kazukifafner

Properly time Houtenjin and 214D~B are helpful. Honestly though, don't be afraid to high jump and whip yourself around the room with those chains. At a distance, you have supreme advantage over Noel (seriously, Optic Barrel isn't that good, lol). If you are fighting a Noel that loves rushing in, feel free to high jump and throw a j4D or j2D. If you'd rather play more defensively, just block until her Drive "string" is over, then punish her as she recovers or prepare to use 214D~B when she tries to start up another drive "string".

2A - Your best bet for interrupting on the ground as far as normals are concerned. It's quick and it's got decent range for an A. 2C - If your opponent's blockstrings involve him jumping and trying to catch you off guard, then you can try for 2C. It has some head-attribute invulnerability, and though (in my experience) you'll probably trade more often than not, it'll at least get them off of you. 214D~B - I don't recommend this most of the time, but it is an option. Only use it when you know the gap between attacks is large enough. For reference, it's similar to Jin's 623B. The required 214D means that no matter how quickly you press B to follow up, there will always be that small window where your opponent can knock you out of it for a counter. IB for heat > Houtenjin - Honestly, this is your best bet. Houtenjin is easily Hazama's best reversal, and if your opponents are getting you into relentless blockstrings, you shouldn't have a hard time getting enough heat from IBing. Of course, if you already have 50 heat, then just use Houtenjin when you have an opening (just watch for baiting).

You can cancel directly into 623D without hitting A first. However, most of the time, the result is more advantageous if you do D~A and then 623D.

Wow, been a while since I got back on here, lol PSN: kazukifafner Toledo, OH NOTE: Won't be able to play online for a bit though. Need to get a new router or something. Had a terrible time online today, and I don't know if it's BB's servers or what, but it's a hassle. NOTE 2: And now it's fixed

Of course, prediction is extremely important in any fighting game. I'm just saying that improvisation is also an important thing to remember with Hazama, because his zoning could lead to unexpected combo opportunities.

^ Hakumen is a good character to test on. His hitbox is only a little bit larger than normal, and he has great health.

I should also mention that when you reel yourself in towards Lambda, you should go from j2C directly to 3C. Her hitbox is strange, so I find myself whiffing the 5B more often than not.

2A counts as a mid-attack. It can be blocked high or low.

^ I assume you asked that because you see people using 2A instead of 5A, correct? The reason they do that is out of habit. 2A is usually what Hazama players use to poke, as opposed to 5A. The reason is that 2A is -1 on block, while 5A is -2. That 2A habit simply carries over into other things.

They prorate the same. P1 = 80% P2 = 82%

Post will be updated as I think of more to add. (Opponent in corner) [50% Heat] 236236B > 214D~(~)C > 66 crossup > 5B > 2C > 4D~A > 623D > 2B > 5C > 2C > 4D~D > j.214B# v Character Specific (though I can't remember which except for Rachel and Tager) [50% Heat] 236236B > 214D~(~)C > 66 crossup > 5B > 2C > 4D~A > 623D > 5C > 2C > TK j.214B > 5C > 2C > 4D~D > j.214B# *I believe the above two are right. I'll double check later.* Neutral Throw > (Delay) 4D~A > 4D~D > j.214B# (I feel like I should note that by "Delay" I mean wait until your opponent is at the zenith of the throw) (Mid-Screen) [50% Heat] 5B (CH) > 6A > 236236B > Houtenjin combo [Close] 6C (CH) > 66 > 3C > Standard BnB [Far] 6C (CH) > 5D~D > Chain Reel-In BnB (I should note that when I say "Far", I don't mean across the screen. I'm referring to the latter end of 6C's range) 5D~C > jB > 5B > 3C > 214D~(~)C > 5C > 2C > 4D~D > j.214B# j6D~C > jB > 5B > 3C > 214D~(~)C > 5C > 2C > 4D~D > j.214B# 236C > 5C > 3C > 214D~(~)C > 66 > 5C > 2C > 4D~A > 4D~D > j.214B# 214D~B (CH) > (Delay) 6D~A > 6D~A > 623D > 66 > 3C > 236236B > Houtenjin combo 5D~A (CH) > 5D~D > Chain Reel-In BnB Air Throw > 2D~D (No hit) > 2B > 5C > (2C) > 4D~A > 4D~D > j.214B# (I put parentheses around the "2C" because it might not connect with all character. I need to check) Air Throw > 4D~D > 5B > 5C > 2C > 4D~A > 4D~D > j.214B# ********** Also, just a general thing to note with Hazama. His chains can (and do) make his combos very improvisational. For example, let's say you are zoning with your chains, and you happen to catch a person IAD + attacking with a CH jD. In that specific situation, you can use: j5D~A (CH) > (land) 6D~A > 623D > etc. However, that only works in a very specific instance. When you play as Hazama, you really need to be able to think on your feet. Otherwise, you'll miss out on a lot of combo opportunities.

lol, well I've been practicing with him for months now, so I've got a good handle on his combos and the like. Unfortunately, I rarely get the chance to face really skilled players, so my matchup experience needs some work.

I'll be compiling combos next week for the guide I'll be doing for tianyuan's site. So I can post them in here as well.

6B's only use is to create a basic mixup option against the opponent where the opponent has to guess if you're going for 6A or 6B. Still, it isn't really all that useful. You could just use a different mixup move as well, so that whole thing is pretty much only for messing with you're opponent. In short, no it doesn't have much practical use.

Sorry, no mist canceling allowed As said, 236D is probably your safest 3C followup. Heck, it even puts you at +1 frame advantage. Not much use for continuing pressure, but gives you the ability to block before your opponent attacks. But yeah, outside of a pressure-ender, it doesn't have a lot of use. It can be a decent poke, but only at around its max range, which is when you'd be too close to start chain zoning, and too far to poke with 2A. It can only be comboed off of on CH, and even then the damage would be very similar to just using a standard BnB.

So, what are some of your favorite/best Houtenjin (or 50% heat) combos? I'm trying to compile a list of some of the better combos for a HZ guide I'm doing for tianyuan's site.

You also have to remember that height is the most important factor when it comes to whether or not you can link to 3C > Jayoku. Sometimes that extra height is all it takes to change that. Honestly, it's just better to get into the habit of going from 6D~A > Jakou. From my experience, if they couldn't tech out from the 6D, they won't be able to tech out before the Jakou hits either. Jakou, after all, is faster than his normal chains.

I really liked Hayate's chain movement. I don't see a lot of Hazama players using D~B so effectively. Alice/Arisu(AR) vs Teruwo(HZ) あさがお(CA) vs 黒猫(HZ) ???(CA) vs ???(HZ)

As FlyingVe mentioned, a key to using Hazama's chains is knowing their speed (which requires a bit of experience with them). What I mean by that, is you have to know how long the chain will take to reach a certain point of the screen, and be able to retract it then. This is key for connecting multiple chains. More experienced Hazama players know when to hit A without for the 4D or 6D to connect, because they know that by the time they press A, the move will have connected and the chain will retract. This is largely experience and muscle memory, but it's key all the same. @Eclipse *Safe(Reasonable when experienced with the timing/characters/etc.) Jayoku -> 2(3) Jayoku FC -> 3(4) 214D~B CH -> 1(2) 214D~~B FC -> 2(3) B+C -> 1(2) Admittedly, I'm not as sure about Jayoku without FC properties, because I usually just go for 214D~~C followup in that scenario. Also, with these numbers, I was trying to assume minimal skill followed by adequate skill; though for Jayoku, it may be closer to adequate followed by experienced, since the timing for Jayoku chain followup (at least for me) is more difficult than Gashoukyaku chain followup.

For CH 214D~B, you can ALWAYS get at least 2 6Ds in (no matter what character). The key is, wait for it . . . patience. After you launch them, you want to wait for them to fall down so that you when you hit them with the first 6D, it hits the top section of the character. That way, when you release it with A, they'll be much easier to tag with the next 6D. It's the same with FC 214D~~B, except that you can add another chain to it. Of course, you also have to be close enough (but that should be obvious, lol). Though, you can get 3 6Ds off of only CH 214D~B with the right timing on certain characters. This is fairly obvious for Tager, but I've even achieved 3 off of Bang if I hit him right at the edge of his hitbox. However, if they are too high in the air when you hit the first 6D, then they will either tech out or the 2nd one will whiff (or if they are too far away, but again, that should be obvious).

Hazama is definitely B tier. Heck, even on B tier, he leans more towards B-.

Hmm, well, it seemed like the active frames would have run out by the time I reached Carl.

So, I just experienced the fabled 2nd hit of Hazama's jB. I was up against Carl (just trying random stuff against the CPU). He and Nirvana had me in a corner with Carl having enough health left for one hit. I'm falling down from a jump, and hit Nirvana with jB, but as I keep descending, Carl get's hit with the jB as he pulls his leg back in (similar to Jin's 5B). Idk, I thought it was interesting.

^ I should also be noted that if you use D~B and are still hit by Spark Bolt, the motion from being hit in the middle of ~B might just be enough to throw the Tager off and avoid a huge Spark Bolt combo.