Ukyo Tachibana

IIRC Split Seal pushes off LESS, that's why you can end 2D xx Split Seal and be able to oki now without pushing your opponent too far off. But this doesn't explain why the 5HS whiffs, if the pushback is less, THIS should mean it should be easier to land 5HS as well, lol

So... I think they nerfed Ky 5HS for 1.1. Sure, they added a stagger to it (yay buff?) but I have reasons to believe that they made the hitbox for this a tad smaller. How I found out is in training mode, practicing combos as usual. My trusty reliable "uppercut punish" of 5S, 6K xx Split Seal, 5HS xx Stun Dipper hardly works now due to the fact that 5HS would randomly whiff. So I thought "Huh, that's strange, I've done this combo a million times in training mode - on Sol of all people, and now it's suddenly whiffing?" Then I went to the corner and tried to do a typical high damaging Ky combo: 5S, 6K xx Split Seal, 5HS xx DC Sacred Edge. Again, 5HS would whiff, and again, this is a combo I must've done over a million times and wanted to commit to memory so that I can confirm max damage combo every time I connected a hit and I had 50% meter. So then I thought, "maybe it's usually easier on crouching". Tried to do 6HS, (microdash) 5S, 6K xx Split Seal, 5HS xx DC Sacred Edge in the corner. Again, 5HS would whiff and THIS is definitely a combo I practiced many times to the point that I can confirm into this without thinking about it. Did further testing, and I found out that 5HS will ONLY connect in these combos if you have sufficient running momentum (about 2-3 seconds worth of dashing forward). But I've never had to worry about having running momentum in advance to even land these combos. I can only conclude for now that they made the hitbox on 5HS a tad smaller. Pretty important to know if you depend on 5HS for proper spacing/poking, and of course, combo confirms. If anyone else wants to test this for themselves, feel free. I wanna make sure I'm not losing it!

See, that's the problem I have with this. You're obviously not going to start this with 5K off bat to make it predictable enough to IB the 5K. You can be in the middle of a 6HS or CSE pressure and transition into this to mask your intentions within a fast paced speed of a match. The YRC freeze certainly helps, AND don't forget the fact that you still need one more frame to stand up and try to air throw (from a crouched position). It's not as easy as you make it sound but it is possible. If you're doing this in layers though and MORESO during a pressure filled tournament context, my money is on you not air throwing this at all. And if you do, mad props. You air threw me and you knocked me down - not any different from many other ways of getting knocked down.

I'm not too shabby with air throws myself, but if you manage to air throw a Ky player out of a 5K, 9D YRC, fall S/land 5K sequence (magic air throw considering), you'll get nothing but ultimate props from me!

In a vacuum, yes, you "can mash 5P" there. But Ky has other mixups and pressure he can use, that if you transition into this, I don't think the first thing your opponent thinks of is mash. It's a dangerous proposition to be mashing when Ky can mask his sequences in LAYERS. And this doesn't even factor in conditioning that you can put your opponent through, or the high levels of pressure your opponent would be in a TOURNAMENT setting. I'd say this mixup is better than what we give it credit for. This sequence was around in the old GGXX games when Ky had no landing recovery on his j.D and it was effective back then. IMO it's more effective now with the built in YRC freeze.

A legendary Dizzy player appears! What's going on, Anthony? Do you play Ky now? Haha

Most common dust combos for medium and heavy weight characters that most people use (myself included) is: 5D (homing dash) 5S, 6P, 5S, 2HS xx Greed Sever, 2HS xx HSVT, 5S xx Split Seal. About 135 damage. If you are dusting a light character, the combo remains the same except you at taking the 2HS xx Greed Sever part OUT of the combo. I don't do the double 6HS dust combos anymore because the 2nd 6HS whiffs on some characters (I think against Faust and Millia? Maybe some others). Haven't checked the rest of the dust combo variations but the most damaging one that I've seen yet was something Clayton / Final Showdown just posted on his Ky scraps video: 5D (homing dash) 6P, 5S, 5HS, (micro dash) 5S, f.5S, 3HS xx Greed Sever, HSVT, 2HS xx HSVT. Does about 151 damage. No split seal ender though - but very damaging if you already have RISC bar cranked up, or if you want a combo that will finish your opponent off. Works on most medium weight characters but seems a bit hard to do on Venom.

I can totally understand the 85% initial prorate on ground SE. That thing punished whiffed normals way too well when you YRC it (which then led to big damage into split seal knockdown) and it doesn't require much thought, but especially if you are already taking advantage of Ky frame traps / proper spacing to hang people with. Greer Sever having less pushback could be trouble - I occasionally throw this out at max range to induce abare but now it might be possible to punish.

Eh? I think blocking is the better option rather than jumping. Landing the mixup during DC CSE isn't guaranteed to land, while trying to jump creates at least two problems, and is the more riskier play.

Ending block strings into split seal may not be too bad. If you are close enough you may able to link 2D xx CSE then continue pressure when DC CSE activates. Sure, they may still be able to IB the 2D which may allow them to FD jump out, but there will still be a DC CSE on the ground and their only option is to block in that situation. You can probably opt to YRC the CSE too to mess up their timing of jumping out.

You can f.5S into 2S whiff cancel, which is a pretty good situation to YRC SE. 2S is a very good harrassment tool from max range in general so learn this range to control space!

I think I've come up with a simple tech that seems to be a good Dead Angle bait, if you have someone knocked down in the corner. Basically, on oki, do YRC CSE then IMMEDIATELY do Split Seal. So what ends up happening is you're putting a Durandal Call CSE right in their face. If they Dead Angle, even if you get hit by the Dead Angle, the DC CSE doesn't disappear and they'll still get hit by the last 2 or 3 hits of DC CSE once the invul frames from their Dead Angle wears off, putting them back in their disadvantageous situation again. If you choose to just block during this, you can still continue pressure afterwards! One thing to note is that this tech activates a minor "bug" from the older GG games that is still in Xrd. If the CSE and the Split Seal is blocked at the exact same time, the Split Seal will "inherit" the zero pushback attribute from the CSE. Which means - a lot of strings you do afterwards (even HS or D) won't push you off, until DC CSE ends - and you can even do tricky tick throw setups this way!

Really good games vs Sytha last night! You've got the best applications of YRC SE I've seen yet and if people want to learn these, you should post some of your match videos. Really liked your 6K link into YRC SE pressure, will try to incorporate that into my game as much as I can.

Super-stylish (Potemkin only) "Triple Split Seal" combo: Throw (in corner) RC, Greed Sever, 2HS (one hit) xx Split Seal, 2HS (two hits) xx Split Seal, 2HS (two hits) xx Split Seal. 116 Damage!

The first combo, you can substitute 5HS xx (DC) Sacred Edge (which may do more damage anyway) instead of doing 2D xx (DC) Sacred Edge. The knockdown isn't necessary in that combo because what you're trying to aim for is a wall stick, anyway. Plus against heavy characters, the 2D xx Sacred Edge might not connect. Best variation of this combo (as far as I've personally seen, close to the corner) is probably 5HS > 6K > 236D > 5HS xx (DC) Sacred Edge, micro dash 5S, 2HS (2 hits), HSVT. Substitute 5HS in the beginning for 5S if you can't get the timing down and the damage would still be relatively the same. You can basically transition into this combo if you land a meaty 6HS as an oki and you're near the corner.

No reason to not utilize the new 3HS. Before, the best thing you can confirm from a far 5S is Stun Dipper (but if you misjudge the spacing, the Stun Dipper won't combo) or just a Stun Edge. Now, you can very easily confirm a far 5S into 3HS->Greed Sever into whatever combo you want for a decent amount of damage.

Just saw the preview video, so to Bozac (or anyone else that can try it out): 1) Looks like the FB Greed Sever hops LOWER than the regular version. Can you verify if it's comboable from gatlings? And if it has a level 6 "stun" on block/if it's punishable on block/if it's unpunishable on max range? 2) Are you able to combo after a wall stick S javelin follow up (after Vapor Thrust)? 3) Are you able to do (combo)-> Stun Dipper -> Lightning Bolt FRC -> 2D xx 2364 D -> 5S, 2HS -> (air combo) with no damage scaling? 4) Does the new 3HS (the original 2-hit 6HS) still put people on crouch? If so, can you do 5S, 6K loops afterwards? Thx in advance!

Zappa could always do this, as Phrek said. I'm actually surprised you don't remember me doing this at all. My suspicion is: The sword has more spinning animation than it did before (hence more uptime) so it looks like it's staying in place, but the moment it's about to be retracted, you hit 2HS again and it gives the illusion that it's staying in place. I'd also like the add that the Dog falling asleep while neutral doesn't seem to be a big deal at all, at least not yet anyway (until I try it). My dog is always in motion so it "shouldn't" be an issue. Back in the days when Imo/Potato dominated, he used to turtle with dog like crazy, but then they made it so you can't turtle and stand still too much or the dog falls asleep. But this was easily alleviated in AC by doing 8D + 5S... Dog somewhat stays in one place while at the same time, you're covering horizontal trajectory with your own 5S.

You can't air dash after Ky's FRC Javelin.

Baiken's TK Yousanzen is 9 frames startup (an example). You can "expect" it to come, but it should be nigh impossible to react to. And someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but the switching guard question might be different depending on whether you are in blockstun or not (and in which case, fuzzy guard applies).

That Ky was indeed sexy, but don't worry, Mario, Team Random will be BACK for payback, soon!

Double-post (haha bite me), for my CONCISE, Cliff-notes version of my pro-cons list: Pros - Naked Zappa: far 5S has new 2nd property if it hits the ground: It hits low and it staggers - Naked Zappa: far 5S (ground hit) gives Naked Zappa okizeme options for high/low/throw - All Forms Zappa: New 2K -> 2D gatling is extremely useful, as it improves Zappa's poking game. 2K -> 2D definitely helps Naked Zappa as it can help him land a summon from semi-max range. 2K -> 2D also helps Ghost mode Zappa in rushdown strings (which, in some cases, the ghosts are falling behind) - All Forms Zappa: New Force Break Unsummon, which is a fast overhead AND it gives you one orb. Definite option to gain orbs VERY quickly in certain situations/combos, enabling you to summon Raoh even faster for less tension - Ghost Mode Zappa: Overall zoning and space control improved, with the combination of j.236K and j.236P (which homes in on your opponent) - Ghost Mode Zappa: New, annoying oki gimmicks with 236P - Sword Mode Zappa: Reliable BnB from a LOW hit: 2K, 5S, 5HS xx 63214 HS (which gives him one orb) - Sword Mode Zappa: Mixup significantly improved, with the combination of BnB combo from low hit, and FAST Force Break unsummon which hits high (in addition to Zappa's crossup j.HS) - Sword Mode Zappa: New air-combo ender: 236HS in the air, for extra damage in combos - Sword Mode Zappa: New j.HS FRC opens up possibilities for extra-damaging air combos and gimmicky setups - Dog Mode Zappa: 2-Phase Dog attack (preferrably 6D, 4D-D) improves his rushdown strings, in terms of pushing your opponent into the corner, and positioning the dog closer for an unblockable bite. In general, 2-Phase Dog attack makes dog positioning even EASIER - Dog Mode Zappa: 5S spit protects your Dog even better vs. opponents who mash on P to kill the dog - Raoh Mode Zappa: New j.HS which has a ground bounce state; enables you to do 90% damage combos from MIDSCREEN - Raoh Mode Zappa: Zoning/Space Control improved with 3 versions of fireballs: 236S,P (straight), 236S,S (upwards), 236S,K (downwards) - Raoh Mode Zappa: 6HS has a new slide state - Raoh Mode Zappa: Can easily do 100% damage in the corner with [6HS, 236S,K] loop, which can be set up from RC 214S Cons - 6HS (Naked/Dog Mode) no longer untechable - Although Zappa overall improved and is now more of a complete character, just about everyone else improved... which doesn't necessarily make his previous bad matchups any easier than before

No way am I the top Zappa player in the U.S. but I have a good grasp of why Zappa ranks the way he is now (yes folks, he is better!) Here is a better explanation of why Zappa is a better character, without stating the established and OBVIOUS (even though Cyringohn had already posted): Zappa Pros - Naked Zappa has a new far 5S, which is essentially the same animation as before, BUT it now has a second property which hits LOW when the spit hits the ground. Because of this, Naked Zappa can actually do wakeup games now, with a perfectly timed, meaty far 5S (so that the spit hits the ground and it hits low). From here, he can do basic high/low/throw mixup. Also, if the 5S spit hits the ground and it connects, it causes a STAGGER state, which essentially gives you a free combo/throw; - The new 2K -> 2D gatling is EXTREMELY helpful and useful... dramatically improving Zappa's poking game. In the past, you would have gained nothing from connecting a 2K from semi-max range. In this game, you can easily poke with 2K from a distance, then gatling into 2D and THEN combo/OTG into summon! In Ghost Mode, you can now follow FRCed 236S into gatling string, WITHOUT the fear of ghosts trailing too far behind, because now you have an option of using 2K -> 2D instead (which doesn't require a ghost for your gatling string); - His Force Break... the Unsummon, is godsent. Not only does it enable you to cancel a summon (especially a certain type of summon that doesn't match up well vs. a certain character), but it also gives nets you ONE MORE orb if it connects, AND it is a very FAST overhead. You can definitely use this move in certain pressure strings for mixup (works very well in Sword Mode). In certain situational combos, you can even use FB unsummon which enables you to net as many 5 orbs for only 25% meter, enabling you to summon up Raoh even QUICKER than before. Finally, when you're at 7 orbs, you might want to opt to go for a FB unsummon, which basically puts you in a very good position to summon Raoh; - Ghost mode is a much more complete character in a sense that his zoning and space controlling capabilities had dramatically IMPROVED. Specifically, the combination of j.236 K and j.236 P (which HOMES IN on your opponent) controls a huge amount of space, WITHOUT the use of FRC. In Slash, Zappa's best way of clogging up space was 236D, but now, he has even more options. Ghost mode Zappa's game plan is basically controlling space and sheer annoyance factor (especially if you connect a ghost), and with his new 236P move, it opens up even more gimmicky, annoying oki setups for Zappa; - Sword mode Zappa is essentially the same, with a few major upgrades that are definite, welcome additions. First, he now has a RELIABLE bread-and-butter combo that starts from a LOW HIT (2K, 5S, 5HS xx 63214 HS)... which also happens to give him one orb! Because of this, Sword mode's overall mixup game improved, because he either gets one orb from a low hit, or gets one orb from a Force Break unsummon overhead! Second, he now has an air-combo ender which tacks on extra damage: 236HS in the air. Third, his new FRC on his j.HS opens up many possibilities for cross-up tricks, and even wacky combos. - Dog mode Zappa is an improved rushdown machine. His new 2-phase dog attack is extremely useful and makes his rushdown strings even tighter. Specifically, Dog mode Zappa will be using 6D, 4D-D patterns in his rushdown strings a lot, because not only does it make your rushdown strings tighter, it places the dog CLOSER your opponent, enabling you to continue your rushdown and push your opponent into the corner further....OR it positions you closer for a free unblockable bite. Also, with Zappa's new far 5S spit, it now gives your Dog BETTER protection against people who mash on P to kill the dog; - As surprising as it seems, even Raoh mode improved. He still does ridiculous damage with his 3-frame uppercut... which is easy to do 90% damage off of with 50% meter. With that said, he has a new j.HS which GROUND BOUNCES on connect. With this move, he now has new ways to land 90% damage combos (as if he needed more!), FROM MIDSCREEN. Second, Raoh can actually control space better now, because he has three versions of his fireball (236S,P goes straight, 236S,S goes upward, and 236S,K goes downward). So in addition to his hammer super (632146S), he can also control space with his new fireball variations, most especially if Raoh is being zoned out. Also, remember that Raoh's fireballs NEED to be FDed, so if your opponent happens to jump without FDing while you do 236S,S, this is basically a free combo for you. Third, his 6HS has a new slide state added to it, so you can easily do 100% combos in the corner by doing a [6HS, 236S,K] loop, preferrably after an RCed 214S. Cons - 6HS (in Naked/Dog mode) is no longer untechable (so your favorite unblockable dog infinite in the corner is "gone"), although not necessarily that big of a deal because you can just do meaty far 5S into unblockable dog bite, and it works just as well; - Just about everyone else in the cast improved, so although he is overall better, his bad matchups aren't necessarily "better" now. That's basically it for Zappa. My pros/cons list is very detailed, so simplify it in however way you please. Bottom line, AC Zappa is essentially the same as Slash Zappa with virtually no nerfs, and major upgrades.

I have finally tried out Accent Core today! First off, I must say that after playing Accent Core, I never want to play Slash again. I mean, this is expected, but it's really, really hard to get back to now. I know there are still supporters of Slash Ky out there because they put a lot of work into this complex and exciting (lol) character and that EVO is most likely gonna be GG Slash, it's hard to care about Slash once you've played AC for several hours. Not to mention the fact that Ky feels like a different character now... you have to unlearn a few things (Shin Akuma, FRC air fireballs upon landing, 6HS, VT loops, 5S->6K loops, etc.). This is not a bad thing as Ky has new options... whether it's through gimmick or "true strategy". I don't want to sound like a broken record and repeat what people have already said, but here are some other ones I'd like to mention: - Veteru, you MAY still be able to do Ky Master Combo... at least on the lighter characters. I didn't get to FRC stun dipper the majority of the times I went for it, but the "good news" is it looks like you can still do sweep -> Stun Dipper and it'll still combo. The only thing to worry about, probably, is that the range on Stun Dipper is a bit short, so you might have to be a bit closer when you do 2D for the combo to work. If I am wrong about all of these and I just gave you false hope, I apologize, but I am human and sometimes I imagine things to happen. :P - It's already a known fact that you can combo 2D into Lightning Sphere Force Break (236 D, then quickly 214 D), and then air combo. BUT, an important thing to consider is that you may have another option to DO if you have more meter. Specifically, if you do 2D, Lightning Sphere, Charge Drive (2D, 236+D, 214+D, 46+D), you will do somewhere close to 40%-50% damage, into a knockdown. I might've raised someone's guard a bit but that is quite a LOT of damage for 50% tension. You might end up using this instead of Sacred Edge after 2D... but of course I'm no expert and I'm sure there are other specific instances when Sacred Edge is better to use than Lightning Sphere -> Charge Drive. P.S. If you guys don't already know what Charge Drive looks like, it looks almost exactly like Rising Force (Ky's IK). - Speaking of IK's, it feels that Ky's IK executes a tad slower. He can still ACTIVATE IK as fast as before, it just that it feels like his IK's startup is maybe a frame slower. Not that this matters much because there are only a few instances that Ky's IK will benefit you... and again, this could just be my imagination, but it's something to consider. - This Ky is very, VERY fun to play as. He definitely has fun tricks and gimmicks again (having his Force Break j.D with no recovery is a breath of fresh air as it is similar to Ky's old jump dust). I know some people here frown on gimmicks and would prefer solid strategy instead (I'm looking at YOU, Chojin) Force Break j.D into low/throw/whatever mixups can be very effective. It seems GIMMICKY at first but I do really believe is a viable mixup. If you ever set Force Break j.D as you're falling, and you get thrown somehow, you will STILL have an advantage because as soon as your opponent recovers from throwing you, he/she will get hit by the FB j.D. So basically this leaves people no other choice but to just block, or try to reversal DP (which will either bait or hit the reversal DP, anyway). So falling FB j.D is really good. It stays out for a while, and you can do gimmick/mixup with it. That's all I have to contribute for now. I wish I can play it more but the Accent Core machine was actually at someone's house (Neil's) and we would be abusing our welcome had we stayed any longer, lol. Add that to the fact that he kinda lives far... and the desire to play more Accent Core is just worse. :/

Easy to do... in training mode with a training dummy? or... Easy to do... in a pressure situation with a hair of life left, about 20 seconds on the clock, against a pretty darn good turtle who won't let you catch him, on a big stage with hundreds of raucous, non-Japanese people cheering against you? Oh, right, Zappa! He rules! Homing P Ghost, pew pew...