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This thread is meant to be a discussion of all the little game mechanics that often go overlooked or aren't specifically spelled out in the tutorial and what not
Mike Z often drops little nuggets of knowledge on how the game mechanics function, so I thought it would be nice put a bunch of this stuff here and also some other things that I've managed to find myself or that other people have mentioned
I know a lot of this is already on the Skullgirls Wiki but I think its useful to have a thread here so people can discuss it and add to the knowledge base of the game
This is all from my own memory so if you see anything incorrect please say so
Pre-jump frames and interactions with blocking
- All characters have 4 frames of jump-startup. As an exception, Cerebella's Superjump has 6 frames of startup.
- Prejump frames are throw invincible
- Prejump frames can be canceled into special and super moves and maybe other things? (needs checking)
- Prejump frames can (and will) be canceled into a blocking state if an opponent's attack forces you into preblock
- This means that low attacks will often hit somebody who is holding up+back, even if they would otherwise be able to jump in time to avoid it, because their jump will be interrupted into a standing block which will get hit low
- Mid or high attacks will interrupt your prejump frames and cause you to block them standing
- Preblock is caused by an attack within 200 pixels distance (at 720p), measured from the edge of one character's collision box to the opposing character's
- Moves that do not cause preblock to occur will hit you out of your jump startup and you will not be able to block them while holding up+back during your jump startup frames.
- Things that do not cause grounded preblock: Assists, Projectiles, Fortune's head, Excellabella, Take the A-Train, throws (anything else?)
- If you are holding up+back against one of the above attacks you will be hit out of your prejump frames (excluding throws, since prejump frames are throw invincible)
- In some cases you can avoid a low/throw mixup by holding up or up+forward, as you will not go into preblock from the low attack if you aren't holding up+back.
- For example, Cerebella's cr.LK has 8 frames of startup, if you hold up or up+forward, you will be able to get off the ground before cr.LK goes active unless Cerebella has some frame advantage to work with. If you were holding up+back, preblock would prevent you from jumping and you would get hit
Landing Frames
- All characters have 2 landing recovery frames when touching the ground after a jump
- If the player did any attacks or other actions in the air other than jumping/air dashing, your landing recovery frames are totally vulnerable
- In this case you will not be able to block during your landing frames, nor will you be able to jump to avoid a throw. This is sometimes called Trip Guard (although the terminology is pretty ambiguous)
- If you did not attack during your jump, you will immediately be able to block or jump to avoid a throw
- For example, if you jump into an active Daisy Pusher but did not attack during your jump, you will immediately be able to jump again to avoid being thrown
- In the above example, if you attacked during your jump your landing frames become vulnerable and you will fall in.
Air Blocking and Chicken Block
- When a character lands on the ground during blockstun, all blockstun ends immediately
- This shortened blockstun will allow you to punish things that would not otherwise be punishable, this is often called chicken blocking
- Example: air blocking Filia's s.HP will often allow you to punish it, where as it is (mostly) safe when blocked on the ground
- You can also use this shortened blockstun to break up projectile traps or blockstrings
- For example, jumping and air blocking Peacock's projectiles while close to the ground can greatly reduce the blockstun, allowing you to create gaps in a sequence of projectiles that normally wouldn't allow you to move
- On a somewhat related note: Airblocking peacock's item drop actually causes you to move forward instead of pushing you backwards like all her other projectiles
Throws and Hit Grabs
- A hit grab is a blockable attack that locks both characters into a scripted animation when they connect
- Examples include - Pummel Horse, Silver Cord
- Both characters are invulnerable until the animation is finished, and this can be used to avoid incoming assists and projectiles (also true for throws)
- A hit grab cannot be parried and ignores super armor but otherwise acts like a normal attack until it connects
Super Armor
- Super Armored moves allow the character to be hit without placing them into hitstun
- Each super armor move has a specific number of hits that it can absorb
- Throws and hit grabs ignore super armor
- A "Sweep" type move ignores super armor. This includes every character's cr.HK
- Some non-sweep moves also ignore armor, such as Fortune's Cat Slide and Double's Cilia Slide
- When an attack is 'absorbed' by Super Armor, the character receives 50% of the attack's normal damage
- As an exception, Diamonds Are Forever (Cerebella's Level 3 super) is not interrupted by Sweep attacks and can absorb an unlimited number of hits
Superflash Hitstop
- Superflash Hitstop occurs during certain super moves
- It prevents the opponent from taking any action, even blocking
- If your character was already attacking or blocking before the hitstop occurred, you will be stuck in that state until the hitstop ends
- Superflash hitstop is typically 8 frames after the super flash OR until the attack's first active frame, whichever comes first
- Just like the other instances of hitstop in the game, you can buffer inputs during a Superflash hitstop but your character will not be able to do anything until the end of the hitstop.
Assists
- When an assist is called, it jumps next to the point character. The assist lands and becomes vulnerable for 2 frames before executing its attack
- This means that even invincible assist attacks like Updo have a short vulnerability period
- If the point character is hit while the assist is on-screen but not yet attacking, it will be interupted and the assist will leave the screen without attacking
- Assists appear either; Behind the point character, slightly in front of the point character, or further in front of the point character, depending on the assist used
- Assists take 35% additional damage
- Assists are invincible to throws and to 'hit-grab' attacks
- An assist can be called again immediately as soon as it leaves the stage
- If an assist takes any damage while on screen, it adds a 120 frame (2 second) lockout that prevents assist calls an tags (in addition to the time it takes for the assist to leave the stage)
- As such, knocking an assist down or inflicting other long hitstuns like a stagger or crumple on it will also extend the time that the assist cannot be used
- A snapback against the point character or assist locks out the assist for 300 frames (5 seconds)
- Assists become invincible as soon as they return to a neutral standing state on the ground or are knocked down with no OTG available. They will then get up and leave the screen as normal
- If both the 'point' and assist characters are both hit by a snapback at the same time, a Double Snap occurs
- During a Double Snap, the point character is thrown off the stage and attacking player can combo the assist with impunity
- IPS and undizzy do not apply to assists and assists cannot block, allowing the attacking player to continue to combo the assist until it is dead or the assist is allowed to return to neutral and leave the screen
- During a double snap, the attacking player gains no super meter. The defending player steadily gains meter over time but does not gain super meter for his assist receiving damage
Throws
- Normal throws have 7 frames of startup
- The throw tech window for a normal throw is 13 frames
- If you are thrown out of the startup frames of a throw, a throw tech occurs instead
- The throw tech window for Cerebella's Grab Bag is 4 frames
Parry/Noise Cancel
- http://wiki.shoryuken.com/Skullgirls/BigBand#Command_Normals
Mike Z often drops little nuggets of knowledge on how the game mechanics function, so I thought it would be nice put a bunch of this stuff here and also some other things that I've managed to find myself or that other people have mentioned
I know a lot of this is already on the Skullgirls Wiki but I think its useful to have a thread here so people can discuss it and add to the knowledge base of the game
This is all from my own memory so if you see anything incorrect please say so
Pre-jump frames and interactions with blocking
- All characters have 4 frames of jump-startup. As an exception, Cerebella's Superjump has 6 frames of startup.
- Prejump frames are throw invincible
- Prejump frames can be canceled into special and super moves and maybe other things? (needs checking)
- Prejump frames can (and will) be canceled into a blocking state if an opponent's attack forces you into preblock
- This means that low attacks will often hit somebody who is holding up+back, even if they would otherwise be able to jump in time to avoid it, because their jump will be interrupted into a standing block which will get hit low
- Mid or high attacks will interrupt your prejump frames and cause you to block them standing
- Preblock is caused by an attack within 200 pixels distance (at 720p), measured from the edge of one character's collision box to the opposing character's
- Moves that do not cause preblock to occur will hit you out of your jump startup and you will not be able to block them while holding up+back during your jump startup frames.
- Things that do not cause grounded preblock: Assists, Projectiles, Fortune's head, Excellabella, Take the A-Train, throws (anything else?)
- If you are holding up+back against one of the above attacks you will be hit out of your prejump frames (excluding throws, since prejump frames are throw invincible)
- In some cases you can avoid a low/throw mixup by holding up or up+forward, as you will not go into preblock from the low attack if you aren't holding up+back.
- For example, Cerebella's cr.LK has 8 frames of startup, if you hold up or up+forward, you will be able to get off the ground before cr.LK goes active unless Cerebella has some frame advantage to work with. If you were holding up+back, preblock would prevent you from jumping and you would get hit
Landing Frames
- All characters have 2 landing recovery frames when touching the ground after a jump
- If the player did any attacks or other actions in the air other than jumping/air dashing, your landing recovery frames are totally vulnerable
- In this case you will not be able to block during your landing frames, nor will you be able to jump to avoid a throw. This is sometimes called Trip Guard (although the terminology is pretty ambiguous)
- If you did not attack during your jump, you will immediately be able to block or jump to avoid a throw
- For example, if you jump into an active Daisy Pusher but did not attack during your jump, you will immediately be able to jump again to avoid being thrown
- In the above example, if you attacked during your jump your landing frames become vulnerable and you will fall in.
Air Blocking and Chicken Block
- When a character lands on the ground during blockstun, all blockstun ends immediately
- This shortened blockstun will allow you to punish things that would not otherwise be punishable, this is often called chicken blocking
- Example: air blocking Filia's s.HP will often allow you to punish it, where as it is (mostly) safe when blocked on the ground
- You can also use this shortened blockstun to break up projectile traps or blockstrings
- For example, jumping and air blocking Peacock's projectiles while close to the ground can greatly reduce the blockstun, allowing you to create gaps in a sequence of projectiles that normally wouldn't allow you to move
- On a somewhat related note: Airblocking peacock's item drop actually causes you to move forward instead of pushing you backwards like all her other projectiles
Throws and Hit Grabs
- A hit grab is a blockable attack that locks both characters into a scripted animation when they connect
- Examples include - Pummel Horse, Silver Cord
- Both characters are invulnerable until the animation is finished, and this can be used to avoid incoming assists and projectiles (also true for throws)
- A hit grab cannot be parried and ignores super armor but otherwise acts like a normal attack until it connects
Super Armor
- Super Armored moves allow the character to be hit without placing them into hitstun
- Each super armor move has a specific number of hits that it can absorb
- Throws and hit grabs ignore super armor
- A "Sweep" type move ignores super armor. This includes every character's cr.HK
- Some non-sweep moves also ignore armor, such as Fortune's Cat Slide and Double's Cilia Slide
- When an attack is 'absorbed' by Super Armor, the character receives 50% of the attack's normal damage
- As an exception, Diamonds Are Forever (Cerebella's Level 3 super) is not interrupted by Sweep attacks and can absorb an unlimited number of hits
Superflash Hitstop
- Superflash Hitstop occurs during certain super moves
- It prevents the opponent from taking any action, even blocking
- If your character was already attacking or blocking before the hitstop occurred, you will be stuck in that state until the hitstop ends
- Superflash hitstop is typically 8 frames after the super flash OR until the attack's first active frame, whichever comes first
- Just like the other instances of hitstop in the game, you can buffer inputs during a Superflash hitstop but your character will not be able to do anything until the end of the hitstop.
Assists
- When an assist is called, it jumps next to the point character. The assist lands and becomes vulnerable for 2 frames before executing its attack
- This means that even invincible assist attacks like Updo have a short vulnerability period
- If the point character is hit while the assist is on-screen but not yet attacking, it will be interupted and the assist will leave the screen without attacking
- Assists appear either; Behind the point character, slightly in front of the point character, or further in front of the point character, depending on the assist used
- Assists take 35% additional damage
- Assists are invincible to throws and to 'hit-grab' attacks
- An assist can be called again immediately as soon as it leaves the stage
- If an assist takes any damage while on screen, it adds a 120 frame (2 second) lockout that prevents assist calls an tags (in addition to the time it takes for the assist to leave the stage)
- As such, knocking an assist down or inflicting other long hitstuns like a stagger or crumple on it will also extend the time that the assist cannot be used
- A snapback against the point character or assist locks out the assist for 300 frames (5 seconds)
- Assists become invincible as soon as they return to a neutral standing state on the ground or are knocked down with no OTG available. They will then get up and leave the screen as normal
- If both the 'point' and assist characters are both hit by a snapback at the same time, a Double Snap occurs
- During a Double Snap, the point character is thrown off the stage and attacking player can combo the assist with impunity
- IPS and undizzy do not apply to assists and assists cannot block, allowing the attacking player to continue to combo the assist until it is dead or the assist is allowed to return to neutral and leave the screen
- During a double snap, the attacking player gains no super meter. The defending player steadily gains meter over time but does not gain super meter for his assist receiving damage
Throws
- Normal throws have 7 frames of startup
- The throw tech window for a normal throw is 13 frames
- If you are thrown out of the startup frames of a throw, a throw tech occurs instead
- The throw tech window for Cerebella's Grab Bag is 4 frames
Parry/Noise Cancel
- http://wiki.shoryuken.com/Skullgirls/BigBand#Command_Normals
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