ElegantShadow

Hello, Rachel forums! ^^ I've been using Rachel off and on for a while now, but I've never been able to quite grasp her fully, and with CP on the horizon, I'd like to at least have a good understanding of how to play her before then. So my questions are: In some combos, I've noticed that somehow you can get J.2C to hit at level 2-3, what I'm wondering is how this is done, and is it difficult to do? What are the best situations to use 6B and 6A defensively? How (I'm ashamed to ask this) do I zone using her flower buds? I, for the life of me, can't seem to figure it out. How do I preform her instant overhead? And would (I use a controller) putting my Drive on a shoulder-button instead of on X help with using her Wind correctly? (That's a strange question to ask, I know, I tend to do that when I use Carl and it actually works, so I'm wondering if the same would work for Rachel as well?). Do keep in mind that I have read many of the guides in these forums about how to use Rachel, but it's just not clicking for some strange reason. Any help will be MUCH appreciated. ^^

I can't help but wonder what the fighting scenes will look like? I mean, certain characters, Rachel, Nu, Arakune, and Litchi to some extent, have very complicated ways of fighting. I wonder what they'd look like in full, 3D animation?

I can agree with you that the story can, at times, be a tad... convoluted, but we don't really know much about what the anime will even be about as of yet. I feel that Prejudging something that has very sparse information at this time is a tad pointless. However, here's to hoping the anime won't be terrible.

Yes, I have. Though, there's a difference between the story in Tekken and Blazblue. I'm just saying that compared to other fighting games, Blazblue's story is at least good enough to make for an interesting watch. Will the anime be perfect? Most likely not. Will it be mind numbingly bad? Most certainly not.

Why does everyone assume that the anime is going to be bad? Honestly, if it follows the story correctly, chances are 'til, at the very least, be decent.

... I'll only be able to think of Ichigo when I play as him now, if this is true.

^My thoughts exactly. I'd honestly say that Nu has become even better at the things she already excels at, Zoning/Keep Away/Okizeme/Etc etc. It's just that now she'll have to work a bit harder to get the match in her favor.

Less hardcore? I was under the impression that Nu had become more complicated to use (And in all honesty, Lambda had gotten boring by CS:EX). Though, I do see what you're saying, Lambda was able to zone as well as play rush-down without need of a specific mode to do so, but you can't deny that she seems a bit more... interesting to play now. Well, the duration and amount of hits Sickle Storm, in Luna Forma, inflicts has been lessened by a considerable amount. I'm not saying her okizeme is useless now (On the contrary, I think it still gives the likes Rachel and Litchi a run for their money), I just feel that it's been nerfed a bit from CS. However, Gravity Seed Oki more than makes up for that.

The match up does seem very much the same-old-same-old. However, I do think it's more high risk/high reward for both characters now. Now that Hakumen's counter can be blocked, he has no really reliable tools against Nu's okizemes, also Nu, in Dia Forma, is likely the bane of his existence at full screen (Moreso than Lambda was), since she now has access to a nigh spammable Gravity Seed, and has overall safer options with zoning. On the other hand, Nu has very few defensive options outside of what the game's System allows, so once/if Hakumen gets in, Nu will have a hard to getting some breathing air. Moreover, with Hakumen's increased damage and meter gain, he'll only need about 2-4 good combos to do Nu in. From what I've heard, Luna Forma is the more risky form to use, I can't quite recall the reasons why, though. (So hopefully, someone else can answer that for you. XD)

So, how does everyone feel about the way Nu plays now? I mean honestly, she's had quite a few big changes to her play-style, one of which is her being able to change forms, so I'm just a bit curious as to what everyone thinks. Also, I'm curious to know if I'm the only one who feels that our Sickle Storm okizeme is now somewhat weaker when compared to its CS counterpart?

^ I second this idea.

No one has even mentioned Adult/Tsukuyomi Rachel and Awakened Order Jin.

. 2. Arakune's sanity is returned but is stuck in his current body because Hazama observed him as such. Downside: he is no longer going to be off his rocker anymore. And this is just the worst-case scenario. It is entirely possible they have them both saved somehow because Blazblue-verse doesn't exactly operate on strictly defined rules. You have a point there. Though, for some reason I just can't bring myself to even imagine Linhua replacing Litchi. It just seems far too... bleh. As for Arakune, I can actually see something like this happening. Though, how is it a "Downside" that he would no longer be insane? My dreams of Nu getting an alternate form where she swings Murakumo around Fiona style shall at last be realized!

I've yet to see anyone do it in CP as of yet, so I think it's safe to assume that it either doesn't work anymore, or it's obsolete now.

I know right. If Litchi can't be saved, 'twould be quite disappointing. Well, considering they did say "He's far beyond saving now" It's more than likely a coin flip at best. However, if by some chance Bang can save him as well, I doubt he'd still be playable, that is, unless he still had access to his various bugs, and such.

If I remember correctly, it's stated that she will eventually become something similar to Arakune. However, that technically does mean she will die, well, rather who she is will.

From what I've read, Bang's Nox Nyctores severs ties with The Boundary. Now who in the story has an unhealthy connection with The Boundary, big boobs, and a panda in her hair? In short, his Nox Nyctores may become important to the story, but it's more than likely just going to be used as a means for Bang to save Litchi from becoming like Arakune.

Why not give her a gun-blade while they're at it?

Personally, I think his alternate form would have some sort of teleport, and perhaps better long-ranged options. The problem with coming up with any credible idea of what his alternate form would play like is that not enough is known about what Ragna is capable of outside of stealing life. The same goes for BloodEdge, we have NO idea of what he's capable of because there's a very small amount of information on him at this point in time. Thank you for the new Sig. ^^

Honestly, Ragna having an alternate form is completely, one-hundred percent inevitable. The reason why, you ask? Ahem... Order Sol, anyone? In regards to how this alternate form would play... I haven't a clue. However, considering there are currently 3 or 4 character with alternate forms (I say "3 or 4" because Hakumen being Jin's alternate form may be a matter of opinion.) and the fact that they all play differently, I do think it's safe to assume that if/when Ragna gets one, it will play differently from him. "Azure Guardian Ragna"?... I want now!

Dear me! I just read the information about Kagura's Drive and... It makes ME (Someone who usually prefers zoners) want to at least try him out. It seems that he'll have quite a few options at his disposal (He actually reminds me a bit of Jin in that regard, both of them seemingly having a tool for every situation, I mean.) Though, considering Kagura's a Charge AND Stance Character, he may be a bit challenging to use.

Following that logic, wouldn't Azrael inevitably win considering he's clearly the bigger/more hard hitting truck?

True. Though, I'd argue that they still retain certain habits from playing Lambda, I.E being slightly more careful when and where they use Gravity Seed (Not that that's a bad thing.), setting up okizemes with the combination of 3C and Sickle Storm, and of course having vastly under powered zoning when compared to CT and CP. Actually, I'd say that's the main reason why some of Nu's tools are going unused by most, we now have so many options at long-range in Dia Forma, but we're treating her like we're still playing Lambda even though Luna Forma is the replacement for that playstyle, for the most part at least.

That's likely due to the fact that most players (Even the pros) are still learning Nu, since she's almost an entirely new character in the sense that her playstyle is now split between two forms. Also, from what I've seen and heard, Act Parcer isn't quite as good as it was in CT, however, I do agree with you that it should be used a bit more often, and that it's not being used to its full potential. I really have no idea as why no one is taking advantage of jump-cancel 5D (Which is a Godsend for Nu IMHO. XD), it might be due to it only being jump-cancelable on the first hit, or mayhaps it's just not that reliable. In regards to your comment on Dia Forma, I honestly think that it's because most of the people playing Nu right now are still used to using Lambda. I think we can all agree that Lambda was clearly more close-ranged than Nu ever was, so 'til take time before everyone gets the hang of her.

And you answered most of my stupid/obvious questions as well.