So many choices to main!

[MumblingThumbs]

Odd reasons to stray from Makoto.

Well there is the other reason that I don't like her moveset, but that's no fun to talk about I played with her on day one and wasn't feeling it. I have only played a few characters that have kept my interest. All the people that play Tager confuse me, since he struck me as hands down the most boring one.

[Kiba]

Hi. I use both Tsubaki and Valkenhayn so I can give you insight and hopefully that'll help.

If you want to work harder for your wins and improve your whole game (footsies, damage, pressure, mixup), go for Tsubaki. She's easier to use than Valkenhayn but harder to win with. She has fast movement and charging adds flexibility and damage to her game. She even has an unblockable and she can get some good damage with that in the corner provided you have more stock. In terms of CP, she lost the unblockable but she earned a command grab which helps her mixup and she got an overall damage buff which helps making her damage more consistent. She earned a new super which helps with gaining more stock or oki, and she got a viable projectile with which she can usee in neutral.

If you want to have an easier time winning with great mixup, pressure and damage, go for Valkenhayn. He can be daunting to use at first because of the back and forth wolf transformations but if you can overcome that obstacle everything else will flow in easy. He is worse defensively since he has no legitimate reversal so you really have to commit with blocking. HHe also has has less primers and health, but with his extremely good heat gain, you won't have a hard time warding off opponents with your counter assault. Valkenhayn's wolf mobility provides a lot of flexbility options in getting in to your opponent and getting out of certain types of pressure. In CP, his damage and heat gain got nerfed, but he still has fantastic mixup and pressure.

In the end you could use both if you really can't decide but I understand you don't have a lot of time.

[MumblingThumbs]

Hi. I use both Tsubaki and Valkenhayn so I can give you insight and hopefully that'll help.

If you want to work harder for your wins and improve your whole game (footsies, damage, pressure, mixup), go for Tsubaki. She's easier to use than Valkenhayn but harder to win with. She has fast movement and charging adds flexibility and damage to her game. She even has an unblockable and she can get some good damage with that in the corner provided you have more stock. In terms of CP, she lost the unblockable but she earned a command grab which helps her mixup and she got an overall damage buff which helps making her damage more consistent. She earned a new super which helps with gaining more stock or oki, and she got a viable projectile with which she can usee in neutral.

If you want to have an easier time winning with great mixup, pressure and damage, go for Valkenhayn. He can be daunting to use at first because of the back and forth wolf transformations but if you can overcome that obstacle everything else will flow in easy. He is worse defensively since he has no legitimate reversal so you really have to commit with blocking. HHe also has has less primers and health, but with his extremely good heat gain, you won't have a hard time warding off opponents with your counter assault. Valkenhayn's wolf mobility provides a lot of flexbility options in getting in to your opponent and getting out of certain types of pressure. In CP, his damage and heat gain got nerfed, but he still has fantastic mixup and pressure.

In the end you could use both if you really can't decide but I understand you don't have a lot of time.

Thanks for the input. I am actually looking at your Valkenhayn guide at this moment (fantastic guide btw, awesome job) and it's making it pretty clear what his weaknesses are. Is there a guide for Tsubaki like that? It's all explained so easily that I am finally understanding the ins and outs without going into long strings of combos and other jargon I can't grasp.

It sounds like Valk is still viable but nerfed in CP, whereas Tsubaki was nerfed for EX but buffed for CP. Perhaps I should think of longterm with my main, although I still want to main Izayoi in CP.

[Kiba]

Thanks man.

If you want to look at the Tsubaki guide look here. It's in the archive because everything is written out in the Tsubaki Wiki, so if you'd like more information on those characters you have that option available too.

I can't give much information on Izayoi though other than she's very interesting.

[Airk]

It sounds like Valk is still viable but nerfed in CP, whereas Tsubaki was nerfed for EX but buffed for CP. Perhaps I should think of longterm with my main, although I still want to main Izayoi in CP.

I wouldn't worry too much about either of these. Valk is "nerfed but still strong" for CP, and Tsubaki is "buffed but still only average" so there haven't been any radical power shifts with regard to these characters.

[YukiBlue]

Play someone without a DP and realise how OP blocking is.

Though I keep it on the down-low. I genuinely think playing without a DP makes you a better player, You don't have the panic button to fall back on, and your blocking becomes so based. Nothing feels better than NOPE'ing a Litchi blockstring.

[Airk]

Play someone without a DP and realise how OP blocking is.

Though I keep it on the down-low. I genuinely think playing without a DP makes you a better player, You don't have the panic button to fall back on, and your blocking becomes so based. Nothing feels better than NOPE'ing a Litchi blockstring.

Dunno; The joke I always hear is that Valk players refuse to block - if they block more than like, 2 hits it's counterassault or burst time. ;P

[Martian Buddy]

All the people that play Tager confuse me, since he struck me as hands down the most boring one.

You say that now, just wait until you see someone land a 720 super on your ass and take half your lifebar.

In all seriousness though, staying away from grapplers is probably a good idea while you're learning how the game works. Take it from someone who learned how to play P4A with Kanji, you're saving yourself a hell of a lot of pain and frustration.

[The Loli Otaku]

Grapplers get you into some very nasty habbits. They work very well as scrub killers but the second you meet someone who knows how to bait grabs you can kiss your sorry ass goodbye.

[Martian Buddy]

Grapplers get you into some very nasty habbits. They work very well as scrub killers but the second you meet someone who knows how to bait grabs you can kiss your sorry ass goodbye.

Learned that one after meeting someone who was actually competent with Elizabeth.

[YukiBlue]

Grapplers offer a weird twist on the game. I absolutely <3 Tager.

You defend for 3/4 of the game. Then you get in once and completely destroy them. That feel when someone techs Tagers 6C > 5D is BEAUTIFUL.

[MumblingThumbs]

Play someone without a DP and realise how OP blocking is.

Though I keep it on the down-low. I genuinely think playing without a DP makes you a better player, You don't have the panic button to fall back on, and your blocking becomes so based. Nothing feels better than NOPE'ing a Litchi blockstring.

DP is something I am confused about. I've seen that in discussions, but no idea what it stands for, or does.

I played with Valk for a bit today (didn't touch Tsubaki), and I have to say that his wolf form doesn't get in my way. If I read that guide correctly, Human form is pretty much for ground, while Wolf form is for spacing and aerial combos. His damage is really good, compared to Tsubaki unless she has some charge stock ready to go.

I played as Hakumen last night for the hell of it. Hakumen is NOT a beginner friendly character if I say so myself. Personally, running into a Hakumen on Live would make me wet myself. Something about him just makes me think that he's not block happy, he's just waiting. Once those charges are good to go, he unleashes and if your block game and counters aren't ready to go, you're dead.

[Chaoschao222]

DP means dragon punch, the shoryuken. It's a term most often used for reversals with invincible startup, often with long recovery and a rising movement.

[Kiba]

I played with Valk for a bit today (didn't touch Tsubaki), and I have to say that his wolf form doesn't get in my way. If I read that guide correctly, Human form is pretty much for ground, while Wolf form is for spacing and aerial combos. His damage is really good, compared to Tsubaki unless she has some charge stock ready to go.

I dunno about you but it sounds to me like you've already found your character.

[BlackYakuzu94]

I played as Hakumen last night for the hell of it. Hakumen is NOT a beginner friendly character if I say so myself. Personally, running into a Hakumen on Live would make me wet myself. Something about him just makes me think that he's not block happy, he's just waiting. Once those charges are good to go, he unleashes and if your block game and counters aren't ready to go, you're dead.

Yes, embrace the White void.

In all seriousness, Hakumen is probably one of the easier characters because of how stupid his reach is with his sword and get 3K with at least at least 3 stars in EX. Even when they tried to nerf him in CP, he's still pretty dumb. The hardest thing I found about him was linking his combos(cuz no cancels) and drive spamming, drive spamming are the bane of all beginner Hakumens. That, and he's a very patient character orientated character, he's not "mash buttons=win" like Ragna.

You should play Ragna, just to give and get as much salt as possible :V

[Dreize]

DP is something I am confused about. I've seen that in discussions, but no idea what it stands for, or does.

DP stands for Dragon Punch. In relation to numpad notation, it would be 623.

DP's are traditionally moves with a good amount of invincibility, this makes them solid reversal options in most cases. They are also very punishable on whiff and block. DP's are often abused at low levels of play.

I played with Valk for a bit today (didn't touch Tsubaki), and I have to say that his wolf form doesn't get in my way. If I read that guide correctly, Human form is pretty much for ground, while Wolf form is for spacing and aerial combos. His damage is really good, compared to Tsubaki unless she has some charge stock ready to go.

Wolf mode is a very strong option in neutral, as it has high mobility, fast normals, amazing mix-up, and great corner carry. However, while in wolf mode your range is very limited and your damage is lower then in human mode. You're also being restricted by the wolf gauge as well.

Human mode is much slower in comparison, and it's corner carry off of stray hits is worse. But, it has much better range and better damage. Plus, it isn't being restricted by a meter/the wolf gauge.

Balancing your play between the two modes is crucial if you wish to be a successful Valkenhayn player.

[MumblingThumbs]

Yes, embrace the White void.

In all seriousness, Hakumen is probably one of the easier characters because of how stupid his reach is with his sword and get 3K with at least at least 3 stars in EX. Even when they tried to nerf him in CP, he's still pretty dumb. The hardest thing I found about him was linking his combos(cuz no cancels) and drive spamming, drive spamming are the bane of all beginner Hakumens. That, and he's a very patient character orientated character, he's not "mash buttons=win" like Ragna.

You should play Ragna, just to give and get as much salt as possible :V

I watched a ton of videos and did a ton of training mode with Ragna when I first got the game because I liked his look and he was easier for me to combo into, but then after searching online, it seemed that everyone was playing him. I decided to try out the others, and that's what made me pick my initial four, and Ragna wasn't in it at all. I did see a few amazing Ragnas videos, but majority of players did the same things over and over, which made me think I'd end up another one of them, and that has to piss a lot of players off.

[MumblingThumbs]

DP stands for Dragon Punch. In relation to numpad notation, it would be 623.

DP's are traditionally moves with a good amount of invincibility, this makes them solid reversal options in most cases. They are also very punishable on whiff and block. DP's are often abused at low levels of play.

Wolf mode is a very strong option in neutral, as it has high mobility, fast normals, amazing mix-up, and great corner carry. However, while in wolf mode your range is very limited and your damage is lower then in human mode. You're also being restricted by the wolf gauge as well.

Human mode is much slower in comparison, and it's corner carry off of stray hits is worse. But, it has much better range and better damage. Plus, it isn't being restricted by a meter/the wolf gauge.

Balancing your play between the two modes is crucial if you wish to be a successful Valkenhayn player.

Well with Tsubaki I know she has trouble closing gaps, and a lot of her combos are successful starting with air normals, if I remember correctly? Plus with her drive your outcome really relies on her charges for damage, just like a mix of Valkenhayn relies on his drive for the win, so I guess they are more similar than I thought on a barebones level. I am going to mess with her BnB tomorrow to see how I feel in relation to Valk, but it'll be hard to beat. I am definitely going to find a patient person on these forums that has XBL and see if they can spar and give me some tips, which they'll be happy to do while they whoop me around the stage.

[BlackYakuzu94]

I watched a ton of videos and did a ton of training mode with Ragna when I first got the game because I liked his look and he was easier for me to combo into, but then after searching online, it seemed that everyone was playing him. I decided to try out the others, and that's what made me pick my initial four, and Ragna wasn't in it at all. I did see a few amazing Ragnas videos, but majority of players did the same things over and over, which made me think I'd end up another one of them, and that has to piss a lot of players off.

Which is the fun part of playing with him, salt for everybody.

Real talk, I understand that. Ragna is very free, extremely free. He's not the best character by any means, but it's extremely easy to win with him. I enjoy playing with him because it pisses my friends off so much because of how simple he is, and I like his character.

I might pick up someone more technical, I'm thinking of Valk at the moment.

[The Loli Otaku]

I'm always surprised by how few Tao players there are. Most people consider her a very good character but nobody plays her!

If there are people who can body lobbys with Litchi and Fido (both characters who I consider quite technical) then where are those Taos who will destroy your health in a few resets?

[Delrian]

I'm always surprised by how few Tao players there are. Most people consider her a very good character but nobody plays her!

If there are people who can body lobbys with Litchi and Fido (both characters who I consider quite technical) then where are those Taos who will destroy your health in a few resets?

I would consider Tao harder to learn than Litchi... and I hear she's unusable on netplay.

[The Loli Otaku]

Its just about getting used to her high mobility, her combos are easier than they look. As for netplay, there isn't much you can really do about that with any character.

[Airk]

Its just about getting used to her high mobility, her combos are easier than they look. As for netplay, there isn't much you can really do about that with any character.

Lag impacts some characters more than others however; I don't think I've ever seen a Ragna player drop a combo due to lag. :P

And I disagree that it's "just getting used to her high mobility"; There's a lot of complexity involved in using Tao's drive that isn't apparent just from looking - it probably bears more resemblance to Hazama than to Valk or Litchi, both of whom are more like "mode switch" characters, which does add some complexity, but tends to be more linear because your options are reduced by which "mode" you're in.

But yeah, for whatever reason, Tao is hard for a lot of people to learn. But holy cow does she blow people up when someone DOES learn her. (Though I daresay that a part of that is the "WTF is this?! How does Tao WORK!?" factor because you run into decent Tao's so rarely.)

[The Loli Otaku]

That was a bad choice of words on my part. Yeah, Tao is one of the more technical characters. What I meant was that it isn't impossible to learn her.

Still, I think i've fought only 5 Taos since I bought blazblue but I got torn into tasty little pieces by each one of them XD

You tend to get a lot of respect for playing with Tao, same with Litchi but you see her far more often.

[Ronove]

I'm always surprised by how few Tao players there are. Most people consider her a very good character but nobody plays her!

If there are people who can body lobbys with Litchi and Fido (both characters who I consider quite technical) then where are those Taos who will destroy your health in a few resets?

It's among the least online-friendly characters, that's why. One mistake and you're dead, with Tao you have to be on point for the entire two rounds and a tiny bit of lag can completely ruin everything. Which doesn't mean you can't use her online but it's pretty obvious that people prefer to use less frustrating characters. She's a character which relies A LOT on momentum and visual clues, you can't autopilot with her unless the opponent is sleeping.