[Other: Q&A] Rachel Alucard Gameplay Questions and Answers

[gli]

TD is really useful. But it's also easy to autopilot it and forgot that it's still punishable.

A common list of ways people can punish you for TD:

- Hazama can do Mizuchi (632146C) on reaction

- Hakumen can Yukikaze certain levels of TD and guarantee it will connect

- Tager can sledge on reaction

...

[swordiris]

All too aware of the Haz one, my friend would do that to me.

About the tager sledge though, Won't the last king George get him at full screen? I know the invincibility doesn't last forever.

[Herbal Grey]

ok first of all, king george only comes out at high levels of td, i think at least 3 maybe 4...if you're using level 3 or 4 td's you're not using it for the wind regen, which is its primary usage.

second, tempest dahlia imo is a weak use of rachel's heat. i almost only ever use it as a desperation move because the wind regen is ok at best (mayyybe 2 stocks) and it's not a guarantee. i probably counterassault more than i throw out tempest dahlia. a counterassault resets you to neutral and legitimately allows you out of your opponent's pressure while allowing for wind regen in itself.

just to add to the list of things that beat tempest dahlia...lambda 4d, relius's doll, carl's doll, makoto's fist super, litchi will daisharin you and gain pressure over your td, ragna carnage scissors (when spaced correctly), jin's wave super, ....pretty much any character can negate the effects of tempest dahlia...it's a crappy move

Edited March 11, 2012 by Herbal Grey

[gli]

More timing tips.

For kerokero (level 2 j.2C > j.214A > 1D ...) I found a visual aid that helps me. There is a fair amount of hitstop during the j.2C hit. By confirming at what height you hit you can change when you 1D. Now, the visual I'm looking for is when your opponent is bouncing up from the j.2C hit. At lower heights you will want to anticipate the opponent bouncing off the ground earlier so be ready to 1D. If you press 1D at anytime before they even hit the ground you will wind your opponent to the other side of you. If you time your 1D when your opponent has already bounced and is at the peak height then you are too late. Generally you want to time 1D at anytime when they hit the ground to the bounce on the way up before the peak height.

So a text visual... (where the ^ is the peak height and * is the ground where the opponent bounces from level 2 j.2C):

^ (too late)

| (combo might drop)

| (good)

| (good)

| (great)

* (perfect)

(go for the kerokero AAA!)

These are just my experiences with the timing so perhaps they might be different if someone else attempts this method. This is very similar to getting the timing down for downward wind after CH 2C.

Using this in conjunction with modifying your 5CC timing you can reliably get kerokero executed. Usually you will want to delay 5CC if you hit j.2C at higher heights.

Edited March 11, 2012 by glirandly

[swordiris]

not if you use correctly, I don't mean random shots every time you get 50 heat. just to call out pokes. I generally don't use with low wind.

I've seen other Rachels use BBL from across the screen for 600 damage over rods. Surely the ability doesn't suck that much. Right?

[Tari]

not if you use correctly, I don't mean random shots every time you get 50 heat. just to call out pokes. I generally don't use with low wind.

I've seen other Rachels use BBL from across the screen for 600 damage over rods. Surely the ability doesn't suck that much. Right?

TD is not very good for punishing approaches/pokes. Most characters can recover from their pokes before TD hits them (except when positioned in certain ways) or just barrier it, and some can outright punish you for it. Remember also that if you get hit by anything, TD stops immediately. If they hit you with a move with high counterhit stagger or a jump cancellable move, they're typically going to end up getting more damage on you than you do on them.

Also, Yukikaze vs Tempest Dahlia is rather entertaining. Except at max range, your only real option for escaping that is a gold burst when the Yukikaze starts going across the screen. :P

[Herbal Grey]

baden baden lily is a good combo starter, but it's much more useful midcombo because it allows you to wind regen during your combo. a j.2c combo into bbl will end with a full re-stock of the wind guage (not to mention more damage), whereas one that starts with bbl or doesn't use it at all will most likely use up one or more wind gauges.

tempest dahlia will most likely get poked before the dummies come out, and if you have a level 3 or 4 tempest dahlia i would say in most of those situations, if you have 3 or 4 wind stocks there are meterless punishes you can probably do from the same situations, that are not only safer but have the capability of dealing much higher damage than tempest dahlia. there are many more uses for tempest dahlia for wind regen than for positioning or damage.

the best uses of high level tempest dahlia imo is for getting that last bit of damage on your opponent, or ironically like a dp, because of its one invincible frame (trust me, i've taken gross advantage of that one invincibility frame with level 4 td)...i mash level 4 td's during my opponent's block strings all the time lol....way better than cat chair.

and tari, there is nothing entertaining about hakumen using yukikaze on your tempest dahlia to eliminate you from a bbr qualifier on stream

Edited March 11, 2012 by Herbal Grey

[Tari]

Oh, did he do that to you? I apologize. I tested that for him, because we thought it was rather hilarious. >_>;

Rule of thumb is to only do TD against Hakumen when he's in midair and reasonably far away (and it's still pretty ass if he cuts it).

edit: and yeah, if you ever do fuck up, gold burst will get you out... but it obviously is costly.

Edited March 11, 2012 by Tari

[Shruikon]

So I'm kiiind of interested in picking up Rachel as a sub after managing to do about 2/3 of her challenges last night.

I'm going to go through the various threads later, but before I start attempting to learn her, is there any really important or useful advice/information anyone can share that'd help?

[gli]

Just be prepared to defend more once you are pressured. Your defensive options are limited so pick your battles wisely.

[Shruikon]

Reposting here because it got ignored in the general thread:

Yeesh. So I'm sitting here in combo mode messing with Rachel's moveset, getting used to her movement and projectile spacing and messing with some combo paths, but I'm kind of feeling completely overwhelmed right now. Like I'm not really sure where I should begin, or which combos I should be learning etc. Anyone willing to help a guy out here?

[TD]

start here

http://www.dustloop.com/forums/showthread.php?13027-Blazblue-Continuum-Shift-Extend-Rachel-Combos

shouldnt be too hard to figure out but i'll explain breifly.

the first video link in the thread has a combo vid with basically all of her combos barring the newest one. if you have a computer l suggest you open that up on it and try to do the combos on the console.

the combos in the thread shouldnt be hard to understand. for now just skip to the '0 wind section', or you can look at the different starters, fillers and enders.

[TD]

and of course the rc bible is still relevant for all your zoning/rtsd/defense/wind management purposes

http://www.dustloop.com/forums/showthread.php?7488-Rachel-Alucard-Guide-Not-Getting-Enough-Hate

just take your time. all the info is there and it can be understandably daunting. lots of new guys have hard times picking her up but after two weeks of learning you'll find out mastering her is one of the best things to do in bb. now, i'll leave you to your work.

[Shruikon]

Ah, okay. I missed that video section =/

That's really useful, thanks a lot. I'll come back if I have any more problems~

[swordiris]

I'm having trouble with Fork counter combos.

Any advice?

[Tari]

I'm having trouble with Fork counter combos.

Any advice?

What's giving you trouble with those?

[Rele]

What exactly is the problem?

[kotokot]

I'm having trouble with Fork counter combos.

Any advice?

is it wallbounce? then help it with wind or don't do dash. Don't know what problems can be with it. Though i preffer 2A, 5B and 236A6D/9D in most cases since it is faster.

[swordiris]

I'm having issues with the timing of 4D and the timing of the dash after wallbounce.

[gamester]

I've tried doing challenge 14 on Extend every so often myself, using the wind along with the wallbounce feels odd for me. Then trying to do the J.2C technique afterwards is just awkward for some reason as well. It feels like your trying to move Rachel backwards while going forwards at the same time.

I'd keep watching the demo and study it carefully seeing when the wind is timed in with the wallbounce and when the dash 5B needs to take place. I try to break the challenges down into segments, so I don't worry what needs to come after the dash 5B part until I can work out all the inputs before it reasonably well

Sorry if I wasn't much help, thought I'd share how I like to tackle awkward combos.

EDIT: I tend to time/pace my inputs by saying something like "1/10,000" - "2/10,000" in my head as my timer for when I would want to try and input 4D > Dash 5B part

Edited March 22, 2012 by gamester

[samthegreat]

Yea the 4D timing is pretty derpy. Wind too early and Rachel's gonna be dragged backwards, and it won't wallbounce if she's too far. On the other hand, it you input it too late, the opponent's gonna tech before you can 5B. I'm doing it very shortly after they start flying, after the hitstun. Well I feel that was a terrible explanation so I'll let the others answer lol.

It also works without wind with just dashing straight after the recovery.

EDIT:

Then trying to do the J.2C technique afterwards is just awkward for some reason as well.

I don't know if you use j.B > j.C to do it, but it should make it easier, I think.

Edited March 22, 2012 by samthegreat

[gamester]

It also works without wind with just dashing straight after the recovery.

I tend to skip the 4D wind part also and time my Dash towards them instead, so I can catch with 5B before they can land/tech and then follow with the J.2C lvl2 technique normally. Shame challenge 14 on Extend is awkward as skipping the 4D wind part seems more efficient for it saves on a single unit of wind but still does the same job I guess.

Not sure if my post is ok. I'm half asleep atm xD

EDIT: @samthegreat: Caught your post late sorry, I tend to do the normal 5B > J.C > J.2D > Jump Cancel 9 > J.2C > 236B and so on like that, when I try challenge 14, I think its the 4D thing that screws me up though, in actual matches or training mode I skip the 4D part.

(I'm still not very good at writing combos out well)

Edited March 22, 2012 by gamester

[Rele]

Yeah just skip 4D, it makes no sense to use it. Just dash up and use 5B, works just as well.

[sparkaura]

5B > 5CD > 3C > 8D > 5B > j.C > 2D > jc > j.2C [lvl 2] > 236B > j.C > jc > j.C > j.214C

I'm having MAJOR problems doing this. The j.c 2d j.c thing is so hard to me. :/ Its a must that I learn this though. Any pointers on how to practice that part?

[Imouto]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1pwQlq0uiY

Take a look at this video here.

It also shows you the things you might be doing that drop the combo.

I think the timing is a bit hard to explain because it can change depending on situation, but typically you want to hit the opponent with j.2C fairly low. You need a bit of vertical distance to gain enough falling speed for a j.2C lvl 2

You should try varying the timing because I feel it can differ for different characters in the following areas:

- 5B, depending on the height of the opponent when you launch them up for the j.C 2D etc.

- Timing of the 2D and jc