A Killer Instinct Guide for SFIV Players by Infil

Combo Traits

Since Killer Instinct’s combo engine is fairly universal, each character comes equipped with their own unique combo trait, which is a way for them to uniquely break the rules of the combo system. It adds a little extra effort to learning to fight against certain characters with strong and useful traits, but with a solid grasp of how combos are structured, the rules are not difficult to understand or recognize.

• Jago: Around the World: Can cancel auto-doubles into another auto-double with descending strength continuously (heavy -> medium, medium -> light, light -> heavy).
  Usefulness: Since the auto-double cancel must happen in a certain order, it can become predictable and easy to break if Jago relies on this often. As such, it is best used only in certain situations as a punish when your opponent is locked out.
• Sabrewulf: Rabid Doubles: Can cancel an auto-double into another auto-double of the same strength.
  Usefulness: Very useful in lockout situations, since heavy auto-doubles do the most damage in the shortest amount of time. It can also confuse your opponent, since Sabrewulf’s auto-doubles and linkers can often look similar.

• Glacius: Ranged Doubles: Glacius can perform ranged auto-doubles off any ranged opener, including Ice Lance and Shatter, allowing him to combo from any distance.
  Usefulness: Glacius is a strong zoner, and being able to convert any combo from a ranged opener allows him to score big damage from a distance. Glacius stomps the ground twice for each ranged auto-double, bringing up ice shards that push the opponent away with heavies, keep the opponent in the same place with mediums, and bring the opponent closer with lights. They quickly raise the ender level and do a lot of damage. You will see these auto-doubles often if you fight any Glacius player.
• Thunder: Throw Linkers: Thunder’s back throw can be used as an opener and a linker. The throw can be teched.
  Usefulness: Thunder is a high damage character and will often prefer to spend his KV on moves other than a throw mid-combo, and inputting a wrong-strength breaker during a throw will not lead to a lockout either. On the other hand, you can manual any normal after a throw without needing to attempt a medium or heavy linker, and switching sides with your opponent can be quite beneficial in certain circumstances. The throw happens quickly and it must be teched very early, which can lead to low-risk damage.

• Sadira: Air Combos: Sadira can jump-cancel her enders and throws to continue comboing an opponent in the air.
  Usefulness: Sadira rules the air in Killer Instinct, so being able to continue combos in and out of the air is useful. In Season 2, changes were made that allow these combos to be broken, however, while some other characters have also gained air combo abilities, making this less unique to Sadira.
• Orchid: Double Linkers: Orchid can string together two Ichi Ni San linkers in a row of any strength.
  Usefulness: Roughly about as useful as Jago’s trait. Perhaps situationally useful in damage combos, since Ichi Ni San does more damage than other linkers, or to attempt to surprise someone expecting an auto-double or manual after an Ichi Ni San linker. If used often, will become predictable and easy to break, since Ichi Ni San changes its animation drastically for different linker strengths.

• Spinal: Spectral Manuals: After any auto-double, if Spinal waits for the move to fully complete and presses the same button again, ghostly hands will rise from the ground and execute a third attack as a manual and also grant Spinal a skull. The timing is very easy.
  Usefulness: The hands will attack with the same strength as the previous auto-double, which makes it easy to defend against, but the hands do a large amount of white life which raises the ender level very quickly, making it viable in lockout situations. Earning a skull is also very useful, especially if you can sneak a light auto-double + light spectral manual past someone early in a combo.
• Fulgore: Auto-Triples: During any auto-double, if Fulgore presses the same attack button, he will extend the auto-double to a third hit.
  Usefulness: Somewhat similar in function to Spinal’s trait, but the timing is slightly different and the rewards are different. Again, it’s quite useful in lockout situations but it can be easy to defend against if overused, as the auto-triple strength is telegraphed by the preceding double. Fulgore gains reactor speed for each auto-triple performed, but not any more than continuing the combo normally. Such changes to Fulgore in Season 2 have made this trait less useful than in the past.

• TJ Combo: Auto-Barrage: Before the second hit of any auto-double, TJ can change the next hit to a different attack by pressing any button. This can be done continuously, but all of TJ’s auto-doubles are slower as a result.
  Usefulness: Perhaps the strongest combo trait in the game. Auto-doubles in general are breakable because reacting to the first hit gives the defense time to break the second hit, but that rule does not apply to TJ, who can change the strength of subsequent hits repeatedly and many of the strikes are hard to tell apart. Although his doubles are slower to account for this, he is still very difficult to break. If TJ auto-barrages all six buttons in a row, he will activate his damage ender.
• Maya: Dagger Toss Linkers: When used at close range after an opener, Maya’s daggers become breakable linkers, and you can perform any manual after any dagger linker with easy timing.
  Usefulness: Manuals are difficult to break in general, but Maya is able to perform manuals that are not prone to the normal restrictions after using a dagger linker, making her manuals especially problematic. The dagger linkers themselves, however, are easier to break, since they are color-coded by strength, there are only two possible strengths (light and medium), and Maya may only be holding one of them anyway.

• Kan-Ra: Teleport Linkers: Kan-Ra’s +MP, MP, and HP normals can be canceled directly into the linker version of Spike, teleporting Kan-Ra directly in front of his opponent.
  Usefulness: Like Glacius, this allows Kan-Ra to pester opponents from range and convert strong long-range pokes into a full combo. Any strength of Spike linker can be performed, which creates a meaningful mixup to start a combo, and if your normal is blocked, Kan-Ra will leave a sand trap near the opponent. While the listed normals can be canceled into a linker, they are not technically openers, since they cannot be canceled into auto-doubles or any other linker.
• Riptor: Fire and Tail Linkers: HP and HK will perform 3-hit heavy linkers using her fire breath and her tail, respectively, without any joystick motion.
  Usefulness: Riptor is the only character who can activate a linker with a single button press; HP and HK are effectively a unique type of special move during the combo sequence. However, they must follow auto-doubles, otherwise HP and HK will perform the standard 2-hit auto-double you're used to seeing. When in instinct and the opponent is locked out, her flame linkers are a good choice, and it's good for beginners who want to do basic combos, since they are able to mash HP or HK and string together hits. However, the linkers are easy to break on reaction since they are always heavies and telegraphed by obvious flame or tail animations, and Riptor tends to have better choices during most damage loops.