RedBeard

Hmm, I think the pros/cons lists can be fine but maybe there should be like a summary(the pros/cons stuff) and then a more detailed description below in paragraph style for a more in depth explanation(like what Juicy G did) on why that character is in the tier they are.

*crickets* Well, just for the sake of it here's an old favorite of mine from MSY. Oh the good old days...dead first in GGX, dead last in AC! *sniff* Instant Dizzy combos! 1 tap deaths! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es8QahflnNQ

Just to add something to Axl that I don't see added: Even from full screen knockdowns from Rensengeki or Bentengari(H), he retains good, reversal safe pressure(dashjump j.S), which can string into any of his mixups. Hmm, and I disagree about his damage. Axl does pretty heavy damage for 25% tension, and it leads into knockdown. His normal knockdown stuff doesn't do much damage but whenever he tosses out 25% tension it turns into a lot, especially in the corner. Just to add to Johnny one con I forgot: Pretty much every move of his is no longer burst safe. I realize it's like this for a lot of the cast but aside from like 2P/5P/c.S, nothing of his is burst safe anymore(including 5K and ALL of his air moves, meaning unless he JCs something he is burstable, even j.P's...). So erm, in short, his burst blocking ability kind of went to shit other than a few specific instances where he now needs to commit to combos or JC something to burst block. Of course he can still Mist Cancel but that falls under commiting to combos.

Hmm I find that Axl's DAA is too short range to affect Eddie a lot of the time. It's also somewhat slow...in that matchup I try to pull in Eddie from afar with long range stuff then I focus all of my tension on offense and damage. Eddie is just going to unblockable you most of the time anyways and I don't think Axl's DAA does that much good. Pretty much uhh...try to learn backdash timing I guess. That match kinda sucks no matter what. Defensively I sort of rely on counters and occaisionally on wakeup if I know what's coming I'll use his reversals. While his OD has somewhat slow startup it does have full body invincibility and does good damage. I use it on occaision during frametraps but not very often. My tension is almost all used towards FB Bomber and Rensen FRC. I've been playing an almost strictly offensive game lately though so that's just my personal playstyle right now.

? You can do it if you hit the opponent on the ground. Begin charging while you're in the air and do a dashing Rashousen and if you time it properly it will hit them on wakeup. I've done it plenty of times in matchplay when the opponent isn't airborne so I'm not sure what you're referring to. Another thing to note would be that comboing a 63214S mid-combo...if you start the combo with a throw, the opponent will tech if it's I believe 8 hits or under. However, if you start the combo with any normal hit you can get somewhere up to like 15 hits before they can tech the slide. I haven't messed with it too much but I'm sure for some combos it would be useful to end with Raieisageki into the unblockable.

Johnny Pros: +Overall high defensive ratings +Great corner pressure/corner mixups +Air to air/air to ground game is exceptional. +Decent reach +One of the best anti-airs in the game. +Assuming he has tension/coin landed, his comboability off of random hits is excellent. +Gains tension quickly +Throw has a decent variety of options and setups +Gained some fairly easy mid-screen knockdown combos. Unfortunately, many of these require 25% tension. Cons: -0 advantageous matchups -Gets killed by characters who run away/zone effectively and can't let them back off. -No real mid-screen pressure to speak of. -0 zoning capability -Pokes have slow startup, and generally have horrible recovery when whiffed. -No shoryu means the opponent doesn't need to fear much of anything from Johnny during pressure unless he has 50% tension. -Damage caps around 190-240 tops. Most characters in AC do comparable damage and many can far exceed what he's capable of now. -Requirements for his higher end damage don't match up to the damage they do. -More tension/coin dependant in AC. NEEDS Level 2 to do almost anything. -Tension/Coinless options are somewhat limited. -Tensionless/Coinless options non existant due to DB and Jackhound nerfs. -Mist(214P) nerfed badly. So slow that you generally need to FRC it or land an air throw to successfully do the unblockable. -Divine Blade(Air 236S) and Jackhound(214D) nerfed to all hell. Two of his main combo starting moves no longer work properly. -Since he NEEDS tension to be a threat in general, he can no longer toss out defensive manuevers without thinking because it's a big sacrafice. -Since his defensive options are so expensive and/or unsafe, there are many times where characters will essentially run all over Johnny and there is little he can do about it.

Hmm, list is too sloppy looking and not direct enough from what I see above, I'll have to make it more concise later...

I've begun serious work on the Combo guide, but it takes a lot of testing and whatnot so it's moving at a slower pace than I'd like. So take a gander at the combo topic if you have a minute and gimme some suggestions. Ignore the "builders tools" I left in there :p.

<3 Another thing maybe to add later is how SD after a dash following an MC...that being that a normal dash takes 10F to complete, with 11F of recovery where you can do anything like attack/blah blah etc. This would mean that for MC pressure and whatnot you get -10 to your SD technically so people know how safe dashing back in is. Also plan to eventually do the coin.

Ohhhh, gotcha. I never used Mr. Heart so I was confused.

? I don't think I read this properly or something. I'm not sure if what MFLV3P does is considered "vacuuming" or some other property, but plenty of moves in AC have vacuum properties including Johnny's MFLV3S, and Axl's long range stuff.

MFLv3(P) has a slight vacuum property thing. MFLV3(S) similarly has a vacuuming property on it.

Nah you can hit him. You just have to wait longer vs. Eddie and a few other characters. Similarly, if you want to aircombo some characters following the coin you should throw it as early as possible.

You were just doing it too early that's all, gotta wait real late on Eddie whereas someone like Anji you toss it like right away so you can aircombo him too~

I didn't assume you were a moron. Just that 3P CH isn't hit confirmable.

Erh just as an aside to that, if you want to test how hit confirmable it is: Just go to training mode and set Counterhit to "Random". Run up to, say, I-No and do 3P. If it's a CH, let the move retract and hit with 5K. If it's not, followup with 2H. Now, if it's so easy to spot on the run, you should be hitting this 75%+ of the time. Maybe I just really suck but I can't hit confirm that over about 3/10 or 5/10 times, tops. Certainly not like 9/10 or 10/10 where I would consider it a consistent, hit confirmable move. I'd even say some of those are just me doing a lucky guess and expecting one or the other to happen.

Just to note...3P CH->2H FRC doesn't work on: CH, ED, OS, SL, SO, VE. It's a good option select but you can't really continue to rushdown after a 2H FRC, especially if it's FDed. The pushback is enormous and they recover a little before/at the same time as you depending on if they FDed or not. You still get your long range options though. Wha? No...the window on it is small. You can't input anything while the move is retracting, only while it's extended. The option select is fine but hit confirming a 3P CH is difficult. The window you have to choose to let it retract and continue pressure into, say, a 2H is extremely small. Just go to training mode and test it out. If you're FISHING for 3P CH and just expecting it to hit and letting 3P retract then yes, it's easy to combo. But spotting it mid attack string is not, as the window for cancelling 3P is pretty small. On the other hand, if you do 3P->6H that's another option select that is comboable...not that that is exactly a good mixup to use but on the random times you do use it, it leads into massive damage if they ate a 3P CH.

Don't think I could have put it better than Kenmasters did. Only difference being that I use survival mode to quickly have access to randomly fighting random characters. Then if I have something that requires really strict timing I go to training mode to test it. But as far as improving my "on the fly" ability, I go to survival mode because I simply do not have access to fighting some characters(May, Bridget, random other ones).

I don't recall 3P CH being hit confirmable in any game before, I don't see why it would be now in AC? If you're expecting a CH that's all fine and dandy but on the fly on reaction? That'd be pretty tough even if you're extremely good. I don't think I've ever seen JP Axl's do 3P CH combos reliably.(in fact, if memory serves I don't ever recall seeing it in matchplay to be honest)

I dunno I'd have to see more Anji vs. Johnny matches to say anything because there are no really good Anji players in my area. I don't see why the matchup would be IN Johnny's favor though. If it is in his favor I don't think it's even 6-4.

I think the wakeup unblockable was brought up previously but I forget where. It does mildly better damage than the standard Rensen followup so I guess it's worth doing if your opponent can't DP through it or punish you for it somehow. It does about 10?ish points extra damage.

MSJH->Throw is pretty much 100% guaranteed. Even if they do wind up miraculously shaking it which I'm pretty sure is nearly impossible, I doubt they will be coordinated enough to pull off any defensive manuevers before you throw them. MSJH->5K is similarly difficult but not quite as guaranteed as throwing. I usually just go with the throw.

I baleted the older thread because most of it was Pre-AC speculation stuff, I saved all of the useful posts made by Wim and others etc so people don't need to look through 20 pages of speculation to find something

This will be updated at a later time. If you have a question relating to Johnny that is not answered in this FAQ, please ask in the General Question thread and if the question is common enough I will add it to the FAQ. This topic will remain closed, but I will include update dates in the title so you will know when new information is added. Welcome to the Johnny FAQ. Please take a look and see if you can't get your questions answered. CONTENTS 1. I don't understand notation. Help? 2. I don't understand YOUR notation. Help? 3. What does the Mist/Coin/____ move do? 4. What is FMSJH? 5. Does Johnny have any other bugs in AC? 6. What are the differences between Slash Johnny and AC Johnny? 7. What is FD/Wave/Fast Dashing? How do I do it? 8. I'm new to Guilty Gear and Johnny caught my attention! I'm thinking of picking him up. 1. I don't understand notation. Help? As far as general notation for Guilty Gear goes, please follow this link: http://www.dustloop.com/forums/showthread.php?t=372 and scroll down to "Notation Guide". That is a very general explanation. 2. I don't understand YOUR notation. Help? Here is a list of terms commonly used for Johnny, or terms I specifically use in my notation... General: Specials: Other: As far as my own notation goes, I kind of simplify air combos. For example: Throw->j.K->j.S->dj.S->j.H->j.D->Ensenga I generally simplfiy to Throw->j.KSSHDE. You can't do two air slashes in a row so it's just assumed that you know to jump cancel there. If you have anything you don't understand, please PM me! 3. What does the Mist/Coin/____ move do? Bacchus Sigh(214P), or more commonly known as "Misting", or the Mist, makes Johnny's Mist Finer unblockable if it is applied to the opponent. The Mist itself is considered an unblockable projectile(that causes no hit stun or damage or anything), and may be applied to downed opponents. Glitter is Gold(236H), or more commonly known as the Coin, powers up Johnny's Mist Finer by 1 level on hit, and it is also a staple tool of his for pressure or trading situations. You begin each round with 8 coins and they replenish between rounds. You cannot power up Mist Finer beyond level 3. Killer Joker(214S in midair), or just KJ, is used to extend combos and resets Johnny's jumping options. Return Jack(236D after performing any version of Jackhound) does decent damage to the opponent and powers up Johnny's Mist Finer by 1 level. This allows you to save coins or otherwise achieve level 2 if you've run out of coins. For any other moves you do not understand, please consult the stickied "Johnny Pokes/Specials Guide" for a detailed explanation of all of Johnny's pokes/specials/ODs. 4. What is FMSJH? FMSJH is a bug in the console release of AC. Normally Johnny needs to spend 25% tension to use his Forcebreak Jackhound(214D). On console, if you input 2146H from Mist Stance, a free version of Jackhound will come out. It's worth noting that there is no free version of MSDJH, nor a free version of normal JH. You must be in Mist Stance for this to work. There has been discussion of banning FMSJH, but most seem to be in favor of just allowing it at this point. We'll have to see if FMSJH presents any problems in the future. 5. Are there any other Johnny bugs in AC? All bugs regarding Johnny so far are console only. The following being a full list of what has been discovered so far: -FMSJH(236[P]/[K]/->2146H) is a console only input. -KJTKJ should be automatically jump installed upon use. On console, it is not. -In training mode, if you set Johnny's "Mist Finer" option to "Level 2 Fix", and use Return Jack at any point...it will permanently increase his MF Level to 3. 6. What are the differences between Slash Johnny and AC Johnny? COMPREHENSIVE CHANGE LIST FROM SLASH -> ACCENT CORE - CHANGES - * 5H: Active Frames 1F->2F. Recovery 34F->33F. 2nd active frame has an upward reach. * 6K: CH causes Wallstick(78F untechable, 30F Wallstick). Now special cancellable. Pushes opponent farther away on hit. * 2S: Now gatlings to 5H. * j.P: Hitbox extended behind Johnny. * j.K: Hitbox extended behind Johnny. * j.S: Hitbox extended behind Johnny. * 6H: GB- 6->9 * Mist Finer High(Level 2): Untechable time 70F->55F. FRC point added 19F->20F. * Mist Finer Mid(Level 2): No longer causes float. Causes 70F Blowback. Causes 40F Groundslide. 90% Proration. FRC Point added 19F->20F. * Mist Finer Low(Level 2): No longer causes float. No longer causes knockdown. Causes 42F Vacuum Effect on hit. 85% Proration. FRC point added 19F->20F. * Ensenga: Frame Advantage -27F->-25F(Could be a typo in the AC mook as no other stats on Ensenga have been changed so this doesn't make much sense?) * Bacchus Sigh: Recovery 42F->53F. FRC Point 41F->46F * Divine Blade Transport: Arc changed. Total Frames: 36F->37F. 5F landing recovery. * Divine Blade: No longer increases GB+ on block. GB- 6->12. No longer floats. Hit causes opponent to plummet. Untechable time shortened to 20F. * (Air)Divine Blade: No longer increases GB+ on block. GB- 6->12. No longer floats. Hit causes opponent to plummet. Untechable time shortened to 20F. * Jackhound: Changed to an FB. Costs 25% tension. Stagger 43F->47F. Air Untechable Time 39F->46F. GB- 12->8. May input Return Jack from 28F+ * Mist Stance Jackhound: Changed to an FB. Costs 25% tension. Stagger 45F->52F. Air Untechable Time 41F->51F. GB- 12->8. Proration 60%->70%. May input Return Jack from 21F+. * Mist Stance Dash Jackhound: Changed to an FB. Costs 25% tension. Stagger 53F->65F. GB- 12->8. Proration 60%->80%. May input Return Jack from 18F+. - NEW ATTACKS - * 3H: Johnny's old 2H from GGX returns. 2 Level 5 hits, high TG, high active frame count etc. Very good pressure move and can kind of double as anti-air or work for specific punishes. * Killer Joker Transport[421+S]: Johnny dives at an angle similar to Slash's Divine Blade Transport, possibly a slightly shallower arc. * Killer Joker[s during Killer Joker Transport]: Johnny does Killer Joker during KJT. Very useful for combos, jump baits, and even crossups * (Air)Killer Joker[214S in midair]: Johnny whips his sword out really quickly in the air. Causes vacuum effect and allows him to extend combos, very staple move. * Jackhound[214D]: Same ol' Jackhound, different properties! * Mist Stance Jackhound[214D during Mist Stance]: Same ol' Jackhound, different properties! * Mist Stance Dash Jackhound[214D during Mist Stance Dash]: Same ol' Jackhound, different properties! * Return Jack[236D after any version of Jackhound]: Increases Johnny's MF level by 1. Can be useful if you want to save coins and do some decent damage. Costs 25% additional tension from Jackhound. I believe that is a complete list of the changes. GB- being decreased is good, GB- being increased is bad. GB- notes how much the Guard meter goes down on a successful hit, so the less that number is the bigger damage you'll get in your combos. GB+ being decreased is bad, GB+ being increased is good. GB+ notes how much that move increases the opponent's Guard meter. Proration being a higher % is good. Proration being a lower % is bad. Proration affects how much damage a combo does if that move is the first hit of a combo. 7. What is FD/Wave/Speed/Fast Dashing? How do I do it? Most commonly known as FD Dashing, this causes Johnny to do several quick hops in succession and can be useful in a few situations. For more specific information on it's uses and drawbacks, please consult the Johnny Offensive/Defensive topic. Now as far as a quick answer on how to do it, simply hold PK, and input 64646464646 very rapidly. And the setup is most commonly 66[PK]46464646...you hold PK in the middle of your first dash. If you do this properly you should rapidly dash across the screen. The "Double FD Hop" is more useful but again it will be covered in the other topic. Note that mashing 646464 will work for it, but getting a specific rhythm will get far better and faster results. Back when I played pad in XX when this was first figured out, I remember it being VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE to accomplish. So if you are on pad and having trouble doing this it's not you, the motion is much easier on Arcade sticks. 8. I'm new to Guilty Gear and Johnny caught my attention! I'm thinking of picking him up. Great! Johnny is a wonderful character. That said, there are definitely a few things you should know before you pick him up seriously. Here's a brief summary of the PROS and CONS of Johnny. Hopefully this gives you a better idea of his character type. PROS: Good Range Can hit big damage from almost anywhere Great corner pressure Excellent Strike/Throw Game One of the best throws in the game Builds tension the fastest in the game Good Anti-Air skills Excellent Air-Air and Air-Ground skills Above average Defense ratings across the board Cons Low tier in AC Lacks pressure options from mid-screen Lacking a bit in defensive options/can be seriously bogged down in rushdown if he doesn't have 50% tension Awkward to learn Some pokes are horridly, horridly unsafe if whiffed Needs to land coins in AC to do his bigger damage most of the time Learning process is difficult and long Many matches are difficult for JO to play at range(VE, TE, ZA etc), Zoners give him some problems(FA), and quick characters tend to run all over him(MI, CH, JA). These matches aren't necessarily in his disadvantage but they are difficult to play and require patience. A lot of patience. Lots of character specific knowledge required to play well Uses lots of tension His "big" damage isn't so big anymore in AC If I could sum up Johnny briefly, I would say he is a relatively slow character for the GG cast, but he has some good poking skills and can combo any of his pokes if he has 25% tension, but his true deadliness is in the corner and/or up close. The main problem comes when characters outpoke him or play a good runaway/zoning game, he has a hard time working his way in and his range doesn't help him as much anymore. And although he's not necessarily bad on defense, the faster characters can run all over him and you need to be very patient and good on reaction to win against them.

I reeeally want to read this and respond but just as a quick note: Testament's 6P now clashes with Johnny's OD due to Testament's 6P having lots of upper-body invulnerability. So unless he does a 2K on wakeup you just kinda wasted your tension. Also, Johnny's 2D will beat Testament's 2H. I use it all the time. Just if you do it too early then his wins but 2D stays out for a really long time and is a low hit so it will win most of the time.