crimsonstardust

Block strings that are useful for match -Max range (or near max range) 5B > 236C is something Ragna can't punish even on instant block. -Normal mode 6C > 236A can get ID in between so be careful when using this string. If Ragna tries to do 5B > 5C to BS during a block string, it possible to land 6A (can clash, depends on when you time 6A) and 623C, watch the spacing cause BS can cross up when Ragna is up close, at max (or near max) range it won't cross up.

Yeah I've been hearing a similar problem with a friend of mine that's using the same input for DP, I don't run into this issue cause I do 623 for my DP inputs. I've heard others have similar issues so your not alone with the whole 6236 thing, it seems to happen when there is a 236 input that can be done and that overlaps with some characters.

Sounds like a good idea, though I'm usually busy with other things so I can't get on Skype to often, but here it is anyway, aznswordmaster1. I usually prefer posting in the forums cause I can comment/ask/answer things whenever I can.

Well her general neutral game is use sonic sabres a lot to zone and really know the spacing on moves like 5B and 6C (both versions) and picking your spots to air sonic sabre for either mode. I don't play online to much but it really annoys people when I just sit there and try to lame people out with a basic fireball and anti air gameplan, once you have enough stars (or you see the chance) is when you kinda go ham with GA mode. The reason why I say kinda is its really easy to get anti aired if you GA dash brainlessly with j.C and such, you really have to pick your moments to go in or set up the chance to start applying pressure, it gets harder once people figure out to block high more then low when she comes at you with a GA dash, that's when you have to really train them to block those GA dash jCs and start mixing in empty GA Dash to lows or do tick throw set ups. Part of the reason why I say to know the spacing for 5B and both 6Cs is you can whiff punish with them or use them as pressure tools mid screen. Max range (or near max range) 5B into 236C is really hard to punish with a lot of characters, and 6C in normal mode had some nice range to it and you can keep it safe with sonic sabre or a stance cancel, not to mention it grants you a fatal counter if you can confirm that and use crush trigger to keep it going. 6C in GA is +1 on block and is generally safe to use and makes a great whiff punish. So bottom line, be patient cause you already are at a slight disadvantage against most characters once the round starts, her neutral game is not the best but its still possible to play a strong neutral game with zoning and careful spacing.

Ok still having problems with it but I'm getting there, I figured other people are gonna have trouble with jBAC also, took awhile to record but I thought a reference video could be helpful to anyone trying to do it too, sorry for the low quality. ^^; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPpDk8_j27A

Ok for the life of me, I can not do the j.BAC loop, is this done off of a super jump of a regular jump? I've tried both but I haven't gotten much luck with it. Cause I've tried delaying jB and they tech out, tried delaying jA and jC but they tech out before jC or I'm still to high in the air to hit 5A, anyone tips on this and whose a good character to start practicing on?

I had a friend I play locally mention I should try that, some combos I think its possible when going for the third rep of it but I have a harder time getting the third rep cause the hit stun is so low at that point, yea its a pretty dirty set up cause they have to listen for the throw or see the combo counter go blue or something, though I dunno how well it would fair as a reset. I personally don't like doing it unless I need the damage to clean the round or need to get a life lead, takes to many stars up.

I'm having trouble with this match, anyone got any advise?

Well I dunno about the vacuum effect your talking about (if I had some specifics I can try it out and see what you mean) but I know that you can't just use it raw cause yea you will be punished for it. You can use it in combos cause it uses 1 star instead or use it after either version of sonic sabre (you probably will have to watch your spacing if your gonna do this) or if you feel tricky use it during the GA dash and mess with their blocking. If your opponent is looking for it then you probably will need to back off with it or reevaluate why your getting punished, its not something you can just throw out you have to look for moments with it or just not use it brainlessly cause its not a free get in.

Ok now I got it now, thanks guys.

Alright I need some pointers landing 5A 5C after a strike fall, I know the heights I try them at works cause I sometimes get it to work when I mash 5A. EDIT: I made a mistake earlier when I was talking about 5B->236C, Ragna can't punish this at Izayoi's 5B's max range even with an instant block on 236C, sorry about that guys.

Personally I found doing Air Sonic Sabre to be great in the neutral in general, the angle of it makes it harder for characters with a stronger ground game to make the approach, helps if your opponent likes to try and jump at you to. I had a few occasions someone crossed under me during air sonic sabre but if you are aware of this you can drop down with a normal if they don't respect that and don't use anti airs. One of the guys I play with locally finds it very annoying that I play an annoying fireball game with the Sonic sabres, honestly if that's what it takes to get that win, do it, a lot of players that aren't patient will try to jump at you so 623B is great for that cause it has just enough invisibility on it so you can smack them in the air. I haven't played against a Ragna yet but being a Ragna main also here's my 2cents on it (I haven't played online yet ^^; ). Having a few tools to get around fireballs and such, your 623B needs to be pretty spot on. I know some people mentioned 6C -> 236A (sonic sabre) is a good block string but it has some risks to it, if 6C get's instant blocked that gives a lot of room for a invincible reversal, even if its not instant blocked its still possible to mash a invincible reversal in between the 2 attacks cause its not a true block string (I tested this just to know my options), it'll work great against people that don't have a good one though. I would try to stay full screen unless your ready to go ham on him, Ragna can't do to much full screen, and most Ragna players will fish for hits with 5B so try to stay out of the midscreen range or that range in general, cause you might be able to whiff punish it with 6C (both versions). I haven't tested 5B -> 236C max range on everyone yet but I know Ragna can punish it just cause 5B is a stupidly good normal and fast if I might add, I know some characters have similar ranges but I'm not 100% sure on this but I think Azrael can't punish it if its at 5B's max range (have to test it again cause I was tired when I was in the lab with it) and like I said still have to test it with everyone. You might be able to sneak in a few frame trap variations on it to keep them a little honest, you can sneak in a 214C once in a bit but its very punishable by Ragna. During gain art, like what Dark Ranger said, basically those same neutral game tactics work well and if you get a 623B during this mode don't be afraid to burn some stars for 214D to get some extra damage in, that sends the message that you will cash your damage in, also during gain art during the upward dashes you can cancel them to air dashes or jump so that adds extra mobility options. I suggest not to do raw 214D teleports cause they can be punished if your opponent knows it coming and mashes 2A or something similar, basically bottom line with the teleport is use it sparingly raw cause you will find the chances to punish something with it. I also suggest if your gonna use Phorizer as a revesral to try and be in gain art, mostly cause if you get a counter hit with it you can follow up with it and get some good damage in.

4D isn't that good of a reversal but makes a pretty good anti air if spaced right. It's pretty tough for Noel to get out of pressure situations, I personally don't like fighting litchi no matter what character I play cause she has such a strong pressure game, one way to deal with it is to be familiar with litchi's normals and gatlings and specials, helps you see things from their perspective a little and helps with blocking. As for Noel tips, I would get familiar with how her drives work and know the spacing on her optic barrels also. Also good to know the spacing for moves like 6A cause its a good anti air. A mistake with new Noel players is they get drive happy and go nuts with it, try not to do that cause it is possible to poke her out of some of her drive strings and there are other ways to net good damage. I'm not an expert on the character but these are just some general things I would suggest.

I went in the lab to try it out myself, it's a little weird, but timing wise not to bad once I realized a few things. So make sure your dashing the moment 22C connects cause it's easy to delay the dash without realizing it, what helped me connect 5B right after it was pressing it as the dash is about to end.

Yeah I found that kinda interesting that she had that in her taunt. I'm a little confused with when you even should use 6A, I think out of the normals I have used so far, this is probably the only one I haven't used cause I don't get when you might want to use it, I know it has guard point but my mind is drawing blanks for what it can be used for.

I've been playing this match with a local player in my scene quite a bit, I feel like the match is pretty even, but take what I say with a grain of salt cause I'm still learning Izayoi. Pros -623B pretty helpful in this match cause Amane likes to be in the air a lot usually just in that range. -214D at the right times when he's trying to hit you with the scarf will net some nice punishes if you make the read -Amane needs 50 meter for a reliable reversal/wakeup Cons -Gotta be careful with moving around in GA, Amane's normals are pretty good at covering the spots during the forward dash. -need 50 meter for reliable reversal makes it hard to get him off you -Phorizer gets beaten by Seijyuu Rensoukyaku (the bionic arm like move) -Basically better normals The match I think is pretty even, sonic sabre keeps Amane a little honest with his normals, I find this match the neutral game isn't to bad just need to be barrier blocking quite a bit cause I find myself jumping around to avoid getting hit by normals and trying not to give the chance for Amane to drill, cause those moves do some nasty chip damage. Because of the way Amane C normals work, trying to stay just close enough so the knots on the scarf attacks don't connect lead to being able to get your momentum going. Much like Izayoi, his best reversal comes from having 50 meter so keep an eye on that. As mentioned in Pros, 623B hits that angle that Amane likes to be when hitting you with his scarf. Amane has some air unblockable tech traps so be ready to barrier block a lot if your in the air teching. Amane only has one overhead, jA so most of his gameplan revolves around keeping constant pressure on you with all his normals. Choujyuu Rengeki: Raibu (the move looks like he's kinda dancing at you) is normally pretty safe on block but if you at least instant block the last hit its a free punish cause he doesn't get pushed back the same way he normally would on a normal block, in normal mode doing 5B > 5C > 236B~214A 2B > 5C will not work, Amane is a little to far for the second 5C to connect, GA mode a similar story, use 5B > 236C instead, 5C will not connect. For this particular match I also recommend setting up for GA mode cause it really sucks to get snatched by Amane's hand snatch move, it catches anything air borne (backdash included). The best spot to be in this match is somewhere between midscreen and up close cause some of his C normals whiff at that range, but be careful for his D normals and keep an eye on the drill level. Using jA to tag him in the air helps a lot too. If you do find yourself getting drilled by level 3 drill, instant barrier as much of it as you can cause that will minimize the amount of damage it will do to the barrier gauge by pushing him out. There are some ranges where you can challenge his stance to drill chip set up with either Justice Phorizer or trade with GA 3C, if he's up close I suggest the 3C one. Don't carelessly through out Justice Phorizer in this match either, he can go through it with his super and punish you for doing it without thought. I'm still learning this match so feel free to point out if something doesn't sound right. EDIT: Removed the portion that mentioned 214D on wake up could avoid chip set ups with Amane's stance into drill and top, doesn't work unless Amane's spacing is off. EDIT2: added some more info about this match.

Yeah that combo. I guess I'm gonna have to pay attention to my spacing and get used to her normals ranges.

Normal mode 5B/2B > 5C > 236B~214A > 2A > 5B > 623B~214B > 623B This will get you 6 stars, if you use 5A or 2A starter I don't you can get the second 623B I haven't been able to land that off a 2A starter. Gain art 5B > 5C > 236C~6D~214B > 5B > 5C > JC > JC > 236C~D or 236C~214D> JC > JC > 236C~214D > JC > JC >236C~D I can't remember how many stars either version take but these are the mid screens I use, though for this one I notice 5C whifs sometimes after a GA dash JC I haven't found away around it yet.

Is anyone else whiffing GA 5C every so often during a combo? I seem to have this happen a lot when I try to confirm off GA jC (during the dash) or when I start my combos with 2A. Any suggestions? Cause the only thing I can think of is not to use 5C in the combo and just do 236C off of 5B cause it has decent range.

Glad to know I'm not alone in having troubles adjusting, I had a session last night and couldn't convert my hits correctly ^^; I just don't get why they couldn't make chamber shot on A instead of C, oh well guess I gotta play/hit the training room more till it starts to feel normal.

Any tips on adjusting to the new optic barrel and chamber shot placement? Whenever I play matches I keep forgetting the new placements and it throws me off a lot.

I was actually in that room earlier with my crappy Ragna, I didn't know the connection was from the East coast. d:

Can someone explain to me why some players like to use 6D in there block strings?

Well I brought up the round robin idea sometime back with my scene and I think some people like the idea. I haven't heard from some yet cause not everyone I know is back yet. I appreciate the input guys.

Alright I'll give it a spin and see how it works out, better gather up all those pennies I have. d: