Zanken said:
Have you played the game?
Lambda is nerfed Nu. No jump cancel swords makes her much less threat, and her jump c stuff just doesn't feel as brutal. No ridiculous 6k combos anymore. Definitely more fun though. No more sword traps, she actually benefits from being aggressive when she has advantage instead of running away.
Tager actually has combos now, and people are winning tournaments with him. No, gadgetfinger doesn't combo, it's a reset move like Ragna's that points him in an advantageous position after doing it.
Tsubaki is mid low, for reasons you stated, and both Ragna and Litchi are top tier thanks to longer combos (system changes plus belial).
Jin is worse now, though I don't know why. Everyone I know who plays him though hates his changes.
Yes, I have played the game. I go to the arcades every 2 weeks or so. Tager is still Tager... He's still the reset king. I don't know why you're comparing gadget finger to Ragna's move though... Ragna's combos right after. Tager's doesnt. It's a reset move like you said. His tech traps are scarier now since his command throw does more damage (about 5k?... It's something ridiculous)... But like I said... His normal combos for some reason are weaker.
If you look at MikeZ, he was winning tournaments even in CT. That's like saying Bang was top tier because of Dora. There's always someone who will do well with them. Jpn has very little experience against Tagers though... If I remember correctly, someone was winning in beginner mode with Tager. I'd put him in mid-high tier this time around since the 3 top tiers from CT are not as good anymore (and Tager was horrible against zoning, which all 3 tops were good in in CT).
Jin has changed A LOT. He's probably somewhere around mid tier... Although Dennou (the only pro Jin players in Japan) has been finding some weird combos (you can connect 5B right after ice car!). He plays NOTHING like the old Jin, which is probably why people hate his changes now. Akachan couldn't play with him at the arcades.
Same as Noel... She changed A LOT... The one top player that I know is R-1.
I still don't understand the flame that I'm getting from people saying that Lambda is SUPER nerfed. She's not SUPER nerfed... She's nerfed the right amount, imo (note: balanced). Her zoning isn't as good but she has an awesome mid range game now... Her dashing attacks are really scary (air unblockable even if you green up), and her ground spikes/ground wheel sets up a lot of primer breakers. Her corner combos look REALLY fun to do... But I believe it's character specific and timing is very strict.
Rachel is definitely the worst character in the game. She plays exactly like how she was supposed to be played in CT (good zoner with poke & run game), except there is almost no reward because her combos do almost no damage (I believe someone said around 4.5k if you start a combo from 5B). She is extremely annoying to play against though.