LockedAndClush

I found another change in input leniency. Comboing from air hits to ground hits (like after a low air dash) is easier, there seems to be a small buffer added for the inputs. It's the most apparent when inputting ground special moves in air. I noticed it first trying out the BB > YRC > |WT setup with Sol. Before the patch, you had to be very, very precise about when you input the command for the throw to even get it to come out, not to mention making this setup as tight as possible by beginning the throw on the first frame of landing. Now it's pretty loose and can actually be inputted while still in the air. Neat, these kinds of hits seemed to give a lot of beginners great trouble.

Are the inputs actually any easier, like was mentioned in the loktest notes? I tried to do reversals a little more sloppy, or purposefully slip up with a jump cancel IAD, but they work just the same to me. Maybe I'm just not screwing them up "the right way". Also, might be my imagination, but Bitz Shield reversals actually seem easier. Might be because I never really tried them and they're not as hard as I though though.

What's there to rage about? The opposite would be a good reason to rage, but this is just a logical decision.

As far as multiple BB's in a row go, I once or twice managed to land three on Ramlethal, but the first one had to be a midair counter hit. Nothing practical, but it sure is fun to hear the despair in the voice of your opponent as you hit him with the same, slow-ass special move three times in a row. Guilty Gear incarnate. Sounds like Sol's combo game is the same it was, only a little less damaging here and there (5K 90% will hurt in the long run, it might be worth it to try to get in with other moves more). I just hope that DI Fafnir will be viable in combos, with it's decreased proration and increased P.B.B. damage.

I'm curious about that app, IIRC it's only going to work with the PS4 version, right? I remember reading about it sometime before release, but haven't seen a word on it since.

Do we have any 1.1 specific combos? I don't think there was any significant change to anything that would open new combo routes, but perhaps something small? Does CH 2HS combo into BB now?

Pineberry is far from castrated. Just not total OP BS now. Also, Leo seems to be worse than we initially thought him to be. Kinda the same as with his original console release. He definitely got better, but I'd argue not good enough to stand up to *gulp* new Slayer or Axl.

Since the release is for the Japanese version only, I doubt Arc cared. Great news. Nerf them strawberries.

How about we just get an obligatory patch that removes Faust's scalpel? He'd still have insane range with just his hands. Nah, no matter how much I hate Faust or think Elph is the most fraudulent character GG has ever seen (1.0 Elph at least, but 1.1 doesn't seem all that different), I prefer there being characters that are too strong than ones that are too weak. And on the DLC rumors - I hope they let 1.1 on consoles sink in for at least half a year before even announcing anything new.

They seem dominant, looking at matches from Mikado and similar high-level, but are they really that bad? Don't get me wrong, when I look at how some amazing players get their asses handed by Hase or Yosuke I'm pretty terrified of facing these characters in 1.1 myself, but could it just be that they are just this good because no one is quite sure how to handle them yet?

Except for this not really being the right topic to ask in, Axl's j.D now wallsticks. The Sol player probably just didn't tech. And if you mean the entire match, that was just a brutal beatdown delivered by probably the most annoying character on arcades now (as far as I heard).

So, if I understand the description right, it's like this: RC can only be done during or after hitstop. So if you input RC when the enemy is in hitstun/blockstun, but you're already doing the next move (so it's before hitstop for this one - does that histop requirement reset as you move on to the next hit? Seems pretty pointless) and the enemy leaves hitstun/blockstun for some reason, you'll get a YRC (which doesn't have the hitstop requirement)? Seems gimmicky as hell and not very practical for anything beyond obvious baits... I hope that's the case, because it seems too good to be easy and abuseable.

Looks broken as hell... might have something to do with button priority, maybe you can't plink RC but YRC can be plinked? I have to test that. Might be the most broken thing in the game so far...

As far as the note I guess that if she's too close as the first hit happens she'll get rejected. The other two examples are unaffected, because you can't Blitz Shield Overdrives, but I assume you just meant multi-hit projectiles. You can do rapid Blitz Shield to guard yourself from Ky's Charged Stun Edge, so you might be able to get it on other slow projectiles too (although it's not gonna be worth it anymore, now that you won't regain Tension for it), but I think it's specific projectile dependent.

You can't reliably land Fafnir after the dustloop on I-no, Millia and May. For maximum damage you should do two dustloop reps on them. I always just go for j.K>j.D>jc>j.S>j.D>SVV>TO on her.

But it's all very simple and rather well documented. Neutral is trickier, because there are both obvious and less obvious (to beginners, that is) uses for every tool. Text is fine, but I always felt neutral needs a more graphic explanation. In the end I think a nice community effort compiling the basics of Sol's gameplan in a single article would be pretty cool to have.

The headless Sol is the stuff of nightmares. I'm glad they gave him special animations for cinematic supers when in DI (except Venom IK, but that's no biggie), My favorite ones are definitely Faust super and Elph's cake - the yellow-mouthed face of fear is priceless. Also, it seems the Blitz Shield change from 1.1 hasn't affected anyone's gameplan much just yet. I talked to a friend who's been playing 1.1 Venom for a while now, and he said some people attempt the BS projectile rejection, but it rarely works, and eating a counter hit is not really worth trying. I saw a few rejects happen here and there (mostly on Elphelt's grenade used in shotgun pressure, which is just awesome, because that stuff was dumb), but nothing significantly gamechanging.

Wasn't the height on CH 2HS decreased? It seems to result in a knockdown now. Unless you mean 2HS on an aerial opponent, then I haven't heard about it before. I think Sol has more potential for things being Burst baits than Burst safe routes - I mostly stick to rapid P attacks when I worry about getting Bursted early. Usually works.

Yeah, I do recall some crossup GF setups I saw once where I didn't quite grasp how they move this way. I'm still really curious of using it in more neutral situations, to close the distance quickly in certain matchups (Ky and Faust come to mind, since I play them a lot lately). Seems a better alternative for safely closing distance than just GF YRC and dashing in afterwards.

Has anyone experimented with dash momentum GF (YRC)? I don't recall anyone mentioning it. If you input GF while microdashing you can get a "different" version of Gunflame, that unusually propels Sol forward. While by itself not so useful, it gets interesting when YRC'd. Usually YRC reduces dash momentum by quite a bit (though, on a side note, PRC doesn't... interesting), but not in this case. After YRCing a dash momentum Gunflame (either during startup or early active frames) you get a move that either propels Sol forward very fast (kind of Fafnir speed and range, but AFTER YRC), or does the same with a Gunflame on top. While of course both are throwable if done in throw range or during YRC startup, the Gunflame on top variant is much safer for approaches, as at even minimal range, Gunflame's blockstun prevents a throw. Invul reversals beat both, of course, but the 2nd variant is also good for baits, as it allows to block normally while moving forward, since it's not considered a skid. Some example uses I found include a fullscreen traveling BB or Fafnir (dash GF>YRC>BB/Fafnir) using this to get GF as crossup (at proper range by BBing or just jumping), covering for throw/WT attempts with GF (basically works like Fafnir>YRC>WT setups, only giving you momentum before and after YRC and the Gunflame on top, that doesn't interfere with WT connecting in range, but makes it safe when whiffed). Also might make for some cool RS setups and great throw baits against people jumping out of the way of Gunflame, but I gotta test that later. Maybe more, I can't remember now. I do realize all this stuff is just a gimmick, but I'm curious if anyone else noticed it and got some mileage out of it. EDIT Also, this makes GF>YRC>f.S>GF connects>BB a thing while moving forward. Pretty fun.

http://cdn.wiki.4gamer.net/files/attachment/000/031/362/upload.jpg Here's exact WT range. http://wiki.4gamer.net/ggxrd/%E5%9F%BA%E7%A4%8E%E3%83%87%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BF%E4%B8%80%E8%A6%A7 You can compare it to other ranges and regular throw range here at the bottom. My setups for WT include: - simple 2P tick throw: approach with 2P once or twice (twice will make it really hard to land if your opponent FD's) and just run in after them and grab as soon as in range. Loses to timed pokes, fast long range normals or throw invul moves. - 2S tick throw: not as expected and obvious as 2P throw and pretty advantageous. requires you to slightly delay WT compared to 2P - Fafnir YRC WT: no one ever sees it coming, haha. It's a great way to finish off your opponent once they're cornered and barely alive. Encourage them to block your Fafnir, or better yet, Blitz Shield it with corner pressure, use the movement of Fafnir to approach rapidly and YRC>WT. Not really worth it if you're not really in need of that hit and knockdown, cause the proration of YRC and WT add together, making your follow-up combo pretty weak. - 5HS instant air dash j.S>j.K (whiff)l>WT: "The Machaboo", as I like to call it. The 5HS is not necessary, but it helps space and set it up. You need to air dash just far enough so your j.S hits, but j.K whiffs, so the blockstun (and post-blockstun) throw protection ends and you can WT away. Doesn't work on Faust IIRC. - post-knockdown empty jump WT: pretty self-explanatory, not very safe, but can catch your opponent for blocking on wakeup. Generally in my experience every time you get your opponent to honestly fear letting go of their block, you've got them with WT. While WT proration hurts your combos, even if your opponent blocks the 5HS IAD setup, the follow-up corner Dustloop goes to up 180-something damage. Of course if they FD this doesn't factor into the follow-up, but I feel like taking their meter is still payoff enough. Any time you get your opponent on the defense (in the corner even more so) it's a gamble from them with FD - put their HP on the line increasing RISC level or lose the resources needed for a comeback. It's a great dynamic and every time you can really exploit it with WT will make them hopeless and possibly without resources.

I found a sick meterless CH 5HS corner (near corner) combo that does great damage (230+ on Sol, I'll check the numbers when I have the time). It's a great alternative to max range CH 5HS just going into GV in the corner. I haven't seen anyone post anything like this, so I hope I'm not just repeating stuff. It worked mid-match on I-No, Sol, Ky, Sin and Potemkin, so I assume there won't be character specific problems (Venom and Zato maybe?) This requires a max range CH 5HS (or slightly below max range, but basically requires you to hit with the very tip of the sword). Crouching makes it easier, but it works on standing. It's rather tight, but the damage is worth it. Max range CH 5HS>GF>Fafnir>6P>5HS>j.D>Kudakero>HSVV>TO Sol's Gunflame animation ends just after it hits (hence the distance requirement), with the GF hitstun lasting long enough to blast them with a Fafnir and follow up. I'm not sure if you can go for the 6P>BR ender here, might be too long (by the time you get to 6P>5HS it's already too long to get a Dustloop), I coudn't get it, but I haven't really tried this combo in training too much. Really worth it, builds great meter and does great damage. Combo length makes the VV>TO ender space pretty well for GF YRC oki too.

It's not good, but fun - if your opponent notoriously doesn't FD on the way down in the corner an HSVV can catch him of guard. Then, once he's decided to FD to avoid getting hit again, just throw them. It's one of those things - not really good options, but effective ways to punish your opponent's poor play.

Watching Jonio's stream right now makes me think are we, like... dead? The Blitz Shield change seems horrible for us. I just saw Elphelt getting rejected for throwing a grenade at what I'm pretty sure was throw-safe range. The thing I really want to see now is whether the reject happens when you ground-Blitz and the opponent is airborne (like a typical GF YRC empty jump low scenario). I'm worried we might lose what's basically our last good mixup outside of the WT threat. EDIT So... now that I calmed down a little bit and all that good stuff. It might not be so bad. Sol still looks strong. CH Fafnir carry will be dearly missed, but outside of that things seem fine. The revamp of Blitz Shield certainly does affect the gameplay, but since introducing BS in the first place didn't completely kill meaty attacks, the new Blitz Shield won't be half as bad as it could be for the most part.

I almost exclusively use DI for the "finishing touch" when I have the advantage. Having 60%+ health while my opponent is at 20-30% (even more for certain characters), DI exerts an insane amount of pressure. I will often activate it after a knockdown with OTG 2K>(f.S if near corner)>DI. If you're fast enough, you can get a 5K jump cancel into a slightly delayed P.B.B, and it connects (I have to test it further to see if it really works, I only ever tried it online so it might be wonky). DI is at it's best when you have a 100 tension. Having access to both Tyrant Rave ver. SOL WILL RAPE YO DAMN ASS! and RC's of certain moves (YRC GF, RC GV) will let you quickly take all their tension forcing them to FD and chip away at their health at a steady rate. You're screwed if they live through the onslaught or at least you don't end it with a HSVV>TO or Kudakero though. Rarely I will use DI in more neutral situations, where both me and my opponent are basically a touch away from death and really want to get in. I will usually wait for them to do something, that could be punished by GV, VV or any other move that usually can punish something on reaction. The stop caused by DI (I don't mean the invul - that's harder to use) allows me to catch a breath and visually, 100% confirm my opponents actions and not commit to a dumb, non-YRC/PRC-able move that they could bait. In Hellfire DI lasts pretty long, so you can afford a few mistakes. Don't DI if they have a Burst though, unless you desperately want to take it away from them, I guess.