lunaris

i've noticed we have two different threads for combos which seem to have the same or very similar purpose(CS wiki list, and CS combo thread). perhaps we could either merge these or separate their uses(one for general combo discussion, one for official/tested/video/wiki combo discussion). matt, if you're just against speculation by people who haven't played, that's understandable, but it'd limit sources for combo ideas pretty severely considering how few arcades with CS exist in the states. in the end it's up to you or a mod but i figured i'd bring up the issue of two threads.

couldn't you just find a way to combo the cloud off of a j.C instead of rcing 236c? or maybe j.C>jc>cloud>j.d>d>etc(for height to cloud>j.d). ex: after fumo does 236c without j.6x in a wheel loop, he is able to connect with j.C and a c bug(although i would think you can use j.6x if you want to). instead of comboing the j.C into a fake teleport you could combo it into a cloud and j.d on the way down. because of the C bug hit you might even be able to delay the D bug a little to give you more time to cloud>j.d>5d. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7vZ8cjPa04 at around the 7:10 mark he starts a wheel loop where he uses j.C. this doesn't seem like something you'd need 50 meter to do, unless maybe you need to use 50 meter to get 100% curse out of a bug combo because of some rule imposed by the game? but that seems a little unlikely.

yes. souji onii-chan is sort of a joke nickname for him. i had no idea that kakutou bishin taokaka=satoshi.

i don't think there's enough untechable time after a normal 2c for jd to hit(i was pretty tired when i wrote that post...), but your fatal counter combo should work. the second combo below, or rc>5d>super>etc(if possible after 2c; doesn't seem to work in CT at least on some characters), might work with 2c though. EDIT: i just tested in CT and i actually did get 2a>2c>j.d to work in the corner(and everywhere else but then you're too far to do anything, although it's more burst-proof and sets up a blocked 2d, but if they have burst you should use your heat for the super anyways). i'm a little amazed. this one is pretty obvious and may have been discussed: [corner] 5a>6b>jc>j.2a>dive cancelled 5d>standard 5d combo *super might be usable after 5d for an extra 5d and some damage. alternatively, the combo below might work at the end of the standard 5d combo, but i think there'd be too much proration. [j.d combo hit off of relatively low height, anywhere] j.d>rc>falling j.a>5a>6b>etc. or j.d>rc>falling j.a>5b>air combo *this is more or less a combo part rather than a combo itself as arakune has a lot of ways to chain into j.d. depending on height, the falling j.a can be omitted in the rc>ja>5a version. using j.5b for maximum hits and delaying jc in air combos makes this combo easier as it results in a total decrease in height. i'm curious if this combo would tech prorate too much for anything to follow after 5a>6b midscreen. [anywhere] ground super>RC>j.d>5d>standard air combo *just wanted to note that by RCing you can probably turn a super hit into a 100% curse combo(31+31+40=102, according to koogy's chart) with 100 meter. you might have to sacrifice a bit of damage on the super for it to work, though. i'd also like to note that now that pre-curse proration is not really an issue, arakune will benefit from throwing j.5b(max hits) and j.6x in combos wherever he can(previously you would exclude them to avoid proration if possible). this is because the attacks build meter well and pre-curse damage is minimal. seems like arakune can do a lot with 100 meter outside of curse.

i thought up a number of theoretical CS non-curse combos. i can't guarantee any of them work but i tested a few in CT. please cut me some slack, because these combos are an attempt at going to lengths to get curse meter. they will likely be heavy on heat meter; arakune is going to be a character with one chance whose success it utterly dependent on getting off a curse, and so any heat meter used to get some curse meter is well worth it. if nothing else maybe this will generate some ideas for others. no one's really talking about anything new. the legend i will use is Combo number(a/b/c if it's related to earlier combos) [location on screen; ct tested notes] combo *notes 1. [anywhere, requires proper spacing(use as a punisher for very laggy moves?] 2d CH>rc>3c>jc>j.D>5a>6b>j6d 2(a). [anywhere, CT tested up to the j.6c rc] 2b CH>2d>rc>5b>j.6c>rc>5b>5d>jc>dashed jb>5a>5b>j.6d *2d>RC>5b is difficult on some characters; there's a good chance the j.6c>rc>5b>5d portion would work but i doubt you can link it to 5a due to tech proration and pushback. may be spacing dependent. 2(b). [anywhere] 2b CH>2d>rc>jump forward>j.5b *probably not that useful/worth 50 meter. as with the rest of the #2 combos, 2b can be omitted on a 2d hit with proper spacing. the main point of 2(a) is that it gets both hits out of 2d and puts you in perfect position to follow up with a dash-in j.5b for continued pressure; easier than the above and may work on more characters. probably less spacing dependent than the above. 2©. [anywhere; CT tested up to j.d] 2b CH>2d>rc>5b>3c>j.4/6d>5a>6b>j.6d *works on arakune in CT up to where i tested; haven't tested to see if it works on any other characters. 2(d). 2b CH>2d>rc>5b>j.2a>dive cancel>etc *i highly doubt this would work in CS since j.2a is apparently slowed down, but decided to include it for completion since it does work in CT. 3. [corner] (5a>6b>jd)x2?(depends on enemy height)>236236c>5d>etc *super can also be used as anti burst if you anticipate they will burst after seeing a second 5a>6b 4. [anywhere; ct tested] x>5d>super>5d>x *anti-burst; i'm sure there will be situations where you'll only need a little meter after 5d but they will burst any combo you try after that. does not work after combos with high pushback such as 2a>5b>5d, but would easily work off of 5b>5d punishers. 5. [near corner] x>5d>jc>dash-cancelled j.5b>5a>6b>rc>2c>rc>5d>etc *should work near the corner due to 5a>6b's increased untechable time. in fact, snipping that, the only "revelation" here is 6. [near corner] 5a>6b>rc>2c>rc>5d>etc *you can attach this to some above combos. i would argue that the double RC is worth it for the extra curse hit in almost all situations, or at least when it'd get you the curse up. 7. [near corner] 2c>rc>j.d>5d>etc *if this is possible, should replace the 2c followups above if tech proration allows it more to come later(i hope that's not the limit of my imagination) depending on responses and, more importantly, whether they're tested or not. and yes, i probably think about 2b too much.

i prefer 2a or the standard 5b, but yes you're right. you can do any dive to any attack, in fact. one of the things i've found about the move since making this thread is that 2b can be spammed to simply shorten your hitbox(probably not at minimum height) for the duration you spam it for. this isn't a result predicted by intuition because common sense would suggest that arakune would have to complete the move(on whiff) and return to his normal hitbox at some point before doing it again, but it appears this isn't the case. ex: if a nu is doing 5c, you can spam 2b at a certain rate to go under the entire duration of the move. if you're spamming 2b at that rate, ragna cannot hit you with many of his moves at all, etc etc. not saying i recommend 2b be spammed, but i figured that property should at least be noted. also, i've noticed some arakunes still successfully using 2b as an anti-air in CS. i read that it was nerfed but it must at still be at least somewhat usable. in ryoko's changes he listed that 2b's vertical hitbox had been reduced and thus it would be not as useful as an anti-air. that suggests that it may still be usable for most of the things i've posted in this topic, however(since nothing was said about extending arakune's own vertical hitbox, or the move's horizontal range). since the primary reason 2b was even decent as an a ground counter was the fact that you could get an instant curse combo off of it with 2d, the attack will not be as good either way, however(i'm not sure what kind of frame disadvantage/advantage arakune is at with a 2b>2d hit).

yeah, 236c. my bad. i just read it and figured i'd post it here for discussion. i can't test it or anything. i'm sure there are ways to make the first part of the combo work(releasing the d bug before actually doing j.d for example, although i don't know how slow the d bug is now), and aside from possible positioning problems there's no question that j.c>c bug>j.d would work(it even works in CT). it's the a bug>jc>a bug part that confuses me. the bug hit timings aren't explained in there, but i am going to assume that the first a bug hit may come after the inital d bug hit, and the second a bug hits after the second d bug hit. this would boost the opponent's height so that you can 236c as you fall down from the jc'd j.C. although i find myself doubting that the first a bug would even be needed, or if it wouldn't knock the opponent out of the path of the d bug's second hit... as i said it could have been a troll, but at the very least it's evident just by inspection that there would be a way to make a combo from jc into a wheel loop. in CT you can lead it into a 6c loop by comboing the j.C into dives and proper bugs, i would imagine you can still do the same thing in CS.

rising JC>c bug>JD>d bug>(a bug>jc>a bug>j.236d>d bug)xn 8700 tops, someone else said 7800 or 8200 with some modifications. it depends on curse gauge, of course. from a japanese BBS. i guess this is mainly just stating that his JC overhead/crossup is still intact. i suspect the JD is unneeded, and they don't know why it prorates so well but suspect it has something to do with JC. i'm not exactly sure what's with the double a bug with a jump cancel/j.c in between(i'm assuming it means jump cancel because it isn't capitalized). it's possible that it's just trolling, so wait until you see it in a video or try it for yourself, i suppose.

i pointed it out in the arakune forums, but the "hiranuru" the japanese talk about is arakune's 6D. after doing a forum search it seems like no one knew what it was so i figured it'd be best to point it out here too. i'd seen it listed in a change list or two in this thread if i remember right.

i didn't mean to write that statement conveying any level of conviction in it. it seems to me that they're nearly even, and fumo definitely has a more standard, sensible playstyle, but hima tends to fare better against some of his opponents such as kaqn and souji in the 3-arakune ranbat video. that's really bad information to go off of though, so i should probably just retract that statement in its entirety. i definitely find fumo's style and strategies more agreeable. so that this post isn't a simple reply unrelated to videos i'll list some nicovideo tags you can use to find ara videos: アラクネ=arakune ソウジ=souji ヒマ=hima ふも=fumo, ♂１=seems to have a lot of arakune(fumo) videos attached to it 攻めクネ=nickname for hima(semekune) (∵)人(∵)=common ara vs ara video tag ふも使いのふもさん=fumo-san the fumo player of the three buttons on the search bar, using the first two from the left are most likely to produce results(keyword/tag search, respectively). hope that helps some people find videos. also, don't write comments on the videos in english; it's a foreign language site so that should be common sense.

i'm not exactly in a position to be the judge here since it's only off a few videos and i've never actually played any of them, but judging from videos(especially the ones matt's posting, assuming they're the same ones i found on nico(i haven't checked)) it seems to me like neither fumo nor hima are as good as souji. i'd even say fumo might be a little worse than hima. i don't understand how fumo won SBO and not one of them, but maybe the videos don't do him justice. http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm8250526(which matt has posted) is amazing. that's a 3 on 3 fight, the top 3 arakunes(fumo/souji/hima) vs aoniku, reria, and kyaku(seemingly arakune's counter characters; a funny note is that their team name is "Out of the Way, Big Bro Souji(souji onii-chan)! I Can't Kill Arakune!"). kyaku takes out all three arakunes in a row.

in my thread on 2b i noted that you can use 2b to simply dodge her 4d and j.2d(from a jc) swords. i don't see any need to counter assault when the only swords 2b can't dodge easily(you just mash it if she does the blockstring as fast as possible; if she doesn't, you can jump out anyways) are the 5d swords(which can be dodged but are difficult). i guess you could argue that being able to jump immediately after the second sword in a Xdd string gives you more time, but either way a sword is completely whiffing. i think the recovery time on counter assault and 2b is fairly similar. more importantly, a good nu is capable of slightly delaying sword attacks in DD strings and will do so frequently just because she can, and i think that might screw over the counter assault strategy. i suppose if they delayed 4D VERY slightly they could hit you out of 2b after DD, but every time i've tried it 2b has worked simply by mashing. and as to heat, i find it pretty useful to have 100% heat when my enemy is hovering around 30% HP. if they ever get close and try to attack, counter assault>super>curse usually makes the match pretty unwinnable(since they're cursed and have no more HP). at the very least, even if they're aware of that strategy they become much more predictable/restricted.

here are some pretty recent vids (7/25) of souji. http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm7980121 http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm7980011 souji was always my favorite japanese arakune. i thought he had a good chance of winning SBO but he didn't get very far. i guess there's a luck of the draw factor but maybe he just concentrates too much on setting up combos, i.e. he isn't flexible enough. not criticizing him, just throwing out conjecture as to why he might not have made it to the top.

http://s1.zetaboards.com/blazblue/pages/arakune_data/ Moves with lower numbers for p1 and p2 prorate more. P1 is the number which determines how much the combo is prorated overall and is only applied for the first move in the combo(in other words, how much damage scaling occurs when a combo is started with that move). P2 determines how much proration occurs every time the move is used in a combo. So, for example, the combos we're discussing begin with 2B, so any other move's P1 number is irrelevant when comparing damage scaling. You're only looking at P2. Someone please correct me if I've misunderstood something.

No, in fact, depending on preference and playstyle I think that's an great alternative, or maybe even the one you should be using every time. It's useful in important ways that the others aren't(recursing, confirming distance from corner, etc). I just checked and it only does maybe 100-300 less damage(6.6kish vs 6.5kish) than using a c bug to combo directly into a 6c loop or doing a dive combo into 6c loop. The bball combo is also a lot easier if you're near a corner than a dive loop, although I think the damage difference is more significant there. EDIT: Copper explained proration to you(although it seems like he's ignoring the fact that there are two proration numbers in this game... correct me if I'm wrong), but if you just do one 6a after 2b into a 6c loop, the damage difference is neglible as I noted in the above paragraph after testing. EDIT2: Senkei is right. It should be noted, though, that 6A 2B 2A 5B 5D is pretty dependent on distance; if they're not very close it won't work. Furthermore you can loop 6A 2B 2A 6A as a blockstring.

Yeah, I would have added this but you can actually just do 2B>j.5a, which prorates less. I'll add that one for completion though, now that I think about it, since it's a little more intuitive/easier since it's a jc and not a timed jump. Thanks Phantom, I'll add that. That's really good.

One thing I would like to ask: Should I note blockstrings that seem like they'd be escapable but actually are not as well as escapable ones? This would save people some time in testing. For example, you might think that you could IB Rachel's 5B and use 2B on either 6A or 6B, but you can't; only 5C. That kind of information needs to be tested, and if there's nothing listed as to whether or not a given blockstring is escapable the viewer has no way of knowing whether or not it works aside from testing himself. What would really be useful is some frame data: When Arakune's hitbox begins to descend, when it reaches its lowest point, and how many frames of different height there are(i.e. are there just two heights or does it vary throughout?). If we had the data for the lowest point, we could empirically check which blockstrings are definitely escapable, and if there are only one or two points at which the hitbox changes in height, we could calculate which aren't escapable. If Ara's hitbox goes through multiple stages, depending on the number of stages we might be able to classify levels of difficulty. Ex: If, hypothetically, Arakune's hitbox shrinks for two frames, shrinks more for 5 frames, grows for two frames, then goes back to normal, that means some attacks would be dodged for 9 frames and others for only 5(and starting 2 frames later). That would give us an ability to classify attacks by type and would allow us to better determine which attacks would be escapable in blockstrings and which wouldn't than if we didn't know that information(which we don't). Would be great if someone could come up with that information.

Combos from 2B: If these are confusing, I'm very open to having people rewrite them. I'll update them here if you can make them clearer. Vs grounded: 2B[CH] 2D 5BC bugs (insert 6C loop)2B (2AxUp to 3; optional) 2C *The highest damage combo you can do on normal hit without heat. If you have 50% heat, you can RC into air combo into 6c loop. 2B 236236C 5D (insert dive combo/6C loop) [You can use 2A or 2B again between 2B and the super to hit confirm]2B 2A 5B jc (start pressure; this is all you can do if you don't have meter on most characters if you don't get a counter hit)6A 2B 2A 5B 5D (insert 6C loop) *Only works on close opponents; realistically if you hit with 6A you'd want to do 5d, but if 6a is blocked and 2B hits then you can use this. Does not work on Arakune. 6A 2B 2A 2C RC (insert air combo to 6C loop] *Similar to the above. Works on farther opponents but requires heat Vs aerial: 2B[CH] j.5A (insert j.5A/j.5B as needed to adjust positioning) j.5C j.5D (insert 6C loop) *If no CH on 2B, you can RC 2B for the same combo; also, you can link 2B[CH] into 5B and jc that if that's easier for you(otherwise you have to wait until you jump), but it prorates more On a cursed, grounded opponent: 2B ]5B[ 6A ]6A[ (insert basketball combo/recurse combo/6c loop here) *This combo is good for confirming curse meter and distance from corner; simply add a 5d after ]6a[ and go into a dive combo>6c loop if you're low on curse meter 2B ]5B[ (insert dive combo/6C loop)2B ]5B[ 5D jc j.5A ]5A[ (insert dive combo to 6C loop) *Useful if you're running low on curse meter 2B ]5B[ 2B [5C] ]5C[ 5D jc j.5A ]5A[ (insert dive combo to 6C loop) *a little harder than the above but usable at all ranges(I think?) of 2B If blocked: 2B 2A (insert 2A/6A mixup here)2B 2A 5B jc (start pressure)2B 2A 6A jc/2B... etc.6A 2B 2A 5B jc (start pressure) *A good high/low mixup; 2B and 2A must be blocked low, 6A high 6A 2B 2A 6A 2B... etc. *Slowly pushes away, but it's a high/low blockstring loop. Character specific: Bang only: 2B 2A 5B 5D (6C loop) Please post your own combos if you can think of any, especially character specific ones. How to test: The easiest way I know of so far is to go into training mode and simply record whatever move or blockstring you want to test(on xbox360 record is activated by pressing the left joystick, and playback by pressing the right). Then just keep playing back and trying to beat the move until you're satisfied with the results. Regrettably I don't know of a better way to test at this point, but it is safe to say that if Tao can't crawl under the move or out of the blockstring, Arakune can't 2B it(that should eliminate a lot of trial and error right there).

This post is a list of moves which 2B is capable of countering. I will almost definitely change this into a DLable word document later as it is likely to be very lengthy. Please try to copy the format I'm using if you post something you've found, as it will make it easy for me to update. Legend: (T): Move may trade, depending on timing (TC): Trades at close range, but not at long range (LRF): May fail at long range (S): Strict or awkward timing (Cl): Moves may clash (W): Both moves may whiff. [iB]: Move listed before this marker in blockstring must be instant-blocked [?]: Preceding marker needs verification by testing, or contains a claim that could be disputed X: In the Blockstrings section, means "any move into"; ex: X 5C="Any move into 5C" [Text]: Special notes Nothing: No special note Each character will be divided into up to three sections: Ground moves Aerials Blockstrings The aerial section will list moves which cannot reliably be countered, or which have special notes(such as moves where both 2b and the opponent's move whiffs). This is because 2B beats far more aerials than it loses to. The blockstring section will be less defined by rules, but will list commonly seen blockstrings/parts of blockstrings or gatlings which can be escaped from with 2B(such as Jin's 5C 5D, or Tager's 5C 5D) based on normal timing(if your opponent delays you may be hit). If a character has no punishable blockstrings which have been found, the character will have no blockstring section. This is to preserve space. Same goes for aerials; if you don't see an aerials section, assume no one has found any difficulty countering that character's aerials with 2B yet. Characters with no findings will have nothing posted. Ragna: Ground moves: 5A5B5C(T)(S)6A(T)6D(Cl)2AGauntlet Hades 214bHell's Fang 214a Jin: Ground moves: 5D(T)(Cl)5C(Cl)5B[First hit]5A2A(S)(TC)[Appears to trade with only part of the move](?)Ice car 214abcd[Can be tricky as the timing is different for different attack levels and ranges; getting hit with 214d is not good]236ab projectiles [A version is much harder than B] Aerials: 5C(TC)(Cl)5D[beats 2B, but if you do 2B to counter a 5B/5C you will usually beat the startup anyways] Blockstrings: 5C[iB] 5D (T)(Cl)X 214a/b/c/d Nu: Ground moves: 5A5C[Not the whole thing]5B(TC)4B6B6A2A2C(TC)[Appears to easily beat 2B close range, but not as early in the animation as other moves; in other words, it's better to use 2B close range than anything else if Nu might throw this out][?]5D(S)(W)[it appears to be significantly harder to dodge if you're in the range at which the projectile actually appears]4D(W)Probably gravity fields but who cares Aerials: j.2D[Only when done low to the ground; must be done while falling, not jumping]j. 214D[Again, only when done low to the ground, but this one can be done very low after a jc; watch out if you're trying to 2B her 4D at closer ranges] Blockstrings: DD 4DDD jc j.2DDD 4DD jc j.2DX 4B [iB after X may be necessary] Tager: Ground moves: 5A5C5D(T)(S)(Cl)[Easy in blockstrings]6A(TC)2ASpark Volt 41236d(S)[just dash it instead] Aerials: j.5B(T)j.5C(Cl)j.5D(W)j. 2C(Cl)(T)[Possible to get a clash every time depending on when he starts the move] Blockstrings: X[iB][?] 5CX 5DX[iB][?] 6A Litchi: Ground moves: 5B and 5B[m]5C[m](LRF)(T)5A2A6B and 6B[m]6C[m]Itsuu BChun 236cHatsu 236b Aerials: j.5b[Can be beat if she doesn't do it very low to the ground, and on any crossup attempt]j.5d Blockstrings: X Chun2A[iB] 5B[Not really recommended; if she decides to spam 2a, you'll get counter hit which leads into a knockdown combo]2B 6B(W)5C[iB] Itsuu B [be careful, if she delays the Itsuu B or does Itsuu C you will be counter hit]5C[2 hits] Itsuu B[same as above] Rachel: Ground moves: 5A5C6A6B(Cl)Can be used to dodge the pumpkin2 hits kills George Aerials: j.2C(T)[Overall pretty easy to beat; never loses] Blockstrings: X[iB] 5C[be careful, if she mixes this up with 6B you're in for some pain depending on X]6B[iB] 5C[This is the only safe one] Taokaka: Ground moves: 5A5B(TC) [i was hesitant to add this but I have completely beaten out this move before at longer ranges]5C6A6B(W)(S) [i've used 2B to completely dodge the move, but the timing seems strict and it will never trade or counter as 6B has feet invincibility]D4D Aerials: 2D(T) [beats it flat out if timed properly] Blockstrings: x[iB] D5B[iB] 6A Noel: Ground moves: 5A [This is one of the few 5As that don't go over Arakune's normal crouch]5B5C6A6C2D(Cl)(TC)(S) [since this move has low invincibility it's impossible to beat(but can trade); will clash at longer ranges. Not really advisable]D>5B(Cl) Aerials: j.5C(Cl) [2B won't lose if timed right]j.D Carl: Ground moves: 5A5B6A Arakune: Ground moves: 5A5B Aerials: j.5cj.5b(T) [You will usually lose, but it's not especially dangerous if they don't have meter]j.5d Yes, it works on dives Blockstrings: 2A[iB] 5B

What's a 2B? I have been doing a fair amount of testing with Arakune's 2B recently, and have found it has some uses that I've never seen anyone discuss here. I have a feeling it is being overlooked and underused. For those who don't know, it's common knowledge that 2B is an excellent anti-air tool, albeit requiring skill and experience to use correctly. It flat out beats or trades with most aerials, is usable on reaction and difficult to punish due to its speed. On aerial counterhit it combos into a curse and 6C loop in a variety of ways. The move possesses this functionality because it makes Arakune's hitbox extremely tiny and appears to have a disjointed hitbox. It seems to be almost as small as Taokaka's crawling animation. There is no invincibility, so it must be timed properly in relation to the position of your opponent's hitbox. It does not beat certain aerials, such as Litchi's j.B[m](although it does beat it on crossup and at certain heights). Getting to the point... What I haven't seen explored is 2B's use as a ground-to-ground attack. As I just mentioned, it has a hitbox almost as small as Taokaka's crawl. You may or may not be familiar with Taokaka's ability to crawl under many moves in this game. Well, 2B has the same potential, and in addition it combos into 2D on counterhit. As you have probably guessed, this means curse and 6c loop. This is extremely important, because the use of 2B that I am proposing will always score you a counterhit(unless you fail and get hit). A properly timed 2B can go under many core moves of other character's pressure games. For example, it either trades with or goes under about half of Ragna's move list. I'll give an example: Tager does 5A 5B 5C 5D. You can simply mash 2B in between the 5c and the 5d and you will dodge the 5d every single time, usually scoring a counter hit(but it depends on range; either way you can still punish the 5d afterwards). Alternatively you can IB Tager's 5B and use 2B to counter the 5C, because 2B crouches under 5C as well. Combo 2B into 2D and you've got a cursed Tager who's probably just lost 40% or so of his HP. 2B effectively nullifies Tager's ability to blockstring into 5D unless he delays the 5D. Tager's 2D is too slow and his 6A is also countered by 2B. As a side note, even at maximum distance where 2B might not hit Tager, if he tries to 5D to keep you magnetized, 2B will clash with it at worst and is performable on reaction. The above is one example of how 2B is usable as a counter to a character's basic moveset. There are many more moves that 2B is capable of countering, such as Nu's 4D and jc aerial drives, and even 5D if properly timed. The purpose of this thread I hope that the reader will go out and experiment with 2B to find their own uses for it, and that you'll participate in this thread by posting your own ideas about, confirmed uses for, or results of tests with 2B. Since there is no single rule that governs whether or not 2B will beat a given attack beyond hitbox comparison, testing must be done for every attack to see whether 2B is capable of easily beating it or not. Furthermore, beyond simply whether 2B can counter the attack or not, knowing which blockstrings 2B can stop and which it can't also requires testing. Same goes for aerials. Therefore I would like to propose that we share our findings with this move as a community to better ourselves. The special "priority" properties of this move that require testing make it such that everyone should have a lot to gain by sharing with each other. Put simply: Post blockstrings you've found can be escaped from(nothing too ridiculous... you can obviously escape 5a Gauntlet Hades, for example), moves you've found 2B can punish, and aerials you've found can't be beaten or trade frequently with 2B. Or, of course, any other useful information you find. Also, please post any important details about findings you make. For example, I have found 2b can completely dodge Tager Shot(41236 D), but the timing is very strict. Another example: If you're posting about a blockstring, whether you need to IB or not, etc. General discussion of the move, how to use it, etc. is fine too. If this thread is not supported it will simply be moved to the general Arakune thread. It's far more suited to its own thread since our community's knowledge of how to use the move could benefit greatly from testing and situational knowledge, so please support it by posting if you have anything to add. I'll take it upon myself to compile gathered information in the next two posts, or possibly in a text document later on. I visit this site almost daily so it should be kept fairly up-to-date.

are you sure that's fumo? according to the videos the arakune's name is "inchikimaru." i understand if that's just another name he uses, but although i have no plans to question his playstyle if it's actually fumo, i wouldn't think a player of fumo's caliber would simply leave out reps of combos(for example, i think the very first combo he does could have both been turned into a 6c loop and have gone for at least 1 more rep), use 3dive reps over 6c reps, end a combo with a grab instead of recursing(and have that grab rejected and thus lose his curse) when simply having a curse probably would have won the game alone, and most of all lose to a seemingly random and unknown(correct me if i'm wrong) tager. i dunno, maybe he was just screwing around. i'm not trying to say i think the arakune player is bad as he has good execution, but i'd like some confirmation on whether or not that's really fumo as he makes some odd-seeming choices and i don't see fumo mentioned in any of the japanese comments either. here are some other(?) videos of fumo(if we can trust the tag), although i think they are probably old since he doesn't seem to wow as i would expect he would(and loses most of them): http://www.nicovideo.jp/tag/ふも使いのふもさん for those interested the tag they're using roughly translates to "the fumo user, fumo-san."

1. you'll just have to predict them with 5c. it has head invincibility, so it is completely invulnerable to most aerial attacks. however, you'll have to make sure to space it so that they don't cross you up. if they're too close to you for 5c, i find the best option(if you can predict their dash-in far enough ahead) is to simply go into a curse-6c loop off of j.5a or a j.6x(any of them will work). 2. yes, or at least i think you should. hima uses it frequently(although hima did get his ass handed to him by souji iirc). 3. yes, mostly j.5b and/or dive pressure. dash-cancelled j.5a can work to keep yourself close enough to do a 2a 5b 5d combo, but i'd only recommend it once you've conditioned them to block j.5b. remember you can combo into teleports in your strings as well to gain ground distance while making it look like you're going for another dive or j.5b. going from j.5b>5a is very useful since 5a is a quick, jcable poke with very little knockback; when you're going for mixups with normals you usually want to stay close. 4. this is something i haven't seen discussed here yet, but you are partially correct. there are some quirky things about arakune's jumps. I) arakune can't do his command moves quickly off the ground. he has to gain a little bit of altitude before he can do anything. i guess the developers figured a tk'd cloud would be too powerful(which is probably true). II) arakune's j.6x attacks will not turn him around on crossup if the jump is a single jump, or after he has teched in midair. III) perhaps it's just me, but i've found that after i hit with a j.6x, i'm no longer able to cancel the lag of any dives until i jump again(meaning the dives can cancel into each other but the lag remains upon landing). i have a very high success rate for dive canceling, and i have NEVER been able to do this even once. ex, in training: 8 j.6c 7 j.2a; it seems you simply cannot cancel the j.2a's lag. is it just me? i know it seems like it should work but please try it yourself before replying. i don't want to spread misinformation here so if someone sees that i'm incorrect on some of this please say so.

sorry, for some reason i thought you were asking specifically about the homing cloud. sometimes i find myself comboing with a homing cloud above my opponent so the question didn't seem too odd to me taken in that context. sorry about that. in that case yeah, i don't think there's really any one thing you can do that will work in all situations... you can probably utilize various bugs to continue it but it'd probably have to be ad-lib and depedent on a lot of factors. i agree with copperdabbit's suggestion if you can't predict and ad-lib the situation. and, getting them into the corner with 6c loops is almost always better than using the dive combo. but i think you might've misunderstood what i meant by "a dive combo"; when i said that i didn't mean a combo exclusively using dives, i meant using a 1-3 dives in order to continue/start the 6c loop. i'm fairly sure that the dive combo simply does less damage than 6c loops in the first place, so combined with the positioning factor i don't really see a point in doing more than one dive combo rep unless you're in a 6c loop trying to avoid going into the spot in the corner where both the 6a and 6c bugs will whiff before you recurse.

depending on your altitude you can actually omit the 9 j.a after the j.6c. you can just release an a bug during the j6c, jump backwards, and j.2d; that's essentially the same as using a long-ranged j.6a. this doesn't work as well low to the ground(such as after the 2d bug combo midscreen) although you can get it to work, but sometimes it will work better than 9 ja(such as when you hit them at such an angle that the ja will whiff) and causes less proration. you're right, i just wanted to point out that there's an alternate way of doing it that may work more consistently. you can use a 6/5A bug after the cloud hits to give the third hit of 6c time to connect. if you see that a cloud is going to hit them you might try following up with a dive combo instead because the anti air 6c setup is also dive combo>6c loop setup, but i'm not sure if that would solve the problem. one thing that can work but is difficult is: after the cloud hits, hit with an a bug. follow that with a b bug. this can give you time to jump up and combo into a dive or something else(i.e. j.6a dive combo, but i don't think you can make it up there in time for that). this is actually pretty much what the hover cloud throw combo is, but i don't know if it would work since the 5c uncursed anti air combo has high proration. the most useful thing i can tell you for hover cloud combos with 5c is that--at least from what i'm observing in training mode-- the hover cloud is hovering at a level higher than normal while i'm comboing out of 5c. this allows me to do 5c>jc>j.a>j.c>j.d>(4c+5b bugs)>[6c>[6a bug hits, lessening upward knockback from the first hit of 6c]>6cx2>(5b+6a bugs)]xrepeat. sorry if that's confusing, in short you're just adding a 6a bug in between the first and second hits of the 6c loop after the 5c anti air opener to counteract upward knockback. am i the only one who's started simply doing j.2a j.2c in dive combos because it always works with no modifications, compared to j.2b+b bug which seems to be too dependent on character and position? it just seems like too much of a risk to be worth the small amount of damage unless the character has a large hitbox. technically it seems like it would be better to save the combo hits for 6c loops anyways as 6c attacks do considerably more damage.

yeah, 5a>6b is simply a way i wanted to share to start the loop in the corner since it combos off of a staple aerial. as to the dive combo, it goes: ... 2c(end of a 6c rep)>5b bug>6a bug>j.6a+Xa bug(doesn't usually matter)>jc(oftentimes you have to jump backwards to get the right spacing for the next hit)>j.2a>j.2b>b bug>j.2c>bc bug>6c loop. however, depending on the number of hits in the combo and the different moves you used in the combo(some moves reduce the required amount of time required to tech in a combo by much more than others; someone correct me if i'm wrong here), you may have to make some variations. for example, in some combos you can do it just as i have written above. however, in others, it can help to delay the j.2b, and against some characters you might need to delay the B bug after the j.2b. common sense would suggest that it may also help to delay the j.2c, and you might try experimenting with adding in A bugs before the j.2c as well although i haven't made any use of either of those personally. a special note that i haven't tested much is that the dives seem especially easy to whiff on carl... after fighting him recently for an extended period of time i'm surprised there aren't really any comments on this forum or in his matchup thread about combos vs carl(for example j.5c seems extremely easy to whiff with; this presents a problem when trying to recurse after a 6c loop and in many other places) beyond "it doesn't work vs carl." maybe it's just me.