Vampire Savior Latest Topics

Disclaimer: I'm currently extremely out of practice with this game and thus totally awful at actually playing it, but since nobody else had started a thread for Felicia, I figured it'd be good to just get the ball rolling. I know how to play better than I do currently, but until I prove it, I'll try to leave giving out any opinions/advice to better players.

Play Overview

Quick, mobile character with a lot of pokes that have good speed and hitboxes. Can play footsies and exploit her movement options to get around zoning attempts, after which her fast attacks and hopping dash let her rushdown. Somewhat similar to Wolfman overall (relatively low execution barrier, good normals, hop), with more mobility and slightly better footsies in return for lower damage and weaker mixups.

Examples of Good Felicia Play

Orecom vs kaji (Lilith), Shou (Fishman), Nakanishi (Bishamon)

Orecom vs Tsukumo (Lei Lei)

Orecom vs T2ya (Zombie) (great match to watch even if you don't care about Felicia *laughs* )

Orecom vs Sasazuka (Lei Lei)

Orecom vs Kosho (Bulleta)

P vs Kame (Victor)

P vs Fugo (Lei Lei), Nakanishi (Bishamon), Shuu (Bishamon), DD (Sasquatch)

Guratan vs Maro (Q-Bee), Rantei (Bishamon)

Guratan vs Himajin (Lei Lei), Masukakki (Anakaris)

Nekohashi vs mura (Bulleta), Shuu (Bishamon), HYNE (Morrigan)

Orecom vs unknown Wolfman

Nekohashi vs KEN (Wolfman)

Reference Links

(English links)

Frame data reference

Felicia page on Mizuumi wiki

(Japanese links)

Frame data reference

Wiki - Special moves

Wiki - Ground combos

Wiki - Dash combos

Wiki - Jump-in combos (site no longer exists)

Hitbox data (only has normal moves for the time being, but that's probably the most important for Felicia anyway *laughs* )

Pros:

-Very nice ground normal moves. Felicia can play poking games effectively, can stuff or at least trade with most other characters in quick-draw situations (only Wolfman, Jedah, Demitri, and Bulleta have faster ground normals), and her frame advantages off some of them are among the best in the game (cl.RK is +12 on block o_O).

-Top notch jumping normals. j.SP, j.FP, and j.FK are all great (air-to-ground or air-to-air). Arguably even better than Wolfman in this department, and his air normals are pretty damn good already, so...yeah.

-Very mobile. Pretty fast walk speed, excellent hopping dash that can be shorthopped (like Sasquatch), very fast jumps that seem to go in a somewhat atypical arc that is capable of getting around a lot of projectiles, and her special head sit, wall cling, and wall jump let her move in ways that nobody else can.

-Shorthop dash with her great air normals, 2 frame command grab, and quick cr.JP and cr.SK give Felicia some mix-up potential.

-Special 22P OTG attack that comes out much faster than standard pursuit (9 [normal] or 21 [ES] frames of start-up instead of 42) and doesn't leave her as vulnerable if missed (normal version).

-Builds meter pretty quickly, so you'll usually have an ES available whenever you need it.

Cons:

-Somewhat low damage output, particularly compared to the top characters (Sasquatch, Zombie, Q-Bee, Wolfman, Bulleta). Don't expect anything Felicia does to hit like ES Beast Cannon juggles.

-Moderately disadvantaged match-ups against Zombie, Sasquatch, Q-Bee, Fishman, and Bishamon. They're mostly 3.5-6.5, so it's not unwinnable, but you'll definitely have to put in some work (then again, Felicia wouldn't be mid-tier if you didn't *laughs* ).

-No real options at long range aside from trying to get closer.

-Crap supers. 41236PP is basically inferior to 236PP~P in every way aside from slight invincibility, and 41236KK is probably one of the most punishable moves in the game.

-22KK is worthless (builds meter slower than whiffing air chains while being more vulnerable).

-Slowest recovery roll in the game (by 8 frames), third-slowest neutral recovery, and no real reversal options aside from GC/DF means you'll be having to deal with a lot of oki pressure.

-No command (demon-style input) super.

Match-Up Ratings:

Zabel/Lord Raptor/Zombie: 3.5-6.5

Sasquatch: 3.5-6.5

Q-Bee: 3.5-6.5

Gallon/Talbain/Wolfman: 5.5-4.5

Aulbath/Rikuo/Fishman: 4-6

Bulleta/B.B. Hood: 6-4

Bishamon: 3.5-6.5

Lei-Lei/Hsein-Ko: 6-4

Demitri: 6.5-3.5

Morrigan: 7-3

Lilith: 6.5-3.5

Jedah: 6.5-3.5

Victor: 7-3

Anakaris: 6.5-3.5

Total: 75.5 (average is 70)

Frame Data and Overview of Moves

General Frame Data

Jump start-up: 3 frames

Jump time: 36 frames (forward), 36 frames (vertical), 37 frames (backward) (all fastest in the game)

Dash duration (minimum): 15 frames

Dash delay before attacking: 8 frames

Dash landing recovery: 7 frames

Forward roll recovery: 66 frames (slowest in the game)

Backward roll recovery: 66 frames (slowest in the game)

Neutral recovery: 40 frames

Simultaneous Input Order of Priority

623P > 623K > 41236PP > 41236KK > 63214K > 236P

(in case of ambiguous input, the command furthest to the left is what will happen)

Close Standing Normals

cl.JP: 5 frame start-up, +9 on hit (+10 with renda), +8 on block (+9 with renda), cancelable

Quick claw attack. Hits most crouching characters (not really short ones like Q-Bee, though). The ridiculous frame advantage lets you use it to link into cr.SPxx236P for good damage on hit or set up a tick throw/attack mix-up on block.

cl.SP: 7 frame start-up, +3 on hit, +2 on block, cancelable

Quick claw attack. Useful in combos and for tick throw option select. Can link after cl.JP, but you'd probably be better off using cr.SP instead since it's not range-dependent and 2 frames faster.

cl.FP: 9 frame start-up, -5 on hit, -6 on block

2-hit uppercut. Felicia's slowest normal. Can be used for tick throw option select. Due to the frame disadvantage (punishable on hit by some characters!), you should probably always chain to RK (preferably cl.RK).

cl.SK: 5 frame start-up, +5 on hit (+7 with renda), +4 on block (+6 with renda), cancelable

Low kick. Fast and hits crouching characters, but otherwise generally inferior to cl.JP.

cl.FK: 6 frame start-up, +2 on hit, +1 on block, cancelable

Knee strike. Similar uses to cl.SP and slightly easier to link, though less useful in cancel combos since s.FK is not cancelable (in case you misjudge the spacing).

cl.RK: 7 frame start-up, +25 on hit, +12 on block, forces air reset on hit

High kick. Misses crouching characters. The great frame advantage on block and forced reset on hit means this basically gives you a good mix-up chance whenever it makes contact (and being an uncancelable RK, that's all it'll ever give you on contact *laughs* ). Use it to make cl.FP safer on block (just be careful of distance and pushblock/GC) or to option select with 63214K.

Far Standing Normals

s.JP: 5 frame start-up, +5 on hit (+7 with renda), +4 on block (+6 with renda), cancelable

Tail poke, aka ToJ (shout-outs to Blackheart's s.SK). Very good range for a JP, but the high hitbox makes it risky. Can be used to guardbreak if you land first in an air-to-air chicken guard situation, to poke out some unsafe dashes, or in footsy frametraps, but otherwise, you probably have better options. Keep it in mind if people are constantly trying to hop over your low pokes, though.

s.SP: 6 frame start-up, even on hit, -1 on block, cancelable

Claw attack. Decent quick poke that can be canceled into 236P (link it after cl.JP or cr.JP) or 623P (to get close against players who don't pushblock/GC well), but the high hitbox means it'll whiff on crouching characters. For what it's worth, this can stuff most immediate approaches at the start of a game.

s.FP: 7 frame start-up, +3 on hit, +2 on block

3-hit rending claw attack. Excellent reach, big hitbox, and fast enough to be very difficult to stuff if you space it well. It might be good to try chaining it into RK (preferable cr.RK) on block after the 1st hit to reduce the risk of getting pushblocked or GC'ed.

s.SK: 5 frame start-up, +5 on hit (+7 with renda), +4 on block (+6 with renda), cancelable

Upward kick. Great antiair, so long as the incoming attack doesn't have a detached hitbox. Just be careful that you start it early enough to not get cl.SK instead. Not good for much else since it tends to miss crouching characters, but using it at a little distance against characters that can IAD (especially Q-Bee) can help with keeping some breathing room.

s.FK: 7 frame start-up, +2 on hit, +1 on block

Side kick. Deceptively far reach (one of her longest-reaching normals) makes it a good poke, though not being cancelable sucks. Useful to stop ground approaches and short jumps when you want to maintain some space.

s.RK: 8 frame start-up, -2 on hit, -3 on block

Tail-standing thrust kick. Felicia's 2nd slowest normal, but the pros are worth it. Incredible horizontal reach lets it be safe as long as you space it out. Dodges low attacks while Felicia is standing on her tail. Can pretty much always be chained after s.FK/s.FP to do more damage and/or get more spacing, though you'll want to use some poke timing staggers to avoid whiffing this due to pushblock/GC/reversals on block. Don't go crazy spamming it (it IS still a RK), but completely ignoring it would be stupid.

Crouching Normals

cr.JP: 5 frame start-up, +7 on hit (+8 with renda), +6 on block (+7 with renda), cancelable, hits low

Low claw attack. Use it like a cl.JP that will hit crouchers and must be blocked low. Great for pressure strings due to the frame advantages and being spacing-independent, though you have less freedom in linking after it.

cr.SP: 5 frame start-up, +3 on hit, +2 on block, cancelable

Lunging claw attack. Really nice hitbox. Useful for link combos, stuffing dashes, pressure strings (especially if canceled to 623P), defensive poking (5 frame start-up, FTW), and when you just really want to press a button.

cr.FP: 8 frame start-up, +19 on hit, +6 on block, forces air reset on hit

Hopping claw blender. Has some aerial frames (dodges lows/throws, get reset if hit). Very little horizontal reach, and since Felicia is airborne when it's active, it can be airblocked as well. Can be useful for defending against cross-ups since it hits on both sides.

cr.SK: 5 frame start-up, +6 on hit (+7 with renda), +5 on block (+6 with renda), cancelable, hits low

Foot poke. Pretty much your typical crouching weak kick from most 2-D fighters. Slightly better range than cr.JP, but not as much frame advantage.

cr.FK: 6 frame start-up, even on hit, -1 on block, cancelable

Upward low kick. Similar to cr.SP, though slower (both for start-up and recovery). Decent general poke, but because Felicia has cr.SP, this is usually relegated to chain combo filler.

cr.RK: 8 frame start-up, knockdown on hit, +3 on block, hits low

Sweep. Good range, safe on block, and her only low hitting move aside from cr.JP and cr.SK. You'll probably be using this a lot to end chain combos. Try to tack on a 22P afterwards against cornered opponents for a bit more damage, or go for oki pressure.

Jumping Normals

j.JP: 5 frame start-up

Claw attack. Nothing special. Only really useful in air-to-air against chicken guard (make them block this, chain into more attacks to keep them airborne while you fall, and do a guardbreak on landing).

j.SP: 7 frame start-up

2-hit claw attack. Great to use during shorthops and jumps. Can work as air-to-air as well, especially since it can option select with airthrow, but it's a little slow for that and the attack angle is bad if you're coming from below.

j.FP: 8 frame start-up

Downward claw attack. Huge hitbox. Great for jumps, especially for air-to-air (do it a little early, empty chain to j.RK if you misread a jump to keep a good attack active) since it can option select with airthrow and covers such a large space. A little too slow to use in shorthops, but still, learn to love this.

j.SK: 5 frame start-up

Little kick. Nothing remarkable. Similar use to j.JP.

j.FK: 6 frame start-up

Downward kick. Great hitbox. This can pretty much do anything. Fast, good angle for jump-ins, beats a lot of anti-airs, great in shorthops, works surprisingly well for air-to-air (her best option for this aside from air throw). Learn to love this at least as much as j.FP, if not more.

j.RK: 8 frame start-up

Big arcing kick. It's actually pretty good, but doesn't do much that j.FP can't do at least as well (while also option selecting airthrow), so it's mostly just used for air chains. Try whiffing this after j.FK at range when you want to build meter.

Throws

Panic Nail

4/6+SP/FP: 1 frame start-up, +5 frame advantage, forces air reset, mashable

Kitty claw makeover. Not anything special in itself (especially if your opponent can mash out of most of the damage), but the usefulness of cl.SP/cl.FP in tick throw option selects means you might be using this a lot.

Tumble Cat

4/6+FK/RK: 1 frame start-up, causes knockdown

Rolling monkey flip. Great throw for corner carry, and does reliable damage. In the corner, you can often connect with 22P afterwards, but I'm not sure if it's guaranteed.

Flip Cat

4/6+j.SP/FP: 1 frame start-up, causes knockdown

Generic air throw. Seems to come out pretty easily, as far as air throws go. Given how good j.SP and j.FP are, you could end up getting this quite often. You can usually tack on a 22P afterwards for a bit more damage, or even a normal pursuit if you want to switch sides.

Hellcat

63214K: 2 frame start-up, causes knockdown

Felicia uses her enemy as a dancing pole and goes for a spin. Typical command grab. No invinciblity (unlike Wolfman's), but still damn fast and with good range (for a throw). Can be useful to tick into it with something like cr.JP, walk up 63214RK, since that'll tag attempts to jump out with cl.RK. Once again, 22P often connects after it for a little extra hurt.

Pursuits

Bouncy Pounce

8P/K: 42 frames start-up, switches sides

Ball bounce (plus back scratching in ES). Typical pursuit. Use it slightly delayed to chase rolls, or to get out of the corner after a defensive knockdown. ES version adds some more white damage. Generally less useful than 22P unless you really want to switch sides or chase a roll.

Toy Touch

22P: 9/21 frame start-up, doesn't switch sides

Cautious kitty poking. Quick, short-ranged pursuit. Much easier to connect, especially against cornered opponents. Try tacking it on after a corner cr.RK, kick throw, air throw, 63214K, 236P~P, or 623P on air hit. Be careful about missing with the ES version, though, since Felicia will keep swiping at air if you do. Also, keep in mind that Felicia does NOT move towards her foe to do this, so you can't land it after a midscreen cr.RK unless the other player somehow gives you enough time to get closer.

Specials

(data presented as [JP or SK version]/[sP or FK version]/[FP or RK version]/[ES version])

Rolling Buckler (aka Roll, Ball, or Sonic Spin)

236P: 5/6/7/7 frame start-up, -19/-20/-21/-23 on hit, -20/-21/-22/-24 on block, landing delay of 14/15/16/18 frames

Ground rolling body-missile attack. Mostly used in combos (definitely her best move to combo into). Can travel under some high attacks, and the ES version is especially good for a mid-range punish. Don't use this randomly unless you want to gamble because it's pretty damn unsafe. Always do the follow-up in combos for more damage and knockdown. If you're really confident in your spacing, you can try to whiff the JP version right in front of your opponent and go for a throw (like Blanka's [4]~6P whiff tactics), but given the speed of this game and how unsafe 236P is on block, it's very risky.

Rolling Buckler Uppercut Swipe of Epic Proportions (...unofficial name )

after 236P, ~P while rolling: 4 frame start-up, knockdown on hit, -17/-26/-35/-45 on block, landing delay of 15/16/17/19 frames

Yuri/Sakura-style flying uppercut. No point in not doing this if you connected with 236P (since that's ridiculously unsafe on hit by itself *laughs* ). The ES version comes out after 236PP without needing to spend any more meter or push multiple buttons (ie. the input is 236PP~P). Just don't use this outside of combos or clear punishment chances, or else you're pretty screwed if it doesn't hit. If your opponent doesn't roll quickly, slip an extra 22P in there (might want to stick with trying the normal version just to be safe).

Cat Spike

623P: 13/25/34/43 frame start-up, +2/+5/+5/knockdown on hit, +1/+4/+4/varies on block, knockdown on air hit, landing delay of 6/9/10/18 frames

Chase a ball while attacking (or smack a ball at your foe with ES). Useful lunging attack to stay in close range (try it out canceled from s.SP, cr.SP, or cr.FK), and being advantage on block means it can also be used for tick throws. Stick with the JP version most of the time for quicker start-up. ES version is a projectile and pretty much a waste of meter with that start-up time.

Delta Kick

623K: 7 frame start-up, knockdown on hit, -3/-5/varies/varies on block, knockdown on air hit, landing delay of 14/15/16/18 frames

Rising kick followed by magical dive kick. Basically a shitty pseudo-DP. Don't use it much aside from GC'ing, where it gains 12 frames of start-up invincibility, but make sure you use it at close enough range for the first part to connect unless you want to get GC'ed back. It's too bad the dive kick can't be done by itself.

EX Moves

Dancing Flash

41236PP: 13 frame start-up, knockdown on hit, -33 on block, 8 frames of start-up invincibility, landing delay of 18 frames

Sort of a super 236P into auto-combo. Not very useful when you can do 236PP~P instead, which has about half of the start-up time and goes just as fast/far. Maybe the start-up invincibility will let you punish some things that 236PP wouldn't, but overall, just use 236PP instead.

Please Help Me (aka PHM or Please Hit Me)

41236KK: variable start-up, knockdown on hit, variable on block

Little kitty appears and calls on a storm of furry death on hit. Which buttons you press determines how the little cat appears and moves. Some marginal use for punishing from long range with the FK+RK version, but this move is beyond horrible on whiff/block. Do yourself a favor and save your meter for ES moves instead unless you're at about full screen and 100% certain it'll hit. Guide for what the little kitty does:

SK+FK: Runs along the ground, starting from behind Felicia. Runs back to Felicia's side on block, leaves from the other side on whiff.

SK+RK: Drops from the top corner behind Felicia and lands around midscreen. Runs back to Felicia's side on block or whiff.

FK+RK: Leaps from behind Felicia, crossing almost the full screen at about head height. Runs back to Felicia's side on block or whiff. This is the only one that's got any real usefulness (Orekon uses it once or twice to punish whiffed Tenraiha from Lei Lei), and not much at that.

Dark Force

Any same strength P+K: 44 frame start-up, 44 frame pose on deactivation, 46 frames of start-up invincibility

A little helper follows you around and pounces whenever you attack. It can be used to create some silly combo loops, like (cl.FKxx623JP)xN, but it's mostly just useful for the typical reversal Dark Force purposes. If you do use it and need a chance to deactivate safely, try to take advantage of the little kitty being able to cause blockstun outside of poking range.

Well, I hope that I didn't make too many typos in all that *laughs* . Skipped saying anything about 22KK and headsit since the former is useless except for trolling and the latter is pretty random in a real match. Should be a decent primer to introduce new players to Felicia. I'll add some basic B&Bs later, but they'll pretty much be standard chain combos into cr.RK or links into cr.SPxx236P~P. See the quote from Kyle below for combos.

[VS] General Discussion

Sat, 02 Jun 2007 16:28:58 +0000

I am a serious VS player, I made ti thread to find other VS players. Also, to discuss tips and even give strats to people who want to start playing VS. Where the VS players at?

[VS] Jedah: Night of the Demon

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 03:31:42 +0000

I guess this is the Jedah thread now. Originally it was a thread about fighting the Taliban, but I guess Kyle thought I should be in charge of the Jedah thread. I'm a little nervous about having first post responsibilities, because I'm a new player and a bad player, but I'll try to compensate by copy/pasting a bunch of stuff from the wiki. One secret I know with Jedah is that if you hit mp (or strong) when you pick him, you get the red color, which is his best color.

If the next couple posts don't make sense to you, it's because I originally just asked some advice for beating the dog (Taliban). They are, however, very important, because if you pick up Jedah, and play against the dog, you will feel very sad and feel like quitting this game. Don't though. People are telling me it's possible to beat him somehow.

Good players:

Oouchi and Shimatsuya are good Jedah players. (You might even call them "Jedah masters.") I did not scrutinize the videos I chose, they're just examples, but there are loads of videos of them on youtube.

Now to quote the wiki:

Character Overview

Jedah Doma, the Black Messiah. Jedah is widely considered to be one of the more handicapped characters in the cast, with his low speed and particularly bad counter-matchups. However, he also comes with a set of tools that are unique only to him, and playing to the character's strengths can compensate for his short-comings. In the hands of an experienced player, Jedah can be quite overwhelming. He excels at rushdown mixups, but is also a rather solid mid-range zoner and footsies character. His primary weakness, or perhaps his only weakness, may be the lack of a solid defensive game and lack of reliable knockdown moves.

Primary objective: Airdash mixups, ground dash mixups.

Now, in the below list of moves, you'll see that some of the frame data has a section that says "renda." What this refers to, is something called "renda bonus," which is a thing in Vampire Savior where you actually get added frame advantage by linking a light attack into itself. So, if I do a crouching lk with Jedah, I normally get +5 on block, but if I link another crouching lk after, I instead get +8 frames. This does not keep adding up. I can't get +11 if I link another one or anything like that. Renda bonus is important, because Jedah's dash mixup using dash mk and dash hk for crossup is easier to set up when you have more frame advantage. The earlier your opponent gets out of block/hit stun, the easier it is to poke you out of the sky and make you sad. I point this out to all who read this, because for the first few weeks I played this game, nobody told me about renda bonus and was just yelling at me to do Jedah's mixup more, and I was like I'M TRYING TO BUT I KEEP GETTING POKED OUT YOU GUYS ARE MEAN!!!! Once I found out about renda bonus, the extra frame advantage made it much easier to maintain pressure and do mixup. NEED CONFIRMATION ON THE FOLLOWING: As I understand it, if I link one light attack into a different light attack, I will not get the renda bonus. It has to be the same attack twice. (right?)

Moves (you should really go to the wiki to view the hitboxes on these):

Standing:

LP
[ Startup: 4 | Hit:+6 | Block:+5 | Renda: H:+9 B:+8 ]
Jab. Whiffs small crouching characters.

MP
[ Startup: 10 | Hit:-1 | Block:-2 ]
High claw. Whiffs small crouching characters. Good for stopping jumps on their way up, dashes, and hops. Also good to guard-break with, particularly after ES Wheel in lieu of 214P.

HP
[ Startup: 9 | Hit:-13 | Block:-14 ]
High hands. First couple hits whiffs small crouching characters but the third hit will connect with most crouching characters. This move is ridiculously bad on hit or block, but the range is pretty decent.

LK
[ Startup: 5 | Hit:+6 | Block:+5 | Renda: H:+9 B:+8 ]
Wing tap. Excellent move. Large frame advantage on hit or block and is chainable into itself. Great for ticking.

MK
[ Startup: 7 | Hit:+1 | Block:0 ]
Blood slap. Deceptively good on hit and block, and it's his fastest mid-strength attack on startup.

HK
[ Startup: 35 | Hit: Knockdown | Block:-7 ]
Scythe. Hits overhead and can't be airblocked. Unfortunately it's incredibly slow startup speed makes it rather useless. Though it can occasionally tag unsuspecting enemies, use sparringly.

Crouching:

c.LP
[ Startup: 5 | Hit:+7 | Block:+6 | Renda: H:+10 B:+9 ]
Crouch jab. Pretty standard for a crouching jab, hits mid, good speed, rewards the most frame advantage out of any of his light attacks, chains into it self. Useful for ticking and keeping people off of you.

c.MP
[ Startup: 12 | Hit:+1 | Block: 0 ]
Low claw. Poor startup speed make this less useful than it initially seems. It's got a nice hitbox but he has other moves that do the same things but better.

c.HP
[ Startup: 10 | Hit:-18 | Block:-19 ]
Low hands. Like the standing version this is really poor on hit and block. The main use of it is the range, but that's about it.

c.LK
[ Startup: 6 | Hit:+6 | Block:+5 | Renda: H:+9 B:+8 ]
Low wing. Good range and speed, good frame advantage, hits low, chains into itself. Primarily this will be your mixup tool when varied between dash attacks and other overheads.

c.MK
[ Startup: 12 | Hit:+1 | Block: 0 ]
Blood spout. Arguably Jedah's best anti-air. This move also hits low, despite not looking like it should. It's also deceptively safe on block/hit. The only down side is the startup speed, but in general this is one of Jedah's most valuable moves.

c.HK
[ Startup: 18 | Hit:-6 | Block:-7 ]
Blood pool. This also hits low, but does not cause a knockdown on hit. It's disadvantageous on hit/block but not nearly as bad as HP/c.HP, thus when hitting with a chain this is the ideal ender. On block you may want to forgo the c.HK in order to maintain neutral/advantage.

Jumping:

j.LP
[ Startup: 6 ]
Jumping jab. Standing jumping jab, useful in air strings and rushdown pressure.

j.MP
[ Startup: 9 ]
Jumping claw. Huge hitbox, though unfortunately huge hittable box as well, making it less useful than it initially seems. Despite that, it's still quite good and special cancelable off a normal jump or air dash.

j.HP
[ Startup: 9 ]
Jumping hands. This is significantly more useful than the standing or crouching versions because while it retains the range, the recovery is neutralized by landing. Thus, backdash j.HP and backdash airdash j.HP and whiff j.HK j.HP become a lot more useful than the standing or crouching version.

j.LK
[ Startup: 5 ]
High wing. The hitbox on this is quite high, making it whiff air to ground a lot. But, the recovery is also good so it's still useful for rushdown and mixup sequences, perhaps moreso simply because it whiffs.

j.MK
[ Startup: 7 ]
Downward wing. Exceptionally good hitbox for a jump-in attack. Extremely useful for general purpose air to ground. Not so great for air to air battles, however.

j.HK
[ Startup: 11 ]
Blood sprites. This move is one of Jedah's main gimmicks. It will halt his air trajectory which is very useful for aerial footsies and general positioning. It also hits all around his knees, which is great for left/right mixups. It also doesn't inflict much (if any) hit-stop which makes it also extremely good at high/low mixups. By far one of his best mixup tools and general purpose moves.

Command Normals:

P Throw: Pretty decent normal throw. Knocks the opponent a good distance on tech or no-tech. Preferable option-select is with MP, since HP is just a generally-terrible move.

Air Throw: Jedah's jump arc is quite huge and floaty, making it difficult to land this airthrow. Not a particularly outstanding one, either, though useful in certain situations.

Pursuit: Scythe wheel bounce. This places Jedah on the opposite side of the opponent that he started on, which is one of the few pursuits that do so. Thus, it's important not to use this if it will end up putting you with your back to the corner, though on the other hand it's also useful for escaping the corner.

Specials:

Dio Sehga - 236P (air):
Scythe wheel. Hits 3 times. Knocks down airborne opponents. One of his main zoning tools.

(L Version) Low to the ground.
(M Version) Mid level.
(H Version) High.
(ES Version) Hits more times, persists once it leaves Jedah's hands and forms the wheel. Somewhat useful for rushdown strings.

Air:
(L Version) High in the air.
(M Version) Mid level.
(H Version) Low to the ground.
(ES Version) Highs more times, persists once it leaves Jedah's hands and forms the wheel.

Nero Fatica - 214P:
Claw swipe. Unblockable "hit" type move. Whiffs most crouching characters, but because it can not be blocked it is useful as a mid-range and anti-air tool in some situations.

(L Version) Short pullback.
(M Version) Medium pullback.
(H Version) Long pullback.
(ES Version) Adds additional hits and damage, significant pullback.

Ira Spinta - 624K (air) /~P:
Dive/Scythe Dive. An aerial command grab type of move if left uncancelled. It has large startup, but once it begins it can grab grounded or airborne opponents. This move is also marginally controllable by holding back or forwards before and during the dive. Alternately you can cancel this move into a scythe-wheel dive rather than the grab dive by pushing punch during the startup.

(L Version) Short range.
(M Version) Medium range.
(H Version) Far range.
(ES Version) Far range, adds additional damage.

Scythe:
(L Version) Short range.
(M Version) Medium range.
(H Version) Far range.
(ES Version) Far range, adds additional hits and damage.

Splecio - 623P (GC):
Self-decapitation. This is Jedah's guard cancel move that he can only perform as a GC. It's invulnerable up until the first active frame, which makes it rather useful as a GC. Unfortunately it does have somewhat slow startup. And the recovery speed is quite horrible. Plus it can whiff small characters like crouching Q-Bee. Not the best GC in the world but still rather useful for punishing predictable/laggy moves.

(Any Version) Each strength is identical in form and function.
(ES Version) More hits, damage, and range.

San Bassale - 624K (close):
Command throw. Unfortunately Jedah's command throw has rather slow startup speed compared to other standard command throws, the range is also hardly noteworthy, and it is not invulnerable on startup. The damage is also nothing spectacular. The only real advantage to this is that it can't be tech hit like normal throws. Perhaps one other slight advantage to this is that it can be useful with his kicks as an option-select, since his kick attacks are just barely better than his punch attacks. Use sparingly. It is not ES-able.

(MK Version) Slow speed, no inv.
(HK Version) Same as above.

Supers:

Prova di Servo - 426KK ~K (unblockable): Contract super. When first activated a blood sprite will fly from Jedah's slit wrist along the ground and will do nothing until either K is pressed again or the sprite leaves the screen. When K is pressed a second time it will activate a blood hand which is unblockable. If it grabs a grounded opponent it will slam them into a contract for massive damage. Quite useful if treated like a "command throw super". Though, it has quite the vulnerable whiff animation if the grab fails or is left uncancelled.

Finale Rosso - 22P (unblockable): Blood pit. This auto-targets the opponent and opens a portal below them, this is unblockable and will drag the opponent down for an auto-combo and decent damage. The startup is somewhat significant and it has a very poor recovery time if it fails to catch the opponent. It can be useful for punishing full-screen shenanigans, but other than that the Contract super tends to be marginally more useful.

Dark Force:

Santo Ario - Same strength P + K

(Any Version) Enables Jedah free-action flying. During this mode he can move around in the air freely and chain his air attacks. His landing has no recovery and there is no recovery on deactivation.

Movement:

Walk: Medium walk speed, tall character.

Dash: A ground-to-air dash, aka "flight" dash. Both his forward and backward dashes take him into the air where he can perform jumping attacks. A major tool in his high/low rushdown game. Another advantage to this kind of dash, apart from very fast overheads, is that it can dodge low attacks and if you're hit out of the air you will be reset rather than getting full-comboed. If Jedah crosses over (or under) the opponent he will auto-correct to face the opponent which also makes this extremely useful for left/right mixups.

Jump: Particularly high and floaty jump. However, this works more to Jedah's advantage when varied with his other movement tools. His high arc can put him in a good position for airdashing over people, poking, and setting up scythe wheels. His j.HK is also good for modifying his trajectory, especially since you can attack after a j.HK whiff.

Air Dash: One of the four characters in the game to posses an air dash. Like QB, Jedah can only airdash forwards. However, Jedah's airdash is unique in that the flying animation also contains a hitbox that can attack the opponent. This will knock down an airborne opponent. Jedah's airdash also allows him to special cancel his air normals. And, like his ground dash, if Jedah crosses over (or under) the opponent he will auto-correct to face the opponent.

Again, credit for the above useful information goes to whoever put in the work for the wiki. I don't know who that is.

- c.lk c.mp s.mk c.hk: basic close range damaging combo.

- c.lk c.mk c.hk: it's important to mix up with this since it hits low 3 times. c.mk c.hk is
also an option for hitting low and early anti airing at the same time, with good range!

- c.lk, +c.lp c.lk s.mk: his best far range combo after dash mp's and such. not so much good
damage but it adds up after being stacked.

- c.lk s.mk c.hp: this is ok if you're out of the first combo's range.

- jump in mp hp, dash mp, c.lk s.mk c.hp: this is a good jump in combo. i like his jump in
because it hits from full screen. so if Bishamon tries to spirit you can punish him with
this. you can also dash hp before dash mp for some extra hits and damage.

- dash over crossup hk, c.lk c.mp s.mk c.hk: this is good against small characters.

- dash mk, c.lk s.mk c.hk: good air to ground combo.

- dash hp: this is an infinite, but it's very hard to keep this going for a long time. timing
is strict, and it isn't recommended. but if you're going to use this, use it on victor and
bishamon since they can get infinited while crouching.

Ad.mp, +ad.lk, +ad.lk

*try setting up the ES spin scythe(his bigass projectile) to keep em on the ground? follow w/ unblockable super? WRR

DF: [F+[LP, LK, MP, HP]]xN
*need to be hovering barely off the ground

*jedah?s attacks lunge after wiffing a move in a a dash. So you can do d.mk, d.mp, and the mp will gain signifigant range. Groundash backward will make him lunge backwards

Magman's written guide: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=XH0YZWB0

Jedah

Special Moves

Spinning Scythe: d, df, f + P (useable in mid-air)

Sphere Scythe: d, db, b + P

Sickle Slam: In mid-air, f, df, d, db, b + K

Sickle Spin: In mid-air, f, df, d, db, b + K, then press P

Blood Pump: When close to the opponent, f, df, d, db, b + K

Blood Blast: When blocking, f, d, df + P

ES Moves

ES Spinning Scythe: d, df, f + 2P (useable in mid-air)

ES Sphere Scythe: d, db, b + 2P

ES Sickle Slam: In mid-air, f, df, d, db, b + 2K

ES Sickle Spin: In mid-air, f, df, d, db, b + 2K, then press P

ES Blood Blast: When blocking, f, d, df + 2P

EX Moves

Finale: d, d, + 2P

Signed in Blood: b, db, d, df, f + 2K, then press K

Crap I got some good combo's here

Killer Combo's

Jumping deep LP, Standing close LP, MP, HP

Jumping deep LP,Standing close LP, LK, MK

Spinning Scythe, Jumping deep LP, Standing LP, MP, HP

ES Spinning Scythe, Jumping deep LP, Standing LP, MP, HP

ES Spinning Scythe, Standing HK, Pursuit Attack

ES Spinning Scythe, Standing HK, ES Pursuit Attack

Finale, Pursuit Attack

Finale, ES Pursuit Attack

Jedah is an agreessive powerhouse who is fast but a large target. His unblockable supers make him a threat for any opponent, espcially defensive characters. They can be snuffed but not very easily. His dash is also one of the best with Demitri's and Morrigan's. It has excellent speed and range. Plus, his air dash is great get inside to set-up your attack. Use alot of LP's to rely on pokin' strategies due to its speed and range. It's both a useful and a annoying tool. The standing MP and HP also got just as good as priority. HP got incredile range, do amazing damage and hit multiple times as well. This 3 attacks make up as the best, easiest adn useful chain combo.He's not much for projectile wars with his Spinning Scythe though. It should still be used though, on both the ground and in mid-air. Never use it close. Use it about half a character away or so. This projectile also comes handy with Jedah's LP poking pattern's into his LP, MP, HP chain. The Sphere Spike is not a completley great attack. Use it in close perimeters and to get outta corner traps. Although, since it moves Jedah back at the same and uses his HK attack it gives him some good defense. Just don't abuse this technique. Try to mix this move up with his LP poke. His Sickle Slam is a great suprise move and there is basically no escape from it. In addition with it, you can mix it up with the Sickle Spin and you somewhat control the distance and not attack the opponent with it. On the other hand this just leaves you quite open though. The Blood Blast is another awesome attack which only works good as a Guard Cancel like it does in Vampire Savior unlike in Savior 2. The Blood Pump is an ok move that should be used sparingly since it can only be executed at close range. Yet one downfall is Jedah's lack of knockdown moves. The standing HK is one but is very low priority. it has slow wind up time, cant' be linked, and leaves Jedah open. Although, it works well as a overhead attack and as a anti-air attack if you time it right. While the Finale is his only other knockdown, yet you must be quick to react for this one for pursuit attacks. The Finale is Jedah's best EX attack for it has a great suprise like ability and cant hardly be escape. In addition it comes from the ground and does tremndous damage. Signed in Blood is good but has less priority, for it is a bit easier to escape and must timed correctly to grab the opponent. Jedah's dark force, which enables him to fly, will it's nothing great. With it you can play a defensive game or refer to corner poking trap games.

Jumping LP, LK, Standing close LP, (ES) Blood Blast, (ES) Pursuit Attack

Standing close, (ES) Spinning Scythe, Standing close LP, crouching LP, (ES) Blood Blast, (ES) Pursuit Attack

Dark Force, Flying close LP, LK, MP, HP

Jedah: the basic rundown

Noteworthy normals

--mp - jedah?s mp(fingernails) similar in all forms all versions come out relatively fast, and stay out long enough to get well enough in the way
-s.mp - useful in keeping the opponent on the ground in the corner
-d.mp - from afar, his dashing mp makes for a great instant overhead, comes out fast and you get the benefit of advancing at the opponent
-c.mp ? looks like a good AA doesn?t it?... well use c.mk instead

--fierce- One of jedah?s more memorable moves that people who play against jedah are familiar with. scrubs will just spam this move. All of them have quite good priority(j.fierce beats out qbee?s normal air shit). The problem with this move lies in where the prime hitboxes are placed(a character and a half away from his body mainly), and the fact that if you wiff(which you shouldn?t be) you?ll likely get punished. Hp should be used when rushing from afar, or in a chaincombo of some sort.

--c.mk ? makes for a great anti air(from a character away)
--j.rk ? another move that people are becoming all too familiar with. j.rk completely removes jedah?s momentum w/ whatever he?s doing in the air. Crosses up, and more often than not you can squeeze a j.lk or j.mk before you land to throw them off while rushing down
--j.mk ? mix up a pulsed d.mk when you?re near the opponent and rushing down?. Its got a really perfect angle made for rtsd.

--airdash ? its here, b/c it hits and shit. You can chicken guard into it, and throw your momentum and direction left and right. It causes empty chained normals that are done after it to track the opponent, so should be use in your rtsd.
~knocks down, and thus give him his primary way of using a pursuit.

Specials(dubbed by quick nicknames, b/c those Italian names confuse me)

--wheel(qcf+p, doable in the air-1 hit): everyone can use the wheel, but it takes proper anticipation to us it correctly. the 3 wheels spin in different positions, depending on the strength of the punch used. The lp wheel will be in the lowest position, when standing, and the highest position when jumping. The hp wheel works opposite to the lp wheel. Of course, their most obvious asset is to zone and pin the opponent down, while you run the fuck away, or rush down. An airblocked wheel will have the opponent land with a momentum that goes away from you.
-ES wheel (approximately 5 hits)- the ES wheel is where majority of your meter should be going. It takes up 2/3rds worth of the height of the screen, and allows for you to dash in for mixup, or throw a super at them(provided you pin them properly). If the wheel is behind them, you can still poke them back into the wheel. Should they rush YOU down, you can tech(pushblock) them into the wheel.
--~hittind jedah cancels the wheel
~An airblocked ES wheel will have the opponent fly at you. Which gives you a free claw.
~ES wheel will be nullified by basic projectiles(soulflash, missles, fireballs)-so in that aspect, it only allows for 1 hit worth of a trade.
~hitting jedah early cancels the wheel. if hes hit, and the ES wheel?s developed, it will stay there.

--claw(qcb+p) ?jedah?s 3rd throw? he claws at the air, and leaves claw marks... doesn?t hit low, but I think it may get a crouching victor(I halfto test it later). If the opponent touches the claw marks, they get put in a blood bubble and shit. Works as an AA IF you can anticipate ahead of time. C.mk is definitely safer though.

--air command throw(hcb+k, optional punch extension) - I really like using this without the punch extension on wakeup, or just to change momentum of rushdown, but a player w/ quick reactions will bat you out of the sky.
~the ES version goes extra far(and doesn?t track, as some might wish/hope). Use it if you need to grab?. extra far.

--ground command throw(hcb+k) jedah?s 3rd command throw? mix up accordingly.
~ has no ES

--guardcancel(dp+p) ? he decapitates his head, and blood splurts, and hits the opponent. The hit boxes are in a nice enough place for this to be a reliable gc.
~The ES gc is special case? make sure all the hits hit, b/c if they get hit by the 1st of iono how many hits of ES gc, then they fall and roll under you, ggpo.

Supers & DF
-jedah's supers have low utility (they're both unblockable which is their saving grace imo)

--hell super(down, down+PP) ? unblockable super, that grabs from beneath the opponent. Stays out for quite a while. But if you miss, you?re fucked.

contract super(hcf+K, k after to grab) ? slow, sends a wave of blood that, upon command will grab the opponent.

~~both supers are best used with a wheel or ES wheel to keep them grounded.

Df: he flies? I can?t say much, because I haven?t found effective utility in using it.

Strategory

jedah's played rushdown(tho, i try to play all characters rushdown)/zoning.

unless you're going at the opponent from a high airdash, always ground-dash in pulses(enough to just hop into the air & do an attack) going high into the air with a groundash sacrifices your ability to block[which isnt good].

Rushing down: choices and options(oh so fun..)

from afar, these are the best options to get in on the opponent(imo):
-a hopped hp, or mp
-fwd, fwd, fwd, air normal/blade(this'll have jedah grounddash, then do a low airdash,)
__~an additional benefit; once hes dashed, he naturally grazes over fireballs

-groundash back, ad forward, empty linked normals(tho, this is one of the more obvious ways of getting in imo.)
-normal jump, lp/mp blade, airdash in(also unsafe, & very obvious)

once you get in close, mix up w/ hi/lo shit.

for up close, your best options are:
-pulsed groundash, d.mp/mk/rk/lk
-jump straight up, airdash, immediate rk, into empty linked normals for annoying possible crossup.[i'll generally do ad.rk, ad.mk, ad.lk->land]

wakeup options:
-dash toward enemy & attack for hi/lo
-dash/airdash then airthrow
-blade on wakeup
-meaty super

also, you could opt for a light- air command throw, if you know you're gunna get on top've em on wakeup(or even just dashing in). opponents tend to spend a bit of time thinking/blocking an attack that never came out.

Misc. Info

If you wiff normals during his ground dash, jedah DOESN?T build meter

unlike morrigan(who's down/up groundash "homes in" on the opponent), if you decide to dash w/ your opponent while they move on the ground, you'll rely moreso on intuition[than laziness]

the primary characters you wanna watch out for as far as wakeups go are anak[who has his anti-pursuit move], and demitri(lilith too maybe)[who's got the high priority(not invincible) uppercut]. I'm pretty sure you can counter both by chicken guarding in, but again, thats countered by ground normals -_-

DF: [F+[LP, LK, MP, HP]]xN
*need to be hovering barely off the ground
[+d.hp]xN

and something on the lines of [d.lp, d.lk, d.mp, d.hp]xN

tho the last one might be DF only too... which means that and the first one are actually semi-infs..

as far as the d.hp one goes, I know daigo still practices perfecting it...meaning, the linking is a bitch

[VS] Aulbath: Creature From the Black Lagoon

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 22:44:35 +0000

Hey guys, I've been an Aulbath main for YEARS...so I think I can drop some science on him.

PROS:

Strong ground game/dash pressure game

Bubble loop can win the game for you

Strong Dark Force

Good Normals

Strong Throw game

Great A2A game

Good at breaking through pushblock attempts

CONS:

Bad Anti-Air

Bad Guard Cancel

Somewhat one -dimensional offensive options.

Normals:

Aulbath has a pretty good set of normals, but I think they're best utilized when he's dashing. However, he has some of the best light attacks in the game. c.lp gives you +8 on block, +7 on hit and can link into ITSELF. Pretty awesome imo. C.lk is around the same +7 on block, +6 on hit. His s.mp, c.mp, c.mk and c.hp are all unique because they're two hit moves. You can cancel those at the first or second hit into the other moves (with the exception of c.hp I think). His sweep is pretty decent too, but best utilized when dashing.

Aulbath's dash game is probably what makes him the scariest. All of his normals are tailored for lockdown. Dash sweep is really fast and safe on block (depending on distance). All of his dash lights are simple ways of getting in on the opponent and start off his offensive rush series.

His Aerial moves are great too. Pretty much every one has a use. lp, mp, hp are my favorites for air to air encouters and I use j.lk to jump in at grounded opponents, because it chains into other moves. You can also have an instant overhead with j.lk> Drill.

Special Moves:

Echo (B, F Punch)- Echo is a good move, but I use it mainly for zoning/trap purposes. If you hit them on the ground, it's a full jump in combo. If you hit them in the air, it puts them into a juggle state. Best combo to do when that happens is Echo>J. HP> Pursuit Attack.

Gas (B, F Kick)- Gas is also a great move, but I mainly use it in blockstrings. Sometimes in Zoning. Any time you hit this move it puts them in a stun state for a full jump-in combo. However, if they're far away...you won't be able to combo them. A simple dash sweep is the best way to maximize damage at that point.

Tricky Fish- Fish's weird jump back move. Can be done two ways (b,b K or DP+K). I hardly ever use this move. It's not the best, but I suppose you could use it to peg people who are being stupid and jumping in predictably when you don't have charge. I also use it when I don't have charge for a bubble combo. Does decent damage.

Pokey Command Grab (HCB P)- This move is great because both of Aulbath's throws have invincibility. Mix this in with your dash pressure for some scary situations.

Pearl spit Command Grab (HCB K)- Read: Pokey Command Grab and substitute P for K.

Supers:

Sea Rage (HCF+ PP): This move can be used from time to time when people are throwing FB's full screen or something. Some people use it for Chip but it doesn't do THAT much imo to even be good about chip. Waste of meter, imo

DA MOTHAFUCKIN BUBBLE (DP+PP): The Scrub Busting, Rage inducing, Cheapest move in the game. This is your objective with Rikuo. Get a knockdown, bubble, pressure them and land them in it...do full combo. This works better in the corner than Midscreen, but it has its uses midscreen as well, because people like to give me space when it's out. So I just walk behind it. Some characters can escape it with Dark Force/Specials/ Wall Jumps or w/e, so be cogniscent of which characters have options and which don't.Once you land the bubble, the main combo you're looking for is:

Bubble (Begin Charging), LK Poison, jump lk> Hp air chain, low lk, stand mp (two hits), stand mk, low RH.

That combo builds a ton of meter (most of the time netting you another meter to bubble again) and does the most damage. Learn it, as it's also applicable to any other time you land poison or echo when they're grounded.

Water Tower (F,DF, D + PP or KK): This move is funny to me because its got its uses for screen control at full screen, but even then it's a waste of meter. However, if they get hit and pitched up by it, they get put in a juggle state and you can combo poison into it (However you don't get a full ground combo afterwards....that'd be mega cheap). Sometimes I use it in bubble combos to be flashy. If you use the PP version, you can hold the Punches and it'll travel on the ground until you release them. KK is a set activation point.

LEVEL 3 SUPER OF DEATH (down,down+ PP): You can only use this super on Default color. Waste of meter, hit's low and is hella slow. Doesn't do any damage either. But if you land it, you automatically win the game of Vampire Savior and you are better than Oouchi Jedah and Sasaduka COMBINED.

Combos:

Dash MP~ link combo

low jab, low short, low mk, low hk

Low lk, stand MP (two hits), stand MK, low hk

Ground Gas/Echo hit> jump lp>hp, low lk, stand mp (2 hits), stand MK, low hk

Dark Force: Rikuo gains Hyper Armor and all of his moves become crouching. Rikuo can't block though. He can jump off the Crab with KK, but he loses his hyper Armor if he does so. This can lead to INESCAPABLE Bubble traps, because the bubble can't be broken if Rik is hit.

Strategy/Mindset:

First of all, Rikuo is NOT Guile. A lot of beginning Rikuo's make the mistake of doing that and they realize that Rik can't really handle people jumping in on him like Guile can, because Rik lacks AA normals (Stand HP DOESN'T WORK). The best you can hope for is to trade or make them land on Gas/Echo. Even then....that's a crapshoot on characters like Lei Lei, Jedah, QB, Raptor, Felicia and Gallon because they have ways to jump over it and get you killed. You can turtle it up when needed, but Rik's not built for that.

How *I* play McFish is to be a constant source of PRESSURE. His ground game is one of the best in the game and I abuse the hell outta that. Use dash pressure and stagger your normals and cancel them into Gas/Echo to create traps that catch people mashing/jumping. Or you can pressure them into a throw situation. Any time you can get a knockdown, bubble. This puts an immense amount of pressure on the other guy and often forces a lot of mistakes, because they don't wanna get looped. However, be careful in your pressure because if Rik gets hit... you lose the bubble and all that pressure. Once you land a bubble, do the air combo that I mentioned and if you have enough meter.... DO IT AGAIN! Rik is a simple character and abusing the cheap stuff will net you some wins.

In the Air or at a neutral state, I like to jump in with Rikuo's Air normals, because they're all really good. Use them to hold off people's offense (this is basically his form of AA) and to start your own pressure and create new angles of attack.

And throw...a lot. Because that's all I do.

When it comes to bubble usually your best tool to make sure the bubbles traps them is to unleash a sound wave, Cr. Jab (+8 on block, +9 on hit), or enter dark force and pressure with whatever. While in DF Victor, Anakaris, Jedah, and Q-Bee have pretty much no way to avoid the bubble, for all save Q Bee stay a little above their heads to keep them trapped and Q-Be stay at chest level so you can react if she tries to low proilfe out somehow. Next time I have a chance to check I'll see how long they remain in bubble to get the most damage out of it.

Waste of meter, imo. The only times you should be doing a bubble are after a knockdown situation or a at a point where you can safely throw it without being interrupted. This move has A LOT of startup and using the Dark Force doesn't allow you to do a full ground combo unless you get off the crab (KKK) and do a full ground combo. Which....takes too much effort when correctly guessing and pressuring correctly can net you bubble after bubble against certain characters. When I throw a bubble, the most common response is to jump over it. So I jump at my opponent with jumping mp> HP air chain for two reasons: 1) The Air Chain has a high probablility of beating out whatever air attacks they're doing and it beats most chicken guard attempts, because the bubble will hit by then. 2) MP> HP are both throw buttons, so you have an option select should they enter the parameters for being air thrown. If their air throw comes out, you tech it (losing the bubble, but meh) or you throw them. Not a bad trade imo.

Other methods of pressure include dashing, using echo/poison to keep them in place....or simply neutral jumping and hitting them into the bubble.

Also, it's worth noting that the bubble CAN be mashed out of. So the time in the bubble depends on how quickly you do your follow up Lk poison/ how quickly they mash out. The optimal combo you wanna be doing is: Bubble > LK poison> J.lk, HP air chain, (land) low lk, stand mp (2 hits), stand mk, low hk.

One little thing I noticed at the BFS VS tournament due to my sloppy execution, the water Tower ES attacks stay active for a little while longer than the actual tower remains on screen. Helped me out a bit in finals when I flubbed Bubble inputs somehow and got Tower.

When it comes to bubble usually your best tool to make sure the bubbles traps them is to unleash a sound wave, Cr. Jab (+8 on block, +9 on hit), or enter dark force and pressure with whatever. While in DF Victor, Anakaris, Jedah, and Q-Bee have pretty much no way to avoid the bubble, for all save Q Bee stay a little above their heads to keep them trapped and Q-Be stay at chest level so you can react if she tries to low proilfe out somehow. Next time I have a chance to check I'll see how long they remain in bubble to get the most damage out of it.

His best Anti-Airs are St. Jab and St. RH, both are situational and you have to think quickly when it comes to choosing which to use. Soundwaves are alright every now and then if you predict an attack and space it right, a Anti Air sound wave setps up a guarenteed bubble if they end up close to the corner and a decent opputunity mid-screen.

I'll edit later. Ummm for now check out the Mizuumi wiki:

http://vsav.mizuumi.net/wiki/Aulbath

[Things you should NOT Tech Hit] a short Tech Hit guide

Thu, 02 Jul 2015 00:40:21 +0000

When i first learned to tech hit i was like "oh yeah i'm going to tech hit everything i can", that was actually the stupidest thing ever to think.

Tech hit in vampire Savior is extremely useful because it can give you the opportunity to push your opponent away making him harder to keep doing pressure on you, however you should not try to tech hit every single attack because it may make you predictable and your opponent may be able to trick you and punish you hard.

So what attack should i not try to tech hit?

Well, you can try to tech any normal attack however you should not try to tech hit most of the cast special attacks here's a quick list:

Every Dp except Felicia's Catspike:

most of the cast have a dp, some have a good ones and others have shitty ones, however, trying to tech hit them it's both hard and unsafe, why?, take demitri for example, he have a really good dp wich i believe is safe on block and have some pretty good active frames, if you try to tech hit you'll probably get hit by it, giving demitri an advantage, and if you do a succesful tech he'll get pushed away giving him the option to keep zooning you with his fireballs.

If you try to tech hit his dash dp (who's also safe on block) you'll not acomplish anything because he'll get into your face anyway (just like sasquatch short hop pressure but unlike him,demitri can't spam his dash dp ) so the best option is to wait the right moment to punish .

Felicia is an other good example, lots of times i was able to last hit someone who desperately tried to Tech my Delta kicks and even if they succeded they would get hit by it anyway because they tought they were finally able to escape, WRONG, that's actually the stupidest thing to do, Felicia travels at a decent speed during her non delta kick and even faster during her ES version making her able to get you anyway if you try to jump away after a succesful tech hit.

so the best option is to Guard cancel or just block it (but you are open to a follow up cmd throw by her if you're in the corner).

Overall,The best option to counter dps is: block and wait, just wait you'll eventually being able to punish their dps during their recovery time and if you expect an other dp after the blocked one (again, lots of demitris likes to do that, even myself) you can just wait and whiff punish them.

But why is ok to tech hit the catspike? the reason is simple, that move helps Felicia to keep pressuring you and even if lp catspike does not have a lot of Frame advantage (just 1 for the lp version) she can follow up with a cmd throw making you vulnerable to her mixups

Felicia's rolling buckler:

Again there is no reason to try to tech this attack you will only open yourself to a quick unwanted punish by the felicia player and you may lose your punish opportunity, the ES rolling buckler is incredibly fast and just like the ES delta kick it may get you even if you do a succesful tech because she'll be in your face in no time.

The right thing to do is: block, just block don't even try to GC the rolling buckler, it's really unsafe on block giving you a free punish and combined with Felicia's slow wake up speed it may even help you to win the game

Felicia's Please Help me Super:

this is the only EX move i include in my list because, who even try to tech hit supers? most of them are unsafe on block so just block and punish.

However for the Please Help me super is a different story, it happened that some players tech hitted the kitty. but this just helped me because it pushed Felicia even more far away from them, giving me a slighty chance to recover in time and not get punished.

ALWAYS block the supers, never try to tech hit them you'll may fail your tech hit and get hit by them.

Gallon/Talbain ES Beast cannon:

just like the Felicia's ES rolling buckler, Wolf ES Beast cannon is really fast and no matter if you tech he'll be in your face again in less than a second and a good wolf will always hitconfirm the beast cannon juggles even if he barely hits you once

It is possible to pushblock and punish the beastcannon but you gotta be careful while trying it

Quote

Beast Cannon is a great thing to push block if you can. The oddity abotu AG'ing Beast Cannon though, is that it's not about getting distance, it's about recovering with time to counter-attack sooner than you would if you had just blocked it. AG'ing the first hit (or any hit) means you have that much more time to jab him out of it, or to jump and immediately attack - counters to Beast Cannon that are available to anyon

Gallon Flash kick:

if you tech hit his flash kick you'll just help him to get away from you making you lose a good punish opportunity

Gallon Nunchakus:

Nobody uses this move ever and even if they do they'll push themselves away because that move have an insane auto pushblock propriety lol

Lei Lei's gong: if a lei lei player for some odd reason will try to keep pressuring you with the gong on your wakeup just block, it's a free punish for you and if you feel comfortable enough you can punish the ES version easily with a Guard cancel.

Lei Lei Senpuu Bu (DP): For what i experienced, tech hitting Lei Lei's pendulum move is ineffective, she'll still be in your face no matter what you do, i suggest to try to tech hit it instead, it's way easier

Zabel's Death Hurricane:

if you try to pushblock this move you'll just give zabel a slighty chance to recover in time and avoid your punish attempt.

Anakaris Hitsugi no Mai (flying coffins):

Honestly i have no idea why you should tech hit this move,block and wait for it to end or just try to sneak into anakaris face and punsih him (it's risky tho)

Note that these are just suggestions, i may have been missing some moves or maybe you may not agree with this list at all.

if you have a suggestion of why a move should or should not tech hitted just let me know so i can upload the list for help the new players to understand the tech hit a bit better

And please forgive me for any typos or bad grammar i did :p

[VS] Lei-Lei: Kwaidan

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 21:49:16 +0000

LeiLei is awesome, and you can be awesome with her. I'll use this thread to condense down all the other info we've compiled - So bear with me until I get it a little more assembled

Mizuumi Character page: http://vsav.mizuumi.net/wiki/Lei-Lei

JP Frame data page: http://darkstalkers.moryou.com/savior/data-s/lei-lei-s/lei-lei-s.html

Info from GBursine's SRK thread:

- c.LK, +c.LK, +s.LP c.HP s.HK: this chain is to avoid GC's at a distance on reaction. it

also strings with early anti air with s.lp. the s.hk at the end is to recover her c.hp sweep

faster.

- c.LK c.MP c.MK c.HP s.HK: her main chain combo after an IAD or to hit with. <-IMPORTANT

- c.lk c.mp c.mk xx tenraiha: not easy at all to execute, but it's worth it to practice. it's

practical with practice and super dexterity, so if you're maining LeiLei go for it. in the

corner you can loop traps with qcf hp, c.lk c.mk c.hp chain to hit low all the time, then

cancel the c.hp with tenraiha (not as hard to execute) and the spikes will OTG you again for

another one.

- dash c.mp c.mk. or c.mp c.mk alone: this is used in dash mixups mainly, but it can early

anti air, and it's a chain you can use to confirm a sweep with.

- f+mp c.mk: this far poke avoids GC's, and recovers her spike ball faster. it's not used

much for a combo though, just to zone and poke with.

LeiLei's tricks aren't in her combos, she only has a few useful ones.

iadATCK, s.LP, s.LK, s.HK, MP, MP, Up

*the 2 mp's cancel the rk into heaven spike super

-Dizzy opponent, hp projectile, iad.rk,(projectile hits), iad.rh, cont w/ ground combo

-the spike balls on Heavenly spikes(lk, rk, mp, mp, up) can otg

---

How does LeiLei's projectile work?

Her projectile has 3 trajectories, based on which strength punch you use. LP is a low arc, MP arc goes across the middle of the screen nearly to the opposite top corner, and HP goes almost completely straight up as well as being the only one that hits Overhead. The shuriken she throws is the tell for your dizzy coming up. It will always go Shuriken->Akuma Statue->Dizzy (either hammer or ice block). She also has 2 random dizzy items: Chun Li Bracelet, Star block. Also - note that the dizzy will not come out with LP - if you have a dizzy item 'in the hole' and throw a LP projectile, you lose that dizzy and will have to cycle back to another shuriken.

Lei Lei(lay lay)/hsien ko

Hsien ko is BEST played rtsd/zoner.

her best jump ins are mp, mk, hp, rk. maybe lp.
mp out prioritizes most moves in the game, stays out long, and during a jumpin, you have the option to chain to any of her higher moves if it connects(or doesnt).

j.mk puts hella lota hitstun.

Lei Lei's has 2 dominant* ways of getting in on the opponent.
1- pendulum swing in
- If timed right, you can swing her pendulum to go fucking fast across the screen... crossup or not, it does a damn good job of getting in the other guy's face.
2- IAD- Instant air dash. IMO its ALOT more bitch to pull out in VS than other games. It allows lei lei to control when she wants to land.
she has 4 different options to pull out when iading.
-mp- it what genearlly should be used for jumpins and air2air..as said be4, it outprioritized almost everything. Her best air move hands down
-rk- its got different hitboxes, so use it when crossing up the opponent.
-mk- alot**** of frame advantage. I'm gunna test it more, cuz it gives so much...
-lk- when mp doesn't cut it for air to air confrontations, more than likely, these will out prioritize.

I almost never [ground]dash in to do a chain combo. I don't ever recall seeing the japs dash in. imo the only things its good for are:
-spectral slicer(command throw...coolest name)
-rk- lei lei's better recovering far hitting normal

k.. now for her footsie game.
Lei lei has so many ranged moves, its good to know which to, and not to use.
The good:
F+mp- her farthest reaching poke. she swings a mace ball thingy out. The hit boxes go to the very edge of the ball. Very useful, tho make sure they at block it(so you can chain to rk)
s.rk- This move, is sooo necessary for her game. It has incredible range, comes out fast, and recovers fast as hell. end all chains in this.
s.lp/s.lk-both have alot of priority. they're a bit more defensive in that you're expecting to hit your opponent outa whatever the hell hes doing.then maybe(or likely) go for the chain(though you're likely to be a distance away)

c.mp- its her low ranged poke... good as hell, and has distant horizontal range.

The most abusive normal: Standing roundhouse
this is her best move overall handsdown. when doing any sort of ground chain combo, its best to end it with s.rh. Why??? you're safe doing a ranged poke(s.hp, rk.... or F+mp, rk)... or, if you're doing a ground chain, wiff canceling the s.rk allows you to:
-iad forward/back
-pursuit
-scythe-> semi immediate cancel(for crossup... or no crossup)

Anti-air normals
j.mp- I'm putting this in late.. mainly cuz i just rememberd it. use it like chun's j.u+rk
s.lp/lk- either or, they're for hittin opponents landing more in front of you. just good at outprioritizing junk. and I think the knife is like.... not an extension.... I dunno how to explain it...

Back+mp- here, she throws out her claw above her head. its only a decent AA in VS... it works much better in VS2

c.mp- if the enemy is about one character away, and you anticipate them jumping, throw this out. the popping up claws have surprising vertical range. too frekin good... and of course, should they not block, you have s.rk to protect yourself.

s.rk- a distance AA. Works decently, trades most of the time
c.rk- I find this move annoying as hell... She does an angled handstand. the hitboxes are annoying as fuck, and it comes out somewhat delayed. When I first played her I thought this move was good. it doesn't hit behind her surprisingly, and I wouldn't recomend relying on it so much.It seems like I get a guaranteed pursuit, cuz I seem to recover early... (my friend always bitches that he can't roll)... tho I'll halfta test that more
F+fp - good if you can anticipate them. tho from what H-king says, they can hit you out of it. I personally don't like it..I rarely ever use it. I think it has too much recovery.... but the japs use it, so it must be good

how to use teh Specials:
=gong(QCB+P): three uses:
-tk gong-(lp, or ES) AA, and anti rush down.. this shits too good
-psychic gong(lp gong)- it comes out fast as hell. if you're jumping in, and you see a projectile, psychic gong that shit. lp comes out fast, and all you need is a bit of practice, and it'll be like, second nature.
-zoning(ES)- its much like lilith's soul flash, only it can reflect moves, and if timed right, you can combo it into the knife super.

=spinny scythe(DP+P, cancelable w/ kick)- I thought initially, this move was a pos.... boy was I wrong... Its priority is random, I'm pretty sure this is how it works... lei lei's [best*]hitboxes are constantly circling around her... so the enemy has to time it if they really wanna hit... it has 4 uses:
-faking... use it, and fake it in the beginning of your arch downward
-crossup... self explanitory... VERY good... if you can master this shit, she'll fly so fucking fast, that when she goes at the opponent, they need mvc2 reflexes to see whether or not a high hit will come out before you land, and do a quick low one
-runnaway bitch- jump, scythe at the highest point, kick cancel on your way up(this is her double jump basically).. proceed to go across the screen with a dash, or do a hp scythe to stay uptop.
-baiting. A lei lei that can pendulum cancel well can use this move freely. so, you can swing->cancel->block->free combo... of course if they go for a ground normal, you'll likely get hit by something.

...another thing I've seen japs do, is a scythe in the middle of the screen, canceled out into another scythe, to crossup... Its just a fake/crossup variation

*after either the first or 2nd pendulum cancel, you STILL have the option to air dash
*she has hitboxes all around her... tho I think at that main point(where the blade is) is where it has the most priority.

=random object projectiles:
lp- its another poke... tho it doesn't allow for dizzy projectiles. its still good in cycleing to a dizzy one though. goes 5/6ths of the screen.
mp- most useful zoning tool imo. arcs across the screen. allows you to ad/iad forward.
hp- should be used after a heaven spike super to set up for an anji type unblockable.
*note1: the biggest drawback of all her projectiles is that she stays on the ground so goddamn long.... so while it may seem like a good idea to throw a mp projectile against jedah, you risk getting put into his underworld grab super
*note2: the 2nd projectile after the shruinken(or the one after the akuma statue) is always a dizzy projectile...

=DF mode: How to use it.
Knockdown/dizzy, activate, rush in, oodles of s.lps and walking forward.
its always good to cancel out of it before it actually ends... especilally lei lei's since hers depends on how far away you are from lin lin.
-lei lei has super armor:evil: don't be afraid
-I often go into df off of a dizzy proj. Make sure you dont hesitate. they can come out of the dizzy if you waste too much time running/dashing to them and activating.
-her df counters anyone else's df.

Lei leiQuerks

*heaven spikes super(the ones that come fron the air).... heaven spikes sets up for an unblockable hp projectile.
-teh BALLS otg... the big block thingy does too I think..
-the block thingy that falls initially is an overhead

-=Things you should/can do during a match=-
-rtsd.
-jumping mp(kinda like chun's straight up rk)
-iad.mp/mk->groundchain
-random ground pokes
-c.mk and close s.mp are buffereable... kinda hard to set up imo, but should you manage to land em(doable off the lowest iad)...combo that shit

-knife super makes for a decent AA if you can anticipate them attacking you from afar when they jump in. ...follow up w/ iad to otg heaven spikes.
-knife super is the F U to alot of DF's.
-no bombs, unless you're japanese
-anji type unblockable setups are doable in the corner... unless you're up against a good gcer

more to come after my spring break
Thanx satome for inadvetently making me want to write this

How do I block, yo?! - A general guide to all defense.

Fri, 25 Apr 2014 22:30:21 +0000

I've been working on a 15-part series of character-specific guides on all aspects of defending against a character, as well as handling their own defense. As I was writing them, however, I realized it would be important to have a guide on all the universal things that everyone can do, and how to deal with them effectively. Thus, I've written this guide.

I'd actually been sitting on this one for a few weeks, slowly revising it, worried that I'd left something out. Well, forget it - anyone can just tell me if they think I missed something important, right?

A little more info on this project... I do have some of the character-specific guides finished already; however, I want to have more in the pipeline before releasing any.

Ones I have complete:

Anakaris (checked by MightyMar and Hildr)

L.Rapter (awaiting notes from Rotanibor)

Q-Bee (will be unchecked unless a baller-ass Q-Bee wants to look it over)

Ones I am currently writing/researching:

Victor (need to find more videos of high-level Vic play; any help appreciated)

Morrigan (currently watching vids + playing a lot of Morrigan in my spare time)

J.Talbain (writing very, very slowly, to make sure it's not riddled with my own, personal biases)

If you like this article, I ask for your patience while I write and prepare to release future articles. Making an article is a lot of research, and it takes a lot of time to write and revise on top of that. There's also a lot of taking what I *think* I know to be solid gameplay from a character, and cross-checking high-level play to see if they do it, as well as when, why, etc. Thus, the process is slow-going.

Anyways. Without further ado...

How do I block, yo?!

1. Introduction

I like helping people learn how to play Vampire Savior. The most common advice I ever give to people is "The single most important technique in Vampire Savior is blocking attacks." Sometimes, the problem is that they don't understand to the extent to which I mean it; the next time you watch high-level Vampire play, count how many attacks are blocked versus how many actually hit the opponent. People are blocking attacks for loooong periods of time. Some people just don't appreciate the advice until it dawns on them that it's not only the top tier characters/whichever character they're dying to that forces them to really block properly (although, certainly, it's much easier to demand a pro-level defense from your opponent with a top-tier character).

If you think you fall into either one of these camps, this guide will still be of use to you, for sure; but, the guide is mainly written for the third type of player I run into - the player who understands and appreciates it, but still makes bad decisions. That's not a slight against them; I still make poor decisions, as well as many of the best American VSav players. It's not because we are bad players, but rather, our decisions and heuristics for running a sound defense are rooted in logic that works for many OTHER fighting games. ...Buuut, this is Vampire Savior, and everything you think you know is probably wrong (in fact, I've written a guide about how various mechanics that look familiar from other games in VSav function much differently in VSav compared to those other games. The deceptive nature of familiar-looking mechanics in VSav is a topic I've dabbled in).

My goal is to write a comprehensive (or near-comprehensive) article on the ins and outs of defending against each character in the game. I'll cover how their neutral game is played, how you need to approach (or not-approach) them, what you need to do to defend against their offensive pressure, as well as what you can do on the offensive to avoid having the advantage reversed...as well as any other random tidbits of information that could be useful.

Before I do, though, there are some basics I'd like to go over as far as defense is concerned. Some of this will overlap concepts written in my guide on Mizuumi. Some of it is information not-yet recorded in an accessible place (although many people may know it). And, some of it will even be made redundant when reading certain articles, for the sake of being thorough. But, they are concepts I assume that people know when reading the character-specific articles, so I want to make sure you understand them before going further.

2. Offensive types

In general, there are two types of rushdown in Vampire Savior. Almost every character contains the ability to do both in some limited capacity; however, every character is generally better at one or the other. And, for a bit of variety, there are also some characters who are exceptions to this "rule".

A. "Pressure" Rushdown: Characters with Pressure Rushdown use their offense to create a sequence of attacks with very few holes, no holes, or even worse: intentional breaks in the attack strings that are used to bait hasty counterattacks. It's generally pretty obvious HOW the attacks are supposed to be blocked - very few Pressure Rushdown characters incorporate frequent overheads into their game. Rather, The Pressure Rushdown characters excel in taking advantage of their menacing attack strings and abundance of frame traps to trick their opponent into mounting their counter-defense at the wrong time, and using these openings to deal damage; or even reading when their opponent is being too catatonic, to nail them with a Command Throw - powerful throws that can't be escaped from or have their damage mitigated.

There are six easily classifiable Pressure Rushdown characters: B.B Hood, Bishamon, Felicia, J. Talbain, Lilith, and Rikuo.

B. "High/Low" Rushdown: Characters with High/Low Rushdown use their toolset to trick their opponents into blocking in the wrong way. That is, they have the ability to do very quick overheads with their dash (or air dash), and either follow up with low attacks, or even do another quick overhead attack. While High/Low characters have less leeway/damage potential in altering the timing of their attacks, the High/Low Rushdown characters make up for this deficit by being able to switch between lows and overheads at very high speeds, creating a more proactive guessing game for their opponents, and using this guessing game to get past their opponents' defenses and deal as much damage as possible.

There are six easily classifiable High/Low Rushdown characters: Hsien-Ko, Jedah, L. Rapter, Morrigan, Q-Bee, and Sasquatch.

C. "The Outliers": These characters fit into the categories in strange ways.

- Anakaris might be able to be considered a High/Low character, especially since his neutral game is typically played in the air like many High/Low rushdowns characters. However, what's noteworthy about Anakaris is that, while most characters excel in one type of offense or the other, Anakaris may be the only character in the game who is equally proficient at both. So, while it might be a natural inclination to think of him as High/Low, bear in mind that he's not only adept at both, but that it's easy for him to switch between the two modes of offense at-will, giving him a powerful offensive toolset to work with...Remember, Anakaris is the worst character in the game for his lack of DEFENSIVE options, NOT his lack of options on the offensive. Forget this at your own peril. ...Although, he does lack a normal throw, and his command throws are...well...you can read my article on Anak and see.

- Demitri, in my opinion, fits in neither camp. He definitely isn't a High/Low Rushdown character, because he has no overheads outside of his jumping normals (or that treacherous Bat Spin move, which can frequently be unsafe on HIT). His dash renders him unable to use any normal moves, and none of his special moves can be chained together to make any sort of relevant Pressure-based offense (again, unless you count the rare times that Bat Spin actually allows Demitri to land normally, instead of sending him flying backwards on block). Instead, Demitri's entire game is based on okizeme (i.e wakeup games); he spends his neutral game fishing for knockdowns, and then uses his opponent's wakeup to create high risk/high reward guessing games that payoff with huge damage. If he guesses right, he gets a ton of damage and gets to try and set up the situation again; but, if he's wrong, he gets virtually nothing out of the exchange and has to start all over.

- Victor can be considered a Pressure Rushdown character; but, his pressure is not only rather weak, but he relies on the fact that his ground normals can force resets to create a sort of loop. Thus, if he gets blocked, he can't very easily continue the pressure. On top of that, any time he gets a successful combo into a Hp reset, he then has to trick his opponent AGAIN, or be pushed out and lose opportunities for damage. His offense is also tailored for heavier use of his Command Throw, which does about as much damage as one of his normal chain combos. Although, interestingly enough, landing the Command Throw usually forces Victor to forfeit the offensive advantage...is it any wonder this guy is one of the worst characters in the game? Anyways, this makes him more of a "Pressure Rushdown Lite", or something. The Diet Coke of Pressure Rushdown.

3. General Advice

There are some things you need to consider, no matter who you're fighting.

A. Everyone can do both...except Demitri and Lilith

No matter if you're fighting a Pressure Rushdown or a High/Low Rushdown character, basically everyone in the game has the ability to do both in SOME capacity, no matter how small, how effective, or how ridiculous. B.B Hood is pressure, but her J.Hk unblockable is a high/low game - she can either come down with a standard jump attack (high option), or do J.Hk to try and pin you to set up the unblockable low (low option). Many High/Low characters can still use Variable Blockstun Pressure (the fancy term for "intentionally make your own frame traps") to get some more damage, even though they can't generally get as much damage out of it as Pressure Rushdown characters. Rikuo can do instant J.Lk xx Drill on some characters, and hell, even Victor can follow up his resets/knockdowns with Giga Stake, which needs to be blocked high.

It's important to keep in mind that both avenues are available to every character in some way, shape, or form. And, whether or not it's incredibly powerful, good players will know when and how to use even the most esoteric options.

B. Guard Cancel

Guard Cancel is an extremely important tool in Vampire Savior. In my opinion, it's very underused and underrated by American players. If a player is good at Guard Cancelling on command, it completely changes the dynamic of the match. Watch Japanese matchups between characters with powerful GCs, and you'll see how frequently they move into range and hesitate. It's not uncommon to see top players move into each others' attack range and then sit there for a second or more (which, as you probably know, feels like an eternity when you're the one playing). Obviously, this isn't an all-encompassing thing, and all GCs can be baited. Some attacks are "GC-safe" in most situations. Some GCs are even easier to bait than others (Anakaris's is not even safe on hit, Talbain's and Hsien-Ko's are slow enough that they can be effectively baited with almost any light attack from max range). On the other hand, there are some characters who virtually can't even be played at a competitive level without the ability to instant-GC (Demitri and Victor are the ones that immediately come to mind).

Your ability to do it WHEN you want, as well as your ability to judge when it's a good idea, is a huge factor in stopping your opponent from applying block pressure with impunity when they shouldn't be.

Guard Cancels can also be used offensively by people with GC-only attacks, as they can do a GC Option Select that allows them to attempt a GC without dropping their defense at all. This is especially useful against players/characters who are AG-happy or like to counterpoke. When playing offense, just hold a button down, and buffer the GC - if your opponent attacks, finish the GC and let go of the button you've held down. You can't get an accidentally special move if your attack is GC-only, and you won't even throw out a jab that can be counter-hit, because you used negative edge.

Characters with GC-only attacks: Anakaris, B.B Hood, Bishamon*, Jedah, L.Rapter, and Q-Bee.

* - Bishamon can use his GC attack, Kien Zan, for a few frames after block stun, hit stun, wakeup, being reset, or landing from a jump.

On top of that, some characters have unblockable ES GCs, which make them even harder to pressure. Anyone who attacks within their GC range will be hit, and anyone who has their jumping attack get GC'ed is almost guaranteed to be hit as well, since even if they land in time to block, they will land right next to their opponent with no time to move out of range.

Characters with unblockable ES GCs: Anakaris*, Bishamon, Demitri, Felicia, Lilith, L. Rapter (during Dark Force only), and Morrigan.

* - Anakaris's GC still sucks and is unsafe on hit.

Finally, Guard Cancels are important for a big reason that I don't think most people consider: They replace reversal attacks in Vamprire Savior.

Refer to this chart: http://clientes.netvisao.pt/anpedror/reversals.htm

The important thing the note, here, is that the game engine prohibits you from using the Piano Method to reversal, so unless you can consistently be accurate within 1/59th of a second (since VSav runs at 59FPS), you can't realistically rely on reversal attacks.

More importantly, many characters in the game don't have moves which are suitable reversals. A lot of characters only have three invincible moves: Their command throws (which don't actually grab opponents unless they are reversals in most cases, because throws can't be used for four frames after getting up...AND they can be stopped be simply standing out of throw range), Dark Force (which can't be used as a reversal; the chart notes that Dark Force isn't even possible until after the reversal frame), and...their Guard Cancel, which, by its nature, isn't a reversal.

Thus, even if it were possible to Piano Reversal, many characters have no suitable options in the first place. However, every Guard Cancel has invulnerable frames, and it is the answer to reckless attacks - especially reckless meaty attacks - making it the effective substitute for wakeup reversals in Vampire Savior. As long as you're not going to get chipped to death, a wakeup GC is your best bet...as long as you know it'll connect.

C. Addendum 1: Reversals

As an addendum to what I just wrote...Reversals in VSav are a stupid idea. Stop trying to do them, and if you unironically suggest that someone try a reversal and I hear about it, I will punch you in your stupid face.

D. Addendum 2: Wakeup Command Throw Exceptions

I just explained that Guard Cancelling is the substitute for reversals, for a whole ton of reasons. However, there is one exception:

While this isn't necessarily a reversal, there are some characters who can get away with wakeup command throws.

- Bishamon, Q-Bee, and Victor can all throw as they get up from a forward/backward roll; the 4-frame throw injunction doesn't apply to them in this case.

- Some characters have command throws that will beat the throw injunction, for a variety of reasons; some characters have throws that have more than four active grabbing frames. Some characters have throws with a 4-frame (or longer) startup, with invulnerable startup. If these characters aren't being forced to block immediately as they get up , they can squeeze in a command throw, and even if it doesn't come out as a reversal, it will still cause the poorly-timed meaty to whiff (thanks to the invulnerability) and grab them.

- Characters with enough active grabbing frames to bypass the throw injunction:

Bishamon (5), J.Talbain (7), L.Rapter (11), and Q-Bee (10; ES version only).

- Characters with long-startup command throws + invulnerability:

Bishamon (7 starup; 13 invincibility), Morrigan (4; 4), Rikuo (Gem's Anger, i.e HCB+K - 6; 6)

- The simple list of characters who can do the Wakeup Command Throw Exceptions;

Bishamon, J.Talbain, L.Rapter, Morrigan, Q-Bee, Rikuo, Victor (after forward/backward rolls only)

Finally, bear in mind that if you are fighting one of these characters, simply timing a meaty properly is all you need to do to stop this...or just play your okizeme from the air. If you're on the ground, and any of these characters actually DO succeed in a reversal attack, however, you will get thrown if you're in range...which brings me to the last method of defense against characters with Command Throw Exceptions: don't do meaties from point-blank.

E. Advancing Guard/Push Block

I probably don't need to discuss this too in-depth, right? Advancing Guard (AG) is the most fundamental defensive technique in VSav...apart from just blocking. Done right, and your opponent is pushed back. Press buttons during blockstun to "proc" an AG. First two buttons won't proc. Distance pushed is based on the strength of the button pushed when it procs. 4th and 5th presses have the highest probability of proccing (see the math section in my Tutorial on Mizuumi if you're interested). If you manage 6 presses, it will automatically proc.

You can almost gauge an opponent's defensive prowess by how they AG: if they're new, they probably don't AG/can't AG very well. If they're intermediates, they can probably AG on the first or second hit; but, more importantly, they'll probably try to AG everything, and they'll do so predictively - that is, they don't actually wait to see if you attack. More advanced players are more familiar with each character's attacks and pacing, and will probably do a lot more basic blocks, interspersed with reactive AGs - that is, they "block confirm" their AGs.

Dealing with AGs becomes more complicated as you move higher up the ladder. In novice play, you can basically do whatever you want, because they can't AG/won't AG consistently. Intermediate players are enamored with how easy it is to push block people away, and will try to do it every chance they get...so, if you have high/low capability in your offense, you can use this to trip them up. Besides that, you can figure out their AG timing - usually immediately as they get up - and time your attack so that you counterhit their AG (after all, if they AG too early, they're just gonna get a jab/short).

In high-level play, if you just try to do a meaty, you'll get AG'ed for sure; but, even if you try to stagger, you're not usually going to hit your opponent. This is because they are waiting to see what you do. This allows them to defend better against high/low AND pressure game, because they aren't commiting to anything until they see what action you're going to take first. There are, however, a few upsides for the person attacking. For one, since they are not just attacking willy-nilly, they are more susceptible to throws on wakeup. Granted, they can still possibly react fast enough to counter your throw attempt; but, at least now, it has a chance of working, and becomes a viable option. For example, if you play Victor, as strange as it sounds, you can tell how smart a defender is by the fact that they DO get hit by your dashing 360 sometimes; the poor defender will always be protected from the 360 (cos they're spamming AG as soon as they have any breathing room), without realizing that they're always wide open to variable pressure, and that Victor's chain combos deal more damage than his 360. Sweet irony!

Second, because the high-level player will try to block-confirm their AGs, you can get away with doing more attacks without immediately getting pushed away, since they won't AG without being certain that they've read your offense properly. This trait diminishes somewhat as you get to the top end of VSav players, though, because they are very good at figuring out an opponent's next move based on their character selection and their spacing - only true guessing games will be difficult to AG for them.

There's only one technique that truly renders the AG inept, aside from taking advantage of its inherent risks: crossups. Or at least, some crossups. The reason is because an AG pushes you away from the direction your opponent is FACING; where they actually are on the screen has no relevance. Thus, if an opponent crosses you up, and you AG, they will be behind you, but they will be facing behind you, as well. As a result, your AG pushes you toward them, even though they're behind you when the attack connects.

Not every crossup technique works. Some aerial maneuvers cause the characters to turn around. For example, most characters with air dashes turn around if they move to the opposite side of their opponent during their dash. Morrigan's flying dash, and B.B Hood's double jump cause the same phenomenon.

(I need to make a list of what aerial maneuvers auto-correct their directions; if anyone wants to give me that list, that'd be much-appreciated.)

The point is, if you do any standard jumping crossup, or you have a dash that crosses up without turning you around, you can make certain aspects of your offense un-AG'able.

F. Jump-Out

Jump-Outs are an interesting part of American VSav. It's the preferred method of defending yourself from attacks, and for a lot of good reasons:

- It's easy: hold up, or up + back.

- It's powerful, if it works. If you're mid-screen, you get some breathing room, and potentially reset the situation to neutral. If you're in the corner, you can evade your opponent's attack and have a good chance to mount a counter-offense if they are unprepared.

- If your opponent doesn't/can't/won't include contingencies in their offense to deal with jump-outs, or can't time meaties consistently, you can use it in a variety of situations, even if you theoretically shouldn't be able to get away with it.

That being said, Americans probably use it too much...however, it's definitely used in Japan, too. The "meta" of JP Savior, however, gives proper attention to jump-outs. Their offensive strings, strategies, and techniques prepare for the possibility of jump-outs in the same way that Guilty Gear players do combos that prepare for the possibility of the opponent using Burst, for example. They know which attacks will stop jump-outs, and the ranges they need to be at. Their oki is made to discourage using jump-outs as an easy escape, and when it does happen, they even know what to do to keep the offensive pressure going, or even punish them for jumping out. On the contrary, Japanese players know when to jump, too; they make space by either AG'ing or blocking until the opponent is pushed far enough away. Jump-outs in close range *SHOULD* be a high-risk, high-reward maneuver.

So, what can you do to deal with Jump-Outs more effectively?

- Know your best attacks and strings for punishing jump-outs, and the ranges at which they are effective. I won't try to explain the best strategies for each character here (nor do I know them all as of writing this), but what I can say is, it's best to precede your anti-jump-out attacks with attacks that have a lot of frame advantage on block. Also, the best moves for punishing jump-outs are usually fast moves with longer ranges; the larger the hitbox, the slower it can be, but we're talking 4-6 frame startup on average. There are some definite exceptions to this rule if you have extremely long-range attacks, or have a ground dash with standing attacks (like Anakaris, for example).

ALL jumps have a 3-frame startup...except Lilith's High Jump, which has 6 frames, and Anak's neutral jump, which is only 1 frame, but...well, you'll hit him out of his neutral jump in most cases. My point is that your punish shouldn't be much slower than that.

- Know your offense well enough to know WHEN it's a good idea for your opponent to jump-out, so you can be prepared with something. "Something" can either be an anti-air (particularly if they're in the corner, since they can't jump out of your range), a GC (in fact, anti-air or GC is a very good mixup game for this situation; attacks get GC'ed, and descending with nothing gets AA'd), it can be walking forward, doing a dash, doing a move that propels you forward, throwing an attack that takes up a lot of space on the screen - anything that can potentially keep the offensive advantage in your favor.

- Make sure your Oki is solid. You need to be able to time meaties properly, and you need to do meaties often enough that your opponent doesn't keep trying to jump-out anyways. For example, against players who don't time meaties properly/don't meaty often enough, I will continuously try to jump-out, just because I know that I won't die before I successfully jump out of their offense, and I know my counter-offense will succeed; it's a shamelessly lazy way to beat opponents who don't factor jump-outs into their offensive plan. Basically, don't be a person that your opponent performs this type of risk assessment on; it means your Oki is weak-sauce.

- As an afterthought of that last point, make sure your jump-out punishes deal as much damage as possible, or are as threatening as possible. Your jump-out punish should have a follow-through. Your jump-out punish's follow-through should not leave you vulnerable to attack if your opponent gets reset (i.e they actually made it into the air before you hit them). Your jump-out punish should have a plan on how best to capitalize on a reset...which shouldn't be too hard; what do you already do when you get a reset? It'll probably work in this case, too.

G. Dark Force

On the opposite side of jump-outs are Dark Forces, which are perhaps the most under-rated defensive maneuver in American VSav (aside from just blocking). This probably doesn't need mentioning, but just for the sake of being thorough...each Dark Force has an activation animation, after which the character is in a special state, where either their moves are different, their hit and movement properties are different, or a combination of any of those things. Your activation animation is invulnerable, and a couple of frames afterward will be invulnerable too. Everyone's Dark Force is on a timer - the length of the timer is different on a per-character basis. Getting hit by attacks takes chunks of time off the timer. When the timer expires, your Dark Force will deactivate, which (usually) has an animation. You're completely vulnerable during this animation, but you can also deactivate manually, which is often the smart idea.

When I say "a couple frames of invincibility", I mean it literally - the majority of the cast has invulnerability equal to the length of their Dark Force animation plus two frames. The exception:

- Victor has only 1 frame of additional invulnerability, on both Dark Forces.

- J. Talbain and Sasquatch have 3 additional frames of invulnerability (true of both of Sas's DFs).

- Rapter has 8(!) additional frames of invulnerability.

- Anakaris has NEGATIVE 28 FRAMES, cos fuck Anak, I guess.

For everyone but Anakaris, the general purpose of using a Dark Force is to evade an attack on someone going all-in on their offense. If they are recklessly using moves that are too long on startup, or if they are just unrelenting in their offense to the point where they're not even concerned about a possible counter attack, you can reset the situation with a Dark Force. This is especially good when cornered against a character/opponent who likes to use jump-ins for their offensive pressure.

Honestly, a lot of dealing with Dark Forces properly is a matter of not being too arrogant. Much like dealing with Jump-Outs, being prepared for a Dark Force is a matter of mounting your offense under the assumption that a Dark Force can and will happen. If you go through the motions without properly watching your opponent, you're gonna get caught off-guard. Part of it is simply a matter of leading your ground assault with light attacks compared to medium/hard attacks (that way you recover and can block/run/counter in time); but even then, failing to react to a Dark Force, even if you're technically doing the right thing to PREPARE, is just as fatal.

Here are some things to consider when faced with a Dark Force:

- Characters who fly during their Dark Force are going to get away. Just be happy with the fact that they burned meter, give them space, and try again. Try not to give as many opportunities for them to jump-out if possible. Well-timed meaty attacks, and better jump-ins will do the trick.

DF Flyers are: Jedah, Q-Bee, Rikuo (well...he surfs, but it's basically the same shit).

- Characters with super/hyper armor are basically the same. The only difference is, against characters with Super Armor, as you're giving them space, you can watch what they do; Dark Forces are very risky as offensive maneuvers, cos if they get hit out of them, they risk having the timer run out automatically, which leads to them eating a second combo. Thus, if your super-armored opponents get too ballsy, have a plan ready for them.

DF Armoreds are: Sasquatch (super armor), Bishamon (super armor), Hsien-Ko (hyper armor). Rikuo also has hyper armor during his Dark Force, as long as he remains on his surfboard.

- Flyers and Armored DFs are probably going to use DF as a defensive maneuver more than most people. This is a big part of why I brought them up, specifically. Just about any time you put a tough situation in front of them, and they have any breathing room to act, there's a decent chance that they will respond with a DF activation. The only other character who activates frequently is Felicia, since her DF properties allow her to generate easily generate very powerful high/low pressure, and even set up unblockables.

- As for everyone else, their goal will be to move in with the quickest attacks possible. Given that the invulnerability window after the activation is so short, they don't have much choice. Thus, the most important thing you can do is NOT be within throw range, nor within the range of ANY invulnerable attack. Throws have immediate startups, so they can safely throw you before their invulnerability ends. And, characters with invulnerable attacks can just extend it further by doing a second one (granted, you can block, but still). The second thing you need to watch out for are light attacks. The invulnerable frames will be over before anyone (but Rapter) can throw a normal attack, but the window is very small. In fact, this is usually not a half-bad time to jump back; all of their fastest moves will likely not punish your jump-out, and then it's just a matter of defending against their DF attacks properly.

- I've implied this - and stated it outright - in a few places on this guide, but let me state it again here: Reversal Dark Forces are IMPOSSIBLE. This means that any meaty attack will always beat a Dark Force. If your opponent likes to abuse Dark Force to weasel out of situations on wakeup/reset, a properly-timed meaty will always win. In particular, jumping/aerial okizeme options are good for this; you can lead into a combo on your jump-in/IAD if you hit their DF, and if your meaty isn't properly timed, you'll land and be prepared to react accordingly.

Granted, it's not a good idea to meaty all the time (you'll get AG'd/GC'd all day if you do), but this is an effective way to handle a Dark Force if you predict them. The inverse of this is true, too; the fact that Variable Blockstun Pressure is necessary to deal with AG/GC means that sometimes, even doing a Dark Force on wakeup can be effective...rarely, and much moreso for Flyers and Armoreds than anyone else, but rarely useful, nonetheless.

H. Okizeme

Every character that isn't Anakaris has the same basic options. They can get up and try to AG your next attack, giving them breathing room to try and counter your next move or bring the situation back to neutral. They can Dark Force, if they think your timing is off/think you'll stagger the timing on purpose. The invulnerability of Dark Force can allow them to capitalize and reverse the situation if they successfully catch their opponent off-guard. They can try to block the next attack and convert it into a Guard Cancel, which will see varying degrees of success based on your proximity to them, how quick the startup of their GC is, whether the hitbox of their GC is wide enough to actually hit you, and whether or not their ES GC is unblockable. If your timing on meaties isn't correct, whether intentional or not, they can also just try to jump on wakeup. This is a very advantageous spot for most people in the game to be in.

There are, of course, some options that people have available to them that others don't. Taller characters can sort of cover high/low options with a crouching AG, because if your High meaty isn't on point, you'll get hit out by their C.Lp. Some characters have cool unblockable GCs. Some characters, as stated above, also have good enough command throws to take you out if your timing isn't right.

The foundation of a good Oki covers these options as well as possible. The key is not only to know what your character should do about these responses, but also to be able to gauge what your opponent is going to want to do, both by their own personal habits as well as based on the character they've chosen.

- If your opponent is AG-happy, that's the time to apply Variable Blockstun Pressure. Intentionally do slower attacks on wakeup than they are expecting, or even do your same quick attacks after waiting just a split second.

- If your opponent likes to Dark Force or jump-out, you've got two options: either, do a proper meaty (it's very commonplace for people to use Variable Pressure without even thinking about it in most levels of VSav play, which makes it easy to respond with either one of these. Jump-outs are more popular, though, since you don't have to time anything). Make sure you know the timing on your meaties, and if you have a meaty attack that punishes jump-outs, that's even better.

Another option is, if your character can do this, to Oki from the air. If you use Variable Pressure from the air, it doesn't really matter what they do: If they jump out, you're nearing the end of your jump, so you can make them block a low air attack and then Guard Break them. If they Dark Force, as long as you're reacting to them, you should have plenty of time to realize that they've activated Dark Force, and take the proper countermeasures...whatever they may be.

- If your opponent likes to GC, you also have a few options, depending on how they do it. Novice players will just finish their entire Guard Cancel, leaving them wide open to be punished (after all, they'll be in the middle of a Shadow Blade or something else stupid). If they buffer only half of the GC at once (i.e they "block-confirm" before finishing the GC), you need to either do a more-delayed Variable Pressure than you would with AGs, or you need to do meaty attacks from as far away as possible.

Think hard about what the character you're playing against might want to do, based on their skillset. And, just as important, think about what the habits of your opponent are (hint: jump-outs/up-backs/whatever you call them are very popular in American VSav...quite rightly, since American VSav players rarely do pressure strings without holes/with contingency plans for jump-outs).

4. General Tips vs. Pressure Rushdown

A lot of this will be gone over in more detail in the character-specific articles, but I figure some things are worth mentioning here.

- Pressure Rushdown is all about frame traps. Block confirm your AGs. Block a lot. Do not just go attacking as soon as you have breathing room - that is the MAIN WAY THAT PRESSURE RUSHDOWN DEALS DAMAGE.

- You do need to AG eventually. Most people won't have a problem with this; they're more likely to have a problem with being overeager and reckless, as described in the previous tip. However, being too catatonic is still a problem. You're more likely to get thrown by a Pressure Rushdown than a High/Low Rushdown, and good players WILL kill you for this.

- This is somewhat an extension of the first point, but Pressure Rushdown also excels in having options to blow up Tech Hits that aren't necessarily frame traps. Just by having two approaches to a situation with different timings can trip up defenders who rely on anticipation. For example, Bishamon usually dashes in with attacks, but he also has a popular audible to his dash where he cancels the dash into an ES Fireball. If he had attacked, it would have been push-blocked; but, in this situation, he'll probably eat a single attack and trade with the ES Fireball, leading to big damage anyways.

- Pay mind to WHAT attacks you decide to Advancing Guard, as well as what attacks you decide to Guard Cancel. For example, if you're getting dashed at by a Pressure Rushdown character, most of them will still have forward momentum anyways, so you haven't really pushed them away. On the flipside, they can't stop their forward momentum in the middle of an attack, so this is usually a fantastic time to Guard Cancel. Obviously, consider the moves being used, as well; you're probably gonna have a harder time GC'ing Rikuo's Dashing Lp compared to his Dashing Mp. If you don't AG the right things, you're not actually stopping their offense.

- I've mentioned this earlier, but every Pressure Rushdown has a limited High/Low game. Some are more limited than others; for example, Rikuo's High/Low options are pretty awful compared to Talbain's, which can be pretty strong. Regardless, be aware of each Pressure Rushdown character's High/Low capabilities and options, because it will be the only times where the direction you block is made ambiguous.

J. General Tips vs. High/Low Rushdown

As with the Pressure Rushdown tips, much of this will also be covered in the character-specific guides in more depth.

- Block HIGH. React LOW. Most characters - Pressure OR High/Low - can't use their set of both High and Low options from any distance. The farther away your opponent is, the less likely they are to use a low attack. The closer they are (and I mean, very close), the less likely they are to use a high attack, unless you're cornered. There are, of course, some exceptions; but, following this rule will have you making a lot less guesses on how to block.

- AG a lot in neutral situations. If you can keep a High/Low character out of that sweet spot where they can make you guess which way to block, you can avoid taking serious damage in many situations. Once they're actually in that range, it's much riskier to AG (and unfortunately, still necessary, which is part of what makes High/Low so powerful).

- To expand upon that idea, once they are in range to make their high/low pressure a true guessing game, you want to stop trying to AG the high attacks as much, and try to block-confirm their ground attacks for your AG. Whatever you do, do _NOT_ try to anticipate with your AGs; all they need to do is attack where you're not expecting to get a ton of damage out of your guess. Whereas, on the flipside, if you're watching closely, and you realize you're blocking low when they're about to go high, you at least have a split-second to react, instead of being stuck doing a crouching Jab cos you *thought* they were gonna go low. Block-confirm your AGs!

- ...Expanding upon THAT idea...When you're on the defense versus a High/Low character, you need to watch them CAREFULLY. This might sound obvious, but it's something anyone can work on. When you're in your High/Low opponent's sweet spot where they can make you guess, good reaction is going to be your best friend. If you aren't sharply focused on them, you will have trouble reacting correctly/quickly (Hint: this is also your best chance to GC a High/Low character, so you want to be able to react efficiently. FOCUS!).

- The previous point ALSO ties into THIS point: as an inverse to Pressure Rushdown having High/Low capabilities, so too do High/Low characters possess Pressure capabilities. They will use staggered ground normals to try and frame trap, but they will also use this to catch you unfocused. For example, Sasquatch can, after some repeated C.Lks, do one of two things: he can either go right into a Short Hop for a high attack, or he can do something like C.Mp -> C.Hk. The brilliance of this is, let's say you stand up to block the Short Hop or even try to jump-out: C.Mp -> C.Hk is about the same speed as a Short Hop, and if you're not paying attention, you'll register blocking an attack without realizing that you're about to eat the sweep. So, again, the name of the game is FOCUS. Defending against High/Low characters is very heavily reaction-based.

---------------

Conclusion

Not much to say, other than I hope you found this guide helpful. My goal is to ensure that these guides are useful for new players and veterans alike, unlike my last guide, which was specifically to help newcomers. Let me know if you think I missed anything!

Vampire Savior Revival

Mon, 01 Sep 2014 05:39:49 +0000

Im not really sure if this is the right place to put this because this isn't anything official or anything, its just an Idea.

As everyone is probably aware of by now Project M was released. a Modded version of Brawl currently being played at tournament level and has had events all over the place............so with that in mind I thought, the Vampire series hasn't had a game since Vampire Savior 2, and thats not even still played, and Darkstalkers Ressurection, to which Capcom then announced the series dead, So my idea was, why not make a new version of VSAV similar to like what was done with Project M. Take most of the older stuff from VSAV, add some new character, change some things here and there and make a new Vampire game for the community.

I guess really I'm asking has anyone thought of giving VSAV a Project M treatment? I don't know about you guys but if that happened I would be first in line to play it. Especially since we know that Capcom isn't going to come out with a new Darkstalker/Vampire game.

[VS] Anakaris: The Mummy

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 20:43:52 +0000

Anakaris is a very interesting or quirky character. He is considered to be the worst character in the game but if he can open you up he will tear you apart. Part of what makes him worse than the other members of the cast is that he was denied several of the universal tools given to everyone else like a pushblock or a regular throw (he CAN however, tech throws), and his guard cancel is the worst in the game as well as being ES-only (costs one meter). He is a fun character with amazing offense and great oki, but he requires a lot of work.

Buy an official book.

Hit Box info for standing normals can be found here:

http://darkstalkers.moryou.com/savior/data-s/anakaris-s/anakaris-s.html

A good character/strategy summary can be found here:

http://vsav.mizuumi.net/wiki/Anakaris

And some combos to get you started courtesy of Mr. gbursine:

- dash c.lk, +c.lp c.lk c.hk: dashing distance combo. starts low.

- c.lk c.mp(1hit) s.mk c.hk: chain combo that keeps good distance for normals to hit. use
after overhead or to punish something.

- c.lp c.lk, + c.lp c.lk, (+s.lp) c.hk: the +s.lp is optional if you started out very close.
it gives more red and white damage which is cool. you can also use the c.lk to avoid GC's at
a distance, so you have time to stop and punish accordingly during links.

s.lp, s.lk, +s.lp, s.lk, +s.lp, c.rk
*can start w/ s.lk, and end the main link w/ s.lk instead

offensive push:
[d.lp(or lk), +s.lp, c.lk, +s.lp]
-I cant rushdown with this particular string effectively yet, but realize the power in it. if you can do it consistently(when you want to... and yes, you shouldn't do it every time) then you can eyeball when to finish the combo, and go for knockdown->mixup. (i'll replace eyeball with that term.. i'm having a brainfart...)

*a safe chain ender seems to be c.mk. the frame recovery still seems to have anak at a disadvantage, but it's signifigantly safer than his other moves.(so you can do c.mp, c.mk[assuming the mp hits] & be relatively safe)

Ghetto throw setup:
blocked c/s.lps->ES throw.
-difficult to tell when the lps are stopping, & when the throw will come out.

Matchups (courtesy of MightyMar)

Anakaris:

This matchup is a little strange because of how Anakaris works as a character, he has an incredibly difficult time dealing with his own pressure 1. because his defense is terrible and 2. because his offense is pretty legit. This matchup is going to be a lot of jumping back, and throwing curses/coffin drop. You can coffin drop if you expect the enemy Anakaris to throw out a curse, which you can follow up with a pursuit on hit. From this position, standard jab pressure and divekick/c.LK mixup should net you a down. As far as dealing with pressure, you don't have a lot of options, you mostly have to just be patient, block, and look for openings. Standing MP won't cut it in this matchup as an anti-air, stick to c.MP and c.HP.

Victor:

You want to be playing this matchup from midscreen. You want to be baiting and punishing slow moves that Victor will throw out (primarily c.HP), he's going to be doing the same thing so be extra careful with any move that has a significant amount of delay. Don't loosen up until the Victor player shows he's gonna be playing offensively or defensively. Don't let him get close if he's playing aggressively, his 360's are 1 frame so you don't want to be near him; additionally when you are pressuring him, watch our for GC, 360, or getting caught with a DF, 360 in the middle of your divekick. Delaying your divekicks slightly help negate the possibility of this happening, and getting slapped down with Victors LP, and in some cases it can be useful to bait Victors c.HP. If you want to throw curses, make sure you are full screen, Victor can punish with headbutt otherwise. EX hands is a good tool for corner pressure, but be careful if the Victor player shows a willingness to uppercut.

How do I block, yo?! Part 2: Lord Rapter

Sun, 20 Jul 2014 21:15:22 +0000

Part 2 of the character-specific series is for Lord Rapter (i.e Zabel, but the Japanese names are for suckers). This was the second character-specific guide I wrote, partly because I felt like I understood it, and partly because I received a request to write it.

This guide is the product of empirical data, in-game testing, personal match experience, and videos of high-level play.

How do I block, yo?! Rapter Edition

1. Neutral Game - Things to watch for when neither opponent has the offensive advantage.

A. Where to stand? Where not to stand?

Rapter's neutral game basically rules you. If you're a half-screen away or closer, the range on his air attacks is good enough that he can put very good pressure on you from the ground or from the air (though admittedly much better from the air). Thus, unless it's a requirement for you to even play your neutral game, I would stand at least 3/4ths of a screen length away in any neutral situation.

However, if Rapter has ANY weakness in his game at all, it's that he doesn't really have an approach that is safe, if his opponent is too far away. Unlike other high/low rushdown characters, who have a way of altering the trajectory of their dash in safe ways, Rapter has no especially safe way to do it. He can try Skull Split, but that gives his opponent plenty of time to move out of the way and punish. He can end it early with a normal attack, but if his opponent is standing at the right spot, they'll be in range to attack him where he lands, so he's put himself on the defense. He can try doing an air Death Voltage, but it's an extremely high-risk maneuver, since if it gets blocked, he'll probably land right next to his opponent.

(This is also why often times at the start of a match, you'll see a lot of Rapter players go all-in; they're in range to start pressuring you already, so they might as well get started before they're forced too far away.)

Thus, Rapter plays a neutral game that I unoriginally dub, "The Triangle". From about full-screen away, he will jump towards you and do an extremely late jump attack - as in, right before he hits the ground. He'll then dash backward and do it again.

This might sound stupid, but consider how safe this is for him; if you're not within half-screen distance, he can't make a solid approach, so The Triangle defends him quite nicely:

- If you try to walk towards him, he can land and IAD, OR he can land and use any of his long-range normals, if he thinks you're going to walk to mid-screen and attempt a jump-in.

- If you try a full-screen attack, depending on your timing, he'll either block it (which is the advantage of him attacking at the last second; he can react to your assault by simply not doing anything), or you'll be under him during his descent, where he'll hit you with hit late jump attack and start his offense. OR, if you try extremely late, you will probably whiff, thanks to the backdash portion of the Triangle, which will leave you in a pretty vulnerable position on the ground for him to start his offense.

- If you try a fireball, depending on the recovery time, he can simply dash over it and counter you. Smart Rapter players will also watch for exactly WHEN you like to throw the fireballs, so they can try to Air-Dash/IAD at the point they expect you to throw it.

- If you are too defensive, he can simply start doing the triangle a hair closer, which will either pressure you into attacking, or slowly push you into the corner where he CAN move in range to attack.

- If he thinks he's caught his opponent not paying attention, he can substitute the late jumping attack for a late air-dash; it'll be close enough to the ground that he's relatively safe from a lot of counter-attacks.

As you can see, The Triangle isn't especially fancy, but it IS an effective way to mask his biggest weak point.

B. How to approach?

If the Rapter player is good at The Triangle, you will have an extremely hard time approaching. Your only way to approach is to swat him out of the air with a full-screen attack, but that's very risky. A projectile is less-risky, but you still have to avoid being too predictible, because of the speed of his dash and the range of his attacks.

Rather than approach, your goal should be to try and trick Rapter into approaching. While this still courts some risk, it's much easier to beat Rapter's attacks when you've goaded him to move in on you under your own terms. Find the optimal way for you to stop his full-screen approach, whether it's a SRK, a well-placed projectile, or even just swatting him out of the air with a jab. Then, you can go to town on him.

I should mention that you should still endeavor to play your own neutral game, as well; just, you'll be playing it with limited space. For example, Jedah's elaborate neutral game of dash fake-outs and air-wheels is still important. However, you'll probably be jumping straight up to throw wheels from full-screen, and you'll probably only want to dash about a character length forward at any given time. Even so, you still need to do something to provoke his approach while stopping it at the same time.- If you *are* jumping at him, the best thing to do is to go for a guard break. Most characters can do a full chain, and then do an anti-air/AG option select; just do an AG, leading with S.Lp. If Anak is in range, or he tries a late enough Pyramid, you'll swat him out of the air and have the advantage. If he tries a Pyramid early, you'll get the advancing guard and keep the situation at neutral.

C. Anything to watch out for?

If you, God forbid, actually try to approach, know that staying on the ground is still better than taking to the air in almost every case. This is because, if Rapter successfully defends against an air attack, it's much easier for him to convert it into big damage. It's also better to be on the ground because if your approach fails, you still have full control over your movement, and are able to push block/Guard Cancel. You'll be happy to have those at your disposal, believe me.

If you DO need to take flight, do whatever you can to make sure you land before he has a chance to counter-attack, and don't be afraid to throw in some air frame-traps - provided you have them - to keep him honest.

2. Rapter's offense - Their options when they the offensive advantage - how you must defend against his attacks and okizeme.

(NOTE: Normally, I prefer to talk about a character's defensive options, first; but, the article had a more natural flow this way.)

A. Unblockable Antics, Part 1: Don't ever get reset.

There's something you always, always, _always_ have to keep in mind when fighting Rapter: His J/AD.Lk can be unblockable. Good Rapter players will not only know this, but they will try to create situations where they can take advantage of it.

By far, the easiest and most common way, is for Rapter to chicken guard an attack. Here's how that exchange goes:

- You do some attack that gets blocked.
- Rapter then counter-attacks you with...something, who cares what? The important part is that you get reset and Rapter lands before you.
- Rapter, having landed before you, follows up with meaty IAD.Lk \/ some combo into Evil Scream/Death Voltage for a lot of damage.

What would be a mostly innocuous exchange in any other matchup, is essentially handing Rapter 1/3 of your lifebar. Do NOT ever get chicken guarded, and do NOT ever get reset by an anti-air! If you're trying an aerial assault, you need to be DAMN sure that he can't do anything to reset you, or you're rolling the dice with a lot of your health.

B. Unblockable Antics, Part 1: Don't ever get Guard Canceled.

...Well, rather, don't ever get hit by his ES Guard Cancel. Even if getting GC'ed sucks, and you should avoid it, you want to be especially careful about it when Rapter has meter. This is because you can't do a forward/backward roll if Rapter knocks you down with his ES GC. He also lands RIGHT NEXT TO YOU. What does this mean? Here's how that exchange goes:

- You do some attack that gets GC'ed.
- You can't roll, and Rapter lands right next to you, so he jumps straight up, does meaty J.Lk \/ some combo into Evil Scream/Death Voltage for a lot of damage.

Are you beginning to see how this works?

C. Unblockable Antics, Part 3: Careful how you wakeup/roll.

...You probably already see the pattern. So, here's how THIS exchange goes:

- You got knocked down.
- You think are are pretty sneaky, and roll towards Rapter.
- Rapter jumps up at the approximate place where your roll will end, and does meaty J.Lk/IAD.Lk \/ some combo into Evil Scream/Death Voltage for a lot of damage.

This is the trifecta. You need to avoid all three of these situations whenever possible if you want to stand a chance against Lord Rapter.

Now, there is some exception to all of these rules. For example, if your opponent doesn't appear to do them in certain situations, i.e doesn't go for the unblockable after a reset, you can bully a lot harder with your air attacks. Or, if they don't prepare for your wakeup rolls with unblockables, you don't have to worry about taking the free damage (although his Oki is still buff as fuck without it). Not to mention, Rapter does risk letting you out of an advantageous situation by trying to do a meaty IAD unblockable; for example, if you're cornered after a knockdown, and you roll forward, he's effectively let you out of the corner if he predicts that you were going to wakeup neutral. The most important thing, really, is to try not to let these situations occur in the first place. But, when they DO, you need to pay attention to whether or not your opponent capitalizes with unblockables, as well as their success rate. Assume that they can and will until they've demonstrated otherwise.

Also...common sense tip: If you're primed to get hit by an unblockable, just try to block it anyways. It requires precise timing, and you never know if Rapter will get it right. Don't crap out early!

D. Unblockable Antics, Addendum: Mind the drills.

I saved this one for last, mainly cos it's the least-important one. The reason being, there's not a whole hell of a lot you can do about it, AND it's the least-likely situation to be converted into an unblockable by Rapter.

Basically, since Rapter's drills always force a reset, even on a grounded opponent, if you get hit by one when Rapter is low enough to the ground, he can convert that into an IAD unblockable. It's not a situation that comes up very often, because Rapter has to be VERY close to the ground to make it work. Also, because of that, he will probably be decently far away, meaning you have plenty of time to react and block.

I want to stress that this basically never comes up. I almost put it in the miscellaneous section, but it seemed better to have all the unblockable setups in a list. Just know that it's theoretically possible.

...Now that all the unblockable antics are out of the way, let's talk about all the stuff that Rapter can actually do...on TOP of unblockables.

E. Oki - IAD Crossup

So, even if Rapter doesn't get an unblockable IAD on wakeup, he still does have a pretty filthy trick. If he predicts which way you're rolling, he can dash in the same direction, and perform an ambiguous crossup. The reason this works is, if Rapter dashes past you and attacks, he will just turn around. Thus, if you are on the 2P side, for example, and roll past him, he can IAD you normally, or dash behind you again and attack. In any case, the speed is about the same, and you'll have to pay close attention to figure out which way to block.

F. Rapter's Pressure Rushdown: You do have to watch your feet...sometimes.

With the amount of power Rapter wields from the air, it's easy to forget that he has a strong ground pressure game, as well. When he dashes, he is crouching, so certain attacks may whiff against him (though not to the extent where you need to completely rethink which moves are effective for zoning in the match, as you might against Bee or Wolf). Also, some of his dashing attacks hit low. Thankfully, he can't link any of his lows into combos, but he can, for example, do a D.Hk, which moves deceptively fast and has long range for a sweep (about half a screen length if he hits Hk immediately). He can also link his D.Lp into other attacks, which can be effective for punishing AG attempts (he can hit-confirm it into a chain combo, or even do D.Lp, S.Lk xx Death Voltage). His ground dash speed is also quick enough that he can mix up his ground pressure with a command throw, and, of course, move straight into an IAD after a dashing normal.

To combat this, my suggestion to you is to block high by default, and react to the lows. Since he can't generate a lot of damage off a successful low, it's more advantageous to not worry about it. Naturally, if he's already closed the gap, this situation changes entirely, and you're in 50/50 hell. But, at least while you have some space, don't worry as much about your feet. If you can react to the lows, and AG/anti-air the highs, you'll go far in mitigating his potential damage.

G. Frame Traps from downtown

Sometimes, during Rapter's ground pressure, or even after an IAD that leaves him too far away to convert into a super, Rapter will do a chain combo ending in T.Hp/T.Hk. These attacks are not likely to combo, but they WILL hit you if you are not still blocking. Make sure you are watching what he does, and as usual versus Rapter, you're very likely to be safe if you just stand up and block!

H. Rapter's High/Low Rushdown: Rapter wins

Most people have seen this in action; it's what makes Rapter such a fierce opponent in the first place. Let's go over it quickly:

- Rapter has the typical high/low game: Throw some highs, throw some lows, make them guess, convert their wrong guesses into damage.

- Rapter can technically play his high/low game from far away, thanks to the range on his dashing sweep. If he gets a knockdown, all he needs to do is stay on top of you.

- Rapter's high/low is augmented by his aforementioned pressure game, since he can easily land command throws, and punish jump-outs with his ground dashes.

- Also augmented by his many unblockables. Every decision you make about defending against Rapter should be screened against the possibility of leaving yourself open for an unblock.

- The crux of Rapter's high/low game is his ability to convert basically any hit into a combo that ends with one of his supers. He can easily take off 30+% of your health with a single combo, and these combos set him up to continue his mixup to try for ANOTHER such combo.

- On top of that, Rapter can also throw in occasional frame traps to punish jump-out attempts. For example, he can do Backwards IAD.Hp \/ Towards+Hp. The IAD attack will, ideally, connect at about max range, and the space between you and Rapter gives you plenty of time to start your jump before getting swatted by the T.Hp. Couple that with his ability to land unblockables off most resets, and you have an outstanding reason to almost never jump.

...So, what the hell do you do about this? The only options you really have are the most basic defenses against high/low rushdowns. The first one is to predict when Rapter will take to the air. Since moving into an IAD with everyone is far from instant, you can use that time in close-quarters to anti-air him. This is, of course, risky - if you guess wrong, you're probably gonna lose a ton of health. But, it's one of the options available to you.

The other thing you can do, much like when playing against Rapter's neutral game, is to create space. Jump-outs are not necessarily a bad idea (if you know what you're doing), but you need to have enough space to get airborne in the first place. Also, more importantly, Rapter's dashing attacks are very quick, and very long-ranged; however, their vulnerable hitbox extends out very far, as well. Thus, they are easy to anti-air as long as you have space. If Rapter is half-screen or closer (again, this is why Neutral game vs. Rapter is played from far away), you probably won't have time to throw out an attack that beats his IAD attacks. From farther away, though, it's easy to set up your defense. And thus, you want to AG Rapter's shit as much as possible.

Some combination of both of these is what you're going to have to use against Rapter. It may be a bit frustrating, since this knowledge is typically the truth against every high/low character. Even so, they are your only tools against his high/low game, so become a master at it if you wanna win!

3. Rapter's defense - Their options when you have the offensive advantage - how they will defend against your attacks and okizeme.

A. Unblockable Antics, Defense Edition: Everything from before still applies.

I could probably leave it at that and call it a day, but that's not very good writing, is it? Just remember that, no matter who has the offensive advantage, you are always susceptible to unblockable converts. The only difference is that you're more likely to run into certain situations depending on who has the advantage. For example, on the offense, you're more likely to get hit by an ES GC than anything else, whereas on the defense, it's more likely you'll be reset into an unblockable. Keep it in your thoughts, like your sweet, adorable Grandma. And, hope your Grandma doesn't unblock your shit.

B. Dat Dash Tho

If you are trying to pressure with attacks that can be crouched under, OR if you like to jump forward a lot on the offense, be aware that Rapter can dash under your offensive maneuvers. If you're on the ground, this is even worse, since he can dash under your attack and do D.Lp, (some combo) xx DV. It's still pretty bad in any situation, however, because you just don't want to lose the offensive advantage on Rapter once you've got it. Keep your attacks mid, and learn to abuse neutral jump a little.

C. Psychic Death Voltage!

This maneuver is the bane of any new player's existence. Anyone new to fighting Rapter will likely get their ass handed to them by this trick for a long time.

The trick? ...Death Voltage is really fast, and hard to beat. That's the WHOLE trick. And yet, it's so powerful that, even if it's not technically the best thing to do in a situation, it commands enough respect that people will likely not punish it (even though it's usually unsafe on block).

If you're a new player/lack experience versus Rapter, watch the fuck out. If you think you can just jump attack Rapter willy-nilly, you're gonna get hit by this a lot. If you do moves that are unsafe on block, you're gonna get hit by this a lot. If you try too many anticipatory anti-airs, you're gonna get smoked. It's not even that this is the best thing to do in every situation; But, just punishing with DV expends so much less mental energy, than other options, while also psyching you out. So, don't hand them free damage - give Death Voltage its proper respect.

If you're NOT a new player, you're probably blocking most or all of them, and you're probably not putting yourself in unsafe situations where you can be countered by DV, BUT...you might not be punishing them. Make sure you capitalize on every single blocked DV, because the only way you're going to stop your opponent from spamming it is to show them that they can't.

D. Rapter Vs. Your Oki: I'm not even standing there, bro

If you watch high level Rapter play, you might notice that there are plenty of situations where opponents don't even try to apply corner pressure. This is because, for one, they don't wanna get hit by an ES Guard Cancel. That, however, is avoidable with a little work; you can use pressure that accounts for your opponent's GC, or you can intentionally use variable pressure on their wakeup (i.e stuff that they may or may not have to block right away as they get up).

This, however, creates ANOTHER problem. Because variable pressure is paramount in not getting ES GC'd, you're not as likely to meaty Rapter. So, if you commit to any sort of variable pressure, Rapter can just use his teleport to avoid the situation entirely.

If you think you can easily and reliably re-engage Rapter on the offense after a teleport (hint: you almost certainly can't, unless your opponent sucks), then just keep up whatever you were going to do. Otherwise, though, you'll need to gauge what you do on a player-by-player basis. But, for the sake of theory, a strong Rapter player is very likely to escape whatever you do in that situation, so the best thing you can do is give him a little space before re-engaging; if you rush in headfirst, he knows he can escape with teleport. If you stand too far away, the situation is neutral again, and you've lost all the work you've put into gaining the offensive advantage. So, find the space in-between and live there.

E. Offensive Reset

Because Rapter's IAD attacks are so fast and long-range, you need to be careful when you are pressuring him. If you push him too far back out of your range, you've practically given him the offensive advantage, because he will just IAD you from that range. Granted, it's not technically as safe for him to do as it would be if it were a neutral situation or if he had the offensive advantage already. This is because you can frame trap him at that range.

Let's use Talbain as an example (since I main Talbain). If I push him out of the max range of my C.Mk, he can just IAD and start pressuring me again. He's very likely to be successful, too, if he AGs the final attack that would put him out of range. What I CAN do, however, is use an ES Beast Cannon at that range; since it doesn't combo at the max range of C.Mk, if Rapter tries to restart his offense at that point, he'll eat an entire ES BC. You can do this with other characters, too - any character with a projectile can take advantage of this situation. Felicia can be relatively safe frame-trapping with LP Cat Spike in this situation. See if your character has an option, and if they do, this situation becomes a guessing game for the two of you.

If you don't have a frame trap for this situation, though, you just need to apply some pressure with your dash, as well. In fact, it's good to do a bit of both, even if you do have a frame trap; it's just mandatory if you don't. The trick here is to not always dash when you're about to put them out of range. This not only keeps it difficult for Rapter to tell when it's safe to IAD, but it also lowers your chances of getting GC'ed.

4. Anything else? - Stuff that doesn't fit into any of the above categories.

A. Dark Force Nonsense, Part 1: Everything knocks you down

...If you're airborne. All of Rapter's ground hard attacks (the uppercut-looking attack) will knock you down in every case. But, if you're in the middle of a jump, every single one of Rapter's attacks causes a knockdown on hit. So keep your ass planted on the ground...which, by now, should be a clear, running theme for fighting Rapter: don't leave the ground without a plan.

B. Dark Force Nonsense, Part 1: My ES GC is suddenly unblockable

This is not likely to come up...but it's true. There are plenty of characters with unblockable ES GC, and Rapter is one of them. But, thankfully for all of us, his normal ES GC isn't unblockable. Rapter has a different GC during Dark Force, and the ES version of THAT one is unblockable. Naturally, this means he can't convert it into an unblockable combo afterwards, since there's not enough time for him to deactivate and set it up...nevermind the fact that his Dark Force GC is terrible and whiffs a lot of crouching characters. But, this IS a comprehensive guide and all...so, now you know.

[VS] Lilith: Succubus

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 02:42:41 +0000

Lilith

Beginners Guide

0 - Introduction

1 - Character Evaluation

2- Legend

3 - Input

4 - Pros

5 - Cons

6 - Styles

Zoning

Pit bull

Turtle

7 – Basics

Punish

Anti- Air

Pokes

Air-Game

8 - Normals

9 - Specials

10 - Supers

11- Mix-ups

12 - Combo's

13 - Frame traps & Tick throws

14 - Conclusion

Lilith Beginner Guide

- 0 - Introduction

Since we have to go-ahead to make character specific threads for characters, I decided to take the opportunity to gather information on the character. This will server as the starter, combo, and mix-up thread. For the most part I'm just gathering info from various sources, and putting them into one place.

Get GGPO, get it setup so you can play (unless you have an offline scene).

New to Vampire Savior? Learn the general mechanics of the game here.

Another beginner tutorial has been reposted on Dustoop recently here.

Then, move on to the Lilith specific page here. Though, eventually most of the info there will be in this post.

- 1 - Character Evaluation

Lilith is weak character, and an obvious Morrigan clone. She has a projectile and a Dragon Punch, but unlike Morrigan, she has a standard ground dash, and no airdash. She has no ground overhead and weak mixups, and her anti air game is weak. She also has a lacking defense. However her strength lies in her frame advantage normals and her Luminous Illusion (her Raging Demon attack).

- 2 - Legend

The standard layout for an arcade stick is the Street Fighter setup, as follows:

LP MP HP

LK MK HK

Terms may also be found as follows:

Jab- LP

Strong - MP

Fierce - HP

Short - LP

Forward - MP

Roundhouse - HK

Also, note that c. before the annotation means crouching, and d. before annotation means dashing.

- 3 - Input

LI: There are several ways to do so.You will see many combos that involve comboing into it. Here's an easy example:

c.LP, c.LK, LI

Knowing the input for LI (LP, LP, forward, LK, HP), you must buffer the input during c.LP, c.LK. How do you ask? Its a little tricky, but nothing you can't handle. If you do c.LP fast enough to where the first one hits and the next one doesn't come out, immediately move from down to down-forward and hit LK, then HP. This should work for you, if not, practice.

LI = lp, lp, direction Lilith is facing, lk, hp.

- It is NOT lp, lp, towards, lk, hp. If you just jump/dash over the opponents y-axis. You will actually input lp, lp away, lk, hp. This means the directional input is dependant on the direction Morrigan's sprite is facing.

- It is NOT lp, lp direction Lilith is facing + lk, hp.

- You have 9frames leniency between every button input, NOT DIRECTIONS.

- You cannot combine inputs.

- You can add extra inputs.

- Button priority is weak to fierce. This coupled with the rules of Magic series (increasing hits only), limits simultaneous button presses to buffer DI. Example: You magic chain lp, lk, cr.mk, press hp&lp at the same time = NOTHING COMES OUT. Button priority says you tried to chain cr.mk, lp. This doesn't comply with the rules of Magic series. This sucks b/c it would have been an easy way to combo into cr.hp and already buffer the first lp of LI. =/

- Lastly, you can't do easy mode lp+lk, lp+lk, direction Lilith is facing, lp+lk, hp. This activates Dark force. =(

- You can stagger inputs and add extra for comfort. A few corner only examples to combo into DI are (cr.lk, cr.mp, cr.mk, cr.hp~lp, lp, direction Lilith is facing~lk~hp) or (cr.lk, cr.mp, cr.mk, cr.hp~lp, cr.hp~lp, direction Morrigan is facing~lk~hp)

TIPS FOR COMBOING INTO DARKNESS ILLUSION by Buktooth

----------------------------------------

Kinda like a preface to the DI combo section, if you can't do DI combos, you

really shouldn't be using Morrigan. She's exponentially less threatening

without the ability of overhead/cross up into DI.

-Normal moves (and chains!) can be canceled into DI-type command moves at ANY

TIME. Even before and after the normal buffering window of the move. If the DI

isn't coming out at all in your combo, that just means you didn't input the

DI command correctly.

-If you access to the home version (and I'm pretty sure 99.9% of people reading

this guide do) turn on the key display in training mode. The most common errors

in the DI input occur at the point between the jabs and the short; the part

where you hit towards on the stick. People usually hit short BEFORE they hit

towards on the stick, or they hit towards and short at the same time. That

doesn't work. You have to hit towards on the stick (after the jab jab) THEN hit

the short button.

-If you find yourself creeping back to the bad habit of hitting towards on the

stick at the wrong time, try hitting towards a lot harder than you normally

would. It sounds kinda dumb, but it does work for a lot of people.

-The second most common error is that people don't press jab twice like they

should. It doesn't sound like a likely error to make, but people trying to get

the DI out as fast as they can sometimes don't let the button go up completely

before pressing the second jab. The result is they press jab again when the

button is still down, giving you one jab instead of two. If you're doing this

(check the key display!) try hitting the individual jabs harder. Heh. Force

solves everything.

-If you're STILL having problems getting the DI to come out at all during a

combo, you might be trying to do it too fast. Try slowing it down a bit (or

even a lot) and see if you have any success.

-If you are successfully getting the DI to come out, but can't consistently do

it fast enough to be a combo you should definitely stick to 2 hit chains. 2 hit

chains give you a lot more time to input the motion and leave your opponent

closer to you so that the DI reaches them faster.

How do 2 hit chains give you more time to buffer? You can input a 2 hit chain

as fast as you can and the second hit will always come out, giving you a good

amount of time to free up your hand for the DI command.

-Hit jabs with your index finger, short with your thumb, and fierce with your

ring finger. People who try to do the whole thing with their index finger

almost never get it fast enough.

-Cliched as it might sound, practice! It took me a few training mode sessions

to iron out all my bad habits and get a success rate of better than 9/10. The

good thing is, once you can do it consistently you generally don't forget how.

I haven't really had to maintain my combo ability with further training

sessions that much.

Kara-Fireball: 236hk~any punch. Also applicable in the air. Great for meter building.

- 4 - Pros

Plus frame normals, Luminous Illusion.

- 5 - Cons

Bad anti air, defense, and mixup game.

- 6 - Styles

Zoning - good spacing with s.MP or s.MK, s.HP is a pretty good normal from far away despite not being cancelable. 236P is your projectile, use it.

Pit Bull -

This is what you should be doing. Use your dash to get in, abuse your + frame normals and tick throws, and combo to Luminous Illusion.

Turtle -

- Be sure to whore out TK J.lp projectile. 2369lp. This is GODLIKE. allows pursuit on aerial hit, allows link on grounded hit. Great Anti air too.

- 7 - Basics

Punish

If you are committing yourself to Lilith you can start with learning the proper ways to punish into their super. (lp, lp, Direction your character is facing, lk, hp) Raging Demon basically. Morrigan's is called Dimensional Illusion, DI. Lilith's is luminous Illusion LI. You have 9 frames to input between each button EXCLUDING DIRECTIONS,

Punish examples include:

-cr.lk, ©hk, Super : A great punish with a huge window to input the Super

-cr.lk, cr.mp, cr.mk, cr.hp, Super :Corner only combo, very damaging

Anti- Air

Without Meter:

Chicken Block, J.hp

lp -risky n situational. Like grounded UB's.

cr.mp- spacing specific

j.mk

623lp

2369lp

With Meter:

7+lp, air block, LI

37+lp, air block, LI

This is amazing. Her best AA. You use the jump startup frames to hide the first input of lp. Nothings Comes out! You have to block and begin inputting the remainder of the LI within 9frames. That's why this only works when you chicken block extremely low to the ground. (Unless you superjump+lp). There's barely enough hit stop to buffer the rest of the LI. But there is enough, LI is active in 4frames. Also, b/c you air blocked you had no block stun to accommodate for. =) This is much more damaging than a conventional AA b/c it fully connects & gurantees Pursuit + ground chasing.

Pokes

Air-Game

- 8 - Normals

From the Wiki:

LP - [ Startup: 5 | Hit:+6 | Block:+5 (normal)] [ Startup: 4 | Hit:+7 | Block:+6 (dashing)]

Ear poke. Can whiff on crouchers. Gains a renda bonus. Primarily used for dash cancelling or guard breaking rather than as an actual threat.

Light Chop. Similar to far LP despite a different appearance.

MP - [ Startup: 8 | Hit:+4 | Block:+3 (normal) ] [ Startup: 7 | Hit:+5 | Block:+4 (dashing)]

Side Chop. Good long hitbox, cancelable, and excellent frame advantage on hit/block make this rather ideal for dash pressure and general midrange poking. Your basic go-to move when at a distance.

n.MP - [ Startup: 6 | Hit:-5 | Block:-6 (normal) ] [ Startup: 5 | Hit:-4 | Block:-5 (dashing)]

Drill. Nearly worthless, try to avoid using this. Whiffs on crouchers, bad anti air. No frame advantage. It is cancelable, but during a dash its not unless you fully intend to LI cancel it.

HP - [ Startup: 9 | Hit:-1 | Block:-2 (normal) ] [ Startup: 8 | Hit:-0 | Block:-1 (dashing)]

Needles. Pretty good hitbox, lots of active frames and a good meaty. Good to buffer LI with. Can also slide with it during a dash.

n.HP - [ Startup: 9 | Hit:+3 | Block:+2 (normal) ] [ Startup: 8 | Hit:+4 | Block:+3 (dashing)]

Upper Spikes. If you whiff a throw and get this, no big deal. Has good frame advantage. Not cancelable, but moves her forward to make counter pokes whiff, and verical reach can catch jump outs.

Shin kick. Lower hitbox than LP which makes it more commonly used as a dash attack than LP. In general, a pretty good light attack, best if spaced to max range or chained/linked into itself. Looks the same as the close version, which isn't as good.

Identical in appearance to LK, except that the frame advantage on the close version is only about half as good as the far version or LP. Be that as it may, it basically has the same uses.

MK - [ Startup: 6 | Hit:+2 | Block:+1 (normal) ] [ Startup: 5 | Hit:+3 | Block:+2 (dashing) ]

Boot. Good hitbox. Not cancelable, and the frame advantage off it is not quite as good as far MP. The dash version makes a pretty good tick throw setup when alternated with staggers. Better to use it sometimes due to close MP not being very good.

HK - [ Startup: 20 | Hit:-5 | Block:-6 (normal) ] [ Startup: 19 | Hit:-4 | Block:-5 (dashing)]

Scythe. Despite it's very slow startup and appearance this move is not an overhead. Which basically makes it pretty worthless. You can sometimes use it as an anti-air, or to set up a frametrap LI-cancel gimmick, but in general you won't be using this move much (if at all).

n.HK - [ Startup: 8 | Hit:-5 | Block:-6 (normal) ] [ Startup: 7 | Hit:-4 | Block:-5 (dashing)]

Spinner. Multi-hit, it makes for a good hit-confirm into LI, since you have plenty of time to both buffer the input and confirm the hit. Uncancellable and disadvantageous on hit/block, so ideally you would cancel to LI regardless.

c.LP [ Startup: 4 | Hit:+8 | Block:+7 | Renda: H:+11 B:+10 ]

Jab. High blockable. Despite being high blockable this is one of Lilith's essential moves due to it having the highest frame advantage and renda bonus out of her moveset. It's also one of the ways she can confirm into LI, as chaining or linking crouching jabs into themselves begins the LI input. Generally a good way to reset/start dash pressure due to it having extremely good frame advantage.

c.MP - [ Startup: 6 | Hit:+2 | Block:+1 ]

Wing Blades. Kind of a relatively crappy move. Her c.MK has better range, faster startup, and much better advantage. Fortunately it's not disadvantageous and it's cancelable, but for the most part she has other moves that do everything it does but better.

c.HP - [ Startup: 9 | Hit:-2 | Block: -3 ]

Wing Whip. One of Lilith's essential moves for comboing LI. Typically chained into and then cmd-super canceled into LI. It's unfortunately not frame advantageous and not cancelable, but it's also not particularly punishable. It's only mildly useful as a poke though, typically players only use it during chains.

c.LK - [ Startup: 4 | Hit:+6 | Block:+5 | Renda: H:+9 B:+8 ]

Low Short. Hits low, cancelable, good frame advantage. A typical low short. Not as advantageous as c.LP, but still pretty good and also gains a renda bonus.

c.MK - [ Startup: 4 | Hit:-2 | Block:-3 ]

Low Forward. Hits low, cancelable, decent frame advantage. It's a nice poke, and is useful during dash rushdown for cancelling into Soul Flash pressure or simply to combo into Soul Flash or Merry Turn. The best part about this move though is the disturbingly fast startup, as it shares the same startup speed as c.LP and c.LK at four frames. Definitely the move of choice for special cancels.

c.HK - [ Startup: 14 | Hit: Knockdown | Block:-20 ]

Scythe Slide. Hits low, sweeps. This move is pretty horrible. Only use it when you're able to hitconfirm it off a normal chain. About the only other time you'd want to use this is if you were going to try a gimmicky blocked c.HK into LI frametrap.

j.LP - [ Startup: 5 ]

Needle. Typical jumping jab. Her fastest startup for a jumping attack. Sometimes used together with j.LK to confirm into LI.

j.MP - [ Startup: 6 ]

Blades. Decent j.MP. The hitbox extends downwards somewhat which is good for startup a jumpin airchain, such as j.MP j.MK.

j.HP - [ Startup: 7 ]

Spinning Rims. Deceptive hitbox. The sprite looks like it hits all around her, but it does not. Usable as a crossup against wide characters, though not as much crossup potential as j.MK. A general purpose air-to-air or air-to-ground move. Possibly her best jumping attack, though j.LP and j.MK are her go-to moves in the air.

j.LK - [ Startup: 6 ]

Knee. Typical jumping short. Useful in air battles or after chicken blocking. Also useful to stuff some anti-airs.

j.MK - [ Startup: 6 ]

Leg Thrust. Has crossup potential. May be better as a crossup than j.HP in some regards. Also useful in air-to-air battles since it extends quite a ways forwards. Pretty good after airblocking as well since the startup is quite fast and the reach is good.

j.HK - [ Startup: 9 ]

Scythe Swing. Great range. Typically used at max range when everything else would miss. This is pretty good for beating anti-airs when spaced properly since the hitbox is so good at max range. Not very good in air-to-air battles though since the startup is slow. Vertical jumping HK makes a pretty good poke or zoning tool simply because of the range and hitbox. Still, it's not something that is used frequently, but rather just when the situation calls for it.

- 9 - Specials

Super Jump (sj) - 2 7/8/9:

A high jump. This will cause Lilith to jump very high and very far. In addition, if she crosses over the opponent she will automatically turn around in the air allowing you to attack towards the opponent, unlike a normal jump

Soul Flash (fireball) – 236P (air):

Lilith's most useful special move by far. A little bat ball projectile that floats a short distance before disappearing. The interesting thing about this move is that it causes a special hit-reel which makes it significantly better on hit than on block. Additionally, the attack strength used causes a drastic change in the speed in which the projectile moves. The Jab version is particularly useful for zoning and rushdown pressure, while the HP version is highly comboable due to it's speed. Because it's also possible to perform in the air it's rather handy for midrange, since being in the air means you're less prone to being comboed during the recovery than if you were on the ground. Because of this, 2369LP is a rather staple Lilith poke.

* (LP Version): The strength of this move is the fact that it moves slow. It's very good mid range as it provides a bit of a shield which Lilith can use to discourage jump-ins and also to set up a wall that she can move forward behind, allowing her to push her way towards the opponent by force. Additionally, although the frame advantage is +2/-8 on hit/block, the projectile moves slow and that advantage assumes you are point blank, so for every frame that it takes to reach the opponent a frame is added to the advantage of the move. Because the active frames for the LP is 35F that makes the advantage range anywhere between +2/-8 to +37/+27

* (MP Version): Moves faster, 13 active frames. Range becomes +2/-8 to +15/+5. Pretty good if spaced perfectly or timed perfectly on a meaty.

* (HP Version): Moves extremely fast, 6 active frames. Range becomes +2/-8 to +8/-2. Mostly useful to combo from max range.

* (ES Version): Moves at medium speed and travels further, 60 active frames, also hits three times. This might have been her most useful version if it didn't hit three times, making it easymode tech/GC bait. Though, since it's autonomous of her it can still be used to pressure/mixup the opponent if they have a terrible GC and/or suck at teching. With 60 active frames and a longer travel distance it's certainly the most useful for midrange zoning.

Shining Blade (DP) – 623P (GC):

An uppercut. Unfortunately for Lilith, the startup on all of her normal versions is 7F while the invulnerability duration is 7F, which makes it prone to losing or trading with very meaty or late attacks. It's also air blockable as soon as she leaves the ground. Thus, it's not horrifically bad as an uppercut but it's also not particularly good. Perhaps the worst aspect to it though is that the hitbox is relatively high for a DP, which also makes it prone to whiffing very small crouching characters like Q-Bee. The landing recovery once touching the ground is 4F, making it possible to punish with a ground combo.

* (LP Version): Short uppercut.

* (MP Version): Medium uppercut.

* (HP Version): Far/high uppercut.

* (ES Version): This version hits three times and has much better invulnerability duration compared to the startup. The startup is faster than the normal versions at 5F (instead of 7) and the invulnerability duration is longer at 10F (instead of 7) so unlike the normal versions this one can actually be used as a reversal and is much less prone to losing/trading. The downside to this is that Lilith will only hit once then teleport back to the ground to hit again, until all three hits are executed, which sometimes makes it prone to whiffing opponents on the second or third hit in certain situations. Also because the whole animation is very long and telegraphed, it's ridiculously easy to punish or block/whiff.

* (GC Version): Identical to her normal/ES versions. Pretty good as a GC, as most DP-Type GC's are, though it still suffers from the same issues as the non-GC versions. Use sparingly.

Merry Turn – 214K:

Lilith's hurricane kick wanna-be. A single hit spin move that takes her into the air. Unfortunately the recovery on this makes it not very useful unless you can hit confirm it. The only reason to use it is for a knockdown.

* (LK Version): Short range, fastest startup, best recovery, though still very easily punishable on block/whiff.

* (MK Version): Medium range, slower startup, worse recovery.

* (HK Version): Far range, slowest startup, worst recovery.

* (ES Version): This version hits four times and has the same startup speed as the HK version. Despite it also having a good distance the recovery is actually better than the MK and HK versions, but still just as bad as the LK version (highly punishable on block).

Mystic Arrow (throw) - 624P:

This is very atypical of a normal command throw in the sense that Lilith will hop towards the opponent before attempting the grab, which drastically limits it's use. Button strength determines the distance she hops. Because of the startup this move is extremely rarely used. If she grabs she will shoot the opponent across the screen behind her.

* (LP Version): Short hop. Best version to cancel into at point blank.

* (MP Version): Medium hop. Can be used off far cancelable normals at max range.

* (HP Version): Long hop. Not particularly useful.

* (ES Version): Very long hop. This version will also wallslam the opponent which will allow for a followup juggle of some kind.

- 10 - Supers

Splendor Love (bats) - 623KK:

This has no invulnerability frames despite the motion and appearance. As far as supers go this one's not very useful. The long recovery and poor startup make it basically worthless outside of combos, especially due to the complete lack of invincibility. The only reason to use it outside of a combo is just to see Lilith naked. However, the damage is pretty decent inside combos (a tiny bit more damage than LI) and it's hit confirmable off a link into c.MK. Still, most Lilith players rather attempt a LI instead of S.Love so it's very rarely used.

Luminous Illusion (raging demon) - LP, LP, 6, LK, HP (air):

Lilith's most useful super, assuming you can execute it well. Because it's a cmd super it's comboability is high. The damage is also good and it's recovery on whiff is basically non-existent (actually 1F). Even though there is some punishable recovery on block it's not especially easy to punish it. Generally speaking this is the move you want to practice doing, because it's one of Lilith's strongest assets as a use any-time any-where kind of move. The 4F startup on this move makes it an excellent point-blank punish as well.

Gloomy Puppet Show (dance) - 426KK:

One of the few supers in the game that costs two stocks. Damage is dependent on how well the Lilith player inputs the attack inputs shown during the dance. Pretty worthless as a super, especially due to how much it costs and it's ridiculously slow startup. If the damage was actually worth it it might be something to use occasionally, but since it's not worth it this move hardly gets any use. One esoteric gimmick is to first use Lilith's Mimic Doll Dark Force then do the Puppet Show, since the doll will mimic the hat toss it can catch people unaware.

[VS] Zabel: Night of the Living Dead

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 18:38:01 +0000

Pros:

One of the better IADs in the game

Amazing normals

Great damage off of lights due to Renda Bonus

Some of the best anti airs around

Great damage

Great mix up with High/Low/CMD grab

Unblockable Setups

Full Guard after J. LP and J. MP *Allows him to block anything including Air Unblockable moves*

Cons:

High execution requirements

Low stamina

Wiki: http://vsav.mizuumi.net/wiki/Zabel

Notable Normals:

Cr. LP- Special cancelable, extremely +on block, when chained into another Cr. LP it's + enough to cancel into Evil Scream or Death Voltage

Cr. HP- Amazing Anti-Air, not much use outside of that

Cr. LK- Low hit and frame advantage hits low and can chain into St. LK which can be cancedled into Evil Scream or Death Voltage

J. MP & J.D. MP- Both are great depending on the situation. J. MP is great air to air; if it connects against an opponent above you it can set up an unblockable J. LK. J.D.MP is great Air to Ground and sets up an unblockable J. LK, J.D. MP is great Air to Ground off of an IAD and a major part of Zabel's rushdown.

- c.lk s.lk xx hell scream or death voltage: his basic damaging combo. from now on i'll just
put death voltage since it hits Q-bee low, but both can be used otherwise.

- c.lk, +c.lk, +c.lp, +f+lp xx death voltage: this is his far damaging combo. does not work
on short crouchers.

- c.lk c.mp c.mk c.hk: basic chain combo to hit with up close. coming from an IAD hp, use
c.lk c.mk c.hk instead.

- f+lk f+mp f+mk f+hp OR f+hk: basic far chain combo, not to be used too often though, there
are better things to do

- c.mk xx hell scream: hell scream is better to do here in case you miss.

- dash lk, c.lp, c.lp, +c.mp xx death voltage: a good damaging dash combo.

- jump in starters: down+mp, neutral mk; down+hp; down+mp from IAD; hk from IAD; lk meaty
from reset or wakeup for unblockable; j. lk mk

Raptor's Unblockable Jumping LK revolves around knocking your opponent down so they can't roll, and landing a meaty jumping LK ->c.MK XX Evil Scream
*want specifics? I really dont have the answers for zabel just yet... :-\ hopefully liquited or b-izm will enlighten us.

-J.d+hp, s.lk, +s.lkXXdeathvoltage/evil scream

-Iad.hk, +s.mkXXevilscream

-J.d+mp, +d.lp, +s.lp, +s.lp, deathvoltage/evil scream

-J.d+mp, j.mk, s.mkXXevil scream

-J.d+mp, j.d+mk

-c.mkXXstab super

-s.F+lp, s.F+lpXXEX electric hurricane

-ES-Hellsting, c.lp, +c.lp,

iad.d+hp, [d.lp, +c.lp, +c.lp]x3, finisher?
*I?ve tested this out in parts, should work w/ proper tools(i.e. a stick, not keyboard :-\)

-Iad.mp(or hp), \/, ES skull punish
*note* this is a throw setup, the air dashing medium punch or hard punch are suppose to whiff.

DF: [s.lk, +d.rk]xN

Resurrection

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 07:36:52 +0000

Can I start a thread for those of us who only started playing when Resurrection came out?

I've had a really great experience trying to learn this game online, I'm wondering if others have felt the same.

-Mark

(Edit - Don't be ashamed, its just to say hello!)

[SAT, JULY 12TH, 2014] VAMPIRE SAVIOR: EVOLUTION 2014 SIDE TOURNAMENT

Thu, 05 Jun 2014 04:38:19 +0000

Undamned is graciously sponsoring us with 2 additional UD-CPS2 setups, so along with my own we'll have 3 arcade setups total at this year's Vampire Savior EVO side tournament!

This is going to be my 3rd year running Vampire Savior at EVO, hopefully with all these stations and the experience I've gained it will run smoother than ever. If anybody has any questions don't hesitate to ask, you can send me a line on twitter at: https://twitter.com/rotanibor

Also, you may want to join the Vampire Savior facebook group if you have not, which you can find here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/vampiresavior/. Any updates will also be posted on the event invite page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/249941398541531/

Stream:

-Top 8 of Vampire Savior will be streamed by: http://www.twitch.tv/arkadeum at 3:30pm PDT/6:30pm EDT. Much love to the Super Turbo community helping us out! Be sure to watch Tournament of Legends II and X-MANIA USA on this channel as well!

Tournament Details:

-Tournament will be ran on the original arcade CPS-2 hardware, using the UD-CPS2.

-We'll have 3 setups at this time.

-Played on CRT Televisions.

UD-CPS2 Details:

-You can plug in almost any PS3 and 360 USB control devices, from pads, to hitboxes, to sticks.

-The UD-CPS2 does not allow access to PPP and KKK button bindings, please be well aware of this.

-For more technical details, check here: http://forums.shoryuken.com/discussion/146685/ud-cps2-fully-consolized-capcom-play-system-2

Entry:

-$10 Entry Fee

-Payout is 70% (1st Place), 20% (2nd Place) and 10% (3rd Place) if there are 16 entrants or more. If less than 16 entrants, the payout will be 75% (1st Place) and 25% (2nd Place).

-You must purchase an EVO 2014 pass to enter the venue. You can buy one here ( http://evo.shoryuken.com/registration/ ), with the Basic Pass being the cheapest option if you do not intend to enter any of the main games at EVO.

Date, Time & Location:

-Saturday, July 12th 2014

-The tournament will start at 1pm PDT. We are working on a schedule, so please let me know if you step away so I can avoid DQing you.

-We intend to be located in the BYOC Area in the event hall. With out it is setting up events at EVO, things doing always go according to plan. If you have any difficulty finding us, please check back here, on facebook, or my twitter for further updates.

-Once we reach Top 8, we will move locations to the SUPER TURBO area, where Vampire Savior Top 8 will be streamed.

Venue:

-The hotel EVO is held at as changed its name to WESTGATE Las Vegas Resort & Casino. I'll include the old name and address just to be safe (LVH - Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, 3000 Paradise Rd, Las Vegas, Nevada 89109)

Rules & Settings:

-Double Elimination Bracket

-2 out of 3 matches tournament format

-3 out of 5 Winners Finals, Losers Finals and Grand Finals

-Turbo 3

How do I block, yo?! Part 1: Anakaris

Tue, 27 May 2014 04:54:22 +0000

Part 1 of the character-specific series is for Anakaris. This was actualyl the first guide in the series I wrote, since it was one of the characters I felt I understood best.

This guide is the product of empirical data, in-game testing, personal match experience, and videos of high-level play. It was checked for consistency by Anakaris players.

How do I block, yo?! Anakaris Edition

1. Neutral Game - Things to watch for when neither opponent has the offensive advantage.

A. Where to stand? Where not to stand?

- Anakaris can play his entire neutral game in mid-air; he can stay in the air for longer than anyone in the game, and can immediately get airborne again if he has enough space. Most characters need to stay as close as they can, without being in range of his air normals (either his punches or kicks, since either one will stop early jump attempts). This is the same range for basically everyone. If your character needs a bit more space to play their neutral game, then you should have no trouble getting that space; Anak isn't going to try and contest it.

- There's a dead zone about 1-2 character lengths in front of him that you don't want to occupy in neutral situations unless you are airborne. An easy way to think of this space is, if you were to jump over his curse projectile, it would be the space between the projectile and Anakaris. Being under Anak at this space allows him to put offensive pressure on you, and doubly so if there *is* a curse projectile behind you. Also, given the stength of his ground dash, this space is also makes it really easy for him to just start up his ground pressure out of nowhere, as well. Thus, you need to make sure you don't enter this space unless you are jumping at him.

B. How to approach?

- If you *are* jumping at him, the best thing to do is to go for a guard break. Most characters can do a full chain, and then do an anti-air/AG option select; just do an AG, leading with S.Lp. If Anak is in range, or he tries a late enough Pyramid, you'll swat him out of the air and have the advantage. If he tries a Pyramid early, you'll get the advancing guard and keep the situation at neutral.

- Common sense tip: Never crouch after air-chaining Anakaris; he'll still be in the air, so he's *ONLY* going to hit you with a high attack!

- Possible ways to botch your approach: Jumping from too close (you'll get hit out of your jump startup by an air attack), jumping from too far (whiffed air attacks are a good way to get hit by curses and coffin drops; he can also jump back to force your attack to whiff, and counterattack), trying to jump while he is landing (also easy to be hit out of jump startup, or he can sometimes just land and anti-air you with S/C.Mp or C.Hp), and air-chaining at the wrong altitudes (if you haven't landed by the time your air chain is over, he will just chicken guard you).

- If you have any frame traps in mid-air, it's also good to mix them up with your air chains. This includes chaining into very slow normals, as well as canceling air normals into special moves with slow enough startups to frame trap. Also, if you have any attacks that quickly cover long distances, you can potentially punish Anak by reading when he's going to throw a Curse.

C. Anything to watch out for?

- Anak's goal here is to either get you to enter his dead zone, or, as a secondary goal, to get you to try something reckless and get hit by any of his special moves - Cobra Blow at close ranges, Coffin Drops, and Curses.

- Cobra Blows, you'll rarely need to worry about, as they are high risk/low reward against most of the cast. Just be aware that if Anak is landing, let him get airborne again before making your approach, and stay out of his dead zone while you do this!

- Coffin Drops and Curses will mainly hit you when you whiff attacks. They are hard to land for Anakaris, and require good reads. However, he can take to the offense without fail almost every time if he lands either one. So, basically, don't whiff attacks!

- As an addendum, Anak players will probably try and gauge your approach in neutral situations by double/triple-jumping back and seeing what you do. If you go for an attack and whiff, they can hit you with an air normal. Do this too often, and they will probably figure out how to set you up for a curse/coffin. If you think you're smart and try to empty jump...well, congratulations - you've empty-jumped into his Dead Zone. Don't be smart - approach with an attack!

2. Anakaris's defense - Their options when you have the offensive advantage - how they will defend against your attacks and okizeme.

A. Can't Advancing Guard...

This is well worth keeping in mind. Not just because you can take advantage of it, but because you can make things harder on yourself by not thinking about it when you mount your offense.

Because Anakaris can't AG, you can try to do attack strings that have the highest amount of frame advantage. As long as they keep you in range, you can cheese a lot of damage this way, although each character's ability to exploit this trait will vary. Some people have virtual infinites, while the only way other people can exploit it with walk-towards Jabs. Obviously not a good idea to do that.

...However, ALSO because Anakaris can't AG, literally ANY offensive technique that you do to punish AG attempts with variable blockstun timing is basically useless. The only exception is if it's something that loops into itself, which is what we discussed in the previous paragraph. If you're just doing one-off mixups to try and blow up AGs, stop doing them to Anakaris (unless you're playing a very mash Anak player). It's much better to just limit his space when you're on the offense, and play it more like you would play a conventional fighting game.

B. Can't Guard Cancel...sort of.

Anakaris can also not Guard Cancel without meter. And, in fact, his Guard Cancel doesn't do a whole hell of a lot. It's frame advantage is so low, that depending on your proximity to Anakaris, you can even throw him before he recovers. That being said, there are still some times that Anakaris will use it. For one, if he's going to get chipped by a close-range attack, it's in his best interest to just Guard Cancel the attack to try and live longer. For two, his Guard Cancel is unblockable, so it's still a good way to mess up your rhythm if you're not expecting it. It's not exactly a huge advantage for Anakaris; but, he needs all the advantages he can get, so remember this!

C. Jab. Jab. Jab. Jab -> Short. Jab.

Anakaris can't AG to get out of trouble, so his options are to either allow you to push him out of your own attack range, or to try and throw light attacks in-between the places where he knows there are holes in your offense. If you have any areas in your attack strings that are long enough for him to throw a S/C.Lp or S.Lk (both 4-frame startup) - or, to put it more simply, at any point where you have to move towards him while attacking to stay in range - you run the risk of getting hit by one of these.

If you're wondering like, "Well, who cares if I get hit by a Jab or Short?" A good Anakaris player will be able to link S/C.Lp, S.Lk, or an Lp -> Lk chain into a combo that knocks down. So, while he may not be able to AG your offense, if you give him something to work with, a good Anakaris player will definitely convert it into damage and a knockdown, also reversing the offensive advantage to his favor. Thus, it's important to know where these holes are and punish him occasionally for attempting to attack in-between the stops, instead of continuing your relentless assault. After all, if your offense is just getting you killed, it's not much of an offense, right?

To further expand upon that idea...if you don't have a super-tight block string that's hard for Anakaris to escape, it's usually best to convert your hits into knockdowns. At least that way, no matter where Anakaris moves to, you can still meaty him, or try to otherwise limit his movement.

D. Through-the-wall!

Similar to his use of Lp/Lk to reverse the offensive advantage, if Anakaris is pinned to a wall, he can simply backdash into it and come out through the other side. Most Anak players already do this when faced with something basic like a jump-in that they don't wanna deal with. However, slick Anak players can also Through-the-wall dash out of very small holes in your offense. If you can bait it while you're still not in close range of him, you can be very close to the other end and punish. The easiest way to do this is to get him to read a jump-in. However, if there are points in your offense where Anak frequently tries to exit, you can intentionally end your string at this point and move to the other side of the screen.

E. Anti-Pursuit

Anakaris doesn't really have that much he can do about your wakeup game. He can't command throw you if you cozy up too close. He can't AG your attacks, so you can safely do any attack as a meaty without fear of being pushed away. He can Guard Cancel you, but again, if you are close enough on wakeup, you'll punish him for it anyways.

The only thing he DOES have going for him is his Anti-Pursuit attack. When knocked down, he can opt to use this attack instead of neutral or rolling wakeup. It's an unblockable attack, and it will nab you out of your pursuit attacks if you're too close. It will also get you if you are trying to corpse hop or walk through him.

The downside (because of course, it's Anakaris, so there is one) is that the normal version is a very high-risk maneuver. There's a large window to punish if he misses the attack. This is still somewhat true with the ES version; however, there are some differences that make it a little easier for Anak to throw out. For one, the window to punish Anakaris is much smaller and more difficult to time. For two, Anak is considered airborne for the entire duration where you can punish him (the normal version is part airborne and part grounded). So, if you are normally punishing Anti-Pursuit with any sort of combo, the first attack will just reset him if you try the same punish on the ES version. Thus, you need to use whatever your strongest single attack is. This doesn't hamper some people (like Talbain, for example, who can just ES Beast Cannon both versions), but depending on who you're using, you may need to have a different punish ready for ES Anti-Pursuit. Since at least part of the normal Anti-Pursuit is airborne, you may opt to use the same punish for both.

F. Offensive Reset (i.e attacking your opponent out of your own range)

Anakaris's Close-Range Offense is very strong. If you knock Anak out of range with most characters, the situation is going to be neutral, or even potentially at his advantage. He can quickly dash in and deal with you trying to jump after an Offensive Reset. He can jump towards you and just try and counter-hit whatever you do on the ground with his Pyramid attack. Or, he can jump backwards and begin his neutral game all over again. If he likes, he can even root himself in place and counter your next offensive maneuver (Lp/Lk your ground dash, AA your jump/air dash).

Granted, if he's in the corner, you have a slightly better situation here, since Anak can't really play his neutral game when cornered. At that point, you can mix him up by either staying in place and trying to zone him on the ground (potentially beat if he tries to trade with a sweep or if he tries a Pyramid atack), or doing a neutral jump (beat by anything Anak can use to punish jump-outs. When cornered, however, you don't have to worry about Anak being too ballsy; as he wants to minimize any damage possible, the odds of him doing something reckless are pretty low.

3. Anakaris's offense - Their options when they have the offensive advantage - how you must defend against his attacks and okizeme.

A. Anak's high/low/"throw", AND pressure game.

Anakaris's offense has a lot of variety and nuance, and, in the hands of someone who knows how to use it, can be legitimately dangerous to handle. I typically refer to characters' offense as being "high/low", which should be pretty self-explanatory, or "pressure-based", which are characters who rely more on constant offensive pressure and frame traps (i.e Rikuo, Bishamon, Lilith, Wolf, etc.). Though he is the worst character in the game, he holds the distinction of being the only character is is extremely excellent at both. (...although L. Rapter is probably the second-best, that dick)

His high/low/"throw" game is pretty straight-forward, and most Anak players will have some level of proficiency at it; it's the typical "I do some lows, and then I use my quick overhead to stay in range" spiel that everyone has. Just like anyone else, he can vary at which point he wants to end his pressure string, he can do multiple overheads at once, he can do an overhead feint by using the Vertical Pyramid instead of the Diagonal, and go right into a low attack. (For that matter, he can feint using the Diagonal Pyramid, too, but it requires some practice and knowing the timing of his opponents' wakeup animations.)

There are two main differences in Anak's high/low game from other characters:

- Instead of moving into an overhead, Anak can try to punish people for trying to jump-out, or even predict an overhead, by just continuing the chain into a sweep. This is because C.Hk's startup is slow enough that it will combo on hit, but not block. Thus, if you block, say, C.Lp -> C.Lk, and he chains the Lk into C.Hk, you'll have enough time in-between those attacks to try an attack or get hit out of an AG attempt. You even have enough time to stand up. Thus, if you can't AG/GC his light attacks, you need to just watch carefully for his next move.

- In lieu of a normal throw, Anak has his command throw. The ES version is a very powerful tool in his high/low mixup game. He can cancel it off of his lows, which will catch you if you're not AG'ing/not watching closely. He can do it immediately after a blocked Pyramid, since he knows only crazy people are going to try and jump out immediately after that (If you don't know why, it's because you literally have no time to jump out before he can do a low. If you're trying to jump out, you'll be standing and eat a full chain). If he knows that you are antsy and like to neutral jump at close range, he can even throw it so that it grabs you as you land, unless you can alter your jump trajectory somehow. About the only way to dodge this is to jump over it, or run far enough away that it misses. The harder part, however, is just being able to react in time. Anakaris will keep you on your toes, so watch out.

As for his pressure game, it too is well-equipped to give anyone some trouble. His light attacks are quick and have long range. He can link most of them, too, which means if he hits with one, you can expect it to be converted into damage and a knockdown. He's also the only character in the game who can choose to do the Standing or Crouching versions of his attacks during a forward dash, so he can try and read people expecting overheads, as well as punish jump-outs effectively from virtually any range.

Speaking of which, if Anakaris has the offensive advantage...you can't Jump. Just, don't even try, really. From close range, he can punish your jump-outs with S.Lp. From farther away? S.Mp. From even farther? S.Hp. And if you somehow get EVEN farther than that, like with an AG? He can either do a Cobra Blow, or, he can throw out a normal version of his Command Throw; if he knows the proper ranges, he can put it right in front of you, so if you did a crouching AG and try to jump afterwards, you'll get grabbed as you're standing up. Don't be dumb - just AG and wait for him to run out of steam! He'll have to go back to his neutral game eventually, if you push him out far enough.

And, finally, make sure you are still trying to AG during his pressure. If Anak closes enough distance, he can just go into his high/low game, which is harder to escape and will net him a lot more damage than a few stray punches. As if that weren't bad enough, Anak's pursuit is quick enough that he can stay on top of you no matter where you roll, so he can hit-confirm his attacks into sweeps and keep playing his high/low game with ALL of his options intact, no matter where you are, until you push him far out of your range. Don't underestimate his offense just because he's the worst character in the game - he's bad because of his DEFENSE, not his offense.

B. LOL it's my EX

When you are cornered, Anakaris can take his surprise throw game to another level. If you aren't successfully AG'ing his attacks, he can cancel a low into his EX attack, "Pit To the Underworld". Since the attack is unblockable, if you don't have a way to jet out of the corner or a long-range attack to hit Anak *immediately*, you're gonna get hit by this attack. Like the ES Command Throw, you just have to be aware that he can do it, and be ready to react accordingly. Watch closely!

C. Surprise Pyramid!

This isn't a pivotal thing, but it's worth knowing. If Anak gets an air reset on you during one of his forward jumps, he can chose to land and start his offense, OR he can Pyramid just before hitting the ground. Thus, if you get reset in this way (shame on you), this is another place where you're going to need to look carefully. Although, it's probably smarter to just stand. Anak's trajectory is very slow, so it's easier to react to him NOT doing the Pyramid, rather than the other way around.

D. tl;dr: AG the Pyramid.

So, dealing with Anakaris's offense is a doozy. Unless you can crouch under half his shit (Bee and Wolf), or you have an unblockable GC and are good at landing it, you're gonna have some fun. However, as long as you play the pressure game intelligently, there is one thing you can do:

AG the Pyramid!

Seriously. If you AG the Pyramid, he can't continue his high/low game. He can't do surprise throws, or Surprise EX attacks, cos you'll be too far away for it to be a smart move. If he's close enough, he can't even reliably feint with the vertical Pyramid, cos you'll just swat him out of it (though, it's always best to AG reactively, so I don't necessarily recommend doing that last one). He'll have to go back to doing his pressure game, and, as long as you're being patient, you will hopefully escape with minimal damage.

4. Anything else? - Stuff that doesn't fit into any of the above categories.

A. I absorb your FOOLISH projectiles into my being

...I don't think this is very important. I feel like I never see Anak players do this at any level. However, if you are playing a character with a projectile, Anakaris can probably eat it, which will allow him to use it on you, as well:

- Rikuo: Sonic Wave
- B.B Hood: Missiles and Mines
- Demitri: Chaos Flare
- Jedah: Dio-Cega
- Hsien-Ko: All projectiles
- Lilith: Soul Flash
- Morrigan: Soul Fist

I'm guessing the reason I never see Anakaris do it, is because it's slow as hell, and easy to punish. Having a fireball also doesn't add very much to his game; he plays his neutral game in the air, where he already has a projectile. But, you know...this being an attempt at a comprehensive guide and all, now you know.

B. Are you right next to him? Good. Throw him.

This isn't something especially reliable as a strategy, but if you ever find yourself adjacent to Anakaris for any reason...you might as well throw him. It's true that you can't simply walk up and throw a good Anakaris player, because the same way that they try to defend against your normal attacks (fish for jabs and convert to a knockdown) is exactly how they are going to defend against walk-up throws. However, at point blank range, there's not much you need to worry about:

- Anakaris doesn't have a conventional normal/command throw, so he can't possibly throw you first or outprioritize you.

- Anakaris has no invulnerable attacks worth using in a situation like this; his only invulnerable maneuver that he can do without blocking/being knocked down is his Dark Force activation, and honestly, he is probably going to take more damage from activating and de-activating that, than he would from being thrown.

- To top it off, Anakaris doesn't have any particularly fast light attacks. Not usually an issue for other characters with no 3-frame lights, because they usually have a worthwhile command throw/Dark Force.

- And, if all those things aren't bad enough, none of Anak's standing mediums and hards (i.e the tech hit normals) are very fast. At best, incorrectly guessing a throw with Anak will see his move get beat, and take a chain combo. At worst, if Anak's tech hit normals are dodged completely, he's wide open for the combo of his opponent's choosing.

So, while I wouldn't reccomend trying to walk up and throw him all day, if you land right next to him? Throw him.

Also, it's worth noting that characters with more intense pressure rushdowns (particularly ground dashers, like Rikuo, Bishamon, Lilith, etc.) have a much easier time bullying their way into that close range. But, character-specific strategies is beyond the scope of this guide.

ES Guard Cancel unblockables, demystified

Fri, 23 May 2014 02:58:14 +0000

So, some people know that there are unblockable ES Guard Cancels. This information isn't as widespread as I would like it to be, so I'm fixing that now.

For starters...

Characters with ES GC unblockables: Anakaris, Bishamon, Demitri, Felicia, Lilith, Morrigan, Rapter (his DF Guard Cancel)

Why only ES?: I asked KENGALLON, a high-level Wolf player in Japan who knows some English, about how this all works. He told me, "You cannot take guard pause for [seven] frames after ESGC flash." Guard pause, I imagine, is what they must call proximity block. In other words, the ES Guard Cancel flash is a separate phenomenon from the standard GC flash, and you can't even guard attacks for seven frames afterwards.

...Thus:

- Characters with ES GCs that have less than or exactly seven frames of startup (i.e all the characters listed above) can create a situation where their ES Guard Cancel can't be blocked.

- Since ES GC flash is apparently different from standard GC flash, characters with normal GCs that are lower than seven frames can always be blocked. This unblock phenomenon applies to ES GCs only.

Yeah, but dawg - I blocked one of their ES GC's before. Explain that.

It's important to note that blocking is only disabled for seven frames afterward. Characters with shorter-range ES GCs that move forward (for example, Morrigan's) have a chance to be blocked. Continuing with Morrigan as an example, her ES Shadow Blade has thirty-two (32) active frames, and four (4) frames of startup. So, only the first three (3) active frames of her ES Guard Cancel are actually unblockable. If you create a situation where she fails to hit you within those frames, you can safely guard the rest.

This has some bigger implications, as well. Felicia's ES GC can be unblockable, but only the first active frame of the attack. Naturally, this means that the second half of the move is very, very blockable. Same goes for Lilith - only the first three (3) active frames of the first attack of her ES GC is unblockable, so if you dodge the first hit, you're definitely in the clear, and can safely block the remainder of the attack.

This has more powerful implications for characters with ES GCs with static hitboxes, or ones that already have very good range. In particular, this phenomenon heavily benefits Bishamon and Demitri. It would probably benefit Anakaris for the same reason if his ES GC didn't suck so much.

The numbers

Anakaris: 6F startup, Frame 7 unblockable

Bishamon: 3F startup, Frames 4-7 unblockable

Demitri: 4F startup, Frames 5-7 unblockable

Felicia: 6F startup, Frame 7 unblockable

Lilith: 4F startup, Frames 5-7 unblockable

Morrigan: 4F startup, Frames 5-7 unblockable

Rapter (DF): 4F startup, Frames 5-7 unblockable

tl:dr

- Proximity Guard is disabled for 7 frames after ES GC flash.

- Characters with ES GCs that have less than 7 frames of startup have unblockable startup on their GCs.

- Emphasis on startup; the entire attack is not unblockable.

- Bishamon rules you.

Advancing Guard/Push Block/Tech Hit detailed explanation - a primer for new players.

Thu, 22 May 2014 17:55:15 +0000

This came up in the Facebook group, so I just wanted to post it somewhere. This may be common knowledge for a lot of players, and it's well-known already. This post is mainly to give new players some perspective on Push Blocks and probability.

Anywhere you go to find Vampire Savior information, you'll find this info on Push Blocks:

- Press buttons SEPARATELY during blockstun (technically block stop but stfu) to try and trigger an Advancing Guard (hereafter AG). Simultaneous button inputs count as only one input.

- First two inputs: 0% chance to AG.

- Third input: 25% chance to AG.

- Fourth input: 50% chance to AG.

- Fifth input: 75% chance to AG.

- Sixth input: 100% chance to AG.

- The strength of attack determines the pushback distance of the AG. In other words, if you trigger an AG with Light Kick (Lk), your opponent will be pushed back a short distance. If you trigger an AG with Hard Kick (Hk), your opponent will be pushed back a far distance.

None of this is technically wrong; however, it is incredibly misleading, and also doesn't give the whole picture.

The biggest problem with this figures is that they look at each input "in a vacuum". If you're familiar with game emulation, you could make a savestate where you've just blocked an attack and pressed two buttons. If you load this savestate and immediately press a button, you will trigger an AG 25% of the time. Same goes if you make a savestate where you're just blocked an attack and pressed three buttons; assuming the third input didn't trigger the AG, you will trigger it with your fourth input 50% of the time when you load state and press a button.

But, you already know this if you've read anything about AGs. This is exactly what the conventional wisdom says. But, the problem is, PRECISELY BECAUSE Advancing Guards work this way, we can use probability to extrapolate some better information.

Advancing Guard probability chart #1: Probability of individual triggers

This chart shows the individual probability that each input will trigger an Advancing Guard.

You have a 0/32 chance (0%) of AG'ing on the first and second inputs.
You have a 8/32 chance (25%) of AG'ing on the third input.
You have a 12/32 chance (37.5%) of AG'ing on the fourth input.
You have a 9/32 chance (28.125%) of AG'ing on the fifth input.
You have a 3/32 chance (9.375%) of AG'ing on the sixth input.

The important information here, is that the fourth and fifth input have the highest probabilities to trigger an AG. This is also a large part of why the Lk Lp Mp Hp Hk sequence for AG is popular - it puts HP and HK on the fourth and fifth inputs, giving the highest chance to trigger an AG with the buttons that generate the greatest amount of pushback.

You might notice that looking at individual probability is weird. Of all the hits that can trigger an AG, the sixth input has the lowest chance. That seems counter-intuitive, since we know that a sixth hit will trigger an AG 100% of the time.

What this means is that the likelihood that you'll even need to input six button presses to trigger an AG is very low (...9.375% low, in fact). So, here's a slight better chart:

Advancing Guard probability chart #1: Probability that you will have triggered Advancing Guard

This chart shows AG probability in a different way. That is, it sums up the individual probabilities of each input going forward, to tell you the probability that you will have triggered an AG by the time you reach a certain input.

You have a 0/32 chance (0%) of AG'ing on the first and second inputs.
You have a 8/32 chance (25%) of AG'ing by your third input.
You have a 20/32 chance (62.5%) of AG'ing by your fourth input.
You have a 29/32 chance (90.625%) of AG'ing by you fifth input.
You have a 32/32 chance (100%) of AG'ing by your sixth input...obviously!

As you can see, even if your fourth input has a 1/2 chance of triggering the AG, when you look at probabilities, you realize that you have a 62.5% chance of triggering on your fourth input...not because the fourth input suddenly changes from 50% to 62.5%, but because your chance of having already triggered the AG by a certain time goes up with each failed press.

This is important to take into account, because now we can see that your chances of having triggered an AG by your fifth input is already almost 100% - much higher than it seems at a glance, looking at the raw data. This is also another reason why perhaps the 5-input AG technique is popular; if you are consistent at it, you'll 1-hit AG any attack 90% of the time.

tl;dr

- Mathematical probability gives later inputs in the AG sequence a higher chance to AG than you might think.

- Your fourth and fifth inputs in the AG sequence have the highest individual probability of triggering the AG.

- A five-hit AG technique might be "good enough", as probability states you have a 90% chance of triggering AG by your fifth hit.

Darkstalkers Chronicles for PSP

Tue, 11 Mar 2014 17:06:48 +0000

I own Darkstalkers for the PSP. Anyone still play it? I'd be delighted to add anyone who still does!

[VS] Morrigan: Succubus

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 20:53:04 +0000

Huge credit to GBursin, Buktooth & http://vsav.mizuumi.net/wiki/Morrigan

Takepon's Website: http://www8.plala.or.jp/nekonekohouse/himetono/world/morrigan/morrigan.htm

Beginners Guide

0 - Introduction

1 - Character Evaluation

2- Legend

3 - Input

4 - Pros

5 - Cons

6 - Styles

Zoning

Pit bull

Turtle

7 – Basics

Punish

Anti- Air

Pokes

Air-Game

8 - Normals

9 - Specials

10 - Supers

11- Mix-ups

12 - Combo's

13 - Frame traps & Tick throws

14 - Conclusion

0 - Introduction

This is an effort to collaborate and expand on all the great information so far (SRK, Wiki, Facebook etc). I've been casually playing this game for a a long time. Last year, I have really gotten involved and would like to share what I've learned. Anyone is welcome to contribute, i will update this guide to reflect the communities understanding of Morrigan's options.

1 - Character Evaluation

Morrigan has always been considered low tier. This means she has less effective options across the cast. She can still be successful. You just need to be more mindful and directed. I presume there is (4) tier categories. She would be in the bottom of the third section. Her typical goal is to gain meter, than combo into DI. The damage is very good. This and her high/low game define her character.

2- Legend

Chicken Block: Air blocking followed by a jumping attack

DI: Darkness Illusion

V-Turn: Valkyrie Turn

V-Drain: Vector Drain

DP: Dragon Punch

Reversal: Inputting a special/super the first frame available

AA: Anti-Air

ES: a version of special move that cost a meter. Performed by using (3)P's or (3)K's

DF: Dark Force.

cr: crouching version of an attack

J.: jumping version of an attack

UB: Unblockable. Aerial opponent, Morrigan uses a standing lp.

3 - Input

DI = lp, lp, direction Morrigan is facing, lk, hp.

- Command supers auto-correct direction changes.

- It is NOT lp, lp direction Morrigan is facing + lk, hp.

- You have 9frames leniency between every button input, NOT DIRECTIONS.

- You cannot combine inputs.

- You can add extra inputs.

- Lastly, you can't do easy mode lp+lk, lp+lk, direction Morrigan is facing, lp+lk, hp. This activates Dark force. =(

- You can stagger inputs and add extra for comfort. A few corner only examples to combo into DI are (cr.lk, cr.mp, cr.mk, cr.hp~lp, lp, direction Morrigan is facing~lk~hp) or (cr.lk, cr.mp, cr.mk, cr.hp~lp, cr.hp~lp, direction Morrigan is facing~lk~hp)

TIPS FOR COMBOING INTO DARKNESS ILLUSION
----------------------------------------

Kinda like a preface to the DI combo section, if you can't do DI combos, you
really shouldn't be using Morrigan. She's exponentially less threatening
without the ability of overhead/cross up into DI.

-Normal moves (and chains!) can be canceled into DI-type command moves at ANY
TIME. Even before and after the normal buffering window of the move. If the DI
isn't coming out at all in your combo, that just means you didn't input the
DI command correctly.

-If you access to the home version (and I'm pretty sure 99.9% of people reading
this guide do) turn on the key display in training mode. The most common errors
in the DI input occur at the point between the jabs and the short; the part
where you hit towards on the stick. People usually hit short BEFORE they hit
towards on the stick, or they hit towards and short at the same time. That
doesn't work. You have to hit towards on the stick (after the jab jab) THEN hit
the short button.

-If you find yourself creeping back to the bad habit of hitting towards on the
stick at the wrong time, try hitting towards a lot harder than you normally
would. It sounds kinda dumb, but it does work for a lot of people.

-The second most common error is that people don't press jab twice like they
should. It doesn't sound like a likely error to make, but people trying to get
the DI out as fast as they can sometimes don't let the button go up completely
before pressing the second jab. The result is they press jab again when the
button is still down, giving you one jab instead of two. If you're doing this
(check the key display!) try hitting the individual jabs harder. Heh. Force
solves everything.

-If you're STILL having problems getting the DI to come out at all during a
combo, you might be trying to do it too fast. Try slowing it down a bit (or
even a lot) and see if you have any success.

-If you are successfully getting the DI to come out, but can't consistently do
it fast enough to be a combo you should definitely stick to 2 hit chains. 2 hit
chains give you a lot more time to input the motion and leave your opponent
closer to you so that the DI reaches them faster.

How do 2 hit chains give you more time to buffer? You can input a 2 hit chain
as fast as you can and the second hit will always come out, giving you a good
amount of time to free up your hand for the DI command.

-Hit jabs with your index finger, short with your thumb, and fierce with your
ring finger. People who try to do the whole thing with their index finger
almost never get it fast enough.

-Cliched as it might sound, practice! It took me a few training mode sessions
to iron out all my bad habits and get a success rate of better than 9/10. The
good thing is, once you can do it consistently you generally don't forget how.
I haven't really had to maintain my combo ability with further training
sessions that much.

Kara-Fireball: 236hk~any punch. Also applicable in the air: Great for meter building.

4 - Pros

Has a high/low game

Best walk speed. This facilitates frame traps and throws

Has a few ambiguous cross-ups

Has a DP for reversals

Can kill with chip damage

Damaging Dark Force combo

V-Turn is a great escape option

Unique approaches b/c of dashing trajectories

5 - Cons

Damage is meter dependent

Options are Meter dependent

Best/reliable Anti-Air is meter dependent, other AA generally suck

Execution heavy: Arguably 3rd or 4th worst. (Lilith & Bulleta take the cake here)

Mix-ups are not advantageous, require some pre-conditioning. Unlike top tier's mix-ups that do frame trap.

6- Styles

Zoning

Morrigan's zoning game is weak. It's very rare you will find yourself purposefully zoning. However, she plays a spacing/footsies game while trying to approach after she has meter. Her walk speed is great and her dash has a 12frame window of vulnerability. Generally, you will make up for this loss by using your opponent recovery frames on pokes as a chance to dash in for mix-ups/frame traps. Don't stop moving! This will help deter your opponent’s anticipation of your movement.

DO:

mp at max range

hk at max range- this will hit jumpers

cr.hk at max range. sets up for oki on hit.

dash after opponent whiffs

DO NOT:

236P at mid-range. This will get jumped and punished often.

Dash in without accessing the situation

Pit bull

Morrigan's RUSH game is fair. Very meter dependent. You have a few options here. Mostly frame traps tho. You will need to condition your opponent to block before you can go for those 17Frame overheads. =P Always add the occasional throw to keep them guessing.

DO:

lk, throw

lk, lk, lk,

lk, walk, lk

mk, mk, mk

mk, throw

mk, mk, walk , mk

mk, dash, j.lp (once they are conditioned to block)

mk, dash, j.mk (once they are conditioned to block)

DO NOT: Press hp or hk up close unless you are going for a throw

Turtle

Morrigan's turtle game is too important. Your primary focus is to build meter and keep a safe distance. I consider this a dance. You have a pattern of moves you are purposefully whiffing for meter and your next step is dependent on your opponents movement. Did they close the gap? Are they in the air or the ground? etc.

DO:

short dash, j.mk

short backdash, j.mk

j.mp, recover, j.236hk~lp

cr.mp

236hk~(?)p - at least from 3/4 screen

8j.mk, recover, j.hk

7 – Basics

Punish

Without Meter:

lk, mk, cr.mp, cr.hk, Late pursuit.

Mith Meter Mid Screen:

cr.lk, cr.mp, st.mk, DI : A great punish with a decent window to input the DI

With Meter Corner:

cr.lk, cr.mp, cr.mk, cr.hp, DI

Dash, J.attack, cr.lk, cr.mp, cr.mk, cr.hp, DI

Dash, J.attack, LINK, J.attack, cr.lk, cr.mp, cr.mk, cr.hp, DI

Anti- Air

Without Meter:

Chicken Block, J.hk

lp -risky n situational. Like grounded UB's.

cr.mp- spacing specific

hk - space it out far away

j.mk

623lp

With Meter:

7+lp, air block, DI

This is amazing. Her best AA. You use the jump startup frames to hide the first input of lp. Nothings Comes out! You have to block and begin inputting the remainder of the DI within 9frames. That's why this only works when you chicken block extremely low to the ground. (Unless you’re Lilith and she does a superjump+lp). There's barely enough hit stop to buffer the rest of the DI. But there is enough, DI active in 4frames. Also, b/c you air blocked you had no block stun to accommodate for. =) This is much more damaging than a conventional AA b/c it fully connects!

Pokes

This is basically a recap of zoning spacing. Remember, cr.mk and st.mp both special cancel. If your opponent is being defensive you can cancel to a fireball and run behind for a high/low mix-up.

cr.mk

cr.hk

dash, j.hp at max range

cr.hp - I find this very useful. just be careful b/c it can be jumped and you will eat a FAT COMBO.

Air-Game

Morrigan has some great air options. firstly her j.normals (lp, lk, mp, mk) all have huge +frames and link into each other when opponent is on the ground.

Landing a (Non-Super) aerial hit forces opponents to flip to their feet and gives you an OKI (high/low/throw/bait) situation.

You can usually beat someone air to air with ascending J.mk.

You can often space j.hp to beat people air to air.

You can also chicken block to punish jumping attacks, No blockstun when you are in the air, that's why chicken blocking is soo good. But there a always counters.

Here's how Morrigan should be beating chicken blocks

- Airthrow - leads to a tech chase... somewhat advantageous

- Air chain with a gap. Example. J.lp, J.hp. They try to interrupt after j.lp and get hit by j.hp: Very advantageous. This leads to OKI.

- Meet them with an ascending j.lp. and fully chain your magic series. You will land about the time j.hk connects. Morrigan's gets a grounded lp as a UB. Very advantageous. This leads to OKI. Input = j.lp, j.lk, j.mp, j.mk, j.hp, j.hk, Land, lp

8 - Normals

LP [ Startup: 5 | Hit:+6 | Block:+5 | Renda: H:+9 B:+8 ]
Hair poke. The hitbox is somewhat high which makes it whiff most crouching characters. Advantageous on hit/block and gains a renda bonus. Primarily used for keeping people from dashing/hopping in, or for guard breaking.

©.LP [ Startup: 5 | Hit:+6 | Block:+5 | Renda: H:+9 B:+8 ]
Light Chop. Despite it's appearance it's basically identical in frame and function to the far version. does not whiff on crouching characters!

MP [ Startup: 6 | Hit:+3 | Block:+2 ]
Side Chop. Good long hitbox, cancelable, and good frame advantage on hit/block make this rather ideal for general midrange poking. Your basic go-to move when at a distance.

©.MP [ Startup: 8 | Hit:-3 | Block:-4 ]
Drill. Nearly worthless, try to avoid using this. The hitbox is deceptively high and small so it will whiff crouching characters and it does not make for a good anti-air either. The frame disadvantage on this move is terrible as well. It's one saving grace is that it's canceable and chainable, so be prepared to cancel it if you ever use it.

HP [ Startup: 9 | Hit:-1 | Block:-2 ]
Needles. Pretty good hitbox, but not very good frame advantage. This is sometimes used due to the long active duration, which allows one to buffer DI easily during it. One could use it as a meaty due to it's long active hitframes, but in general it's only very sparsely used.

©.HP [ Startup: 9 | Hit:+3 | Block:+2 ]

Upper Spikes. This is the preferred move to use when attempting to input a throw, since accidentally getting this is way better than accidentally getting n.MP. Although it's not special cancelable it has decent frame advantage and a rather bizarre/interesting hitbox that avoids a lot more attacks that it appears like it should avoid. Really great move for kara-cancelling into command throw as an option select, and if you get this move on block you can still chain into c.HK. In general it's a great meaty for anti-jumping, which is why it's so good as a throw/anti-jump option select, best used against habitual chicken blockers.

LK [ Startup: 6 | Hit:+6 | Block:+5 | Renda: H:+9 B:+8 ]
Shin kick. Has a lower hitbox than LP which makes it more commonly used against grounded opponents. This move is unfortunately deceptive because it does not gain a renda bonus, while the close version does, yet both moves look identical.

MK [ Startup: 6 | Hit:+5 | Block:+4 ]
Boot. Good hitbox. Slightly better advantage than MP. However it is not cancelable. Due to the total worthlessness of close MP it's sometimes a good idea to use MK in order to avoid accidentally getting close MP. Can cancel to DI

HK [ Startup: 11 | Hit:-3 | Block:-4 ]
Scythe. Despite it's slow startup and appearance this move is pretty decent as an anti-air or general poking tool. Unfortunately it's not cancelable/chainable and it is somewhat disadvantageous on hit/block, so use with caution.

©HK [ Startup: 8 | Hit:-5 | Block:-6 ]
Spinner. Because this move is multi-hit, it makes for a good hit-confirm into DI, since you have plenty of time to both buffer the input and confirm the hit. Unfortunately, like the far version, it's both uncancellable and disadvantageous on hit/block, so ideally you would cancel to DI regardless if it hits or not. DI punish is un the air, meaningL: you get hit once and block right than your good.

cr.LP [ Startup: 5 | Hit:+7 | Block:+6 | Renda: H:+10 B:+9 ]
Two-hit jab. Hits normal, so it's high blockable. It's one way to confirm into DI, as chaining or linking crouching jabs into themselves begins the LI input naturally.

cr.MP [ Startup: 6 | Hit:+3 | Block:+2 ]
Wing Blades. Hits normal so it's high blockable. Kind of a relatively crappy move. Her c.MK has better range, has faster startup, hits low, and much better advantage. Fortunately it's not disadvantageous and it's cancelable, but generally speaking her other moves are superior.

cr.HP [ Startup: 9 | Hit:+1 | Block: 0 ]
Wing Whip. An essential move for comboing DI. Typically chained into and then cmd-super canceled into DI. It's neutral on hit/block making it pretty decent even if not cmd-super-canceled. It's only mildly useful as a poke though, typically players only use it during chains.

cr.LK [ Startup: 5 | Hit:+6 | Block:+5 | Renda: H:+9 B:+8 ]
Low Short. Hits low, cancelable, good frame advantage. A typical low short. Not as advantageous as c.LP, but still pretty good and also gains a renda bonus. This will be your basic mixup too to hit low, varied with dashing highs and empty dash throws.

cr.MK [ Startup: 6 | Hit:+5 | Block:+4 ]
Low Forward. Hits low, cancelable, decent frame advantage. It's a nice poke and a general purpose move. The main advantage is that it's only one frame slower startup than her light attacks, which means it's a ridiculously fast move for a decent range low-hitting medium-strength attack.

cr.HK [ Startup: 8 | Hit: Knockdown | Block:-5 ]
Sweep. Hits low, sweeps. This move is slightly disadvantageous on block, but "slightly" means "sorta safe". It's a good move to end with during chains, even on block. The main advantage this move has is it's exceptional range and startup speed. Use as a mid range poke too.

j.LP [ Startup: 5 ]
Needle. Typical jumping jab. Her fastest startup for a jumping attack. Sometimes used together with j.LK to confirm into DI. +frames on grounded oponent

j.MP [ Startup: 6 ]
Blades. Decent j.MP. The hitbox extends downwards somewhat which is good for startup a jumpin airchain, such as j.MP j.MK. +frames on grounded oponent

j.HP [ Startup: 8 ]
Spike shield. This move has a pretty good hitbox, making it a general purpose air-to-air or air-to-ground move.

j.LK [ Startup: 5 ]
Knee. Typical jumping short. Useful in air battles or after chicken blocking. Also useful to stuff some anti-airs. +frames on grounded oponent

j.MK [ Startup: 6 ]
Leg Thrust. Has crossup potential. Also useful in air-to-air battles since it extends quite a ways forwards. Pretty good after airblocking as well since the startup is quite fast and the reach is good. +frames on grounded oponent

j.HK [ Startup: 7 ]
Air boot. Good range. Generally it works a lot like j.MK except less crossup potential and more forwards-hitting potential.

P Throw: Hip throw. Pretty good when option selected with HP. OK damage, typical for a throw. Avoid using MP.

K Throw: Rocket punch. Also decent option select with MK and HK. Damage is about the same. Throws the opponent much further when midscreen than punch throw. negative frames on throw tech. do not use it sucks bad. You will get throw tech'd and punished in the corner. =(

Air Throw: Spinning Piledriver. Quite good as an airthrow. Good damage and range. Reliable with her jump arc.

Pursuit: Drill stomp. Not a particularly useful pursuit for actually hitting with, since you sacrifice your okizeme potential if you actually hit with it. It's better to whiff with, or simply not do at all. Late pursuit to force a whiff.

Movement

Walk: Fast walk speed, tall stance.

Dash: A ground-to-air dash, aka "flight" dash. Both her forward and backward dashes take her into the air where she can perform jumping attacks. A major tool for high/low rushdown. Another advantage to this kind of dash, apart from very fast overheads, is that it can dodge low attacks and if you're hit out of the air you will be reset rather than getting full-combo’d. If you cross the opponent up during this dash you will auto-correct your direction to face the opponent, which also makes it extremely useful for left/right mixups as well as high/low. Morrigan's dash is also somewhat controllable, as you are able to input an upwards direction to modify her trajectory to a more vertical angle. The use of changing trajectory to the vertical dash is mostly for timing and positioning purposes on okizeme. Should you knock the opponent down the upward dash can keep you in place horizontally for a moment after a forward or backwards dash, that can allow you to land a meaty attack, and because it auto-corrects like her normal dash you can potentially cover multiple ground tech directions.

Upward Dash: Similar in nature to her ground dash. However this is done by inputting down then up (2 8). She also has a forwards or backwards version, like her ground dash. Her backwards version must be done by inputting 7, while her forwards one can be done by pressing either 8 or 9, after pressing any downwards direction. During this version you can press a horizontal motion to change her trajectory, if doing the forwards one you can press forward to change to that trajectory, if moving backwards you must press backwards. The use of this is somewhat limited, though it can take you higher on the screen than a normal jump which can be useful for positioning air Soul Fists or escaping pressure momentarily.

Jump: Average jump arc. Decent for airthrowing.

9 - Specials

Soul Fist - 236P (air):
Standard fireball. On the ground the strength determines the speed and distance it fires, and nothing else. In the air the soul fist fires downwards and alters Morrigan's jump trajectory. Pretty good zoning tool and safe on block. Actually, all normal versions on the ground are -1/-2 at point blank, the further away from the opponent you are (the more distance the fireball travels) the more advantageous it becomes.
(L Version) Short distance and slow speed.
(M Version) Medium distance/speed.
(H Version) High distance/speed.
(ES Version) Adds more hits and damage. This version gains huge amounts of advantage on block, but is GC/Tech bait.

Shadow Blade - 623P (GC):
Dragon Punch, uppercut. Unlike many of the uppercuts in the game, Morrigan's actually has a noteworthy amount of invincibility. The normal versions have 5 frame startup and 7 frame invulnerability. The downside is that it's air blockable, so it's not a particularly good anti-air. And the 5F startup, while small, is baitable. Although it's tempting to use her pursuit after a successful DP, it's not recommended to do so as you lose your okizeme opportunity (unless the pursuit would kill the opponent). The other downside is that it has a 4 frame landing recovery, making it ground combo punishable, unlike Demitri's.
(L Version) Short.
(M Version) Medium.
(H Version) High/Long.
(ES Version) Adds multiple hits and a significant chunk of damage, and is invulnerable for 10 frames. This is well worth the meter if you know it will connect, however it's also significantly more punishable since Morrigan travels much higher.
(GC Version) Identical in form and function.

Vertical Dash - 28
A command dash that moves her more vertically than horizontally. Any downwards direction into any upwards direction causes this command dash to occur, if 7 is input then she will glide slightly backwards, if 8 or 9 is input she will glide slightly forwards. During either version you can press forwards or backwards (depending on which direction you're gliding) to switch to her normal dash. During her normal dash you can also transition into the vertical dash by pressing upwards, which is useful for okizeme.

Vector Drain - 624P (close):
Command grab. One of the better and more useful command throws in the game. The startup is 5 frames which is about as fast as a jab, however it also has 4 frames of startup invulnerability. Combined with close HP negative edge kara-throw input option select, this throw is extremely threatening. The basic option select is to input the throw using HP and slide to MP then tap 2HK, if the opponent is on the ground and in a throwable state she will perform the throw, but if they jump or they are not throwable you will do a close HP instead, if the opponent is hit or blocks the close HP you chain to c.HK. Plus, the damage is good.
(M Version) Spinning pile driver.
(H Version) Same.
(ES Version) Adds a little bit of damage, otherwise the same. Generally not worth the meter if you're spending stocks on DIs and ES moves, but certainly if you have an excess of meter you might as well use this version.

10 - Supers

Valkyrie Turn - 624K ~K (air):
Drill. Morrigan will zoom off the screen, then return at a height that corresponds with the button pressed. She will float down to the ground until a kick is pressed, once pressed she will perform a drill attack that does quite a few rapid hits and causes moderate damage. This move has really slow startup so it's not a combo-type move, it's mostly a gimmick that is used very sparingly, either as a run-away or time-stall tactic. On the bright side it's advantageous on hit/block and difficult to GC. Easy to combo into lp, DI on hit.

Darkness Illusion - LP LP direction Morrigan is facing LK HP (air):
Raging succubus "DI". The main combo-super because it's a command super and therefor breaks cancel rules. Extremely fast startup, combos off just about anything, even good as a reversal in some situations. Excellent punisher as well. However, learning to combo this off a chained c.HP is a staple of Morrigan gameplay. If you're not consistently landing DIs in combos you're playing her wrong.

Finishing Shower - MP LP direction morrigan isn't facing LK MK:
Bullet barrage. The startup on this move is incredibly poor, making it not a combo-type move. Thus, like the Valkyrie Turn, it's mostly used as a gimmick from fullscreen or off a knockdown to either stall for time or do chip damage, and not much else. If you're landing Valkyrie Turns and Finishing Showers on your opponent, then they suck. There are specific moves that it can punish such as low projectiles that leave the opponent recovering for a long period of time. Some notable ones are Jedah's Finale Rosso, Bishamon's Enma Seki, LeiLei's Gong and Bulleta's Cool Hunting at max range. However, Morrigan still has to make a good read to directly beat these moves using this super.

Cryptic Needle - 6 HP MP LP 6:
Bizarre rocket punch. There isn't much to be said about this super, other than it looks and sounds weird. It whiffs small crouching characters, but it does shoot full screen. And, if it hits, it does a fair amount of damage. There aren't many situations you would use this in lieu of a DI, though it's useful to remember she has it for those rare moments when it can actually hit. Certainly, it is worth the damage if you manage to land it as it does the same raw damage as DI, except that DI also adds a bit of recoverable damage in addition to the raw damage.

Illusion Attack: Astral Vision - Same strength P + K
(Any Version) Morrigan creates a double which mirrors her moves. The position of the double is relative to the opponent's position, or rather, relative to your distance from the opponent. Risky due to it's punishable deactivation recovery. Can be used as a combo tool or an escape tool, but generally not a move you want to do often, if ever.

11- Mix-ups

Morrigans's mixups are in a few places. OKI (air reset), correct ground chasing , Perfect jump-ins & late pursuits.

OKI (air reset)-

dash lp: Overhead, easy to buffer DI. If you're a little high, it's easiy to link J.lk or j,mk for another overhead.

long dash lp: When opponent is crouching. you will cross their y-axis and actually cross-up with the attack. Easy to buffer into DI.

dash, land, cr.lk, mk, DI: Overhead fake to a low

dash, land, V-drain: good throw option

long dash, land, cr.mk, ES DP: You seeing the mix-ups now?

Walk in for a meaty lk: best low option. +frames on block means if they do guard you still have advantage to continue mix-ups.

Walk in, whiff a move, throw/V-drain: It works when they respect you.

dash~ascend, j.mk: This crosses up and is GODLIKE. Most character have a hellatious time of counter poking/AA against this trajectory.

Correct Ground Chasing-

Which way cr.lk: Walk back and fuorth between their sprite as they wake up. You can force either side. This chain/combos into anything

Which way 28~j.lp: depending on when you 28 or j.lp, you will hit on one side or the other. Even I cannot predict sometimes.

These plus any of the other one listed above for the OKI (air reset).

Perfect Jump-ins

Every character has a 50/50 mix-up on jump in scenarios. The idea is you throw the first air normal at the opponent shoulders, such that: if they were crouching, they will get hit by the last active frames of the attack. If they were standing: You are still high enough in the air to have the option to chain into another air normal or land and go low or land and throw. Morrigans J.lp is good, she can set this up. So, jump-in with J.mlp and time it just right so you can still chain to j.hk or whatever mixup route you wish to. This is best done proceeding a frame trap w/ an 8-jump. It will beat throws & counter pokes. When she does it off 8-jump, the opponent has a much harder time AA'ing this scenario: Contrasted to a mid-screen jump-in j.mk which is very easy for most to deal with.

[VS] Bulleta: Grimm's Fairy Tales (Little Red Cap)

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 08:49:32 +0000

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmY1h2ByUJw#t=1m30s

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ggja0jCQ-o#t=18m40s

come on you know you tried it at least once

- c.lk, +c.lk, +c.mp xx qcb p: the combo timing changes. the link from the c.mp is very
different from the link from c.lk to c.lk. the best advice i can give for it is look at some-
one who can do it, and then press the buttons by the sound of it. her c.lk links pretty fast,
while you have to delay her c.mp for some weird reason.

- jump in mp mk, land c.mp xx qcb p: basic jump in combo.

- chicken guard mp, c.mp xx qcb p: easy chicken guard combo.

- c.lk, +c.lp, +s.lp, +dash lp, +s.lp, c.mp xx qcb p: one of her easier dashing link combos.
the +s.lp after the +dash lp is optional, you can go from the dash lp to the c.mp xx qcb p
to make it easier.

- infinite 1 (very hard) c.lp, +s.lp, +dash lp, [c.lp, +s.lp, +dash lp, +dash lp]. you can
start it out the way out of the brackets, but you need the commands in the bracket to get
closer and not let them slip away. the main thing you want is 1 dash lp's to get closer. i
don't recommend going for this or practicing it too much, it's not very practical to get too
much more damage than her basic combos.

- infinite 2 (very hard) c.lp +s.lp, [+dash mp, +s.lp +s.lp] : an even stricter timing than
dash lp infiniting. again, not practical and not recommended, but can be used once in a while
in casuals i suppose.

- infinite 3 (very hard) on demitri or taller characters, [j.lp mp mk hp land +dash lp, +dash
lp]: infinite with style, but not too practical either.

-infinities have ~2 frame window for links.

d.mp, c.lp, c.mp, +c.mpXXshyness strike

c.mpXX shyness strike

d.lp, c.mpXX shyness strike

c.lk, c.lp, s.lp, dashXXlp, +c.mpXX mp shyness strike (rdp+mp)

c.lk, c.mp, +c.mp, shyness strike

j.mk, lp,lp ,[lp, lp, lp, dashXX]x(2-3), [(optional)j.lk, j.mp, j.mk, ], s.lp, s.mp, shyness strike

s.mk, apple for you(untested, but seen)

Preferred dash in: s,mp, s.mk, s.lp(only hits high on some characters though)

fiiiiiiiiiiine

since apparently people dont just infinite people to death with bulleta ill post real stuff/comment on the above stuff, ill clean it up and make it nice looking later

as far as combos are concerned, she has normal chains like everyone else so i wont cover that

---

cr.lk cr.lk > medium/heavy/EX misslle - auto confirm after high/low mixup

jMP > jHP > whatever - auto confirm jump in

cr.lp > cr. lp > cr.mp > basket - solid knockdown, pursuit is possible. the timing for 2 cr.lk linked into cr.mp is SLIGHTLY different so it's better to learn this so that you can do dash mp > cr.lp > cr.lp > cr.mp with less problems

dash mp > cr.lp - mandatory

dash mp > cr.lp > blah > cr.hk - easy follow up

dash mp > cr.lp > cr.lp > cr.mp > basket - harder follow up, more damage.

cr.lk > cr.lp - hitconfirm link. rather useful

===hard stuff===

mostly dash links. worth practicing because

A) Victor and Bishamon can both be hit crouching with standing jab

B) It'll help you keep up with the opponent in damage in some matchups and helps set up mixup (especially Demitri, Sas, characters like that)

combo parts:

cr.lp > st.lp > dash lp - "basic" one

dash lp > dash lp - hardest one, impractical but give it a shot. if you go into the dash combos off a low like cr.lk, youll need to do this if you want to dash more than one time

st.lp > dash mp - also very hard

cr.lp > st.lp - more or less filler

the basic theory behind the combo is that you need to be relatively close to do it, once you get too far you need to do dash lp > dash lp to be close enough to continue the combo. off jump ins you can do 1-2 dashes without having to use dash lp > dash lp. whenever you want to end, do dash lp > cr.mp > basket

examples:

jMP > jHP > cr.lp > st.lp > dash lp > cr.mp > basket

cr.lp > st.lp > dash lp > cr.lp > st. lp > dash lp > cr.mp basket

cr.lk > cr.lp > st.lp > dash lp > dash lp > cr.lp > st.lp > dash lp > cr.lp > st.lp > dash lp > dash lp > cr.mp > basket

on demitri and bishamon you can do

cr.lp > st.lp > rising jlk > jmp > jmk > jhp > cr.lp > st.lp > repeat

you have to slightly delay the st.lp to make sure youre far enough for the jMK to connect (it'll whiff if you do it wrong). this combo is somewhat practical, but rather than loop it like an infinite, use it as an opportunity to set up high/low again

The Throw Catalogue - Probably everything you'll ever need to know about VSav Throws!

Tue, 08 Apr 2014 19:59:40 +0000

Throws in Vampire Savior are weird and have inconsistent properties and are mostly stupid. I catalogued this information mainly because I have a hard time remembering it. This is a list of all non-command throws in the game (and Victor's two command throws that act like normal throws) and their relevant properties - whether they are a throw or hold, their rough damage, their damage scaling on tech hit, and any additional, noteworthy properties.

A. Glossary, for reference when using this guide:

I've defined the terms used, no matter how obvious it is what I'm talking about, just in case.

Normal Throw: When I refer to the "normal" version of a throw, I simply mean throwing them forward, as you'll likely do most of the time. I called it "Normal" because in 2D fighters where the throw is a buttom combination like Lp + Lk, holding the stick at neutral will default to the forward version of throws in games like VSav.

Backward Throw: Conversely, this just refers to when you hold the joystick away from your opponent when you throw them, causing your opponent to turn around. In rare cases, throws and air throws don't have a backwards version.

Throw: Exactly what is sounds like - when you pick up your opponent and throw them. Basic stuff. Every character has a throw they can perform in mid-air, referred to as an "air throw".

Hold: Special throws that allow you to mash the buttons during their animation for addition hits, and of course, additional damage. Holds have backwards versions, just like throws; but, you probably already knew that. There are no air holds...but, you probably ALSO knew that.

"Tech Hit" "Tech" "Teched" "Escape "Escaped": All terms for the same thing: attempt a throw while your opponent is throwing you to reduce the throw's damage, as well as cause the throw to reset instead of knockdown. Sometimes, however, a Tech Hit will only cause one or the other.

B. tl;dr

If you don't feel like reading the whole guide, here's a quick list of the more relevant information. The catalogue will have more details; but this should be the most important stuff.

1. Tech Hits generally reduce a throw's damage by roughly 50%. It's actually somewhere between like 48-52% depending on the throw and the opponent, but whatever.

- Victor's K Throw has its damage reduced by 75% on tech.
- Q-Bee's throws only have their damage reduced by roughly 20% on tech.
- The following ground throws have no damage reduction on tech: Morrigan's P Throw, Rikuo's P Throw, Victor's Graviton Knuckle (28P).
- The following air throws have no damage reduction on tech: Hsien-Ko, Lilith, Morrigan.
- The second half of Rikuo's throw can be teched; however, you can't use a Tech Hit to break the throw between halves. Also, the second half of Rikuo's throw also has no damage reduction on tech hit.

2. Holds do a fixed amount of damage regardless of an opponent's defense modifier, and, with very few exceptions, ignore damage proration caused by low health. Teching a hold causes the hold to only get one hit. There are some interesting exceptions; but, the result is roughly the same.

- The final attack of Demitri's and Rapter's holds are subject to damage proration by low health opponents. The final attack Demitri's throw is activated even on Tech Hit, and can not have its damage prorated on Tech.
- Victor's Mega Shock (Qcf+P) is considered to be a hold, not a command throw, and can be Teched.
- Victors Mp Throw (hold) resets his opponent, even on hit. This is deliberate, and is the only distinction between his Mp and Hp holds.

3. Hsien-Ko's and Victor's air throws put the opponent in a knockdown state, regardless of whether the throw was teched, meaning that teching Victor's air throw only causes damage reduction (remember, Hsien-Ko's air throw deals full damage on tech).

- If Hsien's air throw is teched, she can't follow up with a Pursuit Attack; however, Victor is able to under the same circumstance. The relevance of this is, there is at least SOME incentive to Tech Hsien's air throw, however small.

4. Throws where the "normal" version switches sides with their opponent:

- B.B Hood's throws
- Demitri's K throw (hold)
- Hsien-Ko's air throw
- Lilith's air throw

5. Throws with no "backwards" version:

- B.B Hood's air throw
- Demitri's K throw (hold) and Air Throw
- Jedah's air throw
- Morrigan's air throw
- Sasquatch's air throw
- Victor's Mega Shock

C. The Throw Catalogue

The throw damages that I've listed are tested on medium-defense opponents. Throw tech reductions are approximate, and the damages/reductions will change slightly based on the character who is throwing, as well as their opponents. Holds deal static damage, and thus the defense modifier of the opponent is irrelevant.

1. Anakaris

"What's a Tech Hit LOL :("

2. B.B Hood

P Throw

Type: Throw
Damage: 13/21
Tech: Damage is cut by ~50% (6/10)
Other: B.B Hood switches sides with her opponent when doing the "towards" version of this throw. To maintain the same side, you must throw backwards.

Air Throw (P)

Type: Throw
Damage: 14/22
Tech: Damage is cut by ~50% (7/11)
Other: B.B Hood switches sides with her opponent when doing the "towards" version of this throw. Also, there is no "backwards" version of this throw, meaning that using this throw will inevitably cause you to switch sides with your opponent.

3. Bishamon

P Throw

Type: Throw
Damage: 14/22
Tech: Damage is cut by ~50% (7/11)
Other: N/A

Air Throw (P)

Type: Throw
Damage: 13/21
Tech: Damage is cut by ~50% (6/10)
Other: N/A

4. Demitri

P Throw

Type: Throw
Damage: 14/22
Tech: Damage is cut by ~50% (7/11)
Other: N/A

K Throw

Type: Hold
Damage: 2/4 Per hit; I've never got more than 10 hits.
Tech: Only two hits; the second hit has its damage reduced by 50% (total damage of 3/6)
Other: The final attack of this hold is when Demitri throws the opponent over his head; this attack occurs even on a Tech Hit. Furthermore, the final attack of this hold is a special finisher, and is subject to damage scaling on opponents with low health. Finally, there is no "backwards" version of this throw; performing this throw will inevitably cause you to switch sides with your opponent.

Air Throw (P)

Type: Throw
Damage: 14/22
Tech: Damage is cut by ~50% (7/11)
Other: There is no "backwards" version of this throw, so you can't use it to switch sides with your opponent.

5. Felicia

P Throw

Type: Hold
Damage: 1/2 per hit; additional hits from mashing always comes in pairs; I've never got more than 14 Hits (i.e 7 pairs)
Tech: Only one "pair" (total damage of 2/4)
Other: N/A

K Throw

Type: Throw
Damage: 13/21
Tech: Damage is cut by ~50% (6/10)
Other: Felicia moves across the screen along with her opponent during this throw.

Air Throw (P)

Type: Throw
Damage: 13/21
Tech: Damage is cut by ~50% (6/10)
Other: N/A

6. Hsien-Ko

Throw (P and K)

Type: Throw
Damage: 13/20
Tech: Damage is cut by ~50% (6/9)
Other: N/A

Air Throw (P)

Type: Throw
Damage: 13/20
Tech: No damage reduction
Other: This throw causes a knockdown AND deals full damage regardless of whether it's Teched or not; Tech Hits only prevent Pursuit attacks. Also, the normal version of this throw causes Hsien to switch sides with her opponent; to maintain the same side, you must throw backwards.

7. Jedah

P Throw

Type: Throw
Damage: 15/23
Tech: Damage is cut by ~50% (7/11)
Other: Enemy is launched all the way to the wall, regardless of Jedah's distance from the wall, whether the throw is Teched or not.

Air Throw (P)

Type: Throw
Damage: 14/22
Tech: Damage is cut by ~50% (7/11)
Other: There is no "backwards" version of this throw, so you can't use it to switch sides with your opponent.

8. J.Talbain

P Throw

Type: Throw
Damage: 14/22
Tech: Reduces damage by ~50% (7/11)
Other: This throw launches the opponent roughly half a screen's distance, regardless of whether the throw is Teched.

K Throw

Type: Throw
Damage: 14/22
Tech: Damage is cut by ~50% (7/11)
Other: Talbain moves across the screen along with his opponent during this throw.

Air Throw (P)

Type: Throw
Damage: 15/23
Tech: Damage is cut by ~50% (7/11)
Other: Talbain moves across the screen along with his opponent during this throw.

9. Lilith

P Throw

Type: Throw
Damage: 13/19
Tech: Damage is cut by ~50% (6/9)
Other: N/A

Air Throw (P)

Type: Throw
Damage: 15/22
Tech: No damage reduction
Other: Since there's no damage reduction, the only difference a Tech Hit makes is that you're reset afterwards instead of knocked down. Also, the normal version of this throw causes Lilith to switch sides with her opponent; to maintain the same side, you must throw backwards.

10. L.Rapter

P Throw

Type: Hold
Damage: 3/5 per hit; I've never got more than 8 hits.
Tech: Only one hit, scaled at 120% (4/7)
Other: Rapter wins the distinction of having the only hold in the game that is somehow buffer WHEN it's teched. Thank goodness he only gets one hit. Also, the final hit of Rapter's P Throw is a special finisher, and is subject to damage scaling when his opponent is at low health.

K Throw

Type: Throw
Damage: 18/27
Tech: Damage reduced by ~50% (9/13)
Other: Fuck my balls, this throw does a lot of damage. His command throw deals 20/28, for reference. Seriously - what a douchebag!

Air Throw (P)

Type: Throw
Damage: 15/22
Tech: Damage is cut by ~50% (7/10)
Other: This throw launches the opponent about a half-screen's length, regardless of whether or not the throw was Teched.

11. Morrigan

P Throw

Type: Throw
Damage: 14/21
Tech: No damage reduction
Other: Since there's no damage reduction, the only difference a Tech Hit makes is that you're reset afterwards instead of knocked down.

K Throw

Type: Throw
Damage: 14/21
Tech: Damage reduced by ~50% (7/10)
Other: This throw causes Morrigan to slam her opponent against whichever wall she is facing, regardless of distance. This is important to remember, because if her opponent Techs this throw, they recover before she does. In other words, this throw can be unsafe on enemy Tech Hit...not that it matters, cos you should be using P Throw anyways...

Air Throw (P)

Type: Throw
Damage: 16/24
Tech: No damage reduction
Other: Since there's no damage reduction, the only difference a Tech Hit makes is that you're reset afterwards instead of knocked down. Also, there is no "backwards" version of this throw, so you can't use it to switch sides with your opponent.

12. Q-Bee

P Throw

Type: Throw
Damage: 15/23
Tech: Damage is cut by ~25% (12/18)
Other: Noteworthy here, is that the permanent damage is only cut by 20%, so it's not a constant rate for both variables as it is with other Tech Hits. This is because the throw is technically two hits; the first hit deals 9/14 damage, and the second hit deals 6/9 damage. Tech Hits only reduce the damage of the second hit, from 6/9 to 3/4.

Air Throw (P)

Type: Throw
Damage: 15/23
Tech: Damage is cut by ~25% (12/18)
Other: This throw has the exact same properties as Q-Bee's ground throw, and Tech Hits mitigate the damage in the exact same way.

13. Rikuo

P Throw

Type: Throw
Damage: 11/17 or 17/27, depending on whether you perform the second half of the throw.
Tech: No damage reduction
Other: Since there's no damage reduction, the only difference a Tech Hit makes is that you're reset afterwards instead of knocked down. Also, a Tech Hit will interrupt the second half of Rikuo's throw, which will also do full damage regardless of whether or not it's Teched.

What a dick.

Air Throw (P)

Type: Throw
Damage: 13/20
Tech: Damage reduced by ~50% (6/9)
Other: N/A

14. Sasquatch

P Throw

Type: Throw
Damage: 15/23
Tech: Damage reduced by ~50% (7/11)
Other: N/A

Air Throw (P)

Type: Throw
Damage: 15/23
Tech: Damage reduced by ~50% (7/11)
Other: There is no "backwards" version of this throw, so you can't use it to switch sides with your opponent.

15. Victor

Mp Throw

Type: Hold
Damage: 2/4 per hit; I've never got more than 9 hits.
Tech: Only one hit.
Other: This hold resets Vic's opponent instead of knocking them down; it's the only difference between his Mp and Hp Throw.

Hp Throw

Type: Hold
Damage: 2/4 per hit; I've never got more than 9 hits.
Tech: Only one hit.
Other: N/A

K Throw

Type: Throw
Damage: 16/24
Tech: Damage is cut by ~75% (4/6)
Other: Enemy is launched all the way to the wall, regardless of Victor's distance from the wall, unless the throw is Teched. Also...why 75% reduction? On Victor, of all characters?

Air Throw (P)

Type: Throw
Damage: 15/23
Tech: Damage is cut by ~50% (7/11)
Other: This throw causes a knockdown regardless of whether it's Teched or not; Tech Hits only reduce the damage of this throw. Also, unlike Hsien-Ko's air throw, Victor can attempt (and connect) a pursuit attack if his Air Throw is teched.

Graviton Knuckle ("28P" during the startup of Mp or Hp throw)

Type: Throw
Damage: 18/26
Tech: No damage reduction
Other: Since there's no damage reduction, the only difference a Tech Hit makes is that you're reset afterwards instead of knocked down.

Mega Shock (Qcf+K Throw)

Type: Hold
Damage: 2/4 per hit; I've never got more than 11 hits.
Tech: Only one hit.
Other: The only reason I put this on this list is because it's a command throw that can be escaped with a Tech Hit. WTF? Also, this is probably obvious, but because Mega Shock is a command throw, there's no "backwards" version.

Training Mode display handles some attacks improperly!

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:32:00 +0000

So, I noticed two quirks about the training mode today for VSav.

1. The labels "Recoverable Damage" and "Permanent Damage" are not quite right. If you don't believe me, go hit somebody with any attack; the first number - recoverable damage - is always lower than the second number - permanent damage. It goes without saying that you can't do more Permanent Damage (Red Life) than you can do Recoverable Damage (White Life), because then the concept of White Life wouldn't even exist. Also, if you're wondering, no, the total damage of the attack is not the sum of both numbers.

There's nothing wrong with the actual numbers being displayed in this case, though - just the labels. "Recoverable Damage" is actually how much Red Life the attack dealt. "Permanent Damage" is actually the total damage of the attack.

In other words:

Recoverable Damage = Permanent Damage

Permanent Damage = Total Damage

(Some of you may know the next bit of this, but I'm writing it out for the sake of clarity) If you want to know the figures for Recoverable Damage on any attack/combo, you need to find the difference between the second number and the first. So, if your attack reads 9/16, then 9 is the red life, 16 is the total, and 16 - 9 = 7 white life.

2. This is a pretty big deal! There are attacks that display numbers incorrectly in training mode. This should be very important to anyone who actually uses training mode to figure out the damage of their combos, because you might have the wrong numbers on how much you're getting out of a combo.

I've compiled a summary below that accounts for every glitch I've found.

Gamewide Oddities

1. All pursuit attacks have their damage values reversed. Thus, if a pursuit actually deals 0/8, the game will read 8/0.

2. "comboing" a throw into a pursuit attack is not counted as a combo by the game engine, and will only display the damage values for the pursuit attack. The sole exception is Sasquatch's Big Sledge, since the second hit of Big Sledge isn't considered a "throw" by the game. This glitch also comes into play when comboing any attack after a move that the game considers a "throw".

Summary of Training Mode Problems

1. Moves that are considered "throws" by the game engine will not add up properly in the damage display, opting only to show the last attack/combo. You can make this happen with anyone by following a throw with a Pursuit attack. Lilith can also make this happen by juggling an attack after landing ES Mystic Arrow. Some "throws" are two-part attacks where one part is considered "normal attacks"; these throws are one move, but will not add up both parts together (Demitri's Midnight Pleasure, Victor's Mega Spike, Sasquatch's Big Sledge).

2. Pursuit attacks have their damage values improperly reversed. Thus, if a Pursuit attack does 0/8 damage, the game's damage display will add up that 8 damage in the first slot (i.e 8/0). This phenomenon occurs with special moves that are considered Pursuit attacks as well, such as Bishamon's EX Pursuit, Felicia's Toy Touch, and Victor's Mega Crush. It's noteworthy, however, that Mega Crush does not suffer from this glitch under normal circumstances - only when used as a Pursuit attack. Also worth noting is that Victor's Mega Spike (his 360 throw) suffers from this glitch, as well.

Hsien-Ko's Tenraiha is the sole exception to this rule, and will always displays its damage values properly, regardless of the opponent's state (i.e standing, crouching, otg). Thank god - that would be a nightmare to try and calculate damage for!

3. Very specific moves glitch the combo damage display, giving an improper sum of damage. In other words, if a special move deals 12/20, it will display in the combo column as "32/0", which not only improperly reflects how the damage is spread in terms of red/white life, but it's also the incorrect damage value; an attack that does 12/20 deals 20 damage, and a move that does 32/0 would do 32 damage (technically it wouldn't exist, cos the first number can't be higher than the second number, but I digress). All three of these moves also have their damage values improperly reversed. Thus, the move that does 12/20 damage will show up as 20/12 under "hit" and 32/0 under "combo."

The moves that have this phenomenon: Bishamon's EX Pursuit, Sas's Big Sledge (second hit), Victor's Mega Spike (both hits).

[VS] Gaming/Online Information/Console Differences/Dipswitches

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 15:02:36 +0000

Howdy folks!. As many of you realize, Vampire has a growing, mostly online community. Luckily there are many programs you can use to play VSav online. I'll detail them here:

Online

GGPO- This is where the majority of the VSav community plays. The netcode for Vampire is nearly flawless (the new build does add some crazy rollbacks when specs join/leave the game and some other weird lag spikes), but it's by far the best program to play VS on. This requires the ROM of vsav.zip (euro)

Supercade- Supercade is a P2P (Peer to Peer) based client run by Damdai. It boasts the ability to have replays, and that's really the only thing it has over GGPO. The netplay isn't as good and creates some pretty nasty input lag, which in a game like Vampire is pretty essential. the Vsav community uses it when GGPO is down. This requires the ROM of vsav.zip (euro)

Kaillera P2P- Some people use this function of Kaillera to play VSav. It's useful to avoid lag from Specs and I don't think it has input lag ( don't really use it). It's rather easy to set up too. Just get your opponents IP, host a game and gogogogogogo. This requires the ROM of vsav.zip (euro)

If anyone else uses another service, just let me know

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Arcade Boards are the best!