Jump to content

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

niggajesus

[#R]Axl Bible of Niggajesus

Recommended Posts

This is an Axl thread designed to help people understand the character and some of the mechanics of the game, and while I will have combos and match-up information, it's not the focus of this guide. I'm an #R player, but I'm pretty damn sure everything applies to AC Axl; hell, I think any player could find value in this guide. Also, to really get the most out of this, I recommend going into training mode while you read. I'm going to start with the very simple concepts and build on to them. I. Getting the most out of everything you do. c.s > 5h > 2d > 2363214h A lot of people would say that this is a bad combo, and I would agree with them. So, what makes this a bad combo? To understand this, lets look at what advantages and disadvantages it has in relation to the other things you could do. + KD + Damage (206) - 50% tension - Unreliable (if it is not done right, the second part of the super will otg your enemy causing you to lose the KD and the damage) c.s > 5h > 2d > [4]6s (frc) > 66 > 6k (jc) > j.k > j.d > j.623h Costs about 13% tension. The best part about this combo is that it allows your enemy to recover, which is a win-win situation for you. Axl's ability to punish recovery is stronger than his oki game. If they do recover then you can punish their recovery with a c.s, forcing them to FD it which eats up 10-20% of their tension, unless they don't FD in which case they take a bomber loop to the face, it's their choice. You could also air throw them for +55 damage and knockdown if that's you're thing. If you're too far away to throw or c.s, then watch which way they tech and poke accordingly . If they don't recover, you get the knockdown anyway. + 25% tension usage (you also gain about 12% tension) + Allows the enemy to recover (they take a lot of damage or they lose 10-20% tension) - Damage (187) If you'd prefer to do bomber loops, then go ahead. BLoops tend to do more damage and you can take even more advantage of Axl's recovery punishing game, but if you mistime an axl bomber then they'll get a free combo on you. The only situation where I'll always BL is from a corner throw. Basically, just be aware of what your combos are doing besides just the dmg they deal. Minimize your opponents tension and maximize yours. Keep them thinking of what you're going to do next, and more importantly, make sure they don't have time to think. II. Mixup In the first section of this guide I showed you that what appears to be happening on the surface on things is not what is important. This applies to his mixup, as well. It's all mindgames. For example, if they block 5k > 3p, there are a lot of options: 2d for another low attack, 6h or 5d for high attack, 5h for massive guard-building and frame advantage, 63214s for a crossup high, or you could even 3p again. Every time you attack there is a another attack avaliable to you. Does this make sense? What you want to do is let your offensive game flow so that they can't predict what you're going to do. Considering Axl's mixup isn't anywhere near the best in the game, it's not a good idea to play rigidly. Millia and Eddie can use predetermined strings that are difficult to defend against, and alternate between them in a match. Axl doesn't have that luxury. The last thing I'm going to say about mixup, is that there really is no defined structure that you have to play with. Do what works for you. Just remember to use mixups so that your opponent feels disadvantaged when he is on defense instead of stronger (if they can predict your strings they will feel safe when you are attacking) III. Guard-building All I can say about this is damn, it takes Axl about 5 seconds to nearly fill someones guard bar. Combined with his already above-average damage, he can really tear shit apart. This section is really where all the practical stuff begins to come in. I'm going to show you a few ways to really break someone guard bar, but first there are a few things to keep in mind. Yes, building their guard meter makes them take more damage, but what else? Well, if you are good at building their guard and at mixup, then they will not like defending against you. Simple as that. Whenever you start strings, they will FD to get your ass out of there or they'll have their guard built up. Win-win. Seeing a tend in this? Your combos end in recovery, which leads to reducing their tension or them taking more damage. Your blockstrings also lead to reducing their tension or massively building their guardbar (which makes them take more damage). Your defense (which I'll get to in part IV) is also based on them taking damage or reducing their tension. This shit is KEY. Point blank period. Anyway, lets translate these concepts into practical techniques. These are Axl's best moves to build their meter, in this order: rensengeki, 5h, 6h, c.s. These are all damn good attacks, and are MEANT for building guard. USE THEM IN BLOCKSTRINGS! Guard building works like combos, the more consecutive hits, the less damage you get for each one. However, there is a way around this: chains. For example, if you use 3p > 5h, it does not "combo" but they are forced to block and take massive guard damage anyway! I love this game :D Here are some examples (these are not set in stone, I just like them a lot) 3p > 5h 3p > 6h (you want only the tip of 6h to hit them) c.s > 5h 5h > 6h (you want only the tip of 6h to hit them) Lastly, I want you to imagine a spectrum. On one side, there is guard-building. On the other, mixup. Most of the best attacks for building guard hit mid and do not mix up all that well. The ideal place to be is near the middle, maybe a little bit to the guard side. HOWEVER, there is a way around this using his best guard building attack: RENSEN. As everyone knows, rensen has an frc point which is a staple of Axl's pressure game. What this means is that you can make full use of your mixup moves AND your guard building moves at the same time! The timing for the frc is one of the easiest in the game, and helps Axl out more than most other characters benefit from frc'ing their moves. You can end almost anything with a rensen to punish jumpers, continue combos, continue pressure, continue mixup... ya get the point. IV. Defensive game Axl is full of superfluous anti-air that can hit nearly any spot on the screen. As good as Axl's offense can be, if you have no defense then you will never get a chance to use that offense. Defending with Axl means two things: using the right poke at the right time, and blocking correctly. There is a blindspot right above your head where you cannot poke them, so just air throw them or block when they're in that area. 5p is great to punish IADs. Completely destroys I-no. Will whiff against Sol's IAD. 6k has a lot of range, but it is his slowest poke so only use it when you know it will hit. 2s is amazing, just make sure it will hit. f.s is great for punishing dashers (2p can be used too, but it is risky) 6p is a situational and awkward anti-air. Patience is key. The point of poking as defense is to stop their offense from starting in the first place. Either they take the damage from the poke and are on the defense again, or they FD so that they lose tension and are put in a neutral position again. Either way you win... unless you miss the poke. This takes practice, but don't worry cause it'll come to ya. :) Counters are good but they are very much secondary to blocking and poking. Some attacks are easy to counter, such as Baiken's j.h, Sol's bandit revolver/bringer, and to an extent, Slayer's j.h. V. Pressure game Rensen, rensen, rensen. You have the ability to apple pressure at all times, from anywhere on screen. You don't even have to be attacking to pressure your opponent into flinching. They come at you, you punish them for it. They turtle, you walk forward (I can guarantee you that they will not continue turtling with you walking forward, Axl is incredibly efficient with his tension and walking increases it pretty quickly). Besides that, all of his pressure really consists of is a combination of the four above sections. If you lack in any of them, your game will suffer. The good news is that everything will feel perfectly natural once you get used to it, and then people will hate your Axl :((

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

To really sum up the guide, Axl's greatest strengths are his ability to build guard in seconds and reduce your enemy's tension. His pokes and damage are vital as well, but guard and tension reduction is what makes him so powerful. So underrated. :(

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So, a few things don't quite apply to AC. In general this is a good guide though.

c.s > 5h > 2d > [4]6s (frc) > 66 > 6k (jc) > j.k > j.d > j.623h

Costs about 13% tension. The best part about this combo is that it allows your enemy to recover, which is a win-win situation for you. Axl's ability to punish recovery is stronger than his oki game. If they do recover then you can punish their recovery with a c.s, forcing them to FD it which eats up 10-20% of their tension, unless they don't FD in which case they take a bomber loop to the face, it's their choice. You could also air throw them for +55 damage and knockdown if that's you're thing. If you're too far away to throw or c.s, then watch which way they tech and poke accordingly. If they don't recover, you get the knockdown anyway.

A more standard AC Axl combo would be c.S > 5H > 2D > Rensen (frc) > 66 > 6P > c.S > 2S (2 hits) JC > j.H > j.D > Kokuu. Note that in the corner, you could easily get a bomber loop with c.S > 5H > 2D > Rensen (frc) > IAD > (only some characters) j.D > Axl Bomber > bomber loop.

Also, not sure if you know this, but in AC, Axl has two hits on 2S, 5P, 2P, 6K, and j.6P, and the second hit pulls the enemy to Axl a bit, giving him a lot more free-flowing combos. Also, Axl Bomber is a different move now less suited for that kind of thing (It's travels down and is an overhead) though Axl's new moves FB Axl Bomber (basically a much better version of the old Axl Bomber, but it costs 25% tension) and Kokuugeki generally replace the old one in combos other than bomber loops, where the new Axl Bomber gives bomber loops more consistently and damagingly than the old one ever did.

Kokuugeki and his new Axl Bomber also make Axl's oki much, much better than it used to be - Kokuu can be a very ambiguous crossup on wakeup, especially if you knock them down off of an air throw so you can get frame 1 hits from either side, and Axl Bomber is a very good overhead and even if they block it so you don't just get immediate, lasting advantage you still get good pressure due to it being +7 on block, and it's +20 guard bar, so there's that too. Meanwhile, Axl's still really good at punishing bad techs, but that didn't improve nearly as much as his oki (though 2-hit pokes did improve it). So, it's often going to be worthwhile to go for knockdown, especially against some characters who you absolutely do not want to ever get pressure on you.

If you'd prefer to do bomber loops, then go ahead. BLoops tend to do more damage and you can take even more advantage of Axl's recovery punishing game, but if you mistime an axl bomber then they'll get a free combo on you. The only situation where I'll always BL is from a corner throw.

Aforementioned changes to Axl Bomber mean the bomber loop now does knockdown by default. A lot of setups to it do allow you to drop it and allow the opponent to tech in order to bait that tech with an air throw, setting up Axl's ambiguous wakeup Kokuu game, but that's less consistent and relies on the opponent.

III. Guard-building

In AC, projectiles don't build guard bar. So Axl's actually much worse at this. Still can do it. Still involves Rensen and then running in with more guard building moves. But Rensen itself doesn't build guard bar anymore. It's basically made up for by his ridiculous whore damage even without guard bar build, though.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Appreciate the input. What he gains in one area, he loses in another I guess. I can only imagine that his 2-hit pokes would eat even more of their tension, and make comboing off of pokes easier. Also, Koku and the downward bomber sound like nothing but improvement. Rensen is overall pretty ridiculous in #R, sounds more balanced in AC. Instead of getting a guard bar from neutral to 80% in 5 seconds, I guess it would take 6 seconds instead. :P The combos were only really shown for example, but whenever I decide to play AC (I don't know anyone who plays around here) I'll probably make some minor changes, mainly change rensen from top guard attack to the fourth (it would still allow Axl to do everything he does in #R, just with a little less guard built)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

As clever and (in some cases) accurate as this guide is... is there really anything here that's not in the other threads?

I assume the title "niggajesus" is what is really missing. lawlers. Where in maryland do you play nj?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

×