Guilty Gear 2: Overture released

[Jam-Kiske]

xD I'll give you a comment when I get to play the game and can thus understand what it means. Sound good?

[Blackgenma]

:toot:yes, sounds good, I didn't expect a comment from someone who hasn't played the game yet. thank you for your concern

[Ayumu Gardevoir]

I'll comment when I have the time to read.

[NeoVid]

EU release delayed. Gah. Anyway, guide looks good to me. Sol is a good one to start with, since he probably has the least depth out of all the characters. Since life has conspired against me when it comes to helping with this, I'll see if there's anything useful I can post with my meager knowledge before I get JJJ to replace my copy. Ah, maybe some of the really basic things: Memorize Map Layouts. Seriously, this is a strategy game, you need to know how to get everywhere on any map in the minimum time. Practicing the basics on the duh-simple Bel Canto Valley is all right, but you're going to be destroyed by people who know how to get around better than you if you don't learn. That leads in to... Area Control. Immediately running into enemy territory and dropping a couple of servants on a ghost right by his starting area starts a chain reaction of automatically taking a large chunk of the map for your side, getting you the mana advantage and instantly forcing your opponent into a losing position. Just before a round ends, run around and neutralize your opponent's most important ghosts, forcing any troops there farther back in the field. And one thing that was pounded into me in the few times I got to play multiplayer: Capture Cannons win games. Capture a ghost next to the enemy Masterghost, then the next two times it spawns Captures, use the Capture Cannon on them. The Masterghost's shield will break in two CC hits.

[Darkhonor90]

next, is an INSANE comeback in a very epic match between avatar thine (raven) and kimera cryin (Sol), I will link the last round, where the comeback takes place, but I recommend you watch the entire match, linked on the upper parts of the page.

http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm8105715

I don't know what the hell I just saw but it was awesome.

I can not even begin to understand how it was a epic comeback 0_o

The game looks like alot of fun and when i get my 360 (lolol) I'll pick this up.

I would use Ky =3

Hopefully by then there is still at least 4-5 good players playing this game so I wouldnt feel like shit getting good at this game.

I don't even have the game but just by looking at the matches over and over I've got a really good idea on the general sense on how to play. Playstyle if you will. Obviously there is alot I dont know still :P

[lxMetalSonicxl]

I like this game, but I think it's too hard for me. I've played with friends and such for fun, and once again I'm called cheap for using Ky...

[Blackgenma]

EU release delayed. Gah.

Anyway, guide looks good to me. Sol is a good one to start with, since he probably has the least depth out of all the characters.

Since life has conspired against me when it comes to helping with this, I'll see if there's anything useful I can post with my meager knowledge before I get JJJ to replace my copy.

Ah, maybe some of the really basic things:

Memorize Map Layouts. Seriously, this is a strategy game, you need to know how to get everywhere on any map in the minimum time. Practicing the basics on the duh-simple Bel Canto Valley is all right, but you're going to be destroyed by people who know how to get around better than you if you don't learn. That leads in to...

Area Control. Immediately running into enemy territory and dropping a couple of servants on a ghost right by his starting area starts a chain reaction of automatically taking a large chunk of the map for your side, getting you the mana advantage and instantly forcing your opponent into a losing position. Just before a round ends, run around and neutralize your opponent's most important ghosts, forcing any troops there farther back in the field.

And one thing that was pounded into me in the few times I got to play multiplayer: Capture Cannons win games. Capture a ghost next to the enemy Masterghost, then the next two times it spawns Captures, use the Capture Cannon on them. The Masterghost's shield will break in two CC hits.

good stuff. I added stuff to the Guide, thanks to your post on capture cannons. keep in mind that most good players cut off the ghost in front of the enemy master ghost all the time. both players tend to do it to each other at the same time, so in higher level play, it is simply a way to slow down the opponent, as your gonna have to deal with the same crap on your end most likely (the videos I posted with Thine and Kimera showcase this)

also I wrote this in my updated guide post, but I'll say it here again. you can destroy capture units with capture cannon on by hitting them repeatedly. they are NOT invincible.

I think your right about Sol probably being the simplest of the cast, but I don't think he's been used to his full potential yet. all the good Sol's I see play in one fashion, but I think the game is flexible enough to allow players find way alternate strategies that no one has explored yet. it could be possible, seeing as other characters like Ky have recently become more dangerous by utilizing his tools more effectively.

[PandaKingEX]

I'm sorry about not posting about the characters yet, but I just haven't been in the mood to type stuff out. Also, when I thought about it, outside of Sol, I don't really have any concrete information on how to use other characters, except maybe Ky. Even though I can manage fairly well with all the characters, I don't feel like I'm using the others as effectively as I could, and I tend to do completely different things from 1 match to the next with them. Sol is the only character that I really have a concrete understanding of. For instance, when I play as Raven, sometimes I decide to spam candies, sometimes I decide to spam magic and ranged units, and sometimes I go for lots of elites, but I don't have any reasoning behind why I'm doing it, I just do it to see what happens, so in order for me to give worthwhile information on other characters, I'm going to have to think a bit.

[Blackgenma]

I'm sorry about not posting about the characters yet, but I just haven't been in the mood to type stuff out. Also, when I thought about it, outside of Sol, I don't really have any concrete information on how to use other characters, except maybe Ky. Even though I can manage fairly well with all the characters, I don't feel like I'm using the others as effectively as I could, and I tend to do completely different things from 1 match to the next with them. Sol is the only character that I really have a concrete understanding of.

For instance, when I play as Raven, sometimes I decide to spam candies, sometimes I decide to spam magic and ranged units, and sometimes I go for lots of elites, but I don't have any reasoning behind why I'm doing it, I just do it to see what happens, so in order for me to give worthwhile information on other characters, I'm going to have to think a bit.

well, crap.

to be honest, the only reason I decided to post anything at all was because I said I would. I forced myself to type something up, and it was a huge head hurt, organizing and thinking it out all in my head what I was going to say, and running back in my memory to what works or not with Sol, it wasn't easy at all. I then got carried away, and before I knew it, I kept adding more and more to the guide, so now you see the version that is pretty much final (EDIT: NOT) . besides, I was tired of alway asking for information, yet never giving any out (yeah I know no body but me asks stuff about this game but whatever, lets forget about that detail.)

I didn't know you only had concrete knowledge on Sol though. I knew he was your main, but I thought you'd know other characters better. what a shame. at the very least, please give us something on Ky, I'm sure your probably the best american Ky player, and I remember you saying he was your main once. if not, I'll just bother Raul (Boundary) to help me with a mini guide.

as for you other guys, I'll deliver a Sin guide next, either that, or maybe i'f I'm lucky, I can get my friend to type it up, as he has an account here, and I plan to get my all my info from him anyway.

[Blackgenma]

OK! I asked my friend Raul to type up a Sin guide! here it is.

Sin Basics guide

Sin is an extremely simple character to learn seeing as he does not have many combo options. He has very effective long rage poking style that will deal loads of damage with very few attacks. His tribe arsenal consist of all basic unit types, and three elites.

His swordsman (Melee unit) has average attack and defense. It is meant to be an all-around unit with no exceeding capabilities. Gauntlet Body (Armored unit) is a very sturdy unit with exceeding offense and defense stats. It has a launcher that is effective on units, but techable by masters. Springblock (Mobile unit), though it is a weak unit, excels in it's specialty. It has the ability to weaken armored units' defense with it's Steel Antler skill, making this unit a deadly force against all armored units in the game. Wise Man (Magic unit) is considerably weak in both attack and defense power, but does the job as a support unit. It is able to heal and supplement the offense and magical defense stats of your units. Twin Trigger (Ranged unit) is a very good support unit. It is quite lacking in defense, but it makes that up with offense and range. It has a three consecutive shot skill that offer quite a bit of protection. These units are deadly to masters in groups, but can be taken out with ease. Convict Hammer, Quadro Bailiff, and Heaven's libra (Armored, Ranged, and Support unit) are Sin's elites.

Convict Hammer has an aura that will increase the attack of all nearby units and can also use dispel, so enemy buffs and minions will not be a factor in a battle involving Mr. Convict. The amount of health that this unit has is very high. When it all stacks up, this unit is very dangerous and is definitely a force to be reckoned with. Quadro Bailiff is Sin's elite ranged unit. Though considerably weak, it offers a big advantage with ranged attacks. It has some set-up time in which it readies itself for attacks. It is very easy to predict his attacks since he gives you warnings, along with very long 'stare' times. Overall, it is a decent unit with decent stats. Sin's magic unit, Heaven's Libra is one of his most useful units. It has an ability to place canes that lower enemy defenses dramatically. Anything caught within the cane's magic field will not be considered a threat to any of your units. It literally turns anything and everything into GARBAGE defense-wise; this including enemy masters. It also has the ability to raise ally attack speeds. It is a great unit in any scenario with good stats. This is definitely the first elite you would want in the fray.

When it comes down to the melting pot, sin is an easy master with good units. They do not suffer any serious flaws and are pretty effective. Sin can accomplish his objectives in a very flexible way. The effectiveness of his strategies depends on the skill level of the player, but that can be said about all characters. He can be played as an offensive character, or defense. Sin's skills are extremely useful on any situation. Patecatl Stain restores the life of any allies it passes through. The amount of health that is restored is no joke (you almost give your unit(s) a complete heal, assuming they are your basic units). This makes this skill extremely useful for assuring your mana does not go to waste. Phantom Barrel takes the life of nearby units and turns it into a powerful projectile. Though strong and useful, I don't find myself using it very often. Exciter is an attack buff that turns sing into a killing machine. This is a must bring to every battle, seeing how it makes sin turn into a broom, and the enemy units into dust. Sin plows right through them in a matter of seconds. As for Humming Sword, it is a mobile minion with a high stun rate. From the limited testing I've done with it, and what little I saw a skilled player do with it, it has some uses. It stuns enemies, including masters, and pokes for decent damage, so it can be an effective back up for Sin. It can also capture ghost quickly.

Master Vs. Master can go either way for Sin. His abilities give him a deadly advantage at a distance. The effectiveness of his pokes can be devastating as he can link them with easy to time combos. They do not require extensive skill and/or timing to pull off and can do up to 300+ damage per combo. Sin's major flaw is his close range attacks. If an opponent happens to be right next to him he is easy bait. An example of this would be a Sol standing next to sin. Sol's Locked-on x attack (his kick) will go through all of Sin's close range options, so maintaining your distance a must at all times.

END OF GUIDE

TA DAH! hope you enjoyed!

[JJJJJJ2]

Well hello all! After some time of people(NeoVid) talking of my wanting to be a ferquent online player,i fixed the problem that made dust loop fail for me. As for acualy playing the game the will is there but my xbox is a flaming pile...so i will be kicking ass in GG2 when i buy an 360 Elite.that should be around a week of the EU releace of the game so maby the online will have life breathed back into it by then.

[Blackgenma]

Well hello all!

After some time of people(NeoVid) talking of my wanting to be a ferquent online player,i fixed the problem that made dust loop fail for me.

As for acualy playing the game the will is there but my xbox is a flaming pile...so i will be kicking ass in GG2 when i buy an 360 Elite.that should be around a week of the EU releace of the game so maby the online will have life breathed back into it by then.

Good to see you here JJJJJJ2. if you look a few pages back, you'll notice we were talking about you. About a page or two back, I posted a Sin and a Sol Guide focusing on the character basics (boundary made the Sin guide). I'm planing to have a basic guide for pretty much every character posted here in Dustloop. so if you wanna share some advice, go right ahead.

EDIT You can Modern Cancel a Cyclone Burst into a combo. I had no Idea you could do that. Thats what Kimera Cryin did in that Comeback video I posted where he beat the crap out of Avatar Thine in the end of the match.

Avatar Thine is a really good Raven player. I'm gonna learn from his Raven when I put up the Raven Basics Guide. so the next one will either be a Ky Guide (I hope PandaKingEX can put that up, otherwise, I'm gonna have to rely on Raul again.) or Raven

[Blackgenma]

I was Playing With Raul today, and went on to watch some pretty good replays (they REALLY need to change the way the game handles replays, I need to see what the players are doing in the organ!) and it made me realize just how much there is missing from the community over here. I mean, there aren't even any character vs. character strategies. what might work well on valentine doesn't work so well on Dr. Paradigm and crap like that. shoot. and there ARE other players to play with online, they are just all in Japan, and it's a lag-fest when you play against them, so it isn't worth it. I know that almost no one care about the guides I'm putting up, BUT I WILL DO IT! I SWEAR! I'm gonna be playing with raven tomorrow and watching some videos, gotta do some home work on the bastard. I don't really know the specifics of his units yet, and to be honest, I have been neglecting practicing with him recently. anyway, personal note Izuna combo, exactly 480 if everything is done perfectly. 14 hits (opponent must air tech) x,x,x,MC,(locked off) x,y,(jump) x,(land)x,2x,(jump) x, 8y,(land)(time precisely) 8y potentially 558 damage and 19 hits with a well timed steel Wasabi at the end of the combo. falls down to 253 damage if you do not tech IZUNA IS BROKEN!!!!! I can't wait till I find out how to....ahem..."trick Izuna's prorate in his earlier moves to make some hits stronger" LOOK OUT GG2 JAPANESE COMMUNITY! HERE COMES 600 DAMAGE STEEL WASABI! can't stop this "PARALLEL MOVEMENT TRIGGER"!

[Ayumu Gardevoir]

Steel Wasabi ftfw. and I care about your guides....

[Blackgenma]

Ok, after some practice and playing this game with my buddy for like 5 hours straight, I decided I'm ready to write up a Raven Guide, but not as of writing, expect to show up soon. playing as raven effectively can be kind of boring, I don't like playing with him, his style is very effective, but not very flexible. very limited with his options, even if all of his options work well. I'm talking about his performance in master combat, not servant battles. pretty much all his servants are useful, allowing him to be rather flexible in servant battles. I just don't find him as fun to play as Sol or Paradigm, who are my two main characters, Raven is my alternate.

on an unrelated note, while fighting a bone biter alone with sol, I managed to kill him rather quickly it by tossing nothing but hunchback at it, while it kept it's focus on me. and all I did was block it's attack. this should be evidence enough not to underestimate the minion when used at the correct time, the bone biter was overwhelmed by 3 hunchbacks (and their subsequent explosions!). the idea of it is absurdly funny though. it's chili ball attack is what makes the minion shine.

and about that Izuna combo I posted up there, don't expect it to actually work on an opponent who is familiar with it. I had a few masters only matches against my friend, and he never actually manage to pull it off on me, because I knew how it looked like. he always ended up doing the weaker version.

EDIT:I take back what I said about Sol being the simplest of the cast. he's really rather complicated, with both his master ability and his servant play. his Rush game style that I've always seen (by kimera and panda) is overplayed, it can be easily dismantled, because Sol can't be everywhere at once, so tell your superior units to kill stuff where Sol isn't looking. I'm not saying the strategy those two use doesn't work (it does work), and they both are WAY better than me with Sol, but I've seen the rush strategy destroyed by paradigm, and they don't use all of Sol's units, and Sol suffers from it. theres untaped potential with this character's servants, I can SMELL it.

[Blackgenma]

OK guys, try not to get disappointed, because here comes the Raven guide, and to be honest, there’s not a lot to put on it. It’s simply due to the nature of the character, he servants are ALL useful, and there are limited strategies on how to play the guy in master vs. combat. I will at least try to give as much as I can. I watched Avatar Thine's Raven closely; his method of playing really works well, so I’m putting up here what I’ve seen others do and what I practice myself. As far as the other two guides I have already put down, I have went back and made some edits that were appropriate, like uses for humming sword for Sin and for some changed opinions for some of Sol's servants, so I might add to this later on too. I cover his master vs. master game rather decently, but there's not much I can say with his servant battles.

Raven Basics Guide

Raven is a downloadable character available for purchase for 400 Microsoft points. He offers a different style of master combat, and shares the same units as valentine, but has different personal skills.

Raven has three basic servant types, and about four elite servants. His basic servants consist of Melee, Ranged and Magic types. Notice his types are unbalanced? He only has one standard servant type, and two support types units. As for individual abilities for each servant, they are all reliable and dependable to do their respective jobs. In my opinion, his servants are most vulnerable to other ranged units, similar to how sol is vulnerable to Armor units thanks to his similar servant type unbalance. Melee is annoying to fight, do good damage, and poison the opponent. Ranged deal good damage, and when are knocked down, they attack when they get up, they are reliable for a support unit. magics can slow enemy servants and masters, as well attack for decent damage. You’re generally going to use all of these three units when playing as raven most likely. It is worth noting that raven and valentine are the only masters to not have a standard armor servant, so in most cases, your going to be using the magic type servant. To top it off, all of raven's units are cheap, among the cheapest in the game, so mana shouldn't be a problem for filling up your army.

Same as his normal servants, all of his Elite servants are reliable, and do their respective jobs relatively well. Raven has a Armor Elite, a Mobil Elite, a Magic Elite, and a Ranged Elite. The armor elite kills units with it's wide range sweeps, and heals a tiny amount for ever swipe. It is one of the best armor elites in the game for clearing out enemies. The Mobile elite can be depended on to take on enemies, it attacks mostly in the form of summoning minions, and can make enemies back off with it's melee skills. It’s minions deal good damage to ghosts. Despite being a Mobile type, it moves on the map relatively slow though (I guess it isn't so "mobile" now is it?). The Magic type is particularly strong offensively, it shoots these big black orbs that really hurt. It can also place a strange status effect that seals enemy attacks (but strangely, I have seen enemies with the status still attack, so I would probably say at the very least, it makes them less aggressive). a very good and dependable Magic unit. The Ranged Elite isn't so great, but it isn't so bad either, it does what it's supposed to, that is, shoot stuff with high damaging projectiles. it does high damage to ghost, and attacks consistently, and if something gets near it, it can attack with a Melee strike. It absolutely destroyed Sin's Quadro Baliff and a Heaven's Libra (this one in particular was killed super fast, the ranged elite never even stepped foot in it's magic field.) in a test I did to see it's usefulness, so it's a dependable unit for a ranged Elite.

Now for his personal skills, exclusive to raven, he has 4 of them, 2 for masters, one for attacking servants, and a minion. His not there skill is a teleportation that teleports behind the locked on target, if you press x while doing it, you will do a unblock-able 6x kick. It can be dodged a verity of ways, so use it to punish for the best results. If it hits, free air combo for you. The next skill is a slowdown spell. It will slowdown the movement dramatically on the target that is locked on. It takes a while to use and can be interrupted easily, but it has long range, so do it at a distance. The opponent can still run away if you’re too far, and if you fight another Raven and he pulls this on you, your better off running if you can. I think a dispel will clear it up though. Slow fields are the next Skill, and it's primarily for wiping out servants. They make servants slow, and have the same status effect as Raven's magic elite. You can control the way raven throws the two needles with a direction and the l trigger. L trigger and hold back so Raven can throw them split apart, for large crowds. This is a helpful skill to help take servants. Raven's minion, the little Bird, is a weak minion, but, thanks to Suzaku's translation skills, I have found out that it steals tension form enemy masters. How annoying, that's just like raven to do something like that to you. I need to test how effective the thing is, but it steals tension from enemy masters and serves as a distraction for servants, that's it's purpose. It's a mobile type minion, but it does such little damage, I don't think it matters what type of unit this thing is.

Master Abilities

Now on to the personal actions of Raven, which are exclusive to Raven, unlike his servants. Raven has a distinct style in master combat, and doesn't have too much flexibility on how he should be played in that regard, but he has answers for most situations he's in. When playing Raven, he has very short range, and thus most not approach the opponents carelessly, or he will get snuffed. So the best way to attack is to punish and counter attack, and when in close range, smack the some (L) x, x and usually finish with a 4x without Modern Cancel (MC). His (L) 4x and 6x can be used to stop side steps, the (L) 6x will launch the opponent, can hit grounded enemies, but cannot be combo'd into from (L) x, x, x, x without MC. I think you can possibly pull an air combo off from (L) 6x with a MC. when you see an opportunity, like to punish a whiffed attack, move in with a (L) 8x, into x, x standard combo. DO NOT spam 8x, it is not safe on block, once blocked, the opponent can side step and punish. His (L) 2x is a launcher that has some invincibility, but has VERY short range, use it as a planned counter if you can, than jump into a air combo, no MC needed. His (L) 8x in the air is decent for punishing and moving in, and can be MC into his standard (L) 8x, x, x combo. Raven's hard attack ((F) 8x) is decent for crowd control, and breaks guard.

All of Raven's special moves are needle-like projectiles. Y is a anti air, and launching projectile with decent range, it has some (short) startup time, but interestingly enough, even is Raven is interrupted mid way of starting animation, the attack will still come out, unlike his (L) 8y. if you MC the y special, you can follow up with an air combo. It can be side stepped. (L) 8y is a standard projectile, has startup time and recovery time. When the projectile actually comes out, it's pretty fast, and does a little over 100 damage when it comes out, and has good range. Use it to poke and punish when you see an opportunity, like sneaking up on an unsuspecting master. You can actually MC into another (L) 8y, so if your close enough, and you have the tension to spare, smack the opponent with another one. On an odd note, if you are as close as can be when you shoot this projectile, the projectile will miss the opponent, not that you should ever be that close when you shoot the thing. it can be interrupted and punished if jumped over. The last standing special move he has is his (L) 4y and 6y, three needles attacking his left and right respectfully. They are primarily to punish side steps (works really well against side step happy Izunas!) it can also offer up some limited and weak crowd control. It can be MC into other (L) 4x and 6x no problem. His mid air y special attack is a projectile that shifts its aim to its target. It can be used to punish, and to end air combos. Like the other projectiles, it can be MC into another air Y, so if they are in the air, hit the opponent with two (or three?) of these for extra damage.

Raven's overdrive has short range, and cannot kill a opponent with full health (does about 400 damage). It hits all around him, and hit's opponents above him. If you want to catch some one with this, hit them with a (L) 2x before hand, and combo into it.

There we have it folks. Raven is a character with a strong master and reliable servants. His fighting style is close ranged, and is good at pressuring and punishing, but his options are not the most diverse and he’s bad at crowd control. Overall, he is one of the easiest characters to play and perhaps one of the simplest. He's worth the 400 Microsoft points in my opinion, because he’s pretty fun and effective to play.

END GUIDE

Well there you go. Noticed I said he's probably the simplest character in the game? BECAUSE IT'S TRUE, and yet, he's still really good. Unlike Sol, he doesn't have a TON of options at his disposal for destroying opponents, yet he is effective anyway, and you don't need much thought with servant battles, since his servants are so good. I'm going to make a list on each character on who is the easiest and simplest character to use. So far I think Raven might be the easiest character to play, and Dr. paradigm the hardest. DAMN YOU Dr. PARADIGM .If I'm going to make a list like that, I'm going to have to play every character personally. I don't know squat on valentine.

I might add to Raul’s Sin guide in the future, I feel it can be a lot more specific on master vs. master combat. I might take things out of Sol’s guide as well, because I ramble on some things that are not specifically just for him. In all honesty, I wish I could have put these guides in a better format for viewing. When I post all of the character strategies, I might actually make a new topic and put them all there, for easier viewing. Maybe I can even get a sticky topic at the Gamefaqs boards, and it shouldn't be a problem with the editing, since I’ve had so much time to edit here on Dust loop. So keep your Eyes peeled for some changes and maybe a repost or of some of the guides I put up.

Stay tuned for more guides and advice and junk, and if you guys can, contribute to, comment, or challenge the stuff I put up please.

[Fenrir Werwolf]

Hey guys, Someone have some news according to the release date in europe? there is many possibilities... according to the Halifax site, it's have come down yesterday, for play.com it's on 25, for my shop it's on 18, for 505 games site...it doesn't even exist!!

[Blackgenma]

Gamefaqs says it's on the 25th.

EDIT: next guide is Ky. I don't play him personally, but my friend knows the character very well. I might pick up Ky myself, he seems fun to play with. I really should get acquainted with every character, but I don't have the time to.

[JJJJJJ2]

Nice guides man.I should get a chance to use them this Sunday on my xbox that freezes all the time. On that note dose anyone have time to practice with me then?If you do please send me a message on xbox live.my tag is the same as here.

[NeoVid]

JJ, there's an option to display your gamertag by your name when you post. See?

[Blackgenma]

hey JJ, if your thinking of putting a brand spanking new CD into your crazy xbox that freezes all the time, and you risk potentially scratching the thing, wait to get a new Xbox. your on Boundary's friends list, the two of us will definitely practice with you, in masters only and servant battles (maybe at the same time if he doesn't mind the split screen). Boundary's real name is Raul, which is what I refer to him on these boards. he's way better than me at servant battles. you might not remember me, but we fought a series of matches before. I was Sol and you were Sin, I was talking to you on the mic, and I was winning big time. (LOL) the second or third match we did on underworld hill, I captured all the ghost in the first round, and sent my army of drills to your masterghost (I had nothing but drills out). During this moment I got on the mic and started shout to my drill s to destroy you in a very loud and silly manner "Yes my Drills! go, CRUSH HIM, destroy his master ghost, DO IT NOW!" or something along those lines is what I shouted. if I didn't win that match after such a display, I would've felt really stupid, so good thing I won. NeoVid, I see you have a gamertag down there, so does that mean when you get your copy of the game, you can play online? if thats the case, we must do battle in the future.

[NeoVid]

Heh heh heh... JJJ remembers that match all right, since he told me he lost it because of you faking him out over voice chat. He tried to friend you afterward, but I think he said your friendslist was full up. And I put my tag up so that people who want to can friend me ahead of time. With no broadband at home, using Live requires hauling my 360 over to a friend's house... which I should be able to do fairly often, starting a couple of weeks from now. Which is also around the time of the new EU release date. And it's not really when I get a copy, it's when JJJ replaces the copy I already have.

[Blackgenma]

here comes the Ky guide, the guide will only focus on Ky's personal skills and master combat.

KY Kiske Basics Guide

KY is unlocked by beating the games campaign mode on any difficulty. He has the same servants as Sin, but he has different personal skills and drastically different style of master combat. He also is the only master that does not have a minion.

When it comes to master combat, Ky's a very technical character, who has a large and confusing mix up game unless your opponent is familiar with the character and his move list themselves. Despite his complexity, he's really no better than the other characters, he relies on stringing together long combos, and most do not require him to use tension. There are moves that can be blocked when stringed together, so he's not as good as he may seem, but he's not a bad character either.

Ky has a series of pretty much endless attacks, but they work under certain circumstances usually. So example, his (L) x, x, x, x can be blocked after the first hit, EVEN IF THE FIRST HIT CONNECTED. I know, odd isn't it? So how do you make it work? Turn it into a (L) x, 2x, x, x. the 2x, what I like to call the magic grab, is what makes most combo strings work on hit for Ky. and if the guy blocks? he can side step right out after the first (L) x. so what do you do than? Well you can hit him with a 6x or a 4x, depending on what side he will side step to avoid the magic grab. You can also try coming in with different moves, like 6x for example, to throw your opponent off guard instead of the plain old (L) x, or (L) 2x. K has decent mix up game. I don't like Ky's (L) 8x, it can't really be combo'd into anything, and it isn't that fast.

(L) 2x can be used as a hit confirm, or be made into a small combo that goes to Vapor thrust. (L) 2x, x, 2y. To use it as a pole and hit confirm, get REAL close to the guy, hit him with it, and wait for a bit, and combo into the standard (L) x into whatever.

The combo I always use when I get a clean hit is (L) x, 2x, 4x, 6x, 2x, charged stun edge, of a j, x, x, x, combo at the end instead of the Charge stun edge. the second 2x is Ky launcher.

When the first hit of your combo is blocked, don't do the magic grab; follow up with something else or back off. Take advantage of Ky's mix up.

His 2y is a decent special move, it can be combo'd into easily, and can be used to counter the opponent's combo on block, mid combo. it really just like a volcanic viper, only worse. it has less range, less damage, and can't be done in the air. Not as reliable as Volcanic viper as a reversal (counter) either, but it's there, so take advantage of it.

Stun edge is a quick projectile, it's pretty good overall, since it comes out so fast, it can catch enemy masers off guard and use it for your mix up game. Make good use of it. The aerial version kind of stinks though, I don't recommend using it.

Stun dipper can be used in combos as a finisher and can catch opponents at a distance. That’s all I can think of for uses.

Holy brand is a decent crowd control tool, but it's very hard to use otherwise. if your going to hit a master with it, you need to predict when and where the enemy master will sidestep. It can used in combos, and to move in a different way (L trigger side step, holy brand towards the opponent) honesty, it's very hard to use this move on masters effectively consistently.

Special skills! His charged stun edge is a fantastic move in combos and killing servants, and it doesn't cost a lot of tension. Use it.

The Soul diver (I think that's what it's called) is a defense buff for your units, it activates very quickly, knock back any opponents that are near by, is cheap in mana cost, and tension, and your nearby units get knock back resistance, like Sol's crimson Jackets, only Ky doesn't get buffed. I like using this skill; you don't really lose anything by applying it often to advancing forces as often as possible.

His other skill, divine gaze, is a healing spell that also adds experience to your units, with no benefit to Ky himself. It cast a lot of mana to buy, takes forever to actually cast (5 seconds?), the radius around Ky that the spell effects is very small, the amount it heals is tiny, and only adds about half a level worth of experience for the units. To top it all off, it has a very long charge time. Don’t use it, it's terrible.

Overall, Ky is a pretty good character, he's got reliable servants, every class of unit available to him, has a unique and tricky (but difficult to master) combat style, and can buff his unit defense up. Not a bad character at all.

END OF GUIDE

man I suck at this game.

[Blackgenma]

Inspired by JJ's sad Sol game play in a masters only match, I'm going to do him a favor and write down some basic Sol combos, all the ones I saw him do didn't work.

I have strategies in the guide, but maybe people don't want to wade through a giant wall of text, so whatever, I'll write down some super basic stuff that I didn't write there.

Basic BnB that doesn't require tension for Sol.

(L) x, x, x, 8x

(L) x, 4x, 2x and x, 6x, 2x

(L) 4x, 6x. 2x

(L) x, 2x, 2x,(breaks guard) x. the last hit after the guard break will juggle.

(L) x, 2x, 6x, 2x

(L) 2x, j. x, x, x, or x, x, 8x

(L) x, 2x, x (breaks guard). x, x, x, 8x.

What not to move in with.

(L) 4y and 6y.

They are too slow, use (L) 4x and 6x instead when moving in. a perfect time to use 4x and 6x is after (L) x, x combo, and the opportune moment to side step is after sol's first two basic strikes, so guess the correct direction and hit them with the corresponding "brute force" attack. This can be jumped over, so don't get predictable and over do it.

(L) 8x.

The extra range this move provides may be tempting, but it is snuffed easily, so never move in with it unless your intention is to escape or something. Even if it does hit, your not going to get a big reward for it, at least not with out a modern cancel, which is something I have not tested.

A good move to use on masters when they wake up.

(L) 2x.

If you feel they want to give you poke when you let them get up. go up to them while they are on the floor, time this just right and uppercut them the second the get up, if they block, Modern Cancel, if not, they're going to get hit. Juggle time for Sol.

did you know?

You can use a 2y from a (L) 8x apparently, I've seen it in a combo video that showcased it more than once. I haven't done this my self yet. the combo that I saw involving this was

(L) x, x, x, 8x, 2y, y.

7 hits, 279 damage. the guy didn't Modern cancel the 8x into the 2y.

You can apparently continue a (L) x, x, x with a forward step ((L) 8a) and do the (L) x, x, x, again. this is crazy hard to do, the window of opportunity is REAL tiny to step forward.

That’s it. you want more advanced combos, refer to my guide. To close up, I will tell you one combo that does not work with Sol, so make sure never to use it.

(L) x, x, x, y, j. x, x, 2y, y.

Between the x and the 2y (Volcanic Viper) the opponent can recover mid air, making you waste tension and missing with the volcanic viper. Never do this combo, it is not viable.

I'm going to try my best to get the Ky guide up as fast as possible, so consider this some filler until the thing gets up.

[Blackgenma]

Dr. Paradigm combos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5qTYMPNRz8&feature=PlayList&p=4465865F0DCEC112

the input of the combos are as follows.

(F) 8x, (L) (forward step) (G.O.o.H.)

(F) j, 8y, (L) (forward step) (G. O. o. H.)

(L) 2x, (forward step) (G. O. o. H.)

(L) 8y, 2y, 8x

(L) 8y, 2y, (F) j, 8y, (L) (G. O. o. H.)

(L) x, x, x, MC, (forward step) 2x, (forward step) (G. O. o. H.)

they are written down by the order they appeared in the video.

Video by Pandaking.

combo video on nico douga

http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm8044588

featuring Sol, Sin, Izuna and Ky.

in the video, the player does a 16 hit 404 damage combo with Sol, the most damaging combo in the video, it's the second to last combo he does as EX Sol.

Inputs Starting with the first combo by Sol in the video. I'm doing all the inputs for all the Sol combos. I might add the rest later.

(L) x, x, x, 8x, 2y, y.

7 hits, 279 damage. the guy didn't Modern cancel the 8x into the 2y.

It's good for real gameplay, and easy to pull off.

(L) x, 2x, 6x, 2x, j, y, (land) 8y.

8 hits, 202 damage.

(L) x, x, j, 8x, MC, air dash, x, (land), x, x, MC, (F) x, x, (L), x, x.

10 hits, 264 damage. the guy locked of after the 2nd MC and locked on mid free combo, so the combo remained a free combo even after locking on.

I can't combo the x, into the j, 8x.

(L) x, 2x, 4x, (right side step) x, 4x, (right side step) x, 4x, (right side step) 4x, 2x, 2y.

11 hits, 266 damage. the vid cuts off early, so I could be off about it.

(L) 2x, 8y, (forward step) x, x, (left side step) 2x, (right step) 2x, (left side step) 2x, (right side step) 2x, 2y.

10 hit, 348 damage.

cuts to Sin, Izuna and Ky combos.

Ex Sol combos

(L) x, x, x, 8x, 2y, *MC, 2x, (right side step), 2x, left side step, 2x, j, x, 8x,

11 hits, 350 damage. *MC so Sol never leaves the ground.

(L) x, x, j, 8x, (MC) (air dash), x, (land) x, x, x, (step forward) x, x, (left side step) 2x, (left side step) 2x, (left side step) 2x, (right side step) 2x, (left side step) 2x, 2y.

16 hit, 404 damage.

That's one huge combo...

(L) 4x, 2x, MC, 2x, 2y, (land), x, x, x, 8y.

9 hits, 321 damage. the player took advantage of a wall for the last hit of the bandit revolver.

I've got no Idea if these work in a real match, I havent tested any of them yet. I don't know if the last combo needed the wall to get the last hit, but it sure looked like it did.

now go and see if you can do these cool looking and potentially useless combos in a real game! share your results! for what it's worth, some look useful for the most part, I'm most interested in the 16 hit 404 combo.

GG2 community broadcasting play list. a series of playlist about GG2 from nico video!

http://ch.nicovideo.jp/community/co7186

the first play list on the list is kimera cryin's own playlist. It's really the only one I have checked out so far, it's fantastic. great resource in general for GG2 game play for his technique as well as the technique of his highly skilled opponents.