GGST/May/Combos

Overview

Starter Guide

Combos

Strategy

Matchups

Counterstrategy

Okizeme

Frame Data

Resources

Combo Notation Guide

Character Name Abbreviations

7 8 9 4 5 6 1 2 3 Numbers represent direction on a keyboard numpad. For example, + becomes 236P. > = Proceed from the previous move to the following move. ▷/land = Indicate that the player must land at that point in the sequence. , = Link To perform a second action after the first action completely finishes its animation. the previous move into the following move. ->/~ = Cancel To bypass the remaining time or frames in an action by proceeding directly into another action. the previous special into a follow-up special. dl./delay = Delay the following move. whiff/(whiff) = The move must whiff (not hit). c. = Close f. = Far j. = Jumping/Aerial hj./sj. = High Jump/Super Jump jc = Jump Cancel hjc/sjc = High Jump Cancel/Super Jump Cancel dc/adc = Dash Cancel/Air Dash Cancel CH = Counter Hit AA = Anti-Air IAS = Instant Air Special [X] = Hold input. ]X[ = Release input. (move) = Move is optional. [X] or [Y] = Perform sequence X or Y. [sequence] xN = Repeat sequence N amount of times. (N) = Hit N of a move or move must deal N amount of hits. IAD = Instant Air Dash BRC = Blue Roman Cancel RRC = Red Roman Cancel PRC = Purple Roman Cancel YRC = Yellow Roman Cancel YYXRC = Dash Input X Roman Cancel in Y direction i.e: 22PRC XRC~Q = Cancel the X Roman Cancel into Q i.e: RRC~5K WS = Wall Stick/Wall Splat

AB =  A.B.A AN =  Anji Mito AS =  Asuka R♯ AX =  Axl Low BA =  Baiken BE =  Bedman? BR =  Bridget CH =  Chipp Zanuff EL =  Elphelt FA =  Faust GI =  Giovanna GO =  Goldlewis HA =  Happy Chaos IN =  I-No JC =  Jack-O' JO =  Johnny KY =  Ky Kiske LE =  Leo Whitefang MA =  May MI =  Millia Rage NA =  Nagoriyuki PO =  Potemkin RA =  Ramlethal SI =  Sin Kiske SO =  Sol Badguy TE =  Testament ZA =  Zato-1

Read First

Charging Mr. Dolphin

Most of May's combos use Mr. Dolphin in the middle of the combo. In order to use these combos, May needs to begin charging Mr. Dolphin while using the other moves in her combo. In some cases, this is intuitive and very easy:

• c.S > 2H > [2]8H: As long as you hold [2] for the entire duration of 2H, you will charge in time to use [2]8H.

In other cases, May needs to hold a direction in a situation where it will not affect her movement to charge Mr. Dolphin in time:

• While May is attacking (attack animations are unaffected by directional inputs)
• While May is jumping (Holding [4] or [2] will not affect May's jump arc)
• During the time slow effect of a counterhit. While time appears to slow down, the rate at which Mr. Dolphin charges does not. This allows May to use Mr. Dolphin in ways that aren't normally possible and allows her to more easily charge Mr. Dolphin in general.

Remember that May can hold [1] to charge both horizontal and vertical Mr. Dolphin, but she can only use crouching attacks while doing this! In some situations, you need to hold [4] to use standing attacks that combo into horizontal Mr. Dolphin.

Beginner Combos

Basic combos are simple combos with the fewest requirements and conditions possible. They: Work against every, or almost every, character in the game Can be performed from most positions in the play area Require few adjustments, and if any are required they are simple

1. BNB Close Range Slash Starter
2. Close Range P Starter
3. Mid Range Poke Confirm
4. Close Range K Starter
5. Command Grab Midscreen Safejump
6. Charged Dust Starter

BNB A staple combo that is simple yet effective. Close Range Slash StarterCan Frame trap An offensive technique where the attacker leaves a small opening in their offense, goading the defender into performing an attack. This opening is designed such that the attacker can easily counter the defender's attack with their own. while also providing a pressure extension on block!If the opponent does not mash their 6P :)
129 Damage

Very Easy

c.S > 2H > [2]8H
Make sure to read the read first section on how to Charge The act of holding a direction (usually back or down) for about one second, for the purposes of executing certain special moves like Guile's Sonic Boom. Because charge inputs take a bit of time to prepare before you execute them, they tend to be relatively powerful compared to special moves input using other methods, like a quarter circle, which can be input more quickly and in more situations. Mr Dolphin. It is required in order to perform these combos.

This combo is useful as it starts from Mays best pressure To attack the opponent continuously and leave little room for counter attacks. starter (c.SGuardAllStartup7Recovery8Advantage+3), and the 2H gatling can Frame trap An offensive technique where the attacker leaves a small opening in their offense, goading the defender into performing an attack. This opening is designed such that the attacker can easily counter the defender's attack with their own. if slightly delayed (which is especially good because 2H frame traps lead to big damage combos). On block, you can end it with a Plus When you are able to freely act, but your opponent cannot (usually because they are still trapped in block stun from your attack). Being plus (or "positive") in a fighting game is quite strong; it means you always have a headstart on your next attack, even if it's only by a very slim margin. on block special move ([4]6HGuardAllStartup25Recovery20 (18 OH)Advantage+7) which can extend Mays pressure, but be aware that the gap between 2H and [4]6H can be challenged with moves such as 6P.

If May doesn't end with [4]6H on block, she is forced to end with [4]6S to avoid a punish. Luckily, this is gapless, but you can choose to delay the [4]6S if you want to try and catch a counterhit (although this is risky because of 6P).

On hit it gives a Hard Knockdown A knockdown that forces the character into a prolonged knockdown state. After a hard knockdown, teching is disabled briefly, allowing the player who is on the offensive more time to set up a meaty, a mix-up, etc., allowing May to start her pressure game with a Meaty Hitting an opponent to cover the moment as they lose invincibility. The most common one is performing an attack early on okizeme to gain frame advantage and bait reversals. c.S. Read more about her pressure game here. She also gains access to various safe jump A very well-timed jump attack on a character who is rising from a knockdown. Your goal is to attack extremely close to when you land so that, if the character performs an invincible reversal attack, you will land and be able to block. The opponent is then forced to block your jumping attack, since reversaling doesn't work, which will give you some nice pressure and hopefully an opening.s on hit such as delayed dashup > IAD An air dash performed from a standing position as quickly and as low to the ground as possible from a jump. Done by inputting 956 754, and depending on the game, using a dash macro right after a jump. j.H, or dashup > c.S OTG The act of hitting the opponent when they are knocked down. Short for "off the ground" or "on the ground." > 7jc > IAD An air dash performed from a standing position as quickly and as low to the ground as possible from a jump. Done by inputting 956 754, and depending on the game, using a dash macro right after a jump. j.H. Do note that these give May weaker pressure on block (particularly on faultless defense), so if the opponent does not have a meterless DP Dragon Punch A move that has invulnerability during its startup, long recovery, and a rising motion., it may be more rewarding to go for meaty c.S. Another option is to charge in the air and use [4]6S~P to close distance while the opponent is still falling, and then use 214P for a very meaty beachball, while also keeping you DP safe. This is especially good against characters with a parry, such as Baiken and Anji. The ball will catch Backdash and all abare as well. If the opponent blocks the ball, you are around +40, so you can safely run up and do c.S to start your pressure.

Close Range P StarterDoes not give very good okizeme From Japanese "起き攻め". Attacking an opponent about to wake up after they were knocked down, usually with meaty attacks or mix-ups..
46-73 Damage (Depending on amount of Ps used)

Very Easy

(5P or 2P) xN > 3K
This combo is necessary due to [2]8H often not being accessible from P normals, which are low risk pressure starters due to their safety on block and their ability to cancel into themselves. It gives a Soft Knockdown A knockdown that puts the character into a state that may allow the character to get up off the ground earlier than a Hard Knockdown, giving the offender less options for continuing offense. so you only get time for a Meaty Hitting an opponent to cover the moment as they lose invincibility. The most common one is performing an attack early on okizeme to gain frame advantage and bait reversals. 5K, it loses to wakeup back dash as a downside though. You will need to subtract the amount of P normals based on range. Generally, if you are touching the opponents collision box, you are able to land three P normals before needing to go into 3K. Make sure not to be too willy-nilly with this combo as 3K is very punishable on block so make sure to confirm that your P normals have actually hit.

Mid Range Poke ConfirmThe only way to confirm off of pokes in Footsies A complicated, often nebulous term that refers to the battle for controlling the space in front of you, often by using good pokes. In essence, you are trying to get to a range you like, while trying to deny your opponent getting to a range that they like. How you do this varies wildly based on the game, but it often involves using long range attacks to pester your opponent as they are trying to walk around. This dance of playing mind games with your feet is the source of the term's name.
58-81 Damage (Depends on starter)

Very Easy

Poke Starter > [4]6S
This combo does not give a very high reward on hit as it leaves May neutral on hit, but it allows Dolphin RPS Rock Paper ScissorsA situation wherein an attacker and a defender have options that only beat certain responses from their opponent. For example, on wakeup a defending opponent may use a reversal to stop an attacker from using an attack, but the attacker can also block to defeat the reversal. If the attacker blocks, the defender can use the opportunity to take the offensive. to be played, for more information see here. This combo allows May to get a decent reward in neutral for low commital options.

Notable starters include your primary long ranged Poke An attack that's thrown out to occupy the space in front of you and remind your opponent not to try and come closer. Usually, this is a far-reaching and safe normal move with little risk.s, 2SGuardAllStartup10Recovery18Advantage-7 and 5HGuardAllStartup13Recovery15Advantage-4. 2S has a longer range while having a few amount of active frames, 2S is usually used when you expect it to connect, due to the pushback it has on block it allows you to stay safe and possibly use it again even while it is -7, at range a special cancel into [4]6S is a frametrap, which can create a mixup for the opponent to guess if you will use 2S again or special cancel into [4]6S. 5H has more active frames but a shorter reach, which allows for it to be used as a wall to be put infront of the opponent, it also is less minus on block which allows it to be more times in a string due to it carrying a threat of a delayed special cancel into [4]6S for a frametrap.

Close Range K StarterTo get reward off of your non-commital low.
66-79 Damage (Depending on starter)

Easy

K Starter > 2D > [2]8S
This combo has 2 notable starters, 2K and 5K. 2K is used more due to 5K being slower, 5K does have more range but it requires a different combo at far distances that is listed in the other tab. It is assuming that when talking about this combo, the starter is 2K.

This combo is amazing due to its starter (2K) being a very safe low, allowing it to pressure opponents to jump and get caught by delay 2D. In addition on block 2D can also start [4]6S RPS, you can also delay the special cancel on block to create a Frame Trap. But where this combo really shines is after a throw when May performs a 4 way mixup in which one of these options is a crossup 2K, which can then be comboed into 2D > [2]8S. On hit this combo grants pressure with c.S.

You can also choose to forgo the [2]8S and instead do a slightly delayed 214P for a very meaty beachball, allowing you to run up c.S after its blocked.

Far Range 5K StarterDecent poke that leads to low reward.
57 Damage

Very Easy

5K > 3K
This combo gives similar oki to the Close Range P Starter combo. On block you can gatling 5K into 6H but it is back dashable if the opponent is far enough away. Only use this combo when you are not in range for the close range combo. This combo is fairly difficult to confirm, so its best use is as a whiff punish from further distances.

Jump-in into K StarterUtilize Mays powerful air mobility to get the drop on an opponent.
86 Damage

Very Easy

IAD j.H > 2K > 2D > dl.214P
This combo is Mays most consistent combo off of a IAD due to it not requiring any proximity normals that could make the combo drop if May is not very close to her opponent. This combo has trouble working off of a standard Jump-in unless the opponent is very close to May, so and IAD is recommended to use for this combo. May is not in range after 2D for [2]8S so she will have to settle for a 214P setup instead, which is safe to DP Dragon Punch A move that has invulnerability during its startup, long recovery, and a rising motion.s.

Command Grab Midscreen SafejumpAutotimed, will beat Mashing, as well as DPs.
78 Damage

Easy

623K > Dash > (OTG The act of hitting the opponent when they are knocked down. Short for "off the ground" or "on the ground.") c.S > jc.7 > IAD > j.H
This combo is very important as 623KGuardGround ThrowStartup6Recovery40AdvantageN/A is the core of Mays strike-throw mixup. It is not a techable grab, and can lead to high damage corner combos. Midscreen it still provides value as a way for May to catch wakeup DP Dragon Punch A move that has invulnerability during its startup, long recovery, and a rising motion. if timed correctly and the opponent blocking. Should you struggle making it to the opponent in time for the (OTG The act of hitting the opponent when they are knocked down. Short for "off the ground" or "on the ground.") c.S, you can opt to do the OTG with 5K and do jc.9. This, however, generally leaves May worse on block than the c.S OTG.

Be sure to do the airdash as soon as you're able to, or else the safejump will not work.

This setup also works from other places where an OTG The act of hitting the opponent when they are knocked down. Short for "off the ground" or "on the ground." c.S is possible, such as after combos ending in [2]8H or close range CH 6P. If the opponent is in the corner after the OTG The act of hitting the opponent when they are knocked down. Short for "off the ground" or "on the ground." c.S, you can use jc.9 to jump cancel instead of jc.7, as there is no longer any risk of crossing up.

Charged Dust ComboFor big punishes, or just catching people sleeping.
253 Damage (287 on  Chipp)

Easy

5[D]8 > j.H > j.D > j.K > j.H > j.D > j.PP
A big damage Homing Jump combo from a Dust Attack (Hold) starter. Dust Attack (Hold) is slow at 28 frames of start-up and reactable as a mix-up, but neither of those factor into its usage as a reliable reversal To perform an attack as soon as possible after getting knocked down or leaving hitstun/blockstun. punish. Finishing the combo with the Finish Blow ender gives May Positive Bonus afterwards, and also gives her enough time to run forward for a meaty c.S. Against many characters you can use j.KK as an ender instead for a very slight increase in damage, see the 5D/2D starter section in the combo list for more details.

Core Combos

Core combos balance potency with consistency. They: Work against most characters of a selected weight or hurt box type May require moderate adjustments to account for variables such as screen position, hit count, resources, and opposing character Are expected to be consistently performable by most intermediate and advanced players who main the character

Close Range Corner LoopObliterate the opponents lifebar with little effort.
230 Damage

Easy

Starter > 2H > [4]6H > 5H > [4]6H > 5H WS > 6[H]
This is the simplest and most consistent variation of May's meterless corner combos. As long as you use a launcher such as 2H at the start, you can loop 5H and [4]6H until the wall splats. Due to the simple nature of this loop, you can get to it through several ways, such as a Red RCRed Roman Cancel or an air hit [4]6H. But the most common is c.S due to its role as a great pressure tool (that becomes even more powerful in corner due to not having to run as far to reset pressure) and its ability to catch backdashes. Both 5H and [4]6H give you enough time to charge 6[H] wall break, which makes existing wall damage not as impactful. It's also possible to end with Great Yamada Attack (236236S) or Charged Wild Assault (236[D]) on both splats, making it easy to use either of those to score a hard knockdown after the wall breaks.

Close Range K Corner LoopDo some good damage from an otherwise unremarkable starter.
161 Damage

Easy

2K > 2D > [2]8H, 5H > [4]6H, 2S > 5H WS > 6H WB
This is a variation of the prior combo that starts from a 2K which can be good from a dash in once the opponent is cornered for a quick low to catch them off guard. Threatening a throw after the 2K can make the opponent want to jump, which lets a delay canceled 2D hit into the combo as well. In addition, when very close, [2]8H is plus on block, which allows pressure to continue even if you do not catch the opponent off guard. Be aware that at range [2]8H might whiff. Use a (delayed) [4]6S here instead.

Combo List

• All damage values are tested on  Ky at full health with the R.I.S.C Level at 0 unless the combo cannot work on him, in which case the character with the closest defense modifier is used.
• This list is meant for actual combos, not for frame traps, blockstrings, or mixups. (If the combo itself allows to set them up afterwards, it is mentioned in the "Notes" field).
• The list is focused on most practical examples, not every single option that exists. For more optimal but less practical combos, please check the external resources page.
• The difficulty is ranked on a scale of 1 to 5 (Very Easy, Easy, Medium, Hard and Very Hard) based on various factors (cancel leniency, link timings, special techniques, range consistency, etc).

P and K starters
Combo	Position	Damage	Works on	Difficulty	Notes	Video	Recipe	Ver
[5P]x3 > 3K	Anywhere	73	Everyone	[1] Very Easy	Tension Gain: ~11% Simple scramble/mash hit confirm into soft knockdown, which leads to 5K oki. Can start with 2P as well. Using 3K as soon as a hit is confirmed helps to avoid pushing the opponent out of 5P range.	Youtube		1.33
5P AA > 6H > [4]6S~P > 2K > 6H > [2]8H	Anywhere	127	Everyone	[3] Medium	5P AA conversion. Works on both normal and CH. Many 5P AA hits (specially CH) can go into c.S for nicer pickups depending on spacing, but this route works no matter what, has good carry and ends in a good knockdown, so it's a nice baseline.	Youtube		1.33
5P AA > 5K > 6H > [4]6S~P > 5K > 6H > [2]8H > 2H > [4]6S~P > WS 5[D]	Corner	180	Everyone	[3] Medium	5P AA corner conversion. Works on both normal and CH. Many 5P AA hits (specially CH) can go straight into 6H for stronger pickups, but this route is the most consistently easy to confirm into while having very strong meter gain.	Youtube		1.33
6P (CH) > 214P or 214K > [2]8H (whiff)	Anywhere	77	Everyone	[2] Easy	Tension Gain: ~10% 6P counterhit setup. Use 214P if the opponent is very close when 6P connects, otherwise use 214K. The ball should hit the opponent OTG. If May uses [2]8H as soon as possible after the ball, she will be within throw range of her opponent at about +8 frame advantage at the end of this setup.	Youtube	48057 (PC)	1.33
6P (CH) > [2]8H > [5H > [4]6H]x2 > WS 6[H]	Corner	192	Everyone	[3] Medium	Tension Gain: ~32% Counter-hit 6P in the corner wall break. Works on both grounded and jumping opponents. Connect the [2]8H as soon as possible to get the juggle.	Youtube		1.33
6P (CH) > 66PRC > [5H > [4]6H]x2 > 2S > 5H > WS 6[H]	Corner	205	Everyone	[3] Medium	Tension Gain: ~-39% Counterhit in corner if no charge was held. Confirm counterhit into PRC on reaction.	youtube		1.33
6P (CH) > 66RRC > 6[H] > [4]6S~P > microdash c.S > 6H > [4]6H > WS 6[H]	Corner	242	Everyone	[4] Hard	Counterhit combo in the corner. The connection between [4]6S~P and c.S is very tight. 66RRC can be substituted for 88RRC. Works on 6P anti air as well.			1.33
5K/2K > 2D > [2]8H	Anywhere	69	Everyone	[1] Very Easy	Tension Gain: ~13% K poke okizeme setup. 5K wont go into 2D if further out. Allows for several setups after, like [4]6S~P > 214P, or dash up c.S OTG. Some setups may be finnicky on some characters without dash momentum/ spaced far out.	Youtube		1.33
5K/2K > 2D > delay 214P	Anywhere	46	Everyone	[2] Easy	K poke okizeme setup. 5K wont go into 2D if further out. Used when [2]8H will not reach or is otherwise finnicky. Delay until just before the opposing character hits the ground, so that the ball explodes as the opponent wakes up. This setup is extremely plus, so you can run up for a c.S after.	Youtube		1.33
2K > 2D > [2]8H > 5H > [4]6S~P > c.S > 6H > [4]6S > WS 6[H]	Corner	167	Everyone	[3] Medium	Low combo route in corner. If blocked, do 2K > 2D > [4]6S to end pressure safely.	Youtube		1.33
2K > [2]8H > [4]6S~P > c.S > 5H > [4]6H > WS 6[H]	Corner	166	Everyone	[4] Hard	Useful combo for mixups where [2]8H would whiff after 2K > 2D. On any jump in, empty or otherwise, [2]8H needs to be charged well before landing.			1.33

S starters
Combo	Position	Damage	Works on	Difficulty	Notes	Video	Recipe	Ver
c.S > 2H > [2]8H	Anywhere	129	Everyone	[1] Very Easy	Tension Gain: ~18% May's bread and butter combo.	Youtube		1.33
c.S > 2H > [4]6H > 5H > [4]6H > 5H WS 6[H]	Corner	230	Everyone	[2] Easy	Simple corner BnB off of c.S. The timing to start holding the 6[H] after the 5H can be tight, but if you know you won't be able to hit the charge, you can just release it early.	Youtube		1.33
c.S > 2H > [4]6H > 5H > [4]6S~P > c.S > 6H > [4]6S WS 6[H]	Corner	241	Everyone	[3] Medium	More optimized corner c.S BnB using a [4]6S~P. Highest damage route without going into character specific routing. You may find that on Ky at full HP subbing the last 6H for a 5H does 1 more damage: This is due to a guts breakpoint you hit doing this combo from 100% hp on him specifically, 99% of the time the listed route is the highest damage across the cast.	Youtube		1.33
c.S > 2H > [2]8H > AD > j.K > j.D > (632146H)	Anywhere (Midscreen-Corner)	165 (238)	Everyone	[3] Medium	Tension Gain: ~21% (~ -28) Extension from the midscreen bnb. j.D ender is very poor if it does not put them in the corner, if it does the skd is enough to do basic c.S/623K oki. Consider dropping at j.K and doing land > 9 > IAD j.H instead for a safejump, if you hit the j.K from below them. 632146H will only connect if j.D put them really close to the wall. Damage isnt very high, but the HKD on wallbreak could be worth the meter even if it wont kill.	Youtube		1.33
c.S > 2H > [2]8H > AD > j.H > 5K > (6H) [[4]6S WS 6[H]] or [[2]8H > j.D/2H WS 6H]	Anywhere (Midscreen-Corner)	238/239	Everyone	[3] Medium	Harder extension from the midscreen bnb. Wallbreaks from Roundstart range. The j.H should hit them from below, you may need to delay 2H and/or [2]8H to get this to happen. Can require a microdash before 5k depending on opposing character and exact spacing. Will break on several characters without dash momentum. Ender is up to preference, but [2]8H usually does slightly more damage	Youtube		1.33
c.S > (delay) 2H > (delay) [2]8H > AD > FDC "Faultless Defense Cancel", by buffering and holding 2 attack inputs, it automatically cancels an airdash into an air normal and instantly begins Faultless Defense. This cancels the airdash to land faster, without performing an attack. Note that only pressing the FD macro isn't sufficient; the player must press either two attack buttons or an attack button and the FD macro together. j.K > c.S > 6H > [2]8H (j.D > WS 6[H])	Anywhere (Midscreen-Corner)	188 (234)	Everyone	[5] Very Hard	FDC "Faultless Defense Cancel", by buffering and holding 2 attack inputs, it automatically cancels an airdash into an air normal and instantly begins Faultless Defense. This cancels the airdash to land faster, without performing an attack. Note that only pressing the FD macro isn't sufficient; the player must press either two attack buttons or an attack button and the FD macro together. pickup from the bnb. FDC j.K allows you to land in time and close enough to pick up with c.S. Has more carry then the above routes, and ends nicely in oki where the other routes wont if they dont reach corner. Does less damage then the other routes if both can reach the corner. Can splat on [2]8H depending on exact spacing. Roundstart distance like in the video will cause an earlier splat, try swapping sides and airdashing over for full combo route practice.	Youtube		1.33
c.S (AA) > 9 jc > j.S/j.H, j.D > AD > j.H > c.S > 6H > [4]6H > WS 6[H]	Midscreen to Corner	249/260	Everyone	[4] Hard	Anti-air c.S combo. Works great off of raw anti airs, or launches from RRC. You may need to microdash to land c.S, or you may have to go for a 5K pickup instead. If too far from the wall, consider doing j.K after the airdash to go for an oki setup instead.	Youtube		1.33
c.S (AA CH) > 9 jc > j.D, j.D > AD > j.H > c.S > 6H > [4]6H > WS 6[H]	Midscreen to Corner	271	Everyone	[4] Hard	Anti-air CH c.S combo. Serves as a DP punish midscreen. You need to hit them pretty high up for the second j.D to work. If further out then roundstart you may need a microdash before c.S, or to pivot to a 5K pickup instead.	Youtube		1.33
c.S (AA CH) > 2H > [4]6S~P > c.S > 9 jc > j.H > j.D > AD > j.H > c.S > 6H > WS 5[D]	Midscreen to Corner	275	Everyone	[4] Hard	If you find the j.H or j.D whiffing a lot, j.S > j.D is a lower damage, more consistent alternative. As above, you may need to microdash before c.S, or opt to use 5K instead.			1.33
c.S (CH) > 2H > [4]6S~P > c.S > 6H > [4]6S~P > 2K > 6H > [2]8H ( > 2H WS 6H)	Not in corner	215 (262)	Everyone	[4] Hard	c.S ch route. the first [4]6S~P needs to be relatively fast to get the c.S pickup. If you can't reach the wall, or want to keep corner, you can drop the combo at [2]8H to get okizeme. Should you struggle with the 2H wallsplat, you can opt to wallsplat with j.P (260), j.K (261), 5K (261), or j.2H (262).	Youtube		1.33
c.S CH > 2H > [4]6S~P > c.S > 6H > [4]6S~P > c.S > 2H > [4]6S WS 6[H]	Corner	269	Everyone	[3] Medium	Tension Gain: 46% CH c.S corner conversion. Not too complicated and does good damage.	Youtube		1.33
f.S (air CH) > [4]6S > c.S > 6H > [2]8H~P > j.D > 66 j.P > WS [H]	Anywhere (midscreen to corner)	219	Everyone	[4] Hard	Tension Gain: ~30% Situational air counterhit combo. Requires a hit at the tip of May's f.S for you to have time to use [4]6S~P and pick up with c.S. You have to time [4]6S~P to land in c.S range. While P is often not needed it does seem to make the combo more consistent and less prone to whiff on [2]8H. Drop combo at [2]8H if you prefer oki or can't reach the wall. The video is no longer up to date.	Youtube		1.33
f.S (air CH) > [4]6S~P > c.S > 2H > [2]8H > airdash > j.H > 5K > 6H > [4]6S > WS 6[H]	Anywhere (midscreen to corner)	226	Everyone	[4] Hard	Situational air counterhit combo. Requires a hit at the tip of May's f.S for you to have time to use [4]6S~P and pick up with c.S. You have to time [4]6S~P to land in c.S range.			1.33

H starters
Combo	Position	Damage	Works on	Difficulty	Notes	Video	Recipe	Ver
5H (CH) > [4]6H > 5K > 3K	Anywhere	123	Everyone	[2] Easy	Standard conversion. Leads to fairly weak oki, but its simple and works at every range.	Youtube		1.33
5H/6H CH > [4]6S~P > 2H > delay [2]8H > airdash j.H > (microdash) 5K > 6H [4]6S WS 6[H]	Midscreen	236/242	Everyone	[3] Medium	ch route for 5H/6H close to the opponent, such as from a blocked c.S frametrap. you may need to slightly adjust the delay on [2]8H depending on the opponent to get enough height for j.H to work.	Youtube		1.33
5H CH > [4]6S~P > 2H > delay [2]8H > AD j.H > MD c.S > 5H > 2S > 5H WS 6[H]	Corner	245	Everyone	[3] Medium	5H/6H ch route when your opponent is in the corner. You need to adjust how long you delay [2]8H depending on the opponent's character, but generally delay it a little so it connects as high up as possible. the route works without the microdash after landing, but you wont be able to get in range to break wall with 6[h]. you can go for [4]6S~P 5[D] or just a dash 6H instead if you want to skip the microdash.	Youtube		1.33
5H (AA) > 5H > 5H > [4]6H > c.S > 6H > [4]6H WS > 6[H]	Corner	252	Everyone	[3] Medium	Tension Gain: ~37% Corner 5H combo on a jumping opponent. If you have trouble with the cS 6H 46h input you can replace it with 5H for 8 less damage.	Youtube		1.33
2H > [2]8H > AD > j.K > j.D	Not Corner	138	Everyone	[3] Medium	Tension Gain: ~17% Basic 2H combo, works on grounded or air hit. You want to hit them with dolphin when they're high up to be sure you get the full combo, so delay the [2]8H if you hit them grounded or low in the air.	Youtube		1.33
2H CH > [2]8H > dash 2S > 5H > [4]6H > microdash 2S > 5H > WS 6[H]	Midscreen (roundstart)	217	Everyone	[3] Medium	Wallbreak combo from roundstart for people who are not yet comfortable cancelling the dolphin. The microdash is only required to break the wall with 6[H]. As in real matches you will generally want to break the wall with 236D or a super, it is generally not needed. Preferrably, the 2H CH happens closer to May, as it makes the timing for dashing and following up with 2S easier. A more consistent pickup instead of 2S is 5K > 6H > [4]6H. Keep in mind that getting a charge from 6H requires you to charge optimally.			1.33
2H CH > [4]6S~P > microdash c.S > 2H > [4]6S~P > c.S > 5H > [4]6S~P > 2K > 6H > [4]6S WS 6[H]	Midscreen (roundstart)	258	Everyone	[4] Hard	2H CH combo that works from around roundstart range or closer. Does good damage and almost gets you 50 meter. you can sub the [4]6S~P > 2K > 6H > 46S ender portion for [4]6H > 2S > 5H for an easier time, but you lose a good amount of meter and a little damage for doing so.	Youtube		1.33
2H CH > [4]6S~P > microdash c.S > j.H > j.D > Airdash j.H > microdash c.S > 5H > [4]6H > WS 6[H]	Midscreen	263	Everyone	[3] Medium	Easier than above combo for less meter but slightly more damage. Make sure to be as close to the opponent as possible for the c.S > j.H pickup, so as to not whiff j.H. Depending on spacing to the wall, c.S > 5H > [4]6H has to be substituted for 5K > 6H > [4]6H/[2]8H/[4]6S.			1.33
2H CH > [4]6S~P > microdash c.S > 2H > [4]6S~P > c.S > 6H > [2]8H~P	Anywhere	203	Everyone	[3] Medium	2H CH combo that works anywhere on the screen and ends in oki nicely. Do this one if you cant get to the wall with the combo above.	Youtube		1.33
2H CH > [4]6S~K > j.D > airdash j.H > c.S > 5H > microdash c.S > delay 5H WS 6[H]	Corner	269	Everyone	[3] Medium	2H ch corner route using Split. Does good damage meterlessly and is fairly straight forward. Dont forget to delay the last 5H to get a groundbounce before wallsplatting, so you have enough time to break wall with 6[H]. This combo also works with [4]6S~P instead of [4]6S~K.	Youtube		1.33
2H CH > [4]6S~P > 5H > 5H > [4]6S~P > c.S > 6H > [4]6S~P > 2K > 6H > [4]6S WS 5[D]	Corner	261	Everyone	[4] Hard	this route does less damage then the split route, and is more difficult, but builds a lot more tension. on 0 starting tension you end up with 48% by the end (compared to 39% with the above split route), which is enough to kara super via a dolphin whiff cancel which gives you exactly 2% tension for starting it up. in practice, you can pretty much always do orca ender if you use this route, which does 277, adding 16 damage over the 5[D] ender version and 8 damage over the split version without a super.	Youtube		1.33
2H (CH) > dl.[4]6H > 236236S > c.S > 6H > [4]6H > WS 6[H]	Corner	324/349	Everyone	[3] Medium	Tension Gain: ~48% 50 Meter kill combo from a CH 2H in the corner. CH allows you to do a backhit whale without having to cross under, reducing the scaling on the whale and the rest of the combo. Hold the first [4]6H to make it easier to land.	Youtube		1.33

Aerial starters
Combo	Position	Damage	Works on	Difficulty	Notes	Video	Recipe	Ver
j.P (AA) > j.H > c.S > 6H > [4]6H > 2S > 5H > WS 6[H]	(Corner)	195	Everyone	[4] Hard	j.P air-to-air conversion in corner. Beats aerials in the corner and IAD. Do j.P very soon after the jump to be able to connect j.H.	Youtube		1.33
j.P (AA) > delay j.P > c.S > 6H > [2]8H	Not Corner	111	Everyone	[4] Hard	This combo only works if j.P hits very close to the opponent, such as when you IAD at them. Otherwise, you will not be in range to continue the combo with c.S. Delay j.P so the opponent is higher relative to you as you land. If this happens closer to the corner you continue after [2]8H with 5K > 6H for a wallsplat.			1.33
j.P (AA) > j.D > ADC > j.H > 5K > 6H > [2]8H > j.K > WS 6[H]	Midscreen	199	Everyone	[4] Hard	Anti air combo that Wallsplats from midscreen if you have not used your doublejump or airdash yet. May needs to still be rising from her jump during j.P, as otherwise j.D will not finish its startup before landing. Easier if j.P is a Counterhit.			1.33
j.K (AA) > j.D > j.D > (j.632146H)	Anywhere (Corner)	104 (202)	Everyone	[1] Very Easy	Tension Gain: ~6% Basic air-to-air combo. Need to hit j.K very high for this to work. If you end it in the corner, add Orca super for extra damage + wallbreak.	Youtube		1.33
j.K (AA) > j.D > dl.AD > j.K > j.D	Anywhere	115	Everyone	[2] Easy	Tension Gain: ~8% Simple j.K air to air combo. Timing of airdash can vary. Can super at the end for wallbreak if you reach the corner, anywhere else the first hit of Orca whiffs. If you can't reach the wall, consider dropping at the second j.K for better oki.	Youtube		1.33
j.K (AA) > AD > j.K > j.D > (j.632146H)	Anywhere (Midscreen-Corner)	82 (184)	Everyone	[2] Easy	Tension Gain: ~6% Pretty much universal air-to-air combo. Spacing dependent. Aim to hit them with the tip of j.K. Carries to corner from midscreen. Can super at the end if the opponent was carried to the corner, resulting in a wallbreak.	Youtube		1.33
j.H / j.S > 5K > 3K	Anywhere	90	Everyone	[1] Very Easy	Tension Gain: ~9% Simple air-to-ground combo with knockdown. 3K only whiffs if the aerial is max reach, at which range you can use [4]6S instead. Damage/tension is from j.H starter.	Youtube		1.33
j.2H > 2K > 3K	Anywhere	79	Everyone	[1] Very Easy	Tension Gain: ~10% Air-to-ground route that results in knockdown. Can cross up fairly easily.	Youtube		1.33
j.H (AA) > j.D > adc > j.H > c.S > 5H > [4]6H > 2S > 5h > WS 6[H]	Corner	228	Everyone	[3] Medium	Tension Gain: ~30% Meterless air-to-air j.H corner wallbreak combo. Do second j.H early to be able to land and get c.S. Video is outdated and does 6H instead of 5H, which immediately wallsplats.	Youtube		1.33
j.D (CH) > Dash > c.S > 5H > [4]6H > Walk > c.S > 5H > [4]6H > 6[H]	Midscreen-Corner	222	Everyone	[3] Medium	Tension Gain: ~35% Converts an air-to-air counterhit j.D into a wallbreak from the opponent's starting position. Easier to execute when near the corner, as the dashing is either not required at all, or much easier.	Youtube		1.33

5D/2D starters
Combo	Position	Damage	Works on	Difficulty	Notes	Video	Recipe	Ver
5[D]8 > j.H > j.D > AD > j.H > j.H	Anywhere	204	Everyone	[1] Very Easy	Tension Gain: ~20% Beginner dust combo.	Youtube		1.33
5[D]8 > j.H > j.D > j.K > j.H > j.D > j.P > j.P	Anywhere	241	Everyone	[2] Easy	Tension Gain: ~20% Standard 5[D] homing jump combo. Does great damage for a 5[D] combo compared to the rest of the cast. Doesnt reqiuire any jc or ad thanks to j.D's upwards movement, making it very easy to dial in. Besides on Chipp, Jack-O, Happy Chaos, Testament and Sin, you can change the 2 j.P ender for 2 j.K instead for a slight increase in damage.	Youtube		1.33
5[D]8 > j.D > j.H > delay j.H > j.K > j.D > j.K > j.K	Anywhere	243	Everyone	[3] Medium	Optimal 5[D] homing jump combo. Universal on all characters, but a good bit harder to pull off for minimal or no gain. Usually not really worth doing over the stock combo unless the extra delay time matters (such as on Nago Bloodrage punishes), and even there its usually a stretch. Mostly here for completions sake!	Youtube		1.33
CH 2D > [2]8H > dash 5K > 6H > [2]8H (> [2]8H > ad j.K WS 6[H]	Midscreen	129 (183)	Everyone	[3] Medium	Stable conversion from 2D frametraps. Will work even from FD'ed c.S > 2D frametrap. In many cases you can route dash c.S instead for more damage, especially closer to the wall, but that wont work from c.S frametraps at many spacings. If the [2]8H hits them when they are in the corner you can use j.K to cause a splat at most spacings, but dropping for [2]8H oki is fine.	Youtube		1.33
2D > [2]8H > j.D > Airdash j.H > c.S > 5H > [4]6H > WS 6[H]	Corner	206 (209 CH)	Everyone	[3] Medium	Unless you start this combo with a CH it is only usable when 2D was used point blank, as j.D will whiff otherwise. Mostly, this will be the case on an empty jump in. 2D can be substituted for the faster and less risky 2K (175 damage).			1.33
2D > [2]8H > 5H > [4]6S~P > c.S > 6H > [4]6H > WS 6[H]	Corner	198	Everyone	[3] Medium	Tension Gain: ~35% You need to be charging before inputting the 2D to get a charge in time. c.S > 6H can be substituted with c.S > 5H.			1.33
2D (CH) > [4]6H > c.S > 6H > [4]6H > c.S > 5H > WS 6[H]	Corner	194	Everyone	[3] Medium	Tension Gain: ~40% 2D CH corner route. Hard to confirm.	Youtube		1.33
2D (CH) > [4]6H > j.H > j.D > delay 9.jc j.D > j.H > WS 6[H]	Corner	210	Everyone	[4] Hard	Tension Gain: ~40% Optimal damage wise, worse meter wise. Also be careful of wall damage breaking the combo. You need to delay the jc slightly to gain enough height for j.H to connect.	Youtube		1.33

Throw and 623K starters
Combo	Position	Damage	Works on	Difficulty	Notes	Video	Recipe	Ver
623K > 2S > [4]6S	Anywhere	70	Everyone	[2] Easy	Tension Gain: ~18% Command grab combo from anywhere. Slightly less damage than 6H OTG, but sends opponent much further.	Youtube		1.33
623K > (microdash) c.S > 6H > [4]6S~P > dash c.S > 5H > [4]6S WS 6[H]	Corner	153	Everyone	[3] Medium	Tension Gain: ~38% Meterless wallbreak combo. You might want to microdash after OHK depending on spcaing, but make sure to not dash for too long, or you may sideswap.	Youtube		1.33
623K > [2]8H > (microdash) c.S > 2H > [4]6S~P > 5P > WS 6[H]	Corner	135	Everyone	[4] Hard	OHK combo that is burstsafe after [2]8H and 5P. Make sure to hold downback after [2]8H briefly before doing (microdash) c.S, as well as after 5P.	Youtube		1.33
623K > (microdash) 2H > 236236S > c.S > 5H > [4]6H > WS 236236S	Corner	207	Everyone	[4] Hard	Tension Gain: ~ -99% Meter dump from command grab at corner with good RISC scaling. Make sure you input the motions for the second 236236S before you touch the ground so you can immediately perform it upon touching the ground, otherwise the whale will likely barely not wall break in time. If the wall splats early, just finish with [4]6H or 236236S.	Youtube		1.33
6D or 4D > RRC > 2H > [2]8H > 5H > [4]6H > WS 6H	Corner	169	Everyone	[2] Easy	Tension Gain: ~ -40% Easy corner throw wallbreak combo. Throw opponent away from corner (4D when opponent is in corner or 6D when May is in corner) and RC immediately.	Youtube		1.33
6D or 4D > RRC~c.S > c.S > 5H > [4]6H > 5H > WS 6H	Corner	173	Everyone	[4] Hard	Tension Gain: ~ -40% Fast Red RC throw wallbreak combo. May has to RRC as early as possible or the first c.S will whiff. Throw opponent towards corner.	Youtube		1.33
6D or 4D > RRC > 6[H] > [4]6S~P > c.S > 5H > [4]6H > WS 6[H]	Corner	185	Everyone	[4] Hard	This combo works with back throw as well as forward throw. However, the RRC timing varies. For backthrow you need to RRC as soon as possible. For forward throw you need to delay RRC a fair bit. Adding a microdash before [4]6H can help make this combo more consistent.			1.33
j.6D > RRC > c.S > 2H > [4]6H > c.S > 5H > WS 5[D]	Corner	171	Everyone	[3] Medium	Tension Gain: ~ -40% Air throw wallbreak combo. Throw opponent towards corner.			1.33
6D or 4D > RRC > j.D > IAD j.H > 5K > 6H > [4]6S > WS 6[H]	Midscreen	179	Everyone	[4] Hard	This combo works best with a very delayed RRC after forward throw.			1.33
6D > 66PRC > 2H > [2]8H > IAD j.H > 5K > 6H > [4]6S > WS 6[H]	Midscreen	172	Everyone	[4] Hard	Delay the PRC so you have time to turn around and get [2]8H into the correct direction.			1.33
623K > 2S > 236D > 2H > [2]8H > WS 6[H]	Midscreen	121	Everyone	[2] Easy	Easy midscreen conversion that leads to a wallbreak. Given the 623K and Wild Assault scaling it does not matter much what you do after Wild assault. c.S > 5H > [4]6H is an alternative after Wild Assault.			1.33
623K > 66RRC~6[H] > [4]6S~P > 5H > [4]6H > 2S > 5H > WS 6[H]	Corner	202	Everyone	[4] Hard	This combo also works a decent bit away from the wall, as long as you can connect 5H after [4]6S~P. However, 6[H] can not be used to break the wall if the opponent splats low.			1.33
623K > 66RRC~6[H] > [4]6H > Dash > c.S > 5H > [4]6H > 2S > 5H > WS 6[H]	Midscreen	194	Everyone	[4] Hard	The closer the opponent is to the corner the easier it is to get the c.S after dashing. If c.S is not a possibility, 5K > 6H > [4]6H is a much less tight route for 187 damage.			1.33
623K > 66RRC~6[H] > [4]6S~P > (microdash) 2K > 6H > [2]8H > 5K > WS 6H	Midscreen	197	Everyone	[5] Very Hard	Difficult conversion from 623K that maximizes damage. Instead of a microdash it is possible to delay cancelling the dolphin to get into 2k range.			1.33

[4]6S and [4]6H starters
Combo	Position	Damage	Works on	Difficulty	Notes	Video	Recipe	Ver
[4]6S (CH) > 3K	Anywhere	60	Everyone	[2] Easy	Tension Gain: ~12% Counterhit combo. Just mash 3K after confirming the counterhit. Gives a close soft knockdown, but less damage than the alternatives.	Youtube		1.33
[4]6S (CH) > Dash > 6D or 4D	Anywhere	95	Everyone	[3] Medium	Tension Gain: ~19% Counterhit combo. Press and hold the dash button when May's feet touch the ground after hopping off Mr. Dolphin until just inside throw range. This combo allows May to continue pressure with her after throw setups. Practice this combo in training mode by setting the counterattack settings to jump after hit, and stagger recovery to fast.	Youtube		1.33
[4]6S (CH) > Dash > 623K > (microdash) 5P > 6H > [2]8H	Midscreen		Everyone except AN (some require a microdash 5P, some only work without the microdash)	[4] Hard	Counterhit combo. Press and hold the dash button when May's feet touch the ground after hopping off Mr. Dolphin until just inside throw range. This can be pretty difficult depending on spacing, but it is theoretically impossible for the opponent to escape the stagger state in time to dodge this. Practice this combo in training mode by setting the counterattack settings to jump after hit, and stagger recovery to fast. Anji has cursed hurtboxes, so 5P doesnt work. You can do microdash 2K vs him instead, but this is a lot harder.	Youtube		1.33
[4]6S CH > 623K > c.S > 5H > 2S > 5H > 2S > 2H > [4]6S~P WS 5[D]	Corner	155	Everyone	[3] Medium				1.33
[4]6H (CH) > Dash > c.S > 2H > [2]8H > IAD > j.K > j.D	Anywhere	169	Everyone	[3] Medium	Tension Gain: ~30% Counterhit combo. Press and hold the dash button when May's feet touch the ground after hopping off Mr. Dolphin until in range of c.S. This combo pushes the opponent very far (into the corner from starting position), so it's useful to gain a good position from mid-screen.	Youtube		1.33
[4]6H (CH) > Dash > 623K > [5H]x2 > [4]6H > WS 6[H]	Corner	180	Everyone	[3] Medium	Tension Gain: ~53% Meterless wallbreak counterhit combo. Can also work from [4]6S counterhit, but it's possible for the opponent to escape stagger quickly enough to avoid the OHK follow-up using backdash.	Youtube		1.33

RC Combos
Combo	Position	Damage	Works on	Difficulty	Notes	Video	Recipe	Ver
[4]6S / 3K / 6K / 5D > 66RRC > c.S > jc.9 j.H > j.D > AD j.H, c.S > 6H > [4]6H	Midscreen	238/242/225/187	Everyone	[3] Medium	Go to midscreen route. Will also work off of button > dolphin combo starters. Carries nicely, good damage, works off of many starters. You can dash into your opponent a bit after the RRC before doing c.S to carry slightly further. on 5D this time is a bit shorter then others due to its higher launch, but it should not be a big issue.	Youtube		1.33
[4]6S 66RRC~c.S > 2H > [2]8H > airdash j.H > (microdash) 5K > 6H > [[2]8H > j.D WS 6.H] / [whiff [4]6S > 5P]	Midscreen	214/212	Everyone	[3] Medium	FRRC midscreen route. Drops if you had more then 1 button before, so usually done from a dolphin punish. Cheaper on the meter then an RRC route, so it can allow you super wallbreaks where you normally wouldn't be able to get them, at the cost of execution, wall carry, and damage. Otherwise identical to the standard midscreen c.S combo, so refer to the c.S starter version in the S starters section for details.	Youtube		1.33
3K > 88RRC~j.H > j.D > AD j.H > (microdash) 5K > 6H > [2]8H > j.D WS 6H	Midscreen	236	Everyone	[3] Medium	3K FRRC route. 88FRRC j.H is commonly done as a mixup on a blocked 3K, but you dont really have the time to confirm 3K landing or not, so this route will pick up on those. Also of course an option on close range 3K punishes. Otherwise identical to the standard midscreen c.S combo, so refer to the c.S starter version in the S starters section for details.	Youtube		1.33
623K(1) > 66RRC~[6]H > [4]6H > dash c.S > 6H > [4]6H > 2S > 5H WS 6[H]	Midscreen	217	Everyone	[3] Medium	Harder, More damaging OHK FRRC route. Does not have quite as much carry, but in exchange does a lot more damage. Works from RS distance at absolute maximum, and is very hard there. The combo becomes a lot easier if you're a bit closer to the wall.	Youtube		1.33
(Starter) > RRC > 6[H] > [4]6S~P > c.S > 6H > [4]6S~P > c.S > 5H > [4]6S WS > 6[H]	Corner	239 ([4]6S starter)	Everyone	[3] Medium	Corner routing if they dont have burst. Works off of every option in your kit as a starter (with some starters, like our throws, doing more wall damage, causing earlier splats), but will frequently be done off of the same starters as listed on the midscreen route. You may want to do 88 or 22 drifts depending on starter.	Youtube		1.33
(Starter) > 88RRC > (md) c.S > 2H > slight delay [4]6H > c.S > 5H > [4]6H WS > 6[H]	Corner	226 ([4]6S starter)	Everyone	[3] Medium	Burst safer combo routing. 88RRC > c.S > 2H is completely burst safe (apart from any microdashes before c.S you may need, but bursting that is extremely hard to time). [4]6H is burstable before it lands, but you can block burst after it hits. c.S and 5H leave the opponent too high for burst to hit you. the last [4]6H is burstable both before and after it lands. If your opponent bursts on the 2H, do [4]6S instead of [4]6H for a nice c.S pickup.	Youtube		1.33
(Starter) > 5K > dc > 66BRC > c.S > 6[H] > [4]6H, c.S > 6[H] > [4]6H WS > 6[H]	Corner	245 (no additional starter)	Everyone	[3] Medium	Neat BRC routing off of 5K. Frequently done to extend combos that would otherwise end in 5k > 3K if you want a wallbreak, such as ch combos that go into a grounded [4]6H hit like 5H or 2S. BRC allows the c.S to combo into the 6[H]. Combo listed assumes raw 5K. If your starter had 1 hit before the 5K, the combo splats on the hit before the second [4]6H. Consider swapping the 6H for 5H to allow a 6[H] wallbreak for a bit more damage. on 2 hits it splats on the first [4]6H, so you can 6[H] to wallbreak here.	Youtube		1.33

Wild Assault Combos
Combo	Position	Damage	Works on	Difficulty	Notes	Video	Recipe	Ver
2S/f.S/5H/6H > 236D > delay 2H > delay [2]8H > ad > j.K > 5K > 6H WS [4]6S~P > 5[D]	Midscreen (roundstart)	150	Everyone	[3] Medium	Roundstart WA combo. Works off of any level 2 or higher move on normal hit, but can't really be confirmed into from a lvl 2. Delays on 2H and [2]8H can vary based on the opponent, but every character needs at least some delay.	Youtube		1.33
2S/f.S/5H/6H CH > 236[D] > 9jc j.S > j.H > j.D > ad j.H > c.S WS 6[H]	Midscreen (roundstart)	192	Everyone	[2] Easy	Roundstart Charged WA combo. Works off of any level 2 or higher move on Counter Hit. You can OS between [4]6S and charged WA by inputting [4]236S~[D]. The counterhit slowdown should eat the S input and give you the charged wild assault instead. Combo is fairly straightforward otherwise.	Youtube		1.33
2S > 236D > 2H > [2]8H > 5H > [4]6S WS 6[H]	Corner	154	Everyone	[2] Easy	Corner WA combo. Works off of any level 2 or higher move on normal hit. Wild Assault does a lot of wall damage, making your routes a lot shorter.	Youtube		1.33
2S CH > 236[D] > 5H > c.S > 5H > 2S > 5H > [4]6S WS 6[H]	Corner	197	Everyone	[2] Easy	Corner WA combo. Works off of any level 2 or higher move on counterhit. Fairly straightforward routing.	Youtube		1.33
2P/5P > [2]8H > 236D > 9jc j.K > j.D > j.P > j.P > c.S > 6H > [4]6S~P WS 5[D]	Corner to Corner	127 (5P starter))	Everyone	[4] Hard	Coast to coast WA combo. Works off of most attacks you can cancel into [2]8H. Very useful conversion from mash outs. In order to get this with 5P, you need to have a downcharge, and do the motion for 28H, but press P as you release down and move upwards to do [2]8H.	Youtube		1.33
2S CH > 236[D] > 9jc j.S > j.H > j.D 9jc delay j.H > j.D > j.K > 5K > 6H > 46S WS 6[H]	Corner to Corner	192	Everyone	[3] Medium	Coast to coast WA combo. Works off of any level 2 or higher move on counterhit. The delay after the jump cancel after j.D is a little longer then you might expect at first.	Youtube		1.33

Before looking at the combos in this next section, please read the Backhit Dolphin section of the combo theory.

Backhit [4]6S Combos
Combo	Position	Damage	Works on	Difficulty	Notes	Video	Recipe	Ver
c.S > 2H > delay [4]6S > c.S > 6H > [2]8H > 2H > [4]6S WS 6[H]	Back to the corner	251	See theory section	[5] Very Hard	c.S punish with back to the corner. Best meterless routing on the characters it works on, but has a very difficult manual timing to hit a 2f window on those characters where it does work.	Youtube		1.33
j.H > md c.S > 2H > delay [4]6S > 2K > [2]8H	Midscreen	154	See theory section	[5] Very Hard	Conversion from button > c.S > 2H. Once again character dependant, but is felt to be an easier delay then a lesser scaled route. Sets up for nice okizeme, but depending on your screen postion might put you closer to the wall then you might like.	Youtube		1.33
623K > md c.S > 2H > delay [4]6S > 2K > [2]8H > [4]6S WS 6[H]	Corner	145	See theory section	[5] Very Hard	Very, very difficult conversion from OHK that does not care about the current health of the wall. While on high wall health the standard routes do more damage, this route works no matter what health the wall is at, making it often the best route you could go for meterlessly. You need a very short microdash c.S in order to not just whiff, and then a manually timed delay on the [4]6S. Do not delay 2H, because that will make the opponent fly too far back preventing you from landing the wall stick even if you do manage to connect the backhit.	Youtube		1.33

Combo Theory

Starters

Initial Proration, Combo Decay and RISC Loss will be included with every starter. Clink on their links to learn more about what these values mean for your combo. Bear in mind these apply as starters only!
Small Counter-Hit

5P and 2P80% Proration, 10 Decay, 1500 RISC Loss

5P is your fastest normal, meaning its your go to choice for mashing out of pressure. On normal hit, you want to end in 3K. Since 5P is a self-gatling move, you can usually mash it one or two more times to make the hitconfirm easier. On Counterhit it is possible to link into c.S or 2K if you happened to have dash momentum and were close, but this is pretty difficult. It's completely acceptable to confirm these into 3K as well.

2P has identical routing to 5P, except that it's better to gatling into 5P rather then self-gatling 2P because 2P has less range then 5P does, meaning you might lose the confirm if you're planning to mash more.

5K90% Proration, 5 Decay, 1000 RISC Loss

5K is an excellent poke for May, being absurdly fast for its range. At this range, the only non counterhit meterless confirm you have is 3K, which is fairly difficult to do, and really bad if blocked. Most commonly you will gatling 5K into 6H to wishconfirm a 5K ch. 5K ch > 6H gives you a chance to go into either [4]6S > RRC or confirm into Wild Assault (236D).

Without a CH > 6H its usually not really worth it to try and RRC to continue the combo, but it'll work with a forwards drift at all ranges in case you can use it to score a kill.

2K70% Proration, 10 Decay, 1000 RISC Loss

2K is May's fastest low and a fast poke in neutral, useful up close, against high speed characters or to check certain movement options like Fukyo. 2K > 2D connects at most ranges, going straight into one of May's many okizeme setups midscreen or in the corner. Additionally, In the corner you can frequently combo into 28H and convert into a wallbreak. 2K is too short to charge on from its own, but if you're doing something like an empty jump > 2K you can combo into 28H instead for a nicer meterless full conversion with the opponent cornered. At tip range, where 2D would whiff, you can gatling into 3K instead.

On Counterhit, you can land 6H, but this is only really useful if you have 50 meter or 50 burst and really want to convert into a break, given the high proration a 2K starter applies to your combo. It's also not confirmable, so you have to just send it, which can lead to people mashing out of the 8F gap on block fairly reliably.

6K80% Proration, 10 Decay, 1000 RISC Loss

6K is May's unique standing overhead. In season 3, it was changed to be a lot slower startup wise, but it does now meterlessly combo into 2K > 2D or 2K > 28H on normal hit at most ranges, and 2K > 3K at all ranges. It unfortunately doesn't have any different pickups on Counter Hit.

3K90% Proration, 10 Decay, 1000 RISC Loss

3K is a forwards advancing low. It's very unsafe on block, and does not combo on normal hit or counter hit without meter, giving you an SKD instead. As such, its best used as a cheeky callout with meter on people running at you or backwalking, or as a confirm tool off of P/K normals.

Medium Counter-Hit

c.S100% Proration, 5 Decay, 1000 RISC Loss

c.S is May's best starter by some distance. Go to hitconfirm is 2H to launch the opponent into [2]8H midscreen or [4]6H in the corner. From a CH, you can do c.S > 2H > [4]6S~P > c.S into several good routes that can wallbreak from midscreen, or massive damage in the corner.

f.S90% Proration, 5 Decay, 1000 RISC Loss

f.S is a low risk low reward poke for May. On normal hit, you can combo into [4]6S hit at most ranges, but it may fail to combo at tip range. On CH, you can go into 236[D] if you have the burst to spare, but without you really cant get much more then [4]6S at the range you are likely to use it. If you land one at medium range you may be able to combo 5K > 3K after the [4]6S. On AA CH you may be able to do a [4]6S P whiff > 2K pickup depending on exact range and height of your opponent, but these can range from very difficult to impossible.

2S90% Proration, 5 Decay, 1000 RISC Loss

2S is very similar to f.S, except that [4]6S will combo no matter what range you hit it at if done at fastest timing. On CH the same 236[D] confirm will work, and due to the range you'll usually be using 2S, you are more likely to be able to combo 5K > 3K after [4]6S lands. If you're somehow able to land an AA CH 2S, you can pretty much always go into [4]6S~P > c.S or 2K pickup. At most ranges you can also directly go into 2H and work from there.

j.S80% Proration, 10 Decay, 1000 RISC Loss

j.S on normal hit is best comboed into c.S/2K > 2D depending on your momentum and spacing. While from IAD c.S > 2H does connect if you microdash before c.S, you cannot get much of a combo afterwards as [2]8H wont connect. You can do a raw [2]8H, but its difficult to charge in time and to hitconfirm. On CH, you can go straight into 2H > [2]8H midscreen or 2H > [4]6H if close enough to the corner on most hits with momentum. On some corner spacings there are interesting routes with [4]6S > 2K pickup over [4]6H > pickup for slightly more damage. If you're unsure of your spacing its valid to simply play it safe with something like 5K > 3K for both normal and CH. On air hit, most commonly you gatling into j.D and IAD after to continue the combo or set up for okizeme, but at some heights and spacings you can land and pick up with c.S instead to get a combo that leads into nicer okizeme. on CH being able to land > c.S is near guaranteed.

j.H80% Proration, 10 Decay, 1000 RISC Loss

j.H is similar to j.S in a lot of ways, but due to its increased attack level you can connect md c.S > 2H a little more leniently then on j.S. On CH its mostly identical to j.S routing wise.

j.D80% Proration, 10 Decay, 1000 RISC Loss

j.D is an interesting starter for May. Usually you will land it on people in the air. Routing here depends on exact height and air options, sometimes you can do a second j.D before you have to IAD to keep the combo rolling. on air CH you can land and c.S pickup. If you manage to hit a grounded opponent with j.D they get launched fairly high up. on normal hit you usually have to burn your air dash or double jump straight away to combo, but on CH you can usually get land > c.S just as in the air route.

j.2H80% Proration, 10 Decay, 1000 RISC Loss

j.2H will always go into 2K > 2D on any crouching opponent that gets hit by it. If your opponent gets hit standing somehow, 2K may not be able to combo depending on how high up you hit it. On certain setups where j.2H hits meaty, you can go into c.S > 2D or md c.S > 2H on both sameside and crossup. On CH you have a lot of time to confirm c.S > 2H and full combo.

Large Counter-Hit

2D90% Proration, 10 Decay, 1000 RISC Loss

On normal hit 2D, its usually fine to take the knockdown. You can extend with [2]8H midscreen for more carry before taking oki, or in the corner to secure a wallbreak. On CH, you extend with 28H as well, but the launch after means you can extend. Midscreen you can dash and pickup with 5K, or if you hit it from further away (such as after an FD'ed c.S) you can airdash and whiff j.P to pick up with c.S. On a cornered opponent, you can run up c.S, or just 5K after [2]8H and go from there.

5H90% Proration, 5 Decay, 1000 RISC Loss

5H on normal hit only combos into [4]6S. On counterhit, you can always route into [4]6H > 5K > 3K. If you're closer to the opponent, you can instead do [4]6S~P > 2H > [2]8H and route from there.

6H90% Proration, 5 Decay, 1000 RISC Loss

6H is pretty much identical to 5H as a starter. [4]6S on normal hit, [46]H or [4]6S~P on counterhit.

6H90% Proration, 5 Decay, 1000 RISC Loss

6[H] is a very rare starter. Up close midscreen or in the corner it'll always go into [2]8H for oki. You can also [4]6S~P and get 5K midscreen depending on how close you are. In the corner you can get [2]8H, [4]6H, [4]6S~P into 5K or c.S, pretty much whatever you'd like. On CH you can [4]6S~P into c.S reliably midscreen at closer ranges, or go into [2]8H and pick up on longer ranges. In the corner, you're pretty much guaranteed to get a [4]6S~P > c.S pickup.

2H90% Proration, 5 Decay, 1000 RISC Loss

2H launches on normal hit. Usually your go to option is [2]8H into a pickup like AD j.H, but on very high air hits you can instead [4]6S~P into a 2K or c.S pickup. on CH, you can get this pickup from grounded opponents as well, and c.S is the go to.

Other

5D80% Proration, 5 Decay, 3000 RISC Loss

5D gets May nothing on hit or ch outside of max risc situations. With meter, its a decent starter to close out a round. commonly picked up into c.S midscreen or on frrc, or 6[H] in corner.

5D100% Proration, 0 Decay, 1500 RISC Loss

5[D] is a great starter for May. May's 5D has really good range, which is why you sometimes see it used as a very, very high risk, high reward counterpoke. Its also very useful as a punish on certain supers or other big openings like Nago's Bloodrage pop on whiff.

[4]6S80% Proration, 5 Decay, 1000 RISC Loss

While you don't get anything meterlessly off of [4]6S, on counterhit it causes the opponent to Stagger, which allows you to directly combo into Overhead Kiss (623K), even at fastest escape timing if you time your dash and Overhead Kiss properly. Additionally, Overhead Kiss has a weird property when preformed this way. It uniquely doesn't increase Combo Decay at all, causing the opponent to stay closer to May, and with less gravity scaling then on a raw Overhead Kiss. These properties allow May to get a strong meterless pickup of (microdash) 5P > 6H > [2]8H for a hard knockdown midscreen. If close enough to the wall, You can even continue with 5K after the [2]8H to wall splat and cause a wallbreak.

Additionally, with 50 meter any [4]6S hit as a poke/punish or from a standard button > [4]6S conversion turns into a wallbreak anywhere on screen with quite impressive damage. Midscreen your usual route is RRC > c.S > j.C > air normal pickup of choice, and in the corner you can get a 6[H] conversion.

[4]6H80% Proration, 10 Decay, 2000 RISC Loss

[4]6H on normal hit combos into 5K > 3K for some decent oki. If you manage to counterhit your opponent, You can easily get OHK on them for the same routes as on [4]6S CH, or even c.S/2H.

214P / 214K80% Proration, 10 Decay, 1000 RISC Loss

Ball hits usually allow you to combo into c.S > 2D or 2K > 2D to reset into another ball for oki or do any other 2D oki you'd like. You can get c.S > 2H as well, but this will not allow you any pickups besides [4]6S, which can only continue a combo if you're at or very close to the wall.

6D or 4D50% Proration, 25 Decay, 2500 RISC Loss

May's ground throw leads into several scary mixups both midscreen and in the corner, so its usually not worth RRC'ing it unless your next combo will kill. There the pickups are pretty much the same as on most RRC routes. c.S midscreen or on FRRC, 6[H] in corner if possible.

623K50% Proration, 25 Decay, 2500 RISC Loss

Overhead Kiss midscreen does not lead to much of a combo without meter. Your best option for pure damage is usually 2S > [4]6S, which gives up oki completely, and puts your opponent near fullscreen away from you. There are plenty of mixups and safejumps for OHK midscreen and in the corner though. In the corner you get a nice launch you can pick up on with c.S and route pretty much as you'd like from there. With meter midscreen becomes a lot more interesting, but these routes should only really be done if the extensions will kill or if you really want a wallbreak.

j.6D or j.4D50% Proration, 25 Decay, 2500 RISC Loss

Air Throw leads to weaker okizeme then most other things May can do, so its more of a candidate for RRC then her other throws. however, May's air throw forces the opponent down, making it fairly difficult to combo even with RRC.

632146H100% Proration, 25 Decay, 1000x2 RISC Loss

Orca > RRC can lead to ridiculously high damage combos in the corner, since you have time to swap sides if needed and then charge a [6]H before the second hit comes down, giving you some really high damage hits all back to back. Pretty neat from a reversal with yourself in the corner.

Launchers

2H

2H is May's preferred launcher in most situations. It sets up for May's best meterless combo routes both midscreen and in the corner, but it comes with some limitations. It has poor range, and is absolutely terrible on whiff framedata wise. It's launch also needs to be combo'ed into either [2]8H or [4]6H to fully convert, but these fail to combo on more then 2 hit scaling, unless you have a lot of momentum from something like WA. At certain spacings you can cause a comboable tumble into the corner with [4]6S on this amount of scaling instead though. It's also liable to whiff on larger amounts of grounded scaling if one part has more pushback then normal, such as on jumpin routes like an IAD j.H starter. You can sometimes solve this with a microdash before c.S, but that is not always possible. Midscreen you need dash momentum to consistently combo as well. On c.S, for instance, not having dash momentum makes the usual followup [2]8H hit the opponent in different ways depending on their specific hurtboxes. As an example, On Ky it will hit downwards, meaning you can't pick up with an AD j.H. On Happy Chaos, not having dash momentum means [2]8H can't connect at all on this route.

28H

[2]8H (and to some lesser extent [2]8S) are good launchers off of May's lows like 2K and 2D. While midscreen the conversions are limited unless you are extremely close and/or land 2D/[2]8H as a counterhit, In the corner you can pick up after pretty easily with a normal like 5H for a great combo for a low starter.

2D

While 2D was mentioned in the previous section on [2]8 dolphins, this section is here specifically to mention that 2D CH combos very well into [2]8H midscreen, and can combo into [4]6H in the corner for high damage.

6P

May's 6P also launches the opponent, but its use in combos is pretty limited due to the high horizontal distance and low height it launches the opponent at, making WA the only viable followup for a conversion, and only low scaling as well. 6P CH on the other hand combos into [2]8H midscreen and corner, and into [4]6H in the corner, provided you are able to charge in time (usually possible when done as a frametrap from P or K normals)

6[H]

6[H] also launches, but doesn't natively combo from any of May's normals. The only real way to use it as an initial launcher is off of a BRC, such as 5K dash cancel~brc c.S 6[H].

236[D]

Charged Orange Wild Assault launches opponents on hit. It only really works on certain counterhits since its pretty slow startup wise, and May usually has better ways to convert those that also don't cost 50 burst. However, it is important to note that it is a very useful extension on the hits where May can't otherwise convert well, like 2S/f.S chs at poke range, 5H counterhits on extended hurtboxes, or 6H counterhits on far ranges like from 5K pressure.

Pickups & Fillers

Midscreen

2H > [2]8H

Airdash j.HThe go-to pickup

The main conversion route from a low scaling 2H 28H, If it gets the opponent to the corner. There you can pick up with c.S or 5K and route into a solid corner pickup.

FDC "Faultless Defense Cancel", by buffering and holding 2 attack inputs, it automatically cancels an airdash into an air normal and instantly begins Faultless Defense. This cancels the airdash to land faster, without performing an attack. Note that only pressing the FD macro isn't sufficient; the player must press either two attack buttons or an attack button and the FD macro together. j.KIdeal for extra carry or if you can't reach the wall

A very strong alternative conversion path. FDC "Faultless Defense Cancel", by buffering and holding 2 attack inputs, it automatically cancels an airdash into an air normal and instantly begins Faultless Defense. This cancels the airdash to land faster, without performing an attack. Note that only pressing the FD macro isn't sufficient; the player must press either two attack buttons or an attack button and the FD macro together. j.K, if properly executed, will allow you to pick up with c.S at any spacing on the map. This means you get some additional carry over AD j.H, allowing you to break wall from slightly further away, or get a solid hard knock down via 6H > [2]8H if neither route allows you to reach the corner. These routes will do slightly lower damage then AD j.H routes if you're at a spacing where both work, and FDC j.K itself is quite difficult to execute, but for May's looking to get the most out of their routing, it's a great option to add to your arsenal.

Airdash j.KUseful for setting up a safejump, or on specific scaling

On most routes this is just a way to set up a safejump if you can't get a j.H conversion, with no real pickup potential after (see The okizeme page for details), but on WA routes specifically it can sometimes be difficult to get a j.H because of added gravity on some starters, but j.K is a solid option to replace it to still get a 5K pickup in corner when on this amount of scaling.

Just Drop It

Very occasionally, your spacing will be such that its better to not go for any extension and take the hard knock down on [2]8H. It can also be good to go for if you dont trust/haven't learnt your FDC j.K conversions, or if you want to preform a specific type of okizeme your opponent has a hard time challenging that works best off of a [2]8H hit like this.

Air hit c.S

Air RoutingLots of carry!

Given the jump cancel on c.S, routing into the air is a common route to go down. Best possible pickup route depends on spacing. Closer to the wall, j.D AD j.H is preferred, but further out j.H > j.D AD j.H does more damage and has easier followup into land 5K. It is also possible to j.D > FDC "Faultless Defense Cancel", by buffering and holding 2 attack inputs, it automatically cancels an airdash into an air normal and instantly begins Faultless Defense. This cancels the airdash to land faster, without performing an attack. Note that only pressing the FD macro isn't sufficient; the player must press either two attack buttons or an attack button and the FD macro together. j.K, but this is usually not incredibly useful, since the other options have massive carry as is, for more damage.

6H > [4]6S~PHigh damage grounded route

Best grounded filler May has. If your starter was air hit c.S or CH c.S > 2H > 46S~P, you can go straight into another rep of c.S > 6H, on more scaling, such as on RRC routes, or if you want to play it safe, you should do 5K/2K > 6H > 28H. If you manage to get near or reach corner and 28H didnt splat, you can usually land 5K or delay j.D to cause a splat.

5HIncredible carry and a wallbounce

5H has a huge amount of knockback on air hit, and causes a wallbounce, meaning you can use this one move to carry the opponent very far, and pick up off of the wallbounce. Generally speaking, if the wall is on screen, air hit 5H will cause a bounce. Common options to chase the opponent are [4]6S or [4]6H.

Other

236236SPotential large damage for meter

Off of c.S 2H, and any better launches like CH 2H, it's possible to kara dolphin ([4]6S~236236P/K~S) into a whale after passing under the opponent. See more about this in the Backhit Whale theory section.

2K/5KPickup for higher scaled routes

Air hit 2K/5K will allow you to follow up with 6H into a special, usually 28H midscreen, but occasionally you will be able to route [4]6S~P or wont be able to route anything other then [4]6S. 5K has more range then 2K, but 5K also has a lot more blowback, meaning that on tip range hits on higher scaling (where you're most likely to go for it) it may not allow 6H to connect. 2K air hits lack much blowback, sort of floating them up from where they are, meaning 6H will pretty much always connect, gravity scaling willing. If 5K 6H doesnt work, try 2K 6H. If gravity is too high you can try to directly route 2K > [2]8H, but this can be difficult to do from a dash. Use the dash macro and hold it, and then hold 2 in order to start charging while running for an easier time.

Corner

c.S

6H > [4]6S~PGo to confirm

May's best filler in most situations. In or near corner will often go right back into another c.S to repeat this or use a different filler to set up for a nicer wallbreak.

5H > ([4]6S~P)Alternative with lower wall damage

Slightly less damage then the above, but does less walldamage too. Depending on exact route this can allow for a longer combo or better wallsplat then the above. Since 5H wall bounces on its own and has relatively low recovery, it can sometimes be preferable to not cancel and instead pick up off of the wallbounce in a different way, such as with 2S or a microdash c.S

5H/6H > [4]6HEasier option, at cost.

Generally worse then the above, because of [4]6H having increased riscloss and increased combo decay, scaling both damage and gravity faster then other options, but is a lot easier and can work where 46S~P routing drops.

Air RoutingSometimes higher damage, always lower meter gain

While usually not worth it in corner (see routing tension vs damage section), you can often air route on a c.S early in combos, usually going into j.H or j.D, then trying for as many j.D's as you can get, while trying to end in a falling j.H for a good wallbreak setup.

Other moves

5HOccasionally better then c.S

5H on its own is sometimes the better pickup, since it does higher damage and doesn't have a proximity range. You can go into everything mentioned for it in the c.S section, but a notable option not possible on most c.S > 5H pickups is double 5H. In certain low scaling routes, you can do another 5H off of the wallbounce of the first one, which can be useful for eliminating lower damage filler from routes if needed.

2S > 5HStable pickup from range

2S > 5H is a stable pickup sequence, seeing use if your filler causes a decent wallbounce but leaves you pretty far from the corner, or in certain routes specifically geared to delay the splat for metergain.

5K > 6HCommon from a midscreen-to-corner air route

5K > 6H is a pickup commonly seen in midscreen to corner routing, but also sees use in high scaling situations to set up for a wallbreak, or when no other options can reach.

2K > 6HLike 5K > 6H, but with different applications

2K > 6H is similar to 5K > 6H routing wise, but is usually picked only when 5K > 6H wont work well due to pushback on 5K, or 5K simply being too slow. Most notably, its used for certain setups where you and the opponent end up close in the corner after a hit > c.S > 2H > [4]6S conversion to pick up on the tumble air hit [4]6S causes.

[4]6H into air normalsDamage maxxing at the cost of metergain

Off of some low scaling [4]6H bounces, you can pick up straight into an air route with j.H, and then do the air route plan of maximising j.D while ending in falling j.H.

Backhit 236236SMeter dumping for high damage

Backhit whale can happen off of many setups, but needs some specific routing depending on the setup, so it has its own section.

Wall Splat

The moves may uses to wall splat are the following:

• [4]6S
  
• [4]6H
  
• 5H
  
• 2H*
  

These moves are easy to route into and allow for the best wallbreak options. Which one is best will depend on what your route has access to or needs to splat from.

* 2H is only useful if you plan to wallbreak with Whale and would normally splat with [4]6S, since it doesn't allow for the best meterless option May has whereas the other options do. [4]6S doesn't allow you to break with Whale, but 2H does while also doing additional wall damage to force the splat in some specific combo paths.

Wall Break

May's best wallbreak moves are as follows:
HKD:

• 236236S (170)
  
• 632146H (66,82)
  
• 236[D] (50)
  
• 236D (30)
  

Whale doesnt work off of every splat May has. It doesnt work on [4]6S splats at all, and can fail to work on [4]6H depending on May's position when she hits it. Orca works nearly always and usually does 10 or so less damage then whale would in equivalent routes, so using it instead is not the biggest loss. [WA] works off of every wallsplat, so there is not much reason to use the uncharged version outside of unexpected splats due to miscalculated wall damage.

Meterless:

• 6[H] (90)
  
• 5[D] (62)
  
• 6H = 2H = j.D (60)
  

6[H] is the break of choice on [4]6S/[4]6H splats, and can work on 5H splat if the 5H hit is either done further away from the wall so there is some travel time before it splats, or is timed in such a way that the opponent hits the ground before they hit the wall, giving you a little extra time to ride out the recovery of 5H before the splat timer starts.

If 6[H] doesnt work, you can frequently opt to do [4]6S~P 5[D] to get a little extra meter and damage over just doing one of the 60 damage normals.

Advanced Theory

Optimizing Damage vs Tension gain

For May, an important consideration to make in combo's is your tension gain. Since May is very reliant on tension to convert pokes into big damage, or to get super wallbreak to skip neutral (plus add on some free extra damage), making sure you dont lose out on tension too much is important. There are a couple considerations to make when factoring tension gain into your routing:

Attack Level. Normals and specials with higher attack levels build more tension. For May, this mostly comes down to using as many H normals as you can, avoiding most specials since they have lower attack levels besides [4]6H.

Special use. Specials will give additional meter on input. This is around 1.5% for dolphins, with .5% for whiff cancels off of dolphins, and 1% for ball and OHK.

Combo Decay. The more combo decay you build, the lower the tension you get for hitting opponents is. This does not apply to special input tension, meaning it can sometimes be worth it to use a special over a normal just for its metergain on high scaling routes.

Air vs Ground routing. Air normals only give half the tension of an equivalent attack level grounded normal, and since May has no specials in the air, you also lose out on the special input meter gain. This translates to air routes building very low tension.

With these in mind, here are some quick recommendations while labbing routes:

1. Don't route in the air unless tension is not a factor, or there are no good grounded alternatives. Because May's air normals do high damage while doing low wall damage, while requiring little to no filler attacks to pick up with like grounded routes do, routes using many air normals usually do more damage then grounded routes do. However, because air routes build tension very poorly, and the damage differences arent that high, its generally a bad idea to air route. If your grounded route is capable of building a super where your air route wont, it will have already made up the damage just by virtue of the super wallbreak adding extra damage. You can opt to air route if you either cant or dont need to build meter, such as after you RRC in a route and you're under tension penalty anyway. The other exception is if the air route does something the grounded route can't, such as carry to the corner/wallbreak or set up oki.

2. [4]6S~P instead of microdashes. While dashing does also build tension, doing [4]6S~P instead of one is slightly more meter gain thanks to the input tension. So if you have the choice of doing one or the other, do [4]6S~P, unless your route only works if you do a normal microdash.

Backhit Whale routing

Backhit Whale is one of May's most high damage routing options, allowing not only a huge damage super on low scaling, but also allowing a pickup to continue the combo afterwards. There are several ways to route it into your combo:

1. Backhit 2H. The classic and most common way to route into it. After a wallbounce, usually from [4]6H, dash under your opponent and time 2H to hit them as they go over your head, keeping yourself facing towards the corner, then cancel into Whale super. This will hit the opponent behind you, launching them back towards the corner in a comboable tumble for you to pick up.

2. Backhit 5H. A more difficult way to route into a backhit whale, but with less wall damage then 2H, meaning you can sometimes get an extra hit in the pickup combo after. Usually only worth it if you dont have a second super to break wall with, or if your setup automatically sets it up, like on corner CH 2H > delay [4]6H

3. High [4]6H bounce. From starters like 2H CH or 6[H], [4]6H will bounce high up enough to directly route into a backhit whale.

4. Dolphin Kara. Midscreen, routing a launch like a low scaling 2H into [4]6S~236236P/K~S (Can also be input as [4]236S~236P/K~S in many cases) can allow you to backhit whale with the opponent further away from the corner. It's by far the hardest way to route it, and comes with the caviat that pickups after can be very limited. If you're not close enough to c.S, you will most likely need to use WA to pick up properly.

Deciding when to route into backhit whale comes down to your resources and how much RISC the opponent has. With WA causing a hard knock down on area shift, using meter earlier in combos rather then saving it for super wallbreaks is very viable. Whale also does incredible damage if you can land it with low scaling, so if you have enough RISC built up on your opponent to get it unscaled or on very low scaling it can be a no brainer to route it, easily outclassing meterless or super wallbreak routing. If you end up in a position where you have enough meter to super wallbreak after anyways, you might as well go for one as well.

Backhit Dolphin Routing

Backhit Dolphins are a difficult and character specific technique that hit [4]6S on a specific height and timing to allow May to swap sides under the opponent as she recovers, while still sending the enemy flying backwards in the direction they were going. This effectively pushes the opponent into May while she's recovering, meaning that after she's recovered she's more then close enough to pick up on the rolling tumble air hit [4]6S causes.

Backhit Dolphins are usually done from a 2H launch at either 1 or 2 prior hits worth of scaling, but they can also be achieved from air hit 2H such as after an OHK wallbounce. They need to hit a specific timing where they still hit an opponent but also has them high enough to allow her to pass under them after it connects. This is not possible on every character at all amounts of scaling, and when it does work the window for the exact height is around 1~2 frames wide, meaning it's not a very lenient technique. Below is a table with each character, showing at which scaling its possible to land a backhit, if any.

Backhit Dolphin Character Specific Viability

Character	1 hit scaling 2H	2 hit scaling 2H	OHK > c.S > 2H
Sol	No	Yes	Yes
Ky	Yes	Yes	Yes
May	Yes	Yes	Yes
Axl	Yes	Yes	No
Chipp	Yes	Yes	Yes
Potemkin	Yes	Yes	No
Faust	No	Yes	No
Millia	Yes	Yes	Yes
Zato	No	No	No
Ramlethal	Yes	Yes	No
Leo	Yes	Yes	No
Nagoriyuki	No	No	No
Giovanna	Yes	Yes	Yes
Anji	Yes	No	No
I-No	No	Yes	Yes
Goldlewis	No	Yes	No
Jack-O	Yes	Yes	Yes
Happy Chaos	Yes	Yes	Yes
Baiken	Yes	Yes	Yes
Testament	Yes	Yes	Yes
Bridget	Yes	Yes	Yes
Sin	Yes	No	No
Bedman?	No	Yes	No
Asuka	Yes	Yes	Yes
Johnny	Yes	No	Yes
Elphelt	Yes	Yes	Yes

The main 3 spots to consider a backhit are:
Midscreen 2 hit scaling 2H launches. On these, such as from iad j.H or a meaty 214P/214K hit, you can often not get a good conversion since [2]8H will whiff, and a normal [4]6S hit wont get you okizeme or allow you to contine the combo unless you are very close to the corner, often forcing you to go for c.S 2D instead of a 2H launch. With a backhit, you can pick up with 2K > [2]8H and get more damage and still get Oki. This does cause you to sideswap, which can be good or bad depending on your exact place on the map.

Back to the corner c.S punishes. Here a backhit can allow you to meterlessly sideswap and break wall, which is very useful for punishing certain moves on block, like reversal supers that keep the opponent grounded or certain specials.

OHK combo on high wall damage. Often times you end up landing an OHK on an opponent after a reset or a midscreen combo that didnt quite break the wall, only getting a hit or two in before the wallsplat happens. By running under and hitting the opponent away from the wall, then backhitting them and sending them back to the wall, you can avoid splatting by not having the opponent touch the wall at all (OHK's bounce never causes a splat) and do more damage (and build more meter) then any other meterless route possible at high wall damage.

The major drawback is simply how difficult the routes are, and how they are extremely character specific, limiting their usefulness. The combo list has an example for each of the combos above if you are interested in learning them, but they remain difficult and hard to apply in matches, and are far from required for playing a great May.

Navigation

Guilty Gear -Strive-

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Happy Chaos

I-No

Jack-O'

Johnny

Ky

Leo

May

Millia

Nagoriyuki

Potemkin

Ramlethal

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Testament

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