Balguna

Hop's invul to throws from the first frame, so his reasoning's not far off. It's just the timing of the hop that's important. If the Kanji delays his command grab it will catch hops. That's the whole point of Kanji, mixing up command grabs and normals after a knockdown to force the opponent to guess.

TV FCs are difficult to capitalize off of because of the limited hitstun and short amount of time to react to it; outside of the corner you can either do: 236X FC 236C j.A j.A j.B j.A j.C land dash j.A j.A j.B/j.236A 236X FC 236C j.A 2B j.A j.A j.B j.A j.C j.236B To get anything better you'd either have to get them near the corner or use meter/burst.

Not sure what you mean by breaking your hands. The most consistent 2C fatal I tend to use is: 2C FC j.A j.B j.A j.C land 5C d.c. j.A (j.A) j.B/j.236A Slightly less stringent than the t.k. 236B route and doesn't side-swap. The easy version of that combo I suppose would be: 2C FC 5AAA j.A j.B j.A slight delay 5AAA 2AB If you're close enough to the corner, you can do 5AA 5B IAD j.A etc. at the end instead.

Here's an alternate solution to Shadow Teddie's #30 (do Bearscrew ten times): Official solution notation: 236A CH > 236A > Shadow Frenzy > 236A > j.236A > j.236236[C] > 236B > j.236B > land > 236236[D] > jc.> j.236A > j.236236[C] > jc > j.236A > j.236236[D] > j.236A > ]D[ > j.236A Alternate solution: 236A CH > 236A > Shadow Frenzy > 236A > j.236A > j.236236[C] > 236B > j.236B > land > 236236[D] > jc. > j.236A > j.236236[D] > j.236A > ]D[ > 236B > j.236A If people have easier solutions feel free to post them.

Ha, Aki and Kanji only get a 500 health bonus. RIP Shadow Kanji.

Except Junpei. He seems a lot better in 2.0 now, but we'll see. Being able to get a decent number of runs off 25 SP now is really going to help him.

I went back through the videos and tried to work out combo rate; it wasn't always easy because of the limited footage, but this is roughly what I got: Changed: Yosuke: 70 -> 62% Yukiko: 70 -> 68% Kanji: 60 -> 70% Akihiko: 80 -> ~75% Aigis: 65 -> ~62% Elizabeth: 65 -> 68% Labrys: 60 -> 63% Shadow Labrys: 60 -> ~58% Yukari: 70 -> 60% Junpei: 70 -> ~61% Untouched: Yu Chie Teddie Naoto Mitsuru I didn't do the Shos because I honestly can't differentiate their attack animations, and I don't have any P1/P2 values for the console characters so I couldn't do them. Note that these are VERY rough numbers, they're not guaranteed to be final by any means, and some characters had very limited footage (Junpei), were difficult to work out (Shabrys had very inconsistent numbers) or are pretty suspect (Kanji for instance). I haven't taken into account any possible stealth buff/nerfs to damage or proration, either. Also, S.Yu and S.Yosuke seem to do 90% of their original's damage. Can't quite make out Yukari/Rise's.

So aside from the Vulcan Cannon nerf and Orgia moves taking up more gauge, Aigis just got buffed all-around? Daaaang.

The important thing to remember about Teddie is that unless he gets you into the corner or tags you with a Fatal move or a relatively unsafe move (5C or 236A), his damage isn't going to be spectacular. Aigis wins in the damage race because Aigis damage, but Teddie has very good corner carry especially with meter. His neutral game takes a nosedive if he's Persona broken, so keep an eye out for it; if he's throwing items haphazardly 2B will break a lot of cards for free. His high-low mixup is also limited and he's mostly relying on cross-ups and items to do nasty stuff like tick throws. Teddie wins in neutral, but if the Aigis is very good at offensive pressure it's an uphill battle for him to make a comeback. It is Teddie though so always watch out for the unpredictables.

With the amount of changes I suspect this will be more than just a patch, if only because some of these changes greatly affect challenge mode. But we'll see. Also remember that the article and video don't reflect all the changes, so you'll have to check the pdf for the full list.

Shadow Junpei might be slipping by a few radars as well. Junpei is already getting quite a few buffs from what we've seen, and S. Junpei's new ability to extend any combo string with an unburstable Frenzy could mean being able to very quickly get Victory Cry. Don't think he's going to be top by any means, but he should jump a few places from bottom. On the other hand Shadow Kanji losing spin state resets is going to hurt that guy even more.

Oil Drum and Amagiya Buckets are the best way to land Circus Bear in neutral. Inflicting Shock using Lightning Drum is also a decent way to pull off a reset, as they have to then time a roll or DP. Yukiko and Yosuke can easily get out of that though. As for combo hits, the most common way is using a held mid-air Tomahawk. Teddie's challenge 24 is a good example. You can also do it with Smart Bomb. Circus Bear does scale rather notably, so Nihil Hand might be a better finisher.

It's j.2 > 2 > 5. You can basically see it in the near-corner CH 5C combo. For whatever reason the first few combos are missing s, possibly because of bold tags.

Here are a couple of blockstrings using Mystery Teddie SP. Midscreen (Muscle Drink next): (2A) 5AA 236A 236236A 5AA (hold til Pinwheel comes flying back) 5C d.c. j.A j.B j.A 2B j.A j.A j.B/j.236A (~2.5k/2.8k) With 100 meter, you can do j.236A j.236236C j.236B at the end for ~4000 damage. With 150 meter and burst, you can followup from the j.236B with OMB 214214B for ~5.1k. Corner (Muscle Drink next): (2A) 5AA 5B 236A 236236A 5AA 236A... Depending on your meter remaining, you have a few options. <50 meter: 5B s.j.C j.B j.A 5AAA 2AB/j.A j.B Note: pushes them out of the corner. 50 meter: 5B s.j.C j.B j.A 5AAA j.A j.236A j.236236[C] ]C[ or j.236B j.236236[D] 2AB ]D[ j.B or 5B s.j.C j.B j.A 5AA 214214B (Awakening only) Last combo pushes them back into the corner. 100 meter: j.236B j.236236[D] 2AB ]D[ 214214B 100 meter + Burst: j.236B j.236236[D] 2AB [D] 236B OMB 214214B I'm still playing around a bit with it (I think there might be a slight gap after the 236236A where the opponent might be able to DP, but it doesn't seem to be consistent). S.Teddie can do something similar in the corner, but you can omit the 5B in the initial blockstring. Speaking of Shadow Teddie, if you badly need damage but aren't close enough in the corner to do the midscreen carry corner combo, here's something: 5AA j.A j.B j.A 214214B Does about 2.5k. Not great, but it's an option if you need to kill, and does slightly more than missile.

Sounds like you want a character with good okizeme. Rise and Marie have some decent setplay options. So does Yukiko, but she's more reliant on her Persona. Chie's oki was nerfed, but she still gets some decent mixup off it in the corner.

You can find most of the combos over the past two pages. Teddie's combos are pretty uncomplicated for the most part. Get a midscreen BnB, corner BnB, and then combos with Missile down and that'll settle you for most things. You can then pick up FC or anti-air stuff. I might compile a list eventually, but since there's a loketest with changes happening I might hold off for a few months.

If Dry Ice, best starter is arguably 5C > dash > j.A > j.B > j.A > 2B > j.A > j.A > j.B/j.236A. Nets you about 3k+. AoA combo also works if you're close enough to hit them before they break out. You have a lot of options with Oil Drum, but I'd say experiment. I'd generally advise against using SB Nihil Hand unless 1. You really need the extra damage or 2. You're using Shadow Teddie. SB Nihil Hand adds very little extra damage for 25 SP and it has the shortest range, so you have the highest chance of dropping it as well. Save the 25 meter unless you need it to kill.

Theo will likely be unplayable due to VA work; since Ultimax was the last game where he's voiced by Willingham, bringing him into the game as playable would either require them getting him to come back to record a whole bunch of lines, or getting his new VA Bryce Pappenbrook to do it, who sounds decidedly different.

Panic seems pretty useless now. Shadow Frenzies are going to be able to used less often, which is cool, and there's going to be a lot of experimentation now that they're all Burst safe. Feels like S.Yukiko is going to be better than normal Yukiko with the loss of the Maragi unblockable combo. The other most interesting change is the push back of the SP boost from autocombo until the skill. This means a lot of characters' SP gain will be reduced unless they go into a potentially lackluster finisher. And those Labrys changes. Her DP is no longer going to be Bad!

I'm not sure exactly what he means by S.Teddie, but here are a few merits I can think of: -His midscreen BnB actually does more damage, and builds more meter, compared to normal Teddie. Teddie has his own merits; much better corner carry, easy converts to Nihil Hand, better blockstrings, but S.Teddie also gets easy launches because old 5AA floats the opponent and is less inconsistent for blockstrings. -He's not as potent as Chie/Mitsuru/Naoto, but his corner Berserk combos can still be threatening. They can do 6k+, with plenty of opportunities for Poison damage, and he can make them Burst safe at the expense of damage. His midscreen Berserk stuff isn't as good, but they can very easily push the opponent into the corner. -Using Berserk in neutral means he can quickly accelerate item orders using Mystery Teddie SP. There is gimmicky mix-up using Mystery Teddie SP > Circus Bear. Since regular Teddie generally wants to conserve his meter for corner carry/damage, he doesn't make as much use of item super. He's not very explored, but I imagine S.Teddie can get some very potent blockstrings and even unblockables with Shadow Berserk cancels, items, and item super. Items also give him some form of gimmicky defense (like Amagiya Buckets) to potentially interrupt enemy combos, making up slightly for loss of Burst. I'm not sure it's enough to make him stand out (I personally feel S.Yukiko is worth a mention as well due to her easy means of increasing Fire Boost), but there are things he can do decently.

There are basically three variants of the corner BnB: 5AA > 5B > j.C > j.A > 5B > 5C > 2B > j.A > etc. 5AA > 5B > 5C > d.c. > 5A > 5B > s.j.C > j.B > j.A > 5B > (2B) > j.A > etc. 5AA > 5B > 5C > 2B > j.A > j.B > j.A > etc. Third combo is the easiest in execution but does least damage/SP. Second combo has the most if you do the 2B, but is arguably the harshest for execution (though it's not too bad with muscle memory), and learning the 5B > s.j.C route is handy for throw starters. You can also do the standard 5AAAA > j.236236[C] for the ease of execution, but the above routes pay off better.

Generally avoid ending combos with Puppeteddie unless you're using the Tomahawk to continue the combo in the corner or if you really want the Poison damage (if the opponent is in Awakening, for instance). Puppeteddie doesn't leave you in a good position to continue pressure because of the distance between you and your opponent afterwards as well as the recovery time. Use Tomahawk to maintain pressure and combos, corner carry, and keep your opponents in the corner. Nihil Hand for damage (especially after a OMB). Mystery Teddie SP is generally limited in use (has some use in midscreen combos, or if you want to accelerate the item order for whatever reason). Circus Bear is usually for certain setups (if you're forcing the opponent to block an active item like Oil Drum). It is possible to link a combo to Circus Bear (see his challenge 24), but you don't see it too often in high level play otherwise. Teddie's worst matchups (IMO) are Yu, Mitsuru, Minazuki, and Yosuke, in no particular order. Margaret can be tough, but she's especially vulnerable to rolls during her pressure and Teddie has the best roll in the game, and her defense isn't exactly stellar.

Fatal Recovery/Fear midscreen combo: 5A FC 5C d.c. j.A j.B j.A delay 5AAA j.236A j.236236[C] ]C[ j.C 2B j.B Should be able to almost fullscreen carry (if you carry them to the corner with 5AAA, you can do the 236236[D] corner route). If you don't have the meter for missile, you can just end with 2AB/j.A j.B. I say 'almost' since you won't be able to follow up from 5C if your back is against the corner; 5C won't wall bounce.

It's got a pretty notable recovery time (about 43f), which is average for a DP. Definitely more than Chie's, if you can punish that. Best way to 'bait it' during pressure is with an attack that can either hit from a distance, or that allows you to block soon after (projectiles are good for both). The explosion is no longer unblockable, and Teddie has more recovery when reappearing, so you can easily beat him up when he reappears if the explosion whiffs or gets blocked. Or you can just read the DP and not attack, then punish after it. Teddie has no way of making the move safe and the most the move does is reset the playing field (admittedly to his advantage, but it's a lot less than what other characters can do).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp9AIEIzERg&list=UUigXphTRJdzpFoStm13_VPA&feature=player_detailpage#t=384 A cute combo by MAD using double buckets. More for style points than anything, but the guy is really good at making use of those items.