GGST/Giovanna/Strategy

Overview

Starter Guide

Combos

Strategy

Matchups

Counterstrategy

Okizeme

Frame Data

Resources

General Strategies

Gameplan

Giovanna's gameplan, while seeming rather straightforward at first, is arguably quite hard to classify in Guilty Gear. She's labelled as a rushdown character, but she doesn't simply loop gapless high/low oki mixups with lockdown projectiles the same way  Millia or  I-No do, and she isn't the kind of character where you have to constantly keep the opponent locked down else you die, like  Chipp. Instead, she offers a more neutral & defense oriented approach to rushdown, where the threat of her strong counterhits, whiff punishes, and strike/throw mixups are what define her pressure. In that sense, you can draw similarities to  May or  Sol, just with more of a focus on ground speed and evasion rather than pure space control or pressure. The understated yet unique properties of her moves and lack of proper space control causes her gameplan to very strongly vary by matchup compared to most characters—but thankfully, her wide array of tools and strengths allow her to make up for almost any situation with proper foresight and knowledge.

But to elaborate on Giovanna's general design strengths, there's three things that immediately stand out: her amazing step dash, her formidable buttons, and her nuanced special moves.

Dashing

(It's heavily recommended that you get used to the dash macro, as it will make your life playing Gio much, much easier.)

Much like  I-No, Giovanna's dash is what defines her playstyle. But while one is made for ambiguous high/low hover mix-ups, the other is made for fast and reliable grounded approaches. There's no doubting the strength of her dash: it's fast, travels far, and can be instantly cancelled into any other action. Furthermore, any cancelled action retains momentum from the dash, the distance of which depends on how early you cancel it. Canceling early gives less distance for faster startup, and cancelling later gives more distance for the cost of some extra startup. Combining this with her best ranged pokes extends her effective range, combo routes, and overall neutral game drastically.

If you cancel the dash into a block, however...

Step Dash Blocking

Dash Blocking involves transitioning from a dash to a block state. By holding back when initiating the dash, one can achieve a shorter dash and quickly proceed to blocking. This tactic is essential in managing your dash distance and avoiding getting hit by your opponent. Gio, in particular, is capable of executing an almost instantaneous Dash Block due to her unique combination of dash mechanics. This move is highly advantageous as it can be employed to approach and close space without suffering any repercussions, or as a means of baiting and punishing your opponent's attacks.

Proper use of these blocking techniques turns safe approach from something Gio struggles with into something she excels at. It's especially important against characters with very fast and long moves that are able to stuff your dash-in attempts, such as  Axl or  Nago. It's great to use on roundstart so as to react to what the opponent might do without getting counter-hit, and it even allows you to safely close distance during gaps in pressure that are as small as a few frames. The possibilities are virtually endless with such a versatile step dash.

Dash Jump vs Instant Air Dash

Dash jumping is a technique that involves executing a dash and then immediately jumping up forward (9) to harness the momentum of the dash and propel yourself forward. It is particularly useful in certain matchups, as it allows you greater freedom of movement compared to Instant Air Dash (IAD), which depletes your air dash or other jumps. On the other hand, IAD involves jumping up and swiftly initiating an air dash at the first opportunity. This technique is useful for executing safe jumps after an Off The Ground (OTG) attack. It is also advantageous in air-to-air encounters that require you to be at a certain height and distance. However, using an IAD in neutral can leave you vulnerable to attacks like 6P, as you won't have any other air actions to defend yourself.

Offense

Put simply, Giovanna's offense is focused on combining her moves with her movement. Her grounded moves in particular go hand-in-hand with her dash's momentum, allowing her to pressure, punish, and mixup in a multitude of unique ways.

Pokes

Though Gio's pressure shines at close range, she isn't the kind of character that strictly specializes in one distance. She has a formidable mid-range poke game, mainly focused around counterhits , whiff punishes, and the topic of this section: pokes. To compensate for her normals not having much range on their own, Giovanna often has to rely on her dash and its transferred momentum to go in and out of striking range in order to poke. The two most reliable moves for it are...

• 

  5K

• 

  5H

While these two moves may look very similar in appearance, taking a look at the hitboxes reveals some key differences:

• 
• 

Most notably, 5H is not only longer range, but it's disjointed while active, only losing the disjoint during recovery. This means it can beat certain moves at max range that 5K would get counterhit by. It also gives a solid counterhit combo that can be option selected using this technique. The combined speed and range of this normal makes it a very valuable tool when trying to put pressure and whiff punish from a distance, something Gio can't accomplish too well with the rest of her moveset. It also gives solid counter-hit reward, making it all the more useful in frame traps, and poking as a whole.

This doesn't mean 5K is outclassed by any means, however—it comes out in 6 frames, 4 faster than 5H, and has less recovery by a whopping 9 frames. It also has the massive potential advantage of being both jump cancelable and dash cancelable, allowing you to approach for mixups, bait bursts, and much more.

With Dash 5K, you can seamlessly transition into 6P with a small 1F gap, and then end the combo with 214K. With this you have the option of OTG-ing either 5K or c.S and then performing an IAD j.H for a safejump consistently. Dash 5K also leads to one of the two most effective tick throw options available for Gio, the other being c.S. It's essential to observe that these grants gio a setup that involves a 1F gap that catches mashing, and it also creates a situation where opponents must mash a button or risk being thrown. Creating a strike/throw mixup

5K is often better for abare and getting in, whereas 5H fishes for counter-hits while maintaining your distance (unless you cancel it into 236K). These two moves often compliment each other quite well, as 5K into 5H is a 12~ frame gap on their block that can still often beat their abare due to 5H's active disjoint. Both of these moves can still be beaten out and punished on whiff recovery due to the nature of them being forward, hurtbox-extending kicks that lose to 6P and other low profile moves. But there is one more core poking tool that Giovanna has to fill those weaknesses, and that is...

• 

  2D

An extremely valuable tool for Giovanna in the right scenarios, 2D allows her to safely cover an area with its very significant disjointed hitbox. Even though it takes a while to start up, the range and recovery surpass quite a few mid range moves in the game. The fact that it hits low can also catch some opponents off guard, as they may not expect to be blocking a low from that range and will instead be trying to adjust their spacing or jump away. This move can be very hard to contest at the right ranges and in the right matchups, but its slow startup causes it to be very risky to throw out against zoners who tend to throw out moves that will outrange it in neutral. It can also be used for reversal safe okizeme, expanded on in this section. Use this move when you think 5H won't catch them, where a low can help you or if you expect a 6P.

• 

  214K (Sepultura)

• 

  623S (Sol Nascente)

An honorable mention goes to Sepultura—being the multi-purpose tool that it is also lends its use as a poke to pressure jumpers and beat out anyone trying to low profile your other options. Sol Nascente also serves as a risky poke thats usefulness is often matchup-dependent, but in the right scenarios is able to beat out many high/air options with its frame 1 low profile and large vertical hitbox. More on these moves in a later section.

Pressure

Now, let's assume you have landed a hit with a poke and successfully gained an advantage, probably by comboing into Sepultura for a hard knockdown. Understanding how to pressure the opponent in order to press your advantage is a key to solid Giovanna play. Once again, her dash is key, with a well-placed dash being able to turn much of her mid-screen pressure into up-close offense. And there isn't any better move to reward you for going into close range than...

• 

  c.S

c.S is one of her most reliable pressure tools: it's +3 on block, has low pushback, and it beats low profiles. With it, you're often able to scare opponents into blocking, and if they continue doing so without Faultless Defense, it can even loop into itself. If they get fed up and try to hit a button, it's likely you'll land a rewarding counter-hit. Its largest weakness is being a proximity-based close slash that requires you to take the risk of actually going close in order to use it. You can make up for this with smartly timed dashes, but that will always create larger pressure gaps that allow for more time to fight back. That's why smart use of this button requires solid conditioning and counterplay, encouraging you to observe your opponent and respond to how they seem to want to get out of pressure accordingly.

• 

  Start your pressure with c.S, then...

• 

  ...walk up for a throw
  to catch someone trying to block or DP Dragon Punch A move that has invulnerability during its startup, long recovery, and a rising motion..

• 

  ...delay gatling into 2S
  to catch someone trying to block high,
  jump your throw, or mash out.

• 

  ...gatling into 5D
  as a situational overhead
  to catch someone blocking low.

• 

  ...cancel into 214S
  as a safer overhead and cross-up, or
  to catch someone trying to tech throw.

• 

  ...dash up for another c.S
  to continue to loop your pressure.

Trovão can be used as a callout or to mess with the opponent's reactions and gain plus frames.

• 

  236K

Upon blocking, it grants Gio a +4 advantage, allowing for various follow-up moves including throw, true 0F gap 5P, 1F gap 2P, 2F gap 5K/2K and 3F gap c.S. However, the spacing of the opponent plays a crucial role in the choice of follow-up. It is advisable to go for the K buttons if the opponent has a 3F or 4F option.

In certain matchups where 5H/2D won't reach, or dash jumping isn't a viable option, the far movement of this move makes it worthwhile. For instance, against  Nago's 2S, 236K can punish at higher blood levels

Basic Blockstring

c.S>2S>5H>214K is a powerful tool in Giovanna's arsenal. Let's break it down:

• c.S>2S
  it can catch opponents who try to jump out and is the best option for maintaining the blockstring.
  Here we can stop and do a few things:
  • delay 5H to catch opponents who try to press. Learning to put gaps in the blockstring is important to Giovanna's playstyle since it allows for more opportunities to deal damage and forces the opponent to respect her pressure, thereby making it easier to perform grabs. It's a technique that adds up over time and can greatly benefit her overall gameplay.
  • dash throw if they are respecting the pressure, expecting a 5H
  • backdash if they don't respect and are prone to use a DP Dragon Punch A move that has invulnerability during its startup, long recovery, and a rising motion., punishing them with big damage.

• Continuing with c.S>2S>5H
  if you manage to score a counter hit, you can follow up with CH 5H>236K>f.S>5H>214K for a confirm. However, there are other options such as CH 5H>236K>5K>214K or CH 5H>236K>5K>BRC for easier confirms or extensions respectively.
  If they block we have the following options:
  
  • 214K: the typical ender. You can delay it a bit to fish for a counter hit. You can also try 623S afterwards to steal their turn thanks to it's low profile properties. There is a gap of 4f between the two moves so it's not recommended against characters with fast normals (like  Sol,  Chipp,  Giovanna)
  • 236K: 6P’able. This is the option you’ll want to go into for a reset. Easily reactable, use it sparingly or after conditioning the opponent to block
  • 214S: 6P’able. Overhead. You don't want to end your string with this unless you have RC to make it safe or a read.
    Notable mention if you do 2H instead of 5H you can steal the corner if you do 214S while holding the forward button

As you can see two of your three options are weak to 6P and it bumps to three if you delay 214K too much. This means after 5H it's important to consider the opponent's habits. If they haven't yet shown respect for your pressure, the best option is to go for 214K, deal with the RPS, and proceed accordingly. However, if they are respecting your pressure, you can try to execute a sneaky 236K to gain plus frames.

Resisting Pushback

As the main weakness of your c.S pressure is its substantial distance requirement, the pushback you receive after they block it is your biggest enemy in being able to pressure freely. Get pushed too far, and your pressure will be given a deadline of sorts, losing access to your safest, most plus tool and instead having to use buttons that can only really safely go into a basic gatling string. Trovão can be a decent way to reset your pressure once you're pushed too far, but it isn't too hard to react to if used carelessly.

Luckily, Giovanna has a trick for this exact thing. By using dash momentum even at point-blank, she is able to continue moving forward to the point where she can significantly resist pushback. This can greatly aid the effectiveness of your c.S pressure, increasing your ability to loop it into itself and overall maintaining your frame advantage to do whatever you'd like. This is especially important against defenders who rely on Faultless Defense, as it causes pushback to increase along with the need to resist it.

The difference in c.S pushback on block between no dash momentum, cancelling a dash early, and cancelling it slightly later.
Even while as close to the opponent as possible and in the corner, the momentum still serves to fight against the pushback of c.S.

Vs Faultless Defense

Assuming the move being FD'd is c.S a recommended method is to cycle through the following options depending on the situation:

• Dash up throw
• 5H to make sure they don't mash, if they mash 6P use 2D instead
• Dash c.S to stop them from teching the throw or jumping after blocking 5H/2D to avoid the mixup. You can also delay 5H/2D to stop this but c.S is better if they block
• Jump cancel but is very reactable so do it only if the opponent has shown they can't anti air.
• 236K or 214S if they stop using FD after c.S but you have to be aware that if they keep using FD you will be too far to continue pressure.
• If you have meter you can do a free 50/50 with JC > 66.BRC > j.S > high/low. A more detailed explanation on how to perform it is in metered setups
• Another interesting option is c.S>c.S>2D then microdash 2K. You frametrap with 2D which is your safest normal on block and then microdash 2K to stay in and either frametrap with 2D again or go for a throw. 2K ducks under 6P which is what most people go to against Gio since it counters half her moves. When they start using low buttons to hit you is when you start using 214S

If they FD your f.S/2S cancel it after the initial kick so you do not get pushed away too far and can continue with the subsequent moves.

Meterless Setups

Basic Frame Traps

• c.S/236K > 5K (3/2 frames)
• 5K > 214K (2 frames)
• 5K/2K > 2D (6 frames)
• 5K > dash Throw (tick throw, beats normals slower than 5 frame startup)

Outside her built-in frametraps, Giovanna's offense revolves around making frametraps with delays. c.S is naturally plus, but that only really matters when going for a throw or a dash c.S pressure reset. Establishing fear of c.S usually means a delayed gatling. f.S and 2S can gatling into 5H, giving her another opportunity to reset pressure (albeit with more risk as their frame advantage is worse). 5H doesn't naturally have any gatlings, but a slight delay 214K can have the same effect while still leaving Giovanna safe.

Metered Setups

Midscreen BRC

Instead of using a jump cancel, Giovanna can instead use her dash cancelable normals (5K and preferably c.S) to gain access to BRCs. A dash cancelled c.S BRC has enough plus frames to blockstring into 5D while staying plus, and be able to also let her link from 2K to complement said 5D. Video example: https://twitter.com/raynexpress/status/1415526550087294978?s=21

Corner BRC

Giovanna can get a fuzzy guard mixup off of any of her jump-cancelable normals in the corner if she has 50 tension available. After jumping, an immediate 66.BRC j.S will force the opponent to stand block or get hit by a highly damaging BRC combo. This part is easily reactable so most players will not get hit here. The fuzzy itself is the rising j.H after landing from j.S. This can be linked into a falling j.H to continue a combo thanks to the BRC slowdown. The low option (2K after j.S) can be linked into c.S because of the BRC slowdown as well.

Throw

The threat of your throw (dash grab) is most potent when you're opponent is too preoccupied with your strikes and don't expect it. Here are some common situations:

• Go for throw after a knockdown (after the frames of throw invincibility end)
• If they respect 5K you can go for a tick throw
• Tick throw after c.S
• After a safejump
• After super wallbreak with IAD j.K (whiff) grab
• After the opponent air blocks your DP Dragon Punch A move that has invulnerability during its startup, long recovery, and a rising motion.

Tick throws after 5K/c.S on block have a 5F gap that if not hit out allow you to throw them. Tick throws also beat DP Dragon Punch A move that has invulnerability during its startup, long recovery, and a rising motion. by grabbing the opponent before the move gets active.

Okizeme

Safejumps

Giovanna has a variety of safejump setups that are done by landing with a properly timed j.H on the opponent's wakeup.

Giovanna's safejumps are consistent against the whole cast. This makes for your default, consistent and reliable oki option out of nearly any hit.

If you have the chance to do either of your jump cancelable normals (c.S or 5K) as an OTG, you can then jump cancel them and IAD > j.H for a rather simple setup.

Each OTG move and their respective setups each have their tradeoffs:

• 5K is faster, longer range, but its narrow and raised hitbox demands you hit the OTG very early upon them falling on the ground, limiting its use after a long combo.
• c.S is much more forgiving with the timing and is usable in more scenarios.

Making sure you use 214K as high as possible to end your juggle combo is a good way to ensure the 5K safejump's success.

There are also some ways to do the safejump without an OTG:

• After a ground throw, you may simply hold up-forward and do j.H late in your ascent and it will give you a properly timed safejump.
  • Doing a neutral/back jump into an IAD j.H or j.K may work to as well if one prefers after a ground throw, but it does demand more precision.

Remember that when doing safejumps, the amount of frame advantage you have is in your control. If you're getting thrown after using c.S or a lower button you need to delay your j.H more. However, even with the minimum advantage of +4, you can still frame trap throws with 2P reliably. Delaying j.H or doing 2P are your two options to ensure the safejump is true. Keep in mind that there can be counterplay to using 2P right away, but that's just the nature of fighting games.

You can also do a Super OS A shorthand for "Option Select"A situation where you perform an input and the game will "select an option" automatically depending on what the other character did. safejump by performing a safejump j.H~632146H. This will effectively counter DP Dragon Punch A move that has invulnerability during its startup, long recovery, and a rising motion.s, reversal throws, backdash, and mashing.

2D

If you wish to safely meaty the opponent, beat reversals, hit low to catch jumpers, and stay at a distance either for matchup or mixup reasons, 2D is a solid option. Because it has such a disjointed and active hitbox, you are often completely uncontestable using it from a distance if you have time to get it out, thus beating many reversals in the game. For more info on which reversals 2D will be able to safely beat, check out this table in the matchups section. Keep in mind that 2D is active for 10 frames, so optimal timing will require you to hit with it on the last couple frames. A properly timed 2D can be up to +1 on block. Off of a throw, Giovanna can help time her meaty 2D by doing Throw > whiff 5P > 2D.

c.S

After longer combos ending in a hard knockdown or after a throw, Gio has enough time to dash in and get a meaty c.S. This can turn into a mixup with a slightly delayed throw, dash cancel, backdash to beat reversals/throw techs, Sol Poente, and more. It's usually easier for her to bait throws with a backdash instead of trying to get a frame-perfect meaty or shimmy, but it's also generally less reward and leads to less pressure. If you're able to land meaty c.S, the pressure is highly in your favour, but be wary of trying to land multiple c.S together as the window is very tight and you can easily get grabbed out of it.

Using Chave

Note: To simplify notation, cancelling Chave into other special moves is notated by putting "en" (short for enhanced) in front of the move being cancelled into. For example, 214H~214K is notated as en214K.

Chave is a command dash that can be special cancelled into Giovanna's other special moves starting halfway through the animation, granting the special moves enhanced properties when cancelled into in this manner. The command dash on it's own is quite poor, locking you into the animation for a long period and not covering much ground, so it's almost entirely used for the purpose of special cancelling.

Due to the extra startup that Chave effectively gives enhanced special moves (minimum 14 frames), enhanced specials are very risky to do in the middle of blockstrings. However, they are amazing in combos, with en214S and en623S both being extremely important combo pieces due to their strong damage and large launches.

Aside from combos, en214S can serve as a mixup tool that gives good reward on hit without requiring meter, though it should be used sparingly due to it's massive startup. In addition, en236K is an extremely potent oki tool due to it's guard crush property, though it does have a weakness to reversals.

En236K Oki

En236K may have a massive startup of at least 41 frames, but Giovanna has many ways to hit the opponent on their wakeup with it. The simplest two are after throw or 6HH, but it is also possible to do meaty en236K after 6P, airhit 5K, and airhit 5H. Airhit 5H requires a small amount of manual delay or else en236K will whiff (in the corner, a very large amount of delay is required, so other options may be better), but it's not too hard to time thanks to 236K's many active frames. In addition, if combo gravity is very heavily scaled some of these may not work, or may not require as much delay as usual.

When the opponent blocks en236K they are put into a lengthy guard crush, allowing you to do a very simple mixup between microdash 2S and dash throw. Thanks to the combination of guard crush not giving 5 frames of throw protection after it ends and 2S being a multi-hit low, this is as close to a true 50/50 as strike/throw can get.

• Delay jumping doesn't defend against this due to the lack of throw protection
• Delay teching doesn't work since 2S as a double hitting low will hit them with the second hit.
• Fast buttons won't beat the throw option due to the lack of throw protection, meaning that 2S as the strike option doesn't even need to frametrap to stop that kind of defense. You can still choose to make it frametrap to punish mashing even more, but keeping it a true blockstring keeps you safe to reversals and even potentially punishes reversals by catching the opponent not blocking low.
• Faultless Defense, Instant Faultless Defense, and even Deflect Shield have no impact at all on the position you are left at after en236K

In addition to throw vs 2S, you can also threaten other options, such as tap dust for an overhead with a 5 frame gap or simply frametrapping with c.S to maintain very strong blockstring pressure even if they block your strike.

The main weakness of meaty en236K is it's vulnerability to invincible reversals. It's extreme startup means that the opponent can simply reversal on reaction to the startup, allowing them to reversal without any risk. Be sure to check if the opponent has the meter available to do an invincible reversal before committing to a meaty en236K. Use and abuse this tool if they don't, but it may be better to choose another option if they do. (Against Zato and Happy Chaos who don't have reversals at all, go nuts.)

Against characters with meterless invincible reversals, as well as against  Faust and  Giovanna who both have moves with instant low profile, meaty en236K is much harder to utilize since they always have the tools to beat it available. However, it is still potentially possible to pull of meaty en236K against these opponents by:

• Doing an empty Chave without a special cancel to fake meaty en236K, potentially baiting them into whiffing a reversal and making them more scared to use them in the future. However, smart opponents won't commit to the reversal until they see the 236K part of the move rather than just the Chave part, but this can still make many opponents think twice.
• Not commiting to en236K at all until you believe that they may be overwhelmed with thinking about how to deal with all of your other options and thus won't be prepared to reversal en236K on reaction.

Or simply don't do meaty en236K against these characters. You have many other, less risky ways of pressuring opponents after all.

Counter-hits

For most characters, a counter-hit is a nice thing to get some good damage. For Giovanna, however, it's considerably more integral to her gameplay to land them, and she has several tools to do so, both offensively and defensively.

• 

  623S low profiles many of the fastest jabs,
  allowing you counter-hit attempts to interrupt your pressure.

• 

  214K is able to predictively frame trap their low-profiles,
  such as when they try to 6P your Trovão.
  However, loses to 6P if timed too late to frame trap.

Roundstart

The effectiveness of roundstart options varies depending on the matchup.

• 5H is gio's standard button, it has a 10f start-up and slight disjoint, making it effective against many character buttons. Indispensable in some matchups, like  Nago, hard callout in others.
• Dash 5K and Dash 2K are safer options, while a regular 2K at roundstart will only hit characters with extended hurtboxes (such as  Faust 2P).
• 6P is slightly less safe than 5H but can be useful against opponents who open with mids that can be counterpoked. 623S also fulfill the same purpose with comparable risk or slightly more but greater rewards.
• Walk back and backdash are also effective options, each requiring different responses from opponents.
• Dash block works well against characters whose pressure you are comfortable blocking or if there is a specific interaction you want to force.
• Another choice is 2D, but it carries a higher risk due to its 17F start-up

Tips and Tricks

Counterhit Option Selects

5H

https://twitter.com/FrinkyWinkZz/status/1404966974531190788?s=19

Simply said, you use 5H then do 214K1236K. If 5H gets blocked, it'll do 214K, the safer option. If 5H counter-hits, however, 236K will come out due to the slowdown extending the input buffer time and allowing you to override the previous input, leading into your usual ch 5H > 236K combo.

c.S

https://twitter.com/Snare56447417/status/1414719133652963328

This OS is similar to the one above, as it uses the counterhit slowdown to your advantage. Pressing c.S and tapping what button you want next (preferably standing normals like f.S, 2S, or 5H) then inputting 5[D] will give you the normal of your choice on hit/block and a fully charged 5D on counter hit, giving a highly damaging launch starter.

Avoiding Wallbreak

Because Giovanna struggles in neutral against certain long/mid-range characters, there are scenarios where you may not want to break the wall in order to avoid returning to neutral. There are two key ways to do this, the first being shortening your combo so that it doesn't touch the wall. This is a fairly simple method: simply try to end combos with 214K or 5K dash cancel before the wall is reached, and you will be able to get an advantageous to continue corner pressure without breaking the wall. This can also net you more damage and meter gain as a whole, as one more confirm in the corner may lead to a wallbreak that may ultimately end the round, especially if you built enough meter to super. This method will always lead to a wallsplat eventually, but the point is to make the most of your corner pressure while you can and then cash out when there's no avoiding it, ideally when it closes out the round. Generally, this is quite practical and pays off in many matchups, unless you are in absolute need of a fast Positive Bonus and don't care about returning to neutral too much, although if you have the burst meter to spare, breaking the wall with wild assault allows you to get the same knockdown as if you had used a super, allowing you to continue your pressure without needing the 50 tension and still get positive.

The second method is to perform corner pressure exclusively with normals that keep the opponent grounded. Each normal is hard coded to either keep the opponent on the ground or to launch them into the air. To do this technique, simply avoid connecting buttons that cause the opponent to be airborne on the same hit that the wallsplat occurs, and then afterward do not hit them. If they are in an air state while on the wall like usual, they will be able to tech out using the very advantageous wall tech positions... but if they are kept on the ground, they will slouch over, unable to tech, as if it were an even longer hard knockdown. This may be a little trickier to do than it sounds. 214K will always cause an airborne wallsplat, even if it doesn't seem like it. When comboing from a hit from c.S, you may delay the gatling so that it connects after their brief airborne period, and it will keep them grounded for the remaining hits of the combo. c.S > delayed 2S > 5H would be a common string to do this, for example. While this technique limits your options quite substantially especially if you don't have meter, it allows you to keep the opponent cornered forever, in theory.

An extra method is to use RRC to un-stick them from the wall, but this uses so much meter for so little damage that you'd probably rather just super, since it gives a knockdown anyway.

Random notes

Trovão Projectile Chart

TrovãoGuardAll [All (Guard Crush)]Startup27Recovery13Advantage+4 [+15] negates many, but not all projectiles it comes in contact with. Here's the full chart:

Projectile chart
Character	Attack	Trovão wins?
Anji Mito	ShitsuGuardAllStartup29RecoveryTotal 52Advantage-6	Wins
Baiken	Tatami GaeshiGuardAllStartup15Recovery5Advantage-3	DependsGiovanna loses on 236K(1), but wins on 236K(2)
Bridget	Stop and DashGuardAllStartup15RecoveryTotal 38Advantage-4	Wins
Chipp	ShurikenGuardAllStartup22Recovery35+4 After LandingAdvantage-	Wins
Goldlewis Dickinson	SkyfishGuardAllStartup35Recovery84 TotalAdvantage-13	Loses
I-No	Antidepressant ScaleGuardAllStartup29RecoveryTotal 51Advantage-8	Wins
Ky Kiske	Stun EdgeGuardAllStartup13RecoveryTotal 46Advantage-14 (S, H, j.S versions)	Wins
	Sacred EdgeGuardAll [All (Guard Crush)]Startup4+3RecoveryTotal 38Advantage+10 [+26]	Loses
Leo Whitefang	Gravierte WürdeGuardAllStartup10RecoveryTotal 50FAdvantage-12 (S and H versions)	Wins
	StahlwirbelGuardAllStartup4+1RecoveryTotal 27FAdvantage+14	Loses
May	Arisugawa SparkleGuardAllStartup48RecoveryTotal 45Advantage+29 (P and K versions)	Wins
Millia Rage	Tandem TopGuardAllStartup12RecoveryTotal 45Advantage-10 (S and H versions)	Wins
	Septem VoicesGuardAllStartup4+5RecoveryTotal 43Advantage+8	Loses
Nagoriyuki	ZarameyukiGuardAllStartup18~29RecoveryTotal 39Advantage+5	Loses
Ramlethal Valentine	BajonetoGuardAllStartup20RecoveryTotal 43Advantage+3	Loses
	CalvadosGuardAll (Guard Crush)Startup11+13Recovery17Advantage+16	Loses
Sol Badguy	GunflameGuardAllStartup18RecoveryTotal 54Advantage-10	Wins
Testament	Grave ReaperGuardAllStartup16~22Recovery27Advantage-4 (all versions)	Wins
	Unholy DiverGuardAllStartup21RecoveryTotal 39Advantage+1	WinsNeither damage nor stain are applied
Zato-1	Sun VoidGuardAllStartup11+14RecoveryAdvantage+3	Loses

Reversal Chart

Below is a list of invincible reversals and parameters detailing the following:

• Whether or not you are able to use a correctly spaced and timed meaty 2D to outrange their reversal and punish, typically determined by the move's range and speed.
  • Yes means 2D successfully outranges the reversal and you are able to punish it accordingly (unless stated otherwise with *). This assumes that you are at at ideal range away from the reversal, as moves with 7 frame startup or less will beat out your 2D if you are too close, even with optimal meaty timing.
  • Clash means 2D's hitbox may clash with the reversal if the meaty isn't optimally timed, still outranging the move but allowing it to be cancelled into something safe. Repeat clashes would likely make someone catch on and learn how to cancel from it, but it's generally not too bad as you can also cancel into FD to be safe, and as each clash builds 10% Tension.
  • No means 2D has to be out of the opponent's body distance to outrange the reversal, or simply cannot outrange it. You may still be able to time a meaty 2D safely (unless it is marked with **), but improper timing will see you getting hit. If a move both cannot be outranged and outspeeds 2D's recovery (No**), 2D absolutely cannot beat it. You're much better off using a safejump, or simply blocking.
• Which safejumps will work against the reversal, typically determined by its speed.
  • All means the reversal is slow enough to be safejumped by any conventional setup.
  • Fast means the reversal comes out in ~7 frames, requiring a fast setup that recovers earlier to properly safejump the reversal, such as with 5K OTG.
  • None means it cannot be safejumped.

Character	Reversal	2D Outrange?	Safejumps
Anji Mito	Kachoufuugetsu Kai	No**	None
Axl Low	Sickle Storm	No	All
Chipp Zanuff	Beta Blade	Clash	Fast
Faust	Bone-crushing Excitement	No	All
Giovanna	Ventania	No	Fast
Goldlewis	Down With The System	Clash	All
	Down With The System (720)	Yes	All
	Down With The System (1080)	Yes	All
I-No	Ultimate Fortissimo	Clash*	Fast
Ky Kiske	Vapor Thrust	Yes	All
	Ride The Lightning	No**	Fast
Leo Whitefang	Eisensturm	Clash	Fast
	Leidenschaft des Dirigenten	No	All
May	The Wonderful and Dynamic Goshogawara	Clash	All
Millia Rage	Winger	Yes	Fast
Nagoriyuki	Wasureyuki	No**	All
	Zansetsu	No	All
Potemkin	Giganter Kai	Yes*	All
Ramlethal	Mortobato	No**	Fast
Sol Badguy	Volcanic Viper	Clash	Fast
	Tyrant Rave	Yes	Fast
Testament	Calamity One	No	All

* Cannot punish.
** Comes out in ~7 frames, meaning it can punish 2D's recovery regardless of meaty timing. Basically, don't 2D this if you can help it.

Navigation

Guilty Gear -Strive-

A.B.A

Anji

Asuka

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Baiken

Bedman?

Bridget

Chipp

Elphelt

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Giovanna

Goldlewis

Happy Chaos

I-No

Jack-O'

Johnny

Ky

Leo

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Nagoriyuki

Potemkin

Ramlethal

Sin

Sol

Testament

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