Umareru

Just sharing some minor tips: If you're going to use 5C (Caesar Slash), do it crouching. Comes out in the exact same number of frames, and much harder to block because people instinctively block low when looking at a crouching opponent. Also, if you are in the corner, 5C from a crouch is unblockable because Caesar slashes with an overhead from outside the screen while you're crouching there. On a blocked kill rush, don't boomerang hook into All-Out-Attack, do a duck first. This will fake out the players who expect a grab, and if they try to tech your grab they are going to be in for a nasty surprise instead. I've found the AAAAA combo with the multiple "crossups" (you can block them holding only one direction) to be very good for mixups because the opponent really feels the fear and they tend to be a bit more panicky watching you go back and forth.

That is dirty, will try it tonight. Thanks dude!

Agreed. There isn't a match where you won't have to earn your win. Be patient, get in there and kill them in 2-3 combos. Yeah, he keeps the glow from the ex duck when doing the boomerang hook. However, I think it could be a good idea to throw the meter into the EX hook anyway, because it gives you superarmor AND it gives a hell lot more damage. For comparison, you get 4.2k off a lvl 3 boomerang hook A, and 5.1k off the EX. If I had 150 meter to blow, that's probably where I'd do it, on an 8k combo off a superarmor crossup.

Anyone got any setups for 2AC or jump turnaround shenanigans? I want to incorporate them into my mixup but I'm not sure how. Anyway, loving the damage I'm getting off him. You know you got a powerhouse on your hands when you're doing 3.4k off 25 meter and thinking it's too little.

Sorry posted the below in the wrong thread, posting it where it belongs now. Guys found some tech, pretty scary. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBkGoIU0c-k At roughly 3:10, he does a crossup superarmor attack. He didn't even go for the optimal damage combo, which does 5k, or 7.5k if you add 100 tension. That is some nasty shit. Looking at it, keeping the cyclone gauge from his assault dive by cancelling into a weave, he then did the EX duck into EX boomerang hook, putting them in crumple for the next combo. Combo I would have done starting with the EX boomerang hook is: 4AB>6C>4B(hold)>4D>Double Upper>5B(1 hit)>JB>(land)5AA>2AB>Kill Rush A>6B(5.1kdmg)>(optional cyclone upper~5.9k)>(optional cyclone upper~7.5k) Limitations for this is of course you need your boomerang hook to be at lvl 3, doesn't even have to be the EX version to get the crumple. Unblockable B version won't net you this combo though, the combo will drop. Best you can do from the unblockable B is go into a kill rush into corkscrew > as many cyclone uppers as you can. 1 setup from kill rush(blocked): kill rush> boomerang hook > EX ducking > boomerang hook - this one is a crossup that cant be reacted to. easy almost 5k for 25% tension. Tack on 25% for the EX boomerang hook and you get super armor. Unfortunately, they can AC slide through this. Overall, nice setup that should really put a lot of fear in your opponents hearts once you put them in kill rush blockstun. 5k from a crossup costing only 25% tension? Yes please. If you guys have any other setups, do share!

Just realised I posted what I found in the wrong thread, so sorry. Will move it later on. Eugene: It does crossup, the opponent must be blocking.

Guys found some tech, pretty scary. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBkGoIU0c-k At roughly 3:10, he does a crossup superarmor attack. He didn't even go for the optimal damage combo, which does 5k, or 7.5k if you add 100 tension. That is some nasty shit. Looking at it, keeping the cyclone gauge from his assault dive by cancelling into a weave, he then did the EX duck into EX boomerang hook, putting them in crumple for the next combo. Combo I would have done starting with the EX boomerang hook is: 4AB>6C>4B(hold)>4D>Double Upper>5B>JB>(land)5AA>2AB>Kill Rush A>6B(5.1kdmg)>(optional cyclone upper~5.9k)>(optional cyclone upper~7.5k) Limitations for this is of course you need your boomerang hook to be at lvl 3, doesn't even have to be the EX version to get the crumple. Unblockable B version won't net you this combo though, the combo will drop. Best you can do from the unblockable B is go into a kill rush into corkscrew > as many cyclone uppers as you can. 1 setup from kill rush(blocked): kill rush> boomerang hook > EX ducking > boomerang hook - this one is a crossup that cant be reacted to. easy almost 5k for 25% tension. Tack on 25% for the EX boomerang hook and you get super armor. Unfortunately, they can AC slide through this. Overall, nice setup that should really put a lot of fear in your opponents hearts once you put them in kill rush blockstun. 5k from a crossup costing only 25% tension? Yes please. If you guys have any other setups, do share!

AK's playstyle is to get zoned by everybody, take it like a bitch, wait for your chance, then kill them in 2-3 combos. That stuff about paralysis and Caesar in the wiki is not really applicable, even if the opponent cant control their movement they still have vastly superior range options. I'm sure many of you have used the Caesar gravity pull only to get hit in the face anyway. You got to be very patient and make every hit count. Make them respect the fact that if they misuse their furious action, a 5B fatal counter combo will take a huge chunk off their hp for free.

On the topic of using all of the D moves, I saw a video where whenever the AK tech'd in the air, he would do the globe move and then dash forward or back. Basically makes it impossible for opponents to attack you as you are landing, or even go for an air grab. I think the key to using that move effectively lies in the fact that Caesar always spawns on the ground below you, and he is basically invincible. As such, against foes like Elizabeth, super jumping and placing the globe is really safe and quite an easy way to bring her into your range.

Nice tips Dacid, will try that stuff out. I'm having trouble with Kanji as well. One of the big problems is it's risky to jump to avoid a grab because the first 5 frames of your jump are unsafe, so if he does a normal you're going to eat it. You can't AC roll out either, grab beats that. Double upper is also risky because if he does the invulnerable version of his grab he'll go right through the double upper and grab you. Backdashing is also not very safe because the dropkick will catch that. It's a true RPS game with no universally safe option, save spending lots of tension or a burst. Also: Anyone have any good block strings and mixups? I'm trying to find a block string that will let me get a lvl 3 boomerang hook at the end.

I don't think AK is braindead at all, winning is definitely difficult when you can be zoned by literally every single character in the game. You gotta work hard to earn those wins! My friends who started out playing Yu and Labrys are doing really well for themselves because those characters are really easy to play in comparison. But I know long term my character will probably have an edge. DP can be nasty but let's not compare it to Yu's or Mitsuru's or Labrys'- it's inferior in every single way to theirs. I would say it's easily one of the lesser furious actions, down there with Elizabeth, Teddie and Yosuke. Don't get me wrong, none of those FAs are useless, they're just... not as good.

Yeah agree with most of what DaiAndOh says, except for the part of his DP being solid. The range is quite bad so if the enemy is using Labrys or Mitsuru you won't be able to hit them with it them unless they decide to get in real close. Don't get me wrong, it's still a DP, just not as accessible as some of the others. One of the other things I noticed with AK is he has ONE low. That's right, ONE. His sweep. His 2A hits mid which is pretty ridiculous and sad. His Oki game is also not as strong as Chie or Yu so you gotta play a solid yomi game to be effective with him.

Akihiko is pretty popular in Japan, I see quite a lot of match videos with him. He's also top tier. I got the game already and I've been playing for a bit, and I'm losing quite a lot. From what I can tell he has a high learning curve and he is very footsie dependent, but once you learn how to play him and get in, he's a monster. His damage is insane and getting 4k+ off a fatal counter air Caesar is simply ridiculous. He has a much higher learning curve than Yu or Labrys, but once you learn his shit your efforts will most definitely pay off.

For those who were asking, "Born" is Zappa's Overdrive with the centipedes, where he shouts "Umareru!" which means "I'm born!". He also shouts "Shijou saidai no akumu" sometimes when he does it, which means "History's worst nightmare". Zappa changes wise... I see loads of buffs for the sword, and overall everything looks more geared towards helping him get Raou more easily. I can certainly see Zappa sword corner combos ending in his overdrive, leading to a big number of orbs. Plus, combos with air edguy and darkness anthem should be nasty.

Zappa's overdrive being given the orb adding effect is a nice buff, but I think the game breaker will be aerial versions of the 214S and 236S. I'm imagining all kinds of crazy combo potential.

Cool! Thanks for the clarification!

Carl * Brio's knockback trajectory travels farther. + j2C knocks down. That's not what the first post says. Or is the first post mistaken?

A if used intelligently was really good. You could 3C and then vivace when they attempt to punish your slide. You could vivace A out of Hazama's 'Swinging the Chain' Overhead and then punish him after. For a character with the poorest ground mobility (barring Tager) and no real shoryuken, every little bit of invincibility is welcome. I'll miss A's invincibility frames I think Volante and Anima will play a huge role in closing the distance now, especially against characters like Lambda. Not sure how I feel about j2C knocking down, will have to see what combos that leads to. But I'm not digging throw > fermata doing a measly 1.7k. Or the overall damage nerfs.

Colors 4,5,9 or 10 are the best IMO. The green one looks like a leprechaun. Pink one I might play on Valentine's Day.

You can still do the clap loop (not the throw loop). I wouldn't say the damage goes up to 4 or 5k, though If you 3C them late into a combo (say, 6th hit), they can tech before you can launch them in the air. So if you cant do like, 9 hits in a sandwich loop and then slide them and continue a clap loop. Now you can finish the clap loop with a Volante that hits them as they are coming down. It forces them to tech in the air between you and Nirvana for more sandwiching. I wish I could say more, but the way people are playing at my local arcades makes it impossible for me to get any training done. They come real early and leave real late, out for blood the entire day. Lol.

It's easier to control the mixup from the ground. between the [2a,5a,5b,5b,6d] portion, i can randomly insert a 6C or j2C Allecan, because the 2a and 5a keep me close enough to do so. I can also do A version vivace to cross them up during 6D, whereas if i did it during the loop you mentioned i would have to do the B version, which isn't as fast and feels safer. The damage isn't horrible either if you start off a 6c, 2.7k (tager buster a version). I can sometimes perfect an enemy in under 80 seconds, so it's still good stuff. If i've got a confirmed combo, i'd go with your loop, if i'm trying to keep em blocking, i prefer 2a5a. We should really name these for easy reference. Those are some interesting thoughts for the litchi matchup kyle, i'll try em out. But all in all, i'd rather 5a didn't whiff at all. This fact combined with litchi being a tier monster makes her my worst matchup ATM.

About Volante: Yes, it is slow, has bad damage, is incredibly hard to combo off and has almost no blockstun. But it is a full screen projectile, like all of carl's other options, take it with a pinch of salt and use it with a little creativity. Another plus is that its big, dodging it requires a double jump or super jump. Its a great tool to set them up to be thrown. Miso is absolutely right, Nirvana can't get rid of clouds no more, but she can still straight out walk through his other cursing projectiles. In general the Carl vs Arakune matchup is a whole lot less pain, now you can approach arakune like you do against Zappa in GG, beat the crap out of him till he gets curse/raou, then turtle till its over. Zeero, if you had read my earlier post, you would know you CAN cross people up with Nee san's super. It is still hell to block if you are doing it right. Just be careful, because characters with momentary invincibility moves like shoryuken users, (jin, ragna, litchi) and invincible startup distortions (taokaka, bang, tager) can abuse said moves to attack you when you least expect it.

Nee-san's punch super also breaks a guard primer or two. I read somewhere it breaks two, but i haven't actually seen it myself because every time i start the punch super it breaks one, but by the end they ain't blocking I like firing Volante, then walking forward with Nee-san leading the charge. Very safe way to close the gap. Just beware sledge. Anyway, I was playing around with the sandwich loop yesterday against various characters and I would like to share some lessons I learnt. I found that when fighting tager, he can 360 you if he instant blocks in your sandwich pressure string, and he can even 720 you in the middle of nirvana's punch rush. What I did to counter him was pretty simple, once he started blocking in the [2a,5a,5b,5b 6D] loop i would jump straight up after 6D and do a jC. It crosses up, dodges all potential grabs. Just Vivace back around to resume the sandwich loop. To stay safe from 720s in Nee-san's punch super, dont vivace to cross up, use IAD j2C Alle~can. Also, the [2a,5a,5b,5b, 6D] sandwich loop DOES NOT HIT LITCHI ON BLOCK. 5a completely whiffs for some reason, she can just jump out. I have no idea how to do pressure strings on litchi like this, i think i'll have to do [5b, 5c, 6D, jC] instead. Its the more damaging loop, but the one with less mixup. Darn. I don't even understand why it whiffs. Does she have a shorter crouch than everyone? Even Carl Clover himself?! I'll share more findings here. Assuming I find anything.

Carl is definitely not bottom tier. Although it's too early to put him anywhere, we really haven't experimented enough with his new options and setups. j2C is as fast as it was in CT (not sure if it's an overhead, though) but it can be used for crossups, even during the sandwich loop. Sandwich the opponent, IAD behind him and j2C 2a,5a,5B,5B,6D and then A version vivace to continue the combo. You can also vivace while nirvana is punching to cross them up. Non shoryu characters are gonna have a helluva time trying to escape. Clap is unblockable as ever, good for scaring the opponent into turtling away from you and nirvana. I like clapping once before firing volantes, it makes them cower. To everyone wondering, no, he does not have the throw loop. It's not a loop anymore because even if you manage to get off one rep, no seasoned player is going to be stupid enough not to tech ASAP on the next one. Honestly I wouldn't go for it at all, if you want a sneaky grab go for Anima. They'll never see it coming!

I personally like the Vivace sound clip. Not bad enough you are death spiking where i used to be, but you can see me rollin', you hatin', patrollin' and tryna catch me Vivace'ing. I actually increased my Vivace usage by 50% in CS. Also, I'm seeing a lot of GGXX Zappa players playing Carl (myself included). Is there a trend that makes both characters appeal to people like us? How curious.