Ryd'

Like Vatista, Carmine isn't a dedicated zoning character; he only ever wants to zone long enough to get in and score a knockdown, which is almost the entire match for him given his options and damage. Vatista is a little more flexible since her kit doesn't allow for her to be as aggressive as Carmine, but at the same time, the number of characters she can reasonably expect to keep out to any real extent isn't all that large. Match videos tell it plainer than any argument could - Vatista's typical win doesn't come from her successfully keeping the opponent out; either she gets an opening to start her rushdown, or the opponent gets in. Her zoning isn't strong enough to win off of unless your opponents are bad at blocking, and the average range in this game is too huge to expect to be able to win by keeping people out unless you're Hilda, and that's only because that's all she can really do. Vatista's zoning capabilities are above average for the game, but not phenomenal. I'll agree that the Hilda matchup is in Vatista's favor, but that's more to do with Hilda having no real answers to Vatista once she gets in (which is the same problem Hilda has in most matchups; zoning is difficult in this game due to range/mobility options). Playing at range though - Hilda generally does it better, and is actually able to convert most of her ranged hits into damage.

To me, her strongest point in the match ups I've played seems to be her crystal pressure. Zoning is alright; she has some solid tools, but unless you're doing the stuff that was linked a bit ago, it's pretty manageable when compared to characters like Carmine, who can achieve almost airtight lockdown; or Hilda, who controls pretty much the entire screen. Vatista can take shots at range, but unless the opponent is really bad at blocking lasers and orbs, you're going to want to get in, at which point she transitions to what feels like a somewhat patient, but relentless, offense. She doesn't have a whole lot of mixup (no fast overheads, only one low, no command throw), but her flash kick is sufficiently threatening to make it dangerous to jump, and the crystals make it really scary for most characters to try to poke since trading with an explosion is rarely a good deal: they're huge, active for days, and usually result in losing a decent chunk of health, resetting back into more crystal pressure. Been a while since I've messed with the game, but if you have a crystal in play on the outer reaches of A-flash kick, the explosion should make it safe on block. It also might be purely coincidental minute differences in my reaction time and situations, but A-flash also seems to be a bit better at catching opponents at certain aerial spacings that B might miss because of the added vertical/horizontal distance.

Don't think I'll make it today; other things need doing. Some tips: -Grind out the necessary dexterity. There's no other way around it, you just have to sit down and break your fingers into doing more than tap & release. Practice things like 5A 5B 2C 214[A] 5B 2C ]A[236A, etc. Get used to keeping the 214 inert while doing other things. Just be happy you don't have your heart set on Vatista. -Stressing 214 again, but really, get used to using it and keeping one held. You can release it as you're about to get hit and force a trade (they disappear if you're still holding the button when you get hit, but you can release it as you get hit and it'll still go off) that you might be able to pick up off of depending on the situation; if it happens enough, it makes people really afraid to do anything while sitting on one. You can also sit on one while at a distance from someone who's going to want to close in and use it to seize momentum if they get hit or are forced to block the release. 214[A/B] is probably Carmine's best move; learn to use it well and it'll open up all kinds of doors. -22A is +1 on block, and your only real source of reliable frame advantage. Shielding makes most jump-ins negative, and Carmine's 236/214[x] series are easy to stuff before they go active - though if you can get them out, 236 gives you free reign to do whatever you want, while a held 214 is an ever-present threat that can make people afraid to move; work them together and you have pressure that just doesn't end. Otherwise, his pressure is the same reverse beating that everyone else has (end block strings in a whiffed 5/2A to minimize disadvantage). -Carmine has no legit reversals. 63214C has some invincibility, but can be jumped after the super-flash and loses to most other command throws. 214C has no invincibility, but Carmine jumps really fast for it, so you can use it to escape and punish in some situations. Appears to be neutral on block as well. -3B is a great anti-air. 6C and 3C can be used depending on spacing, and I hear 5A has its uses as well.

Easier to play than Vatista, but if you're not used to holding buttons down while doing other things (and swapping between and [C]), then he can be a bit tricky until get that extra bit of dexterity. Also has a few other nuances that can be annoying at first. Difficult in comparison to how simple most of the other characters seem to be, but only above average overall.

Yeah, it was me, mostly milking my F-Akiha experience from MB; I'd only put a little time into getting a feel for his combo routes and starting to look into specific confirms. Haven't really played since that night, but I might pop in tomorrow.

If you read a hole in pressure, you can 623C out depending on spacing; it's a risky move, but Byakuya doesn't have any safe ways out once he's pinned down. Your only alternatives are universal mechanics: the shield bunker (214D), which will GRD break you and burn meter if you don't have Vorpal; Veil Off, which requires meter; or shielding to create holes that you can poke/escape from.

He really seems to be that kind of character. His webs and j2[C] give him some weird extra mobility that can make him obnoxious to try to hit while allowing him to score hits (or at least safely get in), though a lot of his tools seem pretty gimmicky. He seems to want to spend a lot of time in the air, but he's in a game where being in the air isn't the greatest idea unless you're Merkava. On the other hand, webs tend to distract people to varying degrees (until you get hit...), which can help him get away with his gimmicks. I don't know if I have a lot of faith in his tools being viable once the novelty wears off though. He's pretty slippery (though definitely not on Seth's level) until he gets caught, but that might not be enough given that he doesn't really have much else that stands out compared to the rest of the cast.

Definitely not me on Sat; I'll be at work.

214[A/B] is probably Carmine's most useful special. Anything that can be stored for later use and released without requiring an animation on the character's part is one of the most potent things you can give a character; the risk that it might go off can make a more cautious opponent let you get away with a lot more than you would otherwise, while a twitchy opponent is likely to get clipped by the variety of extra frame traps you can run with a tool like that. You can use it to cover risky decisions, or extend combos in different ways. It's an amazing move; learn to use it well and it won't let you down.

You don't need the corner for a second hit of rekkas into web for a combo, though it works best if you save it for the second rekka~web string in a combo midscreen; guaranteeing the knockdown gets a little tricky otherwise, and you're only able to get 2 of the usual rekka~web strings in anyway. I have this for the corner: 2B 5C 2C 236A~4A~A~A 5B 236A~6A~4A~A~B (jA whiff) 2B 236A~6A~4A~A~B 3169 damage Midscreen can do a double rekka~web~B to finish off 2B 5C 2C 236A~4A~A~C 66C etc for around 3050ish damage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDkn984ENSo @1:03:35 Anyone have any luck tagging 2C after a crystal launch? I can't seem to nail it, CH or no. It'd help Vatista's oki so much if that could be done consistently.

It'll probably translate poorly; they're very different games.

I play F/UC on PS2. The PSP version took away everything that was fun about the game.

Unlike most zoning characters, Vatista has a solid reversal option with her flash kick, which is invincible, air-unblockable, and can cover a variable chunk of space depending on which version is used. B-version also leaves you at almost full screen, and you have to take any crystals that may be set into consideration as well. So, no, it's probably not going to be a matchup where getting in is the win condition.

F/UC where? Oh. Unless it's going to be cut up into multiple movies, it's going to suck. There's way too much in that route to try to compress into 1.5~2.5 hours.

Found something curious that I haven't seen documented anywhere, but it's probably not particularly useful. Vatista can apparently empty cancel a laser into EX laser before the first one even hits: For demonstration purposes: B laser empty-canceled into EX. The timing is tight ([6]4B~C), you have to hit C right as the first laser appears as a solid white beam. You can do this with A laser into EX as well, though the only practical purpose would probably be for maximizing damage in combos. Doesn't seem possible to link two normal lasers. Edit: seems this works with laser xx any EX that can share a charge input. It works with Vatista's flash kick ([3]4B~8C). Probably works with drill as well.

I'll be keeping Byakuya as a side project for the simple fact that he points and laughs for one of his win poses. I'll probably end up playing Vatista, Byakuya, and Carmine. Carmine only because he's already easy for me to play (essentially F-Akiha); all I have to do is learn his combos and iron out priorities for pressure.

Vatista vs Hilda is Rachel vs Nu from BBCT. Don't try to play ranged against her - her tools are more immediate, and she can actually pick up at a distance. You have to play patiently until you get in, and then ride her till she breaks.

TK 236A, or 236B? If it's A, then he's breaking the game somehow. If it's B, you should be able to do it by holding down C for the 214B (214~[C] ]B[); if I recall from dabbling with the character, B and C are interchangeable for the delayed release since 214C will call 214B if you don't have meter for the EX - both are treated as viable buttons to hold to delay the move.

Was testing bomb oki setups without giving up too much damage, but there doesn't seem to be much. The only thing that seems possibly feasible is: 2A 2C 5C jB A-drill 2C xx A-Crystal 2A 5C xx B-Crystal pause jB jC A-drill B-Crystal (3k damage) Detonate with 5A Things to note: -I'm not sure how reversal safe this is. Specifically, at best the bomb will trade with the reversal. It was tested with a training dummy set to jump - executed at the tightest possible timing, 5A hits the dummy before it leaves the ground, so it's at least within a few frames of wakeup; not sure how long it takes to go airborne in this game. Similarly, there might be enough time to be grabbed before 5A hits, though you should be able to circumvent this with a rising jA to pop the crystal. -There's also an issue of spacing. A-drill leaves you right on top of them, and the crystal is released a fair bit behind the opponent; the setup registers 5 hits on Linne (5A+4 hits from the bomb), so the initial part of the explosion will whiff. That could be enough time for some reversal attempts to get away from the rest of the explosion. Not really sure. -Because it involves the jB > A-drill route, this can only be done on hit confirms fairly close to the opponent; doing jB jC rejump jA A-drill etc and attempting a two-crystal combo into crystal oki doesn't give you enough time to detonate for oki. This works with the jA jB A-drill route, which allows for a little more freedom spacing-wise. -Seems like teching away doesn't escape the setup; They're still in range of the explosion. Otherwise, the best option seems to be something like 2A 2C 5C jA jB jC rejump jA jB A-drill 2C xx crystal (2.2k) However, while this gives you more time to safely pop the crystal, back-teching seems to get them out of range of the explosion.

Probably a 45 min drive at the very least. I'm on the edge of Phoenix and Tolleson, and it takes about 30 for me to get there.

For the jB route, start charging 8 right after you input 5c (the game won't let you jump cancel until 5C comes out), delay the jB a bit, and you can go straight into the drill. If you're slow to charge 8, then you have to delay jB and pause before the 2A input.

From what I've tested, all her ground directional specials have a 53 frame charge time. Fastest I've gotten drill is 43 (40 gives nothing, 43 and up give drill) Crystals have a 61 frame charge time. Edit: Has anyone played with the crossup functionality on 66C? If you chain into B+C, will the opponent instantly have to correct their guard, or do they have crossup protection until there's a break in the string? Seems there could be some fun stuff with that, especially since crystal detonations have a vacuum effect on block.

How much do you get from that? It seems like it should be easier to confirm than 2A 2C 5C [j.B] [A-drill] 2C]A[ 2A 5C]B[ A-laser B-flashkick (3.2k unmodified) but if the damage is notably lower, then I'll stick with what I have right now.

Get used to charging everything while hitting everything else; charging a direction while holding a button or two down and inputting with the remaining button(s). She's execution heavy, and it's a pain in the ass if you aren't already used to that kind of thing. Arguably similar to playing Eddie in GG since you have to charge a negative edge for crystal placements (and know which normal (A/B/C) you're going to need back), and charging a direction (moving the shadow) while doing other things. Except you have to charge [2]/8 and [8]/2 as well.