As you increase your match experience and your consistency both offensively and defensively, you begin to develop a personal style to your play. The choices you make match after match may be different than another person at a similar skill level to you with the same character. In a perfect world, you would be able to maximize your effort in all areas. But we are human and as such we always have some areas we are stronger in than others. Capitalizing on your strengths will help you to buffer your weaknesses and improve your win ratio.
In V.Sion's case there are 2 main areas of 'split'. There is the very vanilla Hit and Run tactics, versus the versatile but unpredictable summon heavy rushdown. Of course there is plenty of mix between the two and heavy borrowing. There are some scenarios where 2C xx Akiha summon is the only combo option, and on an opponent near death setting up summons is useless in the face of a 236C combo for the win.
Here are the strengths and weaknesses of these differing styles of play which will help you to choose whether you want to strengthen one of the two paths or use a 'balanced' approach. Included are common scenarios and options that you should dedicate yourself to.
1) THER school.
In this scenario we are going to approach each match as if it is the last, and each hit as if it's the only hit we are going to land ever. Defensively you are reflexive, responsive and safe, your long term goal is to merely play smarter than the opponent. The glory will come from your win record rather than your fancy setups.
--Spotlight on B attacks.
Your 5B and 2B do not prorate like most of your other normals, and thus these attacks are the meat. You want to include both of them in every combo you possibly can, as early as you can, preferably while omitting A attacks.
A Common place people 'miss' B attacks is 6B:
6B 5C 236C is strong, as is 6B 2C 5C 623B. However if you have dash momentum on your 6B or are point blank, use the more powerful 6B 5B 2B 5C 236C or 6B 5B 2B 2C 5C 623B.
Use 5B in punishment scenarios:
A weak habit to have is using 2A to start combos when you are punishing blocked attacks such as wakeup EXes. Using 5B 2B to start your punish instead where applicable will increase your damage output.
--Use more powerful Malice Variants:
2A 2B 2C pause 5C 623B j.C pause jump back.C airdash C Airthrow
2A 2B 2C pause 5C 623B j.C pause dj.BC airdash C Airthrow
--Recognize 5C 236C opportunities and execute immediately:
j.2B 2A 5C 236C is one of her more difficult combos but rewards you with high damage off Divekick.
5C 236C dash j.CB dj.BC Airdash C Airthrow is another difficult combo but rewards you with one of the highest midscreen damage combos in the game.
--Focus on safely escaping common high risk scenarios at a winning ratio.
Learn to recognize the danger setups and develop your 'Spider Sense'.
Common setups you should learn to block or escape:
Akiha 5C 2C 623B xx j.22C -> 82C or 2A or Throw
Satsuki Airthrow xx superjump into j.C or 2C or EX bite.
Aoko 1-2-3 into 421[A] mixup.
Ciel Airthrow xx Airdash mixup or meaty 2CC mixup.
Red Akiha j.C xx Airdash fakeouts.
These are just examples. The key here is to be able to immediately recognize Top tier mixups and frame traps and be prepared to defend them rather than using poor options that these setups are near foolproof against. By blocking these at high ratios of success you give yourself more opportunities to eventually turn the match around.
--Recognize Match reset situations and capitalize.
This goes both ways. You should recognize when you've pushed yourself out too far during your blockstrings and be prepared to cover midscreen again rather than dashing into high priority panic button pokes. Bait the panic button, and if it doesn't come, back off and start anew.
In the same way, you should be able to recognize when the opponent is no longer in a strong enough position to attack you in the corner, and escape using your dash, jumping, or using 5B to beat poorly placed attack strings.
2) Wagu school
In this scenario we are going to approach the match with confidence and a bit of a haughty air. We will attempt to counter setups with high damage gambits in order to put the fear of your defense into the opponent. We will sacrifice some Malice combo damage to set up dangerous summon rushdown and put the fear of your offense into the opponent. The glory in this scheme of play comes from the satisfying aggressive nature.
--Spotlight on Akiha summon.
Arguably your strongest mixup, use your 2C to Akiha summon rushdown to enforce your aggressive nature on the opponent. Practice your high/low/throw options, and when you've developed these continue to add new ones until the setups blend and become less and less recognizable. Mix powerful baits in to discourage countering your setups by occasionally backdashing out of ex range or using shields to stuff heat activation. Keep in mind your are sacrificing guaranteed malice damage to set this up, so make it count.
Add in Satsuki summon once you've developed several Akiha summon mixups to create less recognizable mixups.
--Use more powerful Sequence Variants:
Certain sequences lead to Malice or 5C 236C BNBs that deliver only half of what they could do. In these situations setting up the Akiha summon sacrifices negligible damage for a strong mixup that will give huge return on your investment.
Examples: Antiair EX Shield 5A 6B dash 2C 214C (near corner)
Throw 2C 214C (corner)
j.2B 2ABC 214C
6B 2C 214C after multiple Reverse Beats.
--Focus on countering common high risk scenarios at a winning ratio.
When you can smell what the opponent is cooking, use well placed 5B clash frames/counter hits or EX shields to immediately counter the setup. If you were going to block low, low shield will cover the low option, and if you get tagged by the high option instead, well it would have hit you either way. Tag the opponent this way a couple of times, then recognize his bait the next time and escape immediately to add insult to injury.
--Recognize Match reset situations and assert your claim to the field of play.
When you are in a situation where you can no longer attack safely, you can use well placed Summons or 623A / 236A to try to tag the opponent's escape options, as well as your high speed dash to shake the opponent up despite your sometimes disadvantageous position. 214A from out of the opponent's range cuts off a section of the playfield, as does random 214C. On Defense use 236C to force an opponent to block and immediately switch the opponent's gear from offense to defense, or 623A to stop IADs or some long range pokes. Use Bara 214A/C or Bara Dash on long range enders such as Ciel 5CC or Warc 214A to force the situation into your favor.
No one person can master all tactics, but by picking and choosing to develop the tactics you are strongest in, you can assert your strengths on the opponent to cover your weaknesses.
Topic: Damage Maximization vs. Strength of Okizeme (School of THER vs School of Wagu) (Read 6726 times)