The King of Fighters XV/Krohnen/Strategy
General Gameplan
Krohnen (formerly K9999) focuses on controlling the mid-range with his great pokes and anti-airs. His invincible dp, Heat Shield, is an incredible tool when used properly that can dissuade the opponent from approaching carelessly. Once you've convinced the opponent that you are capable of defending your space you can take advantage of their hesitation by pestering them with pokes or by going on the offensive.
Krohnen's pokes are excellent. His 4f crouching jabs are great for checking approaches and winning scrambles. For long-range harassment you can use 2C which lowers Krohnen's hurtbox substantially to go under opposing pokes or fireballs while putting a long-range normal out that can be canceled into specials. 6A is an advancing attack with great reach that knocks down on hit and can be super canceled or Quick Max canceled for additional damage. For a surprise long-range low Krohnen can throw out 3D - though this is quite risky as it's not cancelable when done raw unless you have 2 bars for a Quick Max.
Like K9999 and Nameless, Krohnen has multi-hitting jumping normals (j.A and j.C) that are active until he reaches the ground. In KOF15 they only need to blocked high on the first hitbox which forces Krohnen players to time their attacks more precisely if they are trying to open up a crouching opponent. Thus the move comes out slower and at more predictable spacings which in turn makes his offensive capabilities feel less overwhelming than in previous games. As such Krohnen needs to play a more universal pressure-oriented game to crack people's defenses. Luckily his overhead (c.5D) is faster and more rewarding now and his specials remain situationally useful. His jump CD helps players approach from the air and can be used to air-to-air and/or air-to-ground based on the timing it is pressed during the jump.
Blaze Thrower (236A/C) can be used to poke the opponent from a short distance and for pressure in the corner. Heat Shield (623A/C) is probably his most important tool as its hitbox allows him to anti-air anything that comes into contact with him. Like Blaze Thrower, it dissipates any incoming projectiles, further adding to its utility. Strike Slash (214B/D) makes Krohnen hop towards the opponent and slash after a short amount of time.
Worth noting that the EX version of all of his special moves have juggle properties to them on hit - EX Blaze Thrower crumples on hit, EX Heat Shield launches the opponent upwards, and EX Strike Slash causes a ground bound on hit and is projectile invincible.
Neutral
Pressure
Mixups
Defense
Okizeme
Safejumps
After c.D
If you hit the opponent with an OTG c.D, you can time a forward hop into h.D. If they try to use an invincible reversal like a DP, you will land and block it. If they do not, they will get hit or block h.D. You can time this safejump by whiffing a 2A after c.D. The timing is very tight. Practice.
