. If the opponent respects you after checks and conditioning, you can start to use it as a springboard for more complicated offense.
On hit, FC df4 and d3 can also do work, since HMS 3 becomes difficult to interrupt thanks to the armor. Since these moves are low this is a considerably useful property on hit. HMS 3 also makes f43~HMS a much deadlier transition, interrupting anything i13 or slower. This makes the already quick and oppressive f43 a bit more dangerous to challenge despite its poor followup frames. However, good frames aren’t necessary for HMS to remain useful.
HMS can side step to overcome a frame deficit, as well as naturally evade with moves like HMS 2 or HMS 4. This allows HMS to beat high moves that would normally interrupt some of its quicker options. HMS side step can be canceled with attacks but not with the back button.
Yet another way important way to employ HMS is with spacing. This allows moves like df4, b4, 124, HMS 14, ws4 become very useful when keeping this in mind. With certain transitions such as these, Lee distances himself significantly after the hit, which makes it really hard to hit and interrupt him with compact, fast moves. HMS naturally pushes Lee’s hitbox against highs further back, which means the opponent needs to either use a beefier hitbox that is probably mid hitting at the cost of speed, risk a fast low (which can be low parried from HMS and can still whiff) or risk whiffing with high moves. If an opponent intends to interrupt your transition, they will have a hard time reaching you with many interrupt options and you will be able to whiff punish responses easily. B4 and df4 are ideal even if they whiff, since they recover quickly and push Lee back quite a bit by the time an opponent would react (also, B4 gains tracking when entering HMS, and you can still get a CH combo with mist step d2). See the picture below to get an idea.
The top image is the space created by doing d3 into HMS, vs the space created by df4 into HMS on the bottom image. Try to get an idea of the difference in pushback off some HMS transitions like b4 or df4. Both moves were done at closest possible range. As you can see, there isn’t much that can hit the Lee on the left in the 2nd picture. If they retaliate and miss, HMS 1+2 will whiff punish for easy, safe damage, or HMS 2 will launch (but is a bit more risky).
Using the spacing method is risky against characters with big jabs and long range launchers, like jack, bears, and gigas (and asuka’s f2). However it is still good to use if you guard, since they will take the risk of getting punished if they attempt a launch. The wall also inhibits this method, so try using the aforementioned + frame moves instead. The spacing method is particularly good against characters with stubby range. Ideally with the spacing method you want to wait before attacking (unlike when you go for speed) since you want them to miss before you close the gap with an attack, otherwise you risk getting hit first when you use moves that close the gap.
Finally, I’d like to mention the versatility of b11~HMS. This is a bit of a catch all transition. It doesn’t quite have the best frames or spacing like the previously mentioned, but it can sort of do both in a pinch, leaving him far enough to escape most jabs, and quick enough to evade, armor, or even poke his way through an opponent. A very useful aspect of this move is that you have more time to notice whether you got a hit or block transition, since the string is a natural combo. You can enter HMS without risk and decide whether to block or attack based on whether you just hit them or not, and have a comfortable time frame to do so.
Possible but not useful HMS transitions:
1223 and 223 with 4, f333334 with 3, df1+2 3 with 4, d4444 with 3, b24 with 3+4, u3 with 3+4, FC uf4 with 3, ssr and ssl 3+4 with 4 and 3, d3+4 with 3+4, u~ub automatically
Just so you don’t accidentally do these lol. You can use d3+4 into 3+4 at range for memes and taunting I suppose.
HMS Moves:
Assuming you’ve carved out a chance, here is what you can use from HMS:
1, 11, 14, 11~MST – these are your go-to interrupters for the speed method. They all start with the same move, but have various properties. Don’t bother using more than the first two hits of 1111 because pushback will make the last 2 hits whiff, and the last 2 don’t combo anyway even with a wall. You can do 14 to get a substantially ranged second hit, and the second hit natural combos for 27 damage, and lets you go back into HMS with big spacing if it connects on guard or hit. You can also do 11~MST to follow the first hit with a fake second and go into mist. The frames for MST are solid, even with the fake hit you are at +4 if the first jab landed, although you are at -3 if blocked. Keep in mind, doing this move makes Lee’s receded high hitbox temporarily back to normal, which allows high moves that would otherwise whiff to land on you, so you really want to use this for speed over the spacing method.
2 – High damage normal hit launcher. You duck even further than neutral HMS with this move, which can make it a favorite for close range, side step, and long range subversion tactics. Leads to 70+ damage combos, and is -13 on block (as unsafe as a hopkick, but not launch punishable).
3 – High hitting armor move. Aside from hitting airborne and jumping opponents for tailspin, it catches people on normal and counter hit for an unbreakable throw followup. The damage is substantial at 41, and pretty much ensures you trade favorably against most moves if you armor through them. This can cover many HMS transitions with otherwise poor frames. Also homing, making it one of few moves to have armor, homing, and tailspin properties in the same move. Punishable if the opponent ducks the hit so be careful, this isn’t a mixup to HMS 4.
4 – Low hit sweep. On CH starts combos for 70+ damage with ws23 into b2~MST followup. Ducks highs instantly, which can help HMS offense off poor transitions. Its extremely unsafe though, and gives a leg jam when blocked for any WS punish from your opponent. On normal hit it does 20 damage and KND, and allows for a slide followup. This is his one of his few ways to damage a standing guard from HMS, but it is visible and predictable when a knowledgeable opponent sees HMS come out. Don’t use this too often unless you expect highs or condition your opponent to stand. You can also do FC df4 from hitman stance by just hitting df4 for a safer, quicker alternative.
1+2 – Fastest mid out of HMS, great range especially on the second hit, does 25 damage. While it is -6 or so on block (which is still safe), the pushback is sufficient outside of wall situations to leave you with good spacing despite the frames. Conversely the frames on hit are really good at +6. Really ideal off the pushback method of HMS transition, for a safe, ranged move which tracks pretty well too. Good at catching duckers since both hits are mid.
UF 3 – Mediocre move reserved for wall situations. It will wall bounce for decent damage and is mid to catch people ducking, but it is somewhat unsafe at -12. Overall a pretty meh move and one of the worst wall bounces in the game.
UF 4 – Great move with great range. Mid hitting, on CH starts a combo for 70+ damage. On normal hit you get a difficult d~db4 or f3+4 (performed ASAP, f3+4 can be rolled under if they hold forward but catches everything else), or an easy ub3. UB3 also gives you wake up hell if the opponent’s back is against the wall and they miss the side tech roll, for a fast ff3 if they get up, or f3+4/d3 if they stay down. Leaves your opponent crouched on block, but isn’t necessarily a great approach due to the frames on block (safe but really -).
FC DF4 – This move is available from HMS, by simply hitting df4 while in stance. This completely masks the move which normally needs to be done from crouch, and tracks pretty good while crushing highs and landing potential counter hit knockdowns for a follow up. You can’t always buffer or do this move immediately from HMS transitions though, so work out the timings.
MST – Tap forward to cancel HMS into MST, use this to cover distance or freeze a hesitant opponent and begin the MST mixups, which brings us to the next section.
Utilizing MST and MSTB:
As previously mentioned, you can do any move out of MST except 3, f3, 3+4 and f3+4 (ff3+4 is still possible if you use the first forward as the mist step, but not out of HMS). You can use MST to cover distance and intimidate your opponent, as well as mask any poke. MST~34 slightly unsafe but gives really good damage, it’s a tad slow while having decent range. MST 3+4 is also nice to finish an opponent’s life bar if they haven’t seen it before.
If your opponent gives you time or attempts to interrupt late with highs, you have access to backsway 4 for a low which simultaneously covers ground as well as leaving at + on hit. The problem with using MST followups is the possibility of getting interrupted. 12~MST leaves at -2 and B2~MST leaves at -1 frames on block, which means opponent’s jab is uninterruptible. Thankfully, there is a solution with d3 out of MST. Since you can do any move out of MST, as well as guard, you can deal with your opponent’s fastest interrupt moves (which are typically highs) by doing d3, which can possibly net you a CH. If your opponent starts crouching or attempting a low parry you can beat him with any of your mids, and MST~34 has a built in instant low crush to deal with crouch jab interrupts and low pokes like d4. It is, however, -13 on block. If they start using mids (fastest are usually i13) to cover your d3, you can start employing 223 (or even 44 off b2~MST) to interrupt and net some CH damage. When your opponent respects you or freezes, you can start getting some backsway 4’s, db3’s, df1’s, or your command grab. You can also hold down to crouch out of MST (crouch jab is a decent option from mist sometimes), and employ stuff like FC df4 or crouch mixups. Literally anything that compliments your pressure. B11~MST is a confusing mst transition for opponents because of the false hit before entering MST, it can mask the MST step but also makes it a bit slow.
FC Game
Playing from crouch is another big deal with Lee and might as well be a hidden stance on its own. You can open up a whole new offense from various ranges once you can do his slide, or WS options and crouch tactics.
Dealing with Hopkicks:
Lets first address the elephant in the room, the hopkick. Obviously at low ranks if you just crouch in your opponent’s face you’ll get hopkicked, and this is particularly difficult to overcome against a low rank claudio on 3 bar connections, but there are ways to mitigate the hopkick option.
Firstly, a hopkick is -13, which means if you crouch just long enough for your opponent to notice and then you simply guard again, you can block it and get a free f1+2 (well buffered), 43, 44 or 124. Guarding a hopkick twice and punishing both will do as much damage as a small combo on its own, and can net you a full combo if they start hopkicking from too far out of fear.
Secondly, keep in mind when you are crouched you have ws4 or ws33 which are significantly faster than a hopkick. Ws33 will beat hopkick even after a blocked 1+2, or a d3 on hit. Ws4 will also beat hopkick post d3 on hit (and is safe), and both options will beat out anything after f3+4 on block. After a blocked f3+4, ws23 and ws24 are uninterruptible but will trade with crouch jab, although with damage in your favor.
If you manage to snuff hopkick enough, or face an opponent who respects you, or face a character that doesn’t have hopkick, you can begin the tug of war with crouch options. Characters with orbitals instead of hopkicks, like Bryan and lars, can still beat lows with them but they are slower to hit and easier to interrupt with WS pressure out of crouch for float combo follow ups.
FC Options:
You have slide (FC df,d,df 3) from crouch, which you can do quickly to catch an opponent by surprise at any range. You don’t have any options at super long range to mix up with slide from crouch (I’m not counting FC uf3+4 lol), which means crouching at range will tip off a good opponent about your intentions. Against a good player or someone you’ve just hit with slide 5 times in a row, they will suspect the possibility of slide from range and you can screw with them by openly crouching and doing nothing from far away, then stand and crouch again, then do something else or a slide when they think you won’t. It’s a great attention getter since they can’t often retaliate from extreme ranges. If it’s blocked a good player will float you for it though. This gives mixup ability at closer ranges due to your WS mid hitting options.
At closer range you have an easier low FC df4, you can access this from standing very quickly by holding df for a brief moment and hitting 4 after you crouch for a split moment. This beats highs and has good range, and on counter hit gives a free FC df4 or slide at close range, or a ff dash up d~db4, or d3, or a delayed ff3 to catch them as they try to get up (-14 on block though). You can use this move as a bit of a keep out at range, since it has a huge radius and tracks to the sides. It brings Lee back after the hit, which can make punishing it really hard from far away.
For WS, one option is ws33. This comes out in 10 frames and can be continued with d3,3,d3,3,d3,3 for infinity (although you start to go in the wrong direction after a few kicks). It is the best 10 frame WS punish in the game, and can be used as an interrupt to beat df1’s, hopkicks and just about anything from crouch. If an opponent’s back is against the wall, a cheesy way to get damage is to do f3+4, and get uninterruptible ws33 chain afterwards that they can’t step or avoid. Eating 6 kicks is like half your health bar. Pretty unsafe but difficult to punish or low parry.
Ws4 is another option, it’s 1 frame slower than ws33 at i11, but it’s still fast, safe, and provides HMS transitions with ok spacing. Good counter to hop kicks and a generally safe bet.
WS 24 and WS 23 are good options too. They are both wallsplats and are i14. Ws24 is safe, whereas ws23 is not (-14 on block with moderate pushback), but ws23 is mid mid whereas ws24 is mid high, which means either option is potentially vulnerable to punishing. While it’s technically possible to fuzzy guard the difference between these two hits, it’s extremely difficult and risky, which makes ws23 a decent option against someone crouching the 2nd hit preemptively. Ws24 gives a wallsplat for b2~MST, f43, d3 for 69, and ws23 gives a high wall splat for 4u3, f43, d3 for 80. Ws24 is probably the safer poke on open ground due to the safety of the 2nd hit and the range of it. If you do land a ws23 on open ground, you can do an super difficult ff3 link instantly to get 54 damage. On bears, you get a much easier ws23, b243 link on open ground for a full combo. Ws23 also gets a damaging full combo with a rage drive follow up.
You also have full crouch uf4 (flippy kick), this is a very unsafe launcher that is also very slow, but fast enough to punish leg jam animations, like snake edge on block. You have to be crouched, and tap uf4 and immediately release the directional inputs, and afterwards you get a ws23 into b2’s for 70+ damage combos on open ground. You can’t buffer this move, so you have to wait for full recovery from whatever before you do this.
Keep in mind you can always duck and do a crouch or WS move in a reasonable amount of time with a bit of practice. Briefly ducking, crouch jabbing, d3, f3+4 and 1+2 are some ways of getting into crouch.
Example Sequences
Lee can be difficult to apply and understand, so here are some example sequences illustrating how you can practice combining his tools for offense. Mix and match different tools to catch your opponent slipping and CH or poke them at your leisure. Try these against a dummy in practice just to build fluidity and come up with your own setups. These aren’t full proof or anything but should help you develop an abstract use of different tools in real time (don’t get caught up in flow charts too hard). Here are some in increasing complexity.
Df1, d3
F3+4, ws33d33
Df4~HMS, wait for whiff, HMS 1+2
B11f~MSTB 4
B2~mist~d1, fc df4~HMS 3
Db3, side step right, df4~hms uf4
BB4~HMS 11~MST 3+4
B2~MST, 12 MST, ff3+4 (grab), f3+4, slide to catch getup
B2~MST into crouch, FC df4, ws4~HMS uf4
Db3+4, df1, db3, 12~MSTB 4, d3~HMS 3
fff34, point blank fff34~HMS, FC df4, slide
D3, side step with up, 13:3:3, ub3
TL;DR – Simple strats
You can play keepout and CH’s with 44, b4, d3, FC df4, bb4, df4, f43 and HMS transitions from most of these. You can play approach with fff34, ff4, slide, and mist step transitions. He also gained a great whiff punisher with f333334, you can properly bait opponents for big damage on whiffs now.
Noob tactics:
Learn the following 2 setups: fff34 into 44 (which will net you an uninterruptible potential counter hit if the running move is blocked), or HMS transition after fff34 for offense. HMS 3 armors and does great damage (and safe), but is high, and HMS 4 ducks highs instantly and gives you damage off a low. HMS 1+2 can cover mid in case they duck as well. Harass your opponent with MST 3+4 from afar, and use f21 liberally to hit people (won’t get punished at this rank). If you are being overwhelmed, use d3 to duck highs and CH for a free FC df4, or use 223 for a jab speed CH which does 47 damage if you catch your opponent attacking. Df1 gives you easy mid coverage if they duck too much.
Green Tactics:
Learn some basic combos and wall followups. Learn to use 1, df1, d3 to control the pace of your opponent up close. Master the 223, 44, and d3 CH trifecta. Start learning slide if you have the skill, and use it from range. Learn how to harass with low pokes like db3, MSTB 4, and db3+4, which are + on hit. These are a different kind of low than a snake edge because it doesn’t give you a combo or high damage, but they are invisible and leave you with speed advantage to compliment your pressure and chip away at the opponent. Read the “Incorporating MST, HMS and Movement” section, and start to grasp your stance cancels and transitions. The higher the level of your opponent, the more pokes you should be using over CH setups, since they will start to grasp the frames. Learn when to side step on offense. B11 is a super important tool to learn at this rank, both for the third hit wall splat off the just frame and the application for stance options, both with mist and HMS. It’s a great springboard and a complex move, don’t underestimate its value especially near walls.
Past Yellow:
Read the guide. Get better at pressure with pokes as well as defense, learn when to take risks and when you can get away with risky stuff. Side step a lot more to help your pressure. Experiment with FC mixups even if you get blown up, since in the long term this will give you experience with greater offensive variety. Work on combo consistency and start nailing b2~MST into b2~MST for combo links. Learn to side-step at point blank to compliment poke pressure. Despite his poor whiff punish launchers, try to nail his punishers. It pays to be intimately familiar with the range of all his moves. Try hit confirming f21, 33 and 223 (outside of combos obviously). Master slide to reset situations and harass, as well as generally freak out your opponents. Learn how to whiff intelligently with stuff like b4~HMS or play keep out with stuff like FC df4, playing with range decisively will help you think critically about Lee’s options and potential openings against a trigger happy opponent. Look up Lumen and Lowhigh on youtube to see high level Lee players and learn what they are doing, or catch FightingGM during a tournament stream. ImYourFather is probably the best Lee online at the moment, catch his twitch stream and youtube as well.
Anti-Strats
Don’t attack stupidly after a fff34, your opponent will frequently use CH’s like the 223 followup or 44. 223 is launch punishable if you duck the last hit, or -13 if they don’t do the last hit (it is delayable though so be careful). One strat is to crouch jab after fff34 so you remain safe from CH’s (don’t do that if they HMS transition though, it often whiffs).
If you can shut down d3 at close range, this will help you tremendously. D3 is launch punishable on block, but at least land a decent punish even if you don’t launch when you guard it. You can also low parry by prediction. Lee players will often throw this out after a chain of pressure which leaves them standing (he can’t do it from crouch but it leaves him in crouch as it ducks highs, so it’s frequently used after a df1 check or fff34).
Since Lee’s df2 doesn’t launch crouchers on normal hit, he has no safe launcher to launch crouchers. You can duck briefly with little risk to stop stuff like d3, and will probably just eat a df1 most of the time. Don’t just duck forever obviously or you will eat a hopkick or a 33.
His deadliest CH’s are high starting, and d3 is low starting, which means you can subvert a lot of his frame trap gimmicks when you know they are setting you up by crouching and punishing.
Do not abuse frames vs Lee, 223 and a phenomenal magic 4 are good reasons to respect him. You are better off beating Lee with high crush moves than speed gambits when you are in contention phases. Use your d1 occasionally.
D4n4u3 or 4u3 is interruptible before the flip kick for a float combo. And Lee is -1 afterwards so only contest the follow up with jab or crouch jab.
D4444 is low parryable even while you are getting hit.
Many of his low pokes have decent frames on hit or allow special followups in HMS, don’t try to break his pressure at the wrong time or you will get CH.
Be wary of HMS’s range, assaulting it with high’s will frequently whiff for free punishes. Think of it like a budget AOP. Many transitions will have pushback designed to make you whiff if you retaliate with something short. You can low or mid check it pretty easily, but Lee can guard and low parry from this stance, so don’t panic and throw out unsafe stuff just because he is near you in this stance. The armor move from this stance hurts like a bitch and is high, and will track you if you try to step, if they are overly reliant on it duck and launch them for it. The HMS 4 is a low that ducks highs instantly but it is the only way he can hurt you if you guard unless he transitions to something else, and the move is massively punishable when blocked.
Learn to guard and float slide for a punish or you will deal with this move all the time. Don’t just duck because he ducks at close range though, slide has no mid mixup at range but up close he has many WS mid tools to hurt you.
Don’t panic when you get chipped and poked, and identify + frame situations correctly.
If you catch Lee on an infinite stage enjoy your free win and try to get a rematch.
Legend and Terminology
U D F B, or u d f b = up, down, forward, back input respectively. Stuff like df or db means the diagonal inputs, down + forward, or down + back for instance.
1, 2, 3, 4 = square, triangle, X, circle = X, Y, A, B = left punch, right punch, left kick, right kick, respectively. If move is described as 123, it means 1, then 2, then 3, if there is a plus sign (+) in between, it implies you need to hit both of these at the same time (such as 1+2). If you are on controller it’s nice to bind multi button presses to the L and R buttons, such are 1+2 on R1 and 3+4 on L2, which facilitates inputs.
SS = Side step, SSR = side step right, SSL = side step left.
WS = while standing, this is a state where you are rising from crouch and have a window to do unique attacks. This is easiest to execute when you’ve been forced into a crouch by a move, or block a leg stopping low, since you can let go of directions afterward and mash an attack button during the recovery to automatically do a while standing move.
WR = while running, this can be done by double tapping forward from super far away range, and letting your character charge, or hitting forward 3 times to access the unique moves from running. The fff technique requires space to execute comfortably, so the further you are the easier it is to fff. If you are at point blank it’s still possible to do, but it becomes extremely demanding on input speed and becomes very difficult. Try this with Lee’s running 3,4 for instance. You’ll see it’s easier to do from afar and difficult to do the closer you get.
S! = tailspin state caused by a move during aerial combos. Allows additional hits if you dash up afterwards
Frames = the game runs at 60 frames per second, so you can count frames as the smallest divisible unit of time, instead of seconds. It’s easier to say it takes e.g. 10 frames for a move to come out than .20958234 or whatever milliseconds. A 10 frame move is twice as fast as a 20 frame move for instance.
Apart from how long it takes for a move to come out after a button is pressed (called i frames, or e.g. i10 to say 10 frames of startup), there is recovery/follow through from each move, which can be slower or faster relative to the recovery of your opponent. If you recover faster following an interaction, you are at a speed advantage on the next attack if you both attack immediately. If you hit your opponent you are typically at + frames (or advantage), if they guard your move you are usually at – frames on the follow up (called disadvantage). Moves that break this rule and are + on block are very valuable but usually have long windup or complicated inputs to compensate (like Lee’s fff34). Lows that give + frames on hit (like Lee’s db3+4 which leave him +4 on hit) are super valuable and rare as well, since you get to keep your turn even after going under a standing guard. Typically lows leave at – frames even on hit to balance out the low property, which is why most lows don’t leave at + even on hit.
If a move is sufficiently – on block, you can call it unsafe because you can’t even recover in time to guard fast moves. At -10 you can get jabbed, at -15 you can get launched. You can also be at a 0 frame difference, or neutral frames, which means neither has a speed advantage where you recover exactly at the same time. Also if your move misses entirely, there is no block or hit interaction and they have the duration of your entire move to attack you without you being able to guard. This is why it’s bad to whiff.
Counter hit (CH) = if you hit your opponent as his attack is coming out, effectively interrupting him. If you land a hit but they weren’t winding up an attack, you don’t get a counter hit. Counter hits give certain moves properties specific to counter hit situations. + frames and CH’s in tandem are brutal if your opponent tries to interrupt you.
Natural combo = if something is a natural combo, it means the follow up hit or hits is guaranteed if the first hit lands, otherwise an opponent can block later hits even if they were hit by the first. Often abbreviated NC. Some strings can connect specifically if the first was a counter, this is called a counter hit natural combo, sometimes abbreviated NCC. Nina’s B222 is a natural combo for the first 2 hits, but requires a counter hit on the first for the third to be guaranteed, so we can say the third hit is a NCC.
Jail = if something jails on hit, it implies you can’t move or duck the remaining hits in the string if you got hit by the first hit. You can’t move just like in jail. If it jails on block, it’s means you can’t move or duck follow up on block. This is an important concept with Nina cause a lot of her stuff has phenomenal frames at the cost of not jailing. A natural combo always jails on hit.
Low Parry = hold down + forward to crouch and throw aside a low hit or a special mid (crouch jabs). You have a window of about a quarter second after you hit down + forward for it to activate, otherwise you look like an idiot and get hit by a low anyway cause you aren’t holding down + back to guard. This is commonly employed to snuff lows that are part of strings and you can’t interrupt, but can anticipate well in advance. Since there is high scaling on any follow up combo out of low parry, it’s sometimes better to guard a consequential low like bryan’s snake edge and punish it with a while standing launcher for more damage.
Tech trap = term for catching people out of a specific wake up situation such that a move becomes guaranteed if they recover a certain way. It’s a getup trap basically.