Kaizen

There's a big meetup going on this Friday that's been getting a lot of word of excitement: a casual meetup for anybody playing Guilty Gear. Last week I saw a few people who were either just starting out or were expressing interest in picking the game up, and pretty much all I told them was "This game is awesome, you should play it." I also ran into a handful of people who jumped on the Virtual-On: OT machine and it blew my fucking mind that somebody was actually playing the best mech game period. A friend of mine was screwing with a few newcomers and doing nothing but using the P button (as I-no) and still winning. I don't think that'd really be that big of a problem, but the guy kinda just stopped playing afterwards. I'm wondering if just watching us play is intimidating, I used to be that way with other fighting games until I actually saw Guilty Gear in action. Whereas a lot of players seem to think, "holy shit, that's what this game is? I can't do that, it's too much," my first thoughts were always, "holy fuck, I can do shit like THAT?! Sign me up." I'm also bringing in some deep, lint-covered, pocket subs out for this meetup. But I think Eddie might be a bit much for these people...

I have a question for the lot of you. There's an arcade about 15 minutes from where I live, smack dab in the middle of Los Angeles. You'd expect anywhere in SoCal to have a thriving existent GG scene, but not here. I used to go to Arcade Infinity and Family Fun Arcade near the ends of their lifespans, and went from being "some Sol scrub" to "that guy who uses that cheap ass Sol how brainless what a scrub nobody should ever lose to this guy" yet almost everyone does. The problem is that, going into this now growing area, Japan Arcade, most players are on Melty Blood, SF4, Third Strike, and Blazblue. Most of them are afraid to jump on the GG machine when I play arcade mode because I actually know how to avoid Megalomania, as if it's the most impressive thing in the world. I tell them that they should play GG, because it's great. I jokingly talk smack about Melty amongst the regulars, but everybody knows that I actually respect it. But everybody there already has the mindset that GG is too hard. I explain that maybe it's a little more complex, but that there are characters who are relatively easy: Pot, Faust, May, Jam, and to a lesser extent, Sol, Ky, and Kliff whenever +R drops, since we're planning on getting a board for it sometime down the line. How do I go about fixing this? These are players who are already dead decided that GG is too difficult, who quit after I go easy on them, and sometimes let them win. Sometimes I win by doing the SAME MOVE over and over, expecting them to try different things to punish them. I never outright tell them how to beat things, but mention that I do things that are unsafe, and that they should be punishing them. If players ask, I'm willing to help, but nobody seems to be willing to push forward their questions. I want to watch this community grow, but I don't want to hold people's hands through it: that doesn't really help anybody in the long run. I once beat a Chipp player by doing NOTHING but Bandit Revolver, which is fairly unsafe and completely unsafe to throws. The point was obviously to try to make him learn how to deal with it, yet he just kept getting hit by it. No 6P, no throw, no nothing. Should I really just outright tell people "do this", or hope that they bother trying to learn?

Yeah dude I've really been aching for some GG, but things got really busy in the last few weeks. I'm really hoping to hit the next one, where I can do ass-backwards retarded mixups on you guys, and where I can play Psyblade and Stormlocke in settings that don't involve lag and controller throwing. Bobman's schedule is starting to free up a bit, too, Jason, so I'm hoping to bring him along, too.

Some people write out move names, others use abbreviations, and others still write out the actual command. You could see a Tiger Knee'd Bandit Revolver written as 2369K or as tk.BR.

What do you mean you don't understand the notes? Which combo doesn't make sense? If you don't understand the notation, like the difference between 5K and 2K, then read this: http://www.dustloop.com/wiki/index.php?title=Notation. The first section explains notation, while the following terms explain how most combos are generally written, though there's usually a bit of leeway between how different players write them out. An extremely simple combo, then is something like this: 5K, c.S, 2D, BR/VV. If that doesn't make sense, then it's like this: Since the number pad indicates direction, and the letter denotes which button, you combine them to get the move you're looking for. -5K = neutral Kick. Sol's fastest normal. You start a lot of combos with it. -c.S = close Slash. In GG, every character has a close and far version of their standing Slash. The distance that the two activate varies between characters. -2D = crouching Dust. Universal sweep. One of Sol's best moves. -BR/VV = Bandit Revolver or Volcanic Viper, whichever is best for the situation. Sol can combo into both out of his 2D/sweep, and go into a knockdown. Sol's generally pretty good at getting combos that knock down the opponent. Extremely basic combo that works anywhere on screen, as long as Sol is relatively close to the opponent. Does about 100 damage, give or take. You see this pretty often when Sol's not in much of a position to do anything better. You can also omit one of the moves before 2D or do a lot of other things instead: this combo has a lot of leeway.

So how many showed up for GG? Sucks that I missed this but shit happens.

I still don't understand what everybody's beef with Overture is. I admittedly thought it was Dynasty Warriors when I first saw it and had a copy I got for $5 at AX, but then I played the shit out of it. I found it to be a really enjoyable experience: story mode has terrible dialogue and the usual "be enemies until we have a common cause to fight" trope, but the single player campaign lends itself to being an excellent tutorial for the actual game, which is versus play. The times I played online against skilled opponents felt infinitely rewarding in its complexity: doing GG level difficulty combo strings while alternately controlling and splitting units in an RTS felt pretty damn cool. Considering that I've heard (don't remember where) that Overture was what Daisuke initially envisioned for GG, I wouldn't be surprised if at least some elements of it appeared in Xrd. And aside from how FUCKING MAD HYPED the trailer drove me, I also noticed that nice new tumble animation that came out of Ky's 6P being counter hit, along with the huge amount of hitstop. Yes, it's a trailer, but maybe they're going somewhere with that? The aforementioned clash system piques my interest too. I realized, after five years of playing, that Sol does c.S with his right hand.

Definite contenders: I-no's FB note & FB Dive, Dizzy's FB Spike, Testament's FB Skull, Kliff's FB Chop, and Robo Ky's Bike (still). I-no's FB note actually raises guard bar, meaning that if you don't faultless, I-no's probably going to get in, she's probably going to get a hit, and she's probably going to kick in your shit. Her FB Dive is also amazing because of how much of a combo extender it works as. Dizzy's FB spikes just eats through everything and keep you sitting there. Same with Testament's skull, because either A. you get hit by 6P/5D, or B. you stand up and commit yourself to more block pressure. Wonderful dilemma. Why wouldn't you count a move with a 119x dizzy modifier that can be used mid combo? 100-200 damage on a free reset. (Actually not sure if this is possible post-patch, can somebody clarify?) Robo Ky has the shittiest high/low mixup, and then you get 25% meter and holy shit restored air options and overheads everywhere. As a Sol player, FB sidewinder is definitely welcome, but it has no use as an overhead or in pressure because of the minimum height requirement on Sidewinder. Yes, I can get SW loops from the dumbest combos and start stuff, but Sol's air-to-air is honestly pretty shitty. Most of the cast have air normals that outrange j.P and j.H, or moves that outspeed or flat-out beat j.S and j.D. And we don't talk about j.K because it kind of sucks. I think it's better suited to random 5K/6P/6H(HAH) aerial counter hits into whatever. It's not bad at all, and is probably among the better half of FBs in the game, but I wouldn't call it the best. It's definitely no AC Exhaustion (Eddie), though. EDIT: I actually just realized that j.K, while itself is generally poor and has trouble effectively comboing into j.S reliably after air-to-air, it lends itself to something much better now. Sol can easily do j.K j.D dj.FB SW. It doesn't save j.K from its clutch hitbox, but that alone should make going into FB SW extremely rewarding. Sol can probably go into empty jump SW loops following with how high that starting string would launch the opponent. So maybe shitty isn't the right word. It's just that almost all of his aerials are extremely situational as air-to-airs and generally suffer since a lot of characters have aerials with better reach and hitboxes. J.P is still ridiculously amazing up close though, and j.H's hitbox is so wonky that it works when thrown out early.

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who misses how much more dynamic GGX's soundtrack was over XX's. X's "The Original", "A Solitude that Asks Nothing in Return", and "Keep Yourself Alive 2" are some of my favorite songs in the entire series. Furthermore, Feel a Fear, Burly Heart, Fuuga and a few other X versions of the main soundtrack are so much better than the XX versions, which I find ranging between meh and unbearable. On another note, why did Isuka have to rock in every aspect except its gameplay? "Sheep Will Sleep (If You Become Fatigued)", "Drumhead Pulsation", "Home Sweet Grave", "Rift in the Clouds", "Drunkard Does Make Wise Remarks", and "Push a Bush" are some of my favorite songs in the series.

I was screwing around in training mode and just realized that j.P cancels to j.K on whiff. I can't think of anything it'd really be useful for outside of mashing j.P and going for the air-to-air as a kind of pointless fake out, but I felt like throwing it out here.

If we're going for DI and guaranteed dizzy combos, we're probably going to have to use at least one 6H (faster and more damage in DI, has a 1.5x dizzy modifier), and go for HVV a little earlier. Maybe more Dustloop in between the two? I mean, Dizzy is pretty easy to stun. Maybe xx 6P DI c.S/2H D-Loop (1 rep, maybe 2), dj.TO, dash 6H(1) HVV, if it's possible? Just speculation. It'd be better if the 6H was earlier because of stun decay, but it being only special cancellable is kind of a pain in the ass. Then again, you could just do Bandit Revolver because DI BR is so crazy. Hell, you might also be able to go into 6P > DI > 6H because DI 6H starts 5 frames faster (frame 8). 5K c.S 6P (push yourself back a bit) DI > f.S 6H BR, xx... c.S/2H/6H hVV? God I wish I wasn't busy so I could go steal my friend's Vita. 6P GF loop sounds hilarious.

If you're going to try some DI combos, you might want to start with something other than DITO (god this feels weird to type) because it has an 80% prorate. Surprisingly, DI 5D is FASTER than tk.TO (18f startup vs 20f). I mean, it's cool that we have a new, safer overhead (+3 on TO while +/- 0 on DI5D), and while I think the prorate is justified, I'd like to think that maybe we can get something cooler/stronger by leading into it. Say, corner 5K/c.S > 6P > DI > dash 2H > j.D > j.D > dj.TO > dash tk.TO > dash tk.TO > dash 2H > hVV. Or maybe screw around with Dustloop if you can. Oh right that other thing that was mentioned: does DI HVV automatically go into Knockdown afterwards, or do you still have to input it? I remember reading something along the lines of that being a thing from one of the loketests. Still waiting on the chance to try it on my friend's Vita sometime soon. Got a bunch of stuff I wanna try, like this: -Combos that started with j.S in Accent Core do how much more damage now that j.S is unprorated? How does this compare with everybody's health buff from 420 to 460? -2H counter hit has 8 additional frames of hitstun on counter hit. Can we dash into j.D > Dustloop or Sidewinder Loop? Does it knock down? etc. -Grand Viper's active frames were altered, does this cause any noticeable differences? -Is the game still stupid with GV/VV RC? I don't know how many times I have a blocked VV, I mash RC while airborne, and nothing happens and I eat shit for it. -How many reps can we get going solely for Dustloop? -What's the optimal way to end with Tyrant Rave (like VR-Raiden is doing)? -How many times can we rep BB into itself? From what I've seen, getting clean hits on it is harder than I initially assumed. -What gatlings to 6H: c.S or f.S or both? Is c/f.S 6H Fafnir Tyrant Rave optimal over c/f.S 5H Fafnir TR? -Since 6H is now down to level 4 (the only level 4 move among Sol's grounded arsenal), and without stagger, can it still go into Grand Viper at certain ranges? -What can we do with 6P's increased hitstun on both ground/air, and ground/air counter hit? -What's the best combo to do out of Fafnir RC? (I wouldn't be able to try full GV combos on Vita either, though. ) -How big is FB Sidewinder's hitbox? Can we use it against crouching opponents, people poking out of pressure, or as a fuzzy guard? Does it fastfall like normal FB and make itself unusable as a jump in tool? -What's the best we can do out of Tyrant Rave B's wallstick while in the corner? While a bit further out? -"FB Sidewinder: On hit, the opponent gains Tension Gauge and Burst Gauge based on 70% of the damage value." Wanna try to figure out what the fuck this means. -DI 5P does more damage. Is this anything aside from completely asinine? -Is Super Dragon Install still a completely worthless piece of shit? Does it drain health at the same rate? I would assume so, there's no listed changes for it (and there go my hopes of DI combos locking the opponent's burst. Fuck that would be amazing). Note that this is all stuff I plan on doing soon enough, but feel free to test any of these if they pique your interest enough. Hell, add to this list if there's anything else that hasn't been considered or tested yet. I mean, you're the one with the game .

GGs to Osuna, OneSanitarium, Krono_1999, and Goldenrody. God it feels good to play people again. If there's anybody still dealing with this murky netcode on or near the West Coast, I'm more than willing to go for a big set when I have the time. PSN: DQRF Main: Sol Subs: O-Sol, Zappa. When I get some time to dedicate I'll have a pocket Eddie. Area: SoCal Times available: Most weekday nights excluding Tuesdays. Most of the day on weekends.

Yo.

Maybe we can do 5K/S 2H Dustloop if you're near the corner but not in it by the time you reach them after the slide. That'd probably give use enough time to land and relaunch into SW loop. Hell, you could probably pull off that sick 1-rep DLoop dj. SW that I'm kind of fond of, that Kishitaka does here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4f_Ssr4xN0#t=46s. I actually do something similar in AC already against lightweights in meterless corner combos: 5K/S 6P, Gunflame, 2H j.D dj.SW |> dash j.S SW |> j.S dj.D VV. Usually does at least 230 or so. Surprisingly, the frame data says CH Fafnir slides longer than CL/CH FB Fafnir (40F for normal, 28F for FB), but FB recovers in 17f while normal recovers in 27f. Also, the hitstop from CL FB Fafnir might make it easier to confirm and work off of. That's stuff I'd like to try when I get the chance. Jam is a lightweight, so you should actually be able to get a CL FB Fafnir out of airthrow without a f.S if you're close enough to the ground when you throw her. If you're in the corner you could easily get a nice combo out of it. Speaking of which, I started doing corner Airthrow to Tyrant Rave B in AC. It's not much, but you can add like 40 damage to normal corner throw combos if you link 5K j.K SW out of the super and follow with dash 5K/S 2H tk.9SW |> 5K/S Bandit Revolver. Puts them back in the corner and does like ~150+. Oh yeah, Corner Throw/Airthrow 6P Combos! Fuck yes. Sick.

Oh. If you have access to it right now, can you tell me what FB Fafnir does on Counter Hit? The frame data doesn't say, it only states KD on normal hit and Slide on Clean Hit. If it slides, see if you can get any good followups like out of CL Fafnir.

Holy shit 194 on Pot out of WILD THROW? Yes please. I'd wish that ending combos with normal Fafnir > Tyrant Rave instead of FB Fafnir worked, but the Tyrant Rave followup is 8 frames slower on the normal Fafnir.

YES. Pot can eat it for having the ability to combo Sol out of PBuster midscreen. I don't know why I don't see any Sol players ending SW loops in Fafnir > Tyrant Rave. Even if it doesn't knock down except on those two, the damage buff it gets from Clean Hits should have been more than enough to kill in several situations I saw players going for j.P x Whatever trying to score a kill.

PSN: DQRF Main/Subs: Sol, Justice / Order Sol, Zappa Location: SoCal Been playing for about 5 years, borrowed a friend's Vita and played +R into the ground. Borrowed somebody's PS3 for a few weeks, returned it, buying a PS3 sometime next week (August 12th). Looking forward to playing against somebody other than the same five people in my circle of friends a matchup other than I-no. Should be available most weekday nights past 6 p.m. Pacific, and all day on some weekends. Send me a PM if you're up for something.

I also have a friend who got it on his Vita. Lemme know if there's anything you'd like me to test (as long as it doesn't involve sj.IAD j.P/K BR. I NEVER land that shit).

Free Live Gold this weekend. Jumping on for the few hours that I'll hopefully be able to enjoy GT: DQRF Location: SoCal Chars: Sol, OS, Zappa

Free Live Gold this weekend. Jumping on for the few hours that I'll hopefully be able to enjoy GT: DQRF Location: SoCal Chars: Sol, OS, Zappa

I was never able to get clean hit GVs consistently when I played pad, but I remember reading somewhere that mashing the diagonals yields better results. Apparently, going for 1/9 or 3/7 will result in the game reading the inputs better or just reading more of them, and giving you the hits you need. Of course, once I switched to stick, the whole affair became a cakewalk (where 4/6 and S/H or K/S are the best methods), but it's worth a shot.

Dead Angles = Guaranteed Online Reversal Attempting Sidewinder Loop online is not fun.

I don't get that. Why play Force? Sure, it's got the two-on-two aspect, but it's slower and far more limited. 2 on 2, Kagekiyo, and Ghuarayaka seems like a pretty shitty tradeoff for a more boring game. Even though VO4 still seems pretty good, I'd rather stick with VOOT any day. I'd play you if I still had XBL Gold, but maybe once I generate some more income I'll renew it. Also, yes. Fuck Sega.