kenja0

Exactly what is meant by defensive play? Are we talking about pure escape methods (Rachel/Jin/Hazama), hardest to close in on (Lambda/Hakumen/Mu/Carl), or using offensive defensive options (Lambda/Rachel/Mu/Noel/Jin/Carl)? A character like Lambda is really good at keeping away and going to the offense from strictly defensive moves, however, has really crap escape options aside from one counter move that takes 16 seconds to recover from. Hakumen in the hands of a mind reader can shatter all of a characters' offensive approaches and has good hitboxes to keep someone out of range. However, during a blockstring, it's quite hard for him to get a good read for his counter moves. Carl is extremely difficult to hit when Ada is attacking or blocking for Carl. But is relatively easy to hit after Ada is down. Rachel has the fastest and easiest access escape tool in the form of Wind but has no good counter moves or DP options.

Playing a character shouldn't be limited to just 5~10 different combos that the Pros memorize and learn to hit with. If I just so happen to 236C out of combo and hit a Tager/Arakune and 'accidentally' 236C after that via this hand seizure called "muscle memory", it would just so happen to be in my best interest for myself and the combo to continue doing these '236C' until proration kicks in.

It can also regenerate Heat AND run out the clock very well. 236C x 7 is around 15 seconds.

I haven't quite tried this yet since I have yet encountered a problem against Hakumen- Instant Barrier Block. Hakumen's range is immense but Instant Barriers push the attacker away really far. This may fuel your escapes. TK Crescent Saber is another Anti-air tool if used at the right time. It'll hit pretty far away.

It's also much easier to pick up and play Makoto at any sort of skill level. Also most people don't prefer the indirect kind of play style that characters like Mu, Rachel, Arakune, and Lambda go for.

Watch your spacing for Optic Barrels if you're setting up for a 214D. If Noel is in the air, either of her D moves will pretty much dodge whatever you're doing and hit you if you're close. Of course, this is mega punishable if you dodge it via dash under it fast enough. Watch out for Assault Through in a block string as it will dodge everything you want to do and cross you up most likely. And remember Noel only has access to 1 overhead in D state and 2 high block punish moves (6D/214A). Noel's a pretty nimble character, but Lambda is almost just as good. Use this to counter act what she's doing.

Ice Car C trumps Lambda's 5D and 5C (use 6D). Be weary of the invincibility of Blizzards and possibly Gales. I think this works (only tried it once) Gravity Seed the 2 hit of any Ice Car. Watch out for Jin's jump cancel moves because can try to do a cross-up (j.B) or cross-up fake (j.D). Jin has pretty much no comboability outside of the corner. So stay out of there. Jin's overhead outside of aerials is terrible, so you can block low relatively safely- Gravity Seed clashes with it I think.. Other than that, it's not a hard matchup.

Lambda doesn't have the speed of normals like other characters have. She is strictly a zoning mindgame character- she can't fight or defend up close as well as others. If you don't have the opponent in her tools or her tools become invalid, then she has to let the opponent get close and attempt to counter them during IB or their imperfections. Her Gravity Seed isn't even an option in this matchup. So with sucky normals, no zones, and no reverals, Lambda has nothing else to fall back on except a better defensive game. If anything, it reminds me of having to defend like Tager against the cast.

Tsubaki makes me want to half ass myself and spam the crap out swords. Even if she has me in a combo or is leading, it doesn't seem that threatening. Her normals have really terrible function outside of a combo/blockstring filler. The only half descent move is her DP to counter Lambda point blank. Just perfect block her blockstrings and defend while she's close and get out of there when you can. Nothing to worry about at all...

Hitting Litchi's staff with a projectile will disable the staff's projectile properties once. Litchi's staff hits going out and coming back in. If Litchi does a 63214A/B/C, 2D is your safest bet. It will hit Litchi out of A and C and cancel the projectile out of B. Although it isn't preferred to clash with the projectile, you can use it as a pseudo defense from random counter hits. Don't clash if Litchi is trying to approach though since it may turn into a counterhit combo 4~5k damage.

Forgot- If Bang is in the air then don't Gravity Seed him- he'll airdash past you and turn it into a Act Parser and laugh at your recovery.

Tager is strictly a mindgame character. It took me almost a year to see through all of his tricks and condition myself to beat my friend (and thus all Tagers online as well). Anyone can understand how to shoot a Tager and hit him when far away- and you can certainly improve your offensive timing. The problem everyone seems to be having is when Tager actually gets in and has Lambda magnetized. If you want to get better, then put yourself in danger. Keep calm and get into his territory and get attacked by blockstrings and mindgames. Don't try to attack during anything he does- learn the timing of all the attacks and mindgames (especially Gadget Finger) and improve your defense. After you learn all of his timing, perfect block all of his stuff- especially 5D. Don't try to rush away from him as he can get a Lambda who is retreating very easily- know when you can retreat and when you have to take a blockstring. This process takes some time to condition the mind, but you really have to play differently against someone like Tager, especially with the amount of invincibility frames and priority his character is based around. But hey guys, he's bottom tier right? >.> Also, if you feel like you're better retreating than perfect blocking and counter attacking, learn to Barrier Perfect Block. It pushes Tager away fairly far and can be backdashed to further retreat from him.

Beat Bang, beat the game. Learn all of his blockstring possibilities and escape when possible or when he may try to reset. By the way, even if he ends his blockstring with a blocked D move, it can't be punished. Also, Bang likes to retract his punches to dodge Lambda's Gravity Seed... so fuuuuuu.... If you shot a 6/2D while Bang is in the air- you missed. Airgrabs might save the day, but he can 'nail' you at point blank. If you get poisoned, don't approach still, just take the slow 1200 damage. Bang has 2 airdashes and two ways to cross you up and approach. Don't dash after a 214D~C, Bang already Burning Heart it into your face. Burning Heart > Lambda's projectiles.

The Astral reversal is extremely threatening because it comes out as soon as frame 1 pretty much. Lv3 means it blows through all of Lambda's projectiles. The best way to avoid it is to be jumping, but even then, it completely screws over Lambda's game. One thing to note, Makoto can be grabbed out of her 632146D, even if its Lv3. 236A>xx>B+C... good but risky like all the Act Parsers thrown out randomly. Also, I noticed that Makoto is more of an overhead character. She cannot use a fast low attack in the middle of her blockstring- she has to forcibly reset it into 2B or do 214A>C>B which I suggest should be jumped and barriered to avoid. Lambda's 3C will pretty much counter all of Makoto's 214A and 3C approaches. 214B/C>2C are a little harder to predict, but they are much less likely since it throws Makoto's blockstring out of its groove.

Now this is a problem that I seem to run into a lot against other players- Tager being the most notable, Bang being the most annoying. How do people deal with Tager spamming 5A when they are close or when you get Gadget Fingered? This is when you don't have/want to use Gravity Seed? I try to attack with my own 5A, but Tager always seems to get there first. And backdash won't startup fast enough.

I never said it wasn't viable. It's just one of those things that might almost never happen. If they try to get close, they'll be in range for 6D which can be jump cancelled which is preferred during a zone. If they're far, it would be unlikely that they do something that would get CH. And, CH 5D>236C only happens if they're relatively close- otherwise they can tech at a distance, and we get whiffed and punished. And it's much scarier to miss with 5D up close if they jump it whereas 6D/2D are slightly safer since it can hit. If I think they were going to sweep or they're Sledgehammering to close in, then I'd surely 5D.

I'd expect them to get hit by 6D, but a person hit by 5D means they obviously don't know how mobile they have to be against Lambda.

If Ragna is giving you trouble, then make sure to end all of your midscreen pressures with 214D. If he jumps and you think he's going to block on jump, then dash with the 214D~C. Trust me, he is not as destructive as Bang is on Lambda simply because Ragna doesn't have teleport counters and has a weaker mixup game. And never ever ever ever Act Parser Ragna out of a combo- or on any rushdown character for that matter.

Gadget Finger isn't as scary as you think it is. Just get very good at timing those Gravity Seeds and you'll be set. Tager is all about the mind games, and if you can put all your faith in the reaction time of your DP and learn when to use it, you'll take them out as easy as pie.

It's pretty much impossible to expect a CH 5D in a match- who is going to attack from 1/3 the screen away unless they were Lambda themselves? If you're going to try to hit with 236C out of a combo or start a combo with one, attempt to do it in place of a blockstring that ends in 236A/B. If they keep blocking the 236A/B, then there may be a time where they will try to jump it to dodge the attack, which would be hit by 236C if they didn't barrier instead.

Camera is zoomed out to give players a better view of their surroundings and make the field of movement bigger. It's actually like that to give zoners a disadvantage because characters can back up farther away from Lambda's swords' reach or spot random projectiles better (Pumpkin/Bugs/4DD Swords). And because of that farther backwall, they felt they could implement a wallbounce more safely- that's why most have one now.

A lot of the characters feel clunkier according to my other friends who main them. First one to beat all of Lambda's challenges gets a prize: I've only finished the first 7.

You will get those who are really skilled and practice those defensive options, and you will get those who have played against someone enough times to counter them fully. Luckily, all these problems are solved by human error. No one's perfect- just keep them on their toes and they'll slip up sometime: you can't make progress by turtling.

Ragna's increased damage output, buffed combo-ability and Lambda's nerfs improved his matchup against Lambda to a 50-50. He still has a hard time getting in. Just beware that getting punished means you'll be taking twice the damage as last game (or rather, twice the damage you'll be dealing back). 214D 'forces' him to jump over it since it threatens his Primers. And 214A/B/C is a good reversal, but Ragna has a wide array of tools to use in his blockstrings that makes it harder to judge when to use it.

That's my biggest problem, I mean. Transitioning from something like 236B>RC or 236C into the corner loop is something that's hard for me to master. I'm all out fighting an opponent, and then all of a sudden I have to start doing a pattern in perfect motions and timing. There's this severe change in mindset similar to the differences between casuals and competitive play- that change breaks my concentration for the loop before I even start doing it.