Lau unpopular?

Since I'm at beginner level and I'm a fan of "old master" type characters I'm naturally drawn to Lau. I have also played him on and off in the past, but it seems that among true VF fans and pro fighters Lau is looked down on. Is this true? Does he have some kind of stigma as a beginner's or a scrub character?

It won't really affect my decision to play him, but I do want to be prepared /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

 

He has a very boring style of play. Little to no flash. He just gets the job done.

 

Some people view him as a 'scrub' character, as though he's easier than others. I'll agree that initially he is easy to learn compared to some of the other cast, but using him against people who understand how he plays is no easy task. I use to hate on Lau as well, but I played him on a whim for the same reason as you, kinda, I like the "old master" type characters as well lol. I ended up loving him, his jump attacks feel so natural to me and I like the little flashy stuff he does have. His hit throw, bounce combos, and the launch combos off of the /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/f.gif/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/p.gif+ /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/k.gif counter hit do it for me.

Plus he yells OHHhh YeeaaAAHHHHH!!! When he does some of his moves.

 

Matt_K: I seem to remember someone saying that before (meaning back when I used to lurk these boards a couple years ago). That basically people didn't play Lau because he was "boring but efficient".

KrsJin: Heh, well at least I'm not alone there. I just wanted to know what I was in for, that's all. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif Thanks for the reply, and for mentioning this in the other thread, too.

 

I think it is the other way around. Lau is so popular and doesn't need much of an introduction. At the beginner level, Lau is often looked down on probably because of his d/f+ppp d+k or b+k and be very effective. But this is not the case on mid or higher level of play. Some of his high damage combos like b,f+p requires fast stance reading and strict timing.

 

Well if he is so popular, why is it that I rarely see him being played? Particularly at high levels, I rarely see Lau. I see a lot of Akira, Shun, Sarah, etc. If I had to venture a guess, it would be the aforementioned "boring" bit, that Lau isn't as flashy as most characters and is more substance than style.

I know from hanging around here long enough that all characters are challenging and rewarding at high level play. I'm just playing Lau because it feels right and I like his character aesthetics.

Then again I also like Vanessa aesthetically, but she seems like someone I'd play when I'm better at the game. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif

 

Look at this thread:
http://virtuafighter.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/168404#Post168404
Lau has a fairly high usage rate there.
(lol akai u post faster than I do)

 

Hmm hmm, well I won't pretend to know more than you guys, so I will definitely take your word for it /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

I made up my mind that I was going to play whoever I wanted regardless of things like popularity or unpopularity or how the character is viewed, etc. Just whoever felt right to me. That's how it should be, ne?

Thanks for the chart link, Plasma. Very interesting, indeed.

 

Lau isn't unpopular he just isn't wildly popular like Akira, Jacky, and Sarah are in the USA. There are quite a few lau players in america compared to say Goh, Vanessa, Shun, and Aoi.

 

I know I'm tossing this in late but I do love Lau. I think he is pretty straightforward in many ways but such a fun character to play. He really does have some of the meanest throws in the game and they are all pretty easy to pull off. Besides that he has a mean game of punishment and a bunch of fast attacks.

Probably one deficiency is he requires a little more imagination to break up an otherwise predictable game. I keep falling on old patterns and those will get you killed.

Overall - love the guy though. He rocks.

-Shiz

 

Well - here is a link to my Lau video archive. I have two - one with Lau winning and one with Lau losing. The Lau winning one has some pretty cool matches and the Lau losing ones are good to see some of the moves which will get Lau stuffed consistently against good players.

Check it out here:

Lau Winning Videos on You Tube

Lau Loses Videos on You Tube - Study these

I hope that can help out some people!

-Shiz

 

Cool, thanks for those vids Shiznittles.

 

Yah, those are my favorites. I go back and watch them when I feel myself getting predictable. I love the old man! He's a rock star.

KrsJin - Have you been playing Lau online? I think I only squared once against your Wolf (?). Apologies if I got that wrong. I'd love to see your Lau. If you're feeling froggy some night let's go a couple rounds. You're on my friends list already GT = Dark(space)Timmy

-Tim

 

Oh snap you're Dark Timmy? I played you first day, both Lau. You had sent me an invite saying we should play more sometime. You actually used your mic, AND were nice lol.

Though, I've been playing with my main, Jacky for the most part. Always down to play with Lau though, he's my secondary as of now, but love playing em anyway.

 

That's right! Damn - Apologies for the mix-up. Yah -Jacky or Lau is fine with me. I enjoy playing a few rounds in a row against someone. S'fun. The ranked matches are cool but I always finish some of the close ones with the thought "If we played again would I win/lose?" At least in the non-ranked we can play consecutive matches and maybe I can learn more about a person's style.

Ah - I was just going through Jacky's moves today in the Dojo. He used to be my old main but I moved from him to Lau since Evo. I was thinking of bringing up Pai as a second but *maybe* it's time for the Jackster to come back! Yah baby!!!

How you have been doing with Jacky and Lau on Live? I haven't seen too many Lau's out there but the few I have are pretty decent. Same with Jacky.

-Tim (Shiznittles)

 

Wow I can really relate to that you tube video of lau loss vs eileen. haha

Start strong with 2 quick round wins, then get third round down to a sliver of health and choke ><

Then of course get spanked round 4 and 5

 

that Eileen/Lau vid is crazy. Who is that Eileen player?