GGML/Kliff

Overview

Everyone's favorite geezer with a cleaver, Kliff is a slow and devastating midrange character. He can bring the pain with highly-damaging, long-ranged disjointed normals that cover all angles of approach. Moves like c.S, j.S, and 2S can cover massive space in neutral and rack up a fair amount of damage overtime. 6P and Scale RipperGuard:
MidStartup:
1Recovery:
0Advantage:
- also serve as terrifying anti-airs, letting him shut down other avenues of approach as well. He also boasts strong unique movement, with air DustGuard:
AllStartup:
6Recovery:
13Advantage:
- giving him acute control over his air momentum and his slow airdash letting him use a lot of air normals in one jump. All this harassment combines to form a character that can rack up singular solid hits often and potentially set up a devastating stun.

However, Kliff's gameplan has a lot of holes. While an individual swing does a lot of damage, Kliff's combo game is severely lacking; his main combo ender leaves him minus on hit, and a lot of moves don't have a combo after at all. He also lacks traditional dashes, which both removes his ability to perform charge cancel infinites and makes maneuvering on the ground difficult. Combined with his low health and highly committal attacks, Kliff can struggle to keep up with his opponents in the damage race and can find himself being punished for far more damage than he can deal. If you land the right hits and keep the pressure up, though, Kliff can powerfully wall out opponents and keep up with the competition.

Lore:

Kliff is a brave knight who wields the impossibly massive Dragonslayer, which legends say once took the head of a dragon with a single swing. He was also the man who recruited

Sol into the Order and acted as a father to

Testament. He has fought

Justice 17 times, but their fight during the Second Sacred Order of Holy Knights tournament proved to be Kliff's last.

Playstyle

Kliff spaces opponents with his strong normals while looking to convert into a stun.
Pros	Cons
Small Size: Since he's among the smallest characters in the game, there's a lot of moves that go over Kliff. Good Air Movement: Kliff has a slow air dash, which combined with his great air normals, is more of an advantage than a disadvantage. Kliff also has his midair Dust, which lets him quickly float around the screen while still retaining all his air options. Strong Normals: Kliff has some huge normals, many of which are fast for their size. His sword normals are also completely disjointed. Anti-Airs: Kliff boasts two air unblockable moves: one is a 3f normal that covers the area right on top of him, and the other is a gigantic, disjointed, 1f special with no recovery at all. These two fast and powerful anti-airs let Kliff punish jumping.	Low Health: Tied with Chipp for lowest defense, and has the lowest dizzy threshold in the game. Limited Ground Movement: Kliff has a slow walk speed, no dash, and his backdash is a spot dodge, severely limiting his ability to move while grounded. He can use his ground dust as a pseudo dash, but it isn't the best option. Limited Combos: While Kliff does high damage on individual hits, because his ground movement is limited he doesn't have a true infinite despite being able to charge. Additionally, his main combo ender, Skull CrusherGuard: AllStartup: 12Recovery: 23Advantage: -, keeps the opponent standing and leaves him minus on hit. Don't Miss: Kliff's long-range normals are great, but all his normals have long animations; if Kliff whiffs a normal, he's left highly vulnerable and will probably die. Bad Super: Sole Survivor is a contender for one of the worst supers in the game. It's punishable on hit, is hard to combo into, and doesn't do enough damage to justify how hard it is to use. This effectively means Kliff will only be spending meter on FD or for style points.

Kliff

Defense:	60%Raw Value: 6
Jump Startup:	8f
Backdash:	28 (Spot Dodge)f
Meter Gain Mod:	80%Raw Value: 8
Charge Time:	85f
Forward Walk Speed:	63%Raw Value: 486
Backward Walk Speed:	61%Raw Value: 358
Dizzy Resistance:	53%Raw Value: 16
Fastest Ground Abare:This character's fastest attacks for mashing or scrambles. Excludes universal throws.	Scale RipperGuard: MidStartup: 1Recovery: 0Advantage: - (1F) Hellish ChargeGuard: AllStartup: 1Recovery: 17Advantage: - (1F if cancelled into immediately) 6PGuard: AllStartup: 3Recovery: 15Advantage: - (3F)
Reversal Attacks:Any reversal-esque moves this character has. Excludes universal options.	None

Normals

How to Read Frame Data

Damage

A quantification of how a character's health bar is reduced when they are hit.

Guard

The act of defending against incoming attacks. Guarding either negates the damage from an attack entirely or reduces it to minor chip damage.

Low: Guarded against while crouching
Mid: Guarded against in either the crouching or standing state, but not while airborne
High: Guarded against in the standing state
All: Guarded against while crouching, standing, or while airborne
Throw: Cannot be guarded against, but only applies to grounded opponents
Unblockable: Cannot be guarded against

Startup: The time before an attack is active including the first active frame. For example, an attack with 10F startup means the attack will do nothing for 9 frames, then hit the opponent on the 10th frame.
Active: The active frames of an attack refers to the amount of time an attack can hit the opponent.
Recovery: The recovery of an attack refers to the amount of time an attacker must wait before he may perform another action, even blocking.
On-Block: A measure of frame advantage when the opponent blocks an attack. Positive values indicate that the attacker can act first. Negative values indicate that the defender can act first.
On-Hit: A measure of frame advantage when the opponent is hit by an attack. Positive values indicate that the attacker can act first. Negative values indicate that the defender can act first.
Invuln: Short for InvulnerabilityA state where a character cannot be hit. A common component of reversal moves.

5P

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
4	All	11	8	13			none

Slow as hell, small, and weak. No point to using this at all.

5K

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
9	All	6	3	16			none

Quick to start up, but relatively sluggish to recover compared to other normals. Generally outclassed by the faster and way larger c.S as a mash out option. Also outclassed by 2P as a safe, spammable close-range normal, since 2P can whiff gatling into itself faster. Not very useful.

c.S

c.S

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
18	All	4	8	34			none

Now this is a normal. Gigantic for its 4f startup, generous activation range, good anti-air due to its disjoint, and very rewarding on hit. Use this when they're somewhat close to you and you need to occupy some space. Vulnerable to low profile; 2S is sometimes better for covering ground approaches as a result. Massive recovery, so don't forget to charge cancel.

f.S

f.S

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
16	All	15	14	9			none

Pretty ridiculous disjoint, but slow and pretty bad on whiff. Make sure to charge cancel this if you like living. Combos into Skull Crusher from any range. Not always a great poke due to its high commitment, but useful for space control.

5H

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
45	All	22	6	55			none

Very slow, but obscenely damaging normal. Probably won't see much use due to how slow it is. Just like all of Kliff's normals, get intimately familiar with charge cancelling this on block, and definitely don't whiff this move unless you really want to see the cool charge cancel infinite your opponent does after.

6P

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
	All	3	8	15			none

Extremely fast, air unblockable anti-air. Lacks upper body invincibility, making it likely to trade, but its sheer speed lets it stuff most air approaches on reaction. Kliff's fastest normal, giving it dubious application as an abare tool, though it's only 1f faster than the better-in-every-other-way c.S. Launches on ground hit, which is awful because of teching, so make sure to charge cancel.

2P

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
5	Low	6	8	9			none

Fast, mashable, and whiff gatlings into itself or any P/K] normal. Alright if you need something fast and safe-ish to press at closer ranges.

2K

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
9	Low	16	4	27		KD	none

Kliff's iconic sweep. Pretty minus on hit due to teching, but still the gigantic, low-profile poke you know and love from later games. Just make sure to charge cancel, and don't miss.

2S

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
14	Low	10	27	16			none

Decently fast, gargantuan low poke that covers about half of the screen's horizontal length at max zoom. Great harassment tool if you're confident they'll stay grounded. Death on whiff and necessary to charge cancel on hit or block, just like everything else Kliff has.

2H

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
47	Low	16	4	20			none

Slow and pretty unwieldly normal. Not very useful in neutral due to the poor range it covers. Potentially a very rewarding low option, but Kliff doesn't have any overhead threat, so this won't come up terribly often. Its function in later games as an OTG for combos is useless because this is Missing Link and they're not getting knocked down anyway.

This move's true calling is as a low crush. Kliff's off the ground starting on frame 4, and remains up there well into even the recovery, letting you hop over low pokes and smack them for devastating damage. How helpful this is is up for debate, though.

j.P

j.P

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
7	Overhead	11	8	9			none

Slower and covers way less space than j.S. Pretty pointless.

j.K

j.K

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
8	Overhead	12	10	13			none

Also slower and worse for space control than c.S. Equally pointless.

j.S

j.S

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
14	Overhead	8	4	15			none

A terrifying air-to-air and air-to-ground. Covers a ludicrous amount of space in just 8 frames, is fully disjointed, is the safest move on whiff Kliff has, and deals some alright damage for its utility. Great for harassment.

j.H

j.H

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
22	Overhead	11	10	14			none

Another gargantuan disjoint in Kliff's arsenal. A couple frames slower and worse on whiff than j.S, but more rewarding on hit and hits lower, making it better as a jump-in.

Universal Mechanics

Dust Attack

S+H or j.S+H

Name	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
Dust	18	All	6	6	13			none

One of Kliff's most important moves. During this move, Kliff can move left and right, making it a pseudo dash. Making this stronger is the air version, which, in addition to allowing him to change his air momentum, recovers incredibly quickly with all air options. This lets him use it as a pseudo-air dash that he can fly around the screen with.

Throw

6H or 4H

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
15	Throw	1	N/A	N/A	N/A		none

Sure is a grab. Kliff's too slow to tech chase them, so this is an unrewarding mixup option.

Instant Kill

Pulverizing Dragon's Roar

P+K > 236X

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
FATAL	All	9	15	10	N/A	N/A	Above Knees

Respectable instant kill. Has a really big htibox and generous invuln, making it another solid anti-air and a dangerous counter-poke.

Taunt

BAKAMON!

Taunt

FOOLS, THE LOT OF YOU

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
5x4		21	until contact	30

Taunt with a hitbox. Sends out four insulting projectiles that persist until they hit something or fly offscreen. Would be alright for space control if it wasn't so slow.

Specials

Bellowing Roar

236P

KFE: Kliff Fried Eggs, made fresh with dragon roars
An even bigger KFE
The biggest KFE

First hitbox of all three versions
Second hitbox of all three versions
Final hitbox of Level 2
Fully extended hitbox of Level 3
Retracting hitbox of Level 3

Name	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Invuln
Bellowing Roar	22	All	16	4(4)4	35	none
Bellowing Roar Level 2	76	All	16	4(4)8	39	none
Bellowing Roar Level 3	128	All	30	4(4)12	44	none

Big, damaging projectile attack. Gains extra range and damage with charge. Level 2 does incredible damage and covers around 2/3 of the screen's horizontal distance at max zoom. Level 3 is nearly twice as slow, but deals an obscene 128 damage and goes fullscreen, making it a dangerous option. Very high recovery and overall slow startup make this risky in neutral, and it's too slow to combo off anything. Level 1 is pretty useless, but higher-level versions are exceptional tools to punish opponents due to their massive size and damage.

Skull Crusher

214S

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
20	All	12	3,4x4,2	23			none

Very funny fullscreen spin move. Does way less damage than you'd expect, and is fairly minus on hit in addition to leaving you right in front of the opponent. Pretty bad.

Nape Saddle

214K

Hop on over

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
9	Overhead	28	21	0			none

Very slow movement option. Covers most of the air with its hitbox, and has no recovery whatsoever, making it a potentially powerful tool for maneuvering around the screen.

Scale Ripper

S > SxN

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
16xN	Mid	1	mash to extend indefinitely	0			none

Massive, air unblockable, instantaneous, and possessing 0 recovery whatsoever. Amazing anti-air in conjunction with 6P, with this one able to catch even the most distant flyers and deal pretty heavy damage on contact. A great way to keep people grounded, and an excellent thing to just do if your opponent is above you.

Two Steps Forward

44

The spotdodge that doesn't dodge

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Full

Not actually invincible, unlike in later games. Really only useful as a way to use Hellish Charge, which this can cancel into from the first frame it activates.

Hellish Charge

44 > P

Not strike invuln, but close enough

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
5x4	All	1	3,4,5,3	17			Above Toes 1~3, 5~7, 9~12

Does alright damage and boasts generous invulnerability. Not as useful as a traditional backdash for escaping pressure, since this loses to low attacks. Technically Kliff's fastest attack if inputted frame-perfectly, being 2f at best, but c.S is probably still your go-to for mashing.

Super

Sole Survivor

4641236H

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
Random, ~33	Unblockable,All	24	106	21

After the initial unblockable sword strike, this move spawns a random number of teeth from the ground, with each tooth spawning in a random location. Due to this, the damage and advantage on hit are incredibly inconsistent; sometimes you kill them outright, sometimes you miss completely and are massively minus on hit. A pretty bad super overall due to this instability, and not a great way to utilize Desperation State.