Meter

Shadow Counters

Shadow counters are the second way to spend your shadow meter, and they are a wholly defensive mechanic that is very essential to playing Killer Instinct.

When your character is in block stun, press MP+MK to activate a shadow counter. You must be in block stun, and it consumes one stock of shadow meter. Your character will cancel his blocking animation into a parry state that is immediately active, and you will flash white. If the opponent hits you while you are in this state, you will execute a predetermined shadow move as a counterattack and the announcer will shout "Shadow Counter!" The parry state doesn’t last for very long, and is very punishable if the opponent does not hit you.

Illustrating the shadow counter parry state. When an attack hits, a shadow move is launched, but the parry state does not last long and you are punishable. (sound)
Jago can shadow counter through Glacius's high-recovery crouching LKs, but not through Jago's faster LKs. Glacius's shadow counter is fast enough to catch Jago's LKs, however. (sound)

This defensive maneuver feels pretty similar to alpha counters from the Street Fighter Alpha series, or cross cancels from Street Fighter x Tekken, but there are some key differences here. The startup frames of the shadow move still apply, and the shadow move you perform is always a forward-traveling move which is never upper body invincible. This means shadow counters can be interrupted if your opponent hits you very rapidly after hitting your parry state, and it means that some shadow counters may be too slow to punish moves with very fast recovery. It also means that a successful shadow counter starts a combo, just like the shadow move normally would, making it a true reversal of offense and defense.

The end result of these conditions means that shadow counters actually feel a bit more like a red parry from Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, but specifically, a red parry that must be done in between the second-to-last and last hit of your opponent’s block pressure, or during a moment where you’re positive his next attack will have long delay. If you do them at the wrong time, your opponent may stuff your shadow counter outright with fast follow-up attacks, or will simply stop his offense and let your parry state whiff. Learning what block strings can and cannot be shadow countered (and how the opponent can bait them) is a key part of Killer Instinct offense.

Spinal tries to shadow counter the 3rd hit of Fulgore's shadow Blade Dash, but gets interrupted by the 4th hit. Waiting for the last hit is key. (sound)

Shadow counters keep the insane offense in check in KI. They allow shadow moves to be technically safe on block, because they are easily shadow countered for free if you have a spare stock of meter lying around; simply shadow counter after the 4th hit, but before the 5th, and your opponent will be hit during his recoverySome shadow moves, such as Jago's shadow Endokuken fireball, recover too fast to shadow counter. TJ Combo's shadow Powerline is very difficult to shadow counter because he can cancel the 5th hit. These exceptions are very rare.. For stopping offense that isn’t a blocked shadow move, they require very good reactions to use effectively. For example, all two-hit normals are free shadow counters if blocked, if you’re fast enough to recognize the situation (or your opponent becomes very predictable in his offense). Certain special moves, like Maya’s Tumble Kick, or Thunder’s Triplax, are always two or more hits on block and are risky to use as block string pressure as a result. If you block a jump-in, shadow countering immediately is an option which might blow through a predictable frame trap, as long as your opponent presses a button with suitably slow recovery.

Learning to shadow counter the last hit of blocked shadow moves is very important. Note that Jago's shadow Laser Sword is so slow that you can shadow counter any hit. (sound)
Some common examples of multi-hit normals or special moves being shadow countered. You can even counter the first hit of Orchid's Ichi-Ni-San after a normal, but the reaction must be fast. (sound)

Killer Instinct is a game full of very overpowered offensive moves, but defense is given this creative tool to counteract a lot of it. Without effective use of shadow counters, you will be left blocking for an eternity and eventually you will get opened up, which is what makes them such a crucial part of the KI system. The reactions and game knowledge required to use shadow counters effectively make it a more interesting tool than traditional alpha counters, which can be used almost any time you’re blocking for some breathing room. If you’re starting out with Killer Instinct, I would recommend you learn to shadow counter all your opponent’s shadow moves on block to begin with (tip: you will need to press the buttons a little earlier than you think while blocking the shadow move), as these situations will come up pretty often among amateur players and are very easy to handle.

Instinct Mode

The amount of instinct awarded by various actions. You earn instinct meter by taking damage or performing combo breakers. Click to enlarge.
Outside of your shadow meter and health bar, there’s one other gauge to worry about that is common to every character, and that’s your instinct meter. Instinct is represented as a yellow bar under your health bar, and it fills up as you take damage and perform combo breakers. When it’s full, your character portrait will glow red, and you can activate instinct by pressing HP+HK, at which point your instinct gauge will begin to drain. Instinct mode lasts for 15 seconds.

You should take enough damage over the course of the match to earn at least two full instinct gauges; how fast you build instinct will change based on the attacks your opponent uses and how many combo breakers you land, but you’ll earn your first instinct no later than around 30% health left on your first health bar. It’s a good idea in general to try to use your instinct before you lose your first health bar, so you can successfully build up a second instinct before the end of the match and maximize use of this powerful mechanic.

Instinct mode is Killer Instinct’s character-specific comeback mechanic; apart from some universal rules for activation, instinct mode grants different abilities for each character. Some instincts allow passive buffs that apply for its duration, while others allow access to new moves or abilities. Before we take a look at each character’s abilities in instinct, let’s discuss a few universal applications.

Sabrewulf safely instinct cancels the same mixup whether it hits or is blocked, then dodges a punish or continues the combo accordingly. Jago performs a familiar-looking combo off an instinct-canceled Tiger Fury. Watch the health gain! (sound)
First of all, if you are touching the ground, any non-throw move that hits or is blocked can be instinct canceled by pressing HP+HK. Like SFIV’s FADC, this lets you make an unsafe move safe, including invincible reversals or certain high-low mixups. The instinct activation has 0 frames of recovery, letting you block or execute another attack immediately. As any SFIV veteran will tell you, making good unsafe moves safe is an incredibly strong tactic which has numerous creative applications on offense and defense. Instinct mode also resets your KV meter to 0, which allows for longer combos on hit.

Fulgore activates instinct on his wakeup, then watches what Jago does; if Jago blocks, he throws him, and if Jago commits to a move, Fulgore punishes. Be careful trying a shadow counter on someone with instinct! (sound)
Secondly, instinct activation freezes the screen similar to a shadow move freeze. Coupled with its 0 recovery frames, this lets you freeze the screen at a moment of your choosing and see what the opponent is doing, then counterattack accordingly. This is particularly useful while being pressured on your own wakeup, or during a moment in footsies where you expect an opponent to commit. When your own move is blocked or hit, freezing the screen at the right time can also confuse your opponent’s attempt to defend. Remember, screen freezes in KI do not block inputs, so you might decide to instinct cancel a shadow move on block, thwarting your opponent’s shadow counter, or instinct cancel a move on hit, which may lead to combo breaker attempts being mistimed.

Once your instinct is active, each character gets a very strong ability unique only to them. Although it does not dominate the game to the extent Marvel vs. Capcom 3’s X-Factor does, instinct mode is still a game-changer when used correctly. The Characters page will go beyond just a basic description of each instinct mode, outlining some clever tricks and common uses, but here is a brief summary.

TJ shows off his speed increase and scary pressure game. Thunder dashes through an attack before performing some confusing left/right/throw mixups. (sound)
  • Jago: Can throw double fireballs. Each hit of every fireball that connects with an opponent, including shadow fireballs and fireball enders, heals Jago 2%. Also earns more hit advantage on his moves, allowing combos that can circumvent the normal combo rules.
  • Sabrewulf: Each move does more damage. Chip damage is substantially increased, and normals now do chip damage as well. Can feral cancel any move on hit, block, or whiff by pressing HP+HK, leading to even more potent rushdown.
  • Glacius: Wears an ice shield which absorbs one hit. If your shield gets hit, a new one will form after about three seconds. Glacius can absorb a hit and continue his offense or zoning undeterred.
  • Thunder: Forward dash is greatly sped up and invincible for a large portion, giving him frightening mobility through moves. His dash can also travel through characters and his Triplax special move can be canceled into a dash on hit or block. Each dash releases crow feathers as an effect, which further disguises his movement.
  • Sadira: Press HP+HK while in instinct to release a web trap on the screen; these web traps disappear when an opponent runs into them, or after a set period of time. Combined with Sadira’s air mobility, this leads to extended pressure and difficult to block mixups. Sadira can also jump-cancel all her normals and specials on hit or block, creating new pressure and combos.
  • Orchid: Press HP+HK while in instinct to call a firecat, which runs from off-screen behind Orchid towards the opponent. The firecat can protect Orchid if she gets hit, interrupting an opponent’s combo, or can create very difficult mixups which are made safe (not unlike a Marvel vs. Capcom 3 assist). The firecat explodes on hit or block, creating a shower of particles which further obscures Orchid’s mixups.
  • Spinal: Spinal immediately earns 5 skulls, and regenerates skulls at a set rate until instinct ends.
  • Fulgore: Fulgore’s reactor immediately reaches max spin speed, generating continuous shadow meter, and stays there regardless of how Fulgore acts.
  • TJ Combo: TJ earns a speed boost to all aspects of his grounded movement and frame data; all moves have faster startup and recovery and his dashes are faster. If TJ dies with a full instinct bar, he will lose half his instinct meter and resurrect with 20% life with instinct mode activated.
  • Maya: Immediately returns the daggers to Maya’s hands, regardless of where they were on screen. Each dagger throw will return to Maya after it comes to rest for the duration of instinct.
  • Kan-Ra: Acts as if he has a permanent sand trap under his feet. This gives him access to his Sacrifice reversal and improved movement at all times. Can also cancel normals into high jumps and dashes.
  • Riptor: All her fire and tail attacks are amplified. Fire does more damage and more range, and tail attacks extend for nearly full-screen range on some moves. Riptor also sprints incredibly fast during her forward run.

Stop stalling, tell me how to combo someone!

Combos