Heat Shield

Heat Shield is one of Krohnen's Special Moves, first appearing in The King of Fighters XV.

Description
Krohnen swings his arm down, creating an arching shield of flames.

In the 1.32 Patch for KOF XV, the move's properties have changed on hit. The version now knocks the opponent in an upwards arc, making it easier to follow up with a MAX Fusion Blaster while the  and EX versions move Krohnen closer to the opponent for easier combos.

Strategy
As the name might suggest, this is a very useful counter to most ranged projectiles in the game - whether they travel on the ground (like Iori's Yamibarai or B. Jenet's Buffrass) or normally in the air (such as King's Venom Strike or Robert's Ryu Geki Ken). This move simply dissipates them and effectively serves as free meter for Krohnen since this move builds plenty of it. Whether on whiff or after absorbing a projectile.

It's also not half bad against projectile-based pokes like Benimaru's Raijin Ken or the Sakazakis' Ko-Ou Ken, either, since the version is fast enough to beat them both out at neutral range.

The move's best trait, however, isn't what's described above, but rather the abundance of invincibility frames that it has, being one of the easiest anti-airs to throw out in the entire game, moreso than others like the Rising Tackle or Nivose, since Krohnen mostly stays put during the animation and the move has very solid range both in front of and above Krohnen. As a result, Krohnen can also use this to escape pressure due to the very fast startup.

The EX version also deserves a mention since in addition to sporting the above, it also launches the opponent upwards, allowing Krohnen to juggle the opponent anywhere on the screen and follow up with another Heat Shield into a Special Cancel for massive amounts of damage. The move's damage potential is especially deadly in the corner, since Krohnen can easily follow up with it after a Strike Slash on hit.

Similar Moves

 * Split!, K9999's version.
 * Yoizuki, Nameless' version.