Eazy E
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"You wanna duel like Ragnos? Alright follow me..." - EazyE
This guide will cover most (if not all) the mechanics, techniques, gimmicks and effective dueling playstyles for v1.7.
To satisfy my need for RP everything is broken down into Saber Forms (1 through 7).
Basic Dueling + Shii-Cho Guide
UI:
Block Points (BP):
Block points are represented by the red bar on the bottom right of your screen (shown in the image above). BP is lost everytime you are hit by a saber strike and a small amount is lost everytime you attack. You take increased BP damage while running/crouching/jumping. So it’s best to walk either by holding shift or by turning auto run off. (esc>controls>other>always run: off).
Tempest's Damage Calculator
^ Use this and insert values to calculate BP damage. (Default is Yellow vs Yellow. Attacker not swingblocking and walking. Defender blocking and walking).
Force Points (FP):
Force points are represented by the blue bar on the bottom right of your screen (shown in the image above). FP is lost everytime you use special attacks and force powers, it's also lost when you deflect blaster shots.
Health Points (HP):
Health points are represented by the red bar on the bottom left of your screen (shown in the image above). HP is lost everytime you are hit and do not block the attack.
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Basic Dueling:
Styles:
Each Style has 4 attributes to distinguish it from others.
AP (Attack Points): The higher this is the more damage the style does per swing.
BP (Block Points): The higher this is the more damage this style can take before it runs out of bp.
Combo Length: How many swings can be chained together in a combo.
Speed: The windup speed for a normal swing.
Slap:
If you bind a button to class special 2 (esc>controls>moviebattles>class special 2) pressing it with your saber ignited will play the slap/kick animation. If you use this on an opponent who is attacking/not blocking it will knock them over.
Attacking:
You can attack by simply tapping the left mouse button (by default). If you hold a directional key (WASD) and tap attack you will attack in different directions (you can also hold either WA, WD, SA or SD together to do diagonal swings).
Comboing:
Hold a directional key (A for example) and tap attack, as soon as the attack begins let go of the directional key and hold one going in the opposite direction (D for example). Then as soon as your hit connects with your target tap attack again (the timing for this might take you a while to get but keep practicing you'll get it eventually). You can carry this on by switching directions again and tapping attack as soon as your hit connects again. You can carry this on for upto 4 hits with Yellow. Successive Combo Swings do less damage than the initial swing that starts the combo.
ACM (Attack Chain Multiplier):
ACM is shown by the colour behind your saber icon in the bottom right (shown in the image above) getting larger and brighter. The more ACM you have the more BP damage you do per hit. Landing hits increases ACM getting hit leads to the loss of ACM.
ACM builds from ACC (Attack Chain Count). Each time you land a combo or halfswing you gain 1 ACC. A 4 hit combo will give you 1 ACC while a 1-1-1-1 combo chain (read below) will give you 4 ACC. This makes single hits better for building ACM.
-Strong styles gain 1 ACM for every 4 ACC.
-Medium styles gain 1 ACM for every 6 ACC.
-Fast Styles gain 1 ACM for every 8 ACC.
Swingblocking:
Tap attack and as soon as your swing animation starts immediately hold block. This is called swingblocking and allows you to:
Swingblock Comboing:
Start your first attack and swingblock and as soon as the attack connects with your opponent quickly let go off block for a split second and (while walking in a different direction) tap attack again for your second combo hit follow this quickly by holding block again. This will take a lot of practice to do and a long time to master.
The basic principle is to combo normally but hold block throughout the whole combo, only letting go when you need to tap attack and immediately holding block again afterwards.
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Perfect Blocking (PB)
Perfect Block:
Perfect Blocking can be done by looking in the direction of your opponents saber swings. Perfect Blocking stops you from taking any BP damage.
Counters:
To counter simply start a swing immediately after being hit by one.
Magic PB angles:
These are overlapping PB angles that allow you to pblock more than 1 hit with a single angle.
-High Angle:
To find the high angle aim mid and slightly left then ask your opponent to hit you with WA and A (make sure they stand directly in front of you before both attacks). Slightly elevate your aim if you fail to pblock both hits with a single angle and carry on doing this until you find an angle that pblocks both the hits. Ask your opponent to repeat this with WD and D and simply shift your focus from left to right (but maintain the same height).
-Low Angle:
To find the low angle aim mid and slightly left then ask your opponent to hit you with SA and A swings (make sure they stand directly in front of you before both attacks). Slightly lower your aim if you fail to pblock both hits with a single angle and carry on doing this until you find an angle that pblocks both hits. Ask your opponent to repeat this with SD and D and simply shift your focus from left to right (but maintain the same height).
Remember these two angles they are crucial.
Predicting hits:
If you see your opponent walking right anticipate a hit from the left and if you see them walking left anticipate a hit from the right.
Use the high magic angle at all times but if you see your opponent step back before attacking switch to the low angle.
This does not always work against less predictable opponents but against less skilled duelists it will allow you to easily predict and pblock their first attack.
PBlocking Combos:
If you watch an opponent's movement during swings you can predict the next swing in their combo.
-If an Opponent is doing an Overhead Swing (WA, WD) and continues to move closer to you while doing the swing. Then the next swing in the combo is most likely to be Overhead.
-If an Opponent is doing a Low Swing (SA SD) and are moving closer to you while they do it (and do not stop moving forward). Then the next swing is most likely an Overhead.
-If an Opponent is doing a Low Swing and during the swing you see them take a step back (even if they continue moving forward). Then the next swing is most likely a Low Swing.
-If an Opponent is moving in the same horizontal direction as the current swing it is most likely a same side combo (WA/SA or SA/WA if they are moving constantly right. WD/SD or SD/WD if they are moving constantly left).
If an Opponent is doing an Overhead Swing,(WA, WD) and steps back during the swing. Then the next swing is most likely a low swing.
Manual Block (MBlock):
This involves holding block, a directional key and tapping attack with the correct timing to disarm an opponent.
To MBlock correctly you must know the correct direction to use for each attack. The basic trick to remember is to swap W and S for the attacking swing so:
The correct timing for MBlock is to hold block and the directional keys complimentary to your opponent's attack and tap attack (while already holding the other keys/buttons) a split second before your opponent's attack connects with your saber.
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Timing:
Parries and Combo Interrupts:
-Parry: If two players attack and both connect their sabers at the same time they will cause a parry in which both lose a small amount of BP.
-Combo Interrupt: In which two players attack but one of their hits connects first (either due to speed or better timing). The player who's attack did not connect will lose a large amount of BP and ACM, they will also have their combo cancelled.
Swing speed:
There are 3 types of swing speed:
-Normal swing: The first normal speed swing of your combo.
-Halfswing: Faster than a normal swing can be done through (combo hits, combo chains, counters etc...).
-Instaswing: Fastest of all swings (can be done through Shea Twirl/Cartwheel).
Attack Timing:
If an opponent is comboing you attempting to attack them with a normal swing will lead to you being combo interrupted to avoid this you must start a swing with the same speed at the same time so you can parry your opponent. Since combo swings are halfswings and so are counters they are the same speed, which means you can use counters followed by combo hits to parry an opponent who is comboing you.
The overall rule is if you are being attacked do not swing unless you can counter (and it is best to continue a counter into a combo).
Combo Chains:
Do a two hit combo followed by a very small pause then another two hit combo. If done right the first hit of your second combo will be faster (halfswing). This is called a 2-2 combo chain.
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Shii-Cho:
An easy to learn style focused on mastering basic mechanics rather than using advanced techniques.
Manevours:
All covered above (for basic).
All covered in advanced guide (for Specialist/Master).
Basic (Student) Shii-Cho:
Overview:
You want to maintain distance from your opponent at most points (stay out of facehug) and use 2-2 swingblocked combo chains at most times. At lower levels you may want to throw in a 4 hit combo (only swingblock the first hit) when your opponent misses a slap.
When being attacked you will want to counter and launch enough combo hits to parry the entirety of your opponents combo and gain at least 1 hit on them once the parrying is over.
Strengths:
Easy to learn and allows you to focus on using basic fundamental mechanics rather than having several advanced manevours to learn and master.
Weaknesses:
Easily countered by all other styles.
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Specialist Shii-Cho:
Overview:
You should use attack masking (covered in advanced guide) to avoid pblocks and counters.
When using 4 hit combos attempt to swingblock all attacks.
Employ shadow-swinging (covered in advanced guide) against aggressive opponents or when outnumbered (also useful in open to land hits on opponents but also dodge gunner shots while doing so).
Be quick moving and weave in and out of facehug (stay in facehug to attack but move out as soon as your combos end).
Strengths:
Useful in open situations and when outnumbered, Also simply and easy to learn with a strong focus on fundamental mechanics.
Weaknesses:
Not well equipped to counter most advanced techniques although can stand against other styles of the same skill level.
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Advanced Dueling Mechanics
Slap timing:
When swingblocking there is always a very small window where a player is tapping attack and not holding block, this is usually at the beginning of the swing. When slapping an opponent you should always aim to slap during this small time gap (some players may be to fast to do it consistently against them).
A good technique is to trick an opponent into trying to counter you by attacking them and as soon as your swing connects use slap.
Swingblocking 4 hit combos:
Same as swingblocking two hit combos but instead with four hits. This isn't something you can be taught but comes with experience and practice.
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Advanced Dueling Techniques:
Yawing:
Turn your mouse towards the direction of your attacks.
Yawing makes your attacks connect faster but makes them slightly more predictable (The side your attacking from is given away by the direction you turn).
Yawing also comes with the downside of reducing your "forward momentum". By yawing you are turning Left and Right while moving instead of in a straight line this reduces the speed you move into your opponent and makes it easier to evade you.
Evasion:
Basic Evasion:
Hit someone with a directional swing (make sure to start with some distance) and as you do yaw into the attack so your facing sideways. As soon as the attack connects use A or D (depending on which direction your facing) to move away from your opponent.
This is useful in dodging counters.
Advanced Evasion:
While parrying an opponent turn yourself with your attacks and slowly move away from your opponent to cause their last few attacks to miss.
Good in countering aggressive facehuggers.
Shadowswinging:
Same as evasion but involves running instead of walking.
Useful for dodging counters and aggressive players.
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Combo Interrupts and Halfswings
Combo Interrupts with Evasion:
With good timing dodging an opponents hit can allow you to use a halfswing to combo interrupt them.
For example:
PBlock an opponents swing and counter
Parry the second swing
Use the Parry to initiate a shadowswing/for evasion to dodge the third swing
Just as the third swing ends use a halfswing (to do 1-1 combo chain) to combo interrupt your opponents fourth swing.
This requires a lot of practice and good timing to do consistently.
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Attack Masking (Niman):
Misdirection:
Walk using WA while holding block. Let go off A and temporarily hold D as soon as you do tap attack and yaw while also letting go off D and holding A again.
Can also be done using other directions (A and D, WA and SD, WD and SA, WD and SD, WA and SD).
Tricks opponents into thinking you are going to use a different attack than you actually use.
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Makashi:
A style relying on footwork and finesse Makashi is heavily based around countering and exploiting an enemies mistakes.
Maneuvers:
Evasion (Makashi):
(the basics of this are covered in the advanced guide).
Makashi users should use evasion as much as possible and exploit every opening created by this technique and use it to maintain distance from an opponent. If the opponent manages to close the distance face them and attempt to PBlock and counter parry.
Combo Interrupts:
Covered entirely in advanced guide.
Attack Masking (Makashi):
(the basics of this are covered in the advanced guide).
Makashi users should focus primarily on good footwork attack masking (covered in Advanced guide). Other forms of attack masking can be used but footwork would be the best for a Makashi user due to good economy of motion.
Counters (Makashi):
(the basics of this are covered in the advanced guide).
Makashi users should heavily rely on 2 hit combo counters to parry while dueling and combine those with evasion to achieve a strong defence.
A good counter combo chain for Makashi against 4 hit combos. PB - 2 (counter swings) - PB - 2 (counter swings chained on).
Halfswings (Makashi):
(the basics of this are covered in the advanced guide).
A Makashi users primary form of offence. These should be used for combo interrupts (with good timing) to damage an opponent after evading.
Weaving (Makashi):
Combine evasion and halfswings to weave. Hit an opponent and evade, follow up with hitting again with a halfswing and evading, repeat until all halfswings are used up.
A good Makashi weaving chain. 2 (swings) - Evade - 2 (swings chained on, run in with them).
Fake/Missed Swings:
Makashi users should use fake/missed attacks to initiate halfswings and also to bait opponents into attacking (which can then be abused by evasion and allow for combo interrupts). Can also be used to fake missing a swing to trick shadowswingers/evaders to attempt to attack you. Follow this by chaining on a halfswing to the fake swing, allowing you to interrupt/parry a charging shadowswinger/evader.
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Basic (Student) Makashi:
Overview:
Keep your opponent at saber length (do not allow them to get any closer).
Use counter combos to parry aggressive opponents and evade, proceed to use your last 2 swings to land 2 halfswings.
Use single hits to bait opponents into attacking and evade any counters (try to PBlock and counter and evade again if they manage to close the distance).
Strengths:
Works well to counter any and every style of equal skill level in dueling.
Weaknesses:
Slow movement and focus on dueling leaves this style weak in open but can easily be overcome by incorporating techniques from other styles.
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Specialist Makashi:
Overview:
Keep your opponent at saber length (do not allow them to get any closer).
Use counter combos to parry aggressive opponents and evade their last hit, proceed to use your last 2 swings to land 2 halfswings. If the opponent manages to the close the distance PBlock and use a counter to parry them followed by a two hit combo (after which you should move away).
Use fake/missed swings to trick opponents into swinging from a distance, counter them by evading. Follow this by a combo interrupt. If the opponent manages to the close the distance PBlock and use a counter combo to parry them and move away.
Use attack masked single hits to damage opponents while moving away after each single hit to avoid attacks.
Strengths:
Works well to counter any and every style of equal skill level in dueling.
Weaknesses:
Slow movement and focus on dueling leaves this style weak in open but can easily be overcome by incorporating techniques from other styles.
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Master Makashi:
Overview:
Keep your opponent at saber length (do not allow them to get any closer).
Use counter combos to parry aggressive opponents and evade their last hit, proceed to use your last 2 swings to land 2 halfswings. If the opponent manages to the close the distance PBlock and use a counter to parry them followed by a two hit combo (after which you should move away).
Taunt from a distance to bait opponents into attacking you, counter this by either using an combo interrupt or evading (depending on the predictability/speed of the opponent's swing). If evading follow this by using a combo interrupt.
Use fake/missed swings to trick opponents into swinging from a distance, counter them by evading. Follow this by a combo interrupt. If the opponent manages to the close the distance PBlock and use a counter to parry them followed by a two hit combo (after which you should move away).
Use attack masked single hits to damage opponents while moving away after each single hit to avoid attacks). Upon gaining distance from your opponent proceed to repeatedly hit them with halfswing single hits (initiated from a combo chain) while moving away after each hit. If the opponent manages to successfully counter you should dodge and respond with a combo interrupt.
Strengths:
Works well to counter any and every style of equal skill level in dueling.
Weaknesses:
Slow movement and focus on dueling leaves this style weak in open but can easily be overcome by incorporating techniques from other styles.
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Soresu
A form based around well timed halfswings, evasion, PBlocking, parrying and counters to create an ultimate defensive saber style.
Maneuvers:
Evasion (Soresu):
(the basics of this are covered in the advanced guide).
Soresu users should use evasion to distance themselves from opponents while parrying. If the opponent manages to close the distance face them and counter parry.
Halfswings (Soresu):
Use halfswing combo chains to parry opponents (combo interrupt with good timing).
Counters (Soresu):
Use single hit counters to parry opponents.
With Soresu against 4 hit combos I recommend PBlocking the first hit and then countering with a 2 hit combo to parry the second and third hits. Attempt to PBlock the fourth hit. Now use your remaining halfswings to damage your opponent with single hit combo chains. Or simply PB-2 Hit Counter-PB-1-1.
Chain Reset (Soresu):
Combos and Combo Chains are usually limited to 4 swings. However, if you get hit during the pause in a combo chain it will reset the length of the chain. E.g. if you get hit in between a 2-2 combo chain you will be able to do a 2-4 combo chain (as the hit resets the length of the chain and now you can use 4 more swings instead of 2). This is extremely useful for Soresu users (if combined with PBlock) and can allow you to stonewall aggressive opponents (no need for evasion).
My personal favorite technique to use vs aggressive 4 hitters is to PBlock their first swing (if possible) and counter with a single hit, to parry their second, PBlock the third hit and chain on a single hit, by countering, to parry their fourth. Since I got hit by the third hit and parried the fourth I still have 3 swings left in my chain which I can use for a 1-1-1 halfswing chain. Djem So players will usually counter the halfswings you throw after the combo ends, I counter this the same way (PB first hit, Parry second with Counter, PB 3rd hit, Parry fourth and then 3 more halfswings if they counter those I keep it going).
Or Simply: PB-1-PB (resets chain)-1-1-1-1 as you can see this chain has 5 swings instead of the usual 4.
If you are unable to PB in between halfswings don't worry too much the technique is still usable without PB it just makes it better if you can.
Combo Interrupts (Soresu):
This is the primary offensive techniques for Soresu users.
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Basic (Student) Soresu:
Overview:
Keep distance from your opponent and use single hits and 2 hit combos while evading to dodge swings, follow this by landing a 2 hit combo and evading again.
If an opponent manages to hit you employ the use of PBlock and counter combos to parry and deal damage.
Strengths:
Strong defence.
Weaknesses:
Very slow at taking out opponents.
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Specialist Soresu:
Overview:
Keep distance from your opponent and use single hits and 2 hit combos while evading to dodge swings, follow this by landing a 2 hit combo and evading again or by attempting to employ a combo interrupt.
If an opponent manages to hit you employ the use of PBlock and counter combos/counter chains/counter reset chains to parry and deal damage.
Strengths:
Strong defence. Heavy focus on small combos and single hits allows for easy swingblocking.
Weaknesses:
Very slow at damaging opponents.
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Master Soresu:
Overview:
Keep distance from your opponent and use single hits and 2 hit combos while evading to dodge swings, follow this by landing a 2 hit combo and evading again or by attempting to employ a combo interrupt.
If an opponent manages to hit you employ the use of PBlock and counter combos/counter chains/counter reset chains to parry and deal damage.
Use halfswings with distance and time them well to land combo interrupts.
Use single hit combo chains (evading between each hit) to damage opponents.
Strengths:
Strong defence. Heavy focus on small combos and single hits allows for easy swingblocking.
Weaknesses:
Very slow at damaging opponents.
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Ataru
Ataru is a fast paced, aggressive and acrobatic style of lightsaber combat that relies heavily on fast hits and quick movement.
Manevours:
Slap Timing:
Covered entirely in advanced guide.
Shadowswing (Ataru):
(the basics of this are covered in the advanced guide).
Ataru users should utilize shadowswing to keep distance from an opponent and dodge attacks (which should then be immediately punished with a combo interrupt followed by a 4 hit combo).
Combo Interrupts:
Covered entirely in advanced guide.
Attack Masking (Ataru):
(the basics of this are covered in the advanced guide).
Acrobatic attack masking such as:
Do a DFA near the end of your attack animation.
This can be used for a suprise attack.
Combine this with shadow-swinging and a halfswing by hitting and opponent while shadow-swinging and following it with a halfswing (combo chain) which is used to initiate your DFA (Tarkin Swing).
Facehug DFA:
Walk into your opponent at an angle while looking down and then proceed to DFA.
This can be combined with Tarkin swing (by hitting the opponent and doing the facehug DFA as soon as the hit connects) for devastating effects.
Speed Lunge Mblock Finisher (I'm not calling it that @shea conn):
Look as far down as you can and Speed lunge at an opponent (hold W, activate speed and tap jump straight after followed by tapping attack). Do this after a disarm for a quick finisher.
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Basic (Student) Ataru:
Overview:
Use Shadowswing and Evasion to keep opponents far away, if they manage to close the distance use 4 hit combos and counter combos while moving away to maintain distance.
Punish every hit your opponent misses with a combo interrupt followed by a 4 hit combo and proceed to shadowswing/evade as soon as your assault ends.
Strengths:
Works well against defensive playstyles.
Weaknesses:
Vulnerable to Pull/Push, no BP regeneration and high BP damage taken while running.
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Specialist Ataru:
Overview:
Use Shadowswing and Evasion to keep opponents far away, if they manage to close the distance use 4 hit combos and counter combos while moving away to maintain distance.
Punish every hit your opponent misses with a combo interrupt followed by a 4 hit combo and proceed to shadowswing/evade as soon as your assault ends.
Use Tarkin swing after Shadow-swinging/Evading and Facehug DFA when opponents use W or S to getup after a knockdown.
Use Acrobatic attack masking to bypass pblock and jumps to avoid hits.
Bait opponents into running at you with shadowswing/evasion so you can pull/push them.
Strengths:
Works well against defensive playstyles.
Weaknesses:
Vulnerable to Pull/Push, no BP regeneration and high BP damage taken while running.
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Master Ataru:
Overview:
Use Shadowswing and Evasion to keep opponents far away, if they manage to close the distance use 4 hit combos and counter combos while moving away to maintain distance.
Punish every hit your opponent misses with a combo interrupt followed by a 4 hit combo and proceed to shadowswing/evade as soon as your assault ends.
Use Tarkin swing after Shadow-swinging/Evading and Facehug DFA when opponents use W or S to getup after a knockdown.
Use Acrobatic attack masking to bypass pblock and jumps to avoid hits.
Bait opponents into running at you with shadowswing/evasion so you can pull/push them.
Use Slap timing techniques to bait opponents and knock them down.
Effectively utilize force speed with roll stabs and speed lunges.
Strengths:
Works well against defensive playstyles.
Weaknesses:
Vulnerable to Pull/Push, no BP regeneration and high BP damage taken while running.
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Djem So:
A style focused on keeping opponent's in close range and barraging them with attacks. Any offence is countered by heavier offence.
Maneuvers:
Counter Combos (Djem So):
Unleash a combo after initiating a counter to parry and land a hit at the end (covered in basics guide).
Counter Tactics (Djem So):
Against aggressive Juyo users (4 hit spammers) 3 hit counter combos followed by a single hit are the best course of action for defense and 2-2 combo chains will be the most effective form of offence (Do more damage overall and builds more ACM).
Against Soresu/Makashi users (PB and Evasion) use heavy 4 hit combos in close range for offence (as they will focus on trying to PB and counter so fast attacks must be used to avoid PB) and 4 hit counter combos for defense (to parry and also deal heavy damage).
Against Ataru users (Evasion and offense) focus heavily on landing counter combo chains and keeping in close range to avoid missing swings for defense and focus on combo chains for offense (4 hit combos are usually easier to evade and cause you to miss swings with combo chains you can time the hits better. So combo chains are the better choice against Ataru users). Chase after enemies if they attempt to shadowswing when using counter combos (although don't neglect your SB however for the sake of speed simply tap block at the end of each hit instead of holding it the whole way as you will probably be out of slap range against a shadowswinging opponent but will be vulnerable to MBlock).
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Basic (Student) Djem So:
Overview:
Keep your opponent in close range and focus on landing 4 hit SB'ed combos. Return any offence with 4 hit sb'ed counter combos.
Strengths:
Can demolish easy to predict opponent's very quickly.
Weaknesses:
Weak against good attack maskers and those with good evasion techniques. Opponent's with better PBlock then the user will prove difficult to defeat. Heavily reliant on good SB.
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Specialist Djem So:
Overview:
Keep opponent's in close range when attacking, move into saber range when defending (for easier PB'ing). Switch between single hits, combos and combo chains depending on the opponent's playstyle. Use counters to parry swings.
Strengths:
High damage allows the user to quickly defeat opponents, focus on alternating distance during offence and defense allows for easier countering. Use of single hits and combo chains combined with 4 hit combos allows for more versatility in attack, easier SB'ing and less likely to be evaded.
Weaknesses:
Opponent's with better PBlock then the user will prove difficult to defeat.
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Master Djem So:
Overview:
Keep opponent's in close range when attacking, move into saber range when defending (for easier PB'ing). Switch between single hits, combos and combo chains depending on the opponent's playstyle. Use counters to parry swings. Use chaining single hits with attack masking in close range to interrupt offensive opponents (requires you not to be PB'ed).
Strengths:
High damage allows the user to quickly defeat opponents, focus on alternating distance during offence and defense allows for easier countering. Use of single hits and combo chains combined with 4 hit combos allows for more versatility in attack, easier SB'ing and less likely to be evaded. Increased use of single hits allows for more damage and quicker ACM building.
Weaknesses:
Opponent's with better PBlock then the user will prove difficult to defeat.
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Niman:
A well rounded and balanced style incorporating techniques from all styles.
Manevours:
All covered in basic/advanced guide (for basic).
All covered in other style guides (for Specialist/Master).
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Basic (Student) Niman:
Overview:
Use mainly two hit combo chains, loads of attack masking and evasion (combined with combo interrupts to damage opponents) as your primary form of attack-defence. Counter combos are a useful form of defence against facehugging opponents and can be used to gain distance.
This should be how you play primarily until you build around 5 points of ACM in which case Facehugging + 4 hit combo spam should be used to dispatch your opponent.
Strengths:
Well rounded to fight most styles of equal skill level.
Weaknesses:
Hard to learn and doesn't have any specific advantages against other styles.
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Specialist Niman:
Overview:
Use mainly two hit combo chains, loads of attack masking, counters, evasion/shadow-swinging (combined with combo interrupts to damage opponents) as your primary form of attack-defence. Counter combos are a useful form of defence against facehugging opponents and can be used to gain distance.
Combine techniques from all styles when neccesary such as:
Strengths:
Well rounded to fight most styles of equal skill level. Techniques from other styles (when incorporated properly) can allow you to switch up playstyles to counter different types of opponents.
Weaknesses:
Hard to learn.
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Master Niman:
Overview:
Use mainly two hit combo chains, loads of attack masking, counters, evasion/shadow-swinging (combined with combo interrupts to damage opponents) as your primary form of attack-defence. Counter combos are a useful form of defence against facehugging opponents and can be used to gain distance.
Master as many techniques from other styles as possible and incorporate them successfully into your style.
Strengths:
Mastery of techniques from all styles and the ability to incorporate them all into one balanced style focusing.
Weaknesses:
None
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Juyo:
A style centered around heavy offence and fast paced combat with a heavy focus on attack masking and swingblocking.
Manevours:
Attack Masking:
Misdirection:
(Basics are covered in advanced guide).
Misdirection simply requires you to attack in a different direction to how you walk. A simple way to do this is to hold WA while blocking to approach your opponent, then just as you enter attacking range let go off WA and tap SD and attack at the same time to initiate an SD swing, once the swing starts hold WA again. You can also do this by standing sideways and walking into an opponent using A or D and then proceeding to hit them with the opposite directional key.
No Movement attacks:
Simply tap the directional keys (instead of holding) at the same time you tap attack, this will allow you to attack without moving much or at all making it harder to predict what direction you are attacking from. An effective way to use this is to run into an opponent with WA, W or WD and then stop just as you enter attacking range, as soon as you stop do a no movement SA or SD hit.
Reverse Yawing:
Turn the opposite direction of your swing in a full 360 motion while attacking to mask your attack. You can do this with whole combos with enough practice.
Same Side Combo:
Combos such as:
WA/SA or SA/WA or WD/SD or SD/WD.
These are less predictable than normal attack combos which change side with each hit. They do however come with the disadvantage that if one of the attacks is missed the player is forced into a spin in the next attack.
Yawing:
Yawing:
Covered in the advanced guide.
360 Yawing:
Do full 360 turns with each hit combined with same side combos to unleash extremely fast and hard to predict yawed attacks.
180 Yawing:
Yaw an attack and turn 180 (so your back is facing your opponent) followed by another attack in the opposite direction in which you should turn another 180 in the same direction as the first hit).
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Basic (Student) Juyo:
Overview:
Facehug your opponent and constantly attack them with 4 hit swingblocked yawed combos.
Counter combo any attack your opponent throws at you when you are blocking.
Strengths:
Heavy damage.
Weaknesses:
Easy to dodge and prone to Counters.
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Specialist Juyo:
Overview:
Facehug your opponent and constantly attack them with 4 hit swingblocked yawed combos.
Counter combo any attack your opponent throws at you when you are blocking.
Use attack masked hits to start your combos to help bypass enemy pblocks/mblocks.
Strengths:
Heavy damage.
Weaknesses:
Easy to dodge
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Master Juyo:
Overview:
Facehug your opponent and constantly attack them with 4 hit yawed combos.
Counter combo any attack your opponent throws at you when you are blocking.
Use attack masked hits to start your combos to help bypass enemy pblocks/mblocks.
Utilize well timed hits to combo interrupt enemies.
Strengths:
Heavy damage.
Weaknesses:
Easy to dodge
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This guide will cover most (if not all) the mechanics, techniques, gimmicks and effective dueling playstyles for v1.7.
To satisfy my need for RP everything is broken down into Saber Forms (1 through 7).
Basic Dueling + Shii-Cho Guide
UI:
Block Points (BP):
Block points are represented by the red bar on the bottom right of your screen (shown in the image above). BP is lost everytime you are hit by a saber strike and a small amount is lost everytime you attack. You take increased BP damage while running/crouching/jumping. So it’s best to walk either by holding shift or by turning auto run off. (esc>controls>other>always run: off).
Tempest's Damage Calculator
^ Use this and insert values to calculate BP damage. (Default is Yellow vs Yellow. Attacker not swingblocking and walking. Defender blocking and walking).
Force Points (FP):
Force points are represented by the blue bar on the bottom right of your screen (shown in the image above). FP is lost everytime you use special attacks and force powers, it's also lost when you deflect blaster shots.
Health Points (HP):
Health points are represented by the red bar on the bottom left of your screen (shown in the image above). HP is lost everytime you are hit and do not block the attack.
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Basic Dueling:
Styles:
Each Style has 4 attributes to distinguish it from others.
AP (Attack Points): The higher this is the more damage the style does per swing.
BP (Block Points): The higher this is the more damage this style can take before it runs out of bp.
Combo Length: How many swings can be chained together in a combo.
Speed: The windup speed for a normal swing.
- Blue: AP: 6 BP: 75 Combo Length: 4 Very Fast
- Cyan: AP: 9 BP: 60 Combo Length: 6 Very Fast
- White (Staff): AP: 10 BP: 70 Combo Length: 4 Fast
- Green (Dual): : AP: 11 BP: 60 Combo Length: 5 Fast
- Yellow: AP: 12 BP: 55 Combo Length: 4 Medium
- Purple: AP: 16 BP: 45 Combo limit: 3 Slow
- Red: AP: 20 BP: 40 Combo Length: 3 Slow
Slap:
If you bind a button to class special 2 (esc>controls>moviebattles>class special 2) pressing it with your saber ignited will play the slap/kick animation. If you use this on an opponent who is attacking/not blocking it will knock them over.
Attacking:
You can attack by simply tapping the left mouse button (by default). If you hold a directional key (WASD) and tap attack you will attack in different directions (you can also hold either WA, WD, SA or SD together to do diagonal swings).
Comboing:
Hold a directional key (A for example) and tap attack, as soon as the attack begins let go of the directional key and hold one going in the opposite direction (D for example). Then as soon as your hit connects with your target tap attack again (the timing for this might take you a while to get but keep practicing you'll get it eventually). You can carry this on by switching directions again and tapping attack as soon as your hit connects again. You can carry this on for upto 4 hits with Yellow. Successive Combo Swings do less damage than the initial swing that starts the combo.
ACM (Attack Chain Multiplier):
ACM is shown by the colour behind your saber icon in the bottom right (shown in the image above) getting larger and brighter. The more ACM you have the more BP damage you do per hit. Landing hits increases ACM getting hit leads to the loss of ACM.
ACM builds from ACC (Attack Chain Count). Each time you land a combo or halfswing you gain 1 ACC. A 4 hit combo will give you 1 ACC while a 1-1-1-1 combo chain (read below) will give you 4 ACC. This makes single hits better for building ACM.
-Strong styles gain 1 ACM for every 4 ACC.
-Medium styles gain 1 ACM for every 6 ACC.
-Fast Styles gain 1 ACM for every 8 ACC.
Swingblocking:
Tap attack and as soon as your swing animation starts immediately hold block. This is called swingblocking and allows you to:
- Regenerate BP while swinging.
- Makes you immune to MB/Slap.
- Forces you to walk.
Swingblock Comboing:
Start your first attack and swingblock and as soon as the attack connects with your opponent quickly let go off block for a split second and (while walking in a different direction) tap attack again for your second combo hit follow this quickly by holding block again. This will take a lot of practice to do and a long time to master.
The basic principle is to combo normally but hold block throughout the whole combo, only letting go when you need to tap attack and immediately holding block again afterwards.
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Perfect Blocking (PB)
Perfect Block:
Perfect Blocking can be done by looking in the direction of your opponents saber swings. Perfect Blocking stops you from taking any BP damage.
Counters:
To counter simply start a swing immediately after being hit by one.
Magic PB angles:
These are overlapping PB angles that allow you to pblock more than 1 hit with a single angle.
-High Angle:
To find the high angle aim mid and slightly left then ask your opponent to hit you with WA and A (make sure they stand directly in front of you before both attacks). Slightly elevate your aim if you fail to pblock both hits with a single angle and carry on doing this until you find an angle that pblocks both the hits. Ask your opponent to repeat this with WD and D and simply shift your focus from left to right (but maintain the same height).
-Low Angle:
To find the low angle aim mid and slightly left then ask your opponent to hit you with SA and A swings (make sure they stand directly in front of you before both attacks). Slightly lower your aim if you fail to pblock both hits with a single angle and carry on doing this until you find an angle that pblocks both hits. Ask your opponent to repeat this with SD and D and simply shift your focus from left to right (but maintain the same height).
Remember these two angles they are crucial.
Predicting hits:
If you see your opponent walking right anticipate a hit from the left and if you see them walking left anticipate a hit from the right.
Use the high magic angle at all times but if you see your opponent step back before attacking switch to the low angle.
This does not always work against less predictable opponents but against less skilled duelists it will allow you to easily predict and pblock their first attack.
PBlocking Combos:
If you watch an opponent's movement during swings you can predict the next swing in their combo.
-If an Opponent is doing an Overhead Swing (WA, WD) and continues to move closer to you while doing the swing. Then the next swing in the combo is most likely to be Overhead.
-If an Opponent is doing a Low Swing (SA SD) and are moving closer to you while they do it (and do not stop moving forward). Then the next swing is most likely an Overhead.
-If an Opponent is doing a Low Swing and during the swing you see them take a step back (even if they continue moving forward). Then the next swing is most likely a Low Swing.
-If an Opponent is moving in the same horizontal direction as the current swing it is most likely a same side combo (WA/SA or SA/WA if they are moving constantly right. WD/SD or SD/WD if they are moving constantly left).
If an Opponent is doing an Overhead Swing,(WA, WD) and steps back during the swing. Then the next swing is most likely a low swing.
Manual Block (MBlock):
This involves holding block, a directional key and tapping attack with the correct timing to disarm an opponent.
To MBlock correctly you must know the correct direction to use for each attack. The basic trick to remember is to swap W and S for the attacking swing so:
- SA MBlocks WA swings.
- SD MBlocks WD swings.
- WA MBlocks SA swings.
- WD MBlocks SD swings.
- A MBlocks A swings.
- D MBlocks D swings.
The correct timing for MBlock is to hold block and the directional keys complimentary to your opponent's attack and tap attack (while already holding the other keys/buttons) a split second before your opponent's attack connects with your saber.
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Timing:
Parries and Combo Interrupts:
-Parry: If two players attack and both connect their sabers at the same time they will cause a parry in which both lose a small amount of BP.
-Combo Interrupt: In which two players attack but one of their hits connects first (either due to speed or better timing). The player who's attack did not connect will lose a large amount of BP and ACM, they will also have their combo cancelled.
Swing speed:
There are 3 types of swing speed:
-Normal swing: The first normal speed swing of your combo.
-Halfswing: Faster than a normal swing can be done through (combo hits, combo chains, counters etc...).
-Instaswing: Fastest of all swings (can be done through Shea Twirl/Cartwheel).
Attack Timing:
If an opponent is comboing you attempting to attack them with a normal swing will lead to you being combo interrupted to avoid this you must start a swing with the same speed at the same time so you can parry your opponent. Since combo swings are halfswings and so are counters they are the same speed, which means you can use counters followed by combo hits to parry an opponent who is comboing you.
The overall rule is if you are being attacked do not swing unless you can counter (and it is best to continue a counter into a combo).
Combo Chains:
Do a two hit combo followed by a very small pause then another two hit combo. If done right the first hit of your second combo will be faster (halfswing). This is called a 2-2 combo chain.
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Shii-Cho:
An easy to learn style focused on mastering basic mechanics rather than using advanced techniques.
Manevours:
All covered above (for basic).
All covered in advanced guide (for Specialist/Master).
Basic (Student) Shii-Cho:
Overview:
You want to maintain distance from your opponent at most points (stay out of facehug) and use 2-2 swingblocked combo chains at most times. At lower levels you may want to throw in a 4 hit combo (only swingblock the first hit) when your opponent misses a slap.
When being attacked you will want to counter and launch enough combo hits to parry the entirety of your opponents combo and gain at least 1 hit on them once the parrying is over.
Strengths:
Easy to learn and allows you to focus on using basic fundamental mechanics rather than having several advanced manevours to learn and master.
Weaknesses:
Easily countered by all other styles.
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Specialist Shii-Cho:
Overview:
You should use attack masking (covered in advanced guide) to avoid pblocks and counters.
When using 4 hit combos attempt to swingblock all attacks.
Employ shadow-swinging (covered in advanced guide) against aggressive opponents or when outnumbered (also useful in open to land hits on opponents but also dodge gunner shots while doing so).
Be quick moving and weave in and out of facehug (stay in facehug to attack but move out as soon as your combos end).
Strengths:
Useful in open situations and when outnumbered, Also simply and easy to learn with a strong focus on fundamental mechanics.
Weaknesses:
Not well equipped to counter most advanced techniques although can stand against other styles of the same skill level.
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Advanced Dueling Mechanics
Slap timing:
When swingblocking there is always a very small window where a player is tapping attack and not holding block, this is usually at the beginning of the swing. When slapping an opponent you should always aim to slap during this small time gap (some players may be to fast to do it consistently against them).
A good technique is to trick an opponent into trying to counter you by attacking them and as soon as your swing connects use slap.
Swingblocking 4 hit combos:
Same as swingblocking two hit combos but instead with four hits. This isn't something you can be taught but comes with experience and practice.
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Advanced Dueling Techniques:
Yawing:
Turn your mouse towards the direction of your attacks.
Yawing makes your attacks connect faster but makes them slightly more predictable (The side your attacking from is given away by the direction you turn).
Yawing also comes with the downside of reducing your "forward momentum". By yawing you are turning Left and Right while moving instead of in a straight line this reduces the speed you move into your opponent and makes it easier to evade you.
Evasion:
Basic Evasion:
Hit someone with a directional swing (make sure to start with some distance) and as you do yaw into the attack so your facing sideways. As soon as the attack connects use A or D (depending on which direction your facing) to move away from your opponent.
This is useful in dodging counters.
Advanced Evasion:
While parrying an opponent turn yourself with your attacks and slowly move away from your opponent to cause their last few attacks to miss.
Good in countering aggressive facehuggers.
Shadowswinging:
Same as evasion but involves running instead of walking.
Useful for dodging counters and aggressive players.
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Combo Interrupts and Halfswings
Combo Interrupts with Evasion:
With good timing dodging an opponents hit can allow you to use a halfswing to combo interrupt them.
For example:
PBlock an opponents swing and counter
Parry the second swing
Use the Parry to initiate a shadowswing/for evasion to dodge the third swing
Just as the third swing ends use a halfswing (to do 1-1 combo chain) to combo interrupt your opponents fourth swing.
This requires a lot of practice and good timing to do consistently.
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Attack Masking (Niman):
Misdirection:
Walk using WA while holding block. Let go off A and temporarily hold D as soon as you do tap attack and yaw while also letting go off D and holding A again.
Can also be done using other directions (A and D, WA and SD, WD and SA, WD and SD, WA and SD).
Tricks opponents into thinking you are going to use a different attack than you actually use.
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Makashi:
A style relying on footwork and finesse Makashi is heavily based around countering and exploiting an enemies mistakes.
Maneuvers:
Evasion (Makashi):
(the basics of this are covered in the advanced guide).
Makashi users should use evasion as much as possible and exploit every opening created by this technique and use it to maintain distance from an opponent. If the opponent manages to close the distance face them and attempt to PBlock and counter parry.
Combo Interrupts:
Covered entirely in advanced guide.
Attack Masking (Makashi):
(the basics of this are covered in the advanced guide).
Makashi users should focus primarily on good footwork attack masking (covered in Advanced guide). Other forms of attack masking can be used but footwork would be the best for a Makashi user due to good economy of motion.
Counters (Makashi):
(the basics of this are covered in the advanced guide).
Makashi users should heavily rely on 2 hit combo counters to parry while dueling and combine those with evasion to achieve a strong defence.
A good counter combo chain for Makashi against 4 hit combos. PB - 2 (counter swings) - PB - 2 (counter swings chained on).
Halfswings (Makashi):
(the basics of this are covered in the advanced guide).
A Makashi users primary form of offence. These should be used for combo interrupts (with good timing) to damage an opponent after evading.
Weaving (Makashi):
Combine evasion and halfswings to weave. Hit an opponent and evade, follow up with hitting again with a halfswing and evading, repeat until all halfswings are used up.
A good Makashi weaving chain. 2 (swings) - Evade - 2 (swings chained on, run in with them).
Fake/Missed Swings:
Makashi users should use fake/missed attacks to initiate halfswings and also to bait opponents into attacking (which can then be abused by evasion and allow for combo interrupts). Can also be used to fake missing a swing to trick shadowswingers/evaders to attempt to attack you. Follow this by chaining on a halfswing to the fake swing, allowing you to interrupt/parry a charging shadowswinger/evader.
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Basic (Student) Makashi:
Overview:
Keep your opponent at saber length (do not allow them to get any closer).
Use counter combos to parry aggressive opponents and evade, proceed to use your last 2 swings to land 2 halfswings.
Use single hits to bait opponents into attacking and evade any counters (try to PBlock and counter and evade again if they manage to close the distance).
Strengths:
Works well to counter any and every style of equal skill level in dueling.
Weaknesses:
Slow movement and focus on dueling leaves this style weak in open but can easily be overcome by incorporating techniques from other styles.
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Specialist Makashi:
Overview:
Keep your opponent at saber length (do not allow them to get any closer).
Use counter combos to parry aggressive opponents and evade their last hit, proceed to use your last 2 swings to land 2 halfswings. If the opponent manages to the close the distance PBlock and use a counter to parry them followed by a two hit combo (after which you should move away).
Use fake/missed swings to trick opponents into swinging from a distance, counter them by evading. Follow this by a combo interrupt. If the opponent manages to the close the distance PBlock and use a counter combo to parry them and move away.
Use attack masked single hits to damage opponents while moving away after each single hit to avoid attacks.
Strengths:
Works well to counter any and every style of equal skill level in dueling.
Weaknesses:
Slow movement and focus on dueling leaves this style weak in open but can easily be overcome by incorporating techniques from other styles.
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Master Makashi:
Overview:
Keep your opponent at saber length (do not allow them to get any closer).
Use counter combos to parry aggressive opponents and evade their last hit, proceed to use your last 2 swings to land 2 halfswings. If the opponent manages to the close the distance PBlock and use a counter to parry them followed by a two hit combo (after which you should move away).
Taunt from a distance to bait opponents into attacking you, counter this by either using an combo interrupt or evading (depending on the predictability/speed of the opponent's swing). If evading follow this by using a combo interrupt.
Use fake/missed swings to trick opponents into swinging from a distance, counter them by evading. Follow this by a combo interrupt. If the opponent manages to the close the distance PBlock and use a counter to parry them followed by a two hit combo (after which you should move away).
Use attack masked single hits to damage opponents while moving away after each single hit to avoid attacks). Upon gaining distance from your opponent proceed to repeatedly hit them with halfswing single hits (initiated from a combo chain) while moving away after each hit. If the opponent manages to successfully counter you should dodge and respond with a combo interrupt.
Strengths:
Works well to counter any and every style of equal skill level in dueling.
Weaknesses:
Slow movement and focus on dueling leaves this style weak in open but can easily be overcome by incorporating techniques from other styles.
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Soresu
A form based around well timed halfswings, evasion, PBlocking, parrying and counters to create an ultimate defensive saber style.
Maneuvers:
Evasion (Soresu):
(the basics of this are covered in the advanced guide).
Soresu users should use evasion to distance themselves from opponents while parrying. If the opponent manages to close the distance face them and counter parry.
Halfswings (Soresu):
Use halfswing combo chains to parry opponents (combo interrupt with good timing).
Counters (Soresu):
Use single hit counters to parry opponents.
With Soresu against 4 hit combos I recommend PBlocking the first hit and then countering with a 2 hit combo to parry the second and third hits. Attempt to PBlock the fourth hit. Now use your remaining halfswings to damage your opponent with single hit combo chains. Or simply PB-2 Hit Counter-PB-1-1.
Chain Reset (Soresu):
Combos and Combo Chains are usually limited to 4 swings. However, if you get hit during the pause in a combo chain it will reset the length of the chain. E.g. if you get hit in between a 2-2 combo chain you will be able to do a 2-4 combo chain (as the hit resets the length of the chain and now you can use 4 more swings instead of 2). This is extremely useful for Soresu users (if combined with PBlock) and can allow you to stonewall aggressive opponents (no need for evasion).
My personal favorite technique to use vs aggressive 4 hitters is to PBlock their first swing (if possible) and counter with a single hit, to parry their second, PBlock the third hit and chain on a single hit, by countering, to parry their fourth. Since I got hit by the third hit and parried the fourth I still have 3 swings left in my chain which I can use for a 1-1-1 halfswing chain. Djem So players will usually counter the halfswings you throw after the combo ends, I counter this the same way (PB first hit, Parry second with Counter, PB 3rd hit, Parry fourth and then 3 more halfswings if they counter those I keep it going).
Or Simply: PB-1-PB (resets chain)-1-1-1-1 as you can see this chain has 5 swings instead of the usual 4.
If you are unable to PB in between halfswings don't worry too much the technique is still usable without PB it just makes it better if you can.
Combo Interrupts (Soresu):
This is the primary offensive techniques for Soresu users.
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Basic (Student) Soresu:
Overview:
Keep distance from your opponent and use single hits and 2 hit combos while evading to dodge swings, follow this by landing a 2 hit combo and evading again.
If an opponent manages to hit you employ the use of PBlock and counter combos to parry and deal damage.
Strengths:
Strong defence.
Weaknesses:
Very slow at taking out opponents.
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Specialist Soresu:
Overview:
Keep distance from your opponent and use single hits and 2 hit combos while evading to dodge swings, follow this by landing a 2 hit combo and evading again or by attempting to employ a combo interrupt.
If an opponent manages to hit you employ the use of PBlock and counter combos/counter chains/counter reset chains to parry and deal damage.
Strengths:
Strong defence. Heavy focus on small combos and single hits allows for easy swingblocking.
Weaknesses:
Very slow at damaging opponents.
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Master Soresu:
Overview:
Keep distance from your opponent and use single hits and 2 hit combos while evading to dodge swings, follow this by landing a 2 hit combo and evading again or by attempting to employ a combo interrupt.
If an opponent manages to hit you employ the use of PBlock and counter combos/counter chains/counter reset chains to parry and deal damage.
Use halfswings with distance and time them well to land combo interrupts.
Use single hit combo chains (evading between each hit) to damage opponents.
Strengths:
Strong defence. Heavy focus on small combos and single hits allows for easy swingblocking.
Weaknesses:
Very slow at damaging opponents.
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Ataru
Ataru is a fast paced, aggressive and acrobatic style of lightsaber combat that relies heavily on fast hits and quick movement.
Manevours:
Slap Timing:
Covered entirely in advanced guide.
Shadowswing (Ataru):
(the basics of this are covered in the advanced guide).
Ataru users should utilize shadowswing to keep distance from an opponent and dodge attacks (which should then be immediately punished with a combo interrupt followed by a 4 hit combo).
Combo Interrupts:
Covered entirely in advanced guide.
Attack Masking (Ataru):
(the basics of this are covered in the advanced guide).
Acrobatic attack masking such as:
- Wallruns (Get jump 2 and attack right before initiating a frontal wall run).
- Backflips (Do a backflip near the end of your attack so it will connect instantly when you get close which can be followed up with a combo).
- Wallgrab/Birb's flight (Start a swing while looking down and quickly proceed to do a backwards wall grab, instantly let go off the wall grab once it has initiated to do a quick flying swing).
- Leap (Do a small jump forward while swinging to hit your opponent and reduce distance).
- Flight (Hold W and then let go off it right before holding jump to start a flight jump. Just as you land once this jump is finished tap attack to initiate a quick halfswing attack).
Do a DFA near the end of your attack animation.
This can be used for a suprise attack.
Combine this with shadow-swinging and a halfswing by hitting and opponent while shadow-swinging and following it with a halfswing (combo chain) which is used to initiate your DFA (Tarkin Swing).
Facehug DFA:
Walk into your opponent at an angle while looking down and then proceed to DFA.
This can be combined with Tarkin swing (by hitting the opponent and doing the facehug DFA as soon as the hit connects) for devastating effects.
Speed Lunge Mblock Finisher (I'm not calling it that @shea conn):
Look as far down as you can and Speed lunge at an opponent (hold W, activate speed and tap jump straight after followed by tapping attack). Do this after a disarm for a quick finisher.
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Basic (Student) Ataru:
Overview:
Use Shadowswing and Evasion to keep opponents far away, if they manage to close the distance use 4 hit combos and counter combos while moving away to maintain distance.
Punish every hit your opponent misses with a combo interrupt followed by a 4 hit combo and proceed to shadowswing/evade as soon as your assault ends.
Strengths:
Works well against defensive playstyles.
Weaknesses:
Vulnerable to Pull/Push, no BP regeneration and high BP damage taken while running.
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Specialist Ataru:
Overview:
Use Shadowswing and Evasion to keep opponents far away, if they manage to close the distance use 4 hit combos and counter combos while moving away to maintain distance.
Punish every hit your opponent misses with a combo interrupt followed by a 4 hit combo and proceed to shadowswing/evade as soon as your assault ends.
Use Tarkin swing after Shadow-swinging/Evading and Facehug DFA when opponents use W or S to getup after a knockdown.
Use Acrobatic attack masking to bypass pblock and jumps to avoid hits.
Bait opponents into running at you with shadowswing/evasion so you can pull/push them.
Strengths:
Works well against defensive playstyles.
Weaknesses:
Vulnerable to Pull/Push, no BP regeneration and high BP damage taken while running.
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Master Ataru:
Overview:
Use Shadowswing and Evasion to keep opponents far away, if they manage to close the distance use 4 hit combos and counter combos while moving away to maintain distance.
Punish every hit your opponent misses with a combo interrupt followed by a 4 hit combo and proceed to shadowswing/evade as soon as your assault ends.
Use Tarkin swing after Shadow-swinging/Evading and Facehug DFA when opponents use W or S to getup after a knockdown.
Use Acrobatic attack masking to bypass pblock and jumps to avoid hits.
Bait opponents into running at you with shadowswing/evasion so you can pull/push them.
Use Slap timing techniques to bait opponents and knock them down.
Effectively utilize force speed with roll stabs and speed lunges.
Strengths:
Works well against defensive playstyles.
Weaknesses:
Vulnerable to Pull/Push, no BP regeneration and high BP damage taken while running.
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Djem So:
A style focused on keeping opponent's in close range and barraging them with attacks. Any offence is countered by heavier offence.
Maneuvers:
Counter Combos (Djem So):
Unleash a combo after initiating a counter to parry and land a hit at the end (covered in basics guide).
Counter Tactics (Djem So):
Against aggressive Juyo users (4 hit spammers) 3 hit counter combos followed by a single hit are the best course of action for defense and 2-2 combo chains will be the most effective form of offence (Do more damage overall and builds more ACM).
Against Soresu/Makashi users (PB and Evasion) use heavy 4 hit combos in close range for offence (as they will focus on trying to PB and counter so fast attacks must be used to avoid PB) and 4 hit counter combos for defense (to parry and also deal heavy damage).
Against Ataru users (Evasion and offense) focus heavily on landing counter combo chains and keeping in close range to avoid missing swings for defense and focus on combo chains for offense (4 hit combos are usually easier to evade and cause you to miss swings with combo chains you can time the hits better. So combo chains are the better choice against Ataru users). Chase after enemies if they attempt to shadowswing when using counter combos (although don't neglect your SB however for the sake of speed simply tap block at the end of each hit instead of holding it the whole way as you will probably be out of slap range against a shadowswinging opponent but will be vulnerable to MBlock).
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Basic (Student) Djem So:
Overview:
Keep your opponent in close range and focus on landing 4 hit SB'ed combos. Return any offence with 4 hit sb'ed counter combos.
Strengths:
Can demolish easy to predict opponent's very quickly.
Weaknesses:
Weak against good attack maskers and those with good evasion techniques. Opponent's with better PBlock then the user will prove difficult to defeat. Heavily reliant on good SB.
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Specialist Djem So:
Overview:
Keep opponent's in close range when attacking, move into saber range when defending (for easier PB'ing). Switch between single hits, combos and combo chains depending on the opponent's playstyle. Use counters to parry swings.
Strengths:
High damage allows the user to quickly defeat opponents, focus on alternating distance during offence and defense allows for easier countering. Use of single hits and combo chains combined with 4 hit combos allows for more versatility in attack, easier SB'ing and less likely to be evaded.
Weaknesses:
Opponent's with better PBlock then the user will prove difficult to defeat.
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Master Djem So:
Overview:
Keep opponent's in close range when attacking, move into saber range when defending (for easier PB'ing). Switch between single hits, combos and combo chains depending on the opponent's playstyle. Use counters to parry swings. Use chaining single hits with attack masking in close range to interrupt offensive opponents (requires you not to be PB'ed).
Strengths:
High damage allows the user to quickly defeat opponents, focus on alternating distance during offence and defense allows for easier countering. Use of single hits and combo chains combined with 4 hit combos allows for more versatility in attack, easier SB'ing and less likely to be evaded. Increased use of single hits allows for more damage and quicker ACM building.
Weaknesses:
Opponent's with better PBlock then the user will prove difficult to defeat.
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Niman:
A well rounded and balanced style incorporating techniques from all styles.
Manevours:
All covered in basic/advanced guide (for basic).
All covered in other style guides (for Specialist/Master).
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Basic (Student) Niman:
Overview:
Use mainly two hit combo chains, loads of attack masking and evasion (combined with combo interrupts to damage opponents) as your primary form of attack-defence. Counter combos are a useful form of defence against facehugging opponents and can be used to gain distance.
This should be how you play primarily until you build around 5 points of ACM in which case Facehugging + 4 hit combo spam should be used to dispatch your opponent.
Strengths:
Well rounded to fight most styles of equal skill level.
Weaknesses:
Hard to learn and doesn't have any specific advantages against other styles.
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Specialist Niman:
Overview:
Use mainly two hit combo chains, loads of attack masking, counters, evasion/shadow-swinging (combined with combo interrupts to damage opponents) as your primary form of attack-defence. Counter combos are a useful form of defence against facehugging opponents and can be used to gain distance.
Combine techniques from all styles when neccesary such as:
- Djem So Counters (when being facehugged)
- Ataru Acrobatic Attacks (when an opportunity presents itself)
- Soresu Halfswings (to parry aggressive opponents)
- Makashi Fake/Missed hits (to bait opponents into attacking)
- Juyo combos (heavy fast facehugged four hit combos for when your opponent is using a fast moving style like Ataru).
Strengths:
Well rounded to fight most styles of equal skill level. Techniques from other styles (when incorporated properly) can allow you to switch up playstyles to counter different types of opponents.
Weaknesses:
Hard to learn.
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Master Niman:
Overview:
Use mainly two hit combo chains, loads of attack masking, counters, evasion/shadow-swinging (combined with combo interrupts to damage opponents) as your primary form of attack-defence. Counter combos are a useful form of defence against facehugging opponents and can be used to gain distance.
Master as many techniques from other styles as possible and incorporate them successfully into your style.
Strengths:
Mastery of techniques from all styles and the ability to incorporate them all into one balanced style focusing.
Weaknesses:
None
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Juyo:
A style centered around heavy offence and fast paced combat with a heavy focus on attack masking and swingblocking.
Manevours:
Attack Masking:
Misdirection:
(Basics are covered in advanced guide).
Misdirection simply requires you to attack in a different direction to how you walk. A simple way to do this is to hold WA while blocking to approach your opponent, then just as you enter attacking range let go off WA and tap SD and attack at the same time to initiate an SD swing, once the swing starts hold WA again. You can also do this by standing sideways and walking into an opponent using A or D and then proceeding to hit them with the opposite directional key.
No Movement attacks:
Simply tap the directional keys (instead of holding) at the same time you tap attack, this will allow you to attack without moving much or at all making it harder to predict what direction you are attacking from. An effective way to use this is to run into an opponent with WA, W or WD and then stop just as you enter attacking range, as soon as you stop do a no movement SA or SD hit.
Reverse Yawing:
Turn the opposite direction of your swing in a full 360 motion while attacking to mask your attack. You can do this with whole combos with enough practice.
Same Side Combo:
Combos such as:
WA/SA or SA/WA or WD/SD or SD/WD.
These are less predictable than normal attack combos which change side with each hit. They do however come with the disadvantage that if one of the attacks is missed the player is forced into a spin in the next attack.
Yawing:
Yawing:
Covered in the advanced guide.
360 Yawing:
Do full 360 turns with each hit combined with same side combos to unleash extremely fast and hard to predict yawed attacks.
180 Yawing:
Yaw an attack and turn 180 (so your back is facing your opponent) followed by another attack in the opposite direction in which you should turn another 180 in the same direction as the first hit).
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Basic (Student) Juyo:
Overview:
Facehug your opponent and constantly attack them with 4 hit swingblocked yawed combos.
Counter combo any attack your opponent throws at you when you are blocking.
Strengths:
Heavy damage.
Weaknesses:
Easy to dodge and prone to Counters.
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Specialist Juyo:
Overview:
Facehug your opponent and constantly attack them with 4 hit swingblocked yawed combos.
Counter combo any attack your opponent throws at you when you are blocking.
Use attack masked hits to start your combos to help bypass enemy pblocks/mblocks.
Strengths:
Heavy damage.
Weaknesses:
Easy to dodge
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Master Juyo:
Overview:
Facehug your opponent and constantly attack them with 4 hit yawed combos.
Counter combo any attack your opponent throws at you when you are blocking.
Use attack masked hits to start your combos to help bypass enemy pblocks/mblocks.
Utilize well timed hits to combo interrupt enemies.
Strengths:
Heavy damage.
Weaknesses:
Easy to dodge
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