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How do I Skullgirls

Hm, makes me feel a little better I could take 4 off him in our FT7.

He's really crafted a great style for himself.
 
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FWIW playing Skarmand did make me realize something, which is that I don't need three characters for the Peacock mirror. The whole reason I like to play three characters, and these three characters specifically, is to give myself more chances to stop my opponent's momentum when Peacock goes down and the next character is getting mixed up in the corner. This sort of doesn't come up against Peacock though, she'll kill a character then usually back off and throw some bombs and stuff. So I've started just running Peacock/Big Band against other Peacocks and using my main team the rest of the time (unless it's a bad match for Peacock, then I might switch to Big Band/Squigly).
 
Filia wavedashing into updo.

10f startup/active that beats just about everything that isn't blocking from fast forward movement.

feelin' kindaaaa mishima-ish. <3
 
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Skullgirls casuals with Sev and Domo at Northwest Majors.

  • Sev recommended more resets and was a little perplexed by my decision to do full combos when I did them, I guess because I'd really picked bad times to go for max damage. Maybe it's worth trying to think about resets:combos per character lifebar at each ratio and really memorize those numbers. i.e., kill a character with one carry, two resets, and one full corner route, or six resets and a full undizzy route, etc.
  • Sev and Domo both mentioned altering the pressure strings used based on observations of when/how the person pushblocks. I'd mentioned cHK to Domo, and he agreed that it was worth looking into. He also advised cMP as a means of subbing out cMK for something that will keep you in on them.
  • PBGCs are ridiculous. Of all the things that I hit anyone with, PBGCs with any kind of hitstop/invuln are far and away at the top of the list in terms of consistency. Against Sev or Domo, almost all of my approaches, hits, resets, and other offensive measures felt extremely ineffective to begin with or diminished over multiple games, with the exception of PBGCs. For some reason, it's just obnoxiously difficult to play around and really gets a lot of reward. Maybe it's just really try-hard and no one wants to actually respect pushblocks in casuals?
  • Sev is absolutely right about focusing more on locking assists out and using that time wisely.
  • Gotta push buttons eventually.
  • Gregor conversions need so much work
  • Filia route is almost ready, time to start practicing the resets
  • Airthrow beats LK Bomber? :^)
 
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Watching Domo and Sev play, I noticed Domo blocks about as well or better than I do, but is infinitely better about knowing when to just jab his way out of pressure or to lock out an assist.

9/10, will steal
 
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Who was he using in general? I'm terrible at jabbing (I get nervous by PWs slower moveset), but ElkyDori was pushing me around quite a bit using hg.lp when pressured.
 
Who was he using in general? I'm terrible at jabbing (I get nervous by PWs slower moveset), but ElkyDori was pushing me around quite a bit using hg.lp when pressured.

Fukua, Double, Filia, whatever.

Mostly noticed it in response to the Filia IAD pressure that I try to pushblock my way out of.
 
Hatred Guard on s.LP has 3f startup, which is 2f faster than the actual fastest Jab in the game.
c.HK HG has 4f startup, which is still 1f faster than the fastest jab, is a low, breaks armor and has 3 hits of armor

PW pushing buttons during opponent's pressure is very legit. Filia/Fortunes do it all the time with their jabs, and theirs are slower.
 
@IsaVulpes

So I articulated it badly. The reason I don't think PW has a decent jab out of pressure (without HG) is that she is the only cast member who doesn't have a jab that can be chained twice meaning PW has to be incredibly on point to jab out.
 
@IsaVulpeshe is the only cast member who doesn't have a jab that can be chained twice meaning PW has to be incredibly on point to jab out.

fkn chain into LK.
 
@ClarenceMage

I'm not saying it is impossible. I'm not saying people haven't successfully done it. I'm not saying it isn't viable. I'm saying that I've never had much success with it. I've not seen Elki or hlvn or Elda or Skyking matches where they've had a lot of success with it either. What I am seeing is people who don't main PW tell me what works on a character I play almost exclusively, so as far as decent advice goes, I'd tell people to stick with HG.lp until I regularly start seeing mashed jabs working out.
 
I'd tell people to stick with HG.lp until I regularly start seeing mashed jabs working out.
I'm confused?
What I'm saying is to use HG s./c.LP

Don't mash jab without Hatred Guard, it has 8f(?) startup and is terrible etc
 
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I'm confused?
What I'm saying is to use HG s./c.LP

Don't mash jab without Hatred Guard, it has 8f(?) startup and is terrible etc

Then my bad, I thought you meant rapid fire jabs to get out of pressure like some MF (the worst offender).

Yeah, hg is solid. Elkydori should write a paper on it. His charged lp is half magic.
 
fuck painwheel
fuck painwheel
fuck painwheel
fuck painwheel
fuck painwheel
fuck painwheel
fuck painwheel

Team Duck is the best. <3
 
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RIP me ever winning against you again it was fun while it lasted <3
 
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fuck painwheel
fuck painwheel
fuck painwheel
fuck painwheel
fuck painwheel
fuck painwheel
fuck painwheel

Team Duck is the best. <3


welp
 
Notes from casuals with Goose:
  • Val spacing/button usage is still pretty grim. I feel like I'm pressing buttons when I shouldn't on defense, and pressing buttons at the wrong ranges on aerial offense. Not really grasping where sHK goes, but I know it's a thing
  • Assist calls against a team with LK bomber need to be more reactive/counter call-ish or very early as they cross into mid-range so you have bomber out and active on the mid-range before they can start their movement into close range.
  • Stop pushblocking so much. Get a better grasp on the end of other character's blockstrings options and start jabbing. cLK > wait > cLK is actually really simple for beating someone anxious to pushblock
  • Autopilot Filia is nothing but instant jHKs ADC'd into jMP jHK which doesn't do a whole lot. cLK IAD jLK, IAD crossup jHK, or IAD airthrow whiff more.
  • Offense is stale and needs more adaptation.
  • Focusing on blowing up assists helps a lot against teams that seem like a really difficult assist structure to get through for pressure with the point character. Generally taking McPeanuts "just chill" advice to heart so I can figure out which matchups need aggression and which ones don't.
  • Focusing attention on keeping the corner after a kill is nice. Bypass, flesh steps, wavedashing all worked well. Starting to get a better grasp of the timing it takes for someone to get off the bench and onto the screen.
  • NO PUSHBLOCKING IF YOU'RE GOING TO CALL AN ASSIST. Unlike Carols, Val can actually convert from things or establish pressure.
  • Taki Val, Ghost Filia, Flesh Double may be the team.
 
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Notes from casuals with Goose:
  • Stop pushblocking so much. Get a better grasp on the end of other character's blockstrings options and start jabbing. cLK > wait > cLK is actually really simple for beating someone anxious to pushblock
I get blown up by Duck if he puts me in the corner. Usually he'll do cr.LK > grab (if no pushblock) with Val. Then once I've started pbing all those, he'll just cr.lk > (plus other shit) > cr.lk > repeat with Filia.

So yea.
 
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I get blown up by Duck if he puts me in the corner. Usually he'll do cr.LK > grab (if no pushblock) with Val. Then once I've started pbing all those, he'll just cr.lk > (plus other shit) > cr.lk > repeat with Filia.

So yea.


Hmm. I always thought he just did the cLKs like that because he wanted to make people feel bad.
 
oh yeah, and the next time Goose techs one of your airthrows and the Doubles trade places and everyone's confused for a second?

hit that buster with the whip ಠ_ಠ
 
Val's s.hk is a preemptive anti-air, it has a great hitbox but long start up. You use it when you think they are gonna jump in at you, using it in conjunction with bomber is a good way to contest any sort of agression and if you get a hit it will probably make them want to stay in the space just out of range of s.hk(1). Which means you get to own the air in between you two. Of course if they keep jumping in you can just swat them down.

In terms of spacing, you want to use it at the distance where your opponent is most likely to jump in, which depends on the character's air mobility but generally you are going to use it where the first hit will whiff if they don't jump in at you.

Edit: oh and if you get the hard read or they are being dumb with their jump ins you can do all 3 hits and get a sliding knockdown that is probably gonna put them in the corner. Then you just do #valthings with lockdown bomber and win.

We should play sometime because I have like 150 matches vs duck and I might be able to tell you if there is something obvious that you do differently. Half those games were a blur of crying and mix ups but the other half were probably ok.
 
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About 1-24 against Drewski.

It seems almost any time he could BE, SSJ, or just push a jab, he would and I'd get bopped. I didn't punish it very often, but I get the feeling that even if I did, it wouldn't really dissuade him.

Got the chance to talk to him about it afterwards, and I'm just really out of the loop when it comes to using reversals. I feel like I'm terrible when it comes to recognizing when/why someone would want to do this instead of blocking or when I've successfully "broken" their will to do it with a punish or several punishes.

It's been a problem for a long time, but with all the Big Bands and Fukuas out there now, it's even more apparent that I can't/don't do the things that make people respect resets, while I'm always trying to block/tech them. I always find myself in the situation where people recognize I'm willing to try and see my way out of things, and they just tee off on me with solid mixups. I can never make someone scared to reset me, while I am constantly anxious/terrified about trying to reset them.

key examples:

  • block wakeup bella horns "okay, I can punish him now. surely he's going to stop pushing buttons after getting a punishable move bloc- AND NOW FOR SOMETHING SPECTACULAR"
  • "okay he whiffed Beat Extend or just hit my assist, now i can start press- BEAT EXTEND"
  • "okay, i hit him with a poke and should be at frame advantage, I think he'll stand still. Now's a good time to go in wi- SUPER SONIC"
TL;DR: My understanding of Skullgirls really sucks, and I'm not sure how to wrap my head around what obviously works well, but seems really crazy/risky on the surface. Also Drewski is really good. <3
 
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"okay he whiffed Beat Extend or just hit my assist, now i can start press- BEAT EXTEND"
fwiw I will Beat Extend in this situation almost 100% of the time
 
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The simplest way to make sure you don't get hit by mashing is to let your assist take all the risk. Locking and calling a meaty assist that hits on wake up, incoming, or just a reset will catch most reversal supers. Sure you might have to let your assist bleed but you trade that for a punish. Unless they can dhc into catheads then lol ur fucked. You just have to get a feel for when your opponent gets desperate, invincible reversals have been a thing for a long time now, so you just gotta adapt.

Also there are some characters like val that cant reversal super if you are right above them so do that.
 
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Bait the assists and punish them, and if you THINK your opponent might call an assist poke with a single jab or other fast normal instead of starting to commit to a pressure string that will get you hit. That way you'll recover in time to block the assist and if it hits, you can confirm off of it or it might beat the assist's startup in which case you can start your combo on two characters.

Like with Fortune, if I'm unsure if the opponent is gonna call an assist, poking with s.LP is good, doing s.LP, s.MK is really bad because I just get hit out of it.
 
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while I'm always trying to block/tech them. I always find myself in the situation where people recognize I'm willing to try and see my way out of things, and they just tee off on me with solid mixups. I can never make someone scared to reset me, while I am constantly anxious/terrified about trying to reset them.
I feel like when you used Filia (which is the only character you use with an actual reversal pretty much) I was getting hit with updo pretty consistently. The problem was that she wasn't really doing enough damage to get me to stop, especially on a trio vs duo scenario. I basically took Filia off my team for that very reason, but there are still plenty that run a trio with Filia so just follow your heart or something.

"okay he whiffed Beat Extend or just hit my assist, now i can start press- BEAT EXTEND"
In my experience, that second beat extend is rarely blocked. It either whiffs again or hits. That's just something that I believe will come with matchup experience. Beat extend is pretty safeish and it can be tough to gauge when you can actually punish it.

"okay, i hit him with a poke and should be at frame advantage, I think he'll stand still. Now's a good time to go in wi- SUPER SONIC"
When I'm on the defensive side like that, I'm pretty much looking for any sort of hesitation from the other player as a cue to reversal. You should watch this set (http://www.twitch.tv/m/523082) I had with mcpeanuts the other day where you can see him bait a reversal-happy player like me several times, and very well might I add.

My understanding of Skullgirls really sucks
This might sound kinda assholeish, but you just gotta play more. If I can use my own experience as evidence, stuff will just click (?) at some point. I am bad at giving advice.

Also Drewski is really good. <3
rNylnrS.gif
 
  • block wakeup bella horns "okay, I can punish him now. surely he's going to stop pushing buttons after getting a punishable move bloc- AND NOW FOR SOMETHING SPECTACULAR"
  • "okay he whiffed Beat Extend or just hit my assist, now i can start press- BEAT EXTEND"
  • "okay, i hit him with a poke and should be at frame advantage, I think he'll stand still. Now's a good time to go in wi- SUPER SONIC"

Welcome to Skullgirls, leave your brain at the door. That is, until your opponent engineers really good bait situations that are advantageous no matter the outcome.

You are lucky enough to be playing team duck! In every single one of these situations, except for like the beat extend->beat extend situation, can be beaten by jumpback, block, and if they do a yolo super then you punish with a full counterhit combo. Beat extend->Beat extend just needs faster whiff punish reactions... or, call MK butt, jump forward bock.

So, what happens if they don't actually do a yolo super in those situations, and you've just jumped back? You have lost... ... pretty much nothing. You have regained the neutral, which team duck likes, and you can approach under MK Bomber again. If they super, they die. The risk/reward is heavily in your favour.
 
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How the FUCK does "Leave your brain at the door, until there's a setup that beats everything" make sense?
That's not the opposite, but the *definition* of 'Leave your brain at the door'; autopiloting some setup that requires 0% thinking on your part and deletes reads. Grand.

"Yay I have frame advantage from my opponent blocking my assist / them doing something that's not plus on block, let's push buttons!!" is the most common 'leave your brain at the door' thing - completely disregarding that behaviour like this makes you deadeasy to read and counter.

You have regained the neutral, which team duck likes, and you can approach under MK Bomber again.
11/10
 
Because there is a stage of learning in Skullgirls where you will eat reversal super 90% of the time, and where doing reversal super will work 90% of the time because of either combo drops, unsafe resets, or unsafe offense. Mashing super WILL work A LOT at intermediate levels and get you free wins, UNTIL your opponents develop better ways to bait and keep pressure on you at the same time. This isn't something that's incredibly obvious, and until it's implemented into your game then super mash is a very brainless and rewarding option for your opponents.
 
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