kenja0 Posted July 22, 2011 Posted July 22, 2011 (edited) Matchup: 50-50 [CS2] Noel vs Lambda Noel: somehow, a character who used to be really gimmicky was buffed enough to make those gimmicks become really scary options. Her pressure and speed can really shit on Lambda, and with Lambda's close-up defense being almost non-exist, it kind of makes you sweat. If Noel is on the offense, I can't stress enough that a Lambda player should do nothing but block. In this match, you really have to watch what Noel is doing because every option you think you have is only going to work at opportune moments. And remember, if you don't block it, be prepared to take 4k to the face, every time. As a Lambda, you have to know that 50-50 isn't necessarily true. It means, with the ultimate prediction skills, 90-10 against Noel far away and 10-90 in her favor up close. Long Range First off, the long range game. Noel is small, fast and nimble. 5D/6D is going to be a little harder to hit because she can throw off zoning with her speed and maneuverability. 2D seems to be a better option than 6D since she can sweetspot around Lambda's blindspots. But 2D has an entirely different problem to deal with, explained later. I think Lambda has more options in the air against Noel than on the ground. You can IAD back/forward j.DD and j.2DD which seem to cover the majority of things. Watch your height and spacing because Noel's dash can most likely go right under your sword and hit you. If Noel is not approaching, note her position on the screen. Her Optic Barrels have gotten another speed buff and come out almost instantly. This is a serious problem because she can hit you out of a 5D or 214D on reaction. Close Range Noel's drive mode is what will most likely lock you in, and you better prepare a good defense. Remember, Noel can only do 5 drive chains in a row with few exceptions, so there is an end to them. Note Noel's patterns and know what her options are during certain times. Her overhead is 6B and low is 6D. As you know, she can't gatling two Ds and Bs together. If Noel performs a D move, she can't possibly go for a low and vice-versa. The exception to this rule is 214A which is a high grab. Her 2D is also pretty scary close up: it discourages jump-outs and can cross-up when blocking low. You do not want to get randomly hit by this cross-up and a great Noel player will know how to make it impossible for you to jump-out and lock you in. Her finisher is Assault Through which if used far enough away can questionably cross-up. It is possible to grab her out of this or time a fast attack, but it isn't always consistent. Her other finishers aren't that threatening unless she has meter to burn. Most of Noel's Drive mode moves have invincibility and shrink her hitbox to tiny proportions. You can't simply throw out random Calamity Swords or Counter Assaults and hope they hit, you have to time them and prepare them for the right attack. The stupidest situation is when she Assault Throughs either of them. If you somehow escape Noel's blockstring and get far away while she's in Drive mode, keep a close eye on position. Noel can still Optic Barrel you out of a projectile punish or Assault Through and get close or hit you. j.4D I hate this move so much. It's fast, it dodges 2D and 214D, it crosses up, it hits low, AND WORST OF ALL it Fatal counters. This single move makes Noel's rushdown flawless. This attack gives Noel aerial mixup and covers up the last of her weaknesses against anyone. With this move, she can break Lambda's zoning so hard and score a 4~6k damage combo with a hit/fatal. It does have one blaring weakness though. If Noel is too far away and uses j.4D, she will aim the OPPOSITE direction of you when she lands, every time. You can position yourself to make this happen, but at the horizontal speed Noel can fly at, it'd be pretty hard to position. The speed and distance is directly proportional to your position on the screen: the closer she is, the shorter her travel time and animation is going to be (and speed). Counter Assault Noel's CA is a dodge movement. You may think that's not threatening but it is. Lambda has extremely long recovery times after all of her D moves, so Noel can go for the punish. If you happen to lock Noel down with a 236D, she can get out of it while you attempt your mixup: if you do j.214D for your mixup, you will most likely whiff it. Rock Paper Swords If you hate playing defensive and thus having an identity crisis with your Lambda, you can attempt to fight back during Noel's blockstring. With a little bit of habit and good prediction skills, you can attempt to counter whatever she may try to throw out. Just remember, getting CH by Noel is equivalent to 4k life loss. Lambda 2C vs Noel 2D. Timing is fairly tight. Lambda 214A vs Noel 214A. Gravity is anti-grab: it is completely grab invulernable and it fatal counters, which can lead to a nice 3k+ combo. Lambda 236A vs Noel j.4D. If Noel is in the air in general, you can try to run away with this. However, I've gotten into situations where Gravity comes out if I'm too late or Noel did a j.D and smacked me out of my Parser. Idiotically, if you try to go for a wake up grab, Noel can throw out 4D and get a Fatal counter on your failed attempt. You also want to avoid random Calamity Swords: assault through, 3C, and j.4D can smack Lambda out of it. I'll update with feedback Edited August 10, 2011 by kenja0
cookiehours Posted July 22, 2011 Posted July 22, 2011 I just started experimenting with Noel but yeah, her D moves are a pain in the ass and can lockdown Lambda if she's not careful.
someonewhodied Posted July 22, 2011 Posted July 22, 2011 Lambda 2C>Noel2D Lambda 214A>Noel 214A. Lambda 236A>Noel j.4D HEY ARE YOU WRITING THIS DOWN?
Airk Posted July 22, 2011 Posted July 22, 2011 Not to nitpick, but how does this: Noel is the fastest character in the game on startup (Bang is the fastest after about 2 seconds of running) Align with the system data that says that Noel has an initial dash/step speed of 18, while Bang has an initial dash/step speed of 21? Actually, looking at the general dash info, Noel's dash is completely average, since her initial speed, acceleration and max speed are all the same as Ragna's. In fact, pretty much all of her movement characteristics except walk speed are the same as Ragna's. She's not particularly fast on her feet.
kenja0 Posted July 22, 2011 Author Posted July 22, 2011 Not to nitpick, but how does this: Align with the system data that says that Noel has an initial dash/step speed of 18, while Bang has an initial dash/step speed of 21? Actually, looking at the general dash info, Noel's dash is completely average, since her initial speed, acceleration and max speed are all the same as Ragna's. In fact, pretty much all of her movement characteristics except walk speed are the same as Ragna's. She's not particularly fast on her feet. She seems to move faster than everyone else except Tsubaki, but I guess that's just the illusion she leaves behind because she hugs the ground very closely during her dash. I'll get that changed then. But you have to note she seems faster than Ragna or other rushdown characters, toppled with her Drive makes her extremely evasive.
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