Week 13: Learning AF- The Fall Off

    Welcome to another Learning AF (Anime Fighters) blog. We have now reached Week 13 of this ongoing series of me picking up and learning Anime fighting games. This week however is bit scarce because it was another busy week for yours truly and I have been playing other games as well (more on those later).

    We will be making a decision soon but before we get there let drop into a new week of Learning AF.

Monday

- I have completed all of Blazblue Central Fiction (BBCF) tutorial. Some good information and it was helpful but also nowhere near as deep as UNI's ones. UNI seems to have the best tutorial when it comes to game depth even tho I will say, sometimes it gets really deep for a beginner.

- After finishing the tutorial I decide to pick my main and I always had one in mind for this game, which is Hazama. Regular readers of this blog know I like Hazama and he was actually # 5 in my top 5 favorite video game characters LIST. Peep that here. LIST

- His combo trials are definitely unique, some hold over concepts from BBTAG (where I used him) but also some new stuff having to cancel his 214x attacks because 214x puts you in a stance.

- Similar to how BBTAG only gave me ideas how UNI combos work and not the whole concept, it did not prepare me for how in-depth BB combos are.

- After completing Hazama's normal combos, harder combos became unlocked. Interesting.

- It looks like I grossly underestimated how hard BBCF combos are. Spent hours working on one hard Hazama combo and it does not even look that hard on paper. Sheesh

Tuesday

- Played nothing but Tainted Grail Conquest today. I really wanted to get the true ending. I also wanted to get my RAVE out and normally I do not do my RANT or RAVE until I've completed the game to my satisfaction. Turns out my OCD-ness of completion extends to everything in gaming not just fighters.

Wednesday

- After what felt like a lifetime I finally pulled off Seth's 5-7 in UNI2. I kept putting it together like a puzzle and it finally clicked. Also the hard part with 214B,214A,214[A]7 only started working because I stopped putting pauses in it. You just need to do it back to back, no pauses.

- Does this mean I can do all the other combos that involve this ender? I hope so because this is the last hurdle I need to cl_r (lol) if I want to start using Seth seriously.

- [BBCF] so when this game says a combo is hard, it actually means it is hard. It took me a long time to finally get Hazama's hard # 1 combo.

- One thing I do not like about Hazama's combo involving aerial B, aerial C into more aerial C is the lack of 'hit stun' the moves do. I feel like I got to mash it out but at the same time I can not visually tell when to do the double jump. I feel like I am barely touching the opponent when I am hitting buttons like mad.

- These BBCF Hazama combos feel like they are beyond me right now.

- Completed Es' normal combo challenges. Let's see if her hard ones are like Hazama's.

- Okay Es' hard combo challenges are much easier and doable. I guess Hazama is another high execution monster ala Seth. Why do I always gravitate to the hard characters to learn.

- Completed 8-10 of Es' hard combos. I guess Hazama was not the best character to start with lol.

Thursday

- UNICLR time. Gordeau feels similar to his UNI2 version. Like other character his UNICLR combos have less emphasis on dashing attacks. Also slight charge is back but I feel it is not really a charge at all. I feel the point of the slight charge is to stop you from doing 2 hit 2C.

- 100% Gordy's trials. Feels good I still have some execution.

- Looks like all the dash combos was saved for Phonon cause they are back... in spades.

- All of Phonon's 5-x series require charged 236[B] and 2C, delay 3C which I am used to thanks to UNI2. She however has one that involves one hit of her Force Function (BC) cancelled into her 22A which I am not used too.

- Pulled off a Force Function (FF) 1 hit into 22A combo in 4-12. This one does not require exactly one hit of the FF but it does require good timing with the falling aerial 236A, this needs to be done with a slight delay after 22A.

- Okay the FF combos are easier to do now. The science comes down to delaying the 4B as long as possible.

- 4-2 was a weird one. Normal aerial 2[B] is the ender into the ground series but this one required you to aerial 2[B] into aerial B, aerial 236A. You really got to hit the aerial B early. No delay.

- 12 out of 15 so far for Phonon. Her 4-3 is alluding me. I guess it is true that combos that start off Assault have more severe hit stun scaling because the opponent kept dropping out of it at random places but especially near the end.

- I knew I was not crazy, UNI2 has no combos involving FF into 22A. I wonder if they are still viable or they have been pushed out for 236[B] combos instead.

Friday

- Phonon's 4-3 completed. Precision is need because as noted before hit stun is very short with this one.

- 13 out of 18 combos for his 4-x series and 3 out of 4 for his 5-x series with Hyde on my first night with him. The combos I am struggling with most involve 22x into 3B into delayed 236x

- Speaking 236x, you need to do it twice for the follow ups to come out, unlike UNI2 where you can simply do 236x,6x. Now like Seth you need to do it quickly.

Saturday

- 4-7 now done. It says delay and delay it meant. 3B DELAY 623B lol.

- 4-10 done as well.  For something that looks simple, you really need to time the last 3 hits.

- 5-3 done. I remembered a similar combo in UNI2 with the fireball cancel into a beam. UNICLR's motion is slightly harder tho requiring 646 instead of just 46. On that notes all of Hyde's 5-x series are done.

- 4-3 done. Another combo which look simple at first and just required more precise timing. I am also happy none of Hyde's combos require the dash B combo which frustrated me to no end in UNI2.

- The last 2 combos are variants of his wall bounce into 3B delay 236B,236A which I know I will eventually get.

- Phonon's 4-15 done. I was getting so close the previous day but today I locked in and everything just feel into place.

- For some reason Phonon's 4-14 combo just was not working for me. The 2A,C (2 hits), delay 4B, FF (1 hit), 22A was refusing to come out no matter how much I delayed the 4B.

- Remembering I can do FF (1 hit), 22A off 2C better, I decided to do 2A,C (1 hit),2C, delay 4B, FF (1 hit), 22A instead and the simple change of putting the extra 2C helped me do it. Phonon's combo trials in UNICLR are completed!

- Now we are pretty much done with Tainted Grail Conquest. Check out the RAVE review. RAVE. I decided to finally start Darkest Dungeon II as my new rest/ break night game.

Sunday

- Break Night

- I have been putting off starting Darkest Dungeon II for weeks now as regular readers of this blog know. I have no idea why. After I started it I was hooked again and now I am really enjoying myself.

WHATS NEXT

    So now the title should make sense to you. I have really fallen off with my Anime Fighters to the point where I might actually be ending this ongoing blog soon.  This blog used to take FOREVER to write because I had so much to discuss but now it just I did this combo, I did that combo. This blog originally started as me wanting to learn Anime Fighters and using my Leverless controller MidNite and now I mostly do combo trials and I do not use MidNite at all.

    I am really not 'Learning' it anymore and whilst I do want to still play it competitively I also feel I will not do as well in it as say a certain 3D fighter and well personally I do not want to do that.

    I think I will see how this week goes but if I continue to loose interest next weeks Learning AF might be our last one. Not to be a Debbie Downer tho, I will still play UNI2 at least for fun and I intended to play some Blazblue Central Fiction and do its story mode at least.

    This blog might soon go back to its original focus. Speaking of, I will probably drop a impression video for Darkest Dungeon II later this week. Till next time.

AV

Week 12: Learning AF- Gloomy Invitation

     Welcome to another week of Learning Anime Fighters! This is an ongoing blog where we discuss learning Anime Fighters (AF). This week is a little bit spare due to two reasons. One, we are now a week after our first major offline tournament so I did not need to train as hard for it. Two, I was super busy this week and I just got tired and went to bed early a lot, late night being my main gaming time.

    Related to this, is this week's blog is probably going to be much shorter compared to my previous ones. Are we winding down? Maybe. Or I could just hit a slump for a week and maybe I'll be back at this week. I guess we shall see. However this onward to this week.

Monday

- Since the tournament is done I've decided to jump back into UNICLR and started with Hilda's trials.

- Hilda us so much work but her UNICLR trials do feel much easier compared to her UNI2 stuff which is par for course for the more harder characters (Seth/Bya/Chaos) that I have done so far.

- UNICLR's Seth's 4-8 and 4-10 done. I'm finally beginning to understand the delay necessary for his 623x attack which really makes these combos so much easier.

- Add 4-13. The delay just makes sense now.

- With 4-2 I realize I should start with my back to the wall so the wall bounce part becomes easier to pull off and that worked.

- 4-15 done. Actually one of the easier ones once I got the timing for 214[B], FF Kick down.

- I have actually completed the last Seth trial's in UNI2 so I realized I just need to do 4-16 and 5-2 and 5-3 and I'll be done with Seth's trials in UNICLR and that blows my mind.

- 4-17 done. Noticing the 214[C] after Cast Veil Off (CVO) needs to be timed compared to UNI2 where I can just do it. Good to know.

- 4-18 done. Since I did it in UNI2 I knew the UNICLR one could be done.

Tuesday

- UNICLR's Seth 5-2 done. Really came down to delaying the FF Kick considerably. 2 more to go!

- 5-3 done. Just like 5-2 you got to delay FF Kick.

- 4-16 done. As the last one this really felt like the most technical especially when it came down to the timing. The micro-walk after 214C into the 6C, small delay Veil Off (VO) is really the hardest part.

- On that note we are completely done with Seth in UNICLR. This is something I thought I could have never done. Seth in UNI2 is a different beast but this has motivated me to keep at it.

- Akatsuki's 5-2 done. Just really need to train my muscle memory to do aerial B,C,A which felt foreign to my fingers.

- Speaking of buttons: My button layout for all anime games might be a bit unique and is set up thus. A,B,A+B,A+D on my top row, C,D,B+C,A+B+C on the bottom row. The back four buttons can be changed around but I will not compromise on the placement on my A,B,C,D as a box. This is a rollover from my Marvel and KOF days.

- Turns out Akat's 4-7 can be done without the re-jump 2C. You can just do 2C after the neutral aerial C. Make it so much easier.

- This is not possible in UNI2, you need to do the re-jump 2C. However the UNI2 starts with 2A,2A whilst UNICLR's variant is 2A,2B so maybe the 2A,2B has less hit-stun? Testing needed.

Wednesday

-  Akat's 4-12 is done as well. Used the same strat above and did the aerial 2C after the neutral aerial C. This is way is sooo much easier.

- 4-5 done. Such a strange combo and nowhere near optimal. Really had to get used to delaying the jumping A,B as the opponent was descending but early enough to have time to do the dashing B.

- 100% Akatsuki in both games now. Feels good.

- The only characters I have picked up in UNICLR and I have no 100% yet are Merkava, Hilda and Bya. 8 100% out of 11 characters is pretty impressive.

- Turns out you CAN do the UNICLR combo with 2A,2B,C,6C in UNI2 and do not need to do the re-jump to get aerial 2C. So 2A,2B does have less hit stun. Nice to know.

- This will probably be a short 'Learning AF' week. I have been getting really sleep come Midnight. I've actually been doing most of my combo trials during the day.

- I have also fully embraced 'Tainted Grail Conquest' this week and been playing a lot of that too. This is good because literally in my last Learning AF blog we were discussing me getting stuck and frustrated.

Thursday

- UNI2's Seth harder Tiger Knee (TK) 623x combos still feel out of my reach.  214B,214A,214[A],7 combos especially. However I originally thought I could do do any of Seth's advanced combos and look at us now. I will keep at it.

Friday

- Making progress with the above combo. I think I understand when to do the 214B now and I found a guide that explains you need to do it early and I agree. It actually needs to be done as soon as the input the TK 623B and you do the 214B as he vanishes.

- I can do a variant of this combo off 2C (2 hit), 214[C] combo now. I also found out that surprisingly 2C is safe for a sweep so that is a good hit confirm combo starter.

- Spent a good portion of my afternoon working on Seth's hard combos and got no success. Bruv it should not be this hard.

- I did finally beat Tainted Grail Conquest tho. Turns out I just need better cards and a better approach to certain battles. A RAVE for it will probably be coming soon.

- I am thinking of not wasting a whole afternoon again. I think I'll put a limit on how many times I can fail the Seth combos and than move on to Blazblue Central Fiction or go do some UNICLR characters I have not complete/ started.

- Speaking of, looks like Linne in UNICLR has the infamous 2369 air fireball combos I have heard about. Ironic that UNICLR has the harder combos for once not the other way around cause UNI2 definitely did not have any combos like that.

- Also to make her even harder is she still has her aerial 6[C] combos which anyone who reads this blog know I can not stand doing. Akatsuki's combos with aerial 6[C]... *shudder*

This is my new most hated move. Move aside Akat's aerial 6[C]

Saturday

- Break Night. Spent a good portion of my day helping at my church for a Mother's Day luncheon. Was super tired at the end of the day and just wanted rest.

Sunday

- Break Night. It was Mother's day and I was exhausted at the end of the night again. This weekend was a real bust for any video games LOL.

WHAT'S NEXT

    Now I've finally beaten Tainted Grail Conquest, I think I might actually start playing Darkest Dungeon 2. I do not know why I've been putting it off and the wild thing is I did the same for the original Darkest Dungeon and I ended up loving it. Hopefully the same thing will happen with DD2.

    Anime Fighters-wise, I think I'll focus mostly on UNICLR this week with some BB: Central Fiction thrown in. I can justify it by saying I ain't entering a UNI2 tournament soon so I can play what I like.

    I know this week was shorter but I still have a drive to get better at AF so we will not be stopping anytime soon.

AV

    

Week 11: Learning AF- Transgressing Convict

    Welcome to Week 11 of Learning Anime Fighters (AF). This week we focus on mostly Uni-Night In Birth 2 as we prepare for our first offline tournament. Do we do well or do we reconsider everything and quit this journey? Stay tuned for the answers.

    Also again apologies for the last weeks blog with the random formatting. I figure out what cause the issue and even through it could not be fixed in post, we can make sure it does not happen again.

Monday

- Tournament Week! Time to buckle down and focus on UNI2!

- Knowing my OCD nature when it comes to completing trials, I will try my best to worry about Seth, Yuzu and Vatista's trials next week.

- My OCD-ness kicked in. That did not last long lol. I had to keep at it with Seth's UNICLR trials and it paid off. 5-1 is done.

- I am able to do slightly better with Seth on 2P side and got 4-14 with the VO (Veil Off) set up. This is the first combo I am able to pull off in his 4-x combo trials. UNICLR has 2 sets of veteran combos, one are labelled as 4-x and 5-x. The 5-x mainly focused on specialize enders. Merkava's 5-x series all focus on ending his combos with his 22C super/ set up for example.

- Going back to UNI2 but still using Seth. I noticed UNI2 actually does look better than UNICLR now I looking closer. I can do his advanced combos but his expert/ veteran combos are much harder.

- SPOILERS: Finished Seth's story mode. A trooper to the end and protected Linne. Speaking of, is that an older Linne in his ending? Hmm (P.S It is!).

- I also got the 6 endings achievement thanks to Seth's one.

Tuesday

- AAANNDD I'm back on UNICLR. I told you I have an OCD tendency when it comes to completing trials. However this was worth it because I finally got Seth's 4-1. It really came down to delaying the FreeFall Kick (FF Kick) (2+A+B,6A) after the 214[B] hits.

- Londreika being the new character in UNICLR actually has some of the easier combos. He also does not have any 5-x series.

- After struggling so much with Seth, I got all of Londreika's combos in one session. Wild.

- I've also noticed Lond's B in delay 2C into 214A combos are so much easier in UNICLR.

- Yep, definitely harder in UNI2. Lond's combos involve delay 214B, delay 2C and 214[A] for his combo enders. Thankfully his final combos involving Cast Veil Off (CVO) aren't that hard tho in either versions.

- UNICLR Seth's 4-7 is done. I am finally getting the hang of it. I just need to stop missing 623B into 623A.

- As soon as I completed 4-7 I knew I could do 4-9 as well. Since their are next to no-one discussing how to do it, here is my science to it.

- A) FF Kick (2AB,6A) needs to be timed. After the initial hit, wait a second and time it with the falling body of your opponent. This will give you the lowest launch for the kick, perfect for combos.

- B) Aerial 6C needs to be done clean after holding 8 after the kick hits. This is to buffered during the jump cancel window. After it hits smoothly do 236B slight pause 214A. The 214A is done a second after the orb leaves his hand.

- C) 623B, 623A also needs perfect timing. Wait for Seth to complete the 623B animation and faces towards the opponent before inputting the 623A.

- Final tips: Clean inputs and correct timing are so important. Doing it too fast will cause the follow up attacks to be eaten.

- 4-11 done. On a roll now. This one requires no delay on the FF Kick.

- I also noticed this combo is not possible in UNI2 or at least any combo trial has not shown it.

- 4-12 done too. Feeling accomplished tonight.

- Bit intimidated by his 632146 throw aka Transgressing Convict ( now shown as TC also the name of the blog heh). How does one get it come out so fast?

- 4-4 done. A unique a take on a UNI2 combo but instead of letting the orb hit, walk, 6C you instead do dash jump 6C instead. Seems a bit harder for no reason.

- 7/18 combos done. I started with just 1 or 2. The rest of these combos seem really hard tho. Going to take a break and actually play UNI2 and see if any of these skills translates over.

- Speaking of UNI2, I have hit 200 hrs playing time on Steam tonight. WILD.

- Since double orbs are no longer a thing in UNI2, you now need to learn aerial TK 623x series for the big damage. What a pain.

Wednesday

- UNICLR Seth's 4-6 done. Dash B into 214[B] was also a execution wall but I think I am getting it. The progress I am making is good but most of this is in UNICLR not UNI2.

- 4-5 done. Took a minute to get used to how FF Kick works with a wall in front of you. Also rare use of aerial 236A instead of 236B orb set up. The game also says dash B needs to be 1 hit but you can get 2 and the game won't freak out... unlike say... Merkava. Not bitter at all LOL.

- Started Akatsuki's combo trials. He has definitely kept his quirkiness. I guess being a guest character he kept the combo concepts from his game.

- I am very happy he does not have any combos that involve aerial 6[C]. Regular readers of this blog know how much I loathe that move.

- He still kept his re-jump aerial 2C combos tho which are still a pain to pull off.

- Almost done with Akat, the aforementioned aerial 2C combos and a wacky one that involved combo-ing from aerial 2C.

Thursday

- Noticed that with Enkidu's combos you can substitute 4C for 4[C] to make it much easier and it does more damage.

- 2 combos left for Enkidu. He was already not a hard character to pick up but his combos are much easier compared to UNI2. Not one of his combos involve dash B nor the special delay needed to get extra height on 623x kicks.

- All done with Enkidu. Saw at Texas Showdown a Enkidu player did pretty well so I am happy they are some high level play with someone who folks call low tier.

- Slowly realizing how deliberate Byakayu is. You really need to time his multiple presses correctly. Noticed this in UNICLR and UNI2.

- Pushing folks to the corner then doing the combo really helps with my Bya timing. Now I am done with 4-2 and 4-15. 11 more to go.

- I've also realized the timing for his aerial 6C, delay C is SOOO long. Like you can literally make a sandwich and then hit the C.

- 4-7 done. You really need to mash the A as fast as possible during 236A,4A,A,A.

- 4-8 done. Interestingly if you use the corner you do need to get exactly 8 hits with the dash C therefore you can 9 hits and the wall bounce and you can still do it.

- Compared to UNI2 the dash C combo trial is so much easier.

- We on a roll again. 4-9 done.

- 4-11 is a variation with the dash B into his rekka series. I am happy cause doing the same ender was getting boring.

- 4-12 another variation using 3[C]. Again, happy they are throwing in more differences.

- A different combo that Bya does in UNICLR that he does not do in UNI2 is aerial 2[C] into aerial 214[B],B,B combos. I finally figure out the timing and the secret is timing the aerial 2[C] just as the web breaks. 4-4 done.

- I thought for a minute the 5-x series was going to be hard but all but 5-2 is done. Only 3 combos until I am done with Bya's trials, something I have not been able to do in UNI2.

Friday

- Pre Cincy Clash day. Promised myself to not play UNICLR today and focus on UNI2 since that's the game being played.

- Completed Seth's 5-3. I got the final sequence down now, I just need to learn the timing for FF Kick, 2, 623B and I understand now to time as the opponent's body is about to hit the ground. If anything the demo is a bit misleading and this one should have been the one with delay C. You can get good damage off 632146/ TC throw if you have chain shift it appears.

- I think I understand the mechanics behind FF Kick into TC. You just buffer the whole motion during the 6C animation. As a King main in Tekken, buffering is something I can do.

- I can't believe it. Literally less than a week ago I was going to give up on Seth but reading my words in my pre-blog and then the actual blog I instead decided to double down on my efforts. Today I completed 5-15, arguably one of his harder trials.

- Since 5-15 was doable, 5-14 was much easier too. I realized with 214[C] after CVO needs to wait a bit so the opponent is directly above Seth's head for the C ver. of TC.

- Now to master his TK 623x combos and I might actually use Seth in UNI2.

Saturday

- D-DAY!

- I entered my first UNI2 tournament and I lost spectacularly.

This is a marker to say I will do better.

- I knew I would not do well with this being my first tournament and all but I figured I had to just dive in and have a sink or swim mentality.

- I went 0-2 and the irony was my first match was against a Wagner main. I knew I would use Wagner too since I did not want to do too much in my first tournament and Wagner is my comfortable main. I still instead to eventually bust out Kaguya and one day, Seth tho.

- My second match was against an Enkidu main. This also went badly but I did take a round at least. I had some goals and I did fulfill them tho.

- First was to use shield properly and not get GRD broken. I only got GRD broken once which was good.

- Second was to break a couple throws and I did that.

- Third was to get a hit confirm into a bread and butter and that's where I failed. I went for C, into aerial [C] and the aerial [C] did not come out.

- Anyhow, it is a start and I am motivated to do better. I think I am now ready to play online and even attend some offline casuals.

- I also had a great time at the Spot aka Wing Champ after with some Tekken homies. All in all, a good tournament experience. Hopefully come next Cincy Clash (it is bi-monthly event) I might actually win a set.

Sunday

- It has been a long week so you know I was ready for break night.

WHAT'S NEXT

    On that note; we have reached the end of this week. I really enjoyed playing UNI2 offline but I do have some gripes in hindsight. First was I was not able to play any casuals. There was next to no casual stations and every time I went to set up my own set-up and hopefully get folks to play with me I had to watch some Tekken 8 matches. I wanted to support my homie and brotha from anotha mother Mr. J who got 3rd in the Tekken tournament and congrats to him but I felt I hurt my own chance to make UNI2 friends/ rivals. I think that is why I am determined to make it to a offline casual night at Arcade Legacy so I am focus purely on UNI2 and get some games in.

    Second is of course I was not able to fulfill promises I made to myself. Darkest Dungeon 2 remains un-played and I have not written a RAVE for Tainted Grail yet cause I have not beaten it. Yes, I am stuck in Tainted Grail and it is a combination of not being to play it and getting to the point where the game is too challenging.

    With no tournament hanging over head I think this week we will refocus and stay on UNI2 of course but UNICLR is still fun to muck around in. I will play some online games in UNI2 and get some achievements I needed anyway. However I will play my other games too and not let them fall to the wayside like I've been doing.

Week 10: Learning AF- Cl-r as Rain

     [The blog formatting is a bit off this week. I think I know why. Either way, sorry for the random paragraph breaks. I've to go back in and edit it but to no avail.]

Welcome to Week 10 of Learning Anime Fighters (AF). This is an ongoing blog about me picking up anime fighting games.

This week is actually a big achievement because this is our 10th week of this ongoing blog and even I am surprised how much time I have dedicated to it. The good news is I do not see me stopping it anytime soon so we will keep going as I hope to get better at these games.

We had a pretty big week too because we picked up a new (old) game which pretty much took up all my time but we will come back to that. On that note; lets go.

Monday

- I doubt myself again. I was thinking because certain combos were once easier with my Hori Marvel 3 stick due to its weight, I hooked it back up. Turns out I am so familiar with Eclipse (my new Qanba stick) that my old stick felt foreign to me and I was not able to have any success despite the change back. I have decided to just focus on Eclipse since it'll be my main 'stick' going forward.

- Finally got Seth's 5-2 done a whole week later and my first expert combo with him. Can only go up from here lol.

- It looks like Millic (a Korean artist who I now I understand does lo-fi hip hop) helps me concentrate. Able to pull off Seth's 5-1. I realize the secret to getting 214[C] is ignore the delay and just hold it down as soon as the aerial 214A hits. Thanks demo assist as always.

- From 5-1 to 5-13. I knew I could do it because it was a variation of 5-1 but with a EX move attached. Getting the FF Kick (aka aerial 2AB,6A) is slowly becoming more ingrained.

- Linne's 5-9 is done. I have no idea but my hands keep doing other things after the jump C. I had to train it to go immediately into 214A,mash B. One more to go for her.

- Got Vatista's easier trials done, now I have 8 out of 9 advance and 13 out of 13 expert left.

- Wow. Maybe it is doable? Just finished all of Vatista's advance combos in one session.

- Watched all the demos for her expert combos and now I have lost all confidence. So much plinking and reverse charges. This is going to be a pain.

- Almost done. We now have 12 Seths, 1 Linne, 3 Carmine, 15 Yuzu, 13 for Vat, 3 for Bya, 7 for Chaos and 2 for Mika left to go. All Expert trials and sitting at 94.5% clear overall.

Tuesday

- Bya's 5-7 done. Really need helped with the timing for the descending C, here came in 'demo assist'and I got it after practicing just the ender.

- Back to Rising and the final 3.

- Anre done. LOL little girls are not my cup of tea and little guys are even less. However it does surprise me how much easier one of his combos with his install super is in this one. In the previous version that combo had me pulling my hair out.

- Zooey done. First I love her Link (from Zelda) inspired color and it matches so well. Her last combo was nice with using her dragon and aerial U's into a juggle. Her and Dragon Knight from DNF Duel seem like long lost sisters too.

- Seox (who's name sounds nothing like I thought it would) is done and that's the whole GBVR cast for now. I'm low key happy he didn't have a similar trial like in the original where you need to get over 15 and 25 hits to get a pass. His combos were actually pretty straight forward.

- Now all combo trials are done I think I'll start doing story content. I do enjoy the game but UNI 2 is getting all my focus.

- Hardest combos belonged to Vasaraga, Narmaya and surprisingly that one Gran combo.

- SPOILERS FOR UNI2: Wagner's ending was surprisingly bittersweet. After being so cocky and looking down on folks, she really just wanted to protect her people and sacrificed herself for the greater good.

- Chaos' 5-5 makes sense to me now and I figured out why I need to hold the B in the air. Now if I can actually get the delay 214B,623[B] to connect. Holding B keeps Arzi close to Chaos so the combo does not push the opponent out further.

- I spent a good portion of an hour trying to do 5-5 and got close a couple times but no cigar. I practice 5-7 for 2 mins at the most and got it. WTF.

Wednesday

- As I've been going through everyone's combos I forgot just how much fun Kuon is to play. Boy has a tool kit for days.

- No surprise that as the final boss Kuon has a conversation with everyone in story mode. Some deep lore was dropped for sure.

- WOOT my Under Night In-Birth: Exe: Late [Cl-r] hereby called UNICLR collecter's edition for the PS4 has arrived and boy did it come packed with some goodies.

- Included as you see above is the game itself for the PS4, a Londreicka keychain, a rather nice art book with some sweet illustrations and the music of UNICLR. Irony is the CD does not work on my computer nor my PS4 because neither have CD drives. I guess I'll keep listening to the tunes on the internet.

- Also new game = more combo trials. This could be a good thing or a bad thing lol.

- Started Wagner's trials. So far she has some unique routes the new one does not use.

- All done with Wagner's trials. Some unique concepts but they felt a bit easier than UNI2 ones.

E.G only two trials that include using her dashing C in the middle of her air combos.

- Also; have to get used to the 'tactics' section being at the end and not the beginning and using

the touch pad on the PS4 to reset the neutral. I typically use the 'share' button on my Steam deck

but it turns out hitting that will just cause the PS share menu.

- Note to self; change Steam deck to R3 since I do not use it as much on my PS4 so accidentally

pushes won't constant bring up the share menu.

- Merkava feels similar but at the same time different. His combos are not as hard with almost

no 66B,66C combos and only one combo involving his air fireball.

- A lot of combos teaching you how to set up his 22C super tho, interesting.

- Looks like none of Seth's combos have his TK 623x move. Does not make him any easier to use

tho. Still messing up aerial 6C

Thursday

- I think I might honestly try to main Seth and Chaos. I am never scared of execution barriers (I main Akira in Virtua Figher for example) and I like boths game plan. Plus Chaos might be the first puppet character I actually want to use.

- Tonight was my 16th wedding anniversary so no gaming for me.

Friday

- Working through Waldstein's combo trials in UNICL. His 4-15 requires almost perfect usage of his

meter or his ABC super just does not come out.

- All Waldstein's combos done. This time around, I had to get used to dashing B and timing aerial

assault after his aerial 6C wall bounces. Waldstein still is so much fun to play no matter the edition.

- I've noticed a lot of combos in UNCLR involved wall bouncing into Veil Off (VO) no follow up. Wonder if that used to be a tactic. I am used to VO being used like a cancel into other combos ala UNI2.

- Chaos is combo trials are much easier in UNICLR. Actually cleared a lot of his combos in one night.

Only thing that throws me off are the classic 22x cancels and a concept I've never done in terms of

aerial 214B,623B,2C as a combo ender.

- He only has one combo which forces a switch side where UNI2 has tons of those combos. I bet Chaos'

mains had to adjust to that concept when they first picked him in UNI2.

- Watching JP Seths plays in EVO Japan and they pilot him so well it makes me envious. He is such a beast.

- I only have 5 combos left before I complete all of Chaos' trials. LOL if I could have this success

in UNI2 where I want to use him.

- 2 more to go. I think I can do it next time I try.

- Speaking of EVO Japan; no UNI2 announcements but they are working on a new balance patch for Melty Blood: Type Lumina? Need to check that out so I can see if I can main 2 anime games. Also thankfully I did not dive too deep into MBTL so I won't be too affected by nerfs to characters I use.

Saturday

- Listening to the UNI2 Evo Japan commentary; I heard VO is faster in UNI2 compared to UNICLR.

Maybe that is why UNICLR focuses on wall bounce into VO combos?

- Completed ALL of Chaos' combo trials in UNICLR. Now if I could only do that in UNI2. Some of the

last combos required some specific timing but nothing as crazy as UNI2's stuff.

- Eltum feels similar but also different. She has combos that require a whiff aerial A after her aerial [C]. Taking time to get used to it.

- Eltnum feels much easier much like everyone else. Being used to her combo structure from UNI2

helps a lot of course.

- Elt-done all over again. She had one very unique combo which involved OTG with a delayed charge

[C] but most of her combos were much easier. Thankfully no [B+C] 1 hit cancel cause that drove me

nuts in UNI2. With Kaguya being a UNI2 addition, I might main Eltnum along with Wagner.

- Seth of course and Merkava are only combo trials I have not completed after picking them up.

Overall I think the UNICLR combos are a bit easier then UNI2.

Sunday

- Even tho Sunday is normally break night, I felt like getting some more UNCLR in.

- LOL ever since getting UNICLR on my PS4 I have rarely played my Steam Deck. Never thought I would see the day. Eclipse is of course compatible with my PS4 which is nice as well.

- Looks like I am finally understanding Merkava's dash 2C after his 66C timing again. Since I completed all his trials in UNI2 I figured I could do them in UNICLR too.

- 2 more to go and one of them is a classic got to count the hits before you hit A+B+C combo which drives me nuts. Right now I am getting no success even mashing it out.

- Seth requires so much hard work but I am remembering what folks have said previously about him not being a character you can pick up even after practicing for weeks on end so I'll keep at it. I eventually got some expert combos in UNI2 so I know I can get some in UNCLR as well.

WHAT'S NEXT

Well this week got overtaken by UNCLR did it not? I looked back on my plans for this week and I did next to none of them. Heck I even started ignoring my UNI2 game plan and I actually have a my first tournament for it this weekend. Speaking of, you know we will definitely discuss that in next weeks blog.

I will definitely not let the new shiny thing distract me too much this week and keep my eye on the prize. I know I will probably go 0-2 in the tournament but I least want to feel like I did the best I could. I also hope to find some like minded UNI players to pick their brains. I am seeing this tournament more of a learning experience than anything.

I also fully intend on starting Darkest Dungeon 2 before it falls into my backlog of look at but never played which has happened to a couple of the games I have bought over the years.

AV

Learning AF: Week 9- Storytime

 Welcome to Week 9 of Learning Anime Fighters (AF). This is an ongoing blog about me picking up anime fighters.

    This blog is done chronologically so follow along as we explore Anime Fighters and more.

Monday

- This week we get started with Seth as promised.

- I've actually always had an interest in Seth even going back to BBTAG, he is even my current 3D avatar for the 'arena' sections.

- Seth is tough tho, I am getting stuck doing his advance combos. Not a good sign lol.

- I think I might have to switch back to my Hori. With Eclipse, my current 'main' stick I've noticed I have issues doing 236 into 214 motions. I originally noticed that when I using Kaguya previously.

- I figured it out, unlike Kaguya, there is a slight delay with Seth's 236 into his 214. I am thankfully because switching from stick to leverless between games is okay but switching sticks in the same game might be a bit much.

- Okeeeey the expert combos for Seth are ridiculous. I've never had a character where I could not do any of their expert combos. His skill ceiling is really high it seems.

- I seem to have a lot of issues but the key one is getting confused when he switches side, the timing for 2A+B into 6A and the jump cancel into 6C window.

Tuesday

- There is no visual aids for Seth's combo structure which is wild because how complex it is. Something this complex is normally great material for Youtube videos, like how to Korean Backdash in Tekken. I have found nothing tho.

- Finally able to get Hyde's 5-15 combo on the 2p side aka the side where I get less accidentally DPs. Hyde as a main character is funny cause he is not Akira from Virtua Fighter complex but he sure is not Ken from Street Fighter easy to pick up either.

- Add 5-16. I knew once I got focused I could do the 236B,6A dash C, 236A,6B combos if I swapped sides. I do not understand the need for delay 236B,6A, I just do at my normal timing at it works.

- 5-11 done. Its is looking likely we might finally finish Hyde today.

- Spending so much time in the trials I wish there was a button to automatically go back to the 'Challenge Select Screen' like hit RB to go back to that menu OR the cursor stayed on its last selected option. Just a quality of life thing.

- Hyde's 5-6 is soo dumb and it is not even optimal but I finally got it. I had to move the opponent closer to the wall so the dash B would connect sooner. All Hyde's combos are done and it is pretty good because I started with 14 out of 18. Feeling accomplished. I do not see myself main-ing Hyde, getting his 214 series delay down takes work and I rarely main protagonist.

- Bought Darkest Dungeon 2 as I promised myself I would in my Triple I blog. It'll be a fun game to play on nights when I am taking breaks from AFs.

- Finished Blazblue story chapter in BBTAG. I keep forgetting to mention I do enjoy that this story mode is fully voiced and the UNI cast even gets English voice overs which they have never had. I am also knowledgeable on BB lore so it was cool all the references that showed up during it aka Hazama not being reliable, Ragna, Jin and Noel's complex relationship and more.

- We will be doing its Story mode for the rest of the week, so the next chapter will be the Persona cast.

Wednesday

- Spent a lot of time working on Seth's combos. Made zero progress. This feels like my first execution wall I have hit in this game.

- Found out you can change the color you character has on by default in a menu which is pretty dang cool. Nice work UNI2.

- Completed the Persona chapter of BBTAG story mode, a unique one where the character actually did not split up for once and stayed as one big party. My own critique is it would have been nice to had the option to choose whom you could team up with when the time came up instead of being thrown into default teams. Also I have never played a Persona game before but I feel I'll like to give Persona 4 Golden or Ultimax (the fighting game) a try.

- Nakayama is the most white bread of protagonists tho. Hopefully he has some rizz in the RPG.

- RWBY story mode is next

- I can complete Seth's combos in BBTAG. I know BBTAG Seth is 'easy mode' but hey its something. I do like the concept of Seth, if only he was not so hard to use.

- UNI2: Mika's 5-10 actually was not hard, it really came down to timing her 2B, delay 2C, 3B to make her push Orie over her head into the rest of the combo. Interesting concept and different enough to change up her combo trials.

- Carmine's 5-12 combo completed. Really need to get the hang of the timing for his 2C,jc,6B and jump [C],B,3B,2C combo ender but they feel doable. His one combo with multiple plinking gives me Hilda PTSD tho.

Thursday

- Interesting Knee, a Tekken legend, has spoken up about Tekken 8 and saying it is not fun to play. I already made up my mind about it ages ago but it is nice to see other people have issues with it and its identity as well.

- Granblue Rising tonight. Started with Siegfield and I can see why people like him and gravitate towards him. Strong attacks, good buttons. If Gran was not the protagonist of this game I could see Siegfield filling that spot. Completed all his combos too which was nice especially after the struggles I have had with Seth the last couple nights.

- Speaking of Gran, completed most of his combos but his last one has some weird timing to it. I can not seem to get it so I decided to skip it for now.

- I have found a small, feisty female character I do not dislike. Cagliostro is actually pretty cool and I love her Super Skybound Art where she turns folks into a statue of herself. Her combos require a bit of patience especially with her multi hitting close H to get more hit stun for them but she is done.

- Lancelot feels like Rising's version of Seth. Quick, multi hitting moves, ninja like stealth. Only difference is his combos are much easier LOL.

- Charlotta is another small character with a feisty attitude. I do not mind her tho, definitely would not main her. Most of her combos relies on her multi hitting 'Sword of Lumiel' and understanding the timing of when you can attack again. All complete.

- Yuel's combo were not that difficult but I feel as 'stance' character she might have more sauce. Overall, I like her design and she hits hard.

- I must say, I do like Rising's sound design. The epic clash when you do a Guard Break into a Raging Strike is pretty nice.

- Finally got Gran's last combo. I realized after watching the demo you need to wait for the last hit of fireball to hit before you can combo them for more height. It is a pretty technical combo for a beginner character.

- On that note, 3 more character and I am done with all recommend combos in Rising. I am calling them recommend combos because they actually do not feel like combo trials at all. I also notice you get no reward for doing them.

- Will probably be starting the Story mode for Rising soon as well, it seems to be a big one so it'll be a over time investment.

- Finally got Akatsuki's 5-8. The delay window for 2C into C is so precise. It really had me

in fits for days now. One more and its that silly one with the Jump 6[C].

- I have completed all of Akat's trials. This 'easy to pick up character' has some serious

complexities. 5-10 made me depressed for so long. I've been low key working on Akat since Week 3. 

- Lets chat about it. First the delay is 100% required after his C, the 236A needs to hit at the

right spot too. For the jump cancel Jump 6[C] I realize the best way to do it is to just hold 9 until he jumped and then inputted the 6[C]. I do not have it down to a science but I am much more consistent. Finally and this was the part that was killing me when I sometimes fluked the Jump 6[C] is the dash into 2C is a microdash, not a full one. Thanks to 'Demo assist' I was able to work only on it and got the timing down.

Friday

- In what feels like a big accomplishment I finally got Chao's 5-14 down. It takes a lot of precise hand movement and some great timing but it is done. We only getting started tho cause we are still only at 7 out of 15 for his expert trials.

- Hooked up MidNite to finish out some Rising combo trials? Rising was in the middle of maintenance. Since I had it out I played some DNF Duel instead. Man, Monk is so much fun.

- Completed RWBY's Story chapter. Unlike the Persona one, Ruby kept losing her partners but I was at least able to use characters I like, like Hazama, Es and Waldstein. I also cracked up when the game paired RWBY's scythe/ rapier combo vs UNI's Scythe/ rapier team.

- The ending was cool but now I need to figure out why Blazblue's chapter does not have 100% like everyone else? Maybe it ties into Chapter 2? Will continue this Story mode in the new week.

- Small, feisty female fighters seem to be an Anime Fighter trend but surprisingly I do not mind Es. I actually like her a lot. She reminds me of Saber from Melty Blood and she even has moves named after the Round Table (Saber being a alternate King Arthur and all).

- I also like how Es can combo into her command throw into another combo and she can combo into her assault (C) which I think is the only character that can do it. Now I think about it, I did not mind using Ruby during her chapter, her voice can get on my nerves tho.

- I think it is the loud pitch  voices they pick for these female character that throw me off. Linne for example is another small female character I do not mind but its because she has a very low voice.

- Chaos' 5-9 is now done. You really need to be aware to use him properly and timing hits with his 22x Azi attacks isn't easy. Slowly but surely.

- Okay, I thought Seth's trials were hard, Yuzuhira's combo ain't any easier. A lot of fast button presses, changing sides mid combo and more insanity. We have hit the specialists characters and they are not joke which is wild because the regular cast ain't easy to use either lol.

Saturday

- I have told my wife many times and it might even be a meme between us that 'x' character combo trials are the hardest in the game and a couple hours or days later I would master them. However I think I have reached the hardest combo trials and thy name is Vatista.

- When I am having trouble with the easy combos I know I have a problem. The reverse charging is throwing my brain off and I actually use charge characters. Leona from KOF is one of my favorite characters and she is a charge character but this. It wrinkles my brain.

- Thankfully she does not have a loud obnoxious voice because combine that with the difficulty of these combos and it would have been too much.

Sunday

- You know what day it is. Break Night.

- So my normal Sunday goes like this. I wake up early for church, do some running around with my family afterwards, have some lunch and then I take a long nap till the evening.

- Evening, we go to my mother's house for dinner, we watch some tv shows with her and by the time we get home from there I am pretty warn out and I do not think about gaming. Add a typically early day at work the next day I normally like to get a good nights sleep as well.

- I do not see any of these changing anytime soon so Sunday break nights will stay a thing.

WHAT'S NEXT

    So this week is my Anniversary week (16 years!!) and more specifically it is Thursday. We will probably not be doing much gaming on that night.

    We will be starting Darkest Dungeon 2 this coming week, finishing out BBTAG's story mode and probably getting a start in Rising's story mode too. Most of my other games have kind of fallen off due to my focus on UNI 2 so we will bring some of them back. I still need to beat Tainted Grail Conquest and I want to play more Remnant From the Ashes too.

    We however won't be slacking on UNI 2 and with the 3 biggest hurdles ahead of me in terms of Vatista, Yuzuhira and Seth which I'll try to conquer them as well. I will also be preparing for the upcoming tournament Cincy Clash on May 5th where I'll be entering my first UNI 2 tournament. Wish me luck! I also can not believe this upcoming week's blog will be the 10th one as well. Quite an achievement.

AV

Learning AF: Week 8- Eclipsed

    Welcome to Week 8 of Learning Anime Fighters (AF). This is an ongoing blog about me picking up anime fighters and also learning a leverless controller and brand new arcade stick. 

    This blog is done chronologically so follow along as we explore Anime Fighters and more.

Monday

- So it was teased last blog but this week we can discuss it in full. We got a brand new stick baby!! As you can clearly see it is a Qanba Drone 2. I mainly brought this because I need a 'cheaper' stick but I want PS5 compatibility (which most games are played on now) without breaking the bank. I see myself buying a PS5 eventually (because Xbox isn't making any moves) so it can be used on that too.

 - This new stick (tentatively called Eclipse) is already doing wonders. It is named Eclipse because it arrived on the day of the solar eclipse (4/8) and I actually saw it in person.

- During my first day practice with it, some of my Kaguya in UNI2 combos were not connecting at first but after some practice it felt good again. Felt I just need to adjust to it.

- Eclipse is already paying dividends. Sure I was making head room with my old Marvel vs Capcom 3 Hori Stick but I have been doing better with the Qanba. Byakayu's expert combos are now 8/13 and I think I finally understand how he works.

Tuesday

- Mostly a Tainted Grail Conquest night. Doing much better progression-wise until I screwed up during the second boss battle. Still enjoying it and I feel once I've beaten it at least once, I'll put up a full length RAVE for it.

- Londrekia is finally done. I had 2 combos which refused to work but after getting Eclipse, I was able to get both done after a couple tries. I started Londy's trials back in Week 3 when I was getting frustrated with his delay 2C, into 214[A] (The [] meaning hold the button in UNI2 terms) this combo refused to be completed until tonight.

- Smaller success as well, completed a trial for Orie and Carmine.

- Maybe it is not a placebo effect. I do recall my Hori stick which I was using being extra sensitive and causing my cursor to move much faster, down especially. I do not have that issue with Eclipse? More research needed perhaps?

Wednesday

- Making small progress again but completing 2 Eltnum trials which once felt impossible is a good feeling. Also I should know by now when the game says 'delay' it means DELAY it lol.

- On that note; Eltnum is now 12/14 expert trials. Soo close.

- Eltnum? More like Eltdone (I do not know if this joke has diminishing returns). She definitely has some complexity to her, especially with her Force Function aka FF aka B+C cancel and her 2B into 22B combos. Now I think about it, if the Hori's issue was down inputs, could that have interfered with it? I really like her character design but I do not see myself maining her as a starter character because she is pretty taxing on the mental stack.

- As promised in our previous blog, I started playing Story mode; first up; Melty Blood: Type Lumina. I have actually never did any story content for MB so Story week should start here.

- I settled on Noel as my first character, I like how easy she is to pick up and since my other main Kaguya is a warrior nun, it would be nice synergy.

- MBTL's story mode is cute, a lot of interactions, the ending being only one picture is on brand too. French Bread seems to favor those for endings (UNI2 has one picture endings as well).

Thursday

- Break night; I did even look at my Steam Deck I was so tired lol.

Friday

- Continuing Story mode week; I played BBTAG specifically UNI2's chapter. Turns it out its only part of a bigger story so I need to do all the other ones too. The games difficulty is not hard so I can probably do it when I get some time. Maybe chapter a day in the new week.

- BBTAG continues to surprise how easy it is to pick up. If you want to get into anime fighters it is a good entry point. However it will not prepare you for the complexities of some of the games. I heard BlazBlue is much more complex and UNI2 as I've found out is similar.

- Doing more research, I can confirmed my Hori Xbox360 stick does have a very sensitive down input. I can especially see it when I go to menus. Thankfully Eclipse does not have those issues and it'll be my main controller going forward.

- Bought Slay the Spire. I mentioned in my previous PIT STOP about the Triple I Initiative that I was considering buying it again. It is a good game to play when I am resting my wrist and I just LOVE the game. Nice to have it on a more portable console too.

- Speaking of wrist, its time to discuss my current issue.

Yes that's Kaguya as my wallpaper lol

- Thankfully the finger issues is not as bad. For awhile pressing down hard with my ring handed ring finger hurt a bit but that has gradually gone away. My wrist does hurt when I push down on it through, hence the brace. It helps and I wear it occasionally but not all the time. Most of the time I am fine but when I feel it, I am not ashamed to slap it on. I feel once I am not always doing combo trials and not constantly doing hard motions and pressing down hard to do the charge attacks my pain will lessen even more.

- Back on track, since I completed Eltnum's combo trials I decided I'll use her in Story mode. Boy was it hilarious. She is like the Deadpool of UNI with her constant 4th wall breaks. Beating the game with her also unlocked an achievement which was nice.

Saturday

- Hilda? More like Hildone (this is the last time I'll use this joke I promise). The infamous double plinking 5-12 is completed and I actually had to change how I held my stick to get it. It was some finger gymnastics for sure. For awhile Hilda's trials look insurmountable but we have conquer them. Now Carmine on the other hand.

- Finally got Mika's 5-9. I was delaying the 2B too long. I have to time it with the [C] hit. When I did it without it the the hit stun decay was too much. Thank goodness for the ability to slow the combo trials down to 30% speed to help me see where I was messing up.

- Revisited the advance tutorials tips and again there is too much 'wall of text' instead of giving you a chance to practice the concept or at least show a video of it. I feel if they add either of those options it would be a much better training tool.

- Speaking of tight timing, Orie's 623A needs to be done at the perfect timing so she can juggle after it. I finally got it done for one and now I just need to do her anti-air one.

- Orie's last trial that stumped me had a frame kill 2A, perfect height for her 236[B] and the perfect timing mentioned above. Once it all clicked, we got it and Orie is done.

- Most of Orie's combos were not that hard with the exception of the last 3. Those took me awhile before finally getting it. As a character, she is interesting but I do not see myself maining her.

- Completed 2 combos trials in one day? Feeling good.

- Eclipse is doing very well, my only issue is it is kind of light compared to my other sticks I've own. I did some trials in KOF XV and the stick was flying off my lap during some movements. Might look into adding a steel plate to the bottom to weigh it down a bit.

- Akatsuki's 5-6 or any of his combos that relies on a aerial 6[C] is so weird to me. When I step away from it I can do it during my first couple tries (and I did hence 5-6 being completed now) but if I mess it up and I keep trying it I will eventually get jumping C instead, no charged 6C.

I have beef with this move.

- Subsequently trying it again for the last of 2 combos I am stuck on and it will not come out. Jumping C only. So frustrating because I do not know what I am doing wrong.

Sunday

- Break night.

WHAT'S NEXT

    Eclipse, my next stick, really made this week enjoyable. Completing Eltnum, Hilda and Orie's trials this week was a definite highlight. I can also say this is the first week I did not feel as much strain on my finger or wrist which might be due to more breaks, my new brace or just me not dedicating as much hours to these combo trials.

    However not resting on my laurels, I have a couple goals for the new week. I aim to complete the all chapters in BBTAG story mode, start Granblue story mode and beat DNF Duel with a new character too (probably Monk). This week we are diving into the deep end with some of the hardest combo trials yet in UNI2 starting with Seth.

    We also have a UNI2 tournament coming up on May 5th at Arcade Legacy and since I have a PS5 stick I will actually sign up and play in it this time. It is almost time to leave the lab and see how much I've really learned.

AV

Learning AF: Week 7- Seeing the Matrix

     Welcome to Week 7 of Learning Anime Fighters (AF). This is an ongoing blog about me picking up anime fighters and also learning a leverless controller. This weeks blog is slightly delayed but we will be discussing that at the end.

This week was the first week I truly embraced the help of 'demo assist' in UNI2. For those not in the know, 'demo assist' helps you by doing the combo up until a certain point based on your preference and you take over and complete the combo if you can. This concept is amazing because lets say you just want to practice an ender or a specific part in the middle you keep dropping you can do that. It really helped me with consistency and getting the timing down for certain combos.

    This blog is done chronologically as well with a what's next section at the end. With that said lets kick off week 7.

Monday

- Chaos take you! (Elden Ring reference for those who don't know)... or not. These combos are hard LOL

- Switched to his buddy Gordoau instead and doing much better. I am beginning to under when to delay his aerial B (2 hit) move for his combos.

- Gordeau? More like Gordone. It really came down to understanding the timing for his rekka enders and the aerial B timing mentioned above. The partial charge which had me worried actually was not hard at all and even better we kicked off a week on a all complete. Good start.

Tuesday

-  Hoping back into Granblue Rising; I'll probably try to play it at least once a week.

- Tried Vane, the new DLC character and he really fits the powerhouse/ bruiser archetype. He even has an attack where he absorbs the incoming attacks and does damage according to how much damage he took. Pretty interesting. He can also put up shields to block incoming attacks or restrict movements of enemies.

- None of his combos felt particularly hard, just had to get used to his 6SM juggle window. Speaking of, one of his combos has a jump cancel which I felt was a bit strange for such a grounded character.

- I'm surprised none of his combos incorporated he is 'All for One' 2SU shield technique which has a hitbox and you can combo into it.

- One of the theme songs has lyrics? It kind of rocks. I need to find out what it is cause I had the music on 'Random' which I normally do.

- Since I used one DLC, I decided to use the other one and play Lucilius which I found out is pronounced as 'Lucifer'.

- Even with his uniquely pronounced name, I do find it funny both Arc System Works (Rising's producer) and French Bread both have a floating half naked pretty boy with floating swords as their first DLC. I wonder who came first?

- It seems Lucilius has a theme, he has a move named Isacriot (like Judas) and Iblis the leader of the devils in Islam.

- Combo trial wise, he has a unique combo linked to his U button, which puts him in a stance. He hardest combo was his last one but it was too bad.

- Because the combos in Rising are so short and not that hard (most of the time) I find myself doing them at least 3 times in a row for each combo. Building that muscle memory.

- Katalina has some of the easiest combo trials in a game with easy combo trials. Cleared her trials in record time.

- I do like her as a character through, if Djeeta did not exist, she would have been my secondary.

- Because I love to hate myself, I decided to give Hilda another chance and this time I did much better. Her hitboxes have such weird animations but the more I use her the more I understand.

- Back to Rising; definitely want to focus on it this week.

- Beelzebub is a strange one, definitely more visceral than Lucilius and I had to get used to letting all his multi hit moves connect before some of his combos worked.

- Metera's practical close range combo actually requires her opponent to fall to their knees before you continue the combo because the falling to the knees cause a different hit stun animation. Cool.

- Metera's combos encourage her set-play (aka knocking opponent down and setting up bad oki situations for them) with her putting out butterflies which when triggered causes different properties. Pretty cool but I do not do well with zoners.

- Now grapplers are much more up my alley. I am still blown away you can do Ladiva's command throws with one button and get no drawback. She also have a very generous hit box on her anti-air grab (2SH) as well. Completed her combos without a hitch

 - I feel Rising's combo trials are way easier compared to the original Granblue. Vaseraga had some really hard combos in  the original that involved quick cancels of his 2SH,H

- Nice to see some of the complexity is kept either that or Vaseraga needs it to do certain combos. Either way he is done as well.

- Even with the complex ones I am doing all of Rising combo trials on MidNite which is a good feeling and make me feel I am getting something back on my investment.

Wednesday

- So I previously said in this blog series I would not care if I did not get Hilda's combos down? I lied.

- Hilda's combos require serious knowledge and negative edge or want they call 'plinking'. Either way it means to hold the button down and release it at the right time

- As a Swift Master user in DNF Duel, I should be used to this so I thought about it and it became much more easier to understand.

- 9 out of 15 expert combos is wild compared to where I was (5 out of 15) and I've completed her 2 combos with the super cancel. Speaking of, 5-15 (lol) is my favorite combo of hers. Purposely whiffing B+C into 236B+C into super is chef kiss.

- Now I just to figure out how to do her ultra low aerial 6C after 623B in the corner and how to do her instant aerial C after a whiffed aerial A

- So the science for both are understandable now; for the ultra low 623B you need to hit very low after the 6C, aerial charged C requires a double tap/ hold after the whiffed A. 13/15

- 5-12 seems impossible with a double negative edge after a long combo... SHEESH

- I also have no idea why I am investing so much time in a character I won't main LOL.

- Okay, in a moment that feels like I am seeing the Matrix like Neo, everything is just clicking today.

- Merkava's 66B into 66C previously completely eluded me and it is a key component of his combos. Today I worked it out and I was able to do it.

- I think the science behind it is delaying the 66C as much as humanly possible instead of tying to mash it out. A lot Merkava's combos come down to patience and timing.

- I must say I am happy with all the progress I've had in the UNI2 comb trials and I mostly done it all by myself. I use the slow down feature and 'demo assist' (which we discussed earlier).

- We hit 13/15 expert combos when we were previously 4/15. The improvement is immense.

- 100% completed. All Merkava's trials are done and I feel good. As stated before, previously we had almost nothing and now we have a all clear.

- Continuing my hot streak, I got back to Akatsuki and I am completing all his trials too. He went from 76% done to 90% with only 3 expert combos left.

- Thanks to this blog, I can confirm the last time I tried his combos was back in week 3 and now in week 7 we revisit him and kill it.

Thursday

- Turns out the name of the song I liked in Rising was 'Existence' and its Beezelbub's theme song (makes sense cause I was using him). I know what song I am training too now.

- Break night; muck around in all games but nothing serious.

Friday

- It is wacky but I noticed the CPU no longer blocks for long periods of time in training mode which I had a big gripe about in previous blogs. Maybe this was fix in Vane patch? Either way I appreciate it.

- Percvial out of all characters was giving me troubles but I finally got it down. His last combo required some specific timing. He also has a system similar to Namaya where a button+attack = dash and then you hit another button for the move. I am not a fan of this 'system'.

- Monk has it in DNF Duel as well and it took me awhile to get used to it in that game too.

- Ferry's combos were surprisingly easy compared to what was required in previous game. She is a set-play character to which requires setting up her familiar before attacking. I also like the fact she can combo after her Sky Art.

- Lowain is just weird lol. He can not even combo into his Super Skybound Art because its the big Goddess super. Instead he has variations of his Human Pyramid Sky Art comboing.

- I must also say I am not a fan of all his combos ending in 'Awesome Sauce'. I like a bit of variety in my combo enders.

- 9 more characters remain in Rising; I think I'll be done by next week and then I'll start doing some story mode content.

- Heck I think I'll do story content for all my anime games next week, including BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle's UNI storyline. It'll be interesting because BBTAG has full English voice acting for the UNI guys which has never happened before.

Saturday

- Since I am think of competing again, I've decided to add some new accessories. Stay tuned to this space. We aim to step our game up. Sneak peek below.

Sunday

- I decided to focus on Byakuya and I am doing much better with him too. LOL He is a bit creepy and that laugh is chilling but he is fun to use.

Chibi Byakuya justs wants to embrace you.

- I also realized I am better at doing 66 into 236 combos on right side, I get less 66 into 623 errors. A lot of Byakuya's combos end in dashing 66B into his 236 rekka series. 

WHAT'S NEXT

As far as progress goes, this was a good week. I was able to complete a lot of comb trials I previously thought were unobtainable. When I first reviewed Hilda and Merkava's trials I was like there is no way I can do these but over time I've done better. I've left some of the harder UNI2 characters for last; which include Vatista, Yuzuriha and Seth but now I think I can tackle them with renewed confidence.

I am also driven to complete all Granblue Rising's combo trials with all characters and start exploring more of its content as well. I have Granbruise Legends (there mini-game mode) and online matches to try out.

In all honesty, I'll be exploring content in all my anime games and aim to complete story mode for each one of them so that's UNI2, Granblue Rising, Melty Blood and BBTAG.

This was also the week I called it and said to myself I'll no longer say I am going to play Midnight Suns if I can get started again. I'll put it back on the backburner. I am still enjoying Tainted Grail Conquest (check my previous impression videos about that) and I am still aiming to play Remnant from the Ashes on and off too.

Also this is a sneak peek of our next blog but we will also be discussing Learning Anime with my new friend; my Drone 2!

So far so good but we will have more detailed thoughts soon.

AV