C. Viper (SFIV)

Crimson Viper

Introduction

Forum Links

C. Viper Q&A: Quick questions here please

C.Viper Moveset and Attributes

C.Viper Combos and Glitches

C.Viper Strategies and Match-ups

Notation

• F - Forward - Tilt stick forward/towards the opponent. (X-axis)
• B - Backward/Back - Tilt stick backward/away from the opponent. (X-axis)
• U - Up - Tilt stick upwards. (Y-axis)
• D - Down - Tilt stick downwards. (Y-axis)
• QCF - D, DF, F - Quarter circle forward/Hadouken/Fireball - Tilt stick downwards, then to downwards and forward, then forward.
• QCB - D, DB, B - Quarter circle backward - Tilt stick downwards, then to downwards and backward, then backward.
• HCF - Half circle forward - Tilt stick backwards, then to downwards and backward, then to downward, then to downwards and forward, then forward.
• HCB - Half circle backward - Tilt stick forwards, then to downwards and forward, then to downward, then to downwards and backward, then backward.
• DP - F, D, DF - Dragon punch - Tilt stick forwards, then to downward, then to downward and forward. In SFIV, there is a "shortcut" for this motion: DF, neutral, DF.
• 360 - Full circle - Complete a full rotation of the stick.
• 720 - Complete a 720 degree rotation of the stick.
• Charge - Hold a tilt - Hold the stick in either B or D (Depending) then move to F or U respectively.

X-axis functions can be used interchangeably with Y-axis functions and vice versa. X-axis functions cannot be used in conjunction with another X-axis function and vice versa.

Six Button Notation

• Jab - weak punch (also called LP or WP)
• Strong - medium punch (also called MP)
• Fierce - fierce punch (also called HP or FP)
• P - any punch
• PP or 2P - any two punches simultaneously
• PPP or 3P - all three punches simultaneously

• Short - weak kick (also called LK or WK)
• Forward - medium kick (also called MK)
• Roundhouse (RH) - fierce kick (also called HK)
• K = any kick
• KKK or 3K - all three kicks simultaneously

Connectors

• ~ Immediately after, e.g "Strong~Fierce" means press Fierce IMMEDIATELY after Strong, f~f means to double tap forward (dash).
• , Link
• xx Cancel

State Modifiers

• st. - The following move should be performed in the standing position (neutral in the Y-axis). i.e. st.Fierce, perform a Fierce whilst standing.
• cr. - The following move should be performed in the crouched position (held down in the Y-axis). i.e. cr.Fierce, perform a Fierce whilst crouching.
• j. - The following move should be performed in the "in the air" position (After having held up in the Y-axis). i.e. j.Fierce, perform a Fierce whilst in the air.

Miscellaneous Notation

• Claw = American Vega = Japanese Balrog
• Boxer = American Balrog = Japanese Bison
• Dictator (Dic) = American Bison = Japanese Vega

Not everyone plays on the American version, and some character names are different in the Japanese version, so to avoid confusion, we should not use the names Vega, Bison, or Balrog.

Move Analysis

Normal Throws

Ab Fitness

• LP + LK or F + LP + LK

Temple Massage

• B + LP + LK

Command Normals

Viper Elbow (Overhead)

• F + MP

Double Kick

• F + HK

Special Moves

Thunder Knuckle (Armor Breaker, EX Version Available) Abv.TK

• QCB + P

• LP version goes under most projectiles
• LP, MP Version can cancel into Super
• HP Version as an Anti-Air can combo into Ultra/Super afterwards, on a traded hit Dash then combo into Ultra/HP Thunder Knuckle
• EX Version on Hit causes crumple state

Thunder Knuckle Feint (EX Version Available)

• QCB + P~PP

• Used in combos to connect Normals that usually wouldn't e.g: cr.HP, HP Thunder Knuckle Feint, cr.HP (aka Fierce Feint Fierce abbreviated as FFF)

Burning Kick (Also performed in the Air, EX Version Available) Abv.BK

• QCB + K

Seismic Hammer/Seismo (EX Version Available)

• DP + P

Seismic Hammer Feint (EX Version Available)

• DP + P~PP

High Jump/Super Jump

• D then immediately UB/U/UF
• Used for High/Super Jump canceling Abv. HJC / SJC

Super Move

Emergency Combination

• QCF x 2 + P

Ultra Move

Burst Time (Armor Break Properties)

• QCF x 2 + PPP

Combos

Bread and Butter / Beginner

• cr.MP xx MP TK
• cr.MK xx MP TK
• st.LK, st.MP xx MP TK
• st.MP, cr.MP xx MP TK
• cr.MP, cr.MP xx MP TK
• cr.LK, st.LK, cr.MP xx MP TK
• st.LK, st.LK, cr.MP xx MP TK
• cr.HP xx HP TK Feint, cr.HP aka: Fierce Feint Fierce Abv FFF*

Intermediate

• FFF xx MP TK
• st.HP xx EX Seismo, SJC, MK/HK BK
• FFF xx EX Seismo, SJC, MK/HK BK

Advanced

• FFF xx EX Seismo, SJC FADC*, cr.HK

*More Info Coming

Matchups

'Matchup Videos' Find a great collection of matchup specific videos from top players at streetfighterdojo.com
Contributor: zaspacer

Match-up Information taken from:

C.Viper Strategies and Match-ups

ABEL

Abel is actually an even match for Viper. Neither one really dominates the other. Abel wins if he gets a successful knockdown since Viper is ass on wakeup. But Abel loses to great tk spacing by Viper. Once you space him correctly, it will be easier to jump in on some laggy normal he throws out.

Moreover, try and resist the urge of burn kicking from about half screen to 3/4ths screen unless you're going backwards. Wheel kicks will stuff you whole around 65-75% of the time, giving Abel an untechable knockdown. Super Jumping straight up and burn kicking can beat it, but the timing is really funky to be practical. Also, EX dp grab will grab you out of all BK's (high, instant, floating, all of them), so sometimes in situations where you would burn kick, do a meaty forward + mp to bait the EX air grab out then punish with cr. mp xx mp tk/ultra.

Also try to throw all rolls near you on reaction. The are throwable all day, so try and throw as many that you can see. On an untechable knockdown, dash up instant burn kick acts as an auto bait for a roll as you recover in time for throw. Seismo feints can sometimes also bait rolls as well.

Seismo xx tk feint is pretty good in this match as well. Also be wary of when Abel has ultra since you can't Seismo him as often because of it. - CoosCoos

Abel is a slippery guy with useful moves that can counter Viper's pressure really well. Plus he earns his living off that cross-up jump MK, and we all know Viper has a tough time dealing with cross-ups.

If he knocks down, prepare for some ugly mix-ups: cross-up into crouch HP, into standing HP, into crouch MP into change of direction, land into Tornado Throw, tick into Tornado Throw, EX Tornado Throw...the list goes on, and they all hurt.

Reversal EX Burning Kick can get Viper outta there, though. But if you miss the timing, you're gonna get hurt.

Standing jab. Puts him right next to you, where you want him. - The Lone Dragon

AKUMA (GOUKI)

There's really like no point for Akuma to rush in on Viper. His EX demon flip allows him to safely move towards her in an instant if he ever wants to but if he has a health lead he doesn't need to do that either. That's the main reason why the matchup is pretty even for both characters. Akuma does a great job staying away from Viper but if Viper catches him on one mistake she rapes his health hard on even the most basic of her combos. If she gets him in a situation to combo into her Ultra the game is pretty much done. At that point Akuma has zero health and Akuma's abilities to set up raging demon on Viper are limited due to being able to LK/air LK burn kick on reaction to escape or punish any raging demon attempt. The matchup for Akuma is basically like fighting an extremely mobile Sagat minus having to deal with f+HK and tiger shot fireball wars. Unless Viper is knocked down or he's planning an attack that will surely knock her down it's not in his interest at all to go anywhere near her without a clear plan of action.

I don't have a ton of experience on the matchup but from what I've seen it's basically just stay back and try to MP/HP seismo punish him for his air fireballs from a distance and if he tries to demon flip you backdash out, vertical jump HK or reaction Ultra him if possible. You can also super jump burn kick, dash forward into MP knuckle or EX thunder knuckle air fireball attempts that aren't super tight in spacing. Viper luckily has a lot of ways to punish air fireball attemps that half the cast can't really deal with other than to sit there and block or play the fireball game with him.

If you do knock him down and are able to do a jump in on his wake up you have to pretty much assume Akuma is going to teleport or once in a blue moon try wake up demon. You have to be prepared for both and react accordingly to ever open up big damage on Akuma. If you can score knockdowns and then punish teleports or at least stay near him after the teleport he'll be much easier to deal with. Next time you knock him down he'll only have DP's, focus attack and blocking to stay away from you at that point and Viper can take advantage of all of those easily.

I would say probably the hardest Akuma to deal with is one that can footsie well. At Evo we pretty much all figured out that shoto low forward is clearly the best poke in the game. If they're not afraid to play a poking game with you, you have to be ready to react with the right counter. I'm still learning it all myself but it seems similar to most shotos. If he's sticking out low forward specifically well timed that beats out a lot of what you have to offer. If he thinks you're going to go for EX seismo to get him to move or punish a whiff he can just walk up to you and time it so it beats it before it comes out. Viper's f+MP and LK burn kick I find are good for dealing with low forward footsies and forcing Akuma to do something different since that goes over all shoto low pokes. Then when you have him nervous about throwing low pokes you can set up your own c.MP/c.MK footsies and set up spacing for cross up burn kicks which sets up the knockdown mind games.

Akuma's f+HK is also difficult since outside of far range Viper doesn't have a lot to really deal with it other than crouch blocking or LP thunder knuckling under it. If you know it's coming from a close distance and have 2 meters you can blow through it with HP knuckle and then FADC to protect yourself incase he blocks instead. Otherwise just block and try to tech, LK burn kick or backdash the eventual throw attempt during the block string. - DevilJin 01

Taken from: The New Akuma Match-up Thread

Guaranteed Demons:

• F+MP (Super only)
• Blocked MP Thunder Knuckle (Super only)
• Blocked HP Thunder Knuckle
• Blocked Super/Ultra - dthboi

BOXER

Well the way you set up the damaging stuff vs. Boxer is to get him in bad situations on wake up or via burn kick pressure. You have to sort of remember that if you whiff a lp tk, you're going to be in some hurt, as well as taking improper burn kick angles will get you hurt as well.

Also remember that you can throw all EX punches and TAP as well. This is very important that you practice this since it's from about a little inside sweep range.

Your burn kick pressure will be useful in this match. The better it is, the easier the time you will have. The reason for this is that because of the constant crossing, it will cause the Boxer to continuously switch sides. And if he is continuing switching sides, that means he cannot consistently keep a back charge which is important. Also, when you have him in pressure, elbows keep him from having a down charge.

Try and not burn kick towards him at about half screen. Good Boxers can and will jump back hp you, or crouching hp you if you did the kick high. Sometimes during seismo chains, you can do Seismo xx lp/mp tk to inch closer to him, but it's best to do this from about half to 3/4ths screen. About Seismos, if you can get him to land on seismos from when he jumps, it will be a lot of help to you.

Off of a hard knockdown, meaty cr. lk beats all reversal headbutts except EX which will go under it or you'll recover in time to block IIRC. Also, I find that in this match, I go for a lot of quick rise situations. That's because this is the easiest way to him into burn kick pressure, and eventually from the burn kick pressure, open him up to the ambiguous j. mk/hk for good damage.

And always respect the jabs. Try really hard to stay out of his jab range, and make sure you block when he's got you in pressure. The best escapes I've found in this matchup are lk bk and hp tk xx fadc. Back dash also works, but do not abuse it. Good boxers will dash punch you if you try and escape.

On a back throw, or a cr. fierce xx ex seismo xx sjc fadc sweep combo, there is a way to set up a burn kick angle where should the Boxer try and escape with an EX dash punch, he will go the other way leaving him close to you for punishment. To set this up, try taking a slight step forward, then normal jump and lk burn kick.

Also, as mentioned getting just outside of of a max range jab dash punch lets you neutral jump and punish for big damage. - CoosCoos

You can't play a footsie game with Rog...because every button he has beats pretty much all of your buttons. He can pretty much choose a button and it beats what you have to offer normal wise. Jumping at him won't do you much good because he'll give you the Rufus treatment and c.HP or jump back HP you out of most anything. If you get knocked down...oh god you are so limited it's dumb. I noticed what Uryo likes to do is start the round off by moving just close enough to Rog for him to want to dash punch at you and then baiting him insta super jump burn kick backwards and then you can catch him on the recovery with your burn kick landing on his head or if you fall away from him you can EX seismo or Ultra him.

This is one of those matches you can play the "brickhouse" game with though similar to Blanka since Viper does a pretty good job at least keeping Rog out for a while and that gives you time to sit on a health lead and gain momentum for later on to win the fight. The problem is it's hard to mount any offense on Rog unless he makes a clear mistake or you otherwise knock him down with a seismo or cross up burn kick. Which he definitely has options for those but those options are safer than anything else you could try to do to him.

Once you have the health lead then you realize that there's no way you're going to win trying to chip him to death with seismos and Balrog can easily TAP or dash punch through one of your seismos if you get predictable. At this point you're going to have to play the trade game with him and use your LP knuckles to at least be able to pressure him. Even if you are trading with dash punches if you are in the lead health wise it should give you enough time to move in and throw, EX seismo, or cross up burn kick behind Rog and gain a knockdown which from there you can apply pressure.

Good Rog players will know to use EX dash punch to get out of cross ups and what not but you can mix this up by throwing them out of the dash punches. Scrubby Rogs you can just jump on all day since all they do is EX headbutt and that's super easy to safe jump and punish on whiff or block. - DevilJin 01

BLANKA

Blanka can be a difficult fight for Viper but Blanka Ball is not really one of the main reasons why it is. Actually...it's one of the better parts of the matchup for Viper. Blanka's tough mainly because he has very solid pokes and air normals that are difficult for Viper to deal with. EX electricity and EX balls make him very risky to cross up as well. That's on top of the fact that his crouching hit box is very small as well.

People who just throw around Blanka balls recklessly should be easy wins for you. Blanka ball can be punished with dp+P (seismo hammer) as he's falling towards the ground after you block one. So everytime you block a blanka ball go for EX seismo (if you have it) or the correct regular seismo depending on distance and HJC burn kick after him to combo or to gain distance and stay on top of him.

Blanka is doable/even only because he can't do damage from a distance and your zoning tools against Blanka are quite effective. Most scrub/newer Viper players tend to wanna go after Blanka like he's a shoto but what they don't realize is that Blanka moves quicker than Viper and will always beat her to the punch with a ball, jump in, command dash or slide. Once he has meter you can't even cross him up without getting EX upballed.. They also don't block and reversal seismo blanka balls so they think Blanka can just ball them all day without reprocussion. As long as you space yourself well and make him fear walking or balling into seismos he can't get near you and once you get the health you take control. If he tries a random jump in and you HP knuckle trade him he's done so he doesn't wanna try that and that'll limit him to shenanigans that even if he gets near you don't guarantee him any real damage.

The only way to lose to Blanka at high level is to get put in the corner (jab electricity strings kill Viper quick) or get mixed up and knocked down for so long that you get dizzied. The only other way to die quick to Blanka is to get shenaniganed into his 50/50 ultra which requires you to be knocked down and have his Ultra. Which that's your fault for letting Blanka get in to begin with. - DevilJin 01

CLAW

Against Claw's wall dives either focus that shit and punish, or hj. mp/hk his ass. Pretty much all you need is one knockdown and then you can go to town with various cross ups with burning kicks, and normals and stuff. If he flips away, just either dash up and punish, or just wait until he lands then EX siesmo that shit. - CoosCoos

DICTATOR

Bison is tough though since his pokes are very solid and you have to get aggressive and fake a lot on the wake up against him or he just gets away and resets his positioning. If you can stay on top of Bison and get momentum going after a knockdown he'll have a hard time winning from there. Scrubby Bison's abuse his flying specials all day and that's easy to beat. It's the better players who know that Bison's ground game really messes with a lot that Viper has that are tough. Bait out scissors with seismo/knuckle feints, punish whiffed s.HK's with jab thunder knuckle. -DevilJin 01

Against devil's reverse, seismo that shit, its not safe at all, if he's near you (like trying to hit you with it) ex seismo through it, if he just spams it in the corner, do fierce seismo. Go to training mode and check it out, do devil's reverse and hold down back when you land, theres a point where bison stays standing when he lands before he crouches that you can hit. Against stomps i just back dash and go for throw. - True_Tech

Stay out of short scissor kick range. Very important to not let him get into his post mix up game after that. He can st.roundhouse jumps, EX scissor kick back dashes (punishable on block with a quick low strong -> knuckle though), EX psycho crusher if you try to walk up grab/press anything, and he can just short scissor kick again if you do nothing.

Stay out of the corner, Extremely important, him putting Viper in the corner is a nightmare, same reasons as above, but his options are much dirtier since you can't back dash.

Less jumping around. Bison can abuse his j.strongs and EX stomps a lot, so jumping is not really an option here. I use it sparingly if I walk back and make a poke whiff, because this is the time where he doesn't have a down charge, and his st.roundhouse will come out late if he presses it.

Don't challenge his pokes with yours. Seriously, even with low strong...it's not happening for Viper.

If the Bison is scrubby and doing his air specials...you can walk/dash under or away from his stomp point, and then if he did devil's reverse, just EX seismo and combo it.

Meaty overhead, then walk back and block option select on his wake up. If he wakes up with EX PC, it's slow and you can block. If he wakes up with EX stomp, you walk back and low fierce into punish it. If he wakes up with EX devil's reverse (looks like EX stomp but then he reverses) you can EX seismo it. Really hard to get used to this option select but it becomes useful.

Meaty jump roundhouse, then walk back. Same option select as above, if you have more time this one is a good option.

HJ short burning kick. Well it loses to EX stomp and earns you losing a lot of life bar if he does that. But, you can kick him out of EX PC. So the way I use that is...find out which wake up works for him when he gets away. Then for example...if it is EX PC, I'll burning kick it once, then the next time try and catch the stomp. -MagnetoManiac

With Dictator, burning kick mixups work well when he does not have meter. When he does have meter, he can escape fairly easy by an EX move of his choice. Also, remember that you can either st. lp or lp thunder knuckle under his st. hk at certain distances. Also, if you sniff out a devil's reverse, figure out where he lands and use the correct seismo to hit hin and gain ground. Also remember to dash back and punish headstomp attempts. -CoosCoos

The first part I think about when punishing EX headstomp is to know it's coming in the first place. Know the situations in which Bison can headstomp. You're not going to be able to beat it if you don't catch him when he's in position to do it. Basically if Bison is walking back and forth or throwing out standing pokes at you you know he can't do it. But if Bison is crouch blocking or laying on the ground after getting knocked down you know he's prepping for that or EX devil reverse. Jumping forward or backward repeatedly is also a good sign that they're using their jump to hide crouch charging the stomp. Especially if you can see them crouching after a jump.

Luckily most scrub players think EX headstomp is free damage since it beats most aerial and AA moves that's so that's what you'll see most of the time. Better players know to mix it up with devil reverse. Against scrubby stomp whores...once you can see that they are going for it all you have to do is react to it. The safest way to react is to simply block it and then try and AA his mix up as he flies down. Or just block that too. Yet if you do that all day you're just setting yourself up to get mixed up and thrown around all day and you don't want that either. Absolute best thing to do is to is walk backwards against or backdash the stomp just before it hits you and there's plenty of time to hit him as he flies down. He has a whole recovering animation if he doesn't touch anything. Throw him, combo him, ultra him whatever. If you can figure he's going for a stomp early you can also walk or dash forward under him as well.

DONT focus or AA the EX headstomp. Focusing the headstomp forces you to take a 1/4th of your health in focus damage and if you get hit again you lose nearly half your life for no reason at all. EX stomp beats out pretty much all of Viper's AA's except for a PERFECTLY timed EX seismo or Ultra. Smarter players will know to mix in EX devil's reverse since there's no way to tell if he's going to switch between one or the other. If you try to AA him and he mixes up and goes for Devil's Reverse...you get smacked. Not as hard as with EX stomp but he'll be right in your face and ready to pressure. This is pretty obviously but jumping up and trying to swat Bison out of the air is a no no also.

Lastly what you want to do is learn how to deal with EX headstomp when you knock Bison down. This is one of Bison's get off me moves and if he times it right on the wake up he can stuff out a burn kick with it making it risky to burn kick on top of him during wake up (his Ultra too). The idea mainly when you knock Bison down is that he'll probably get away unless he has no meter at all. This is kinda what you want though since Bison with little to no meter is much easier to deal with. The best thing to do is safe jump him on the wake up. Which is essentially jumping at him while preparing to block if your jump in whiffs. You wanna time it so the jump in touches him right before he wakes up. This way if he gets antsy and does EX stomp you'll be safe since it won't touch you being you're on the ground and you'll waste his meter. Along with that you can punish him by walking/dashing forward or behind him. -DevilJin 01

Side notes vs Bison:

st.strong can stop some of his shit. Not to be whiffed though, you'll need some good experience playing with a shorter poke. It has a bit more priority or speed over st.forward.

cr.strong is good as always, but not as much in this match up. Still something to make your opponent watch for, though.

cr.forward sparingly can really give Bison some trouble. If you make him come to you, he won't have charge while walking up. cr.forwrd has a pretty low hitbox, just enough to go under his roundhouse at the right range. So they will start to st.forward. The good news about that is, st.forward can be jumped. And you guys know what happens when Viper jumps a poke.

Low knuckle is a life saver at further distances. It's really hard for Bison to find an answer to if he isn't sitting on charge. Just make sure you don't use it to the point where he will get jumpy. If so, then look for his jump. Just a reminder, this is better over the medium knuckle because it goes under his roundhouse. -MagnetoManiac

I personally wouldn't focus Bison stomp...period. Even if you get a spacing advantage it gives Bison a huge incentive to suddenly rush you the hell down. If he randomly hits you or trades with any attack of yours you lose a 3rd of your life or more for free. Close to half life even if he hits you real early after the focus. You're better off just plain old back dashing or walking under it if you see it early. If you can't do either of those just block and watch out for the mix up after. - DevilJin 01

RUFUS

Let him have it until he has 1 EX bar. After that, you really have to be careful because EX Messiah Kick really bails him out of everything.

Keep him honest by doing a lot of TK and Seismo feints. Otherwise, he'll definitely control the offensive tempo.

Have the mental discipline to never jump at him. His 2-hit jumping roundhouse to EX Jumping Hand Slaps automatically take off 1/3 of your life.

Unlike Viper, Rufus relies a lot more on jumping in on you to attack. It's good to do the appropriate standing/crouching jabs. If you stuff him once or twice after a jab, try using Viper's Overhead to hit him out of a subsequent attempt if he's getting a little too happy with the dive kicks. You can hit him before he even rises up.

Definitely try to have more health than Rufus throughout the match. Once you are down to your last sliver of life, Rufus has too many options to chip away that last part to KO you.

Rufus has a ton of safe options compared to Viper. It makes for a difficult fight IMO. EX Messiah Kick to get you off him, his ability to really make Viper pay for jumping with the aforementioned air juggle to EX Hand Slaps, crouching shorts or dive kicks to a combo that ends with a spin attack knockdown, dive kicks are sometimes hard to deal with if you are knocked down, etc.

Rufus can snuff an Air Burning Kick with a normal attack cleanly (where he sits on the ground and extends his fists upward). This means don't follow up with Air Burning Kicks if he blocks an EX Seismo.

FP Thunder Knuckle needs to be used often, at appropriate times. Link Ultras as best as you can, in any way possible... because you don't get many chances to get in on him and you will end up having an Ultra stocked most of the time due to his ability to deal you major damage.

Jumping straight up and fending him off works some of the time. Just make sure you are at least half-screen away.

If you do a combo, but feel like there may be a gap where Rufus can retaliate... definitely stop and just block, or High Jump backwards and get out of there. An EX Messiah Kick may be coming. - Kunai

If you're pressured, block a dive kick high and mash out short burning kicks. You'll either burning kick his throw or you'll get hit once and reset. One time, I used this, got reset, and he tried to re-dive kick my reset and I fierce knuckled trade into dash ultra.

F+MP rapes this guy, especially when he doesn't have meter. The best thing to do after is to just block, the risk of EX messiah/jump roundhouse is too big. Maybe you can back dash but I don't know if it's 100% safe. I don't know what happens when EX burning kick and EX messiah collide, but it could be an option if he's low on health and you know he's going for it. - MagnetoManiac

Rufus dive kick rushdown gets snuffed out by ex burning kick. dunno what else helps against that crap, it really makes Rufus back off which is always a good thing. - Lime Green Ninja

You just cant let Rufus get in basically you gotta keep him out and kill him asap. - FlashMetroid

The thing to look for is just to either abuse his low stun, or just limit his options. When you get an ultra, Viper will almost always land it. If you don't, then he's obviously not doing anything...which you can capitalize on if he's really afraid of it.

I said once before trade knuckle into dash ultra gives this guy a really hard time. It still does, I love that shit on his dive kicks...it almost always works.

EX messiah is like non-factor to Viper's offensive and stun game. If you land an ambiguous roundhouse into double fierce combo, we're talking about 1 hit away from stunning if he isn't already.

Something cool you can do, only against good Rufus players though...if they want to do a deep dive kick, you can use the invincibility of EX seismo to evade the hit, and when it comes out you hit them with a 'trip guard' hit which they can't avoid (hits the recovery landing frames of the dive kick).

Basically, you can have fun with Rufus...he isn't hard once you get the options down and limit him. - MagnetoManiac

Rufus isn't necessarily easy either yeah. He really takes advantage of Viper's so so wake up options once he knocks her down. It's easy for her to get overwhelmed if her blocking and reaction isn't good. Plus his air game overall is stronger in the matchup simply because j.HK or EX snake strike hitting you out of the air = peaced out Viper. I still think Viper has options vs. Rufus though. Her ability to use cross up burn kick to beat EX Messiah allows her to play with Rufus on the wake up a bit more than some other characters.

It's just when it comes to footsies and the air game it's tough for Viper to keep up since she has to stick to some basic normals and vertical jump HK for spacing. Anything else gets pretty risky. You can try to beat him air to air if you see an opportunity as he's landing from a dive kick or jump in but generally Rufus seems to have the advantage in the matchup as far as spacing and damage. Just another one of those matches where you really gotta take your time. - DevilJin 01

Playing too defensive against Rufus is what he wants, because Viper's anti-airs are not solid. He will dive kick you all day and harass you if you let him. It is especially hard to stop him once he has half a super bar and an Ultra stocked.

Best bet is to make him waste EX bars using EX Messiah Kick. Ways to do that are foward + MP or varied air attacks that will either hit him before he attempts a move (like jumping WK)... or will help you drop to the ground w/o much damage if he tries to do EX Messiah Kick. Rufus totally hates foward and MP because of the relative safeness forward + MP has against EX Messiah, and it sometimes hits him out of dive kick attempts if he is too close to you.

Knockdowns on Rufus when he has no meter is what you definitely want. He will have no way of stopping you and you can play jumping HK or Burning Kick cross-up games all day with him. If he has 1 EX bar, he will definitely do EX Messiah Kick or the EX Jumping Hands to kill your momentum and take away a lot of your life.

Don't be predictable, watch his meters, stay out of the corner and you should be okay against him. - Kunai

Frame Data

							Frames	Frames	Frames of	Frames of	Super Meter	Block	Cancel	Ability
Move Name	Damage	Stun	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Block	On Hit	Block Stun	Hit Stun	Gain	HL	Chain	Special	Super	Notes
Close LP	20	50	4	2	7	12	+2	+5	10	13	20	HL	O	O	O	-
Close MP	60	100	5	2	9	15	+3	+6	13	16	40	HL	X	O	O	-
Close HP	90	200	9	2	16	26	0	+5	17	22	60	HL	X	O	O	Forces stand
Close LK	20	50	5	1	7	12	+3	+6	10	13	20	HL	O	O	O	-
Close MK	60	100	7	4	11	21	-1	+2	13	16	40	HL	X	O	O	-
Close HK	40*60	125*75	12	1(8)3	17	40	-2	+3	17	22	60*20	HL	X	X	O	Forces stand
Far LP	20	50	6	2	7	14	+2	+5	10	13	20	HL	O	O	O	-
Far MP	70	100	7	2	12	20	0	+3	13	16	40	HL	X	X	O	-
Far HP	100	200	14	4	16	33	-1	+4	17	22	60	HL	X	X	X	-
Far LK	30	50	6	2	8	15	+1	+4	10	13	20	HL	X	O	O	-
Far MK	60	100	8	3	11	21	0	+3	13	16	40	HL	X	X	X	-
Far HK	100	200	11	6	15	31	-1	+3	17	21	60	HL	X	X	X	-
crouch LP	20	50	4	2	10	15	-1	+2	10	13	20	HL	O	O	O	-
crouchMP	60	100	5	3	9	16	+2	+5	13	16	40	HL	X	O	O	-
crouch HP	90	200	8	2	18	27	-2	+2	17	21	60	HL	X	O	O	-
crouch LK	20	50	5	2	12	18	-3	0	10	13	20	L	O	O	O	Low attack
crouch MK	60	100	7	3	16	25	-5	-2	13	16	40	L	X	O	O	Low attack
crouch HK	100	200	12	3	18	32	-3	D	17	-	60	L	X	X	X	Low attack, cannot fast recover
Jump up LP	40	50	5	7	-	-	-	-	8	11	20	H	-	-	-	-
Jump up MP	70	100	7	6	-	-	-	-	11	15	40	H	-	O	-	-
Jump up HP	90	200	8	6	-	-	-	-	15	18	60	H	-	O	-	-
Jump up LK	30	50	6	5	-	-	-	-	8	11	20	H	-	O	-	-
Jump up MK	70	100	9	5	-	-	-	-	11	15	40	H	-	-	-	-
Jump up HK	90	200	7	7	-	-	-	-	15	18	60	H	-	-	-	-
Jump forward LP	40	50	7	6	-	-	-	-	8	11	20	H	-	-	-	-
Jump forward MP	70	100	8	5	-	-	-	-	11	15	40	H	-	O	-	-
Jump forward HP	90	200	8	5	-	-	-	-	15	18	60	H	-	-	-	-
Jump forward LK	70	50	7	7	-	-	-	-	8	11	20	H	-	O	-	-
Jump forward MK	60	100	7	4	-	-	-	-	11	15	40	H	-	-	-	-
Jump forward HK	90	200	6	7	-	-	-	-	15	18	60	H	-	O	-	-
F+MP	70	100	20	5	3+8	35	-2	+1	13	16	40	H	X	X	X	Mid attack
F+HK	40*60	125*75	12	1(8)3	17	40	-2	+3	17	22	60*20	HL	X	X	O	1~11f (translate), Forces stand, 1st hit cancellable
Super Jump	-	-	-	-	-	-		-	-	-	-	-	-	O	O	1~3 (translate
Focus Attack LVL 1	60	100	26	2	40	67	-26	-26	15	15	20	HL	-	-	-	-
Focus attack LVL 2	90	150	18+16	2	40	75	-20	D	21	-	40	HL	-	-	-	-
Focus attack LVL 3	150	200	70	2	40	111	D	D	-	-	60	-	-	-	-	-
Forward Throw	130	100	3	2	20	24	-	D	-	-	40	0.9	-	-	-	Throw range 0.9
Back throw	120	160	3	2	20	24	-	D	-	-	60	0.9	-	-	-	Throw range 0.9
Thunder Knuckle LP	100	150	16	6	21	42	-2	+2	20	24	20/30	HL	X	X	O	1~15f (translate), 16~21f (translate), Armor break
Thunder Knuckle MP	120	200	14	4	20	37	-1	+3	20	24	20/30	HL	X	X	O	Armor break
Thunder Knuckle HP	70	150	7	16	14+13	49	-22	D	20	-	30/40	HL	X	X	O	1~6f hit invincible (not throw invincible), Pursuit property, Armor break
Thunder Knuckle EX	60*60	100*100	27	17	38	81	-5	D	32	-	0/0	HL	X	X	X	Pursuit property, Armor break, Crumple on hit, (translate), (translate)
Burning Kick LK	100	100	23	4	17	43	0	D	20	-	20/30	HL	X	X	X	(translate)
Burning Kick MK	100	100	25	3	17	44	+1	D	20	-	20/30	HL	X	X	X	(translate)
Burning Kick HK	100	100	27	2(1)4	17	45	+2	D	20	-	20/30	HL	X	X	X	(translate)
Burning Kick EX	20x3*80	50x3*100	9	2*1*2(11)10	17	51	-6	D	20	-	0/0	HL	X	X	X	1~8f invincible, Pursuit property, 4th hit (translate)
Burning Kick LK(air)	100	100	21	8	12	-	+8	D	20	-	10/30	HL	-	-	-	(translate)
Burning Kick MK(air)	100	100	19	8	12	-	+6	D	20	-	10/30	HL	-	-	-	(translate)
Burning Kick HK(air)	100	100	17	9	12	-	+4	D	20	-	10/30	HL	-	-	-	(translate)
Burning Kick EX(air)	20x3*80	50x3*100	6	2*1*2(10)8	15	-	+2	D	20	-	0/0	HL	-	-	-	Pursuit property, 4th hit(translate), (translate)
Seismo Hammer	120	100	24	8	31	62	-18	D	20	-	20/30	L	X	X	O	(translate), Low attack
Seismo Hammer EX	120	100	19	5	18	41	-2	D	20	-	0/0	L	X	X	O	1~13f invincible, (translate), Low attack
???	-	-	-	-	6	6	-	-	-	-	0/0	HL	-	-	-	(translate)
Super Combo LP	80*80*140	0	1+12	1(33)1(19)2	59+56	183	-96	D	20	-	0/0	HL	X	X	X	1~5f invincible, Pursuit property, 3rd hit (translate)
Super Combo MP	80*80*140	0	1+7	1(15)1(21)2	59+56	162	-96	-	20	-	0/0	HL	X	X	X	1~5f invincible, Pursuit property, 3rd hit (translate)
Super Combo HP	80*80*140	0	1+5	1(8)1(29)2	36+35	117	-52	D	20	-	0/0	HL	X	X	X	1~4f invincible, Pursuit property, 3rd hit (translate)
Ultra Combo	108x5	0	1+6	3(53)5(8)5(10)5(10)5	59+56	227	-201	D	20	-	0/0	HL	X	X	X	1~10f invincible, Pursuit property, 1st hit Armor break, (translate)
							Frames	Frames	Frames of	Frames of	Super Meter	Block	Cancel	Ability
Move Name	Damage	Stun	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Block	On Hit	Block Stun	Hit Stun	Gain	HL	Chain	Special	Super	Notes

The 1 frame discrepancy you see between Startup+Active+Recovery and Total is because when it says a move has 4 frames startup, it really has 3 frames startup and hits on frame 4. It was written this way so you don't have to do any math to figure out what frame a move first hits on.

Dash Frame Data: taken from SRK Wiki Street Fighter IV Main Page

Character	Toward Dash	Distance	Backdash	Distance	Invincible	Grounded	Airborne
Viper	19	1.3	27	1.2	1~8	18~27	9~17

Forward dash speed, backward dash speed, and the invincibility/airborne frames for backdashing vary by character.

Street Fighter IV