Sophisticat

^ Seeing as you did not include "fuck Haku", I believe we are agreed he is low-tier.

Same here. :/ Good luck, bro. We all need it.

I'm against banning Koko on the principle of "adapt to win" (unless seriously OP). She's not as bad as CS Litchi/Valk if you ask me. Strong, yes. But I wouldn't say broke.

Yo... Hope you guys repair that stuff swiftly and it doesn't cost too much! I'm thinking burst pipe? A trick to prevent that is to slightly open the faucet so that water is always running. This prevents it from freezing and bursting pipes. ... Unless it wasn't your pipe. In which case, it's just bad luck.

Glad you liked the story. -------- Since I won't be on tomorrow... Merry Christmas to all, and have a great time!

Where's Airmaster!? Ok, so I had this dream where I was back at my elementary school, except I was scheduled to take track lessons on a modern supersport literbike. But wait, after a couple circles in the parking lot this guy shows up in a red Mustang Shelby and we're all "wrong vehicle, brother". We get to know each other anyway, and he's all "yo, I know a place where $10 mil is stashed, but I need you to access it". I'm all "A'ight, let's do it". So we get to this place that looks like a helicopter landing pad. It digitally recognizes the Shelby and the landing pad sort of latches onto the car's wheels. A console pops out checking for fingerprints. It accepts mine and the landing platform starts descending (so rad!). And damn, $10 mil is just, like, sitting there! We split the prize and the Mustang guy just sort of leaves after saying thanks. A female voice then says something like "thank you for accessing [name of the place, which I forget]. [Place's creator] would have been proud to know you". So I'm like "this place has more secrets..." So back at the platform, I'm all "show me your secrets" and we keep descending. We get to another place where a $100 mil stash is laying, and despite said female voice attempting to convince me that this is all there is to the place, I keep going lower. Until we reach the lowest level, which is all dark and cavernous and shit. I demand there be light! And holy mothercrap fuckballs, it's a friggin' Gundam! Holy shit! Turns out the female voice is actually a totally sexy AI in person. She holds out her hand in greeting, and I just know that's to draw some blood for a DNA check or something. But I don't need to take the handshake to know I'm only a second-rate pilot despite meeting initial requirements as a Newtype or whatever those are. I say thanks, and mention I know someone who would fit the role far better. Someone who deserves it. The real deal. A natural. At that point, I wake up and I HAVE TO FIND AIRMASTER because the future of this planet rests on his shoulders and his ability to pilot the goddamn thing! Goddamn, get in there, Gilbert! We need you! Goddamn. ------------- Yes, my dreams are often this epic if you care to ask. It's awesome.

I sadly won't be present as family/holidays take precedence. Have fun les gars!

Too soon. I'll be there for the funeral. We will mourn your untimely demise, brother. RIP. ;_;

Same. The astral may have been nerfed, but buffed meter gain makes it activate much more frequently. I've never landed it as much as I have in the past couple weeks.

Subs only, eh? Time to bust out that pocket Unlimited Hakumen, then. :D

It's really "God Slayer". Ain't that one of the reasons why we play this dude?

Je viens d'entendre ça. J'espère tu vas le retrouver! Shit luck...

Huh... how's downtown? Not sure I want to brave the streets atm. Any parking spaces available?

So, Foonzo tonight anyone?

Gdlk burger is gdlk. Can't be helped.

That burger was gdlk! Def. getting moar next time. I reaaaally need to get my Slayer back on track. I forgot all my combos! And #FuckPot. So salty. :<

6-4 Haku favour, imo. While Plat is really annoying with all her items and zoning she can do with them, you outpoke and outdamage her overall. Hakumen simply controls more space than she does, and unlike Noel, she doesn't have the mobility to get into your blind spots. Where she seems to shine is in random CH hits that carry to the corner, so watch out about mashing buttons. She can catch you with a random items and if you're trying to jab her, she'll win the exchange. Good defence and countering/cutting items is key to neutralizing this aspect. Her corner pressure is strong as well. She can do mixups off hover into knockdown combo into more mixups. It's not as strong as Rachel, but still a threat. Block and barrier appropriately, then superjump out at the first opportunity. One really annoying item is super-hammer. Her DD-buffed hammer acts like Pot slidehead, so it knocks down if you're at all on the ground. A-to-A, I'd say is adv. Haku for j.C alone, but it needs to be spaced properly otherwise she'll slip right under its thin hitbox for an air grab or CH. She's vulnerable while summoning items in the air, so crank that j.C to annoy her. A-to-G, you need to watch out for her very good AA. Agito helps here. G-to-A and neutral isn't much of a threat. Plat prefers spamming items to make an approach. If they're still in the heart-car spam phase, just block and punish hard with a 5c CH for 6k or something. She has some good jabs and pokes, but yours are simply better. 3c CH ftw. Overall, Plat is a solid character. Hakumen simply happens to negate most of her arsenal with Void, and outpokes her neutral game. If you can space normals correctly and make good work of j.C, I believe she'll have a hard time getting in on you. Keep a tight defence too, to avoid getting random CH'd from an item. Can be an annoying matchup in some respects, but Haku's got the advantage here in my humble opinion.

Well, if we're going by which character is easiest to pick up, then I'd say just go with whoever you like most as no one is easy to get to a high level of play with. You have to be aware that being able to combo is one thing, but winning matches is another. No one is easy in this regard. Pick whoever you like most.

I'm in there.

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but how are Slayer's links? Still in the game, or easier to execute?

Always go for Agito knockdown when possible. If you have no stars, j.C is a good option as it at least sticks them there for a short while. Hmm... actually, thinking about it, maybe it would be better to do purple throw if you have no stars to reset the situation. If they don't break, it's a knockdown. If they do, then you j.C and you're both at the same height so their options are more limited. This needs testing.

Let's get some specifics in here. - Kishuu beats 4c, low j.C. - Jabs beat 6a/b on IB. Throws beat startup. - You can link 5c on IB'd 3c. Ouch. - 1st hit of renka can no longer be IB'd for a 2D. - You can do lv2 6c on whiffed Shippu/Yukikaze. General game plan depends on whether the opponent is RTSD, turtling, or a mix. Personally, I find patient play wins out in the end. I'd be wary of going full RTSD unless you're good at being unpredictable as Haku thrives on getting a good read. You need to be able to hold yourself back until the right moment, then take advantage of an opportunity to dish it out. Big, random dmg in this match can make it pivot either way, so getting the other guy to waste stars and a burst/OD is a good strat. CP Haku with no stars and no OD is much less of a threat. At neutral, you want to bait 4c while watching out for 3c. If you prefer to play the spacing game, use 4c, low j.C, and 3c while watching out for Enma, air throw, sudden IAD on your 4c, and counters. A-to-G, Agito seems pretty boss. Whoever is in the air tends to have the advantage as Haku has shitty AA. Preemptive AA will tend to win out unless stuffed by Agito. A-to-A is one big mind game. You'll want to use j.C and air grab mainly depending on spacing, but Hotaru beats both, and j.D beats j.C and Hotaru. Be on the ball and get your spacing/gameplan down as one j.C or Hotaru can mean you corner them. And that's all I can think of atm.

New players generally appreciate characters that do high damage in single hits, or have some gimmick that can be spammed for easy damage. Here are some of them: Hakumen (high dmg everything except for A and B moves) Tager (grabs) Kagura (high dmg C moves, some drives) Platinum (heart car) Jin (ice car, DPs) That's what I can think of off the top of my head. There's no substitute for experience, though. That's usually what really determines how well you do with a character.

Tu m'en diras des nouvelles, Kirby! Je veux voler de sa tech. :P

^ Highest Haku in singles was Skeleton Minion who made top 8, though he lost to Psykotic's Carl who made 4th place. Good show, though! You did good, Minion! I've played Psyko since CT, and he's always been a beast Carl! And post your analysis, Mac. Always nice to hear what other Hakus have to say.