[Other: Q&A] Rachel Alucard Gameplay Questions and Answers

[CaseOak]

Can someone walk me through Rachel's challenges 4 and 5 in CS2?

From the in-game video, I'd gather that in the first combo in challenge 4, you're supposed to launch her pumpkin and land that at about the same time as a 5B, with wind assistance. That's about all I've got. How do I do this, and how do I check off the "no command" bit at the beginning of the combo?

[tofurr]

The 'No Command' part is for when pumpkin hits. So, you do 214B, 66D, 5B, 5CD, 3C, BBL

Part II of Challenge 4 you do 214B, 66D, 5B, 6CD, j.2C, 5B, 5CD, 3C, 214A

Challenge 5 it's better if you Super Jump Cancel into the air part of the combos.

[Graymalkyn]

Okay , I wanted to mention something I first noticed during the 1 wind j.236a fatal trick video.

Unless I am incorrect, a lvl 2 j2c does not cause fatal on CH but right here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=wx5PrCmCDR8#t=15s

A lvl 2 j2c registers as a fatal on CH and with some testing I noticed that if you prematurely hit j2c during the sj 8d j.236a j2c you will get a lvl 2 j2c (1200 damage) that registers as a fatal. And I was under the impression that only a lvl 3 j2c causes fatal on CH. So feel free to correct me if I am wrong.. I just found this interesting.

[[SpA]Relentless]

lvl3 j.2c is always a fatal no matter the situation, not only on counterhit. I don't think it was known though that lvl2 j.2C is a FC on CH though and it's also not evident from the frame data.

[Kuuhaku]

Okay , I wanted to mention something I first noticed during the 1 wind j.236a fatal trick video.

Unless I am incorrect, a lvl 2 j2c does not cause fatal on CH but right here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=wx5PrCmCDR8#t=15s

A lvl 2 j2c registers as a fatal on CH and with some testing I noticed that if you prematurely hit j2c during the sj 8d j.236a j2c you will get a lvl 2 j2c (1200 damage) that registers as a fatal. And I was under the impression that only a lvl 3 j2c causes fatal on CH. So feel free to correct me if I am wrong.. I just found this interesting.

Huh. That's weird. Does that only happen on the PSP version? If so, my guess is it's a glitch.

But yeah, as SpA states, level 3 j2C fatals on normal hit. Level 2 shouldn't though.

[Graymalkyn]

Huh. That's weird. Does that only happen on the PSP version? If so, my guess is it's a glitch.

No, I have also confirmed that this will happen on the 360 version of CS2. I think we may have a sneaky lvl 2.5 j2c hiding somewhere...

[calendula]

I've already tried this on actual matches on PS3 and it does work pretty well.

I doubt that it's a glicth since the fatal trick is still applicable on CS1, maybe their still things that we don't know about the mechanics behind j.2c

[Kuuhaku]

I've already tried this on actual matches on PS3 and it does work pretty well.

I doubt that it's a glicth since the fatal trick is still applicable on CS1, maybe their still things that we don't know about the mechanics behind j.2c

Uh... for the glitch part, I meant lvl 2 registering as fatal.

I tried it out on PS3 version and I couldn't get it to level 2. I'll mess with it some more.

EDIT: Derp. Nevermind. It works on PS3. That's pretty random. Works the same with the other cannons too.

[SearMe]

I don't know if this is the right place, but anyway...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evGUbQO1e-M&feature=related

@4:14 the Rachel player does a blockstring that ends with 3C, then he gets an hit with 5A. But 5A isn't and overhead, is it? does this mean that the Litchi player simply wasn't blocking in that moment or there's something else? sorry if it's a really obvious question, I figured it was too specific for the beginners forum.

[C0R]

Rachel's 3c is neutral on block, and the Litchi was caught mashing by getting counterhit out of her normal by Rachel's 5a.

[kotokot]

I don't know if this is the right place, but anyway...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evGUbQO1e-M&feature=related

@4:14 the Rachel player does a blockstring that ends with 3C, then he gets an hit with 5A. But 5A isn't and overhead, is it? does this mean that the Litchi player simply wasn't blocking in that moment or there's something else? sorry if it's a really obvious question, I figured it was too specific for the beginners forum.

it was counter.

[gli]

If you look at Litchi carefully before Rachel does 5A you will see her attempt to 2A.

[SearMe]

Thanks everyone. I didn't notice the counter, that's what happens when you watch videos (at work) without sound lol

[Zeromus_X]

What methods do you guys use to punish bad techs? In particular, I'm having trouble punishing not teching after air combo ending -> j2C, and rolling forward/back after 3C -> frog in the middle of the screen.

[[SpA]Relentless]

Cancel j.2C into 2A after landing, if they don't don't use emergency rise they'll get hit by it. Continue into 5B - aircombo - j.2C and do it again. I think another repetition would however start to bluebeat at every hit so it's a good idea to try an airthrow reset if you think they're mashing on tech (they most likely are by now).

Midscreen frog you can't really "autopilot" punish. If you think they'll roll backwards, you can dash forward after setting the frog and hit them while rolling or at least keep them in blockstun again (wind the frog forward for more mixups). If they neutral tech, you can do the usual frog stuff. If they roll forward... I'm not sure, but aren't they kind of forced to block the frog then? If not, do 2A (into 5B etc.) once they switched sides, it should hit them.

[Juraya]

Hey guys, I just started relearning Rachel with the new patch and found myself in trouble with j2c lvl2 in combos.

Somehow the wind carries me down instantly and leaves me no chance to hit the opponent. What am I doing wrong?

Thanks in advance

[[SpA]Relentless]

Sounds to me like you aren't jump-canceling the j.C.

Remember, it's

~j.C THEN 2D THEN jumpcancel THEN (delayed) j.2C (lvl2)~

[Jason D.]

Well, in an odd bit of news, apparently Rachel's cat chair can't clash anymore in CS2. Though feel free to tell me if you've actually seen one. I just spent some time testing it versus Ragna's ID. She auto-guards it, Ragna doesn't get hit, and... that's it. I even set the system back to version 1.01, and in the same situation it did clash. Every time.

Quick history lesson. In CS1, if Rachel's cat chair clashed with something, she would be unable to cancel it into any other move. (Yes, really.) So she will be forced to go through the entire recovery animation. The opponent, however, will be able to cancel their clash at any time like normal, unless they also used some strange move that didn't allow it. (Total known moves: 1 - Rachel's 2C.) In this situation, the only thing Rachel could do was RC the clash. If she didn't/couldn't do that, she was in trouble. In summary, clashing a 2C really sucked.

So what does this change mean for CS2? For one, it makes cat chair a bit more effective, as you will never clash, and the clash will never protect your opponent from receiving their well deserved electrocution. They will hit your auto-guard during the 2C's active frames, and then get hit right after. However, on the negative side, if the 2C cannot hit the opponent, even a Rachel with 50 meter cannot be saved. Take the example with Ragna's Inferno Divider. Ragna uppercuts, hits Rachel's auto-guard, but then he remains untouched because he's still invincible. And once again, Rachel is forced to go through the 2C recovery animation. Now, in CS2, Rachel cannot RC in this situation, as she is never able to RC an auto-guard contact. Ragna, on the other hand, no longer gets a free clash cancel, as there was no clash. He can, however, RC because he "hit" Rachel's guard with the move.

So, there you have it. New unlisted cat chair mechanic. Mostly a buff, but with a small downside too.

[gli]

How do you explain using 2C against Hazama about to do Jayoku? It no longer trades with it.

[calendula]

Now that you mention it, there are times that I wasn't able to RC the cat chair. At first I thought it was due to my late reaction, this demands further tests

[Graymalkyn]

In CS1, if Rachel's cat chair clashed with something, she would be unable to cancel it into any other move.

I always wondered why I couldnt cancel out into another move like nearly eveybody else can do in a clash situation.. Either way Im glad it doesnt clash anymore because it was nearly impossible to come out of a 2c clash situation unscathed.

[Kuuhaku]

Well, in an odd bit of news, apparently Rachel's cat chair can't clash anymore in CS2. Though feel free to tell me if you've actually seen one. I just spent some time testing it versus Ragna's ID. She auto-guards it, Ragna doesn't get hit, and... that's it. I even set the system back to version 1.01, and in the same situation it did clash. Every time.

Quick history lesson. In CS1, if Rachel's cat chair clashed with something, she would be unable to cancel it into any other move. (Yes, really.) So she will be forced to go through the entire recovery animation. The opponent, however, will be able to cancel their clash at any time like normal, unless they also used some strange move that didn't allow it. (Total known moves: 1 - Rachel's 2C.) In this situation, the only thing Rachel could do was RC the clash. If she didn't/couldn't do that, she was in trouble. In summary, clashing a 2C really sucked.

So what does this change mean for CS2? For one, it makes cat chair a bit more effective, as you will never clash, and the clash will never protect your opponent from receiving their well deserved electrocution. They will hit your auto-guard during the 2C's active frames, and then get hit right after. However, on the negative side, if the 2C cannot hit the opponent, even a Rachel with 50 meter cannot be saved. Take the example with Ragna's Inferno Divider. Ragna uppercuts, hits Rachel's auto-guard, but then he remains untouched because he's still invincible. And once again, Rachel is forced to go through the 2C recovery animation. Now, in CS2, Rachel cannot RC in this situation, as she is never able to RC an auto-guard contact. Ragna, on the other hand, no longer gets a free clash cancel, as there was no clash. He can, however, RC because he "hit" Rachel's guard with the move.

So, there you have it. New unlisted cat chair mechanic. Mostly a buff, but with a small downside too.

Yeah... it was something odd I noticed where Rachel can actually now cat chair through stuff like Hakumen's 3C and Zantetsu. I dunno if that's new though (it never seemed like a good idea to me).

Yeah. 2C now wins against Jayoku, even if he does it after she does 2C. He has to delay it until after 2C's autoguard. Otherwise, he gets hit.

The change is he's no longer invulnerable on the first active frame. Therefore, the 2C autoguards the super and Hazmat gets whacked. He can still be hit if he tries to punish 2C too early because of how active 2C is.

EDIT: Slightly corrected.

[gli]

Unrelated but you can even grab him out of Jayoku when done correctly. I did it on accident while trying to run + wind grab him.

[Prestizi]

I'm at a loss as to what to do after i get a hit on someone with george. Assuming i have 0 heat and 1 wind for example. Both random hits and near end of combo hits. Usually i end up doing 5cc

[[SpA]Relentless]

If you get a random frog hit and have 1 wind, do the 5b blabla into lvl2 j.2c, then either 236b air iris finisher midscreen for damage or 2a(w) 5c(w)c 214a/b if near the corner for oki (if you can't do that consistently, just do 5cc 214a/b)

If the frog hits during a combo midscreen, then you shouldn't have racked up a lot of hits so you can still do lvl2 j.2c stuff, or just 3c 214b for easy knockdown & oki and a chance at corner carry.

If the frog hits during a combo in the corner, then it should be planned anyway :P

Either 5cc dash 3c 214c 3c 214a/b or if you are unsure about it (because of proration etc), just 5cc 214b and summon frog with pumpkin protection later.