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"Meet Your Mod" Episode 6: kousaka

By Guest, in Home,

Fresh off of his 4th place finish at the NEC XI BBCS Singles tourney, one of your Arakune mods has shown that Canada is no pushover when it comes to fighting games, and this quickie interview gives a small insight on him and his scene. Without further ado, here's

kousaka
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
- Why did you choose that particular handle, is there a story or reference you'd like to explain?

Big fan of Genshiken and Kousaka was my favourite character.

- What is your background with fighting games...Did you start with BB or are your OG like SFII?

Started with SFII in the arcades really young then more SF on the snes. Played many different fighters such as Killer Instinct, Virtua Fighter 4, Tekken 5 before I eventually moved onto air dash style fighters such as Guilty Gear, Melty, Arcana, and Blazblue.

- What competitive scene are you involved with? (Ranbats, Arcades, XBL, PSN, Reload Online etc.) Would you elaborate the benefits of this particular scene?

I'm part of the growing the Guilty Gear/Blazblue community at our local arcade in Toronto. We usually meet at least once a week and we run tourneys of all types every few months. Shoutouts to all the Love Getty fiends~

- How strong do you feel your nation is as a whole, what is the next step to strengthening it?

Canada as a nation is weak but we do have a lot of strong individual players. To be strong as a nation we need to develop more of our player base by giving them exposure at American majors.

- Which player(s) give you the most trouble and why?

Zeero, another Toronto player, has been my sparring partner since CT. Since we play each other so much I constantly have to come up with new setups to get an edge.

- What has been the most helpful tool while growing stronger in BB?

The JP Arakune wiki has been the most useful resource for me. Providing all the same info that JP players study from allowed me to get more out of JP match vids.

- Is there anything you'd like to share regarding your respective character or Dustloop in general?

Arakune can be frustrating to learn at first but once you get past that point where your comfortable with his tools he becomes such a fun imaginative character to play it's a worthy journey if your willing to put the time in.
Guest

Valkenhayn released today on XBL!

By Guest, in Home,

The long wait is finally over, as everyone's favorite butler is finally available on XBL for 320 MS points. So download the new patch (version 1.02), cash in some points, and start mashing away!

Source: http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Product/BLAZBLUE-CS/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802415707da?cid=search
Guest
This weekend in Philadelphia, the NorthEast Championships will be happening for the 11th straight year. First started back in 1999 when arcades actually existed and weren't a relic of the past, NEC has hosted tournaments for numerous fighting games and this year shouldn't be any different. Singles tournaments for BlazBlue:Continuum Shift and Guilty Gear XX:Accent Core are also part of the lineup, along with a pot bonus of $250 for BBCS and $100 for GGAC thanks to eric, the tournament organizer for NEC XI.

If you're in the area and want to participate and/or spectate, head over to the NEC XI thread for more information.

Streaming will be provided by Team Sp00ky x IPlayWinner, with guaranteed streaming of at least top 4 for both BBCS and GGAC on the main stream, and St1ckbug's stream for everything else BBCS/GGAC/MBAA.
Guest
On December 7, the Valkenhayn DLC will finally be released on the XBox Live Marketplace after a long wait. The only problem? It's only available for Japan. While the rest of the non-Japanese XBox 360 world is still stuck waiting for God-knows-how-long, at least we know Valkenhayn will be coming to XBL for the rest of the world sometime in the future.

Sources: http://blazblue.jp/topics.html#topics175

Places to keep your eye on

JP XBL Marketplace: http://marketplace.xbox.com/ja-JP/Product/BLAZBLUE-CS/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802415707da?cid=search
US XBL Marketplace: http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Product/BLAZBLUE-CS/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802415707da?cid=search
Guest

"Meet Your Mod" Episode 5: OmniSScythe

By Guest, in Home,

A big welcome to Dustloop's newest moderators! Here, we are committed to the competitive scene with organized information and active discussion to further everyone's game play. We feel these newest additions will elevate character boards and reflect active members who consistently contribute. Some may be familiar, while some of these users aren't "celebrities" (yet). We are going trough a QnA process to help our Dustloop community get more acquainted with our newest moderators.

OmniSScythe
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]

- Why did you choose that particular handle, is there a story or reference you'd like to explain?

I originally was going to just go with Scythe (my weapon of choice) but I figured it was too bland so I added a powerful prefix (Omni), I once added an extra S by accident and well it stuck with me.

- What is your background with fighting games...Did you start with BB or are your OG like SFII?

I started out really young with SFII/MK, once I got old enough to cross a street I've found a pool hall that had Tekken so that was the first game I've played on an arcade cabinet against people.

- What competitive scene are you involved with? (Ranbats, Arcades, XBL, PSN, Reload Online etc.) Would you elaborate the benefits of this particular scene?

Marvel/3rd Strike was the games I used to play frequently since there was Arcade (well really 6 games line up in a video store) near by. Basic fundamentals was probably the first benefit I gained as I watched my daily allowance of a buck dissipate in a matter of minutes to having a line trying to get me off MvC2. After I've moved I didn't really get into a scene again till SF4/CT came out with XBL being a big motivation boost. Shoutouts to DaiAndOh for running these Team St1ckbug (unlikely to be) Biweeklies.

- How strong do you feel your nation is as a whole, what is the next step to strengthening it?

As a whole we're somewhat solid, it's a mix bag like every other fighter and like so we share the same problem that's less common with our brethren from Japan. We need to avoid taking the simplify route and branch out our options instead of being a text book variation of the same thing. We also need to make more use of resources which in one case, netplay. Not saying it's remotely a replacement for solid offline competition but one thing it does give is match up experience, it's hardly uncommon to see top-level Japanese players online even though they have a huge arcade scene.

- Which player(s) give you the most trouble and why?

Those that can adept well under pressure and still be fairly aggressive.

- What has been the most helpful tool while growing stronger in BB?

Having decent competition on and offline, Training mode, watching others play from match videos from Japan to streams of tournaments being ran. Also asking questions like "what do you gained from doing X" has always been a big help.

- Is there anything you'd like to share regarding your respective character or Dustloop in general?

For our fellow squirrel players new and old, keep an open mind and avoid making a pattern. Originality should always be your Bread and Butter.
Guest

"Meet Your Mod" Episode 4: Zidane

By Guest, in Home,

A big welcome to Dustloop's newest moderators! Here, we are committed to the competitive scene with organized information and active discussion to further everyone's game play. We feel these newest additions will elevate character boards and reflect active members who consistently contribute. Some may be familiar, while some of these users aren't "celebrities" (yet). We are going trough a QnA process to help our Dustloop community get more acquainted with our newest moderators.

Zidane
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
- Why did you choose that particular handle, is there a story or reference you'd like to explain?

I don't remember exactly how it started or why but I know I came up with Zidane based on FF9 even though I wasn't a big FF9 or FF fan in general. Changed it to Zidanel33t like 5-6 years ago just because I used to have AOL, got rid of it and I needed a new AIM account. Lost my old PW + e-mail account for that account so I made Zidane, which is pretty much how I introduce myself to people (instead of saying Zidane leet which is lame)

- What is your background with fighting games...Did you start with BB or are your OG like SFII?

My first fighting game seriously was Guilty Gear. An old friend from Cali was telling me how awesome GGXX was and I was like "Ok, I should buy this." Found out it was $40, told him to go F himself. He told me about #R coming out for the Xbox and how it's $20 and I got into that. Started as a netplay warrior, met someone online who lived in NY and held gatherings ( Phrekwenci ), met more people through him and that's how everything started.

- What competitive scene are you involved with? (Ranbats, Arcades, XBL, PSN, Reload Online etc.) Would you elaborate the benefits of this particular scene?

Uh... I dunno? I go to Team Stickbug locals that just started up but before that I stopped going to tournies for like 2-3 years. I go to a major every now and then if the rest of the NY crew wants to go. I mean the benefits of locals is that it allows you to constantly play people in you area, lag-free. You get to chill and hang out and play some games and it's usually at a reasonable time and distance from your house ( since it's a local ).

- How strong do you feel your nation is as a whole, what is the next step to strengthening it?

If you mean the US concerning BB then pretty weak. I feel the skill level of the average BB player is generally lower than other games and BB also attracts people that are NOT fighting game players. The only step to strengthening the BB scene, from scrubs to "top players" would be actual communication between coasts, top players and etc. Strats aren't discusssed, bad habits aren't put on display so people can stop them, it's just a scene of people telling other people they're good when they're probably either a) not or b) not THAT good.

- Which player(s) give you the most trouble and why?

It honestly depends on how i'm playing a certain day. Sometimes players who are really aggressive give me problems and I wind up panicking / not blocking anything. Other times aggressive players just... tire themselves out after blocking another mixup and make mistakes and then I lose to more patient players who try to out-smart rather than just push buttons.

- What has been the most helpful tool while growing stronger in BB?

Training mode and playing others. I'm really tired of people just picking a character and going on the forums and learning everything there. People don't make characters their own anymore; it's just dial-a-combo and dial-a-strat. After the point where you feel you know a significant amount from training mode, you put that into practice by fighting other people. You learn what's good, what sucks and change and adapt from there.

- Is there anything you'd like to share regarding your respective character or Dustloop in general?

Hazama is stupid.
Guest
On November 20, Team Sp00ky will be streaming the Team St1ckbug Bi-weeklies in Brooklyn, NY. Featuring 2v2 tourneys only for GGAC, BBCS, and MBAA, St1ckbug Bi-weeklies is a chance for you to see some of the best players in the Northeast Region in action in your favorite games.

So if you're in the area, come out and compete/chill/hype up the players, and thank Sp00ky for giving the scene some love.
Guest

"Meet Your Mod" Episode 3: Yuushiro

By Guest, in Home,

A big welcome to Dustloop's newest moderators! Here, we are committed to the competitive scene with organized information and active discussion to further everyone's game play. We feel these newest additions will elevate character boards and reflect active members who consistently contribute. Some may be familiar, while some of these users aren't "celebrities" (yet). We are going trough a QnA process to help our Dustloop community get more acquainted with our newest moderators.

Yuushiro (souseta)
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
- Why did you choose that particular handle, is there a story or reference you'd like to explain?

My handle? Which one are you referring to? In tournaments I just go by my real name for the most part, and use Yuushiro on PSN, I just randomly chose it because it’s white/ice related in Japanese and my main is Jin Kisaragi. I used souseta before because I like Soujiro Seta from Rurouni Kenshin, I think I can relate to him a lot. But that name is usually taken on forums.

- What is your background with fighting games...Did you start with BB or are your OG like SFII?

I definitely started with BB, specifically BBCS I. I never really played CT, the day I was introduced with BB was the last day Arcade UFO had that machine and they exchanged it for BBCS the next day or something. I was fascinated by the black Jin color scheme with the white hair and black apparel. Also all his moves looked so cool. I was just mashing around with my friend Brian, he chose nu and mashed D, I used Jin and mostly mashed C but also tried to understand what was going on and I won all the way lol. Later some unknown bangs kick me out of the arcade machine with FRKZ (I think that was probably Hoang). After that I decided to learn Jin and try to be a good player. If I recall correctly, I think I get to see pozerwolf black jin too playing casually that night and he looked so cool, so different than me who was just mashing/fooling around. So that also contributed on why I wanted to main Jin, I wanted to be able to do those cool combos and stuff. This happened around December last year. At that time, I didn’t know anyone at the arcade at all at that time, but now I know a lot of people there. So, it’s not even a year yet since I started taking my fighting games seriously. Thanks to everyone who helped my growth and development especially Pozerwolf who gives me countless advice and did not give up on me.

- What competitive scene are you involved with? (Ranbats, Arcades, XBL, PSN, Reload Online etc.) Would you elaborate the benefits of this particular scene?

I go to Arcade UFO almost every weekend to play Blazblue. I have a PSN but I barely play that since the netcode is crappy. I was at the SBO qualifiers too at UFO this past summer, I ended up placing 5th. Our team lost to Team Canada (Dacidbro and Render), I think my lack of experience in tournament play led to my loss but I was not disappointed. I did the best that I could and this experience will be a valuable one for me to be able to do better next time. Arcade UFO in general is a good scene to learn since it’s an arcade (doh). I can talk to the players after I am done playing and asked them what are my mistakes and bad habits and how to go about fixing them. The inverse works as well, I can talk to newer players and tell them what to do or not do.


- How strong do you feel your nation is as a whole, what is the next step to strengthening it?

I think American players need to have more confidence in themselves. Yes, Japan has more players in general and their arcade scene is still alive but we can still be strong despite that. Don’t always get intimidated when you have to play big names players, don’t ever think you’ll lose before even you play (this mindset would kill you in a longrun). Think about the best way to win the competition and try to see what makes the big name player so good, remember they are human too. Try to understand the skill gap, always study why you got hit and how to fix that. Study also what kind of offense that works and makes people impatient / make you hit them / lead to long combos etc..., frame trap / throw / overheads / crossups. Learn your tools and learn the best timing to use them. I actually am always excited when I get to fight new people does not matter if they are stronger than me or not. ( I sometimes jokingly said to the people I want to fight “My Saiyan blood is boiling, can’t wait to fight you/them” ). Furthermore remember to play to win, whatever it takes, study the frame data, be patient don't do stupid risky moves and most importantly do NOT mash. We as Americans like to fool around when we play our fighting games thinking that's it's funny, look at all those homo genius videos..mostly american made, right? There are times when you want to joke around but in arcade scene people usually will try their best not to lose because if they do that means they have to spend more money to play another round. Study the best combo too which will lead to the best oki, I heard the japanese commentator laughing at us american because we don’t know the best combo and we drop stuff everywhere. Try to practice your execution too. Playing everyday is not a necessity but at least try to touch the game at least once a week or so. On another note..., don't be cocky..., I still take advice from all the players even though I might beat them more, remember it's always useful to talk about the game with any players. Never think that you already mastered or are too good at this game. That’s the worst mindset a fighting gamer can have.

Specific to Austin TX:
Some people don't want to go to the arcade since they are afraid to get destroyed.
I still get destroyed by all the top players but I try to learn..., persistence is my life slogan. If you really like the game you will try to learn and strive and in the arcade scene you can always ask and be social. Most players will want you to improve to give them better challenge in the game.

- Which player(s) give you the most trouble and why?

Most of the regulars at UFO are not easy to beat. One of the hardest players to beat is definitely Hsien Chang. Blazblue is not even his main game but he feels so overwhelming whenever I have to fight him. His fundamentals are so good and he also is good at reading me and what I would usually do in a certain situation. It feels like he could download you after a while and could tell what you will do in most situations. I win sometimes by being totally random and unpredictable against him but that’s not enough. This is my current goal right now, to be able to hold my own against him in most of the matches.

- What has been the most helpful tool while growing stronger in BB?

A lot of stuff will help you if you want to grow stronger in BB. Dustloop and Japanese BBS are very helpful for combos and normals and just understanding the game in general. Videos are helpful too especially for combos and other stuff. If you just starting the game though don’t just focus in the long combos or flashy combos but focus on how the players defend and attack. What makes their defense strong, when to use or not to use FD/barrier block. When to use overhead, throw, crossup etc. This would lead to strong fundamentals which are far more important in fighting games in general. I am not saying that combo is not important; I said earlier that you need to study the best combo for the best situation. Despite that combo is not everything though when it comes about the game overall. Learn when is the best time to use IB>DP or counter assault, CA is really good in this game and much safer than DP, it’s worth the meter. The community would also help a lot because you could ask for a direct advice from your sparring partner or enemy or whatnot. Experiment on your own in training mode also can be very helpful. One of the top Jin players in Japan (Ren), does that a lot. He studied a lot of character specific common normals and try to find what Jin move will beat what the other character move. It will go a long way by studying the game like that; you will know what to do in a match if you know that specific player will use those specific moves.

- Is there anything you'd like to share regarding your respective character or Dustloop in general?

At first Jin seems to be the simplest character in the whole Blazblue cast but he has
a lot of hidden strength and potential. Look at Hiroshi/Tetsuwo jin in this year SBO managed to go all the way to be the 2nd place along with Satoshi Bang and he wasn’t being carried all the way too. Jin jB is not as strong as CT anymore but it still very strong. With the right timing it is still a very dangerous tool. Know when to use j2C and jC too. Also remember Jin has the slowest jump startup along with tager if I recall correctly so don’t be too jump happy with Jin. Jin also has a lot of different normals for anti Air tools. In short for high level play, Jin is not simple at all. Part of the cause is because all the other characters are unique and not simple too. Be creative and don’t forget all the tools that Jin have, I rarely see people use the EX fireball while it’s actually a very good mixup tool if your enemy defense is strong.
Don’t just copy what top players do, develop your own style and adapt to your enemy. That is the best way you can grow stronger as a player. Fundamentally don’t forget to enjoy the game. The main reason I am still playing blazblue is because I enjoy it. I enjoy the mechanic and the freedom this game gives me. I also enjoy the scene and I get to meet a lot of new people and make new friends because of this game. The point is play as a character you enjoy the most. I enjoy playing as Jin Kisaragi therefore I strive to be as strong as possible with him.
Guest

"Meet Your Mod" Episode 2: LunaKage

By Guest, in Home,

A big welcome to Dustloop's newest moderators! Here, we are committed to the competitive scene with organized information and active discussion to further everyone's game play. We feel these newest additions will elevate character boards and reflect active members who consistently contribute. Some may be familiar, while some of these users aren't "celebrities" (yet). We are going trough a QnA process to help our Dustloop community get more acquainted with our newest moderators.

LunaKage
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]

- Why did you choose that particular handle, is there a story or reference you'd like to explain?

My handle comes from the latin word Luna meaning moon and the Japanese word Kage meaning Shadow, these were chosen due to my favorite color combination, Luna always reminds me of Sky Blue, while Kage always reminds me of Black, which are my favorite colors, Black and Blue.

- What is your background with fighting games...Did you start with BB or are your OG like SFII?

My gateway fighter was "Dead Or Alive 3", which allowed me to feel cool by doing 6 hit combos just by mashing buttons, next up came "Soul Calibur 2", which taught me the greatness of blocking. Those games made me fall in love with fighters, and I used to think I was good at them, until I found my first competitive arcade scene with "Tekken 6", that was the game that taught me how to step up my game. I messed around a bit in "Street Fighter 4", but never got serious. Then came BBCT, only the second game I ever got serious with, but I'm certainly stronger in BB than I ever was at Tekken.

- What competitive scene are you involved with? (Ranbats, Arcades, XBL, PSN, Reload Online etc.) Would you elaborate the benefits of this particular scene?

While I haven't gone to a Michigan Ranbat yet, I hold casuals with the other MI guys at my house, or we all go to casuals together at the place that normally holds the Ranbats, work and school kind of prevent me from showing at Ranbats themselves, always leaving me disappointed, and with only slightly more money in my pocket. XBL is where you can find me more often than not, netplay has it's disadvantages, but as long as you play with people you have a decent connection with, its way better than just playing the computer.

- How strong do you feel your nation is as a whole, what is the next step to strengthening it?

All the jokes about overheads and purple throws aside. I think America is doing pretty good, we have newbs, scrubs, decent players, pro level players, tourney winners, tourney losers, etc. All that really matters is our love for the game, if we meet a new challenge(like a random Japanese player showing up to an American Tourney) we will work hard until we rise above that challenge.

- Which player(s) give you the most trouble and why?

I play Noel, so the more appropriate question would be: who DOESN'T give me trouble. Going against a good Tager like Axis, Xdest's Tao, LK's Litchi or anybody's Bang will always nullify my offense and break my defense. Skye's Arakune and good Carl players, because I can't seem to get my hands on them.

- What has been the most helpful tool while growing stronger in BB?

Getting pissed off, seriously, it helps. When I get angry, I always try to improve so that it doesn't happen again, I'm a very relaxed guy so if something breaks me, I try to eliminate that problem. Practicing, not giving up when times are tough, picking up a couple more characters so you can just have fun without taking the match too seriously. I also think there are 3 kinds of people that someone needs, in order to get better: 1. People with even skill level, to give you a challenge without breaking your spirit. 2. People who are better than you, to prevent you from getting cocky, and giving you a goal to strive for. 3. People who are worse than you, to make you feel better after getting bodied by the people who are better than you.

- Is there anything you'd like to share regarding your respective character or Dustloop in general?

lol Noel, she's lucky she's cute, or else I would have switched to Bang like R-1 did :P
I'd like to thank Dustloop by giving me this chance, and I promise to do my best. To all of the other Noel players: Keep your head up, don't let her position on the tier list get you down, and never quit, even when the road ahead looks rough.
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