===============================================================================
Duel Savior: Justice
In-depth Battle FAQ
===============================================================================
[ Game ] Duel Savior: Justice
[ Author ] "Saros" Tan Wee Siong
[ Version ] 1.0
[ Email ] saros69@gmail.com
[ Updated ] 31st August, 2005
*******************************************************************************
************************* WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD! **************************
*******************************************************************************
==========
Contents
==========
Legal Stuff
Disclaimer
Revision History
1. Intro
2. Guide Notes
3. Justice Changes
a. Character Moves
i. Taiga
ii. Mia
iii. Berio
iv. Lily
v. Rico
vi. Kaede
vii. Nanashi
b. Play Modes
i. Practice
ii. Parry
iii. Survival
c. General
4. General Hints
5. Notation
6. Terminology
7. Battle System
a. Basics
i. Health Bars
ii. Gem Gauge
- Gauge Mechanics -
- Red Gem Rules -
- Blue Gem Rules -
iii. Experience and Levels
- Experience -
- Levels -
iv. Damage
- Damage Reduction -
- Defense -
- Guts -
- Scaling -
b. Movement
i. Walking and Running
ii. Jumping
- Jump -
- Double Jump-
- High Jump -
- Combination Jump -
- Ground Return Cancel -
- Quick Fall -
- Short Jump -
iii. Dashing
- Dash -
- Backdash -
- Air Dash -
- Air Backdash -
- Double Air Dash -
- Instant Air Dash -
c. Offense
i. Attack Properties
- Hit Startup -
- Hit Active -
- Hit Box -
- Hit Range -
- Hit Stun -
- Guard Stun -
- Hit/Block Recovery -
- Miss Recovery -
- Autoguard -
- Chains -
- Combos -
- EX Moves -
- Staggering Attacks -
ii. Attack Effects
- Air Launcher -
- Float -
- Knockback -
- Matrix -
- Clash -
- Down -
- Ground Bounce -
- Wall Bounce -
iii. Attack Abilities
- Jump Cancel -
- Attack Cancel -
- Dash Cancel -
- Air Dash Cancel -
- High Jump Cancel -
- Ground Return Cancel -
- Miss Cancel -
- Offensive Cancel -
- Running Attack -
d. Defense
i. Defensive States
- Guard/Block -
- Chain Block -
- Parry -
- Chain Parry -
- Selective Parry -
- Guard Crush -
ii. Defensive Abilities
- Backdash Cancel
- Air Backdash Cancel
- Recovery
- Air Recovery
8. Training Tips
a. Basics
i. Understand the Battle System
ii. Pick a Character
b. Finding Your Style
i. Mobility
ii. Poking
iii. Bread and Butter
iv. Max Damage
v. Pressure Game
vi. Corner Traps
vii. Escapes
c. Advanced
i. Experiment, Practice, Apply
ii. Solo Survival
9. Credits and Outtakes
10. Frequently Asked Questions
=============
Legal Stuff
=============
This FAQ may only, and ONLY, appear on GameFAQS (www.gamefaqs.com)
If you see this FAQ hosted elsewhere, please inform me via email at:
saros69@gmail.com
Copyright
-----------
Copyright 2005 Tan Wee Siong. The contents of this FAQ may not be reproduced
under any circumstances, in any form, except for personal, private use in its
original, unedited, and unaltered format. This guide may not be used for
profitable purposes, monetary or otherwise, or promotional purposes. It may not
be distributed as an incentive, free gift, bonus or any transaction involving
goods or services of value. It may not be placed on any web site, apart from
www.gamefaqs.com, or otherwise distrubuted publicly without advance written
permission.Use of this guide on any other web site or as part of any public
display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright laws.
Duel Savior Justice, and all related characters are (C) Giga.
============
Disclaimer
============
This is a Japanese game, as such many of the names are names I came up with
myself and are not intended to be a true translation of the game. All
trademarks and copyrights contained within this document are owned by their
respective trademark and copyright holders.
==================
Revision History
==================
v 1.0 (31/08/2005)
--------------------
Final review for public release
v 0.8 (31/08/2005)
--------------------
Two updates in the same day, I'm on a roll!
- Finished off Training Tips section
v 0.7 (31/08/2005)
--------------------
- Added new blue gem rule to Gem Gauge mechanics
- Finished reworking Defense section
- Added Training Tips
v 0.6 (29/08/2005)
---------------------
- Finished reworking Offense section
- Finished reworking, and edited Basics for better explanation (hopefully!)
- Removed most character specifics to be placed in their own FAQs
- Removed Characters (Overview) section (placed in seperate character FAQs)
- Linked Terminologies to the correct new sections (oops)
v 0.5 (17/08/2005)
---------------------
Wow, been almost a year since I updated... major changes to structure
- Converted FAQ for use with Duel Savior: Justice
- Added Justice Changes section
- Fixed alot of inconsistancies and inaccurate information
- Added yet some more terminologies (it keeps growing! Someone stop me!)
- Changed Terminologies to use more "normal" English for better readability
- Fixed Gem Gauge section to suit Justice changes
- Removed Monster section
- Removed Boss List and Analysis section
- Removed Combos and Strategy Section (to be added as seperate character FAQs)
- Removed Movelist and Analysis (to be added as seperate character FAQs)
v 0.15 (24/11/2004)
---------------------
- Basic combos for all characters included due to popular demand
- Overviews for all characters complete
- Changed notation system to use letters to indicate directions
- Cleaned up a lot of terminology
- Fixed sections that were affected by notation system and terminology
v 0.1 (16/10/2004)
--------------------
- Battle System complete
- Taiga's Movelist and Analysis complete
- Taiga's Overview complete
==========
1. Intro
==========
Welcome to my first FAQ. Please feel free to send me comments or critiques to
saros69@gmail.com, with the heading "Duel Savior" or "Duel Savior: Justice".
This Battle FAQ serves to focus on the battle mechanics as well as the
characters, their moves, and monsters of the game.
This FAQ was originally created for use with the original Duel Savior. However,
with the release of Duel Savior: Justice, I felt that it would be appropriate
to change this FAQ to suit Duel Savior: Justice. With that in mind, I have
removed several sections, such as the monster listing. I believe that it is
more efficient to focus on being good at using your chosen character(s) rather
than learning what monsters can do, as you will adapt easily to use your
character to defeat said monsters.
This FAQ is intended for players who appreciate the simple, yet potentially
complex battle system that is present in Duel Savior: Justice. Casual players
need not bother to read as they will soon be lost, or lose interest.
Please see the FAQ section near the end for some common questions asked.
================
2. Guide Notes
================
Firstly, this guide is NOT INTENDED and WILL NOT BE a walkthrough.
If you require a walkthrough, try Sibladeko's excellent walkthrough, also found
on www.gamefaqs.com
DO NOT EMAIL ME ABOUT WALKTHROUGHS
NOTE: This FAQ relates to information for version 1.13 of Duel Savior: Justice.
There are many changes since v1.00 and I suggest you get v1.13 as all of
the changes are beneficial.
This guide will provide a thorough analysis of Duel Savior's combat mechanics,
as well as other bits and pieces.
Please note that most of this is through observation, I make no promises that
the information contained here is 100% accurate, however I do take every
reasonable means to test and ensure that they are reasonably accurate.
I will assume you have little to no knowledge of fighting games (not an
unreasonable assumption given that this is a hentai game). Even if you do have
working knowledge of fighting games, I still suggest a quick read through the
"Terminology" and the "Movelist Notation" sections.
TIP: If you do not understand any terms used in this FAQ, there is a very
high chance that it will be in the Terminology section.
Please use a fixed width font, such as Courier New. There is a lot of data that
will not display correctly without the use of a fixed width font.
====================
3. Justice Changes
====================
a. Character Moves
--------------------
i. Taiga
- Rocket Punch BD bug has been fixed T_T
- Rocket Punch damage range narrowed (very consistant now)
- Rocket Punch speed increased very slightly
Comments: Taiga plays exactly the same as he did in the previous Duel Savior.
If you were fond of abusing his Rocket Punch BD bug (like me), sucks to be
you(me).
ii. Mia
- fA's JC has been REMOVED! (they really axed her T_T)
- air fA's JC ALSO REMOVED! (WTF! WHY GIGA?!)
Comments: Awful, just awful. I used to enjoy playing Mia, but now she's
horribly handicapped with the lack of JC fAs. Mia's JC fAs were her only means
of any mobility on the ground and now they have removed it. Change your
playstyle to be much more defensive or you will quickly find yourself screwed.
Her loss of air fA JC isn't TOO bad, just loses Mia about 20% damage... no
wait, it IS BAD.
iii. Berio
- Obtained new Reflect Walls, one which overrides her ground DC, one which is
cast in the air
- Obtained air Holy Wall!
- Splash can be maneuvered while it is on it's way up!
- B can now be held for additional hits and increasing hit box
- Air dA has a slightly steeper angle (less horizontal range)
- BD can no longer be GRC, however HJ can still be GRC
- Holy Splash can now be held for additional hits and increasing hit box
- Holy Splash is much more maneuverable than before, you can even float it
along the ground!
Comments: Wow! Talk about upgrades! Berio was dealing massive damage to single
targets before, and now with the new Reflect Wall, add more targets to that
massive damage = GIGA on crack again? Nevertheless, since Berio is one of my
favourites, I can't complain! Her playstyle is much more diverse now that some
of her moves are more/finally useful such as B and more maneuverable
Splash/Holy Splashes. Fun for the family! Abuse Reflect Wall today!
iv. Lily
- ...
- Did they change anything?
- Guess not.
Comments: Uh... I didn't see any changes. She still sucks at dealing big damage
to a single target (which means her boss killing speed is much reduced for
those who don't get what I mean). But she still has good zoning, excellent
crowd control of the old Duel Savior. I really really cannot see any changes at
all, if I have somehow missed out/am blind please let me know.
v. Rico
- dA-A has been increased to 3 hits, allowing for air recovery :(
- can now teleport up to 10 times (!!!)
Comments: The change to 3 hit for her dA and the A followup might seem small,
but it was THE combo finisher to use when bringing out summons as it was
previously unrecoverable which allowd your summons to be out safely. Now that
it's recoverable, add in a fA and it's not too bad. In fact it puts opponents
in better range for a B meteor. I'm not sure what the deal is with the
crazy teleports. It's really inconsistant and I can't figure out what is the
key to getting the full 10 teleports. Currently I'm getting anywhere from 2 to
10, and it seems totally random to me. Will have to do more research on this.
vi. Kaede
- ALMOST ALL of her moves received BD cancels (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
- Some ground DCs have been changed to her Dash-style cancel instead of her
running-style cancel (the one where she does a quick dash and turns around)
- DC of her 5th hit in her ground A chain has been removed and is now a normal
AD (!!!)
- Hit/Miss recovery of air dB much faster!
- Hit/Miss recovery of air dAB ALSO much faster!
Comments: Amazing. Just amazing. Kaede was a monster in the old Duel Savior,
and her only weakness was she had NO (NONE, NADA!) blue cancels for any kind of
defense against Sudden Death (Mudou, I'm talking about you and your autoguard
super here). And now... they ... have... given it to her. OMG! She's no longer
a monster, she's a freaking GODDESS. If you're good with Kaede in Duel Savior,
you'll be unstoppable in Justice. Nothing will hurt you and you'll be dealing
out the pain in large servings without hesitation or fear of
damnyouautoguardbastards.
What's more, her new DCs are actually very nice indeed. I especially like the
REMOVAL of her DC on the 5th hit of her ground As as it gives you a lot of
new offensive options without having to spend a single red. The improvements
in hit/miss recovery of her kunais are simply icing on the cake. Have no fear
in abusing her kunais now! Kaede receives my award for Most Beefed Up returning
character.
vii. Nanashi
- New "Return to head" move. Very similar to Bridget of GGX where he rolls back
to his yoyo except this is Nanashi rolling back to her head...
- Hee/Hii-chan's position has been moved up, does not home as well to small or
grounded opponents anymore T_T
Comments: Small but significant changes to Nanashi's playstyle. Less homing
flame abuse, more Head Goodness. Her new move is very useful and let's her do
some decent damage for once. The change to her flame is sad, but I can see why
they did it. It still works once in a while, but don't expect to use it
offensively as you did back in the old Duel Savior. It's only real use is as a
zoning tool now, and thankfully it does that well.
b. Play Modes
---------------
NOTE: For ALL of the new play modes, you must "buy" the characters in
Survival Mode. For example, you cannot use Yuka in practice mode
unless you have bought her in Survival mode.
** Author's ** Why can I see Butterfly and many other characters in parry mode
** Note ** even though I deleted all the files in the save game folder?
i. Practice
The top option in the new menu selection is Practice Mode. Here you can choose
your character as well as your opponent. All practice is only in 1v1
situations. However you can set the opponent AI, as well as many other options
by pressing ESC while in Practice mode. Fiddle around with the settings to see
what they do. (It's not rocket science so I won't be translating). A good place
to try out combos or record some exhibition videos ^_^. It also displays the
damage of your combo and a record of the highest damage combo as well.
TIP: One of the options enables recovery, which I strongly suggest you
turn on as it more accurately reflects whether your combo will work
or not.
NOTE: Practice mode characters will have level 10 gem gauges and do level
10 damage figures regardless of your real levels
NOTE: Practice mode characters all have the same Defense and Guts!
NOTE: Highest Damage combo displayed also takes into account Survival mode,
therefore, the damage listed may not be to a single target.
ii. Parry
The middle option in the new menu selection is Parry Mode. Here, you not only
practice your parry skills, but also can obtain 4 new CGs. The % complete is
shown on the top right, with an associated Rank. When you get enough %
complete, your rank changes. So far, I've reached 98% and the associated rank
is God. Unfortunately, no one that I know so far has managed to complete the
last two parry stages to receive the final CG and ranking. If you have a
strategy, or better yet, a video, please let me know. The two stages that me
and my friends have trouble completing is Berio's Holy Splash (32hit) and Holy
Beam (15hit). Basically, there just isn't enough hits to complete the stage.
iii. Survival
This is where you'll spend most of your time as this is where you buy the new
characters. You receive points (how the system of awarding points works, I have
no clue!) and with those points you can purchase the ability to use partners.
You can purchase up to 2 partners, but you have to purchase the option to even
allow you to use 2 partners. Another option allows you to pick the same partner
twice. There are several more options which I will not be explaining, just buy
all of them!
NOTE: ALL CHARACTERS START AT LEVEL 1 regardless of what you have in your
save games.
TIP: In one of the patches, the ability to quit Survival mode was added.
Press ESC in a battle and select the left side option to quit.
Previously, you had to suicide to get survival mode to end, as
quitting with ALT-F4 did not record your progress...
Currently I am at stage 1151. I wonder if it's going to end at 9999...
c. General
------------
- Parry timings for many, many moves have been changed.
- Parry timings are stricter now, mashing doesn't work well anymore (yay!)
- Blue Gems replenish slower when you are attacking compared to running/idling
- Some enemies have new/altered moves as well as modified AI.
- In combat, the screen scrolling rate has a slight lag, making some moves
(such as Taiga's rocket punch) appear to move much faster.
- Sound effects for EX moves have been changed.
- You may now see your allies' health bars and gem gauges (YAY!)
- There are some changes to the gem gauge mechanics
- Characters no longer receive extra gravity when being attacked in the
startup, active, or recovery frames of an EX move (HOORAY!)
- All Autoguard properties of moves require blue gauge now! This means guard
crush is a good way to defeat those pesky autoguards
- Opponents will no longer gain reds if you parry their attacks (YAY!!!!)
==================
4. General Hints
==================
- Patch to v1.13, NOW
http://www.web-giga.com/support/giga_dl.html#dsj
- Don't rely too much on your assistants in battle, their AI is terrible, and
they deal what appears to be 1/10th of their normal damage in Story mode.
However, they are good for distracting enemies, or getting them to release
their block.
- Lower the volume of, or turn off, the BGM music. In some critical battles,
the sound gives away your opponent's actions (eg. Savior Armor's Spike,
Caterpillar's Munchmunch) and you can react accordingly.
- Don't worry about your assistants if they fall, they aren't dead. If you win
the battle, they... stand up again!
- Your allies' fallen bodies can serve as shields for attacks sometimes... this
may seem cruel, and I don't rely on it at all. Just so you know >_>
- Learn how to parry. Against some enemies, you will gain a huge advantage if
you learn how to parry their attacks.
- Complete Parry Mode as much as you can. It will help a great deal in knowing
how to parry almost all the attacks in the game.
- Selective Parry to be safe. If a move is too risky to chain parry, don't!
Parry the first hit and if you feel unconfident, just block the rest. Also
when chain parrying and you see another attack coming to screw up your parry
timing, either play it safe and selective parry, or if you're feeling
confident, try to add it to your parry timing.
- Try chain blocking some attacks. Learn which hit to chain block on once you
find an attack that is useful to chain block (e.g. Rico's/Immunity's Jelly
EX). You will find it often more beneficial than parrying.
- Damage is not always preferable to a superior position. Some moves/combos
deal greater damage but leave the opponent able to recover in a superior
position, or escape from a corner trap. Try to leave the opponent in a
inferior position as much as possible. Of course, if you're going for a
killing blow, by all means go ahead, deal the most damage.
=============
5. Notation
=============
Movement Controls:
--------------------
For the purposes of this FAQ, the movement directions are as follows:
Forward = f
Back = b
Up = u
Down = d
Up-forward = uf
Up-back = ub
Down-forward = df
Down-back = db
NOTE: You can face "forward" in two directions. Therefore, "f" will always
refer to the direction in your character is facing.
NOTE: There is no "crouching" in Duel Savior. The d notation is used solely
for moves and some cancels.
Buttons:
----------
Duel Savior combat uses 3 buttons for attacking and defending.
They are by default, assigned to Z, X and C
Z = Weak attack
X = Strong attack
C = Technique
However, for the purposes of this FAQ and sake of simplicity, let's call them
A = Weak Attack
B = Strong Attack
C = Technique
================
6. Terminology
================
Provided here is a alphabatically sorted list of terms used in this FAQ. Some
terms are common to fighting games in general, but many are specific to Duel
Savior. For more information on how the mechanics of a particular term works, a
reference to a section in this FAQ is given. For related information on the
terms, a "see also" part is included at the end in paranthesis to refer you to
another term in the list. This may seem like a long list, and it is. If you
really can't bring yourself to read the entire list, just remember that if you
do not understand any of the terms used in this FAQ, you can always refer back
here.
ABD = Air Backdash. Simply a backdash done in the air. See "Dashing" section
(see also: BD).
ABDC = Air Backdash Cancel. A defensive ability. A backdash cancel done in the
air. See "Defensive Abilities" section (see also: ABD).
AC = Attack Cancel. An attack ability. A technique where, consuming a red
gem, you may cancel all recovery of that attack into another attack. See
"Attack Abilities" section (see also: Gems).
AD = Air Dash. Simply a dash done in the air. See "Dashing" section (see
also: IAD, Dash).
ADC = Air Dash Cancel. An attack ability. A dash cancel done in the air. See
"Attack Abilities" section (see also DC).
Air Launcher = An attack effect. Also known as "launcher". When target is hit
with an attack with this property, they will be lifted up into the air. See
"Attack Effects" section.
Air Recovery = A defensive ability. Spending a blue gem in order to enter a
"recovery" state which has some invincibility and breaks you out of stun mode.
See "Recovery" section (see also: Gems, Invincibility, Recovery).
Attack = Come on, you know what this is >_>
Autoguard = An attack property.Some attacks put the attacker in a state where
anything that hits them will be considered to have been guarded/blocked. See
"Attack Properties" section (see also: Guard/Block).
BD = Backdash. A type of movement. Similar to Dash, except towards your back.
See "Dashing" section (see also: Dash).
BDC = Backdash Cancel. A defensive ability. Similar to Dash Cancel, except this
is for backdashing. See "Defensive Abilities" section (see also: BD, Dash, DC).
CB = Chain Blocking. A defensive state. Refers to a method of blocking that
only works for chains and multi-hit moves. This will push the opponent or
projectile back further. See "Defensive States" section (see also:
Guard/Block).
Chain = A series of attacks that can be linked together without waiting for
their hit active, hit/block recovery, hit stun to complete. See "Attack
Properties" section (see also: Combo, Connect, Hit Active, Hit/Block Recovery,
Hit Stun).
Chain Parry = Same as parry, except you parry consecutive moves (see also:
Parry).
CJ = Combination Jumping. A combination of HJ and normal jumping to achieve a
different kind of DJ. See "Jumping" section (see also: DJ, HJ).
Clash = An event that occurs when two attacks collide with each other at the
same time during their Hit Active state. The "parry" sound effect will be
played and the player will flash white. See "Offense" section (see also: Hit
Active).
Combo = Short for "Combination". Used to refer to a series of attacks that hit
in succession and are unrecoverable. Combos are usually hit box, weight, and
timing specific (see also: Chain, Hit Box, Timing, Weight).
Connect = The opposite of "Whiff". An attack that connects is either guarded,
or succesfully hits. Most cancels and chains can only be done if an attack
connects. (see also: Whiff).
Corner Bounce = Used to refer to opponents bouncing off either of the two
corners of the battle area. There are always two corners in a battle area that
define the limits of that area. Do not confuse with Wall Bounce (see also: Wall
Bounce).
DA = Dash Attack. An attack performed immediately after a FORWARD dash. Some
moves receive modified properties when performed as a dash attack. See
"Offense" section (see also: RA).
Dash = A special type of movement which has varying properties depending on the
character. Some characters hop/fly/teleport, but they will be referred to as
Dashes for consistency.
DC = Dash Cancel. An ability of attacks. Some attacks allow you to perform a
dash during its Hit Active state to cancel all Block and Hit Recovery into a
forward dash. See "Offense" section (see also: Block Recovery, Dash, Hit
Active, Hit Recovery).
Defense = The term used to describe how strong a character's "armour" is. The
higher the defense the less damage you will do to that character.
Down = An effect of attacks. An attack that "downs" opponents will slam them to
the ground.
EX = EXtra version of a move. Also known as "super" or "supers". A much
powered-up version of a move. See "Offense" section.
Float = An effect of attacks. Some attacks can cause opponents to fly off in
ways that seems to defy the normal laws of the game's gravity. In almost all
cases, it makes the opponent seem to fall up/down (or both) slower. See "Attack
Effects" section.
Gems = Used to refer to the red and blue lights on the gauge at the bottom of
the screen. You receive a Gem of the appropriate color when it fills up a slot
completely. See "Battle System" section (see also: Gem Gauge).
Gem Gauge = The bar at the bottom of the screen that fills up with red and blue
Gems. See "Battle System" section (see also: Gems).
GRC = Ground Return Cancel. An ability of attacks, also a property of
movements. This is a cancel that only some attcks/characters can do. When
performed, they will either return/fall to the ground, or in the case of flying
characters, reverse the angle of their flight. See "Movement" and "Offense"
section.
Ground Bounce = An effect of attacks. Some attacks may rebound a target off the
ground, back into the air.
Guard/Block = A defensive state. The action of defending to avoid being hit.
See "Defensive States section (see also: CB, Parry).
Guard Crush = A state where the blue gems in your gem gauge are all completely
empty. See "Defense" section (see also: Gems, Gem Gauge).
Guard Stun = A property of attacks. How long before the DEFENDER can move or
act after an attack from an enemy has been successfully blocked. See "Defense
section". Do not confuse with Block Recovery (see also: Block Recovery).
Guts = The term used by Guilty Gear X to describe health based damage scaling.
Since I do not have a better term in mind, I'll use this as well. See "Basics"
section.
Hit Active = An attack property. The amount of time an attack will hit targets
in it's hit box path. See "Offense" section (see also: Hit Startup, Hit Box).
Hit Box = An attack property. The "shape" and "size" of an attack. Only targets
in the area of a hit box will be hit. Note that hit box can also be used to
refer to a target's attackable regions, for example: an elephant's hit box is
bigger than a human's (see also: Size).
Hit Range = An attack property. Also known as "range". How far the attack will
reach/move. Not the same as Hit Box (see also: Hit Box).
Hit/Block Recovery = An attack property. How fast before the ATTACKER can input
movement actions and non-chain moves after the attack connects with an
opponent. Do not confuse with Guard Stun. See "Attack Properties" section (see
also: Chain, Connect, Guard Stun).
Hit Startup = An attack property. Also known as "startup". The amount of time
it takes for a move to reach it's Hit Active state (see also: Hit Active).
Hit Stun = An attack property. The amount of stun inflicted by an attack.
During this time, target is in "stunned" mode and can not input actions until
the stun has worn off, or the target recovers (see also: Recovery).
HJ = High Jump. A different jumping style. Usually higher than a normal jump.
Different characters' HJs have different properties. See "Jumping" section
(see also: CJ, DJ, HJC).
HJC = High Jump Cancel. An ability of attacks. Some attacks allow you to
perform a HJ during its Hit Active state to cancel all Block and Hit Recovery
into a HJ. See "Offense" section (see also: Block Recovery, Hit Active, HJ,
Hit Recovery).
IAD = Instant Air Dash. An air dash forward done very low to the ground (see
also: IAD).
Inherit = An ability of attacks. Some moves receive inertia/momentum effects
from other moves/movements and as such, have modified properties when performed
after those moves/movements.
Invincibility = A state wherein nothing can hit you. Attacks simply go
"through" you. Most characters' backdashes have a short invincibility period
(see also: BD).
JC = Jump Cancel. An ability of attacks. Some attacks, when they connect, allow
cancelling into a jump, negating all hit/block recovery. See "Jumping" section
(see also: Block Recovery, Connect, Hit Recovery).
Knockback = An attack effect. The distance a target is "pushed" back when
taking a hit from an attack, or blocking it.
Lockdown = A style of combat that focuses on attacking aggressively using any
available techniques/moves to prevent the opponent from escaping (from the
corner for example) or unable to counter-attack effectively.
Matrix = An attack property, also a movement property. Some moves/movements
have a "matrix" effect where time for others is slowed down, making you appear
to move/act "faster" than them. See "Attack Effects" section.
MC = Miss Cancel. An attack ability. Some moves may be cancelled in various
ways even when the move whiffs. Most moves however, have to connect to be
cancelled. See "Attack Abilities" section (see also: AC, ADC, BDC Connect, DC,
GRC, HJC, Whiff).
Miss Recovery = A property of attacks. How long before the ATTACKER can input
actions after an attack has totally whiffed and hit thin air (this is almost
always a bad thing).
OC = Offensive Cancel. An attack ability. This was introduced in Justice. OCs
are normal cancels except for two things; first being that they do damage with
additional hit(s), secondly, they usually are not limited to a fixed amount of
repetitions (i.e. you can perform OCs as long as you have reds). See "Attack
Abilities" section.
OTG = On the Ground. Used to refer to opponent's lying on the ground (NOT
standing).
Parry = A defensive state. Blocking at the instant, or just before, an attack
connects. The parried attack will produce a "TING!" sound similar to two swords
clashing with each other. See "Defensive States" section (see also: CB, CP,
SP).
Parry Recovery = A property of the defensive state, parry. Parry recovery is
the amount of time needed for you to enter idle state from a parry state. See
"Defensive Abilities" section (see also: Parry).
Pressure = Refers to constantly chaining/cancelling attacks and keeping on the
offensive. This is to either guard crush opponents, or push them to the corner
or to simply not give them a chance to attack, and hopefully make a mistake in
blocking so you can punish them. Also referred to as "pressure game".
QF = Quick Fall. A technique of using the C button to cancel an upward jump
into a blocking animation, which stops the jump and drops you towards the
ground more quickly than is normally possible. See "Jumping" section. (see
also: SJ).
Run = Pressing forward twice, holding the last forward. This will make your
character run continously until you release forward. Some characters have no
Run.
RA = Running Attack. Some attacks, when performed during a run, will execute
differently, either by inheriting momentum or executing a different move.
Recovery = Regain control of your character after being hit stunned. In other
words, escape from being in hit stun. See "Defense" section (see also: Hit
Stun).
Size = Also referred to as Hit Box. How physically large or small a target is.
Obviously, the larget a target, the easier it is to hit them (see also: Hit
Box).
SJ = Short Jump. A technique of combining Quick Fall with normal jumps/HJs to
achieve a much shorter ranged/height jump. See "Jumping" section (see also: HJ,
QF).
SP = Selective Parry. A defensive state. Same as parry, except you choose to
parry specific hits of an attack, and block/CB the other hits. See "Defensive
States" section (see also: CB, Guard/Block, Parry).
Spam = No, nothing to do with email. This refers to pressing a button
repeatedly and quickly.
Staggering = Used to refer to changing the chain timing of attacks such that
it makes it either more difficult to parry, or to compensate for weight/size of
target (see also: Chain, Parry, Size, Timing, Weight).
Tick Damage = A property of attacks. Some attacks inflict very minor damage
even when it is blocked. See "Defense" section.
Timing = General term used to refer to adjusting the input rate of your
movement or attacks. A combo that has difficult/hard timing means it usually
has to be performed at very precise rate/manner.
Unrecoverable = Used to refer to an attack/combo that does not allow recovery.
Wakeup = Used to refer to the motion of a target getting up from the ground.
During this wakeup state, the target is invincible to all attacks.
Wall Bounce = An effect of attacks. Some attacks may rebound a target off the
virtual limits of the battle area (one screen size) with its knockback. This
means that they will not "fly" off the current screen. Do not confuse with
Corner Bounce (see also: Corner Bounce).
Weight = How heavy an object/target is. The heavier a target, the faster it
falls.
Whiff = When an attack totally hits... nothing. In other words, the attack is
not blocked by anything, and does not hit anything (see also: Connect).
Zoning = A technique that uses moves to prevent the enemy from attacking
effectively. For example, Rico's meteor is good for zoning the area above her.
In other words, enemies will have a hard time trying to attack her from the air
when Rico's meteor is performed.
==================
7. Battle System
==================
a. Basics
--------------
i. Health Bars:
At the top of the screen are the Health Bars, allocated to a mini model of you
and your opponents.
To the best of my experience, 100 points represents one health bar. The
character you use always has, and starts with, 2 health bars.
The health bars overlay each other in order from the first to the last bar:
Dark Blue, Bright Blue, Green. This means your dark blue health bar will
deplete first, followed by bright blue, then your last green bar.
NOTE: The only time you will receive a 3rd health bar is during Mia's True
Ending path.
NOTE: Some enemies even have a 4th health bar. It has a very slightly
darker blue colour than the 3rd health bar's dark blue and can be
quite hard to see.
ii. Gem Gauge:
This is my name for it, yes it's not the real name but it's easy to call it
that, so... it's what I'm going to call it and you're going to like it!
(I can't be bothered to translate the jap name for it, so there.)
At the bottom you will see one or two Gem Gauges. The one on the left
represents your selected character's gauge.
NOTE: In Justice, you can now see your allies' gem gauges!
If you see another gauge at the bottom right side, this will be the main
enemy's gauge. It could be a boss or a mini boss. Sometimes below the portrait
of a non-boss type enemy you can see a mini gem gauge. I do not suggest you
worry about that too much as those enemies are never dangerous enough to
warrant looking out for their EXes. However, for a mini-boss or a boss, do pay
attention to it as some of their EXes can be terribly painful/have incredible
autoguard/invincibility/damage properties.
- Gauge Mechanics -
Your gem gauge limit is equal to (your current level + 1). In other words, at
level 5, you will have 6 gem slots in your gem gauge.
You will start with a full gauge consisting of (level/2, rounded up) red gems
and the rest will be filled with blues. Here's a little table for those not
mathematically inclined:
------------------------------------------
Number of Starting slots:
Level Gem Slots Reds Blues
------------------------------------------
1 2 0 2
2 3 1 2
3 4 2 2
4 5 2 3
5 6 3 3
6 7 3 4
7 8 4 4
8 9 4 5
9 10 5 5
10 11 5 6
The way the gem gauge works is complex to understand at first, and even harder
to explain, but I will do my best. How the gem gauge works is governed by
several rules, one set for red and one set for blue. I highly recommend using
Practice mode to test each rule after you read it. This will really help you
understand.
NOTE: All Gem Gauge rules apply to your enemies as well.
NOTE: General Rule for gauge increases/decreases is that they are granted
on a per hit/parry basis.
- Red Gem Rules -
Red gems INCREASE when you:
1. Get hit AND there are empty (black) slots in your gem gauge
2. Get hit AND have MORE than 3 blue gems remaining
3. Parry attacks
4. Attack (whiffing or connect both works, EXes do NOT increase reds)
IMPORTANT!: Rule #1 takes priority over Rule #2 and Rule #5.
NOTE: Rule #2 means that you can only gain reds when being hit, until you
have 3 blues left. This is to prevent enemy infinite combos from
making you gain too many reds, leaving you with no blues to recover.
In other words, you will always have at least 3 blues when you are
being hit (you will stop gaining reds) unless in the case of Rule #1.
NOTE: Because of Rule #2, you will NOT gain reds at all when being hit at
Level 1 and 2, as you will always have less than 3 blue gems.
NOTE: Becaues of Rule #1, you CAN gain reds when being hit at Level 1 and
2. However, you need to have empty slots (in this situation, by using
up your blues).
NOTE: In Justice, your target will NO LONGER gain reds if you parry his
attacks. This makes it much more practical to parry than before,
where parrying enemies' EX moves just gave them more reds to perform
the EX moves again and again.
Red gems DECREASE when you:
5. Get hit AND have LESS than 3 blue gems remaining
6. You perform an EX move
7. You perform a red cancel (see "Attack Abilities" section)
8. Berio performs her Reflect Wall in the air (it is not a red cancel)
IMPORTANT!: Again, remember that Rule #1 takes priority over Rule #5.
NOTE: Rule #5 basically means the game will grant you up to 3 blues when
you are being hit.
NOTE: Berio is the only character in the game to consume reds with a normal
move.
- Blue Gem Rules -
Blue gems INCREASE when you:
1. Get hit AND there are empty (black) areas in your gem gauge
2. Get hit AND have LESS 3 blue gems remaining
3. Are not blocking attacks for some time
4. Parry attacks AND have empty (black) areas in your gem gauge
IMPORTANT!: Rule #1 takes priority over Rule #2 and Rule #5.
NOTE: Rule #2 means that you can only gain blues when being hit, until you
have 3 blues. In other words, you can gain up to 3 blues from being
hit, except in the case of Rule #1. In other words, you cannot gain
more than 3 blues from being hit except in the case of Rule #1.
NOTE: Because of Rule #1, you will ALWAYS be gaining ONLY blues at Level 1
and 2 when you are hit, as you will always have less than 3 blue
gems.
NOTE: In Justice, you gain blues much slower when attacking.
TIP: Don't hesitate to run away if you do need blues desperately.
TIP: While having reds is a good thing, save some blues for emergency BD
as well as recovery. They will come in really useful when you make a
mistake and need to BD cancel for the invincibility. This becomes
especially true for enemies with autoguard (eg. Mudou's autoguard
counter EX).
Blue gems DECREASE when you:
5. Get hit AND have MORE than 3 blue gems remaining
6. Block or CB attacks (most attacks but not all)
7. Red gems increase through red gem's rules #2, #3 and #4
8. Performing blue cancels
9. Performing Berio's Holy Shield and Holy Wall moves
TIP: When the gem gauge flashes, it is a warning to that you have less
than a single blue gem left, be careful! HINT: Same goes for enemies.
iii. Experience and Levels
Your characters may gain levels by accumulating experience. In Duel Savior,
experience comes in the form of crystals. There are 3 "types" of crystals, each
representing different amounts of experience. Experience is gained simply by
defeating foes. Scripted events such as certain boss battles where you never
truely defeat the opponents, will never give experience.
NOTE: The only character to receive experience in a battle is the one which
YOU are controlling. Allies do not receive experience and you may not
collect experience for them.
In Justice, you can obtain bonus experience in Survival Mode from treasure
chests every 10 stages (i.e. Stage 10, 20, 30, 40, etc.)
NOTE: You can also get experience (a single blue crystal...) from killing
Rico's/Immunity's summons.
- Experience -
Blue Crystals: This is what you will be getting most of the time, you will need
50 of these to accumulate one Yellow Crystal.
Yellow Crystal: Once you accumulate enough blue crystals, they will be
automatically converted to a yellow crystal.
Red Crystals: If you get one of these, rejoice for they are worth 8 yellow
crystals and hence 400 blue crystals. Note that it will take more than 14 red
crystals (that's more than 5600 blue crystals) to level from 9 to 10 alone.
From my estimation, it takes close to 50,000 blue crystals to get from level 1
to 10 (very rough estimate, don't quote me :P).
NOTE: You do not appear to receive extra experience if you defeat enemies
without taking damage (or "Perfect" as most fighting games call it).
NOTE: You do not gain experience in Practice Mode.
NOTE: Allies cannot gain experience, or share yours.
TIP: The number of chains and combo hits you do will affect the amount of
experience you gain (thanks to sibladeko for pointing this out). You
do not have to do the highest chain/combo as the killing blow
however. The game sort of "remembers" what chains/combos you have
done to the enemy and rewards you accordingly.
UPDATE: From my experience, it seems that the damage has a greater effect
than the number of hits. In other words, it seems that a 50hit,
500 damage combo will produce a bigger experience multiplier than a
500hit, 50 damage combo.
- Levels -
Once you collect enough crystals, you will gain an experience level. Gaining a
level has two effects; (1) You do slightly more damage, (2) You gain an extra
gem slot in your gem gauge.
Thanks to dark998 for pointing out the damage increases!
NOTE: You DO NOT gain extra health. You will always have a max of 2 health
bars.
Your maximum level is 10 (11 gem slots). Any experience gained after this is
wasted.
NOTE: Your allies appear to always be at Level 5 and can NEVER level up.
TIP: For Story mode, if you can, try NOT to play as Taiga. He get's so
many battles that you will be level 10 before your girls are all
level 5. And after that, all the experience Taiga gets goes to waste.
On the other hand, Nanashi gets the least battles and I recommend
playing her as much as you can. In short, if you wish to level your
girls up in Story mode, use them as much as possible.
iv. Damage
Damage is what lowers you, and your enemies' health bars. It is possible to do
less than 1 damage per hit, so do not be surprised if you see your 30-hit combo
do a measely 8 points of damage. This is due to damage reduction which is
explained below. Tick damage can do less than 1 damage per hit as well.
- Damage Reduction -
Damage reduction simply means that, for example, Taiga's 3-hit sword combo that
normally does 18 damage, will not always do 18 damage all the time. In Duel
Savior, there are three kinds of damage reduction.
- Defense -
The first is a kind of defense rating. Different enemies will have slightly
different defense ratings. However, this has a smaller effect than Guts which
is discussed in the next section. Just know that the same attack you perfom
will NOT do the same damage to different enemies. Some will receive more, some
will receive less.
NOTE: In Practice mode, all characters have the same Defense rating!
- Guts -
The second is very similar to what Guilty Gear X employs, a health-based damage
reduction. Basically the lower the % of health a target (including you) has,
the less damage you take. Using the above Taiga's example, his 18 damage combo
when done on a target with little health left, may only do 6 damage. You will
notice this effect on the "heavy" bosses more, such as Mudou. I will follow
Guilty Gear X's system and call this a Guts rating. Each character has a
different guts rating. For the sake of this FAQ and related FAQs, a "high" guts
rating means a stronger health-based damage reduction effect. The table below
is an illustration of what Guts is.
The left column is the Guts level, and the Health Remaining displays the health
levels. In the table is the damage reduction %. These are all EXAMPLE VALUES
which are just used to explain Guts.
Guts Level Health Remaining
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 10%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 -0% -5% -10% -15% -20% -25%
2 -0% -6% -12% -20% -28% -38%
3 -0% -7% -15% -25% -37% -52%
4 -0% -8% -18% -32% -50% -65%
5 -0% -9% -20% -37% -65% -85%
The damage reduction values actually scale to a much smaller level but these
are just rough values. You can see that a high guts level character will take
less damage throughout the battle as his health decreases, but a low guts level
character will take more damage.
NOTE: In Practice mode, all characters have the same Guts level!
- Scaling -
The third is specific to attacks. Each attack has it's own damage reduction %
that is, unfortunately, impossible for me to determine. This you will have to
rely on your gameplay experience to notice. These attacks scale down the damage
of the next attack, and the next attack will scale it down further and so on.
This makes infinite combos extremely difficult and highly unlikely.
An example would be:
Assume: (1) Move A does 10 damage, and Move B does 20.
(2) Move A has 20% scaling.
If you combo Move A to Move B, you will not get 10 + 20 damage = 30, but will
get 26 damage instead. 10 + (80% of 20) = 26.
NOTE: Tick damage has scaling applied as well!
TIP: For max damage, reduce the number of weak hits in your combo and go
for fewer, stronger hits.
TIP: If you really want the experience, go for the max hits AND max damage
to jack up the experience multiplier. Remember that a 1000hit combo
dealing 100 damage has a lower multiplier than a combo that does 100
hits and 1000 damage.
Another thing to note is that OTG attacks do VERY little damage. I believe this
is a fixed reduction amount, (my guess is 1/6 of original damage). So don't
obsess to much over # of hits and kick your opponnent so much when he is down.
b. Movement
-------------
i. Walking and Running
Walking is the slowest method of movement. It can be useful for fine-tuning
your distance, or cautious approach however. Also, you come to a stop the
fastest (i.e. brake) when walking. Simply hold foward towards the direction you
wish to go to walk. Remember you can walk in both directions!
Running is what you'll be using most of the time. To run, tap forward twice,
holding the second tap to continue running. Once you get go of the direction,
you will come to a halt. You can switch directions immediately by letting go,
and then quickly holding the other direction button. There is no need to
tap it twice again. But if you prefer to be safe, go ahead and double tap.
NOTE: When walking/running, you CAN NOT go "through" non-allies. You may
however, "overlap" your allies. Of course this means that any hit box
that reaches you will reach your allies as well.
ii. Jumping
NOTE: When performing any kind of jump, you CAN NOT go "through"
non-allies. You may however, "overlap" your allies. Again this means
that any hit box that reaches you will reach your allies as well.
- Jump -
Jumping is your basic ground to air maneuver. You may jump using ub, u or uf.
You are free to attack at any time during the jump, The first jump's path may
not be controlled once you are in the air. In other words, if you jump uf, you
will follow a fixed path, (depending on your character's style of jumping) and
you do not have to hold the path direction button any more.
-Double Jump -
Double Jump sounds simple, simply jump twice right? Well, to an extent it's
correct. However, not all characters can double jump in Justice (thanks for
pointing that out Sib!).
Double jump refers to using a normal jump twice. This is different from using
other jumps as will be explained later below. Your second jump may be of any of
the ub, u, or uf directions. You cannot jump down.
A very important difference however, is that the 2nd jump direction must be
held down. In other words, if you just tap uf for the 2nd jump and let go. You
will only travel a very short distance horizontally.
NOTE: Vertical 2nd jump height is still fixed like the 1st one, you can
only control the horizontal direction.
TIP: You can alternate between left and right for weird double jumps like
the old game Contra. Useful for adjusting position precisely!
TIP: Since you have to hold the direction for the 2nd jump, take care that
any attack you wish to perform has the correct directional button
pressed.
TIP: Some characters can even triple jump, experiment!
- High Jump -
All characters can perform a "High Jump". While this is termed high jump, it
may not always be a jump for all characters. For example, Berio's "High Jump"
has her flying up using her weapon like a witch's broomstick. Please see each
character's individual FAQ for more specifics.
High jumps are performed by pressing the C button together with up. You can
also hold C first and be in the blocking animation, and then press up.
TIP: I prefer pressing, and holding, C very slightly before I press up as
this prevents me from accidentally jumping instead of high jumping.
This holds true for any move that requires C as well, such as BDs.
TIP: High Jumps have a significant startup. You can easily be hit out of a
High Jump during its startup. Therefore I suggest that high jumps be
used when you are quite clear of attacks.
TIP: High Jumps very often have a bit (or significant amount!) of matrix.
Try using High Jumps for some combos in which the opponent recovers
when you use a normal jump and you might be surprised at what combos
you can come up with!
- Combination Jump -
CJs are exactly what they sound like, a combination of jumps. Some characters
can only Jump, then High Jump, while others can only High Jump, then Jump. See
the specific character FAQs for more details.
In Justice, not all characters can double jump (thanks to Sib for pointing this
out). Rarely can some characters double high jump, such as Lily.
TIP: Combination jumps can be used for many, many varied purposes. Remember
that if you use normal jumps for the 2nd and consecutive jumps, you can
control the horizontal direction. Experiment and have fun!
- Ground Return Cancel -
GRC is a technique for some forms of jumping that when performed, can let the
character, return/fall to the ground, or in the case of some flying characters,
reverse the angle of their flight. An example is Berio's uC. You can GRC it and
Berio will reverse the angle of her flight.
This is a noteworthy technique, although only a few characters may use it. This
move is more specific in it's execution in the sense that there are two ways
you can do it.
The first way we talked about, for use in this movement section, involves jumps
and high jumps. To do a GRC during a jump or high jump, press dx2 quickly. This
is specific to each character. Some have no GRCs at all.
NOTE: You CAN NOT use dC to GRC. You MUST use dx2. GRC is NOT a dash.
TIP: Learn your character's GRC, if any, they will open up many variations
and tactics to you.
The second way to do GRC is via red cancel. See "Attack Abilities" section for
more information.
- Quick Fall -
QF is a technique of using the C button to cancel an vertical and horizontal
momentum into a blocking animation, which stops that momentum and drops you
towards the ground more quickly than is normally possible.
You will lose your momentum and start to fall upon pressing C in the air.
However, if you are already falling down, then you won't fall any faster. But,
if you are falling down and forward (like from a forward jump) then you'll lose
your forward momentum and fall down only. In other words, Quick Falls "push"
you downwards. This can be useful in many situations. One of which is Short
Jump, discussed below in the next section.
- Short Jump -
SJs make use of the QF technique. It is basically a shorter jump due to the
fact that the normal jump/HJ's momentum has been cancelled by a QF. To perform
a SJ, do a normal jump, then immediately tap C. Three things can happen when
you tap C however:
1. You tap C way too fast - It becomes a u+C (which is basically a HJ!)
2. You tap C somewhat too fast - You go into ground blocking animation
3. You tap C just a tiny bit too fast - You start to jump but cancel it
while still on the ground (you can see jumping dust)
Why SJs? The biggest reason is: you can freely attack after a SJ. If you do it
quick enough, you can repeat SJ attacks for a series of really quick short
ranged attacks. Some advanced combos and chains are only possible via SJ
technique. And for some characters, SJ chains are incredible pressure and
lockdown.
TIP: In some cases, you can use SJ attacks to gain reds faster than using
other kinds of attacks/moves.
It is worth practicing until you get it right. A particularly good character to
train SJs on is Rubinasu. Please use Rubinasu's FAQ to see combos utilizing
SJs.
TIP: As a final note on jumping, the number of jumps you can perform are
independent of the number of air dashes you can perform (see the next
section for information on dashing). This means if your character has
two ADs, and double jumps, you can use all of them in an advanced
combo!
iii. Dashing
Dashes are a kind of unique style run for each character. Some have fixed
distances, some have much quicker speed, others have matrix. Unlike normal
running, most dashes can go "through" enemies. There are two basic dashes,
forward, and backdash. And an air version of those two as well.
NOTE: Because dash properties are highly specific to each character, please
refer to the character's FAQ for more details.
NOTE: Forward dashes will be referred to simply as dash.
- Dash -
Dashes are performed by using fC. Some character's dashes allow you to go
through opponents. Some dashes are fixed range, while others are durational,
this means that you can hold down the dash for longer range, and when you let
go, it stops.
- Backdash -
BDs are performed by using bC. Most backdashes have some degree of
invincibility and is a very useful way of escaping some attacks. As with
dashes, most backdashes can go through opponents.
NOTE: Because there is no forward, if you press C too late, you will end up
facing the other way, and performing a forward dash!
TIP: Hold C then press b or f as you want to dash back or front.
TIP: Experiment with your character and see if there is invincibility on
his/her BD, then play and experience which situations work well with
BD.
- Air Dash -
This is simply a dash done in the air. Note that the air dash itself may not at
all be the same as the ground dash. Most characters may perform their ADs using
fC in the air. However, some characters specifically MUST use air fx2. Check
the character FAQs for specific information.
TIP: If your character can use fC, use it! Since C is counted as a guard
as well, many times you will get an "auto parry" for free!
- Air Backdash -
Again, simply a BD done in the air. A big note however, is that air BDs usually
do NOT have invincibility. Most characters may perform their air BDs using bC
in the air. Again however, some characters can only use air bx2. Check the
character FAQs for specific information.
TIP: If your character can use bC, use it! Since C is counted as a guard
as well, many times you will get an "auto parry" for free!
- Double Air Dash -
Most characters can perform two ADs, like CJs, you can mix and match air BDs
and ADs.
- Instant Air Dash -
IADs are a technique where by combos are made possible through the use of
either very low to the ground ADs, or very quick JCs leading into almost
immediate ADs. This is one of the components for pressure game as well as
advanced combos.
c. Offense
------------
The goal of battles is to kill the enemy. Easy enough to understand. Someone
said that a good defense is a good offense (this does certainly seem true for
some characters). This section will explain all the details about attack you
would ever need to know about the properties, effects, and abilties of attacks.
i. Attack Properties
Attacks are what combat is all about. The idea is to attack efficiently and
effectively in order to defeat your opponents. Each attack has properties,
which are basically its characteristics.
- Hit Startup -
Hit Startup is the time it takes for an attack to reach its Hit Active state
from an idle state. For example, if you wind back your arms to swing a
baseball bat, that is the bat's hit startup period. Theoratically, you can hit
with the startup swing of a bat, but For the purpose of fighting games such as
Duel Savior, nothing will be "hit" during a Hit Startup period.
- Hit Active -
Hit Active is the time that an attack can "hit". To use the baseball bat
example, hit active is the time you start your swing, up till the time you stop
the swing (beyond your shoulders for example). If the bat is not in its hit
active state, it will not "hit" anything (eg. if the bat is in hit startup).
- Hit Box -
Hit Box, in terms of attacks, refers to the "shape" and "size" of an attack.
When an attack is in its hit active state, only objects in the hit box of that
attack can be hit. Baseball bat example: when you are swinging the bat, the
swing path of the bat is the hit box of the bat. In other words, you can only
hit things in the path of the bat's swing (eg. a ball above your bat will not
be hit if you are not swinging above your head).
- Hit Range -
Hit Range is similar to hit box, but its application is different. While hit
box is the shape and size of an attack, hit range determines how far that
attack will travel/move. For example, you throw the bat at someone. The bat's
hit box is still the size and shape of the bat, but now it's moving so the hit
range is the path that the bat flies (get out of the way!!).
- Hit Stun -
Hit Stun is the amount of stun an attack inflicts on a target when it hits.
This is different from Guard Stun in that the attack must hit (i.e not be
blocked). When a target is in hit stun state, it cannot input any commands at
all. Targets cannot be in hit stun and block state at the same time (i.e. the
target cannot be hit stun and be blocking at the same time, and vice versa).
- Guard Stun -
This is somewhat the opposite of Hit Stun. Guard Stun is the amount of stun an
attack inflicts on a target when it is blocked. When a target is in guard stun
state, he cannot "release" his blocking state. This also means that the
target cannot parry, as you need to release your block before you can attempt
a parry.
NOTE: You *CAN* chain block while in guard stun, it's just a matter of
timing. See "Chain Blocking" section.
- Hit/Block Recovery -
Hit/Block Recovery refers to the time needed for you to be able to:
(1) Perform movements (walking, running, jumping etc.)
(2) Perform non-chain moves
when your attack connects a target. Note that this is for attacks that connect,
not just hit. This means if the attack is blocked, you will have the same
recovery as when the attack hits. To further understand this, I recommend you
try this out now as this is an important concept.
First use Taiga in practice mode and set the target to not block. Go close
enough to connect a B, hold a movement direction while B connects and watch for
the moment you start moving. The time between your attack connecting, and the
moment when you start moving is the hit recovery time. Now try the same with
the target blocking.
NOTE: The attack MUST CONNECT. An attack that does not connect usually has
a different recovery time. This is called Miss Recovery. See the next
section for more information on this.
- Miss Recovery -
Miss Recovery is the amount of time needed for you to input normal actions
after your attack has whiffed (hit nothing, and is not blocked by anything).
This is important to note for your pokes as they will likely whiff most of the
time.
- Autoguard -
Some moves and attacks have periods where executing that move/attack will make
any attack that connects to you be automatically guarded/blocked. The effects
of autoguard are:
(1) your move/attack will not be interrupted
(2) you still take tick damage as per normal
(3) you will suffer some guard stun as if you had guarded the attack (this
is somewhat less than normal guard stun however)
(4) because of (3), your attack/move will perform slower
NOTE: In Justice, you now require blues to autoguard. This means that if
you have been guard crushed, NONE of your autoguard will take place.
Therefore, keep a very close eye on your blues if you want to use
your character's autoguard moves.
NOTE: Autoguard periods are almost never for the entire move/attack. There
will almost surely be some gaps where you can be attacked, which will
interrupt your move/attack.
TIP: Guard crush autoguard-using opponents to take away their advantage,
then land your biggest max damage combo (as they will regain blues
after being hit and you have to guard crush them again).
- Chains -
A chain is a series of attacks that can be performed:
(1) In succession (one after the other)
(2) without consuming reds (if it uses reds, it is an Attack Cancel)
(3) without having to wait for hit active, hit/block recovery to finish
NOTE: Not all chains are combos
NOTE: Multi-hit attacks that can chain to another attack, can often be
chained at any one of the multi-hits. Specific attack properties are
unique to each character, please see their FAQ.
For example, Taiga's Bx3 is a valid chain. However, you cannot chain Bx3 into
dB. You have to wait for the last B to finish recovering. You CAN attack cancel
it, but we will not refer to attack cancels as chains.
- Combos -
Combos are a series of attacks that are unrecoverable. This means that if done
correctly, a combo will always begin and end with the same series of attacks.
Combos vary widely and it is not practical to list all the combos available. I
do provide some examples for each character FAQ that is released however.
NOTE: Combos may not neccesarily contain chains.
NOTE: Combos are highly dependent on several factors. One combo that works
on a specific target may not work on others. Remember to experiment!
TIP: Sometimes long combos with many weak hits may actually do less damage
than shorter combos with less, but stronger hits. Experiment!
A simple example of a combo is Taiga's Bx3. This is a 3-hit combo.
NOTE: The following advanced formula is NOT IMPORTANT information. Read it
only if you wish to understand how attack properties work together to
form combos. But in practice, you will not be using this as there is
no specific data on attack properties to be found for Duel Savior.
The advanced formula for whether a following attack will combo is:
Let the previous attack be Attack1, and the following attack be Attack2.
1. IF (Attack2_Hit_Startup < Attack1_Hit_Stun) AND
(Attack2_Hit_Box.Reach_Target_Hit_Box = True)
OR (Attack2_Hit_Startup - [Matrix_Duration] < Attack1_Hit_Recovery) AND
(Attack2_Hit_Box.Reach_Target_Hit_Box = True)
THEN Attack1 and Attack2 can combo
In english:
1. If the Attack2's startup is faster than the Attack1's stun, and Attack2's
hit box can reach the target's hit box, then it is a combo.
2. If the Attack2's startup (taking into account optional matrix effects) is
faster than Attack1's hit recovery, and Attack2's hit box can reach the
target's hit box, then it is a combo.
Scenario Examples:
1. Taiga starts off an attack with his B, and it hits. He then performs a 2nd
B (which happens to be a normal chain). Because the 2nd B's startup is
faster than the target can recover (from the 1st hit's stun), and assuming
the target is still in range of the 2nd B's hit box, then it will combo.
2. Taiga starts off an attack with his dB air launcher, and it hits. He then
proceeds to HJC and jumps into the air. This gives him a fair amount of
matrix. He then decides to do a jB. Because the jB's startup is faster than
the target can recover (from the hit stun of dB, as well as the time slow
from the matrix effect) he is able to combo dB into jB with the help of HJC.
Therefore, a combo need not neccesarily make use of chains. It can just be a
series of attacks. As long as that series of attacks is unrecoverable, then it
is a combo. A perfect example of this is Rubinasu's SJ combo, where several
rapid SJs are used to combo jB back into jB. Another textbook example is
Kaede's combo which makes use of the float effects of her B on heavy/big hit
box targets, or her corner jB loop which also makes use of the float effects.
- EX Moves -
EX Moves are a special kind of attack. These are "EXtra" versions of normal
moves and are performed by using directional buttons plus A and B together.
Regardless, EX Moves are still attacks and hence have all the normal attack
properties mentioned above. Some EX moves even require you to chain them
manually, for example, Taiga's AB (which is an EX version of his Bx3 chain)
requires you to followup the chain with B presses.
The advantage to EX moves vary, some examples include:
- Low startup time
- High invincibility
- High matrix
- High autoguard duration
- High damage
- Big hitboxes
- Effects such as long float duration
EX moves CAN have disadvantages as well:
- Long miss/hit/block recovery
- Long startup time
- Low damage
- Small hitboxes
NOTE: EX moves always take 2 red gems.
NOTE: EX moves take 3 red gems when AC (1 for the attack cancel, and the
normal 2 for the EX move). An EX move AC into another EX will then
consume 5 reds of course (2 x 2 EX moves, and 1 for AC).
- Staggering Attacks -
Staggering attacks mainly refer to the timing of performing chains and combos.
Reasons for doing this include:
- making your attacks harder to parry
- to compensate for target's size/weight/hitbox
- to let the target release its block
For those of you who have played King of Fighters, Iori and Kyo are good
examples of characters who like to use staggered attacks (Iori's qcb A/C x 3,
Kyo's fire fist chain as well). When done well, even the AI can be tricked into
thinking the chain is over and release its block, then you continue the chain
and catch them.
For Duel Savior, Taiga has the easiest stagger in my opinion. You can do it for
his Bx3. Try different timings of B presses. You can of course, stagger nearly
everything in the game.
TIP: Moves which have a higher hit/guard stun, than hit/block recovery are
ideal moves for staggering, as even if you miss the stagger, you can
recover faster than the opponent.
ii. Attack Effects
Attacks can have one or several effects. An attack effect is an effect that
occurs when the attack hits. Effects usually do not occur when the attack does
not hit. This basically means attack effects do not work when you miss them.
NOTE: Some attack effects still work when the attack is guarded/blocked.
- Air Launcher -
When a target is hit with an attack with this effect, they are lifted up, off
the ground, into the air. If the target is already in the air, they are lifted
up even higher. A basic example is Taiga's dB.
NOTE: Targets of air launchers retain all normal weight properties.
- Float -
This is similar to Air Launcher in the sense that targets hit with an attack
that has float effects will be lifted into the air. However, the big difference
is that targets of float effects lose all their normal weight properties. This
means that they can fly at strange angles, or seemingly "hang" in the air
longer than they normally do. A basic example is Kaede's B on airborne targets
(this means Kaede's B only has float effects if the target is already in the
air, it will not have the float effect on ground targets).
NOTE: It is common to mistake float effects for matrix, and vice versa. See
the next section to understand the difference.
TIP: Float effects are very useful sometimes for pulling off certain
combos.
- Knockback -
Knockback is the amount of "push" an attack gives to the target. For example, a
baseball bat that hits a ball will give the ball knockback all the way to where
it lands. In fighting games such as Duel Savior however, knockback is a simple,
fixed amount in most cases. Some attacks do have certain "angles" where hits
can result in varied amounts of knockback.
NOTE: Some attacks, when performed to opponents pressed against the corner,
will transfer the knockback to YOU, the attacker. These attacks will
be specified in the character's FAQ.
- Matrix -
Matrix effects are named after the popular movie, "the Matrix". In this movie
there were lots of "slow-motion" scenes where time is slowed down. Matrix
effects in Duel Savior are similar but not entirely the same. In essense, an
attack that has matrix effects will cause the ENTIRE BATTLEFIELD to slow down,
EXCEPT FOR YOU. This of course, has huge implications in terms of mobility. I
would like to stress that some moves have significant matrix and might make it
seem that the opponent is floating. An example of a matrixed attack is Mia's
arrows. The longer you charge them, the more matrix they have.
NOTE: The way to tell if your attack is floating targets or simply posesses
matrix effects is to note if the whole screen slows down, or just the
target. If it is the whole screen, it is matrix.
TIP: Matrix can allow for some chains and combos which are normally not
possible.
- Clash -
A clash can occur (rarely) when two side's attacks collide in their hit active
state. However, how exactly this works is beyond me. I have experimented with
clashing several attacks but can never find a consistant situation where a
clash can be accurately reproduced. The one exception is Rico's/Immunity's
Jelly's C move. For some reason, that move is really easy to clash with almost
anything, and is the jelly's only way to defend itself.
If anyone has an accurate way of reproducing clashes, please let me know.
NOTE: While I cannot say exactly when clashes will occur, as far as I have
experienced, clashes only occur during the hit active of both side's
attacks. You cannot clash with hit startups for instance.
NOTE: It seems that you can chain any attack after a clash without using
any reds. This is unverified however.
- Down -
Attacks that down targets push/knock the target flat on the ground. A prime
example of this is Berio's fA. Some attacks only down targets if they are in
the air, some will down targets regardless.
TIP: Attacks that down targets are good for wakeup moves.
- Ground Bounce -
Similar to down effect, attacks that ground bounce targets will first down the
target, then bounce them back up from off the ground (ouch!). This can lead to
interesting followups. Ground bounce usually only occurs when the target is in
the air. In other words, if they are on the ground, they will not usually
bounce back up (that would be an air launcher). A good example is Yuka's jdB,
on airborne targets of course.
TIP: Experiment with various followups after a ground bounce.
- Wall Bounce -
Yet another bounce (boing boing boing all day long). This one is rather
specific however. The battle area consists of several screen lengths. There are
always two corners where the area ends. However, there are yet two more corners
that always follow you, this is the "wall" that we are referring to. It is the
limits of the screen which you can see (not counting the two "real" corners).
Some attacks will bounce off the walls as mentioned above. This means if you
move around the screen, the "wall" will shift with you and you can change the
part where they bounce.
TIP: Rico's Book summon's bomb move is a very good move to use wall
bounce with. You can shift the bomb around by "moving" the wall by
walking/running/teleporting around. This allows you to hit targets
that try to run past the bomb.
iii. Attack Abilities
Attack abilities are special, optional abilities that can be performed with
most attacks. These attacks can have one or more of these abilities. Most these
abilties require reds to perform, and will be noted in their descriptions.
- Jump Cancel -
Some attacks can cancel their block/hit recovery into a jump. This can open up
more chains or combos, or simply to serve as a defensive maneuver. JCs do not
consume reds even though it is a cancel.
NOTE: JCs do not consume reds even though it is a cancel.
The typical method of executing a jump cancel is to tap a jump direction,
either ub, u or uf, when the attack connects. Some characters may only jump in
certain directions. Please see each character's FAQ for more specific
information.
NOTE: You CAN NOT jump cancel if the attack whiffs. It MUST CONNECT.
NOTE: This is different from High Jump cancel, which consumes a red gem
and performs a HJ, not a normal jump.
NOTE: You can only JC as many times as you can normally jump. If you have
already used up your jumps, you cannot JC anymore.
- Attack Cancel -
This is the most basic cancel ability. It is very likely that you have done
this cancel when you first played Duel Savior without realizing it. Attack
cancels are forced attack chains where a chain is not normally possible. These
cancels are very specific in that, a particular attack, can only attack cancel
into a fixed set of other attacks. In *most* cases however, a B attack can be
AC into another non-chain B attack (usually you cannot AC a B attack into an
A attack). This ability requires a red gem for each AC performed. When an AC is
done during an attack, it will cancel all the remaining hit active duration (if
any left), as well as all recovery of the attack into the other attack.
An easy example is Taiga, do his fB and then when fB connects, do a B. Notice
that you consumed a red gem upon pressing B. This is because fB does not have
a valid chain to B, but it is possible to force it using AC.
NOTE: I have never experienced being able to AC a B attack into an A attack
of any kind. If someone experiences otherwise, please let me know.
TIP: ACs are sometimes a good way to take advantage of situations where
you need that move's property/effect. Rubinasu's jdB AC into jB is an
example. Her jdB is a very good poke but has too short hit stun to be
utilized in combos, however if you AC into jB suddenly you have a
really dangerous poke that can be turned into a big damage combo by
spending a minor single red gem to take advantage of jB's hit stun.
- Dash Cancel -
A dash cancel is basically a forced dash. This ability consumes one red gem
each time you use it. To perform DCs, press fx2 during the hit active state of
an attack. This will cancel all the remaining hit active duration (if any left)
as well as all recovery into a ground dash.
TIP: You can DC as many times as you have reds. This is a good way for
most characters to pressure targets or knockback them towards the
corner.
NOTE: Most DCs can only be performed if the attack connects, but some
exceptions allow whiffs to be MC.
- Air Dash Cancel -
Very similar to dash cancels, this is basically a forced air dash. This ability
consumes one red gem each time you use it. To perform ADCs, press fx2 during
the hit active state of an attack while in the air. This will cancel all the
remaining hit active duration (if any left), as well as all recovery of the
attack into an air dash.
NOTE: You can only ADC as many times as you can normally AD. If you have
already used up your AD, you cannot ADC anymore.
- High Jump Cancel -
The name speaks for itself. Like DC and ADC, this is a forced HJ cancel. This
ability consumes one red gem each time you perform it. To perform HJCs, press
ux2 during the hit active state of an attack. This will cancel all the
remaining hit active duration (if any left), as well as all recovery of the
attack into a HJ.
NOTE: You can only HJC as many times as you can normally HJ. If you have
already used up your HJ, you cannot HJC anymore.
TIP: Most HJs have matrix, therefore, HJCs can not only provide a means of
additional offense, but also a means of escape.
- Ground Return Cancel -
This is a very interesting and potentially useful cancel. GRC implies that you
need to be in the air before you can perform it. GRC can actually also be done
as a movement cancel (explained in "Jumping" section above), but this section
will cover how it is done as an attack ability.
GRC is performed like the other above cancels, except since it returns you
towards the ground, you use dx2 when the attack is in its hit active state.
This will cancel all the remaining hit active duration (if any left) as well as
all recovery of the attack into a GRC. Most GRCs require a red gem to perform.
NOTE: While this is termed as a Ground Return Cancel, not all GRCs return
you directly to the ground. Some characters fly off at different
angles. See their FAQs for more information.
TIP: GRCs, like HJCs can serve as both offense and defense.
- Miss Cancel -
Miss Cancel is used to refer to the ability of an attack ability to be
performed even if it does not connect. MC is an "addon" option for some attack
abilities. For example, Kaede's B's DC can be MC. This means that Kaede's B
does not have to connect before she can perform a DC.
NOTE: MC is an ability, of an attack ability. Only some attack abilities
can be MC.
- Offensive Cancel -
OCs are a new thing in Justice, and only the new characters have them. None of
the old returning characters have any OCs.Notable examples include True Taiga
and Yuka.
OCs are offensive versions of all the other attack abilities listed above,
namely: DC, ADC, HJC and GRC (unverified for GRC). When OCs are performed, they
result in an attack which has its own attack properties and effects. These OCs
usually allow for longer chains and combos as those attacks have hit stun to
them. In addition, these OCs negate the normal rules of repetition as they are
not dashes, AD or even HJs. They are considered a seperate attack, and
therefore, can be repeated as many times as you have reds. Performing an OC
requires one red gem for each execution.
TIP: Characters with OCs have a huge pressure advantage over characters
with no OCs.
NOTE: Nanashi's DC, ADC, HJC, while looking like an OC, is not really an OC
as the hits are merely properties of her normal dashes, ADs and HJs.
OCs have their own seperate, different animation.
- Running Attack -
This is probably the only attack ability that does not consume reds. RAs are
attacks performed when the character is running (this means the f buttons is
still being held down), and usually have slightly different attack properties.
Although you are holding down f, RAs do not always execute as that character's
f move. For example, Kaede's RA is her normal A with extended range, but
Berio's RA is her fA with a much extended range. RAs can be seen as a "dash-in"
kind of attack where, while your attack is being executed, you still "slide"
forward. This can mean more chains due to a closer range and less knockback.
TIP: If your character's RA is not its fA attack, but you wish to perform
the fA, you need to let go of f before pressing fA again (do it quick
and you still can retain the "sliding" effect for better range).
d. Defense
------------
i. Defensive States
- Guard/Block -
A target that is guarding or blocking will not receive hit stun when being
attacked. They will also not receive damage but some attacks do have tick
damage which will be dealt even if the target is blocking. To guard/block, hold
down the C button.
In retrospect, a target in guard state will receive guard stun, and cannot
release its guard state until the guard stun is over.
TIP: Attacks that have high guard stun, but a lower hit/block recovery
are often ideal pokes since you can act before the target can. Of
course, if the attack has a horribly small hit box... then it's not
as abusable.
- Chain Block -
CB is a special kind of active block state. The reason it is both special and
active is the three conditions required to perform a CB. First, please read the
above sections on Guard/Block and Parry again to refresh your memory. The
conditions required for CB to be performed are as follows:
1. You have to be in guard stun from an attack
2. There must be another incoming attack (you cannot CB a single hit)
3. You must press Guard/Block again before the other attack connects
Recall that while in guard stun, you cannot release your block state. To parry,
you need to be in a neutral state before you enter guard state. Therefore
because you cannot release your block state, you are unable to parry following
hits, if the hits come before the guard stun wears off. If you attempt to parry
you will be performing CBs.
CBs are identified by:
1. A very quick pulse of light radiating in a circle from your character
2. You receive additional knockback, or the knockback is transferred to the
attacker (i.e. you/attacker get pushed further away)
3. You receive no tick damage (UNVERIFIED). Someone can help me test? It's
really hard to see.
NOTE: CB requires a slightly higher rate of blue gem consumption than
normal blocking. Each time you CB it requires more blue than if you
had blocked it normally.
TIP: CB is invaluable for some attacks, Rico's/Immunity's Jelly EX is the
perfect example. If you CB a few of the hits of that EX (I assume you
managed to block in the first place >_>), you will push the Jelly
away and be clear of the remaining hits and be free to act! It's not
easy to CB however, and if you mess up, you will eat the remaining
hits. Practice the Rico stage in Parry Mode. There are several other
examples where CB is extremely useful, too many to list. Experiment!
When you examine the mechanics CB closely, you will realise that CB is
basically trying to parry where parrying is not possible! (Yeah, I could have
said so in the beginning, but I'm evil and want to make your brain hurt).
- Parry -
Parry is a special kind of block state where you block as late as possible. In
some sense it is a "I guarded just in time!". It can be a deliberate attempt to
parry, or just by fluke. Regardless, to parry, you simply block just before the
attack connects. If you block to early then you will merely be in block state.
There is quite a bit of leeway for you to parry. The game is pretty forgiving
in that sense compared to other games where the exact moment to parry is very
short. The effects of being in a parry state are as follows:
1. You will hear a loud "TING!" sound
2. Your character will flash with red sparks.
3. You receive NO tick damage at all
4. You no longer receive guard stun, but receive parry recovery
5. The attacker receives a significantly greater amount of hit recovery
NOTE: Parry recovery is defined as the amount of time needed to return to
an idle or block state from a parry state and is always a fixed
amount. This means you can act a lot faster than if you guarded
normally.
TIP: Parry then BD or ABD is a good way to escape some attacks.
NOTE: Attackers DO NOT receive extra hit recovery when you parry their
projectiles.
NOTE: You have to release and re-press block and do a seperate parry for
each and every additional hit that reaches you in a different time
frame. This means that if two, single-hit attacks, reach you at the
same exact time frame, you can parry once for both attacks. But this
is very rare.
- Chain Parry -
Chain parry is similar to CB in that chain parry refers to parrying multiple
hits. To chain parry, you must release block button from the previous parry,
and reattempt to parry the next hit (it will likely have different timing).
NOTE: If you are good with abusing the matrix effect of parry recovery, you
can change the chain parry timing of multi-hit moves.
Chain parry in practice, while looking impressive, is not always as effective
as CB. In fact, in a situation where there are many enemies, chain parry more
or less chains you to the spot where you are parrying and allows them to
surround you, not a good thing.
TIP: Chain parry only if you intend to stay in that spot to counter
attack or whatever you want to do.
- Selective Parry -
Selective parry refers to the conscious decision to parry only selected hits
of incoming attacks. The reasons for this are varied, including risk, too many
red gems gained (you will end up guard crushed if you parry too much!), and so
on. I personally prefer selective parry and switch to CB for better position.
- Guard Crush -
Guard Crush is not really a defensive state per se, but this is only one of two
ways you can be guard crushed. The other way is via the defensive ability,
Backdash Cancel. Guard crush is a state where ALL your blue gems are depleted.
This means not even a tiny bit of blue gems remain. The effects of being in
guard crush are as follows:
1. Your character starts to flash red when guarding hits
2. Your gem gauge is flashing
3. You take alot more tick damage (roughly 600% as much!)
4. You take tick damage from moves which normally do not have tick damage
(this leads me to believe tick damage is a % of the move's original full
damage as I doubt they program some moves to do tick damage for guard
crush state only)
5. Your autoguard moves will no longer have autoguard (!)
NOTE: The gem gauge will start to flash when you have less than a single
blue gem remaining. But it will continue flashing when your blues
are depleted.
TIP: As you can probably conclude from #5, a good way to defeat those
annoying autoguard reliant enemies is to deplete their blues, then
hit them (HARD!) during their normal autoguard state.
To recover from guard crush state, simply gain some blues. You can let yourself
be hit, or run away~~~~~~~~ (I prefer running).
ii. Defensive Abilities
- Backdash Cancel -
BDC is similar to DC except that you consume a blue gem and perform a forced BD
instead. This ability consumes one blue gem each time you perform it. To
perform BDC, press bx2 during the hit active state of an attack. This will
cancel all the remaining hit active duration (if any left), as well as all
recovery of the attack into a BD.
TIP: This is your "get out of jail free card". Make a mistake? BDC for
safety. Note that BDCs still have all the normal properties of your
character's BD. Therefore if your character's BD has very low amount
of invincibility, it might not be worth it to BDC at all.
- Air Backdash Cancel -
ABDC is similar to BDC, except that this is done in the air. This ability
consumes one blue gem each time you perform it. To ABDC, press bx2 during the
hit active state of an attack. This will cancel all the remaining hit active
duration (if any left), as well as all recovery of the attack into an ABD.
NOTE: You can only ABDC as many times as you can normally ABD. If you have
already used up your ABD, you cannot ABDC anymore.
- Recovery -
Recovery is a general term used to refer to regaining the ability to control
your character again after being attacked or while attacking. For example, if
I block Taiga's Bx3 chain, I cannot act until I recover from his Bx3's guard
stun. Another example would be, Taiga's fB hits me, I cannot move or even block
any other attacks until I recover from his fB's hit stun.
- Air Recovery -
Air Recovery is a special kind of recovery. It can only be done in the air, can
only be done when you are in hit stun, and also only done in one way; by
pressing the up direction control. Air Recovery consumes a blue gem and has the
effect of a short period of invincibility. You can only air recover after the
hit stun from the enemy's attacks have worn off.
NOTE: The higher the number of combo hits, the less hit stun is applied for
each hit. This means after a certain number of hits, you can for
certain air recover out of the combo.
TIP: You can hold down the up direction control, this will let you recover
as soon as you can, rather than tapping up.
TIP: Because air recovery has some invincibility, you can bait attacks and
air recover at the last instant so that the enemy's attacks go
through you and possibly leave him in a disadvantageous position.
TIP: It is not always the best idea to air recover as soon as possible.
Sometimes letting yourself get hit and thrown out of range of
approaching enemies, is better than recovering and landing back in
the same position you were in, this time with enemies surrounding
you. Immunity's jAB EX is my favourite example of not air recovering.
When I get hit my Immunity's jAB EX, I let myself fly really far away
before I air recover, even though I could have done it earlier. This
depends on your character of course, just be open to the idea that
sometimes it may be better to air recover late.
==================
8. Training Tips
==================
So you want to master your character? Or perhaps you feel that you're facing a
wall in your progress? Here are some guidelines:
a. Basics
-----------
i. Understand the Battle System
This seems like a no brainer. But this is THE most important step to Justice
ownage. You have to know the battle system inside out so as to unlock the true
potential of your character. The best way to do this is to try out everything
listen in the Battle System section above in Practice mode, with your chosen
character. This brings me to my next point.
ii. Pick a Character
This next step has two points of view to it. First, you can pick a character
based on how powerful it is. Second, you can pick a character based on how you
like the character. It's a big difference. Personally, I'd advise you to go
with a character you have the most fun with. Sure, your character might not do
an easy 100 damage anywhere on the screen with only 2 reds, but as long as you
have fun, that's what it's all about in the end isn't it?
Maybe you like the character cause it's whacky. Maybe you like it cause it's
cute. The point here is, you need to LIKE the character. You will naturally
perform better with a character you like.
My current favourite is: Rubinasu (just so you know ^^)
b. Finding Your Style
-----------------------
So you've gotten the Battle System down pat, you know that many moves can be
cancelled in a variety of ways (which you've tried of course), you know that
you can double jump (it's amazing how few people realise this), you know that
you should save some blues and reds for cancels when you really need them, you
know that damage is scaled so 500 hits for 100 damage isn't really a good idea,
so what's next?
Next comes what I call, Finding Your Style. Everyone plays differently. Go to
a arcade centre and observe say, Street Fighter 3 players. They may use the
same characters, but they each have their own unique playing style. This is
what you need to develop.
While many have argued with me that the best way to get your playing style is
to ... play, I offer to you here, some (just some) areas in which you may want
to consider when you're developing your style:
i. Mobility
This is how you basically, run around. How you double jump, how you dash, how
you run. Learn your character's jump range, short jump range, double jump
possiblities, and even combination jump styles (some characters have amazing
combination jumps that many people never use...) as well as your backdashes,
air backdashes and so on.
This also includes your knowledge of which moves can be JC. JC is extremely
important to your mobility, I cannot stress it more. JC opens up an amazing
amount of variety to your style, both defense and offence. Combos which you
never thought of are suddenly possible with JC.
A complement to JC is AD, again, learn which moves you can AD with/without
spending reds. This again will improve your variety.
As an example, I love using Rubinasu's air A JC. I can JC backwards and toss an
air dB if I'm defensive, or I can JC up and toss a dB again for offense, which
opens up to a chance for a combo as it is hard to parry, or I can JC and air BD
if I feel the opponent is going to parry and air counter. A wealth of
possibilities.
As I always say, EXPERIMENT!
ii. Poking
Poking is the act of tossing out attacks which (1) you are not sure will
connect, or (2) force the opponent to block and give you the offensive
advantage or leave them open. Let's not talk about obvious openings where the
opponent has just whiffed an EX and is a sitting duck. I'm talking about the
times where you try to lure each other into an opening or mistake.
Find out which moves are good for poking, remember to take into account miss
recovery as you will most likely be missing pokes. It's risky to abuse a poke
that has good guard stun but long recovery. Shezaru's B moves are a perfect
example. While most of his moves are really good pokes, if he whiffs he's
pretty much open to a nice big fat combo.
For example, I love poking with Rubinasu's air A or air B. Air A as mentioned
above, can be JC or even chained to air B. Air B has amazing guard stun. A
delightful bonus is both moves have nice fat WIDE hit box. Such that even if my
back is to them, I can hit them on the backswing of the move. This to me is a
really big advantage. I also often hit entire groups of enemies around me due
to that wide angle.
Poking for success, try it today!
iii. Bread and Butter
So you've managed to poke your opponent, what next? If your poke is a one hit
wonder, nothing much, apply some mobility and get into an advantageous
position. If your poke is chainable/comboable though, this is where the next
part comes in. Your bread and butter combos.
Bread and Butter (B&B) are basically the combos that are tried and proven to
work all the time (well, almost all). It should be the combo you fall back on
when your mind is out of options, or you get a chance which you did not expect
and don't know what combo to pull off.
B&Bs should work on almost all kinds of characters, regardless of size or
weight. Only after you've gotten a good B&B down should you adjust your B&B to
suit different situations, or to achieve more damage.
I would like to mention one more thing about B&Bs, try to set up your B&Bs for
not only best damage, but best position as well. Remember, it's not likely that
you can finish off a 3 health bar enemy in one B&B! What you're looking for is
doing damage when you can, and giving yourself the advantage in position to do
it again and again.
In closing, B&Bs should be, easy to perform with your level of skill, do good
damage, and leave you with an advantageous position.
My personal B&B for Rubinasu is an advanced SJ + matrixed HJ Combo, that took
some time to perfect, but once I'm used to it, it became my B&B. 60+ damage
with a single red is pretty good for a B&B in my book, well worth the effort of
mastering SJs (not too healthy on the fingers unfortunately... RSI! RSI!!!!)
iv. Max Damage
There will be times when you just need to go for max damage, to go for that
kill and you have the reds to burn. This is what you need to know as well. It
may well be worth to kill off a bothersome enemy, even to the point of
exhausting all your reds. This is what max damage is for.
Learn how to use red cancels effectively to achieve the max damage you can
output. Once you know how much damage you can deal, then the decision to use
max damage combos lies on your judgement. Can you finish off that opponent even
with his godly defense? Is it worth doing it?
v. Pressure Game
Pressure game is how you coordinate your offense in such a way that the enemy
has a hard time even beginning to attack you, and is probably spending most of
its time guarding or dodging. In the prelude to the Offense section, I said
that someone once said that a good defense is a good offense. This is what
pressure is about.
Some enemies have incredible offense capabilties that may make you go "that
character is SO overpowered! Unfair!". The way to counter these enemies, is to
NOT let them get their offense going. Pressure them until they crack. EVen the
AI which cheats blatantly makes mistakes in parrying sooner or later.
Once you get your pressure game going, there is a much higher chance that you
will get the opportunity to perform a big combo for damage. Even those
"support" characters like Mia and Black Papilion can benefit from pressure
games when used correctly.
vi. Corner Traps
If your pressure game is all set up, and you've gotten your target's back to
the corner, it's time to keep him there. Learn your character's moves which
keeps the enemy in the corner for as long as possible, leaving him no way to
escape. This is your corner trap. Corner traps are an even more extreme form
of pressure game that is almost guaranteed to give you victory if you keep the
pressure on.
vii. Escapes
On the flip side of corner traps, what if YOU are in the corner? Say you made
a mistake in parrying Mudou's autoguard EX (it's surprisingly tricky for a one
hit EX) and it made you fly all the way into the corner, and you can see a
whole army of enemies rushing in on your position. Oops. Now's the time to
make a Grand Escape. Know your character's mobility, or attacks, or EXes that
will give you an opportunity to escape, for staying trapped in the corner is a
100% sure-fire recipe for defeat (especially when it's you vs. 20 enemies).
When I play Rico, I try to teleport up, and toss out a dAB EX or two. This EX
does a grand total of zero damage. However, this EX has the best defensive
effect of all, it draws all nearby enemies into a kind of gravity suction void,
leaving them unable to attack. I can then safely make my escape. This is an
example of what you have to know about your character.
Sometimes you just have to run to live and fight another day.
c. Advanced
-------------
OK, so you've done everything in the Training Tips sections, Basics and
Finding Your Style. You've gotten everything down pat and are doing fairly well
in your chosen character. However, you somehow feel that you have not been
progressing any further lately. Your style is the same old, your tactics are
the same old, and you can't seem to figure out how to improve any further. This
is where this section comes in.
i. Experiment, Practice, Apply
One big reason why you have not been improving is you keep doing the same style
over and over. While I advocate finding your own style, if you want to improve
beyond your limits, you need to experiment. Most people feel comfortable with
a certain playstyle which helps them win consistantly, and stick to it. The
feeling of security you get is a nice warm fuzzy feeling, this is
understandable.
Ask yourself this however, when was the last time you tried to do something
crazy? When was the last time you tried to parry Shezaru's AB EX move instead
of just blocking it? When was the last time you jumped smack into a group of
enemies instead of escaping to a safe distance?
The discovery of new tricks and tactics comes with such experimentation. Once
you've discovered something interesting, experiment more and get the idea down.
Once your idea is solid, practice doing that trick or tactic over and over.
This is exactly the same stuff as in the Basics and Finding Your Style. The
only difference is you're developing your style even further. Then once you've
mastered the new trick/tactic, it becomes part of your new style and you can
then use it with confidence in your battles.
ii. Solo Survival
In Survival Mode, you can use up to two partners for the battles. If you want
to learn really fast, I suggest you play solo (stages 1000 and above are really
good practice). If you need one on one practice, try stages 22 to 55.
Playing solo in survival stages 1000+ really forces you to develop your poking
and escape skils. You won't be able to attack efficiently as a whole swarm of
enemies will only be too happy to interrupt your nice 5-red 200 damage combo.
This also will train you in your reaction, the ability to see danger coming,
to develop the judgement as to when to pull back, and when to push. Most of
all, when you get hit by a single attack, you will learn the hard way that one
hit is all it takes for the enemy to crush you to a fine dust without you ever
getting the chance to counter-attack. This will really force you to learn how
to maintain a strong defense.
==========================
9. Credits and Outtakes
==========================
Well this is it, the end of a long FAQ. I hope you found it of interest. If you
fell asleep, I don't blame you at all. To the readers who learnt new things
from this, I hope you enjoy and appreciate Duel Savior Justice even more. Who
would have thought a simple h-game and seemingly simple battle system could
turn out to be such an enjoyable, tactical fighting game. Tell your friends
today!
There is a semi-active discussion over at Hongfire's forums at
www.hongfire.com. Feel free to join in! I have made several videos and have
linked them in the Duel Savior Justice thread (under hentai games).
If you have any particular request for say, a difficult stage, or just curious
as to what I can do with your favourite character, send me a request via email
or Hongfire's board. I will be more than happy to accomodate you.
Special Thanks to:
sibladeko for many, many clarifications, insights, corrections, and for his
amazing walkthrough that even beats the japanese made one! There you are folks,
your salvation, your nirvana, your walkthrough... is at GameFAQs! Go. Now. And
stop asking me for walkthroughs damnit!
Thanks especially for the inspiration to finally complete this FAQ. I never did
release this FAQ for the original Duel Savior as I was dissapointed at the lack
of attention Duel Savior received for it's battle system.
Thanks also to GameFAQs for hosting my FAQ.
GIGA, for making an awesome game. Here's hoping that they release a proper
fighting game with no h-material so that we can officially call it a fighting
game (with versus mode please!).
Thanks to the following contributors for many corrections, clarifications:
dark998 for his insights on levelup damage increases and corrections to
Survival mode
htranou for more Survival mode information
Mistwraith for helping review this FAQ
================================
10. Frequently Asked Questions
================================
Q: What the hell? Why go into so much detail? It's a h-game!
A: I like. My FAQ. You no like? You no read. Be glad it's ONLY a h-game
You should see my discussions on GGX mechanics with my friends.
Q: Hi, walkthrough please.
A: No. See GameFAQs and lookup sibladeko's Duel Savior FAQ
Q: How do I complete Berio's Holy Splash/Holy Beam parry stage?
A: I don't know.
================================== END OF FAQ =================================