kenja0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALocrIfRV0Y The closest we're getting to figuring a matchup against Makoto.

Is this chart accurate? I know you can cancel 5B into 6A. 2A can be grab canceled. Or are the recovery times on these attacks so little that it seems like it?

Gravity Seed against angst/aggressive Tagers. Get your response and reaction time up.

There was nothing clearly broken with Mu like Makoto's loop was. And since she gets no tournament play, you can't balance something you don't know the full potential to.

First/second post of the rebalance said sword summons are slower- that could really be anything, but it sounds like 214D the most.

The Tsubaki 5DxN in the videos looks iffy: 1 knockdown = 2~3 bars. It's cool, but it makes 2D worthless as a charger. They'll probably swap the recovery times on both (since they said 2D is stiffer in recovery).

I'm hearing Gravity Seed initialization at the beginning of the match- first use only after 85 seconds remaining... and some other nerfs like it may be slowed down. That'd suck a bit. I don't see Spark Bolts getting that kind o... oh.

CA at best... it's OP by itself and is probably the defining reason why no one could get in. Sure you can learn to block Nu ranged mixup game, but you'll never get close to her.

Okay that's a serious exaggeration... it doesn't need to be THAT low. lol.

"We don't really care about the balance- we just want to game to be fun." I guess nerfing Litchi, Bang, Ragna and buffing Tsubaki and Rachel makes the game more fun. Not that I'm saying it's awesome and they should get mega nerfed, but hopefully they won't make Litchi/Bang/Ragna unplayable like Rachel once was. I'd rather a couple of mechanic changes and apply mostly damage/proration changes for them than for them to lose their combo ability. They're fun to play now. They just need to deal Chipp damage.

Well, you can't really combo 4DD into anything unless you're relatively close (236A/236D/214D okie | 236B grounded | 236C airborne). And I would love to see some 4DD>236B/j.214D mixup options instead of combo only. Anyway, I think just having a 4DD JC on block/hit is a good enough buff for Lambda. If Ragna/Bang/Litchi get hit as hard as they are in the loketest (which probably won't happen... that's too hard), then her match longevity increases immensely- she would go from 3 mistakes to 6 max and those matchups would go up to maybe 45-55 from 35-65. Edit: Tsubaki fun... again? Don't you mean, for the first time?

1st loketest. She'll probably have 4D/4DD JC on block/hit(please...). That and 5D JC is sex to my ears. I want to see 4B only have its second hit and her CA be her old Teleport (through opponent).

You've missed every single Gravity Seed combo in the videos. If you get a CH and are not at the wall, back up a tad bit and then 5CxN>236C>etc- that will work. Otherwise, 66>6A>2147D>5CxN>etc. CAs are very risky, and if you plan on taking that risk then do 632146D instead- it gives full startup invincibility and will force the opponent to whiff with good timing. I wouldn't suggest using Calamity Sword in a irl situation since people won't get ahead of themselves. Learn those IAD. Starting matches for Lambda usually involves IAD back>j.2DD; but airgrabbing is also a good option. Get used to jumping into the air and using j.2D/j.D which can be relatively safe. Keep your mobility up. You've got good zoning tools. Practice it good.

I'm sure it'd be fine- those undefined or questionable matchups can be kept. I'm just tired of the lack of development: it's been 6 months since an update. Post what we 'know'.

Where is the matchup chart for this list? A lot of the arguing would stop if we could all visually see the total matchup scores between characters; it's also good to know how each matchup stands in Japan at each character's clear best. A tier list is made based off those matchup scores. If a list was made based off assumptions, then that's fine, but there still needs to be an 'organized' elaboration of some sort. I don't want to dig through this argument thread.

Is there a matchup chart for this tier list? I would like to see. Links as well.

Lambda vs Lambda is a game of paper-rock-scissors and the card game, speed, at the same time. Whoever hits first gets the combo. Obviously at the beginning of the match, IAD j.2DD is just expected in a normal matchup, but it won't work against someone who does it too. Opening match options: IAD air grab, j.214D, 2D/6D, 5C, and IAD j.2DD. 6D beats IAD j.2DD but loses to else. 2D beats IAD air grab but lsoes to else. j.214D beats aerial movement but loses to 5C, 5C beats stuff but loses to IAD j.2DD. Take into account timing speed, etc etc. Take with a grain of salt. Since Lambda is not a rushdown or a mixup character, grabbing and crossups become important. Gravity doesn't work well in this matchup but it can stop crossups. IAD j.2DD escape is good blockstring exit, but it does lose to j.DD. 236A/B/C can only win in prediction so do it if you know how they are reacting. 214D is kinda iffy outside of okie since it can get crushed by any projectile. 236D is as slow as fuck. 4D seems to be the only reliable attack from a distanced ground Lambda. If Lambda is aerial approaching, remember that aerial D moves can stall so 6D/2D is harder to predict. Everything with Lambda is a 50-50 shot- there's really no way to counter one except with speed and prediction. Use Lambda's speed to control space and keep up unpredictability.

I hate this matchup, it's totally rigged in Lambda's favor.

I totally forgot and am nowhere to see if this works. If Makoto 3C spams, try 4B. It might work like it does on 2A Taokakas.

Arakune is an aerial Tager. He has all the tools a Tager has with slight variations. His 'magnetism' pulls bugs to you after filling a bar. He has no invincibility or priority versing projectiles- making it hard to deal with straight up zoning. And lastly, his aerial momentum is sluggishly slow in place of Tager's ground game. Obviously, Arakune is mega threatening with his curse- a full curse on a pro level scale leads to a 70% chance of death. The problem is, the spacing it requires for him to hit with a curse is literally impossible to set up on a Lambda who exercises proper zoning. You're going to be on your toes in movement- but unlike Carl, you don't have to stress out about it- Arakune hasn't the evasion to keep up with Lambda. The matchup stands at 65-35 Lambda's favor. Filling the Curse Bar Arakune can fill up a curse bar in two places- up close when on the ground and long range when in the air. There is no median for him against an opponent who can instantly shift between the two in position and attack. Lambda should never be close to anyone, ever. Arakune has no good reversal or anti-air to stop Lambda, so simply IAD away as much as you can. If he uses 6D, jump and block it, then air dash away- it's not enough to keep her from getting away. Lambda can move much faster than Arakune, including retreat to his approach. In the air, Arakune has clouds and position bugs (j.D). Understand the spacing it takes to hit with each one of those Ds and position yourself in the blind spots at all times. If you must be in a hotspot for defense or an attack, then be sure to jump over them and j.(2)D- Lambda's ground Ds are too risky to whiff with, but remember to jump cancel if possible. Aerial vs Aerial Arakune is an air game character- all of his strengths lie in that. Despite it being very strong against most of the cast, it simply can't hold up to Lambda's air game- his movement is too predictable. Ranged j.(2)D shreds him, j.C keeps him away, hell if he's airdashing or making a cloud- air dash into his face and grab him for a free 2k damage- however, watch for his forward pokes. Aerial vs Ground If Arakune goes into the air, space yourself and hit with a 2D (it's much less accurate to hit with 6D). Don't be afraid to run under him either and get a 2D cross up. If Arakune is across the screen, 4D can hit him even in the early stages of his jump; if not space for 6D. 236C smacks the crap out of him. You can cancel your D moves into this- don't try this every time, but always when he least expects it. There's no better way to chip at Arakune's defense than to hit his primers, barrier gauge, and jump height all at the same time. Having barrier up, sadly, hurts his game a lot. The only thing I wouldn't recommend often against an Arakune is 6A. I prefer to use j.214D as the anti-air. Good hitbox and hits every place Arakune could be closing in from in the air. You can try 2C, it has a better hitbox than 6A and has enough speed to beat Arakune's air approach. Ground vs Ground Arakune's dashes are somewhat annoying to deal with. However, it's nothing a sweep can't fix. Watch out for 2C landshark as its range and priority are deceptive. Sweep can hit this too. Don't forget Arakune's high low game- 6A/2A etc. Barrier 2A to force 6A to be out of range after 2 hits. 6C is also an overhead that contains great invulnerability for low and mid. 2D hits twice, low the first hit. 6D engulfs directly above Lambda. Jumping and blocking will stop both of these- but you'd have to take the curse fill. Ground vs Air j.2D destroys Arakune. It absolutely forces him into the air because it shuts him down. Arakune's Tools: Clouds Arakune's clouds are not threatening, just inconveniences. Arakune follow cloud is useless cause he won't get close. Lambda follow cloud is an annoyance, but extremely slow- you should be able to zone around it just fine (use it to judge whether you're moving fast enough or not). Height follow cloud is probably the worst one- it prevents Lambda from getting into the air which is the safest place for her to be. Buuuut, it doesn't hug that low- super jump or double jump catches. Arakune's Tools: Teleport Arakune can teleport to the opposite side of the screen if he's hugging the screen. Against Lambda, it is pretty damn useless- he might drop down with j.2A which with proper zoning wouldn't hit even then. If anything, it is strictly an escape tool for him. Arakune's Tools: 214A/B/C Evasion tools. If you're in the air escaping, it's not worth his time to do. The only thing he can do with it is dive, land shark, or 2A. Arakune's Tools: Invisibility Two words: Chipp Zanuff. Let's move on. Arakune's Tools: Curse- 15 seconds to death If you don't act when you get cursed, you're going to die. Arakune's bugs only come out when Arakune is out of a combo and Arakune can't instant combo kill you unless he gets close while you're cursed- that gives enough incentive to fight back. Attack him with 6D/2D and jump into the air and block while you move in a direction. Even if he blocks it, keep yourself in the air on the move as much as you can. If you're lucky, you can survive long enough for a curse combo to not be able to kill you. The worst part about curse... it hardly drains if you're hitting him. Arakune's Tools: Bugs A bug: Comes down from diagonally behind Arakune and then bounces back up. B bug: Comes down diagonally down from above Arakune. C bug: Jumps from the ground towards Arakune. D bug: Comes from straight up to down to up again- multiple hits. Arakune can control where the bugs are summoned. Forward: Arakune summons a bug farther forward than usual- 2/3 the screen. Back: Arakune summons a bug more closely to himself than the opponent- 1/3 the screen. The biggest things you need to watch for is the D bugs. A, B and C can be used to hit into D (most notably C because of its large hitstun) and if Arakune summons any bug with D with any direction, they will magically align upon each other to start the combo. There is no easy way to avoid the bugs, but keep an eye on which ones are coming out. A bug is deadly because of its bounce, B bug is deadly because it can hit in the air, C bug is deadly on the ground and D bug can create a wall. After a bug is thrown, it takes about 2 seconds max to recover from it, so watch which bugs are thrown and jump into the blind spots. Summary 2D. Space for it. Sure he only has to block one way, but he's never going to get an opening to attack if you're good about it.

Most blockstrings don't provide enough disadvantage to accurately punish until the end. Also, blockstrings have mixup and safe counter punishments- ie: Ragna has many staggered options that require specific punish for each one; Jin's DP overrides most things; Bang can jump cancel into a cross over; etc. Given, most are extremely punishable, it's better to be safe than to be counter hit by a bait/misread offense. Consider this- the best of the best pros can perfect block all blockstrings and knows all of the opponent's options during the blockstring (exaggerating, but not necessarily inaccurate). Every time they perfect block something, they've predicted the opponent's attack in the block string. Every time they don't perfect block, it was because the opponent can deliver another option that's too risky to predict through a perfect block- might he jump cancel, go high, low, grab, do a move that leads somewhere else? They know a blockstring well enough to perfect block it at certain parts of it, but can't punish it even with the perfect block because of frame disadvantage or fear of misreading the string.

If you fight against Carl, cry. It's a bad matchup on a pro level, but then again no one plays Carl on a level lower than that. Ada blocks everything. 4D/236D is the only thing that may reach him and I know him to dodge that stuff anyway. If you are in a block string, try to jump out of it. But watch out, 8D is broke- breaks everything, even Barrier Block. Carl's 6C is an overhead (looks like a horse about to stomp the ground), it's short ranged. His j.2C is not an overhead anymore, but j.B/C and 2D are still viable. Other than this, Carl is a "low block" character. If Ada is attacking in a blockstring and Carl stops attacking, Carl will most likely 236A/B behind you and cross you up. Pay attention to Ada's timing and block away from Carl as much as you can. Never underestimate someone who plays as Carl. I always tighten my game when I fight a Carl, even if they are somehow bad (besides, it's bad practice). If you're going to fight this match, you best stay active and keep moving. Stay in the air as much as you can, but remember that 8D is threatening.

If Jin is using an Ice Car (not A), 2A will beat him to his next action. If Jin uses 2D, just block it- it's too risky to move. But, if there's one thing I notice, Jin is extremely weak against Barrier Blocking. Barrier will push him away, in which he must respace himself via dash cancels/jump cancels etc, which he is somewhat vulnerable (if you try to punish his respacing, he may DP). On a random tangent with my experiences, the Jin player I know ends everything with a DP move, and if he notices it starts failing, he grabs instead. The absolute best way to know if Jin's blockstring is over is if they Blizzard/Gale or Ice Car (which is bad). Jin can cancel every single one of those moves into a Blizzard/Gale if they don't whiff. If you aren't that close (judge that distance well), go for a low move (2A, 2B, 3C) which will knock him out of a Blizzard because of the hitbox discrepancies. Gale beats everything but can only combo in the corner/Super. Gravity Seed clashes and becomes a frame disadvantage. If he misses with a Blizzard, he Blizzards again in a row because there just happens to be enough time to do so. >_> There was a time where he had enough frame advantage to Blizzard 4 times in a row- clash with 3 of them and hit me out of my 4th attack. He's never lost a fight online (Xbox Live) because of the DP strategy. Don't fall for it. Ever. Barrier Block is your friend- aerial/ground, and if you lose to someone who DP spams, you didn't exert your defense well enough. Jin is not that good.

This matchup isn't as scary as vs Bang. Tao is fast, but she is also susceptible to Gravity Seeds which is good against the spam and tames her a bit. j.C should knock out most of her point blank approaches (especially 2DB>j.C)- since it hits both sides. 6A/j.214D is very useful if she's try to approach from afar- use the one which you feel she'll be in range for at that time. Blocking Tao low is her main weakness since the only high attacks she can use are predictable enough for a Gravity Seed to hit with (6B/j.B). It's also much harder for the 2DB>j.C to hit with. Tao is about momentum and fair prediction. She's fast, but exert your patience, because everyone else has to against her- except Litchi.

The guide is squeaky clean now and I love it. Some things to add maybe: Because suddenly everyone wants to do this in matches because of that Mu tutorial, you can Vortex your opponent with 2B as an oki. Gravity Seed combos- CH or not (Combo 3 almost always misses if its not CH and you aren't Tager). Character specific combos.