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.

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.

Video example by ShowYouCan

Countering Krohnen

Be wary of Krohnen's strengths:

• a dangerous light confirm that cannot be challenged with guard roll punishes.
• 2A that can clip jumps
• 6A that multihits, anti-hops, and can be quick-maxed on reaction against shatter strike
• a frametrap from light confirm to 236AC that starts a combo and is safe on block
• Long reach jump attacks that can be difficult to aa
• Long reach 2C that is used to confirm

Counters to patterns:

• Krohnens who get a lot of respect may cancel into 214D or follow up jumps with it to confirm or restart pressure. Can reaction counter with neutral hop combo or shatter strike
• Special cancels to fireballs can be guard roll punished
• After blocking Krohnen's 3D (slide), block high to make 214B less safe (-6 to -4 after the v1.7 patch). Easier to punish well near corner.

General fundamental counters:

• Attack players' antiair confidence by hyper hopping in outside of DP range (may need to empty jump)
• Vs antiair focus, run up throw (especially for fast characters) or wide super jump as Krohnen's antiairs now have blind spots.
• Vs button mashing to counter runs, hyper hop or shatter strike
• Vs close range hops with enough time, use an antiair poke (may need to run first to increase range) or risky gamble with a slow antiair or shatter strike
• If opponent seems to want to spam pokes like 6A, create space with backdash
• In general, consider pressing the attack when you expect the opponent to think
• Use your characters' strengths to make your opponent change playstyle to counter your options, then counter accordingly.
• Make opponents whiff as run up throw becomes a stronger mixup option when the opponent does not have throw invul