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First fighting game, oh boy.

You can at least post replays if you can't find any answers.
I was afraid of doing that because bully but it's for the better

Got hit by a few lows in the beginning because I played him a bit before and he liked to do that blockstring into throw, wanted to try to capitalize on that

The first hard knockdown in the second match I didn't bait BANG! because I did it before and previously he caught on so he would wakeup jump > airthrow and damn I couldn't believe I was getting styled that hard

That ending is extremely embarrassing and I can't believe I fell for it and I commend him for that setup
 
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Big thing:

There's no reason to default to block high vs Peacock.
Her overhead is pretty slow, and it's way better to get hit by that than her lows which are good starters.
jLK scales her combo to hell.

I'm typing everything extremely bluntly and factually, so some things might accidentally come off as stern and disapointing-dad-like, but just focus on the advice and not the tone, you're great and your improvement and dedication to getting better warms my heart <3

First Round:
0:15
You need to be reflecting here instead of jumping away. Throwing bombs like that in front of Cerebella with nothing to cover you is a bad idea.

0:17
This isn't even a combo. Peacock can't combo off her sweep so you can tech that. (Notice the blue bounce).
None of that damage needed to happen.

0:32
Argus is unsafe on hit in the corner. You could have Diamond Dropped him into the corner.

0:37
When she does this plane this close to you when you are approaching, her only option to get something out to hit you is L George, so you should be able to pick up on that and make a read on reflector.
Even if you're wrong at that range she can't punish you very easily.
Peacock has a horrible dash punish game, if she blocks Eliza's M DP for example she can't punish it with anything.

0:43
Lots of time to reflect that string after you blocked his sHP.

At the ending sequence in the corner, this dude hasn't baited anything from you during his mix up in the corner.
Your DP is 100% going to hit if you just Super or 360 but you never try it.

You have to show your opponent you will use a reversal or else he doesn't have to play like you have one letting him just be silly like that.

Second Round:

1:28
If you want to play a cautious round start that's okay (sorta).
The moment she isn't moving forward or throwing something your way (She is backdashing) you need to be on the ball with that forward dash to minimize the free space you give her.
Remember that it's far more beneficial for you to be close to her than it is for her to be far away from you.
You might have to reconsider giving her this much space at round start as a Solo since you have no way of hitting her from long ranges.

x:xx
cHK x L George is -2.
Try not to PB it if you can help it.
It puts her in a bad spot and you have all the options.
You get Low / Throw / High 33/33/33 from this if you disregard momentum.

2:00
If you're not sure you will get close enough to make the confirm from CH stagger, just go for Titan Knuckle.
HDK into wake up 50/50 is better than nothing, but I think you could have made it in time for this one with jHK or jMP anyway.

2:15
l m f a o dont get hit

Most of the times you are getting hit it's up close and not far away.
You're just really uncomfortable when she is close to you so he's getting a lot of hits in the scramble or from slow mix up.

Third Round

3:18
This mix up is a gimmick btw.
If you just runstop instead of sHK whiff it's much more threatening.
When you do sHK, you remove the option of going low or jumping into an air grab, which means you're just saying "Hey, I hope you can react to me doing sHK whiff right here and you hold up back because it beats my one single option which is command grab putting you back into the corner"
I mean it still hits people a lot but still, air grab probably would have worked a lot better.

3:22
L Bang > jMK is not a combo.
Shake the stagger and it doesn't link anymore.
It takes away a lot of damage if you remove that route, and you would have made it out in that instance if you did shake.

3:50
If you dash forward, the plane will miss.
100% focus on the ground bomb and identify if it is L or M.
Adjust your reflect timing accordingly.
Don't miss those ones they are important for frightening Peacock.

4:00
Whatever this input is don't do it.
It's not your turn to hit a button when Shadow is over you unless you are very confident and you keep getting hit by too many of them.

4:28
This blockstring REALLY can't go unchecked.
That was super super risky and he should have died for this, you had the perfect pushblock too.
Just watching that I was almost startled I didn't see a super flash : )

4:33
He's really taking advantage of you not doing anything after L George so he gets to push buttons after.
That should be the end of his turn, esp with you having a 4(?)F command grab and the best cLK in the game.

4:40
If you PB Argus, it makes this Reflector in between easier.

- Do things after cHK x L George, it's -.
- PBGC when your Dynamo's will carry to the corner. Risk / Reward is heavily in your favor.
- Use a reversal, you always have so much meter and he never respects you because you never use them. Your reversal got nerfed like 5 patches in a row for a reason it's still really good.
- Reflector bombs when nothing is going on and you have time to react to them. (No shadow on you)
- Don't hit buttons in the air if you are jumping and shadow is over you.
- Tech cHK knockdown and don't let him combo off it.
- Shake stagger to remove L Bang > jMK route.
- Punish Argus if he uses it when you are in the corner, it's unsafe on hit.

Also, this Peacock is good.
I didn't watch Taluda's stream for long but Taluda always places top 8 (6) in every Skullgirls major and he got taken to frown town by him for the one round I watched.
Online will be online of course, and I'm sure Taluda won the set.

Hope this helps.
 
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God I'm getting so many moments where I think "I had better block the overhead that he's gone for for the past fifty times while I'm stick in blockstun from this assist" and I switch my block and I still get hit. It's maddening. I don't know when it's lag and when it's incompetence. Maybe it's always both.

stuff

I've looked over it and I'll do my best. Thank you.
To reply to some of it:
>always shake out stagger
I was but I unfortunately failed. I think I only succeeded in blocking it once.

>you could have teched after the sweep
3b29142af4.png

I could have sworn I did try to tech and looking back at the replay, I did. Did I mistime it? I have no idea how to replicate the situation. I was hit kind of high with the bomb.

>PB to reflect the lasers easier
I was hit by the item drop since I'm an idiot who forgot it was there. Unless you mean a PBGC, in which case I will try to practice PBGing reflector.

>cHK > L George is unsafe
>Argus Agony is unsafe on hit in the corner
Oh my god this is going to be so much easier to deal with. Thank you.

I'm testing out the cHK > L George thing by setting the dummy to always block and I cannot get a punish for the life of me.

>everything else
Completely correct. Need to reversal more. Also need to practice mashing 360s on keyboard and nailing it down consistently. Also have to practice not being bad because mad and vice-versa
 
have you tried diamond drop? if you're quick enough, pbgc into devil horns? USS? i wouldn't know what to do since i've never really dealt with a peacock that didn't just try to throw after the bomb.
 
It's -2 so you can't actually punish with anything, but she'll be forced to block.
 
cHK X L George is not unsafe, it's -.
If I said it was unsafe that was a mistake.

I think it's -2 which is just - enough to be unpublishable by everything in the game.

It just means she can't do shit after if you hit jab.
 
Oh, I just misinterpreted it. Thanks guys for clearing it up.

For a "dead game" you guys sure are quick to reply. I'm so grateful. I really think I've improved since my first post, if only slightly.
 
@shuckle , can you please upload the replay for me?

Don't post a video just send me the two replay files if possible.
 
@shuckle , can you please upload the replay for me?

Don't post a video just send me the two replay files if possible.
Do you mean the vs Peacock replays?
 
The replay where you missed the tech input.
Oh, of course! How should I send it to you?
 
You can drag and drop a zip file here I believe and if not you can put it on drop box and if not I can DM you my email
 
I have decided to try learning more Eliza stuff. With the way Fukua is going it seems like she's going to be drastically different and I can't hold simultaneous inputs like hold K and do other commands. So I think going back to the character I originally wanted to learn alongside Bella is best.

I've always struggled with timing the basic airchain in Eliza's BnB, the one that's like
cLK > cMK > cHP > Horace > cHK > H Upper Khat > jMP > jHK > iAD > jLK > jMP > jHP > cMK > etc

For some reason the opponent is sometimes standing when the last jHP hits (which is what I want), sometimes they're still in midair (so the sLK later in the chain is just too far to hit), sometimes they get knocked too far away and cMK doesn't hit. I've tried varying the timing of inputs and I cannot work out what is inconsistent.

I learned the sMP > that one sekhmet attack where she goes RIP AND TEAR i forget the name but it moves to the other side, I just can't nail it down consistently.

I also have no idea what assists I should be using for both Bella and Eliza, I do like Cerecopter because it's braindead easy to register "he is blocking, call assist" but I have no idea how to use Lock and Load as Eliza. And Eliza's assist is a whole different story, what am I even doing with Horace as Bella
 
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I've always struggled with timing the basic airchain in Eliza's BnB, the one that's like
cLK > cMK > cHP > Horace > cHK > H Upper Khat > jMP > jHK > iAD > jLK > jMP > jHP > cMK > etc

For some reason the opponent is sometimes standing when the last jHP hits (which is what I want), sometimes they're still in midair (so the sLK later in the chain is just too far to hit), sometimes they get knocked too far away and cMK doesn't hit. I've tried varying the timing of inputs and I cannot work out what is inconsistent.
I'm assuming that first j.HK is j.HP, right? So, you can get the restand 100% of the time with this combo, although it's harder on lights. There's a few things you can do that make it a little easier:

-Dash slightly before the c.HK. This makes the spacing on all the other hits a little easier.
-Delay the j.LK after the first j.HP as long as you can.
-Delay the second j.HP after the j.MP as long as you can.

Also this is kind of nitpicky of me but that's not an instant air dash (IAD) in that combo. An IAD is an air dash done as low to the ground as possible, which since you jumped and did two other moves first is definitely not what you're doing. You meant ADC (air dash cancel).

I also have no idea what assists I should be using for both Bella and Eliza, I do like Cerecopter because it's braindead easy to register "he is blocking, call assist" but I have no idea how to use Lock and Load as Eliza. And Eliza's assist is a whole different story, what am I even doing with Horace as Bella
There are 3 main uses for Lock and Load:

-Make your setups safe. This is the primary use of it and if LnL is on your team you put it there for this. You can do stuff like end your Eliza combo in s.HKx2 then as they're getting up you call LnL and mix them up either with c.LK or IAD j.LK. If they reversal on wake up, Bella's big punch will hit them out of it and keep you safe.
-Counter calls. LnL is one of the best counter call assists in the game, it does a ton of damage on counter hit.
-Combos. You can add a lot of damage to a combo if you call LnL assist early in the combo (like within 4-5 hits or so). I don't know what Eliza's combo with LnL would look like, I've never seen anyone try it. Probably something like c.LK c.MP (call LnL) s.HPx2 (LnL hits) then maybe something like s.HPx2 xx Upper Khat then idk. I would have to mess with it.

That said there's nothing wrong with using Cerecopter if that's what you prefer. That's what Socks uses for Eliza.

For your Eliza assist? I mean Eliza has a ton of good assists between Dive of Horus, H Spiral, Butcher's Blade, Carpenter's Axe, and c.MK. Just try stuff and see what you like. I have a feeling that c.MK is probably pretty good for Bella since it's a multi hitting low that you can use for cheap mixups. (I think this is Socks's Eliza assist actually).
 
I've always struggled with timing the basic airchain in Eliza's BnB, the one that's like
cLK > cMK > cHP > Horace > cHK > H Upper Khat > jMP > jHK > iAD > jLK > jMP > jHP > cMK > etc

(so the sLK later in the chain is just too far to hit)

If you're going for this bnb, just use sLP instead of sLK at the end. It isn't too much difference at full scaling and will be a lot easier to hit with at varying heights.
 
Okay so I said I wanted to learn Eliza but lately Parasoul has been interesting me and so far she's been a MUCH better choice. I like the slower pace of her combos and charge commands are super easy from all the runstops I've been messing around with. Parasoul feels so much more natural than Eliza and Fukua for some reason. Not only that, but I even learned how to stuff an assist into a combo which I never knew how to reliably do before (unless I was playing Bella and it was like "sHK > call assist > cerecopter lol").

This is why you should experiment early on, I guess. Maybe in another year I'll try out another character and find out I like them.
edit: Oops. I had it on 2v1 in the video instead of 2v2. This is the 2v2 damage.
cdb914b6a8.png


I think I want to use the L Napalm Shot assist, I'm scared to use any DP assists ever because I don't want to grow reliant on them. Also, Napalm Shot just seems easier for getting Bella in.

I'm assuming that first j.HK is j.HP, right? So, you can get the restand 100% of the time with this combo, although it's harder on lights. There's a few things you can do that make it a little easier:

-Dash slightly before the c.HK. This makes the spacing on all the other hits a little easier.
-Delay the j.LK after the first j.HP as long as you can.
-Delay the second j.HP after the j.MP as long as you can.

Also this is kind of nitpicky of me but that's not an instant air dash (IAD) in that combo. An IAD is an air dash done as low to the ground as possible, which since you jumped and did two other moves first is definitely not what you're doing. You meant ADC (air dash cancel).


There are 3 main uses for Lock and Load:

-Make your setups safe. This is the primary use of it and if LnL is on your team you put it there for this. You can do stuff like end your Eliza combo in s.HKx2 then as they're getting up you call LnL and mix them up either with c.LK or IAD j.LK. If they reversal on wake up, Bella's big punch will hit them out of it and keep you safe.
-Counter calls. LnL is one of the best counter call assists in the game, it does a ton of damage on counter hit.
-Combos. You can add a lot of damage to a combo if you call LnL assist early in the combo (like within 4-5 hits or so). I don't know what Eliza's combo with LnL would look like, I've never seen anyone try it. Probably something like c.LK c.MP (call LnL) s.HPx2 (LnL hits) then maybe something like s.HPx2 xx Upper Khat then idk. I would have to mess with it.

That said there's nothing wrong with using Cerecopter if that's what you prefer. That's what Socks uses for Eliza.

For your Eliza assist? I mean Eliza has a ton of good assists between Dive of Horus, H Spiral, Butcher's Blade, Carpenter's Axe, and c.MK. Just try stuff and see what you like. I have a feeling that c.MK is probably pretty good for Bella since it's a multi hitting low that you can use for cheap mixups. (I think this is Socks's Eliza assist actually).

I didn't really know when and where to call the assists. Since I usually have a hard time getting in, I never remember to call Horace every once in a while when I AM in. Woops.

I didn't even know assists could get counterhit, I'm always scared to touch them even after they're safe. That sounds like a really good use of it.
>sHK > call assist
Funny enough I did that with Cerecopter a lot but a lot of my opponents started to PBGC and screw me over. Gotta be less predictable.

And yeah I got the Eliza notation wrong in like 3 places damn. Delaying the airdash and the followup slightly actually seems to work.

If you're going for this bnb, just use sLP instead of sLK at the end. It isn't too much difference at full scaling and will be a lot easier to hit with at varying heights.

That sounds good, thank you!
I can't thank everyone in this community enough.
 
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I thought that Peacock's bomb super didn't damage you if you killed the Peacock, like how you're invincible when you grab. So I went in for a foolish Dynamo chip kill in the corner and proceeded to get blown back. Will try to remember to go for a grab next time.
 
I thought that Peacock's bomb super didn't damage you if you killed the Peacock, like how you're invincible when you grab. So I went in for a foolish Dynamo chip kill in the corner and proceeded to get blown back. Will try to remember to go for a grab next time.
sMP stagger > 360 is a good way to make yourself mad invincible for a bit.
That or Pummel Horse.
 
Someone just told me that you can use right stick assists on keyboard. This game will never not make me feel stupid.
Now to just find two good keys to bind them to. Trying 9 and 0 for now but I'm not really feeling it. Maybe I'll do P and ;.
UIO are punches, JKL are kicks, Y and H are my macros.

Doesn't actually help with being unable to alpha counter since that would result in a simultaneous L-shape thing and my keyboard doesn't like that but I can actually hold back and call assist now. What a relief.

sMP stagger > 360 is a good way to make yourself mad invincible for a bit.
That or Pummel Horse.
The most cinematic Showstopper. Cool girls don't look at, or get damaged by, explosions.
I also had a dream that I fought you and all you did the entire game was go for crossups and by the end I was crying
 
"Here you go oh god nevermind I'll just... go"
me too bella

I've underestimated Diamond Dynamo as a "stop going for overheads" tool. I've started using it in neutral a bit more if I notice the opponent being super aggressive and it has caught a lot more people than I would have thought.

I've also overestimated how smooth Parasoul is. Combos are like butter but oh god is it difficult to do anything else as her. Her movement is so weird. But I'll keep trying.
 
I've underestimated Diamond Dynamo as a "stop going for overheads" tool. I've started using it in neutral a bit more if I notice the opponent being super aggressive and it has caught a lot more people than I would have thought.
There you go, NOW you're playing Bella
 
It's only a mash if it's blocked. Otherwise, it's a smart reversal.
 
Lately I've been missing a LOT of my runstops and I have no idea why. I'm doing the exact same input every time yet she just doesn't want to stop.
Recorded it three times, first time is how it should go, second has the drop, third also has the drop and is played in slomo

If anyone can let me know where I'm hecking up I'd be very grateful.
 
on 0:26, the game detected MK LK 4(left for num notation) and then LP. Try doing 6(charge) LK MK LP 2 instead?

edit: oh right this is runstops lol
 
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What is happening is that you are pressing MK, LK, forward instead of forward, MK, LK.

Couple general tips on runstopping: have you tried using MK + LK and holding them for a little bit when you try and runstop? That's what I do (though I use HK instead of MK) and I find holding the buttons helps and pressing them at the same time will ensure your RS is as short as possible.
 
on 0:26, the game detected MK LK 4(left for num notation) and then LP. Try doing 6(charge) LK MK LP 2 instead?
What is happening is that you are pressing MK, LK, forward instead of forward, MK, LK.
Man oh man I was so focused on looking at the timing of the kick inputs I didn't even notice the charge being pressed AFTER.
Though that doesn't happen in the slomo recording I don't think?

have you tried using MK + LK and holding them for a little bit when you try and runstop?
The setup I use wouldn't allow that because ghosting - it's cheaper to adapt than it is to buy a shiny new mechanical keyboard... especially after buying textbooks :(
 
I just had a game versus someone's last character, Double, and I had a sliver of health left. Enough for any amount of chip to kill me. They had a full bar left, but they were a trio and I was Solobella so it wouldn't take that much to kill them

I get a hit on them and I think oh sick, I can go for the snap and get health back. No, I drop the input and they go for a car super chip kill.

I DEVIL HORNS THROUGH THE CAR and then get the hit on them and win.

Went back to record the replay and turns out I forgot to re-enable the feature from when I reinstalled Steam a few weeks ago. No one is ever going to believe me
 
In more relevant news, a little bird told me that I should try to learn Big Band because M Extend + Cerebella is really powerful. I don't really know how to into his playstyle and I was always put off from learning Big Band because I as afraid I'd start to rely on his assists and plateau. But I mean I've already plateau'd so it's not like I have anything to lose.

Oh, I added the Peacock player that I made the video about earlier where I got bodied, since we had a super close 3-2 set, and he said I was a really good Cerebella player, and that he usually doesn't go for zoning but he feels like he has to versus me (?), and even said I'm one of the better Cerebella's he's played (which is 100% because most good Cerebella players don't bother with QM). I know he's just being nice/exaggerating since I'm nowhere near competent but his kind words made me really happy! Everyone in this community is so nice

Also I'm thinking of either getting a mechanical keyboard or just biting the bullet and getting a hitbox, since having to adapt to ghosting is probably doing me more harm than good, but we'll see. A mechanical keyboard would be inconvenient as I wouldn't have anywhere to put it, BUT it's cheaper and more familiar than a hitbox. I just like to think of this ghosting problem as Goku's weighted clothing 8)
 
Also I'm thinking of either getting a mechanical keyboard or just biting the bullet and getting a hitbox
Get the hitbox.
Invest.

Can't use a keyboard in a tournament.
 
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@mcpeanuts
It was an honor to get my ass kicked by you, GGs
 
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I think it's funny how Skodial has like 14 pages on his diary and I have like 2, despite us starting at around the same time. So I guess I should post more!

I started learning Big Band, like I said. I don't really like how spacing-dependent his combos are, so I usually drop them. I'm gonna try to come up with some more universal combos.

I made use of the Excellabella assist to make some fun+easy combos, inspired by dekillsage

I just took the standard combos and cut out the hard stuff. Not the best idea but it should work for now. I know he's getting changed in the beta, mostly his jMK loop stuff, so I'll try to not venture too far into that kinda stuff.

I don't know how much Excellabella is going to help me in neutral, but I'll try to make use of it!

What's more important is the Bella stuff I'm trying out with Big Band's M Beat extend assist. I have dubbed the team Butt Extend. I don't know how MikeZ and Mocktopus do their stuff so consistently because I feel like it's kinda inconsistent, but it's really fun. And it's nice to have some insurance versus more aggressive opponents.

I drop stuff like Dynamo > Titan Knuckle > Beat Extend a lot, but when I land it it's REALLY satisfying. Thank you to Liam for suggesting such a fun team, and to Mike for creating it.
 
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I started learning Big Band, like I said. I don't really like how spacing-dependent his combos are, so I usually drop them. I'm gonna try to come up with some more universal combos.
The OTGless route is universal and not spacing dependent, you could try that.

c.LK c.MK s.HP,
j.MP j.MK,
s.LP s.MK,
j.LK j.MK,
c.LK s.MK,
j.LP j.LK j.MK,
H Beat Extend,
c.MPx2 s.HK xx H A-Train xx Super Sonic Jazz

You can do L Beat Extend instead if H Beat Extend is too hard.

I don't know how much Excellabella is going to help me in neutral, but I'll try to make use of it!
It's honestly not useful at neutral. On quick match you may find people who jump into it over and over but tbh you shouldn't have trouble beating people like that anyways. It's more useful as a setup assist. If you don't do the taunt after c.HP + call assist in your combos, there may be some good reset opportunities there somewhere. I would experiment with that.
 
Oh, that's exactly what I was looking for, thanks mcpeanuts! So many jumps is throwing me off but I'll force it down.

As for Excellabella, yeah I don't think it'll do anything spectacular for BB so perhaps another assist would be better. I don't know the character very well so I've no idea what would be a good assist for him.
 
When you call H LNL assist at the same time you do shit it makes it all safe and +.

Like normally people can land cancel your L Step and L Brass which makes it unsafe, but with the LNL H follow up right after it makes it way harder to contest (Usually impossible)

Gives you confirms from jMK which is something stupid like a 14f overhead I think, and boosts your combo damage by a lot.

That's also what Mike and Mock use.
 
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This is going to sound really dumb but I always thought that the commands had to be inputted based on the direction of your opponent, NOT your character. 500 hours and this game STILL finds ways to screw with me.

So I've been trying to do Kanchou whiff into Dynamo and it never worked, I assumed the super cancel window was weird, but no, you have to input it the same direction as you were facing before.

I can't shake the habit of "opponent is to my left, input dynamo to the left!". It's like, hardwired into my brain. This is going to be hard to break.

***
Editing this comment because of a breakthrough, I think. I think I've figured out how to do the Battle Butt > Beat Extend consistently. This entire time I've been doing the input for Battle Butt the "regular" way, as in, press K and then either HP or HK. Well, that was screwing up the timing for the link, I didn't know that you could do THIS to get an instant Battle Butt
Q9OXRvt.jpg

Since I never really USED Battle Butt for anything outside of reckless reversals I never thought about it. I honestly assumed it was a special case, but if Pummel Horse and Runstop and Kanchou all have instant inputs then there was no reason Battle Butt shouldn't have one, too.

Anyway, now if I do the instant Battle Butt command, I always get opposite side, though it gets weird in the corner. I'm so dumb.

***

@Liam Oh that sounds optimal, but knowing my reckless playstyle I'll definitely screw up the timings and just get both characters killed at the same time, though that's part of the learning process probably.

Gives you confirms from jMK which is something stupid like a 14f overhead I think, and boosts your combo damage by a lot.
Sorry, do you mean that it's easy to hitconfirm H LNL > jMK? Or the other way around? And at what point can you stick H LNL into a combo?
 
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