Overview
Valkenhayn is a noble gentleman: polite and courteous in all situations. Being a butler, he is extremely devoted to Rachel and does whatever he can to assist and protect her. His demeanor, however, belies a savage side which is only seen during battle or when he is pushed to anger. He uses a fighting style that, while awe-inspiring, is unbelievably brutal, utilizing slashing attacks and blows so powerful they look like they are intended to break the enemy's bones. Purely for cosmetics, fair translations for all of Valkenhayn's moves have been provided from German to English. It is your decision whether or not they sound better in German
Health: 10,500
Guard Primers: 4
Play-style: Offensive, Heavy Rush-down
Movement Options: 1 Double Jump/Airdash, Dash-type: Hop in Human Form, Two-Way Dash in Wolf Form
Drive: Werewolf
Valkenhayn transforms into a wolf. He is more agile in this form and gains a completely new moveset. You will need to be able to move flexibly in both human form and wolf form as this is a key element in his game. While it may be difficult at first, the reward for taking the time to learn this character will transform you into a fearsome player. While he is in the werewolf form, the purple bar above your heat gauge will slowly deplete. If the gauge reaches 0, you will be barred from transforming until the gauge refills to the max again. In addition to this, 1-9C will allow the wolf to dash in that direction and this will deplete the gauge faster. It is important to conserve your wolf gauge for optimal pressure and look for very minimal methods of depleting meter whilst dealing damage. The gauge will slowly refill as Valkenhayn is on the ground, but not in the air. You also cannot block in wolf form, so it is mandatory to be constantly moving around to make it very difficult for the opponent to land a hit.
- It is also very important to note that whilst in wolf
- Getting hit in wolf mode will automatically revert Valkenhayn to human form
- You cannot block or burst
Move List
- See also: Valkenhayn Full Frame Data
Normal Moves
5A |
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5B |
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5C |
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3C |
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2A |
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2B |
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2C |
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6A |
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6B |
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6C |
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j.A |
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j.B |
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j.C |
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Counter Assault |
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Werewolf Moves
5A |
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5B |
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j.A |
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j.B |
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Drive Moves
Werewolf |
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Geschwind Wolf ND |
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Throws
Forward Throw |
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Back Throw |
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Air Throw |
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Special Moves
Nacht Jager (Night Hunter) 236A |
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Nacht Rosen (Night Rose) 236C |
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Schwarz Jagd (Dark Hunting) 236B |
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Weis Jagd (Deceptive Hunting) 236B after Schwarz Jagd |
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Mondlicht (Moonlight) j.214B |
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Rasen Wolf NC during Werewolf |
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Konig Wolf 236A/B during Werewolf |
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Eisen Wolf j.214A/B during Werewolf |
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Himmel Wolf 236D during Werewolf, air OK |
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Distortion Drives
Sturm Wolf 632146D |
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Konig Flug j.236236C |
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Astral Heat
Blut Vollmond 214214C |
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Strategy
Offense
Normally Valkenhayn does not have many manouvers to get in his opponent's face while in human form. Despite this, he has really good footsies with good priority such as 5B and 5C, which has massive range. The only problem with 5C is that it's slow in startup and and many characters can evade it by using an attack which allows them to under it, such as Makoto's or Tsubaki's 3C. 5C can usually guarantee you counter hits and it links into 236C nicely which guarantees not only good damage but corner carry as well. Valkenhayn cannot run, and instead dashes, and this is not particularly something you would want to fall on for offense. Whilst 236A covers alot of ground but may have to be wolf cancelled to prevent the opponent from punishing your recovery. This applies to 236C as well but you are more vulnerable as the recovery time for the move is longer. They can be considered, but is not generally advised. The key of using human mode is to play footsies with your opponent and catch counter hits in order to guarantee your corner assault.
However, in wolf mode, Valkenhayn is granted with a ton of ways to get in. A typical way of getting in is by jumping and using (w) 66D which has a massive jump arc and covers alot of distance. This can be followed up with a j.B or j.C to begin the pressure you inflict onto your opponent. This is a very easy technique to anti air though, and in those instances you could use (w) 7C followed up with an attack to punish your opponent's recovery and evade the hit. Alternatively you could barrier block but then you'll be put onto the defensive which is not what you want.
In addition, the wolf's variety in C - movements allow for mixed ways of getting in. You could dash forward to close the gap quicker, or go up and cancel the dash with a wolf cannon for instance. Bear in mind that the forward dash is very unsafe on opponents as they can simply hit you airbourne.
As Valk, you generally want to be making the first move because there are so many offensive capabilities that he possesses. You want to rushdown, but you don't want to be reckless, as that could cost you your wolf meter or your health. For more information, check out the Valkenhayn tutorial. Though CS2, it is still very relevant to EX gameplay.
BBCS2 Valkenhayn Tutorial |
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When in your opponents face, you have many ways of applying pressure.
In Human Mode:
- You have a high low mixup from most normals. For example, you can use 2C > 3C or 2C > j.C Instant overhead which is not particularly easy to *react to.
- 236A to close the gap between you and your opponent, but this is not particularly safe as your next attack can be poked out of. It is more effective when rapid cancelled as it provides a more safe way to apply more pressure. 236A > RC > 2C can catch counter hits if your opponent is used to pressing buttons after 236A, and this goes into big damage.
- 6B is very useful to reset pressure
- Throws are useful for good damage for very good corner carry
- 6C, 6B and 236B provide you with the safest ways of cancelling into wolf. You can also use other methods such as 5B > jcD > 3C > for wolf high/low mixup.
In wolf mode:
- You have a command grab which can force players to jump out of your pressure strings. This makes it easier to confirm (w)5B hits on them. This is also a good option when you're low on wolf meter.
- 5C > (w)j.A/j.B provides you with easy overhead mixup.
- You have wolf cannons to use against your opponents, but use with caution as they're not safe and can be reacted to with pokes or anti airs.
- You can bait DPs/Reversals with 4C/7C and punish accordingly as they have invincibility frames.
The human mode is mainly used for racking up damage whilst wolf form provides you with much more mixup and good meter gain. Having the choice between these two modes combined with the damage and mixup potential makes his oki game really scary.
Defense
Valkenhayn lacks any strong reversal to fall back on when it comes to escaping pressure. He has 6A but that only has head and body invincibility, not to mention it is not active from the first frame meaning you can very easily be hit out of hit. He has low health and he only has 4 primers, which means you do not want to be blocking a lot. He also has sturm wolf, but that comes at the cost of using heat and it's not all the time you may be sitting on heat.
In situations where you are on the defensive, use your barrier to push the opponent out and use wolf mode to easily escape, for example, jumping out, transforming into wolf, and using 7C > 9C to get out and around your opponent.
In addition, IB'ing provides you with more heat and gives you more opportunities to poke players out of certain blockstrings. Even if the combo damage you do is abysmal, at least you've gotten the opponent off your back. IB'ing also makes it easier for you to backdash out of blockstrings if necessary.
You could counter assault with Valkenhayn too, but bear in mind you'd want to use this sparingly because remember counter assaults remove a primer and he only has 4. In addition, his 5C lacks foot attribute so characters can evade it by using a foot only attribute move for instance. It is also quite slow in startup which makes it very easy to bait, and the recovery is quite poor.
His 2C provides you with a decent anti air but it has no invincibility meaning there are times where you can be hit out of it, or it will trade. Remember that (w)5B is a very good anti air which leads into guaranteed corner carry.
Combos
The following contains many of the easier combos that Valkenhayn has. For the harder combos, please view the Valkenhayn Combo Discussion.
In addition, for visual aid, please check out these various combo videos in the Valkenhayn Video Thread for an insight.
- Inputs preceded by "w" or placed between parentheses like "w[]" denotes that the inputs must be performed in wolf form.
- Inputs surrounded by parentheses like "()" indicate optional inputs and can be omitted from the combo.
- Inputs placed adjacent to "/" indicate that the inputs are interchangeable. e.g. 4/5C indicates you can input either 4C or 5C, and 5B/5C means you can input either 5B or 5C.
Midscreen
- (2A) > 5B > 5C > 236A [1400 Damage, 11% Heat gain]
- (2A) > 5B > 3C > 236A [1389 Damage, 11% Heat gain]
- (2A) > 5B > 5C > 236A > RC > 2C > 6B > 5C > 236C > 9D > w[j.a(aa) > j.236A > j.236B > 4C/5C > j.B > j.B > 5B j.aaa > j.DC [3606 Damage, 29% Heat gain]
- (2A) > 5B > 5C > 632146D
- (2A) > 2C > 6B > 5C > 236C > 9D > w[j.a(aa) > j.236A > j.236B > 4C/5C > j.B > j.B > 5B] > j.D > j.B > j.B > j.C [3278 Damage, 43% Heat gain]
- 6A CH > 5C > w[j.DA(AA) > j.236A > j.236B > 5C > j.B > j.B > 5B] > j.Db > j.B > J.C [2658 Damage 32% Heat gain]
- Throw > 236C > 9D > w[j.a(aa) > j.236A > j.236B > 4C/5C > j.B > j.B > 5B] > j.D > j.B > j.B > j.C
- Air throw > 236C > 9D > w[j.a(aa) > j.236A > j.236B > 4C/5C > j.B > j.B > 5B] > j.D > j.B > j.B > j.C
- 3C > 236A > 632146D [2853 Damage]
- w[j.B > 5B > 236B > j.236B > 7CD]j.C > 5B > 5C > h.jB > j.A > j.B > j.C [2940 Damage, 34% Heat gained]
- w[5A > 5B > j.AAA > j.236A > j.236B > 4C > j.B > j.B > 5B] > j.B > j.B > j.C [2094 Damage, 31% heat gained]
- w[236A CH > 5B > 236B > j.236B > j.236A > 5C > j.B > j.B > 5B] > j.Db > j.b > j.C [3201 Damage, 36% Heat Gained?]
- w[j.236A CH > 3C > 5B > 236B > j.236B > 7CD] > j.C > 2A > 5C > j.B > j.B > j.C [3201 Damage, 31% Heat gained]
- w[j.214A/B CH > 5A > 5B > j.AAA > j.236A > j.236B > 5C > j.B > j.B > 5B] > j.DB > j.B > j.C [2771 Damage, 28% heat gained?]
Corner
- 5B > 3C > 236A > 2C > 6B > 2C > 6C > TK214B > 1D > w[236B > j.236A > j.236B > 7CD] > j.C > 2A > 5B > 2C > w[j.DA] > j.C [4101 Damage, 59% heat gained]
- 2B > 5B > 3C > 236A > 2C > 6C > TK214B > 1D > w[236B > j.236A > j.236B > 7CD] > j.C > 2A > 5B > 2C > w[j.DA] > j.C [3483 Damage, 57% meter gain]
- 2B > 3C > 236A > 2C > 6C > 2C > 6B > 2C > j.214B > 2D > w[236B > j.236B > 7CD] > j.C > 2A > 5B > 2C > w[j.DA] > j.C [3796 Damage, 60% meter gain]
- (on grounded opponent) 2B > 2C > 6C > 2C > 6B > 2C > j.214B > 1D > w[236B > j.236A > j.236B > 7CD] > j.C > 2A > 5B > 2C > w[j.DA] > j.C [4372 Damage, 68% Heat gained]
- 2C > 6B > 3C > 236A > 2C > 6C > 2C > j.214B > 1D> w[236B> j.236A> j.236B> 7CD] > j.C > 2A> 5B> 2C> w[j.DA] > j.C [5459 damage, 64 meter gained]
- 2C > 6B > 5C > 236C > 1D > w[236B > J.236A > J.236B > 7CD] > j.C > 2A > 2C > 6C > 2C > w[j.DB > j.A > 5D] > 5B > 2C > w[hj.DAAA] > j.C [5842 damage, 61 meter gain]
- 2C > 236B > RC > 2C > 6B > 2C > 6C > 2C > j.214B > 2D > w[236B > j.236A > j.236B > 7CD] > j.C > 2A > 5B > 2C > w[j.Da] > j.C [6812 Damage, 48% meter gain]
- 3C > 236A > 2C > 6B > 2C > 6C > TK214B > 1D > w[236B > j.236A > j.236B > 7CD] > j.C > 2A > 5B > 2C > w[j.DA] > j.C [3937 Damage, 60% meter gain]
- 3C > 236A > 2C > 6B > 2C > 6C > 2C > j.214B > 1D > w[236B > j.236A > j.236B > 7CD] > j.C > 5A > 632146D [5221 Damage]
- 6B > 3C > 236A > 2C > 6C > 2C > j.214D > 1D > w[236B > j.236A > j.236B > 7CD] > j.C > 2A > 5B > 2C > w[j.DA] > j.C [5210 Damage, 60% meter gain]
- 6C > 2C > 6B > 2C > j.214B > 1D > w[236B > j.236A > j.236B > 7CD] > j.C > 2A > 5B > 2C > w[j.Da] > j.C [4742 Damage, 52% Heat Gained]
- j.C > RC > j.C > 3C > 236A > 2C > 6B > 2C > 6C > TK214B > 1D > w[236B > j.236A > j.236B > 7CD] > j.C > 2A > 5B > 2C > w[j.DA] > j.C [4127 Damage, 40% meter gain]
- 236B > RC > 2C > 6C > 2C > 6B > 2C > j.214B > 6D > w[j.236A > j.236A > j.236B > j.236B > 7CD] > j.C > 2A > 236A > 5B > 2C > j.B > j.B > j.C > (j.236236C) [Without Air DD = 7144 Damage. With Air DD = 8264 Damage]
- 236C CH > 2C > 6B > 2C > 6C > 2C > j.214B > 1D > w[236B > j.236A > j.236B > 7CD] > j.C > 2A > 5B > 2C > w[j.Da] > j.C [4910 Damage, 60% Heat Gain]
- j.214B CH > 2C > 6B > 2C > 6C > 2C > 236C > 1D > w[236B > j.236B > 7CD] > j.C > 2A > 5B > 2C > w[j.Da] > j.C [4415 Damage, 54% Heat Gain]
- Throw > 2C > 6B > 2C > 6C > TK214B > 1D > w[236B > j.236A > j.236B > 7CD] > j.C > 2A > 5B > 2C > w[j.DA] > j.C [3677 Damage, 55% heat gained]
- Air Throw > 2C > w[j.DA > j.236A > 3C Cancel] > 5D > 2C > 6C > 2C > 6B > 5B > 2C > j.B > j.B > j.C [3804 Damage]
- (Back to Corner) CH Sturm > RC > jump over > 3C > jager > 2C > 6B > 2C > 6C > TK214B > 2D > w[236A > j.236B > j.236A > j.236B > 7CD] > j.C > 2A > 5B > 2C > j.B > j.C [4.9k Damage, 52% meter Gain]
- w[5A > 5B > IAD j.B > j.3CA ] > 5D > 2C > 6C > 2C > 6B > 5B > 2C > h.jA > j.B > j.C [2358 Damage, 23% Heat Gained?]
- w[j.A/5A > 5B > IAD j.B > j.3CA] > 5D > 2C > 6C > 2C > 6B > 5B > 2C > w[j.AAA] > j.DC [2609 Damage, 33% Heat Gained. (With 5a = 2326 Damage)]
- w[5B > j.B > j.3CA] > 5D > 2C > 6C > 2C > 6B > 2C > j.214B > 1D > w[236B > j.236A > j.236B > 7CD] > j.C > 2B > 5B > 2C > w[j.DA] > j.C [4001 Damage]
- w[j.A > 5B > IAD j.B > j.3CA] > 5D > 2C > 6C > 2C > 6B(1) > 236C > 1D > w[236B > j.236B > 7CD] > j.C > 2A > 5B > 2C > w[j.DA] > j.C [2992 Damage, 49% Heat Gained]
- w[j.A > 5B > IAD j.B > j.3CA] > 5D > 2C > 6C > 2C > 6B > 2C > j.214B > 1D > w[236B > j.236A > j.236B > 7CD] > j.B > j.B > j.C [3275 Damage?]
- w[j.A > 5B > 236B > j.236B > 7CD] > j.C > 5B > 2C > 6C > 2C > 6B > 236A > 2C > j.214B > hj.B > j.C [3633 damage, 56% heat gained. If you're finding the 5B > 2C > 6C link hard, use 2A > 2C > 6C instead.]
- [w]236D > 2C > 6B > 2C > 6C > TK214B > 1D > w[236B > j.236A > j.236B > 7CD] > j.C > 2A > 5B > 2C > w[j.DA] > j.C [3707 damage, 60% meter gained]
- (Back to Corner)w[5A > 5B > j.AAA > j.236B > 5C > j.B > j.B > 5B] > j.Db > j.B > J.C
- (Back to Corner)w[5B > 236B > j.236A > j.236B > 7CD] > j.C > 2A > 2C > 6C > 2C > 6B > 236A > 5B > 2C > w[j.DA] > j.C[/url] [4148 Damage, 54% heat gained]