LunaKage

That, is a fantastic idea. Can't believe I never thought of that. Where do I go from there if it's blocked? I assume either [2C] or jump cancel tpye stuff.

Axis normally DPs after blocking the safe jump lol. My only mixup on Axis right now is j.C > Bait/Not Bait.

Yeah, her mixup sounds good on paper, but the DPs in this game really make it tough for me to actually condition people. It seems like not even the threat of SMP will prevent some people from mashing DP every chance they get. I dunno, it's just something I gotta get over, I'll do it eventually, I'm still new to not just Naoto, but P4A in general, just kinda venting my frustrations here to my Naoto bros. And of course, all advice is appreciated :3

Jump back j.C is the throw bait? Aight. I was messing with throw baits already but I was using Neutral j.A for midscreen and jump forward j.A for corner. Which combos into falling j.C.

Air turn mixup isn't that strong, not against Axis. Also, you can get 5k off of a throw midscreen? I know you can SMP in the corner, but what should you be doing midscreen off of a throw?

an average match between Luna and Mac: Luna: 2D > Recover > 2D > recover > 2D > recover Mac: WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE?!

I don't notice it like that, but honestly I have to feel something to notice it. Still though, it's better than before.

Probably not, though I wouldn't be surprised if using the A moves created legit frame traps now. 5D > d.6A catches mash? Sign me up!

Keep in mind 236A is +3 now, so if we create enough space we can cancel into that and be at a small advantage.

Alright, getting back into Mod Mode. Tired of all this inactivity, let's spice it up a bit. Here's a few notes after watching a bunch of recent CP videos: Drive is now clearly an offensive tool. In the entirety of the CS series, Drive was defensive in nature, with a bit of an offensive use when it came to crossup 2D or maybe j.D cancel shenanigans, but other than that, it shined when used as a reversal: CS1 had 5D/2D, CS2 had 2D, CSEX had 4D. In CP, a lot of people are focusing on the negative aspect of how her drives changed, such as 2D losing it's reversal properties, 4D losing it's Head invuln etc. Though looking at the POSITIVE ways drive changed, makes it a much better offensive tool. Drive is now much faster, making it that much harder to react to, which will make people that much more nervous when dealing with it, nervous opponents are more prone to mistakes, but that's kinda not the point, just an added bonus. Due to drive being faster, we now have the 6D(Whiff) > d.5A(Whiff) setup that works on a teching opponent. I've seen in in several videos: opponent techs, 6D > d5A whiffs through the tech and if done right, leaves you with enough advantage to catch mashers with d.6A, or mixup with d.6B(Overhead) or d.6D(Low), which by the way, all lead to a decent combo: (d.6B/d.6D) > d.6A > d.5B > 236A > 665B > 5C > etc. Also, I've noticed that the startup frames of d.6B and d.6D actually look the same, before sweeping with d.6D, Noel brings her leg up as if she's gonna hit with d.6B. It's a case of "Blink and you'll miss it" but honestly, if you blink, you'll get hit anyway. Now let's talk about the 2D change. Despite losing one of the things that made drive offensive: the 2D crossup(RIP), 2D now serves a different offensive purpose, I've seen Litherain talk about it, and I've always kinda tossed the idea around in my head as well. I believe 2D is gonna the "YOLO" move of the game, while it's not as practical as 4D in EX, 2D if used right can tag a player getting too comfortable at mid to mid-far range. Remember that Noel has NEVER had a move that has covered this much space, granted it IS slow, but if your opponent isn't ready for it they can get hit for a decent combo, even leading into muzzle filter on a standing opponent, and we know how much that hurts. Remember though, 2D still has a lot of weaknesses, but I believe if used sparingly, it can prove to be very useful against runaway types. Now as far as Drive's reversal options, we still have 4D, we can't AA with 4D anymore, but it may have even gotten stronger as a ground reversal, it will go through a lot of big moves and it can lead to a decent combo, granted it's not 5k meterless midscreen anymore, but it's better than nothing. 236C and j.2C should NOT be overlooked I've noticed these moves aren't exactly used as much as they were in the beginning, but they still have great uses, especially 236C. In previous games, if Noel wanted to go into a full combo on a standing opponent, she would need to RC > 66A, and in CP it still might be more consistent to do that midscreen, but in the corner especially, 236C is a great hitconfirm tool, you can go into a decent combo after RCing it, and then add to that the fact that 236C does decent damage itself. I watched a video recently where Noel did a bunch of normals into 2C > 236C and it did 1.8k, that's amazing off of an A starter on a standing opponent for no meter, I've wanted that since CT AND I HAVE IT NOW HOLY SHIT. As far as j.2C goes, it may not be as useful as we all were hoping for, but it's uses in neutral and at the end of an air combo are still there. A well placed j.2C at neutral on counterhit can get your opponent off of you, create some space, and give you time to start doing your thing. If you're doing an air combo and you're opponent's just barely too high to go into j.D, you can RB > j.2C for the same effect, especially good in the corner, basically we now have a way to keep opponents in the corner after an air combo, instead of ending in RB, letting them tech, and them getting a free airdash out. It's ALL about Abare In CS2 and CSEX, Noel was all about the big damage, but think about that really, when DID we get big damage? We had practical 5k reversals, 4.2k corner grabs, and 4.2k corner overheads, which was GREAT, but what happened any other time? We got very little with our hitconfirms, granted it's not like I'm asking for much, but if we tagged you in the air, we got a little over 1k, tagged you standing? we got a little over 1k. In CP, her maximum BnB damage has decreased, but she now get's damage much more consistently. 99% of the time if you hit someone in the air you can go into j.D > drive ender for a decent damage confirm, as I said before we get about 1.8k on a standing opponent off of A moves meterless, into a huge knockaway midscreen, and a flat out knockdown in the corner. Basically while it looks like her maximum damage may have wavered, her minimum damage has increased by a lot, and she get's positioning and advantage off of every hit if confirmed correctly. Her anti air game has been affected by this as well. Remember in past games when you used 6A, you either had to cancel into 6C which would whiff if they were too high or if they barrier blocked it, or do fancy shit like IAD into falling j.C and that was only on COUNTERHIT? It was all really unneeded extra stress, and add to that the fact that 6A was really bad on recovery and on whiff, there were times that even the most Normals-Oriented Noel players would just say "FUCK IT! 4D!!!" but now, this isn't an issue. 6A doesn't require a fancy or unsafe confirm, it doesn't require counterhit specific routes either, now it's as simple as 6A > Jump. On hit, you will jump, go into j.C > j.D and combo, on block you will not jump, and be able to easily react to that and throw out 5B and go with your backup plan (ALWAYS HAVE A BACKUP PLAN), while you could do this in previous games, you didn't always have the option of j.D after every air confirm, which meant ending in an air combo for very little damage and no knockdown off of a pretty risky anti-air. Now though? That shit is THE TRUTH. Well I guess that's all I wanted to say for now, I may have forgotten some stuff, but this post is already a pretty decent wall, so let's see if it will spark up some conversation/debate. YOUR MOVE NEW NVG! (In this case, NVG stands for Noel Vermillion Gameplay, IT STILL WORKS!!! CAPPPSSS!!!)

Man her lack of mixup hurts. I have been playing Axis a lot, and that mofo doesn't get hit by AOA. So I find myself gold bursting asap just to get some kind of options.

SMP loops are getting easier and more practical the more I learn about them.

R1 and Kou Vermillion in my opinion.

Aww he uses my color :c Here's the notation: 236236C > 2A+B > 214D > 5AA > 236A~B~D > 2A > 2B > 5C > 236B~DxN

I'm gonna request that weekend off, so let me know well in advance if the date changes. On that note, is anyone else going? Miller? Greats?

September 7th? That should be plenty of time. Unless something fucked up happens, then you can count me in.

I'm confident in my ability to make jokes.

Spring Raid get's increased untech time, allowing you to combo after it from pretty much anywhere. I'll put all that in the wiki now.

I have a question about something I came up with for use against patient players(LOL). During a blockstring, after throwing out enough normals to push your opponent out quite a bit, use 5C > IAD > j.214D while right above your opponent. After landing, you can use an Evasive Action for a crossup. I still have reserves about using this since I haven't found a way to punish someone who would be trying to AA that setup, could just be completely useless, but I figured I'd ask you guys.

Oh, I thought you meant the first hit, because no Ragna in his right mind would ever do the second hit without heat on block. Shit, it's hella rare to see a good Ragna even do the first hit on block, unless they were gonna use the scrub bashing mixup gimmick.

Always dash 5A punish, unless you know for a fact that the 5B will CH.

Not sure if I posted these here or not, but these are some corner combos off of a muzzle or an air grab, to put them back in the corner with more optimal damage. www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwmHS9InHzo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdkKx5yAhx8

Not sure if I posted these here or not, but these are some corner combos off of a muzzle or an air grab, to put them back in the corner with more optimal damage. www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwmHS9InHzo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdkKx5yAhx8

Sadly though, most of this should have been in the gameplay thread, but since there hasn't been a decent gameplay chat in awhile, I've decided to allow it. For now :3

I've found that the absolute safest option to escape Noel's drives is just good ol fasioned chicken blocking. By the time that 8 frame gap is over, you're safely in the air, and putting up a barrier will protect you from spring raid, which will be the only thing that can touch you at that point. The only time you really have to deal with the guessing game is if you block our second drive in the string. Otherwise, one way or another, we are completely at your mercy.