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Teyah

Eddie in #Reload: poon's guide

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With #Reloadonline currently being the most active GG scene(!) in North America, I figured this might help out those who have been asking me for Eddie advice.

poon wrote up a pretty great guide for Eddie basics & combos back in 2005. It was eaten by the forum's auto-purge so I am reposting it now.

#R Eddie Guide: Basics, Combos, and Strats

This guide assumes some familiarity with Guilty Gear basics, as well as basic terminology.

Eddie guide:

Eddie has the best rushdown in Guilty Gear. No one can pressure as hard or control space as well as he can. He does huge damage, has great throw mixups, and his high/low game is very difficult to defend against. Eddie also has a very steep learning curve. Since Eddie's controls are so technical, for the purpose of this guide I'm going to adopt some control conventions and definitions as follows:

Negative edge - The action of releasing a button that was being held down. Example - with the shadow summoned press and hold down punch. Eddie will punch. Now release punch, and the summon will perform small summon attack.

Eddie - The character Eddie, as opposed to his shadow. It's confusing because the guilty gear manual calls the summoned shadow Eddie. To avoid confusion, throughout this guide "Eddie" will always refer to Zato-1's dead body, the guy with blonde hair.

Shadow - The shadow that is summoned with 236 + (any button other than dust). When refering to summoned shadow I will always call it "shadow".

Drill - Invite hell. Done with 22s or 22hs.

Fly - Eddie's double jump is flight mode. Tap up during a normal jump to begin flight.

Quick Fly - Jumping then tapping up as fast as possible. Done correctly this allows you to fly while still very close to the ground. Used during corner mixups, as well as for spacing.

Shadow Meter - The thin red line that appears just below Eddie's name when he summons his shadow. Measures how much longer you can have the shadow out. Different moves take out different amounts of the bar. If the bar is allowed to run all the way out the shadow vanishes and it will slowly begin to replenish. If you unsummon shadow the Shadow Meter will turn green and replenish extremely quickly.

Control Definitions:

I will use standard number notation for movement (ex 2p, 2k, ...). In addition I will be adopting another notion to refer to negative edges and holding down buttons. When I want you to hold down a button, I will put square brackets "[]" around it. For example, if the combo calls for you to press punch and hold it down, then kick and hold down too, the notation will be [p], [k]. When I want you to release a button that was previously held down, I will put hyphens "--" around it. Continuing the previous example, [p], [k], -p-, would mean press and hold punch, press and hold kick, then release punch and quickly release kick. Performed properly this combo should look like this: Eddie punch, Eddie kick, shadow punch.

I introduced this notation so I won't have to constantly type "hold this button and this one, release this one then all these...". It also shortens up the combo lists.

When you release a button during a combo you should always release all other buttons you are holding while shadow is in recovery. The shadow will only respond to the first button released. The reason for this is you don't want to end up in a situation where you are holding down a button that you want to use.

Eddie Basics:

-Pokes-

2p - Eddie's crouching punch has good range, high priority, and gatlings to 2d. It can be linked into itself with proper timing. Excellent move.

2s - Excellent range. On counterhit it combos to either drill. This is a great move to cancel into summon shadow as well. Priority isn't great, but it's sufficent, and at the times you'll throw it out it will usually beat whatever they tried.

j.k - Eddie's jumping kick has huge active frames and fairly high priority in air to air situations, and decent priority in air to ground. Don't try landing on your opponent with it, unless it's someone like Dizzy who has no passable anti air. Many characters have a lot of problems getting in on Eddie if he just jumps backward constantly and spams j.k.

-Specials-

22s and 22hs - Drills also make for decent pokes simply because they knockdown. By putting out a few random drills you can make your opponent nervous from across the screen.

41236s (while airborne) - Shadow gallery is an amazing move. It does huge damage, has high priority, and can dodge alot of attacks as well. From the right ranges it is somewhat safe, though if you do it point blank your opponent can hit you in recovery. When you have your shadow out you can freely use this move and have the shadow cover you while you recover. Shadow gallery can also be used to start combos when you have your shadow out.

214s - Drunkard Shade. Reflects some fireballs. Not really useful, and you shouldn't try to reflect fireballs, it's better to fly over them or counter them with drills. On counterhit it sends the opponent flying and you can follow up with an aircombo, but you shouldn't be fishing for counterhits with it anyway.

214[k] - Break the Law. As long as k is held down you remain invulnerable. This can be used once the shadow is out to get in close and begin a rushdown.

623s - Damned Fang. Command throw with good range and complete immunity to throws during its execution. Combos are discussed in the combo section.

236 + (any button other than dust) - Summon shadow. Details are covered in the shadow section. If you perform this command while the shadow is out you'll unsummon it.

-Overdrives-

632146hs - Amorphous. Horrible super. Does lousy damage, has invulnerablity, but makes for a terrible wakeup move. The only real use for this is tacking extra damage onto your opponent at the end of the round. For example, if you don't have your shadow out and land a 2p, 2d combo, you can cancel to Amorphous for more damage. Still a terrible move. Even though it has invuln on startup, you should never try to use this on wakeup. Most of the time the super will wiff behind an opponent and they will be able to punish the recovery.

236236s (while airborne) - Executor. Horrible super. Very difficult to work into practical combos. Cancels off of j.hs and j.d. Never worth the tension unless the added damage will kill your opponent.

632146s (while shadow is out) - Megalith Head. Causes shadow to erupt out of the ground. Does decent damage and causes an unteched fall. Situationally useful such as when you've connected a summon attack but you are too far away to follow it up. You can also use this super if you've broken someone's gaurd but don't have enough shadow meter to perform any combos.

Shadow moves:

-p- - Small shadow attack. Large range, and the single best shadow move. Use this to close up holes in your rushdown.

-k- - Shadow buzzsaw attack, also call moving shadow attack, or just buzzsaw. Good, but not great. Use this when you want to push someone from midscreen into the corner, or if you want to go for airdash mixups. Basically you should only use this once your opponent is already blocking, try not to start an attack with buzzsaw.

-s- - Shadow anti-air attack. Great as anti-air. Causes a huge amount of blockstun. Use it to force an opponent into a corner, or during corner mixups.

-hs- - Mine. The first hit of the mine is a low. Used in unblockable setups. To plant the mine just tap and release hs.

-d- - Shadow overhead attack. Used in unblockable setups.

You can summon shadow with 236 + any button but dust, but you should always summon with hs. Summoning with other buttons commits you to a move, and you can immediately do a shadow move anyway by tapping and releasing the corresponding button.

Eddie Strategy:

From the start of the round you should be thinking about how you can knock your opponent down. 2p, 2d is the only gatling into sweep that you're likely to land. You can also attempt to hit your opponent with a drill. Other than that, you'll have to rely on counterhits to score clean knockdowns. 2hs knocks down on counterhit, as does j.d. Always remember that 2s on counterhit combos to 22hs. If you ever score a knockdown, immediately summon shadow and begin pressure with something like 22, -s-.

Sometimes you won't be able to get your opponent to fall down. In these cases it's best to just summon shadow and begin your offense anyway. Anytime you're out of the max poke range of your opponent, you can safely summon. In this case you should always summon with hs and quickly release to prevent the shadow from doing any moves as he is summoned. During the shadow cast animation you can freely begin holding down buttons while Eddie is still in recovery. Typical buttons you'll want to load are p and s, since these correspond to small shadow attack and shadow anti-air attack. After the summon, if your opponent tries anything aggressive like an IAD or a ground dash, you can release the correct button and stop it. Holding down these specific buttons also gives you access to j.k and 22hs, both of which are really good to use at midrange. Don't forget about 2s, it's a nasty poke when combined with shadow attacks during footsies.

Players tend to jump backward alot when the shadow is out. 2hs is good at catching people as the come off the ground, and you can immediately do shadow anti-air attack to launch them into an aircombo. You can also just do a far drill and let them fall onto it, then followup the drill with shadow buzzsaw attack. You can also try IAD and do a late Shadow Gallery. You just have to get creative and use shadow attacks to cover any weaknesses. The key here is to get them to block something so you can begin your rushdown.

Anti-air:

Without your summon out, you're pretty screwed for anti-air. 6p and 2hs are your best bets, but they're both extremely situational. 6p beats alot of jumpins, but loses just as often. 2hs is great if you've got the time to get it out. It only really shines as anti when thrown far in advance.

With shadow summon out you've got some of the best anti-air in the game. Shadow anti-air attack -s- is ridiculous. It creams just about any jump in, regardless of when it's thrown. If they try to get around it by faking a jump in and double jumping, you can just put out a 2hs wherever they are going fall. The best tactic though, is using break the law under the shadow. If they try to jump in just 214[k] and move the shadow underneath them. When they land use small shadow attack -p-, and release k while the shadow is in recovery. After you rise back up from break the law begin pressure with p, s, whatever shadow attack you choose.

Rushdown:

If your opponent ever blocks one of your moves when you have the shadow out, you can begin your rushdown. Typically you want to attack constantly but with staggered timing so that it looks like there may be an opening to escape. Basic strings are always short Eddie strings followed by a shadow attack to keep the lockdown in effect. One time you may want to try 2[p], 2[k], -k-, another time you may want 2[p], 2, -s-. It's all dependent on the situation, and what you think will scare your opponent more.

Remember that close drill (22s) does not combo off of any normal except for hs. If your opponent tries to mash out of a string by constantly hitting a button, you can cancel a normal that doesn't combo into a drill and it will counterhit. You can do the same thing by delaying small shadow attacks, but that is a little more difficult to do.

You'll find that players like to dead angle when they're in a blockstring. The most common points are to dead angle are right after the third hit of the buzzsaw, after 2p, and after 22s. There are several different ways to deal with a dead angle and still keep the lockdown going. TK'd Shadow Gallery will beat every dead angle in the game except for Anji's (not that it matters), and keep your opponent in blockstun as well. You can also Break the Law when you suspect a dead angle is coming, the shadow is usually too small to be hit and you'll be able to begin a combo with shadow anti-air attack. You can also just block and hit with small shadow attack over and over.

Mixups:

During your rush, you can mixup by jumping and landing on your opponent with j.k. From here you can either land and 2d, or fly and j.k, j.hs. These work especially well during a corner trap. Anytime you have a 2d blocked you can hold down s, then jumpcancel and proceed into high/low j.k mixups. Additionally, you can fake a high/low mixup after a blocked -s- and instead simply land and throw.

If you do a buzzsaw and jump immediately, you'll have enough time to either airdash just before you land and hit with j.s, j.hs, or land and 2d. Takes more shadow meter, but it's always good to have more mixup options.

Remember, anytime you are comboing someone into an unteched fall in the corner you can plant the mine and hit them with multiple air attacks as they get up. Example, you hit with shadow gallery and plant the mine, then as your opponent wakes up jump in and j.k, jumpcancel, j.k, j.p, j.k, j.p or j.s, j.hs.

These are only a few of the many gaurdbreak options, but just these will get you pretty far.

Combos:

-Eddie only-

2p, 2d - basic combo to knockdown, use this as a punisher

2p, 2d, 632146hs - the motion for the overdrive has to be done extremely fast, only use this to kill someone when they're low

623s, p, jc, j.k, j.hs, j.d - corner only command grab followup

Eddie's basic aircombo is either j.k, j.hs, j.d or superjump j.k, j.s, j.hs, j.d. You have to use your judgement when deciding which to use, often times only one of the two will sucessfully connect.

2[p], 2s, 236hs (slight delay) -p- - this isn't exactly a combo, but it's a great way to bring out the shadow off 2p

2p, s, s, 2s, 22hs frc, 236hs - another non-combo, and it requires tension, but one it's of the best ways to get shadow out

-Eddie with Shadow-

Midscreen

2[p], 2[k], -p-, 2, 22[hs], [p] while you're in recovery, -p-, -s-, IAD, j.HS, j.D, 41236, -s- (The last two hits only connect in a corner). This is a wierd, but important combo. The hits connect all out of order, specifically the second small shadow attack hits in between the 2s and the far drill.

2[p], 2[k], -p-, 2[d] and while you're in recovery, -s-, superjump, j.k, j.s, j.hs, j.d

Generally off any connected shadow anti-air attack you can do one of the two Eddie aircombos as well.

Anytime you land a max range 2s or s and have half tension, combo into buzzsaw and then cancel to megalith head. This combo should be used with discretion, since you lose the shadow afterward.

Corner only

2[p], 2[k], -p-, 2[d] and while in recovery, -s-, jc, j.hs, j.d, 41236, -s-

Untechable corner combo, you can start it off any of the first four hits. The timing is rather strict, especially on the s release. During corner mixups you'll usually start the combo off 2d.

j.[k], j.[hs], tap and release s, jump, j.[hs], j.[d], 41236, -s-

Same combo as above, but starts off the high variation of the corner mixups.

22, -s-, jump, j.hs, j.d, 41236, -s-

Same as above but off the drill.

623s, tap and release hs immediately after the grab, land and p (or 2k), mine goes off, TK 41236s.

41236, -s-, superjump, j.k, j.s, j.hs, j.d

Huge damage combo off of Shadow Gallery.

At any point if you break someone's gaurd and have no shadow meter left to do a combo, just do a Megalith Head. Even with a little gaurd crank the damage is huge.

Throw Mixups:

This gets its own section because I forgot to include it in the first draft, and because you can mixup extremely well doing throw mixups alone.

Basic throw mixup is 2[p], 2[k], -p-, dash in 623. The variation on this is 2[p], 2[k], -p-, 2[d]. The idea here is to force your opponent to chose between blocking a low move or jumping to avoid the throw. If you do a 2[d] and it gets blocked just tap and release p to close up the gap and dash back in for more mixup. You can vary this string with things like [k], , tap and release p, dash in throw, or dash in [k], 623. The sheer number of variations of this is staggering. At almost any point during your rushdown you can stop and throw.

As I mentioned before, during high/low mixups you can jump in empty and throw. If you space yourself wrong you can technically be thrown for free on landing, but players are generally wary of option selecting the throw because you can't option select throw and block low at the same time. If they realize you are trying to throw and attempt a counterthrow they just get grabbed anyway.

When you try for the throw, you want to do the command so that you slide into throw range with the grab active. Since you've got throw immunity you can't be counterthrown, and from the right range Damned Fang will actually grab characters even if they try to mash out of the tick. A few characters have moves that have large enough range and are fast enough to sucessfully mash out (Sol stand kick, Venom 2d), but they hit the Shadow just as often and give you the throw anyway. The best solution they have is to hold up to jump. If your opponent manages to escape the throw by jumping, just hit with shadow anti-air attack. You should have slash held down from the throw attempt anyway and this will keep most people from getting away.

Remember to watch your shadow meter when you land a grab. If it's very low and the shadow won't last to setup the unblockable, just plant the mine asap. You can always just combo them into the mine with a well timed p after the throw.

Corner shadow unblockables, versus an opponent knocked down in or near the corner:

236 hs, tap and release d while Eddie is in recovery, [k], , [d], tap and release p then all other buttons, hold up, j.[hs], tap up, 41236, -hs-, here the opponent lands on the mine, as they wake up attack with j.hs, 41236s.

-To perform this combo you must knock the opponent down in (or really close to) the corner when you don't already have the shadow out. If you already have the shadow out you will run out of meter before you can set the mine. As they wakeup you should double meaty with standing kick and shadow overhead attack for the unblockable and proceed with the combo.

Since dust doesn't gatling to anything, you can freely hit and release p to have the shadow attack. The hits will connect in this order, -d- and kick, slash, -p-, dust. Make sure the shadow overhead hits meaty at the same time kick does, and make sure that j.hs hits meaty at the same time as the first hit of the mine.

623s, plant the mine as Eddie rises from the shadow ball, j.hs as the opponent wakes up, 41236s.

The mine unblockable. Instead of doing 41236s, you can also followup with p, then aircombo.

Random things I didn't cover:

My opponent keeps spamming invuln moves (uppercut, super, whatever) during my rushdown. What do I do?

Solution is to keep your distance and just block when you think the move will come out. Make sure that when you're blocking the shadow is behind Eddie, so that the move doesn't hit the shadow. Resummon then punish. Instead of that you can also try to beat the move with TK Shadow Gallery, but some moves (May whale super, Sol VV) will hit you anyway. It's really gratifying though to watch Axl wiff a benatari light and get nailed by the second hit of SG into a huge combo.

How do I do that awesome combo from whatever vid?

It's likely you're refering to the midscreen ground combo into drill to midscreen shadow gallery or the corner small shadow attack relaunch combo. I left these out of the combo section on purpose, because the timing for the combos are extremely subtle and difficult to do. In addition, screwing them up will cost you a knockdown and wiffed shadow moves, which is a risk you almost never want to take. That said:

-The awesome looking midscreen shadow gallery combo-

2[p], 2[k], -p-, 2, 22[hs], tap and release p then [p] while Eddie and Shadow are both in recovery, IAD, -p-, j.k, j.hs, 41236, -s-.

The timing for everything up to the drill is the same as the basic midscreen combo. Timing for the IAD and second small shadow attack is extremely strict. The timing for the -s- is also extremely strict or the shadow gallery won't combo.

-The awesome looking shadow gallery corner relaunch combo-

2[d] and while you're in recovery, -s-, jc, j.[hs], j.[d], 41236, -s-, 412367, tap and release p at almost the same time as Shadow Gallery. The first slash release has to be done extremely early, and you have to delay the j.hs and j.d so that the opponent launches fairly high. When you cancel to shadow gallery the timing of the slash release is very strict. This should launch them very high, and allow you to land just before they do. TK shadow gallery and the punch tap have to be done almost simultaneously. You can plant the mine after the shadow recovers and mix them up on it.

If you can consistantly perform these combos then you probably don't need this guide.

Notable Matchups:

I listed these as "notable" matchups because there is no such thing as a bad matchup for Eddie. These are listed because each on of these characters has a specific ability that needs to be taken into account during the fight.

-Axl-

Between p, 6k, and 2s you'll have a hard time getting in on axl. Easiest thing to do is stand outside of his poke range and try to get him to step on a drill. If that isn't working, you can try summoning and flying while moving the shadow up. If you space yourself correctly you can keep out of his poke ranges and force him to chose between attempting to jump and knock you out of the air or poke your shadow. In either case you can shadow gallery and begin pressure. Always wake axl up by drilling him or he'll benatari light and kill the summon.

-Baiken-

Basically the same as everyone else, just don't ever use shadow buzzsaw attack. If she side switches the best you can do is throw her because the shadow will be too far away to combo. She's really easy to command grab.

-May-

May can actually stop jump back j.k. Her dolphin upper cleanly beats anything you've got in the air if she times it well, so be careful. You can always just stay on the ground and get the shadow out as fast as you can if you are having problems.

-Robo Ky-

Robo's stay down ability can screwup an unblockable after command throw. You have two options. Easiest is to use the 2k version of the quick mine set combo. You can also plant the mine right as the black ball explodes, and if he gets up normally mixup by jump in with j.k, jc, j.s, j.hs, or if he does delayed wakeup hit with j.hs for an unblockable as he gets up. Generally you should use the first option though.

-Slayer-

Always wake Slayer up with 22, -s-. It's the best way to stop him from bdc jumping, and even if he does he won't get far. Also, his j.hs can trade with your 2hs at almost any range, so try to use the small shadow attack combined with break the law to deal withh an airborne slayer.

-Testament-

You can't just run to full screen and summon shadow against Tessu. He can barney your shadow to death on reaction if you do. Just remember to summon during the midscreen fight. The shadow does not activate trees, and neither does Eddie when he's in break the law.

-Johnny-

It is very difficult to launch Johnny into an aircombo after a command grab in the corner. When you land a grab without a summon you are better off letting

him hit the ground. Johnny also floats very low and flat after a 2d, making him hard to launch with shadow anti-air. You have to verify the 2d and quickly

hit with shadow anti-air.

-Ky-

After a connected 2d in the corner, Ky hits the ground much faster than other characters. This makes it somewhat difficult to connect a shadow anti-air

attack to aircombo. You have to learn to verify when a 2d connects and quickly hit with shadow anti-air. If you use the same timing as with other characters

then the -s- will wiff and you'll fly into the air looking stupid.

keke

Also here is the guide in offline form + page 1 of the archived thread, which has a few more FAQs and answers.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/mp3mj0

Any other questions, I can answer here!

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thx, very useful

about vs. Testy section, not sure what does "activate trees" means, but if you Break the Lawn under them, they'll come out and they may kill Shadow :mad:

Edit: btw: there's also a videoguide on youtube.com ( /watch?v=DaLXyvw6284 ) :eng101:

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