Skeletal Minion

@mAc & Seiki: You both make some very good points, I'll try to exercise more restraint. @Star: I agree that people need to chill (myself included). I'd also like to reiterate that I still think you're a cool guy and I don't hold any ill will towards you personally. That being said, That's a bold statement to make. I've mained Hakumen exclusively since day one CT. I have won an 8-2 matchup against Arakune in a major tourney match (FRXIII), I've eliminated Lord Knight from a major after he tried to counterpick me (FRXIII), and I have placed top 8 at every Final Round that has featured Blazblue (4th at FRXIII, 5th at FRXIV, 7th at FRXV). I don't consider myself a top player, but have been told by a few that I was the best American Hakumen until Spark came along (who I will readily admit is much more skilled than I am), including one time where LK told me personally that I "make JackG look free" (the former Hakumen mod before Spark). I have probably spent hundreds of hours in training mode; there are still some secrets I have never shared with anyone in various iterations of BB regarding Hakumen. I'm down to MM you if you want to find out for yourself. FT10 for $100 at Final Round? Perhaps $200? It's a shame we couldn't play at Milln's last weekend.

Okay, now I'm going to be a jerk because I'm tired of seeing stupid passive-aggressive shit like this. It's about as "comboable" as Enma > falling j.C > 5C > 5C > whatever. Does it work? Yes. Is it practical? No, because the timing/possibility if performing the combo makes it far too unreliable. Next time I'm explaining something I'll be sure to include a disclaimer stating "NOTE: SAID STATEMENTS DO NOT APPLY TO RARE UNSTABLE SITUATIONAL SCENARIOS THAT WORK ONLY A FRACTION OF THE TIME AND ARE NOT WORTH DOING TO BEGIN WITH." And you posting a weak attempt to correct my quoted post despite me obviously knowing more about Hakumen than you, mentioning that "it's not even optimal", and sarcastically replying with "So it is comboable?" was "just for fun?" K. I still think you're a pretty cool dude Star, but I really wonder why I should bother taking the time to make in-depth strategic posts explaining things such as Hakumen's mixup or game mechanics when people are so ready to disrespect it. But the last few pages of this topic has me wondering why I should attempt to share any knowledge regarding FGs at all when instead of people using it to their advantage to level up as a player, they get rubbed the wrong way because whatever game they like is a casualty of the conversation. That's ridiculous to me--if someone wanted to point out a poorly designed aspect of BB, GG, or any other FG I play, I would engage them in conversation to see how I can put that knowledge to my advantage in matches since that's where it matters, not get butthurt because someone told me "that game you like sucks" (and God knows, we're ALL experienced enough in fighters to realize that other people saying that about anyone's games they like is an inevitability of the genre). It's like high end discussion of FGs is taboo if people's feelings get stepped on. It's so ridiculous in fact, that I really am done with this mess now. If some people want to stay blissfully ignorant, have at it. I'm sorry for trying to engage in an adult debate where the things everyone likes are not automatically amazing and praiseworthy. I thought that type of coddling ended back in middle school.

That's cute, but I already knew about it. Did they mention how that's character specific since different chars slide slightly different distances? Did they mention how it is NON-counterhit specific, as in it will not work on CH against most chars since CH Taubaki makes them slide slightly farther? Did they mention how you have to be literally right next to them for it to work, otherwise they slide too far? Did they mention you can also do Tsubaki > hop > Gurren > etc or Tsubaki > Kishuu > Kishuu > Enma > etc? Did they mention how inefficient it is meter wise unless you are already close to the corner (i.e., not midscreen)? I realize you're trying to call me out, but I assure you, I'm more than familiar with Hakumen's options. I was referring to practical combos, not unstable style-mode stuff. Try again.

Wow, lots or responses. I'll address a few tonight and the rest maybe tomorrow or when I have more time. First, I do NOT intend any pretentiousness in that last (or any) post. I already cleared this up with Eshi when I got home from work, but to reiterate, what I was saying with that last bit wasn't that "your experience must be this tall to ride the opinion coaster," but that amassing more experience definitely has the capability to change a person's viewpoint. How you look at things now might end up being completely different in retrospect. IMO, I feel P4A has a good chance of being viewed in hindsight similarly to how BBCT is now: people thought it was cool/okay at the time, but now many FG players can't believe they ever thought a game like stuff with curse on block, etc. was ever acceptable for tournament play. This even happened with me and 3S: a decade ago when I played it, I made the thought it was the ideal fighter, since parry could theoretically make every matchup 5-5. People who had been playing FGs longer than I had pointed out how it didn't exactly work that way, but my inexperience lead me to defend that flawed logic. Were their opinions more valid because they were "better than me?" No, but because they had amassed enough experience to not fall prey to that fallacious thinking; to realize how theory fighter doesn't always translate into reality, just as claiming "Well just bait B+Ds" is moot when that being a possibility doesn't alter the fact that the risk is still placed on the aggressor, which is poor FG design. The bigger picture must be looked at here. That being said, I'm not trying to be condescending when I make such analyses. Those who know me know my recent posts here are A LOT less colorful than when I'm legitimately arguing with someone being stupid, and that's because I don't think anyone here is stupid--I respect you guys, and if I didn't, I wouldn't be engaging in such stimulating debate regarding the finer nuances of fighting game design. Even the reason for that, for respecting your opinions enough to hear them out and put effort into formulating reasoned replies, regardless of if my own opinions differ... If nothing else I think that shows that I care about what you all have to say. I don't think anyone here is being retarded, lol. We're all just having a discussion, and general meta/gameplay/balance/whatever discussion is always good IMO. So I suppose I'll stay involved for a bit. Regarding Hakumen's mixup being strong or even good: no. His mixup is 2nd worst in the game behind Tager. This is for a few reasons: - He is required to spend meter to perform overheads outside of 6B, which is currently uncomboable and unsafe on IB. - His fuzzy guard is irrelevant since it's impossible to setup 99% of the time due to BB's ground roll system--they can always roll away or late tech. If you try to do it in any other situation (i.e., when they aren't knocked down), you are begging to eat an anti-air as Hakumen has no way to pin an opponent in place to set up an opportunity to force the into blocking a deep enough j.B. - Tsubaki is uncomboable outside of the corner. - Zantetsu is slow, telegraphed, and unsafe between hits against some stuff. Not to mention its proration is piss poor enough to make it a waste of meter even if you landed it--no matter what you follow it up with, it will not be optimal or even efficient. - He has no gatlings except for As or Bs into Drives, which works about as well for pressure as you'd expect. - He has no specialized methods of getting/staying in (canceling normals into dashes, Wind, big Ice Sword, Nirvana, etc) - He has hops instead of a run. Hops that essentially hold up a giant sign that says "Please hit me into stupid face" unless you make them respect Hotaru and have meter for it. His mixups are barely above Tager's, but that's not what makes him scary--it's his frame traps and throw game (which can condition people into getting hit by more rewarding stuff, namely Hotaru and Tsubaki). Hell, his high/low game from costs meter to merely attempt it. It has never been his strong suit. I reference Guilty a lot as evidence to back up my claims because it often contains examples of the very things I'm advocating, which is why I like it. There are other examples in other games, but GG is usually the first that comes to mind since it's what I'm actively playing and enjoying. I'll be sure to use some other games as evidence when making points going forward. Regarding Hakumen's counter being able to reactively catch overheads: that's no different than claiming "Oh, since overheads can be reacted to, you can just block them." It will happen sometimes, but is impossible to do every time. Not to mention attempting to counter an overhead is MUCH riskier than blocking it. A lot of people are stating, "Well it's the character you play, it's your fault for picking a shitty character." As someone who enjoys her character archetype (high risk power char), I shouldn't have to make that choice. Having to perform a workaround to poor game design by playing a character style I don't prefer or enjoy is not something anyone should feel obligated to do. I don't recall any notable Axl vs. Anji sets, but there's an amazing long set where Tsubu (best A.B.A.) breaks even or very close with FAB (best Potemkin). Potemkin is arguably A.B.A.'s worst matchup for several reasons (6-4), but Tsubu easily holds his own. It's a really exciting set if anyone here hasn't seen it, and the mind games are on a whole 'nother level. About every fighting game starting out shitty: Yep. This came up in my discussion with Chris earlier tonight. I had a harder time thinking of exceptions than examples. About everyone needing to be critical of what they play in order to better themselves at it: Yep. I've done long-winded breakdowns of Blazblue mechanics where I've torn them apart not because I think every game without those aspects is god tier, but because understanding the bad parts or parts I don't like helps me level up my game. Top players of any fighter understand their game completely, including the disagreeable bits, which inspires me to achieve the same goal they have. Plus, I really enjoy system mechanic talk, mainly breaking open or closely examining system mechanics to see how they tick, and why they do. Regarding the horro stuff: NP! Klein, I'll be sure to pass along any creepy stuff I come across, lol. Speaking of which, have you ever been here? It's a relic from the AOL days, but if you can get past the atrocious layout, there is a plethora of fascinating stuff in there. I remember this place being where I learned what the Jersey Devil actually was (as this was way before Wikipedia and old folklore wasn't exactly something you'd find on an Encarta disc, lol). http://theshadowlands.net/

I don't understand why people say "meh, matchup charts are meaningless." Yes, they are just data, but that's just it--they're data. They're reflective of the game, and ignoring them or not making/having them isn't going to make, say, Vanilla SF4 Sagat any less dumb. You can look at tier lists instead but they don't reflect relative strength as well and the same chars that are dumb as fuck on matchup charts are still going to be dumb as fuck in the top tier. I no longer play P4A seriously and have never considered myself a top player at that game, but this is exactly what I mean when I talk about experience mattering when judging balance. Example: back when I was recently showing someone the ropes on GG, they commented at one point that he thought bursts were total shit on that game. I explained that IMO it's the other way around; bursts in P4A are way too good. Comparison: GG Blue Bursts - Slowish speed, very punishable on block, vulnerable to air throws for entire duration, doesn't knock down (opponent can tech and airdash back in before landing) P4A Blue Bursts - Very fast, punishable but recovers instantly upon landing, cannot be thrown, guaranteed knockdown It's not elitism; with experience comes perspective. Newer players don't see the problem with having moves that are +80 on block. They don't realize just how insanely broken Yosuke's counter is. They look at being able to literally mash a reversal WHILE holding downback is just a system mechanic. They have not been playing fighting games long enough to know just how problematic these flaws in design are since they don't have experience in prior games to compare to. One thing I want to make clear: I'm not claiming to be the best at P4A or even good. But to make such observations, one doesn't have to be, just as movie critic doesn't have to have actually made a movie if he's seen enough examples of good and bad filmmaking to be able to distinguish. That, and I tend to be EXTREMELY observant of system mechanics--if you poke around on DL you'll probably find posts where I've dissected certain subsystems or came up with ideas for new ones just because I think the concepts and reasons behind them and their implementations are one of the more interesting aspects of FG design. I always will gladly explain or back up my arguments; I'm not some baseless Internet troll. For example, the problem with B+D: they can be mashed WHILE BLOCKING. For traditional dragon punches, there is a reason why they used 623 motions; because if you wanted to attempt a reversal out of pressure, you had to place a risk on yourself by ending your block. Games didn't have auto guard (where successive hits in a string/multihit move are automatically guarded if the first hit is), so if you took your joystick off 1 or 4 you were risking being opened up. In P4A, however, this type of risk is completely removed since B+Ds require no motion. You can hold downback and mash B+D until even a tiny gap appears and unless your opponent read your mash and completely stopped their offense to bait, you break out of pressure and get to start your own. "But wait, you just said you can bait their mash! That's fair!" Is it? Do you realize what happened here? The risk was placed on the AGGRESSOR, not the defender. The offensive player had to question on every gap in his string, "Will this be the one I need to bait? Do I stop here at the risk of throwing away my pressure for nothing?" Meanwhile, the defender held one joystick direction and hit two buttons at any point he thought the attacker was going to keep doing what he was supposed to be doing: attacking. Tiny oversights like this kill me because it could have been easily fixed by removing auto guard from the game and changing B+D to 6+B+D. (Before someone mentions, no, the attacker doesn't need to "tighten his strings." There is no infinite airtight pressure string in any half-decent fighter; otherwise the game would be broken as shit. See: Ivan Ooze fireball lockdown. Yes, I know there are a handful of exceptions in some anime games, but infinite pressure prevention being the reason why Guard Bonus exists makes that a moot point). Regarding "weaker characters" in Gear: respectfully, this is evidence that you do not know what you are talking about. Look up videos of BLEED or Satou (Johnny), Limekey (Anji), or Ruu (Bridget). They have won tournaments using the three worst characters in the game. There's a really amazing set where Ruu easily goes toe to toe with his good friend Shounen, by far the best Testament player (the second best character in the game and the only other S-tier besides Eddie). This simply does not happen in P4A. Labrys was so bad there was discussion at one time on jBBS about whether she is even worth playing competitively. Labrys has never won a tournament and never will. The most trumpeted set of a Labrys player is the recent one with Bobu vs. that Yu, and the reason why Bobu is hype isn't because he's destroying the Yu, it's because he's not getting completely shit on quite as badly as is expected of his character. The reason why counters are bad at high level play is because their risk/reward ratio becomes unfavorable against skilled players. Favorable outcomes for Hakumen's drives in CSE: - You break out of pressure and net ~2k and one magatama for your troubles. Unfavorable outcomes: - They hit you low when you countered high or vice versa and get a CH combo that nets anywhere from BnB damage (~3.5k) to big damage (~6k) depending on the opponent and their starter - They throw you at any point during the counter for a free combo into average damage - They bait it by doing nothing and CH your recovery with their best starter for huge damage (4k-8k depending on char) At lower levels it's not a huge deal since they will likely get hit by the counter or be unlikely to optimally punish if it whiffs, but at high level that shit can cost you an entire round. This is also why as a Hakumen main, Yosuke's counter seems extremely busted. Those drawbacks on his counter are minimized or non-existent: Catches highs, lows, throws, projectiles, unblockables, IKs LONG active catch frames Tiny recovery on whiff Microscopic recovery on activated whiff Removes all cancel options from an opponent upon catch--they can't OMC, can't chain into a normal or B+D that might help them bait it, can't special cancel into a reversal to make it whiff, can't super cancel, can't jump cancel, NOTHING. It is guaranteed if you are its range (huge hitbox extending from his leg) and activate it unless the thing you triggered it with leaves you entirely invincible through it's long, long active frames on catch. While the "trade-off" is that he can't get damage from it, he still gets to completely reverse the offensive momentum, which, considering how limited the options are for reading/punishing his counter and how it can more or less counter everything in the game, is way too good. Plus, he can mash it during a blockstring like all B+Ds, and with no high/low/throw guessing, the risk is nearly erased entirely. Actually I think that's why debates like this are existing: the risk/reward ratios in P4A are fucked. Like, bad. You've got +80 on block shit on one hand and moves with triple digit startup on the other. Properly understanding the concept of risk/reward is something that normally can take years to accomplish, and P4A is probably the worst teacher of that concept since its risk/reward is all over the place. I think I'm going to let this die for now in light of that revelation. To those who enjoy P4A, play P4A. Kick ass at it. I hope you do well. But remember this post a few years from now, when other fighters have come and gone and you have a strengthened grasp of the concepts mentioned here, and perhaps you will view P4A as I do.

I was addressing a few different things said by a few different people. Reading that P4A doesn't have 7-3s was drink-spitting enough for me to respond, but instead of saying "WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK, THAT'S RETARDED" or something equally vitriolic, I opted to back up the counterpoint with evidence (which is why the post turned into the Great Wall of Mayonaka; sorry for that). It just seems in the FGC in general lately there are some opinions and conclusions being thrown around that seem jumped to. Speaking only for myself, I believe one of those would be the idea of P4A being balanced or anywhere close. It's fun, sure--I even enjoy it although I think it's not up to snuff as a tourney worthy fighter, which is why I don't play it seriously anymore--but to me it is very clear that it's another BBCT. I really hope a new iteration gets made sooner than later since I think it will be very solid and I'll definitely try it, but I'm tired of seeing people defend it by making up stuff like saying "it's balanced/it has no 7-3s." I say "making stuff up" specifically referring to such exaggerated statements made in defensiveness, since if someone truly believes that (and isn't willingly turning a blind eye to it), again, they simply do not have the experience to make an informed opinion on high level balance. I have no doubt you and Ivy are two of the best (if not THE two best) American Chies and I respect that... But judging from ApologyMan, I might be one of the best Labryses, lol. (Kidding) Bleh, I hate typing posts like this; they feel so bland. Yet when I inject a little color into my reasoning, people get upset when I'm not intending for them to. I can't win

GGs and shouts to everyone at the tourney. Godlike matches in BB and GG, though I too wish I could have played the latter more. I was really proud of the first set Phil and I had I the tourney--it was IMO the best GG set I've played. Even though I lost, I was damn happy I put up that much of a fight. I wish I could have played harder in finals, but by then the crash from the Monster Import I drank had sufficiently scrambled my brain, lol. Very good games; I look forward to more. Also, I'd like to address a few things in this thread, but seeing as I've realized how my argumentative debate style doesn't translate that well (i.e., people think I'm actually trying to have an argument when I just see it as a simple conversation), I'm going to try a different approach by being more neutral and hopefully informative. The reason why a 7-3 in SF feels much harder than a 7-3 in GG is because of options, and by that I mean system mechanics. In SF your options are limited, meaning that even though your char can still theoretically win 3/10 matches against an equally skilled opponent, you have far less tools to do so. Think of it this way: if a character with good pressure in RTSD'ing you, your only real defensive option if their strings are tight is a reversal, focus, backdash, fast move/jab, or maybe throw. In GG, you have all those except focus PLUS instant block, faultless, 1F jump, and slashback. You have more options at your disposal in GG, but since both players have those options, they don't affect the matchup statistics in the vacuum of that game. This is also why P4A definitely has 7-3s and probably a couple 7.5-2.5s: system mechanics in P4A were not created equal. Guard cancels are simply not that good at high level play, and the gap between the best and worst reversals is vast--compare, say, Mitsuru's B+D to Labrys'. The former is almost a get out of jail free card unless completely called out and blocked, while the latter can be B+D'd/jumped/rolled through on reaction. In the specific matchup of Chie vs. Labrys, Chie has: - Better pokes - Better frame data (general safeness and advantage) - Better, easier, and more effective pressure (stagger 5A, when perfectly times, is unstoppable unless the Lab IBs and gets a throw in the one frame gap... But her throw range is poor enough that proper spacing on Chie's part can mitigate this) - Better average damage - Doesn't have to spend time/effort/meter/combo opportunities to build up her effectiveness (i.e., Axe Gauge) - Has infinitely better/easier/more effective oki that resets into itself - Better AOA (faster and airborne) - Better Persona normals (Ariadne's 2C is a combo piece, 5C is a big but slow poke, 5D/5DD is worthless outside of one gimmicky setup, j.D is a mediocre zoning tool, j.C is another combo piece) - MUCH better B+D (can use it to beat Lab's B+D on reaction... Lol) - Better defensive options in general (Meteors, 5A, B+D, etc) - Faster movement - Better/cheaper mixup (Labrys has to burn 50 on any real high/lows while Chie gets them guaranteed for free from oki) - Better air normals (Lab's j.B looks big and scary, but it's slow--20f startup. Chie can easily CH her air to air or just 2B). - Does not get inherently worse by getting hit, blocking, or over time Literally the only thing Labrys has over Chie is max damage, but that's max damage you won't see 99% of the time against a skilled Chie since you'll never get to Red Axe. If you even start getting close, Chie has several ways to neutralize it: Meteors, 5A pressure, and oki will all reset you from red to green or worse. Worst case scenario, you're both at neutral, Chie can stall Labrys long enough until her gauge fades over time or she lands a hit/blocked move and does one of the above. IMO it's 8-2. I've had 8-2s before with characters I play (CT Haku vs. Arakune), and the feel is identical: you have to play neigh perfectly as even a slight mistake will undo every last bit of progress you've inched towards and put you in a situation where you are in imminent danger of losing the round. This is not even possible the other way around in either 8-2, since Halumen landing a fat starter is meaningless until he's built some meter just as Labrys doing likewise is irrelevant until she has Red Axe. If Labrys lands a great starter--let's say a 5A or 2B as they're the most practical and best general use starters--she can't do squat and has to focus on building meter. Once she has 25%, then she can land another starter and go green to red instantly off many (but not all) hits. THEN she can finally attempt to steamroll her opponent. Compare that to Chie. If she touches you with most starters, you're eating a combo and waking up into the oki meat grinder. Congrats, you, the Lab player, are already in that "imminent danger" scenario of getting bodied. You have nothing to get her off you except Gears which you can't use until you're almost dead anyway, Bull which isn't invincible but has auto-guard and is far too risky to even use as a reversal nearly all the time, a guard cancel that's garbage, and her laughable B+D, which Chie can punish on reaction just for attempting. Did I mention all of those cost meter you likely don't have since Labrys eats meter like popcorn to fuel axe gauge building combos, vital SB attacks, and OMC pressure since her meterless pressure is so easily blocked and unsafe without it? Again, IMO, it is definitely a 7-3 if not a 7.5-2.5 or 8-2. Saying P4A has no 7-3s is something I don't see at all since that would be implying it's as balanced as GGAC, which actually doesn't have any 7-3s (worst is Eddie vs. Pot at 6.5-3.5), when that is clearly not the case. I mean this as flatly and inoffensively as possible: if someone thinks Chie vs. Labrys is NOT 7-3 or worse, they are not playing Chie to her fullest potential or they are letting the Labrys get away with far more than they should. The reason why I mean no offense with that statement is because 1) we're all friends here and I don't want that to be taken as an instigation and 2) I'm being real as fuck when I say the people making such claims about X game's matchups have not been playing fighters long enough to have the experience necessary to make such judgements. The inverse of the XBL messages I get after being rage quit on because Hakumen's counters are "cheap" is happening here. Where those rage mailers don't understand why counters are balanced (their risk/reward is actually skewed at a high enough level of play to make them only worth using very rarely against top players), newer players do not understand just how good/lopsided certain tools or matchups in some fighters are. Real talk.

Klein (and anyone wanting creepy stuff): I tried to find a link to that insane P. Diddy fan YouTube account, but it has since been deleted. Here's an article that talks about it though. http://www.cracked.com/article_18792_the-7-most-unintentionally-creepy-places-internet_p2.html Also, I already tweeted this link to Milln a while back, but here is a laundry list of good reads. I found almost every single one to be good/interesting. http://phocks.org/stumble/creepy/ An especially fascinating one to get you started: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unusual_deaths See you guys in a few hours :bgrin:

>Plays Mitsuru >Claiming ANY character in Guilty Gear is auto-pilot/brain dead For real bro? Talent is nothing more than a buzzword thrown around when someone becomes proficiently skilled at something quickly. It just dictates how much work and dedication you'll have to put in, not whether it's possible to reach the end result (i.e., being highly skilled). If anyone grinds hard enough at any skill, they'll be able to accomplish it. Whether it takes 5 minutes or 5 years is the difference of "talent."

You could probably math it out by looking at their levels, recovery time, etc. Or maybe someone has a high FPS camera and would be willing to frame count?

Is the frame data on the wiki for Tsubaki and Hotaru incorrect?

^Macintosh Chaos? I only have a minute so here's the super abbreviated guide: 1. Download, install, and run Microsoft Security Essentials, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, and Spybot Search & Destroy with latest updates/definitions. MSE is free and the best AV available, period. MBAM costs money, but they offer a free 30 day trial (or you can strap on your eyepatch and peg leg). Spybot is free and amazing, and it's good to run after MBAM since it can pick up things MBAM missed (and vice versa). 2. If the virus is not removed, reboot in safe mode and repeat step 1. 3. If that doesn't work, Google the specific virus you're having trouble with + "removal." Follow instructions and keep an eye out for specific removal tools, which are sometimes available for especially nasty viruses or ones standard AVs have trouble getting rid of. 4. If that doesn't work, perform a "dirty install" of Windows. It's similar to a reformat, but it only reinstalls the OS, so you keep your other files. 5. If that doesn't work, reformat as a last resort. This is essentially a tactical nuke and WILL work unless you have a hardware problem. Good luck.

To be fair, Yukikaze has been buffed several times because it started off as a really shit move. CT: Only counters high and mid, superflash gives it away and opponents time to RC, 6D's cost/benefit ratio is better. Sucks against projectiles since they can always jump to evade (or Haku gets CH if its a foot projectile, lol). CS1: Same as above, now counters lows. Cost/benefit is MUCH worse since you can get ~4K from 6D for only two stars without the drawback of the superflash heads up. Sucks against projectiles for reason above CS2: No flash until after catch, counters high and low, still too expensive overall considering you needed every star you could get in CS2 and gambling four of them was a pretty big risk. Sucks against projectiles for reason above CSE: Finally kinda worth it sometimes, but STILL crappy for countering projectiles--if you're up close, 6D is still going to be better against proj. since it's guaranteed to hit Buffing Yuki is more than fair since they destroyed 6D. Now you're forced to use it in those situations--not because it's better (outside of very slightly faster startup), but because 6D is now literally unusable in such scenarios. Buffing Yukikaze is merely a consolation prize.

Yeah, I don't think that will work. Even if you could special cancel upon landing, Gurren is way too slow--Haku barely has time to link a 5A after j.D. If you were already in OD, I'm assuming you could Tsubaki/Hotaru cancel it though. A good question this brings up: does OD activation completely pause the game until it's over? Like if you land a hit that puts you at, say, +10 and activate, are you still at +10 when the OD flash is over? If so, I can see j.D > land > OD > 5A > stuff working.

Escaping blue beat combos is a lot easier than it is for your opponent to bait it/tech trap you. Hold a button when the combo starts and the direction you'd like to tech in. In BB, you can tech forward, backward, or neutral (if you don't hold a direction). One important thing to note is that you can tech slightly earlier if you fwd/back tech, but both of those cause your character to "pop up" and stay airborne longer, meaning it can potentially be easier to reset you. tl;dr: If you're holding a button and direction and he's still blue beating you or tech trapping you, try teching in a different direction. Yukikaze is easy to avoid when you aren't frozen. If you're in the middle of something when the super flash occurs, you can usually still avoid it by recovering for whatever you did, then super jumping. It might seem tricky at first, but you should be able to get it down after practicing it for even a few minutes. Keep it up man, you'll get the hang of it. Practice makes perfect, etc.

^^^ 1. If he's hitting you with blue beat combos, that means you could have teched. Look under the combo counter. When a combo blue beats, a little "no" symbol (circle with a slash through it, like on a no smoking sign) and a number will appear. That number is the hit you could have teched on. In BBCP you can simply hold a button to tech ASAP, in earlier iterations you have to press it on a frame you can tech (i.e., right before their next attack hits you). 2. Hakumen's counter super, Yukikaze, can activate on projectiles, but you'll still be able to move around since it only freezes you in hitstop if it catches a physical attack. If Hakumen is countering your projectiles, double jump out of the way and let him waste his meter. 3. Mu's j.C can definitely beat Hakumen's j.C cleanly. It has the range and is fast enough. If his j.C is beating yours, you're aren't throwing it out quickly enough.

GGs and shouts to everyone who attended KiT/Milln's house I just landed a pretty badass job a couple days ago, where I'm off every weekend and make pretty decent money, so hopefully I'll be able to get to more tourneys and see y'all more often :D

Edit: Nevermind.

Holy hell we are fucking scrubs. Lol

This is what I meant, glancing over the notation just now I think I made a typo, lol. And I thought 6A lost its wall bounce? Did we ever get a chance to play, Blade? We need to get a set or two in when I get XBL Gold back (should be very soon since I'm starting a badass job in a week. Very excite). SansProtocol and mAc, that goes for y'all too (and anyone else who has XBL).

A couple quick answers: - The BnB (first half) > 5C > Gurren > IAD j.B > j.A > 2C > j.B > j.2A > etc combo might be character specific, some chars aren't high enough after the Gurren wall bounce IIRC. - I don't use falling j.2C > 5C > (5C or 2C) after Enma; I do it after Hotaru in the corner. Not sure it works from Enma unless the Enma was used in the middle of an FC combo, but even then it would probably be pretty tough to consistently time and not really worth it considering Enma's crappy proration almost guarantees whatever you follow it up with will have its damage butchered. After landing a raw hit Enma in the corner, I just go for a quick and simple falling j.2C > 2C > j.2A > IAD j.2A > 2C > j.2A > j.2A > IAD j.2A > j.C > 5C (> 3C) for this very reason, since I don't really care about damage after an Enma and want something to drag out my autogain. That being said, something more optimal probably exists. Perhaps I'll play around with it tomorrow...

Fresh from ArcSys' FB: http://contentssync-arcsystemworks.ambel.info/index.cgi?eid=868

The best.

Thanks, I'll update OP when I'm back at my comp.

I think going for less optimal combos that are "burst safe" is a waste IMO. If they don't burst, you're just cheating yourself. If they do, you can take satisfaction in that you forced them to waste their burst (or OD, making their offense far less threatening), meaning the next time you touch them, you get to eat. Best thing to do IMO is the normal optimal combo while option selecting potential bursts when possible. Also, does anyone know if the changes to defensive bursts have made it possible to counter bursts with any Zanshin other than 2D? Having a unique way to punish bursts was one of my favorite aspects of Hakumen in past BBs and I'd love to see it come back.