Killer Instinct – Fulgore Beginner’s Tips

With the release of Fulgore, season one of Killer Instinct has come to an end. However, with Killer Instinct landing a spot in the Evolution Fighting Game Championship, and rumored to be getting a spot in an upcoming Major League Gaming event, learning the new characters is a must. Like Spinal and Glacius before him, Fulgore is one of the harder characters to use, with special tools that may not be easy to grasp for newcomers.

Fulgore plays somewhat similar to Spinal in that he has a special mechanic that none of the other characters have, namely his Reactor Meter. This takes the place of the Shadow Meter and not only governs Fulgore’s Shadow moves, but also a few special abilities. When Fulgore has at least one block of reactor charge, he can cancel some of his special moves into other special moves. For example, for the cost of one block of Reactor Meter he can cancel his Energy Bolt into the Blade Dash or Eye Laser.

You can fill the Reactor Meter by using the Charge Reactor special move. The light version gives Fulgore one block, medium results in two blocks, and heavy gives him three blocks. You can also hold Heavy Punch to continue charging the Reactor Meter one block at a time. It costs one block to cancel special moves, and four blocks for normal Shadow moves and Shadow Counters. Once Fulgore’s Reactor Meter is full (10 blocks), his forward dash covers more ground and his walk speed increases.

Use the Reactor Charge after a knockdown of any kind. If you land a Combo Breaker, you can get at least a light Reactor Charge. If you end a combo with Fulgore’s juggle ender (Eye Laser), then follow with Heavy Kick while they’re airborne, you can use a heavy Reactor Charge so long as you’re not too close to the corner. No matter the distance, you can always land a light Reactor Charge after a juggle ender or throw. A heavy Reactor Charge can be used after a mid-screen throw, but only if the opponent does not have a quick attack that covers the screen (e.g. Jago’s Shadow Wind Kick).

Meter management is extremely important for Fulgore since he does not gain meter like every other character. It’s important to use the Charge Reactor whenever you can, but there are other ways to fill the meter. Fulgore’s special combo trait is called a Triple-Double. Instead of tapping an attack button to get an Auto-Double during a combo, if you hold the button Fulgore initiates a Triple-Double, which is the same thing as an Auto-Double, except it hits three times. Against skilled opponents this should only be used during a round-ending combo (when the opponent can’t use a Combo Breaker), or if you’re attempting to bait a Combo Breaker so you can use a Counter Breaker. It’s simply too easy for skilled players to see the Triple-Double and break accordingly.

Fulgore’s Instinct builds his Reactor Meter to a full charge, and gives him access to the Devastation Beam. The Devastation Beam is exactly what it sounds like, a devastation beam attack that drains 40 percent of an opponent’s health when used as a standalone attack. It can only be used while Instinct is active and Fulgore’s Reactor Meter is full. In addition, it scales considerably if used in a combo, which makes it somewhat limited. The best use of the attack is when an opponent has less than 40 percent health remaining and they jump toward Fulgore while his Reactor Meter is full. If this happens, immediately activate Instinct and use the Devastation Beam as a full-screen anti-air attack.

While Fulgore is considered a zoning character, he’s quite a handful at close range, especially if he has a decent charge on his Reactor Meter. Without any meter, he can use the Gravity Strike overhead or the two-hit Axis Slash canceled into the low-hitting light Eye Laser. If the light Eye Laser is blocked, Fulgore is at +1 (frame advantage), which means he can follow with a light attack and most characters will have a difficult time interrupting the attack. A good series to use in the corner is Gravity Strike > light Eye Laser > crouching Light Kick > light Eye Laser or light Blade Dash. In open space, the second light Eye Laser will miss, but you can substitute it with a Blade Dash to end the block string there.

If you’re willing to use some of your Reactor Meter, you can trap an opponent in a lengthy block string at any time. Canceling a light Eye Laser into an Energy Bolt, then canceling back into the light Eye Laser (or a medium Eye Laser depending on distance) works very well. A Blade Dash mixed in can also be useful. Of course, every cancel costs one block of meter, so be mindful when you’re frame-trapping an opponent with this strategy.

Fulgore’s best match-ups are Glacius and Sadira, mainly due to his projectile abilities, and his Plasmaport. Almost any time Sadira is in the air, Fulgore can knock her down with a heavy Eye Laser. Against Glacius, as long as the ice alien doesn’t have enough meter to use Shadow Shatter, Fulgore is free to use the heavy Reactor Charge from full screen. You can also use light Reactor Charge repeatedly if you’re worried about Glacius closing in on you.

Overall, Fulgore is a little limited, but not as much as Spinal. He doesn’t start the match with all of his abilities readily available, but there are plenty of ways to charge his reactor. He also has solid normals such as his crouching medium and light kicks, the Gravity Strike overhead, and the Axis Slash, which gives Fulgore frame advantage (although it is susceptible to Shadow Counters). Think of Fulgore as a better version of Spinal. He has similar tools to Spinal, but much better normals and he can hold his own even without meter.