Dusty

Thanks guys I appreciate the nominations for mod, but I must decline the offer for being mod because I play Bang now and haven't touch Hazama since evo (I'm really sorry guys). Also, yes I have contributed some to the Hazama forums but as some of you may have noticed I haven't been posting on the forums for a while and having 2 kind of active mods will not solve this forums problems. I still have some Hazama tricks up my sleeve and I will be willing to spill the beans if you guys ask, ALSO I still plan to finish the Zoning guide. But if you guys feel that I am really the most deserving member to become mod I will reconsider. (But it looks like some other people are wanting of the position and I totally support them more than me being mod myself.) Once again i appreciate it guys and i will defiantly still be hanging out in the hazama forums cuz you guys are cool.

Matchup Ranking: 5.5-4.5 Hazama's favor Recommended Playstyle: Offensive, don't stay still, fly around alot Basic/Matchup overview: Fly around her zoning tools, you can punish lobelia if she throws one while you're a little farther than half screen away from her. Abuse your movement and watch out for pumpkin. You want to be in her face in this match up. long-distance: Throw chains at long distance to pressure her and stop her from summoning stuff. If Rachel does summon and take advantage and get into her face. Be careful as WIND WILL TOTALLY MESS WITH YOUR MOVEMENT. mid range: Rachel's pokes are pretty decent, 3C and 2B are the normals to use in neutral. Try to make her come to you and force her to get hit by a chain. If Rachel tries to come down on you with J.2C 214D~B her.I don't like mid range with Rachel very much. short range: This is where Hazama shines in this match up. Stay on her and keep the pressure on. Rachel doesn't have a good way of breaking out of pressure as her normals are slow and she has no reversal super. If you think they're mashing catchair use jump cancelable moves and bait it. GO IN and abuse your big damage. Best tools: Chain movement to fly around her zoning. Things To Look Out For: Jumping in or chaining in is suicide, as Rachel's 6A (Cat punch) if a really good anti air, and it goes behind her. NEUTRAL TECH WIND!: Omg this crap gives me a headache. If you knock Rachel down and she does neutral tech wind, well shit there's not much you can do about it, sometimes she can wind into you and CH your wiffed move if you meaty poorly. If Rachel winds away from you can chase her to keep pressure but she will be able to block as it is nonpunishable and you have to call it out to give chase. J.A instant overhead: Watch out from J.A instant overhead, as it leads into knock down and pressure into the same set up (totally not broken:vbang:). I guess if you're baller you could react to 4 frame jump start up every time (lol stay godlike A.X.I.S). To get out you pretty much have to guess. Also remember that she needs 2 wind to perform it.

Arakune's pressure is butt without curse, barrier, backdash, hell even mash and jump work sometimes when he doesn't have curse.YOU don't have to let him pressure you.

If you knock her down in the corner lets say for example after J.214B then hit 2A>5C as soon as possible when you land as if you were gatling it. It takes some practice to get the timing right to make sure you get the 5C at meaty as possible but once you do he HAS to respect you on wake up. You can also do this mid screen if you are close enough to get a meaty 5C. It also helps to abuse advanced input and hold down 5C.

Guyman, in your opinion would the match up be played better by shooting chains in the long range, or using your faster movement options and high mobility to dodge swords and stay in her face? I think you should note that lambda gravity well is no longer invincible, it is now only throw invincible. (the only throw invincible move in the game.)

Matchup Ranking: 6-4 Hazama's favor Recommended Playstyle: Noel is another character that you can zone out and run away from. Abuse this fact and get your free damage. Basic/Matchup overview: Noel gets a HUGE reward for taking risks and taking guesses. Your neutral is alot better than hers and you can zone her. If you get Noel in the corner Hazama's 2A>5C option select will shit on everything except wake up super. long-distance: Throw chains, Noel can't do anything about it except guess optic barrel. If she gets in mid range you have to choice to run away which is what I would reccomend. mid range:This is where you don't want to be. This is where noel is the most powerful in the match up as her Drives can put you into pressure and punish your normals. If you are in the mid range either run away and play long range or switch to close range combat where the match is better for Hazama. Her jump ins are not very good so your 2C should hit her out of the air. (have not experimented with 5A anti air yet) short range: This is where the game gets scary as all Noel players know that they might be able to get away with mashing D to get out of pressure and hit you for 4K. But don't fret, the normal of the year is 5C. 5C will hit Noel out of 2D,4D,and 5D. Use 5C frame traps ALOT in this match. If you put her in a block string use 5C every block string to ensure you don't get mashed out. When you get that sweet 5C CH take away 2/3 of her life and make her stop mashing so you can run your unsafe pressure and mix up. Best tools: 5C,5C,5C. Things To Look Out For: Optic barrel, don't shot ground chains when you are standing at an optic barrel point. When you knock her down Oki with 5C, this is the best option when she has no meter as she cannot do anything about it.

Does someone want to start the Tao match up thread for me before I get completely bodied by one at evo for having no experience? lol

Yes if they're are shooting the ice sword really badly. Remember your chain will stop if it hits the ice sword. Note: It is waaaayyy late here in the Fabled PNW srry about all the errors and spelling mistakes.

Movement is the key. The recovery on ice swords is really bad so you could just do the simple dodge it and shoot a chain at him in his recovery. Or you could be baller and fly around the ice sword and end up in his face when he lands. My suggestion is go into training mode practice his movement options. Have the mindset "Hazama's position is here and I want to be there NOW" and figure out how to get to that part of the screen as fast as possible. I guess I could make a video or write a guide about MOVEMENT, not just zoning. I've got some cool stuff that I figured out which I'd be happy share, but it will have to wait until after evo.

From my Litchi experience (sG) he's pretty on the ball with spacing on air normals and doing them preemptively to already have them out to hit air grab attempts. Imo Air grab is a great option if Litchi is above you since the air grab hit box goes pretty high above you and Litchi's air normals don't reach too far below her. J.B sparingly is the way to go if you are at about the same level in the air. If she has staff most of the time you will lose, but don't be too afraid if she's staffless. The main thing is try not to go air to air with her with use the chains to poke her out of the air.

I'll rewrite it when I get the time, and I'll also talk to spark about his thoughts/mindset/and gameplan about this match up.

J.B is pretty decent against her, and since the threat of CS1 staff J.C is gone you can actually challenge her a little bit in the air if you're at the correct spacing. Allow me to elaborate the Litchi staff thing. Watch Litchi in neutral if she CROUCHES and sets the staff, when she throws it the staff will travel along the floor, which in most cases you should jump up in the air and throw J.6D or j4.D, to attempt to hit her or make her block which will cause the staff to deactivate or you can run away. If she's STANDING and sets the staff, when she throws it the staff will travel in the air, throw 5D or 3C if she starts running at you to hit her or make her block to deactivate the staff. If she jumps, 2C's head invulnerability with keep you safe from getting hit by the staff. WATCH LITCHI WHEN SHE SETS HER STAFF. This alone makes the match 100 times easier.

Matchup Ranking: 6-4 Hazama's favor Recommended Playstyle: Play defense in neutral, wait for chances to go in, then rush her down. Basic/Matchup overview: Control Litchi with chains, make her move where you want her to move. 3C is very useful in this match. long-distance: Throw chains, there isn't alot she can do about it if you play smart. Watch out for when she throws the staff and runs in the try and close the distance. If she gets too close just back off. mid range: 3c is very good in this match. Watch out for staff 6B but 3C will go under it if spaced correctly. Her staff 2C is a very good anti air and goes pretty high up into the air so watch out as this move may clip you as you try to fly around. short range: This is where the game gets really bad for Litchi or really bad for Hazama. Both Litchi and Hazama have really strong pressure. Once Litchi puts the pressure on Hazama you literally have to take a good guess to get out, as her staffless pressure is easily resettable and very scary. Once Hazama puts the pressure on Litchi her normals are really slow and it's hard for her to break out, unless she uses her DP which can't be rapid cancel'd. Use safe pressure on Litchi to attempt to bait out the DP when you feel them getting desperate and go for your big 3C punish. Best tools: 3C, playing footsies with this move makes Litchi sad. Things To Look Out For: Watch Litchi when she sets her staff and throw the correct chain at her when she throws the staff to stop her from running in on you for free.

It's not, sure Jin has + on block moves, but barrier and back dash will get you out for almost free, Jin gets pushed out too easily. 5D~D(immediately) to move out of range instantly then throw a chain to punish his recovery, and 6D~B preemptively to end up in his face and punish the wiff. These are just some notable ones you can use pretty much any chain movement option that QUICKLY moves you to a different spot on the screen.

Matchup Ranking:Even, Maybe slightly in Hazama's favor. Recommended Playstyle: Defensive, Play really good neutral game and run away. General Strategy: DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT FUCK WITH HIS AIR NORMALS. Jin's J.B, J.C, and J.2C have some sort of voodoo magic behind them which makes them shit all over your air normals and 5A anti air. Jin's J.C has alot more range and has a better hitbox than Hazama's J.B and he will beat you CLEANLY out of the air alot. Jin's jump ins, J.B and J.2C can only be beaten by Hazama's 2C and 214D~B but these will only work with you do them preemptively as they are quite slow. Play the match slow and run away alot, they way you're going to win this match is by making Jin impatient and waiting for him the make a mistake. Jin's pressure is not very strong so don't worry about it, just watch out for throws. Your Best Tools (For This Matchup): Chains,chains,chains, run away alot. Has A DP?: AMAI! C uppercut and D uppercut are very strong but Jin will usually be spending meter so it is not likely you will see one unless he's feeling ballsy. Things To Look Out For: Fly around his Ice swords and punish for throwing them as they have 45 frames of recovery AND 11 frames of landing recovery so make him stop throwing those dam things. Pay attention to your position relative to Jin in the mid range don't do anything stupid if you are within Jin's 2D range, bait it out and punish him for wiffing it.

Dacidbro how do you feel about the match up in the beginning of the round, and the middle or end of the round where your nail stock is close to depleted and you may have a few bumpers out? (I would like another good Bang players opinion other than huey253's, you could also say I'm looking for the Pro's opinion, lol :3)

Non FC Jayoku does about 3.5-4k and nets you back about 30 meter, which is about the same that NORMAL characters get lol. So imo it's not a bad option.

We forgot that Bang's 3C goes under Hazama's 5D. lol

Matchup Ranking: Even Recommended Playstyle: Offensive, get in her face and keep her locked down. Zoning is not reccomended. This is pretty much a slug fest on who can hit who in the face more. General Strategy: Zoning Makoto out is a pain because of how fast she runs. J.4D and J.6D are very valuable tools in this match to stop her from running a marathon past your chains. Abuse your plus on block normals and pressure. Her uppercut SUCKS, but her reward for hitting you with is is fucking ridiculous, bait it out and get your free CH 3C. Her normals are also way better than Hazama's and they move her forward. Her pressure is STRONG, if you get put into her pressure take a good guess to get out, but watch out as Makoto has late chains and frame traps up the tail. Your Best Tools (For This Matchup): 3C, use it sparingly as you can be easily punished by Makoto's 5B for wiffing it. J.6D and J.4D: Use these to stop Makoto's ground advance. Has A DP?: Yes but it is complete ass. The hit box will sometimes wiff characters crouching so use this to your advantage when pressuring her or on wake up. The reward she gets off hitting you with it is dumb though. Things To Look Out For: 6B unblockable lol Makoto's 3C will make Hazama's 2A wiff. Will add more stuff later.

Matchup Ranking: 5.5 in Hazama's favor, could even be considered even. Recommended Playstyle: Play Offense whenever you can. It's literally impossible to zone against a good Bang, he will catch you eventually no matter what you do. Bang does not have very good defensive options so keep the pressure on him and don't let him out. General Strategy: Keep Bang pressured, chains are not very effective as poking tools in this match as Bang has the ability to fly around almost as fast as Hazama can. Bangs damage is not very good so you don't have to be scared of taking many risks and the most you will get punished for will be around 3K. Bang has to spend meter and nails to do good damage, while Hazama just has to touch Bang to do big damage, this is about the only thing Hazama has going for him in this match. Your Best Tools (For This Matchup): 3C and 2B these are your best poking tools as most of Bangs normals have alot more range than Hazama. 5A anti air shits all over Bangs jump ins unless he does them really early. Be careful 5A can be baited out though. Has A DP?: No , but has wake up super. If bang does asura and you're not doing anything you can jayoku or command grab during superflash and they will both catch him out of it. Things To Look Out For: Bumpers, this makes the Bang match up even imo. Bumpers give bang the ability to fly across the screen like superman. With bumpers Bang can easily get past your zoning, I wouldn't even attempt to throw chains, other than to run away, if bang has bumpers out and he can fly around the chains and punish you. If you're standing with a bunch of bumpers above your head GTFO ASAP. A nail is STRONG in this match he can bait out your anti air attempts with it, or he can use it as cover to deflect or get past chains and glide behind it. Luckily he only has a set amount and has a hard time getting in after his nails are gone. (Unless your in a bumper minefield) If you IB Bang's 2C you can Jayoku and get a free punish. FREE PUNISH. Supercrash (firepunch) is also -7 so you can get a free jayoku punish if you block this move as well.

C0R you must realize it's not hakumen or tager you're getting bodied by, it's Spark. If he played good characters we'd all be DOOMED.

you could always cancel stance(very quickly would not recommend) or hit him with the FLASH KICK! Charged 214~D with hazama and 2C with arakune are both very risky options where either player must feel very confident to use.

You can time the 214D~A to be meaty upon their backdash ending, you just have to be super baller.

Is there any concrete frame data on his backdash, or are we in the dark? Edit: Yeah they can mash if Arakune is batshit crazy. ALSO I'm totally cool with +5 i think i might actually want them to block it.

Indeed j.2A his his best option for cutting chains, it has a 15 frame recovery so you can punish him for wiffing, or he's going to block in the air which he does not want to do.