With the initial launch of Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition and the Season 3 balance patch in mid-January, there was one character who seemed to draw much more attention and scrutiny from the community following the release of the patch notes: the monstrous Mad Gear auto enthusiast Abigail. Receiving easily the largest number of changes of any of the 28 veteran cast members — most notably including faster Light attacks — the giant gearhead appeared to be vroom-vrooming himself straight into the fast lane of competitive play, even if his trophy case at the Metro City Bay Area wasn’t full yet.
With the surprising arrival of the Season 3.5 rebalance, Abi has been given massive lumps on the head by the nerf bat: seeing reduced health, his Light attack speed reverted to Season 2.5, removing his new combos, a massive reduction in his overall damage and stun output across the board, and increased pushback on moves (rendering throw loops and previous oki situations obsolete). Though, he was compensated with an increase in his already high stun value, as well as notable improvements to his V-Trigger II’s additional attack Hybrid Charge.
Taking all of these factors — and a discussion about what made him so powerful previously — into consideration, VesperArcade’s Mir ponders if the gargantuan brawler (who just got third at Brussels Challenge: Major Edition, in the hands of Problem X) is still viable enough to be a contender in SFV’s new climate. You can hear his full arguments in the video below.
You can also check out Vesper’s thoughts on the surprising Cammy buffs, as well as SonicSol’s overiew of Nash’s changes if you’re looking for further character analysis.
What are your thoughts on the current standing of Abigail? Do you believe Capcom went a bit overboard in toning him down, or do you believe his nerfs were completely justified and handled extremely well? Provide your own perspective in the comments section below.
Source: VesperArcade