Sophisticat

He should focus less on getting good with Haku and more on getting FG basics down. Less mashing, too. It works 'cause it's Haku, but it's otherwise disrecommended. After learning to block, he should learn combos, the use of each move, proper spacing, etc. Then move on to mixups, setups, hop specials, and more refined stuff. But like Steel says, getting proficient in FG's while just starting out can take months. It's long, hard work. You're not going to drastically improve in a couple online matches.

Np. Now you have to post performance vids so we can all witness how you play Haku.

Sounds good to me if the new info is more user-friendly and I won't have to bug anyone for stuff. :P But really, I appreciate the info. Just this much is already making HOS "click" with me in ways he hasn't in the last year+ of training/watching vids. Hopefully I get to make the local GG meets a regularity, and we get HD someday to revive the scene.

^ Err... you tell me. As I said, I might as well be new to GG. Yeah, I know all the basics and stuff, but combos in this game have different purposes than in BB. In BB for ex., you generally only have 2-3 combos max for any normal/special you'd hit with. But in GG, char. weight, height, hitbox, etc. have much more importance, sometimes above getting damage (I think I saw some guys discussing adding jabs to a combo just to bring up the other's hitbox to the right height. Coming from BB, this is incredibly weird. My first thought was "doesn't that prorate like a bitch? :psyduck:"). Just to be more specific, though, I'm rather looking for universal stuff I can use right now before I get into the, well, specifics. I always start off with learning one combo per starter to get me going, and that's what I'm looking for here. As I said, the combos on the first page seem so numerous, I just don't know where to start.

^ I don't have much exp with Guilty vs. real, live players (in fact, first time was just 3 days ago), but I'll answer anyway. :P Chun-li... Jam, maybe? Don't know either SF or GG, lol. But Haku == Slayer for sure, or is at least the closest. CH DOT is your Mugen, but it costs 50% meter instead. :P Also, I'd say Haku is hard only in terms of trying to get damage. Otherwise, he's easy, but his weaknesses put him firmly in the mid-to-hard to play characters. Imo, anyway. I doubt he's easier than Robo, though. I just can't see any BB character being harder than any of GG's cast.

I'm not kidding when I say half my damage comes from Hotaru and j.D, they're that good. Unfortunately, it's about all Haku has in terms of easy damage. ;_;

Whoa, more info than I bargained for. I'll have to get to practicing. :P A clarification for combos, though. It seems they're a lot shorter than I thought. I pretty much just do j.s-HS-D -> SV instead of j.k-s -> dj.k-s -> SV? ... doesn't seem much different than before. :P I think the idea is rather to combo them into the corner and then get off your real damage with a mixup into dustloop? Well, keep in mind I might as well be new to GG. Everything is appreciated!

2D, 5D, and 6D, yeah. j.D was a joke, though. :P

Every counter has its uses. It's just that nerfing 5D and buffing j.D made it so it's better to use j.D instead. In situations where we used 6D or 2D before, we still use them there. They haven't been replaced at all. And who says I can't get damage off j.D? I can net 4k+ with 2 stars alone, maybe 5k+ if I go for some 5c x2 links and I get a corner combo, but I can't check the damage on that atm. Personally, I'd say give 5D a use and make j.D prorate a bit more. Then all counters would be balanced.

So after a long, long time, I've finally seriously come back to GG since our city's community is coming together. That said, I've finally played GG for real yesterday with other guys, two years after buying the game, and got trashed. The level of play wasn't too high except for one dude, but damn, it felt good. Now, this means I learned more about HOS in one evening than in a couple months worth of studying. A couple Q's about his combos: - Any good blockstrings I should use? All I did yesterday was something like 5k -> close.s -> 5s -> 2D -> charge. - Gunblaze is terribly unsafe. I got thrown/poked out of it. What kind of setups can I use? - Dustloop is easy in training, not so easy in practice. Anything I should know about character weight or stuff like that? I was whiffing even a perfect staple corner throw dustloop setup! - Which FRCs should I get down cold? I have AC FRC already, but what about the rest? Otherwise, I'd like to expand my knowledge of combos, but I don't know where to start since they seem so numerous in the first post. Off anything that floats (like gunblaze/fafnir) or if I get an air hit, I just do -> 5s -> j.k -> j.s -> dj.k -> dj.s -> Viper -> action charge. Ok damage and easy to mash out, but I know I should be doing sj. combos since that's what I see in vids. Any tip at all would be quite appreciated.

^^ Forgot Haku. Haku's easy on pad except for dashing in a pinch if you use the analog stick. Because they tightened up the dash inputs, sometimes the analog reads your 66 as 63, so it doesn't come out and you get CH'd instead. I use TK more now just because of this.

Officially, he matches up about evenly to most of the cast with a few bad matchups, and slight favor over a couple of the low tiers. He's in A tier, with only Carl above him in there, I believe. So he's ranked about 5th best. Personally, he's as good as you make him be. He has the tools, but nothing that gives him an immediate advantage. He's solid in just about everything, but nothing is overpowered. If you win, you worked for it. A good, solid character is about as high as I'd put him.

Sure, but it doesn't lead into any damaging combos. It's a spacing tool. You can also jump into it and punish. They do have long recovery. Check the frame data. 32f for 2D, 28f for 6D, and j.D is for 11f upon landing. The exception is 5D, but you can't combo off it. "Harder" here isn't really comparable (though I'll admit I'm not sure what links Mundus was referring to... his combos are fairly easy). I'll have you know that even lowly Rachel gives Haku trouble because of her zoning. Void does help, but it's not a match winner. His weaknesses are that he has to get around other character's zoning, and then create openings. Yeah, he's arguably got the best move in the game (Hotaru), but it's not free if the other knows what he's doing. His mixup sucks, and relies on mag for the big damage stuff. As I said earlier, put him in his corner, make him waste stars, bait counters, don't be mindless in your offense, and you have yourself a dead Haku.

Haku specializes in picking apart another's offense. If he's got holes, you put a wedge in and hit for 4-6k+. He plays defensively until he finds an opening, basically. He has to be more offensive in CS now because of his loss of CT 6a and change of range, which might be a bit hard to get used to since his mixup isn't that good, though he's got a couple tricks to overcome that limitation. I wouldn't really say there's any general rule regarding when you should turtle/rushdown since you can still get 3k even with 1 star. Haku simply doesn't get his big damage/mixup options until he hits 4 stars (mid-screen). Overall, depends on how you want to play Haku. He can be rushdown or he can turtle. He isn't that limited by star count, imo. Overall, you have to be very aware of your space, match flow, and mag management. Play smart, put cracks in their armor, and you're in damage heaven. It just takes a bit more work to get it than most characters.

If you know how to fight Haku, you'll find out he's relatively easy to zone outside of his effective range. His pressure and mixup also suck since you need mag to make them effective. Counters can be baited and have very long recovery times. Take that, make him waste stars, and you have your dead Haku.

Fixed. Plus, the primer break isn't that good. 6c does so much more safely. If the other is on his last primer, you have to RC if you hit with the first hit of 6b. Stupid. You can combo off 6b, but it's an extremely situational link into 5a from a CH bounce hit on the second hit of the attack. Like, whoa. Knockdown's not that good except in the corner, but at least it does have it.

Haku doesn't need changing if he's the most balanced. The others need the change. -_- Anyway, I'd actually buff him even more. His 6a and 6b aren't useless, but they're close to it. I'd also like to see some mixup options off Kishuu like with UL Haku which would, of course, cost mag. Unlikely to be implemented since his hop provides for roughly the same kind of pressure, but it'd be cool to have.

If j.a/j.b after j.a doesn't connect, but you're doing it fast enough, it means you're not high enough. Do sj.a instead. You might want to use hop 5b instead, though. I find the height at which it hits is just the right spot. Tip to hitting with 5b: work on the timing for the hop after Gurren, then hold down B after you land. The input buffer will get 5b out automatically. Still making it. I find it hard to get damage, but my recent experience at the T11 tourney changed my way of thinking about Haku's gameplan. That is, gotta play more SF footsies, and you can't be afraid of using meter to get damage. I simply play too conservatively, which worked in CT, but no longer. :\ However, if your problem comes from dropping combos, you just need to put in more practice. Mac addressed your issues, so I hope you'll have an easier time of it now.

I cannot agree more. This is the only match where you have to be balls-to-the-wall aggressive or else Ara sets up his traps and you might as well set down the controller. Yeah, Haku has more ways out of bugs than most other characters, but being cursed isn't a situation you want to be in regardless. Ryoko has it right that CA, Yukikaze, and Void are your best bets to surviving bug lock down. I'll just add that voiding bugs while running away is what you want to rely on if not pinned down. Don't throw j.C recklessly, of course. Also, be careful of using j.D. J.D beats out his 5c (AA), but if he baits it, you might find yourself air thrown -> dead Haku. I learned this the hard way. >_>

Hey, it's Tofu! Want to learn Haku, eh? Tager finally got to you? :P I think Facidi means that you could do 5b CH (AA) -> 5c -> Renka(1)-Enma -> etc. instead for better pushback and damage for 4 stars. That first combo you listed there is better suited to 2c CH, really, since you can't do 5c after. In that case you'd do: 2c CH -> sj.2c -> Tsubaki -> etc. But if you just want to kill the other guy and you have 4 stars, I'd just do shippu since that's unburstable for roughly the same amount of damage (add 5c after the 5b if you think he won't burst it). Hope you have fun with Haku, it can be a bit tricky to get a hang of his finer points. Hop in here anytime you need help, though.

Well, since this is just a loketest, there isn't much to discuss, just speculate, I guess? But I suppose Valk can finally be discussed, so let's get the ball rolling! Facts: 1) Has 4 primers. 2) Does indeed have a "wolf drive". 3) Wolf isn't just for combos, apparently. 4) Has good range on his kicks. 5) I see some Slayer 5k, 2k, BBU, and Dandy super in there~! Hype SlayerWolf is hype! We can infer he'll be a kind of RTSD character, probably with "low" health. Perhaps he'll play like Slayer in that he does massive damage, but sucks in mix-ups and getting in, but Wolf movement seems to refute these points. No idea what he'll play like beyond that. I say Welcome to my New Main regardless!

Only one I can think of off the top of my head is letting the other guy air tech in the corner -> hotaru, but that's more of a tech trap, really. I'd like to know more about this one, too, since I don't really think Haku has any that aren't gimmicks.

That is most definitely a sweet combo vid. There's actually a lot of practical stuff in there, too. New Acho vids have some Haku in them. #'s 5 to 8, to be precise. #5 #6 #7 #8 It's all vs. Ragna as far as I can tell, but it should help a lot to study this sometimes frustrating matchup. Good, solid Haku play, too.