Orrax

Official news on the NA +R patch: sometime before the end of 2013. /facepalm

Just making note of some things as I watch. I'm not trying to nitpick or anything, just pointing out what comes to mind: VS Eddie: One of the struggles with Eddie is that he can be really annoying with his pokes. But if your strings are tight enough, he shouldn't be able to get away with that, at least not as reliably. VV RC can also disabuse him of his poke shenanigans, as can cancelling moves like 2P or 2K into GF FRC -> block. You can also try FD braking just outside his poke range and see if you can take advantage of Eddie whiffing normals. I personally don't think it's worth going for crossup j.D or j.S FB SW. I saw you skip air dash mixup opportunities that could have led to pressure if blocked to do a crossup that left you at a disadvantage when Coma blocked it. You are wasting tension with the j.S/D FB SW stuff imho. Less run up VV unless you're going for VV RC. I think you were afraid to let him get space, but sometimes that's better than rushing him down without an opening. Besides, it gives you space to look for a better rushdown opportunity. Careful about backdashing in the corner; Eddie has a lot of ways to punish that. VS Baiken: Again, the crossups are something I can't personally recommend. Baiken should be able to punish them on block with the P counter, iirc. The commentators are talking about patience, and I can't stress how important that is against Baiken. Don't get too frantic with your rushdown. Always be prepared to FD brake -- better to block and be put on the defensive than to eat a counter hit tatami because you decided to throw out a move at the wrong time. Nice use of 6P as AA when you had Baiken in the corner. I think you're making good use of WT against Baiken while not abusing it. Good use of 2D and WT punishes in the 3rd match. Completely unnecessary dead angle against Ouren, but I'm assuming that was a mistake. I find j.D to be almost completely useless as an air-to-ground against Baiken. It has more hit pause than Sol's other air normals and the recovery isn't instant, making it easy to counter. I usually stick to j.S, j.P, and at times even j.K. I try to stay away from j.H as air-to-ground as well because the two hits also make it easier to counter. That said, using j.H as a spacing tool like you were doing is much better (as long as you can keep away from tatamis). Don't throw out of the corner when you've got Baiken backed into it! All of Baiken's counters and her super are throw vulnerable, so throw is probably going to work and then you can combo. Plus you can OS it with 6H~K. VS Eddie again: I'm seeing some pretty unsafe dead angles against Eddie's pressure. I've seen you do lots of 2S whiff oki. I personally think that type of oki is ok once in a while, but not as a staple like you seem to be doing it. Hmm, it seems like every time you get pushed out, your immediate response is to try to get back in. It makes it obvious what you're going to do. Stalling a little and rethinking your approach is sometimes not a bad idea, particularly when it can force your opponent to predict when you're going to make your move. The saying "look before you leap" has some degree of applicability here. Then again, that can be pretty tricky against Eddie. I like how you're double jumping to get around Eddie's AA options, although it looks like your spacing is a little off or maybe the Eddie player is reading your movements. Super jumping and airdashing can also work to get around some of Eddie's AAs. Anyway, I hope that helped. I thought you played well, but the dropped combos really hurt your momentum.

GGs everyone! It was a lot of fun. Hopefully the air conditioning has started working again now that the strain on it has been reduced. Holy shit, I just opened #Reload and it is there. How the hell did no one notice this until now? I guess I had better work on getting my muscle memory back for playing without macros.

I plan on stopping by tonight as well. I haven't had a chance to play any fighting games since the tournament two weeks ago. Also, what do people think about banning macros in Guilty Gear +R? It looks like the current debate around the macro glitch is leaning towards banning them.

I play pad and I've gone back and forth between using a macro and not a couple of times, and I really don't think it's a hard transition. It involves learning some new muscle memory, but I don't think it's a big deal.

This is definitely not a stupid question; in fact, it is probably one of the most difficult aspects of playing Sol, and what separates the average Sol players from the good ones. You've got a few of the basics already (f.Slash, 2S, Gunflame, Bandit Revolver). It's really a question about creating space, fishing for counterhits, and, most importantly, creating opportunities to move in. You can create some space with j.P and backwards airdash j.H -- both are very safe, can catch some aggressive moves by your opponent, and can help create a pattern of movement. This creates expectations for certain actions from you in your opponent's mind, and you need to take advantage of this by breaking those expectations. Sol's best tool for getting in is GF FRC, often in conjunction with dashing in, jumping in, or even airdashing, often covered by some air normal (j.P and j.H, usually, but also j.S). j.H is a good jump in, and you can also airdash it and tag the opponent on the way down with j.P (and you can do this as a cross-up, too). Also, a great tool that has to be used very precisely is run in 5K. If the distance is appropriate and your opponent isn't sure what to expect next, or you've caught them in the recovery of some move, you can be on top of your opponent before they can react. If they're expecting it, though, it can be very high risk. Also, never forget you have VV. Run in VV may sound stupid, and it is, but that doesn't mean you should never utilize it. Also, if an opponent is being too respectful, or expecting run in VV, you can actually catch people sometimes with run in wild throw. Again, this is a stupid idea, and should be utilized rarely, but it can work on occasion. Bandit Bringer and Bandit Revolver can be used to go over moves, but neither is very reliable (Bandit Revolver is generally better -- a lot better). Bandit Revolver can also catch people jumping away as well as sometimes working at max range to get in. Additionally, fishing for counter hits sometimes is an integral part of the neutral game -- it's important to remind people that you have ways to punish pokes that aren't VV and lead to big damage. 6P has good priority and a strong counter hit, but it's slow and it's range isn't very good. 5H is probably the best move for getting counter hits, but it's also slow. 2D is fantastic in the right situation -- make sure to take advantage of its low profile. j.D has some situational uses at max range, and can work as an air-to-air (and an air-to-ground against Faust sometimes). GF FRC -> block is good for getting counterhits and is safe, but it burns tension. It's also very risky if not FRC'd, but can still have uses. And pretty much all of this is situational. As I mentioned earlier, I think learning when and when not to do all of these things is possibly the most difficult aspect of playing Sol. As such, I'd also really like to hear other people's opinions on the matter. Does anyone else have additional input, or agree/disagree with some or all of what I've said? Oki options: Safe meaties (my personal favorite): jump in j.S and j.H, usually. j.S takes some getting used to for hit confirms, while j.H (2) is easier, but both are great. If you time these right, they give good frame advantage and bait DPs. You can also do j.S or j.H and immediately input 6H+K. This is a three way option select: if the opponent blocks, you get j.S or j.H and frame advantage. If they back dashed, you get 5K and can punish (doesn't work on slow back dashes typically like Pot's). If they did a strike invulnerable but not throw invulnerable move (i.e. Baiken's overdrive), you get a throw. But if they did a DP, you will get caught by it. Oh well. GF is also a very good meaty. Try to get it to hit at the very end of its active frames for maximum frame advantage. You can also whiff an air normal (usually j.P) and then WT on landing. You want to make it look like the j.P will hit, so they block, and then you get the throw. Jump in 2K is a decent low, and you can mix it up with air dash j.S as a high and jump in FB Fafnir as throw bait. But for the 2K/j.S mixup to be really effective, you should do it after a Bandit Revolver knock down, otherwise you'll give your opponent too much time to act. Air dash j.PKD can catch a variety of things if timed right, from pokes to throws to jump attempts. Just doing 6P on wakeup, not as a true meaty but immediately after they wake up (so they have a frame or two to push a button) can fish for counterhits, but remember you can be DP'd. Run in 2P also gives frame advantage, but it's probably not the best option. Still, you can mix it up with Wild Throw, so it has its uses. There's more, but those are generally the most useful and most utilized oki options.

It can be useful for going over things, and can sometimes catch backdashes out of blockstun if used very infrequently. But it's not a good tool for getting back in and it's not an effective overhead. Basically, if you're expecting your opponent to block it, they're probably ready for it and you should think twice about doing it. It used to have some situational uses in combos but even that's been nerfed now. As for staying close to your opponent, staggering 5S 2S and max range 5H is a good tool to get people to keep blocking, and can even give you some opportunities to run in. Utilizing j.P to drag people back to the ground is also good, and even air dash j.H, or just j.H in general, can be useful for catching people jumping. Even Bandit Revolver is considerably better than Bandit Bringer (and it's also harder to punish, particularly if done at max range). GF FRC is obviously Sol's best tool for getting back in, but it does burn tension and knowing his other options is still a good idea. GF FRC combined with j.H is actually a really strong tool for getting back in; if you're ever watched Roi play, he makes strong use of this.

I think a few DoA5 matches were recorded, but it wasn't streamed as far as I know. I'm not sure who won DoA. I won GG with zombie Sol, H-F took second with zombie Ky, and Brian got 3rd with the Pot/Anji tag team. And GGs to everyone yesterday! It was a fun tourney. And GGs to Carlos afterward in Melty -- I am super free to Satsuki. Inescapable command grab overdrive is too strong.

Hope there's a good turnout at the UAT today, and good luck to everyone who enters! Also, I haven't been to UAT before and I notice there's no room listed on the event. Will I have trouble finding this thing once I get there?

Hmm, what's with these name changes? Axl Row, Riot Stamp... whatever. I guess Row sounds closer to Rose, so I guess it makes sense? I'm curious to see I-No gameplay changes; no Chemical Love FRC is a pretty huge loss for her play style. And might seriously compromise her standing as one of the hardest execution characters in a fighting game that isn't F:UC.

I plan on stopping by today, but I don't think I'll be staying very late.

Two reasons to change the name of the thread: 1. Mods keep almost deleting it, and at least one has implied he wants to delete it. 2. If it's constantly being mistaken for a spam-bot, it could make it difficult for new players to find it. That is, they'll glance here, assume it's been made by a spam-bot, and then think there is no Arizona thread. Simply putting "Arizona Thread" first might help, though. That could at least make it clear that it's our thread and not just something a spam bot made. Even if it's "Arizona Thread: Hot Male Hookup Dinner Dates." Or I guess we could keep suggesting new titles. I've got a few ideas, but they're pretty bad. I'll decide if I'm going to post them or not later.

That is a highly accurate pie chart. I kind of like how our thread isn't full of drama. I wouldn't want to risk bringing any of that drama here, even if it's with something as minor as a thread title. If we want an accurate title for what people have been doing these days, maybe we could do something like: "Arizona Thread: Killing Time with MTG and Melty" But it lacks puns. That may not be acceptable.

I think we are getting some none too subtle hints from mods that a name change might be in order again. I mean, the joke is funny, but I think it has mostly run its course now. Also, if we were to change the name again, maybe a title that lists "Arizona Thread" first? That might make it easier to find.

I think I will skip the Sun Splash event. GGs to everyone yesterday. F-Sion is fun, but so is H. I'm also considering trying C again, since I played her a little in MBAC way back when. Also did better with F-Aoko than I have in a while. I still suck at the game, but I think I'm starting to get a better handle on what I'm doing wrong. Besides struggling with the command interpreter, I mean.

Well, that sucks. What's the proper way to punish it now? I'm guessing VV works fine, but I'm wondering if there's anything better.

I plan on stopping by as well.

It's getting obvious that the wait is taking its toll. It'll probably be more productive to bug ArcSys rather than make new threads here at this point.

214K in Dragon Install, I believe.

We seem to be garnering some attention. All attention is good attention, right?? Hopefully someone (e.g. Tempered, or possibly Ruben?) will be hosting tomorrow. Plus I'm hoping to play Melty and +R (assuming Ryuuka shows up).

Well, I enjoyed it. Very nice! EDIT: Not sure what happened at 0:52 with Chipp.

Even if Venom is the worst character, I'd still say he's significantly better than Johnny or Bridget were in vanilla AC. But...they were also in D tier? I guess the separation between tiers is less. Bridget was pretty good in XX and #Reload.

If she's like she was in #R, all of her combos will still end in the corner even without ADC.

I believe that was for the Japanese PSN. It's unclear if US PSN will be updating this month or not (although I also hope we get it today).

That's right; I forgot about GF getting 1 frame slower. I believe it lost active frames as well. That should make it a bit harder on some characters.